COMPETITION: See Editors, live!

Win the chance to see Editors play at Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club Live at Hard Rock Café.

Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club at Hard Rock Café is a monthly night presenting some of the hottest acts around.

Next month, one of the greatest British indie rock bands to emerge in recent years, Birmingham-based four piece Editors, will be performing an ultra exclusive gig.

Selling over two million copies worldwide of their critically acclaimed platinum albums, Editors are set to release their new highly anticipated third LP, In This Light and On This Evening later this year.

For a chance to win a pair of VIP tickets to this invite only show, simply answer this question:

What is the new Editors album called?

A) In This Dark and On This Afternoon

B) In This Light and On This Evening

C) In This Dark and On This Morning

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk before noon on September 3.

COMPETITION: Win tickets to see The Saturdays

To celebrate the launch of the new Tampax Pearl My Weekend My Way campaign, The Saturdays are performing a VIPearl Exclusive Gig at Oceana in Watford on Wednesday, August 12.

We’re giving away 10 pairs of tickets to this exclusive gig to see the hottest girl band of the moment. We’ll also give you a VIPearl card which allows you and a friend free and fast-track entry to 88 nightclubs around the UK, valid until September 30 2009.

To enter, send an email to competitions@the-void.co.uk telling us in 100 words or less what your weekend your way would involve.

Please visit www.myspace.com/myweekendmyway for more information.

.

Terms and Conditions

The winner and all guests must all be aged 18 or over and must bring along valid photo ID to prove this. You will not be admitted without ID. An e-ticket will be emailed to the competition winner which must be printed off and taken to the gig on 12th August. The e-ticket will then be swapped for proper tickets Tickets cannot be exchanged for cash and should not be sold to others in exchange for cash or commercial gain Events, times and performances are subject to change Tickets from unauthorised sources are not valid and admission with these tickets will not be permitted The venue and organisers are not liable for any ticket which is lost or stolen Ticket holders will be ejected from the venue if they pose a threat to the health and safety of others; and/or affect the enjoyment of the event by others; and/or the running of the event. Examples include but are not limited to being (or appearing to be): incapable or intoxicated, under age, abusive, threatening, behaving anti-socially, standing on seats and tables, carrying illegal weapons and substances, declining to be searched or in breach of the ticket terms and conditions No food and drink is to be brought into the venue CCTV and film cameras will be present at the venue. By being a ticket holder you consent to filming and sound recording which may include you as a member of the audience and its use in commercial distribution without payment or copyright The use of unauthorised cameras, video or sound recording equipment is prohibited and such items may be confiscated Loud music can damage hearing Smoking is prohibited except on the dedicated smoking terrace. Neither the promoters, nor the venue, can be held responsible for any property lost when within the venue For full terms and conditions for the VIPearl cards please visit www.myspace.com/myweekendmyway

Competition is open to UK Residents only over 18 years of age. All entries must be received by 5pm on 7 August (BST). All entries must be received by 5pm on 7th August (BST).  The winners will be selected by the publication and will each win a pair of tickets to the VIPearl Exclusive Gig with The Saturdays on August 12, 2009 at the Oceana nightclub in Watford. Winners will be notified in writing or by email by August 9, 2009. No purchase necessary, visit the-void.co.uk for entry. The promoter reserves the right to re-draw the prize if the winner cannot be contacted within a reasonable period of time. Prizes are as stated.  No cash alternative will be offered. The promoter has the right to substitute the prize for a similar item of equal or higher value if the stated prize becomes unavailable. Multiple entries are not allowed, only your first entry will be accepted.  Only one prize per household. PROMOTER:  Procter & Gamble UK, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 OXP

To celebrate the launch of the new Tampax Pearl My Weekend My Way campaign, The Saturdays are performing a VIPearl Exclusive Gig at Oceana in Watford on Wednesday 12^th August. We’re giving away 10 pairs of tickets to this exclusive gig to see the hottest girl band of the moment.

We’ll also give you a VIPearl card which allows you and a friend free and fast-track entry to 89 nightclubs around the UK, valid until 30^th September 2009.

New Tampax Pearl’s unique Pearl Protect System gives you the confidence you need to outsmart Mother Nature and enjoy a great night out your way.

To enter, simply tell us in less than 100 words what your weekend your way would involve.

Please visit www.myspace.com/myweekendmyway for more information.

To find out more about Oceana in Watford log on to www.urmusicnetwork.com/oceana/watford/

Publication Competition Conditions

• Prizes will not be honoured unless a proof of the competition is approved by DSA before going to print or going live online

• Full winners details must be sent through including name, address and a contact phone number

• The competition winners details must be sent to DSA by Wednesday 5^thAugust.

