Happy Mondays this summer

From one bunch of jokers to another... Happy Mondays returns to the Amersham Arms for their Edinburgh preview season with another stellar list of headliners:

18th May - Mike Wozniak (Star of C4's 'Man Down')
1st June - Sara Pascoe
15th June - James Acaster
29th June - Bridget Christie
13th July - Ed Byrne
20th July - Reginald D Hunter
27th July - Marcus Brigstocke

More details and tickets at: www.happymondayscomedy.com. The nights are usually sell-outs, so we recommend you book early.

Happy Mondays returns for 2015

Happy Mondays comedy at The Amersham Arms returns with a new year line-up that includes brilliant Lewisham-based comedian Sara Pascoe, among a host of other big names.

12th Jan - Josh Widdicombe & Aisling Bea
26th Jan - Robin Ince
9th Feb - Sara Pascoe
23rd Feb - James Acaster
9th Mar - Katherine Ryan & Bridget Christie
23rd Mar - TBC

More details and tickets at; www.happymondayscomedy.com

The Amersham - Loved by Time Out

The Amersham Arms made Time Out's "Eight London pubs we love" list, with the magazine's Comedy Editor, Ben Williams, singling out Happy Mondays as the best reason to love it. He says:

What looks like a small, cosy pub from the street also looks that way inside: there are wood-panelled walls, Chesterfield sofas and fairy lights draped around picture frames. But it’s all a front for a huge club and music venue out the back. 

Comedy night Happy Mondays takes place here every week. Entry’s only a fiver, and some of the best names in the business regularly navigate the Overground to New Cross... Heck, even David Cross – yes, Tobias from ‘Arrested Development’ – performed a rare London set here a few weeks ago... Why do comics like playing it? It’s fun! The crowds are lively and the promoters are nice people. The students might come for the cheap ticket price, but it’s the comedy-savvy Londoners who make it special.

BC was at the David Cross gig (guest of Happy Mondays) and Williams is absolutely right about the appeal of the night for comics. Cross was obviously there as an excuse to stretch his comedy legs during a long stay in London, persuaded to do one last story by someone who offered to buy him a pint. If you haven't been, but you like stand-up, you have to go.

The Handmaid's Flail

Bare Essentials at The Amersham Arms, June 5th

Stay Tuned at The Ravensbourne Arms

General Manager at the Ravensbourne, Lee Gentry, writes: "We have the first of our new DJ nights starting on Friday 2nd May. 'Stay Tuned' is a first Friday of the month fixture with a handful of local DJs spinning original vinyl in the form of funk and disco. It's free entry, runs from 9pm-1am and hosted by Dr UM. As it's our first event we have a vinyl giveaway for the first 30 people to quote "stay tuned" at the bar after 9pm."

Summer Term at Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays - the Amersham Arms comedy club - have announced their summer season, which includes Edinburgh previews from the likes of:

12th May - Mark Watson & Holly Walsh
26th May - Cardinal Burns & Angela Barnes
9th June - Richard Herring & Josh Howie
23rd June - Tony Law & Pippa Evans
7th July - Bridget Christie & Sarah Kendall
21st July - Al Murray & Joe Lycett

It's still stupidly good value - £5 in advance (£6 on the door). Check the site for details.

Bert's Kitchen at the Amersham Arms

Bert's Kitchen is the new team behind the food at The Amersham Arms.

Run by recent Goldsmiths graduate, Rose Walsh, the Kitchen will be serving up a new menu (although of course, burgers still play a central role), with an emphasis on locally-sourced ingredients. She says:

"This week we'll be opening the kitchen from 5pm to get the ball rolling and from midday on Sunday for a homemade roast, with the view to eventually opening from midday every day with deals like beer and burger for £6. We'd love this to really take off, so please come and give us a try!"

