Clinic

Clinic is an idea that shouldn’t work. Four men in surgical scrubs and masks, occasionally swapping the scrubs for Hawaiian shirts, playing post-punk music with vintage organs, off-key melodies and nonsense lyrics doesn’t sound like a recipe for a good night out – but my god it really does work. I’ve seen Clinic a number of times and enjoyed each and every experience but here I am again looking up at four grown men pretending to be in surgery and wondering how they created this wonderfully bizarre and engaging music. Since their Internal Wrangler album of 2000 Clinic has barely changed their sound, and they’re all the better for staying true to themselves; there’s elements of The Fall, garage rock, surf and Velvet Underground but Clinic really are quite the individual band. It’s maybe down to singer Ade Blackburn’s weird, nasal delivery of indecipherable lyrics which often just sound like “me mah me mo mumma mah”, or the fuzzy organs, or lack of choruses that make tracks like ‘The Return of Voodoo Bill’ and ‘The Second Line’ (so good Levis had to use it for one of their adverts) such fantastic songs – I just don’t know! You won’t get much stage banter from Clinic, they barely acknowledge each other when playing but all of the above still combines to make seeing the band one of the most unique and memorable concert experiences you’ll ever have.

Raul Midón is an artist who has overcome adversity to show that disabled performers are in no way less able when it comes to music and art. Born blind, the songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico has progressed to have a superb career, now performing and living in New York.
HIs distinct vocal and incredible musical talent keeps crowds attending his shows night after night, all around the world. He only ever performs solo, using a combination of beats, strumming and that unique vocal to create evocative stage shows showcasing a range of tracks from his discography which stretches back to 1999. He takes influences from many genres including jazz, R & B and folk.
The performer is incredibly upbeat when performing as he seems completely at ease onstage and elated to be there. This combination of a jovial personality and a sound that is so genre crossing that he is almost incomparable to his fellow contemporaries means he continues to fill venues of fans across the US. He is heading across the Atlantic for dates in France, Germany and the UK later this autumn.