• The winners will be issued with e-tickets by DSA and they must print these out and take them to Oceana in Watford on 12^th August to get their tickets at the door.

• Please include a url to www.myspace.com/myweekendmyway and the Tampax Pearl My Weekend My Way logo.

Prize Terms and Conditions

• The winner and all guests must all be aged 18 or over and must bring along valid photo ID to prove this. You will not be admitted without ID.

• An e-ticket will be emailed to the competition winner which must be printed off and taken to the gig on 12^th August. The e-ticket will then be swapped for proper tickets

• Tickets cannot be exchanged for cash and should not be sold to others in exchange for cash or commercial gain

• Events, times and performances are subject to change

• Tickets from unauthorised sources are not valid and admission with these tickets will not be permitted

• The venue and organisers are not liable for any ticket which is lost or stolen

• Ticket holders will be ejected from the venue if they pose a threat to the health and safety of others; and/or affect the enjoyment of the event by others; and/or the running of the event. Examples include but are not limited to being (or appearing to be): incapable or intoxicated, under age, abusive, threatening, behaving anti-socially, standing on seats and tables, carrying illegal weapons and substances, declining to be searched or in breach of the ticket terms and conditions

• No food and drink is to be brought into the venue

• CCTV and film cameras will be present at the venue. By being a ticket holder you consent to filming and sound recording which may include you as a member of the audience and its use in commercial distribution without payment or copyright

• The use of unauthorised cameras, video or sound recording equipment is prohibited and such items may be confiscated

• Loud music can damage hearing

• Smoking is prohibited except on the dedicated smoking terrace.

• Neither the promoters, nor the venue, can be held responsible for any property lost when within the venue

• For full t&c’s for the VIPearl cards please visit www.myspace.com/myweekendmyway

COMPETITION: The Noisettes…. live!

The biggest and (in our opinion) best in this series of competitions so far, The Void is super proud and like, really psyched, to be able to offer you tickets to see the Noisettes in an intimate London gig on Tuesday, June 9.

The band behind the mega smash hit Don’t Upset The Rhythm will be playing alongside Mr Hudson as Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club Live at Hard Rock Café on Tuesday, June 9.

We have a pair of VIP tickets to this ultra-exclusive gig to give away to one lucky reader.

Named after their favourite quality street, the Noisette Triangle, the three piece band will be performing hits from their second album including their global hit Don’t Upset The Rhythm and will be ably assisted by UK-based artist Mr Hudson. The producer/singer was spotted by Kanye West after releasing first album, A Tale Of Two Cities with The Library, and has recently collaborated with some of the biggest names in hip-hop.

For you chance to win this fantastic prize, just answer this question:

Which Quality Street sweet are the Noisettes named after?

a) Noisette Triangle

b) Noisette Square

c) Noisette Circle

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk by noon on Friday, June 5.

COMPETITION: See Jamie Cullum Live!

After last month’s mega-popular competition to see The Rumble Strips, we thought we’d give away another pair of tickets, this time to see jazz genius Jamie Cullum.

Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club at Hard Rock Café is a monthly night presenting some of the hottest music acts around.

Hailed as the most successful UK jazz artist ever, Jamie Cullum will be performing some of his classics at the intimate gig on Wednesday, May 27.

With 4 million albums sold and Grammy, Golden Globe and Brit nominations under his belt, Jamie Cullum is a British success story around the globe. Take this rare opportunity to see Jamie live as he takes time out from recording his new album to perform at this very special gig.

We have a pair of VIP tickets to this ultra-exclusive gig to give away to one lucky reader. For your chance to win just answer this question:

How many albums has Jamie Cullum sold worldwide?

a. 4 million

b. 44 million

c. 4.4 million

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk by noon on Friday, May 22.

COMPETITION: See The Rumble Strips Live!

Win the chance to see The Rumble Strips as Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club Live at Hard Rock Cafe.

Sony Ericsson presents Q The Music Club at Hard Rock Cafe is a monthly night presenting some of the hottest music acts around. Devon five-piece The Rumble Strips will be performing on April 30 as they showcase their new album, Welcome To The Walk Alone.

Produced by Mark Ronson and orchestrated by Owen Pallet (aka Final Fantasy), Welcome to The Walk Alone is the follow up to the band’s critically acclaimed 2007 debut, Girls and Weather.

We are giving one lucky reader the chance to win a pair of tickets to this ultra-exclusive gig at London’s Hard Rock Cafe, and for your chance to win, just answer the following question:

Who produced the latest album for The Rumble Strips?

a. Mark Ransom

b. Mark Ronson

c. Mark Ronsill

Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk before noon on Monday, April 27.