"The Kitchen is named after my cat and I've already had endless cat lady related stick for it. Over summer Bert went missing in Brockley, and after 70+ retweets from total strangers, emails from people who thought they may have seen him and had left food out just in case, I got him back! (3 weeks later)! So the name is a tribute to the good nature of Brockley folk!

Download a copy of the menu here.

LOOM large at the Amersham, October 12th

New Cross' answer to Og Mandino, Tom Vause writes:

Where were you on 10:30pm on Friday 1st February 2013??? I’ll tell you where I was, in a packed room of gig goers watching the most exciting live band I've seen in a long time with one of the most charismatic and energetic front men in recent memory tear apart the Amersham Arms with a brilliant and frantic set that left everyone watching in awe of their raw power and thirsty for more.

 Since that unforgettable night LOOM have gone from strength to strength, blowing away audiences all over the country and even playing Hyde Park with the Rolling Stones. And now they are coming back south of the river, to the depths of South East London, to the Amersham Arms. If you were there the first time you know what they can do, if you weren’t there now is the chance to catch them in this awesome venue.

Full details here and tickets here.

Happy Mondays returns

Happy Mondays comedy nights return to the Amersham Arms in New Cross with a sell-out Stewart Lee gig next week. Tickets are stupidly good value and the pub is a great comedy venue. Organiser Jon says:

We have lots of good comedians coming up. Headliners include:

9th September - Stewart Lee (SOLD OUT)
23rd September - Rob Beckett
7th October - Robin Ince
21st October - Susan Calman
11th November - Arthur Smith
25th November - Pappys
9th December - Lucy Porter and Marcel Lucont 

All gigs are MC'd by Brockley resident Holly Walsh! Tickets are still just £5. Full listings at www.happymondayscomedy.co.uk

The Bechdel Test Film Club

Lora: You're aiming high. 
Steve: Why not? It doesn't cost anymore. Don't you believe in chasing rainbows?
- Imitation of Life

The Bechdel Test Film Club's founder Lucy Smee writes:

I started a monthly film club recently (first one was in June) and it's going to be every month on the last Wednesday of the month, the next one being 31 July at 7.30pm.  It's free entry and upstairs in the Gallery at The Amersham Arms.  I'd be very grateful if you could bring it to the attention of your readers.

The name of the club is The Bechdel Test Film Club.  We screen films that pass the test:
1. It has to have at least two [named] women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

Here's the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BechdelTestFilmClub
People can like it to keep up to date with future events and suggestions for films and so on.

And here's the Facebook event page for July's event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/150136791845504/
We're showing Imitation of Life next, so if anyone's planning to come, bring some tissues.

Films that also pass that test include: Aliens, Step Up Revolution and Sharknado. Exciting times lie ahead.

New kitchen at The Amersham Arms

Gareth from The Amersham writes:

We are proud to announce that the Amersham Arms Kitchen has undergone something of a switch-around and is now running under new management. The big man in charge (Mr P) really knows his stuff – but we won't brag about all that he has done. We know that you will not be disappointed if you come and give us a try.

Everything we CAN make on site IS made on site, and what we can’t make on site comes from our good friends and trusted local sources.

The star players of our new menu are our bold, grizzly burgers – all at £8.50 including fries, they are not shy…they are really going to fill that hole in your face. We're also serving up hot dogs, BBQ and snacks like hummus and flat bread. 

War Child benefit gig at the Amersham

Live Artists writes:

Live Artists Concerts and Captain Backfire's Martin Holiday have joined forces to curate an evening of amazing music all in support of the fantastic charity War Child at the Amersham Arms on Thursday, April 11th. Here's more about the artists who will be performing:

Jay Brown
http://www.iamjaybrown.com
Jay Brown is a young songwriter from Northampton. Her music showcases her love of Rock, Soul, Ska, Reggae and Pop in her uniquely raw and vibrant style.

