I don't know what it is, but I like it!

Last week I went to a very strange event. A friend was playing - it sounded like a weird and wonderful event, and I wasn't disappointed.

And its coming around again. Tonight.

Klinker club.

What you can expect:
Eerie sounds. Strange noises. Meaningless lyrics. Utter improvisation. Instruments finding intruiguing new uses. Sometimes it sounds grating - a school orchestra, everyone playing at a different tempo with a different tuning on a different piece of music.

But sometimes it just works. It captivates and sounds magical.

Last week I saw three bands. One was the former. Two were the latter. A bit hit and miss, but I had a great time.

To give you an idea of what you can expect:

The host wore a gold lamé suit and a cabbage hat, on a gold lamé stage. As he presented on stage he was well camoflaged - the evening was effectively presented by a disembodied talking cabbage.

The first act featured an electric guitar, a letter opener as an ad-hoc bridge, and a phrase sampler pedal. He made deep alien atmospheric sounds that you wouldn't believe.

The second act - well, were more conventional, but tuneless. I discovered later that the monitors were out of action - which explains a lot. Not their best act.

The third act. Chris on synths playing stoccato sounds and warping live vocals through an FX unit. Steve on drums beating a gentle jazz rhythm. Zack on organ putting some harmonic content together. And two young ladies (both heavily under the influence of alcohol) doing a very strange improvised dances while adding improvised lyrics. The whole thing could have been awful. But it wasn't. The whole thing was intensely captivating. It rocked.

That was last week - who knows what this week will be like. But I'm willing to find out.

£5/£2.50conc entry (split amongst the bands from the looks of it). Klinker club, Ivy House pub, 40 Stuart Road, Nunhead SE15 3BE. Opens 8pm, music starts at 9 prompt.

In the words of Jazz Club...

Hmmm... Nice...