Games For May 2017, The Half Moon, Putney

 

Mega Dodo is hosting Games For May at the Half Moon, Putney on Sunday 28th May 2017 for the third and final time. The Junipers, Mark and The Clouds, Jack Ellister Band and the Crystal Jacqueline Band will be appearing and the first 150 ticket holders get at goodie bag containing a Mega Dodo 7-inch single, exclusive Mega Dodo and Sugarbush Records CDs and gig poster. Exclusive lathe cuts singles from each of the bands appearing will be available as well as collectables from Mega Dodo and Sugarbush Records.

Tickets are £17.50 in advance available from THE HALF MOON. 

 

The Junipers are a 5-piece band who have been playing and recording together since 2000. Their recordings mix Sitar, Zither, Balalaika, Harp, Mellotron etc, with vocal harmonies, psychedelic effects & enough pop elements to keep it all sweet. They released their debut album "Cut Your Key" in 2008 & received rave reviews from Uncut magazine, The Word, Record Collector among others. They gained single of the week on BBC Radio 2& airplay for their 4 singles released so far by Steve Lamacq, Bob Harris, Mark Radcliffe, Janice Long, Marc Riley, Tom Robinson, Cerys Matthews etc. The follow up album "Paint the Ground" was released in Feb 2012 and in 2016 they released “Red Bouquet Fair”.

 

 Mark and The Clouds is a London based band playing a blend of timeless, catchy and powerful pop. Evolving from Instant Flight, a band so cool they persuaded the legendary Arthur Brown to sing on their debut album, Colours & Lights, Mark & The Clouds is fronted by vocalist and songwriter Marco Magnani. Their debut album “Blue Skies Opening” was full of breath-taking pop rock songs and powerful ballads. Since its release, Mark& The Clouds have been writing and recording its follow up “Cumulus” which is released in early 2017.

 

Crystal Jacqueline and her musical partner Icarus Peel have been wowing audiences around the British Isles for several years. In 2016 they were asked to support Tir na nOg on several dates and are all set to expand their horizons with a new band and some festival dates in 2017. It’s early days but expect the new band to deliver the kind of powerful rock that made Jacqueline’s “Sun Arise” album a classic psych, rock 'n' roll and acid folk gem. They’ll undoubtedly be some intimate acoustic material added for good measure. A new album is being made ready for release in 2017 and with a new band, new album and festival dates lined up, the future is looking very promising for The Crystal Jacqueline Band.
 

Jack Ellister, former member of several bands including the Sony/SPV-signed Angina Pectoris, was founder, songwriter and leader of Yordan Orchestra, a latterday prog-psychedelic outfit from Holland whose concerts ware sprawling happenings, heavy with the whiff of a druggier, bygone age. In 2011 Jack Ellister disbanded the group and concentrated on producing his first full length album. Released in early 2016, “Tune Up Your Ministers And Start Transmission From Pool Holes To Class O Hypergiants” received airplay on Mark Radcliffe's Music club and Mark and Stuart Maconie's Show on BBC 6Music, and they rather liked it! Jack has performed solo at several events to promote his album, but he promises a full band for his appearance at the Half Moon. Anything could happen, and probably will.

Games For May 2016 – The Half Moon, Putney, Sunday 29th May

This month's hot gig ticket! Bank holiday psych all-dayer! Four live bands and a mini record fair!

You have to love the month of May in merry old England! The sun and heat has finally arrived, there's not one but two Bank Holidays, the festival season is just around the corner, and it's also time Games For May, the all-day music event that's become a must-attend for any self-respecting psych fan. Jointly hosted by Fruits de Mer Records and Mega Dodo Records

As well as the four live bands appearing, (Sendelica, Magic Bus, The Honey Pot and Soft Hearted Scientists. More on those below), there'll also be a mini record fair with lots of rare and exclusive items from both labels and all the bands. Worth spending the day indoors I'd say!

All legitimate ticket holders will receive some free items on entry including a 4-CD set featuring the four bands along with a bonus CD of acoustic guitar instrumentals by Scott William Urquhart.

One of the exclusive records for sale will be a rather wonderful lathe-cut 8” (yes that's eight inch vinyl!) tribute to David Bowie. It features Cary Grace doing Black Country Rock and Sound And Vision which segues into Consterdine's version of Sound And Vision. Only 50 copies are up for grabs so get 'em while they're hot as they say. (Or spend a week's wages tracking one down on Discogs!)

Here's more about the 4 bands - 

Sendelica

Welsh Spacerockers. Their epic new album Cromlech Chronicles is out next week. We'll be running a review soon! Their contribution to the 4-CD set is an exclusive mix of highlights from their 10 years of music making. Check out their recent Ziggy Stardust 7".

Magic Bus

The Canterbury sound re-imagined in Devon. Pastoral prog at its finest. Their first single for Fruits de Mer came out last year. Let's hope there's more releases soon.

Soft Hearted Scientists

Favourites here at HD,Soft Hearted Scientists are set to release their 7^th long player Golden Omens in July. If you're not familiar with them, get that rectified! Games For May will be the band's debut London appearance. 