Captain Backfire
http://www.facebook.com/captainbackfiremusic
With hard rock guitars being a staple in his music, Backfire combines rave elements, pop hooks and r&b vocals to create this dirty pop sound. “I’m somewhere between Ellie Goulding and Enter Shikari with soul thrown in”

Craig Webb
http://www.facebook.com/Craigwebbpaintsweather

Becky Holloway
http://www.facebook.com/beckyhollowaymusic

So with these amazing artists, special guests still to be added and all the proceeds going to this amazing charity you can do something good and get that warm gooey feeling inside by buying the ticket and in return you get an amazing night of music....how ace is that!

Buy tickets here.

Bright Lights at the Amersham Arms

Tom says:

A friend and I have just started promoting monthly music nights at the Amersham Arms. I have lived in New Cross for two years now and want to bring as much quality music into the area as possible as it seems most artists/bands tend to stay east at the moment and the venue is as good if not better than any out East.

We recently had Loom play (who played the NME awards gig with Fidlar and have been touted by many blogs as being one of the most exciting bands around), we also had electro experimental bands Deafkid and Old Man Diode play in our full room gigs that we are aiming to run on the 1st Friday of the month as well as our monthly acoustic night called Bright Lights which we run on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

We have a gig on Wednesday and this is the link to our Facebook page.

The Voodoo Ball, March 9th

The return of fftang! fftang!

Ellis & Rose at the Amersham Arms

Brockley-based and Goldsmiths-educated double-act ELLIS & ROSE are returning to the home of their first ever gig - The Amersham Arms - for their Edinburgh preview.

The duo, who performed at this year's Brockley MAX, will be performing alongside Trevor Lock (as seen on TV with Stewart Lee) and special guest MC Matthew Kelly (not that one).

Sunday 22nd July 7pm at The Amersham Arms.

Tickets are £4 if you book online or £5 on the door.

Folk Me Hard at the Amersham Arms

Maria writes:

I live in Brockley and work for a music promotion company that puts on gigs at the Amersham Arms in New Cross. Our regular night is called Folk Me Hard and it goes on every other Monday or Wednesday and mainly features folk/roots/blues bands. 

Our goal is to provide affordable live music from some of the best up-and-coming acts in London and at the same time harvest local talent: that's why we always try and book a mixture of bands from all areas of the city and a number of musicians from the South East. 

The next gig is Wednesday, 11th July, featuring Slow Wolf, DU Bellows and Last of the Barstools.

Details here.

FFTANG! FFTANG!

Simon writes:

My friend and I are putting on a club night called FFTANG! FFTANG! at The Amersham Arms on Easter Saturday, 7th April. The night has been going on every month for three years in various London venues, but we're now going to concentrate on one-off big events like this at The Amersham. It was set up by New Cross resident Huskiii and we play global beats and tropical bass - there's more info on our website: www.fftangfftang.com/live

We were also featured in Time Out, from when FFTANG! FFTANG! had a residency at 93 Feet East in Shoreditch.

Dance Hall Revival in New Cross

Jon writes:

I run a monthly dance hall revival night at The Amersham Arms, New Cross called 'Let Me Off Downtown!'. It's a essentially a live music night featuring my band King Candy & The Sugar Push  There's a swing dance class from from Balham/Brixton based dance organisation Swingland and then the rest of the night is live swing music from the 30s & 40s.

It's only the second night this coming Sunday 19th and hopefully after the success of the first it'll become a regular fixture in the diaries of all the retro music and dance fans around New Cross and Brockley.

We're trying to cultivate an old dance hall culture akin to that of the Harlem Lindyhop (swing dance) scene in New York from the 1930s/40s. You don't have to dance to enjoy yourself at our night - a lot of people come specifically to do that but there's plenty of music and showmanship to savour too!!

It's really a great night - quality musicianship, thrilling dancers, a real 'scene' as it were... At the moment the vast majority of the social dances on the Lindy hop circuit are in North London, it's interesting to see this night bring them all down to the south! All the band members are based around Brockley, Greenwich and Crystal.Palace.