A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in December 2025

This month featuring, among others, Stereolab, The Last Dinner Party, and not quite Blur.

A Certain Ratio: Tribeca and ACR:NYC 1980, Trades Hall, Walthamstow, 1 December – A double bill of films which will be the closest I ever get to seeing ACR in their heyday, with behind the scenes stuff in Tribeca and then a full-on concert playing basically all the stuff I loved from their early years, all while being able to drink, stand up and dance at Walthamstow’s lovely Trades Hall.

Imogen and the Knife, O2 Academy, Brixton, 7 Dec – I only caught one song of this but hoo boy she can sing.

The Last Dinner Party, O2 Academy, Brixton, 7 Dec – They were just exuberantly great, stagecraft is superb, audience absolutely lapping it up in an excitable sing-song fashion.

NOTE: Every other middle-aged man with their phone out was probably trying to zoom into the ladies. Me? “Phwoar, look at that keytar” etc etc …

[Aurora and her keytar]

Stereotypes feat DJ Miss Cosmo, Ciderhouse, Forest Gate, 12 Dec – A fun night dancing while one of my dearest friends from back at school DJ’d a load of shoegaze/indie-dance/Madchester stuff I hadn’t heard for years. Who remembers My Jealous God for example? I knew every single damn tune, what a spod.

The Cure: The Show of a Lost World, Notting Hill Gate Picturhouse, 14 Dec – I was at the Cure’s Troxy show last year and it was blissful to witness it on the big screen, with a much better view of how simply silly Robert Smith can be during the uptempo fun numbers. Also without getting into a drunken fight with a random.

[The Cure at the Troxy. Fight with random not pictured]

And then, unexpectedly, it turned out to have been Perry Bamonte’s final show with the band before his death around Christmas-time.

Raisa K, Electric Brixton, London, 14 Dec – This was nice enough, drummer and bass and Raisa playing keys and singing, but it never really fully felt like it took off.

Stereolab, Electric Brixton, London, 14 Dec – They’re now at the stage where, like the Fall used to be, and as I said Swans now are, where I can happily rock up to one of their gigs, hardly recognise any tunes, and it all still sounds fab and just like Stereolab.

Popscene – Blur tribute, Signature Brew, Walthamstow, 18 Dec – It was Christmas, so why not? PARKLIFE!

Find all of my one-line gig reviews here.

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