The Honey Pot

Flagship band for Mega Dodo Records, featuring Crystal Jacqueline on vocals. The band will be promoting tracks from Jacqueline's newly released Morning Dew EP.

Unfortunately I'm unable to attend but you should! Tickets from the link below. Don't hang about!

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Click here for the Fruits De Mer Records website.

Click here for the Mega Dodo website.

Various – Momentary One & Two (Ltd. 7” singles)

Two very limited 7” singles featuring Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd covers! Available at the Fruits De Mer / Mega Dodo joint gig at Putney's Half Moon this Sunday! (24^th May)

This weekend's hottest gig ticket is surely the Fruits De Mer/Mega Dodo all-dayer at Putney's Half Moon. Aside from the stellar line-up, there will also be ultra-desirable goodie bags for early arrivals. If that wasn't enough there'll also be a chance to get your your eager mitts on some other sonic items. Two of which being this pair of limited edition 7” singles featuring contemporary acts covering early Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett tracks. Although they've been issued before on FDM's Momentary Lapse Of Reason double CD (available to “club members” only), this is their first airing on vinyl. Limited to only 300 copies each, chances are they won't be around for long.

Momentary One features is marked out by it's sumptuous female vocals, while Momentary Two is a Syd special. Floyd fans will love all seven tunes as there's nary a duff track among them. If I was pushed to pick a favourite I'd probably go for Max Kinghorn-Mills version of Dark Globe, dreamy, wistful and melancholic. It had me searching out Barrett's original version with fresh ears. But hey, that's just me. Track down this pair of 7”s if you can and pick your own favourite, they're all worthy!

Momentary One

1. Ilona V – Golden Hair (Barrett)
2. Crystal Jacqueline – Grantchester Meadows (Waters
3. Cary Grace – Cirrus Minor (Waters)

Momentary Two

1. Max Kinghorn-Mills – Dark Globe (Barrett)
2. Caudio Cataldi – She Took A Long Cold Look (Barrett)
3. The Chemistry Set – See Emily Play (Barrett)
4. Todd Dillingham and Golly McCry – The Gnome (Barrett)

Click here for the Fruits De Mer Records website.

Click here for the Mega Dodo website.

Games For May – An afternoon & evening of music at The Half Moon, Putney, Sunday 24th May

Bank holiday Sunday! Five live bands, a free five-track 7” single + goodie bag! Be there or wish you were! 


As if releasing consistently high standard vinyl releases wasn't enough, Fruits De Mer Records have teamed up with similarly reputable label, Mega Dodo, to curate an afternoon and evening of music at Putney's Half Moon venue. This takes place on Sunday 24^th of May. For those who don't like going out on a school night, fear not, it's a Bank Holiday the following day! The advance ticket price of £15 gets you a five band billing along with a whole bunch of freebies including -

* the Games For May 7", with tracks by all five bands - exclusive to the gig
* an exclusive CD featuring a previously-unreleased album by PIPE (the predecessors of The Past Tense)
* Cary Grace's 'Where You Go' CD album
* a compilation CD from Headspin Records
* a compilation CD from Mega Dodo
* a compilation from Stylus Records
* a compilation CD from DJ Marrs Bonfire
* a CD by ZX+
* a CD by The Portraits
* a CD by the Blue Giant Zeta Puppies
- that's a 7" EP + NINE CDs!
plus...
* an A3 gig poster
* an 'artifact' featuring Todd Dillingham
* a sticker from Claudio Cataldi
* and a very silly game from Fruits de Mer & Mega Dodo

 

The fun starts at 4pm and goes on till closing time. Along with the live bands there'll be rare vinyl DJ sets from Marrs Bonfire and Cranium Pie's Julian Smith. The event is almost certain to sell out so don't hang about buying your tickets. The five acts playing live (and who feature on the free 7” single) are - 

Tir na nOg 

Legdendary psych-folk duo formed by Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Cordell in 1970. They'll also be launching The Dark Dance, their first studio album in 40 years at the gig - and there'll be an exclusive 50-run individually lathe-cut 7" available for £10 a time to the first 50 people to buy the album.

Schnauser 

Favourites here at Harmonic Distortion are Bristol's quirk-prog supremists. Read our review of their Where Business Meets Fashion album here. 

The Past Tense 

Three-piece band from Worcester Park/Kingston. Their sound is a fusion of mod, '60s beat, garage, psych and punk. Their track “Vision (from Another World” was recorded especially for the event's free 7”.

Crystal Jacqueline and The Honey Pot 

Crystal Jacqueline will be familiar to Fruits De Mer aficionados. A founding member of the Honey Pot she'll also be launching latest album Rainflower (Mega Dodo Records) at this gig. We've heard it and it's pretty special, review coming soon! 

Mark and The Clouds 

London based band that evolved from Instant Flight. Purveyors of '60s tinged power pop though their offering on the 7” has a more folky vibe, all 12-string acoustic and harmonies. Entitled “Any Part Of Town” it's only available on the free 7”.

Click here to purchase tickets online. 
Click here for the Fruits De Mer Records website. 
Click here for the Mega Dodo website.