LINK: London Film Festival Blog

Far be it for us to blow our own trumpet, but we are currently offering some fantastic coverage on the London Film Festival.

Click here each day to read what our crack team of bad-ass film journos are saying about the country’s biggest and best film fest.

EP – Ian M. Hale

Greetings From San Francisco

As a calling card, Ian M Hale’s debut EP, Greetings From San Francisco, is hard to fault. Announcing himself to the world with an unrepentant ‘here I am, now what are you going to do with me?’ Hale is staking his claim as the country’s most exciting singer-songwriter. Each song showcases a different side of the 26-year-old’s musical personality and urges the listener to delve deeper and discover more about this fascinating performer.

Opening track Don’t Say You Love Me has a pounding quality which drives the song along, and the combination of Hale’s echoey falsetto and the dirty, crunching guitars makes sure that the song delivers surprises until the end.

If a mark of a good pop song is how much of an ohrwurm it is, then the fact that a different song from Hale’s music has been playing in my head every morning for the last week, is a clear sign that this guy has a rock-solid ear for a melody.

Title track San Francisco involves Hale, a guitar, a little backing and not much else… and it’s utterly compelling. Singing above his natural register with a heartbreaking crack in his voice, Hale has created a soundtrack for the cross-country Greyhound trip you’ve always dreamed of, and this short but sweet tune will dig its way into your brain and not let go until you go and work out the chords for yourself.

Despite moving between styles, there is a folky, almost pastoral vibe which threads through all of Hale’s music but far from becoming over-familiar it’s acts as an aural bubble bath which complements his voice absolutely perfectly and beguiles the listener.

It’s hard to pinpoint Ian M. Hale’s influences as different possiblities present themselves upon each listen. Is that a little Prince I hear? Maybe… And are those chord progressions really inspired by Don’t Believe The Truth-era Oasis? Greetings from San Francisco is a continuous surprise.

While listening to Everybody Knows – another hugely catchy song – you think you know where are you, but then a curveball comes your way as crushingly mournful strings push themselves front and centre - the cello giving the song a subtext that lay completely hidden until that moment and the floating backing vocals revealing themselves and providing an almost ethereal quality.

If this is just a taste of what Ian M. Hale is capable of, then his promise of an album sometime in 2009 is a truly exciting propostition. Take note Blunt et al; this is how an English singer-songwriter should really sound.

Find out more about Ian M. Hale here.

Buy Greetings From San Francisco now on itunes.

SINGLE: A7X – Dear God/Little Piece of Heaven

When A7X turned emo

A limited edition release it may be, but like Pendulum’s latest single The Other Side, this release is going to split Avenged Sevenfold fans into warring factions.

The last couple of albums have heard their sound develop from intense metalcore to a far more melodic breed of rock. However, this double-A side release incorporates two of the least A7X-sounding tracks from their latest album. In fact, remove M. Shadows’ distinctive vocals and you’d be pushed to label these as tunes by Huntington Beach’s finest.

Dear God is what Bon Jovi would sound like if they persisted with their Young Guns-era sound. It’s not rock, it’s not cool, and it’s certainly not Avenged Sevenfold. The quicker we move away from it the better.

The second part of the double-A side isn’t Avenged Sevenfold either. A Little Piece of Heaven is fabulously theatrical and crams in horns, several melody strands, female vocals and histrionic lyrics. It is My Chemical Romance’s long-thought dead, stolen baby and wouldn’t sound out of place on The Black Parade. Check out the pics from the video – it goes without saying that A Little Piece of Heaven is about as emo as it gets, but it’s fucking fantastic.

This latest release is going to lose A7X as many fans as it creates new ones, and raises some interesting questions about the future of the band. It’s going to be fun to see what happens next.

www.avengedsevenfold.com

SINGLE: Pendulum – The Other Side

Pendulum have taken some real stick from the drum n bass community since they began their slow integration of other genres, and The Other Side really isn’t going to help matters. Some dub creeps through every now and then, but it’s pretty far removed from what Pendulum’s original fans will want to hear.

It’s not Propane Nightmares, but it was never gonna be, and it never really takes off the way their precious single does. Plus, factor in the heavy use of vocoder this single veers worryingly close to Cher territory but The Other Side is still a damn catchy tune with a killer pop edge.

www.pendulum.com

LIVE REVIEW: Thomas Truax

Beamed in from another planet to bewilder the audience with his industrialised anti-folk, Thomas Truax is a genuine musical maverick. Imagine Tim Burton with a guitar and a Scrapheap Challenge approach to sonic innovation, and you’re just about scratching the surface of the New York native.

In the past, Truax’s music has been described as “steampunk” and it’s as good a term as any.  His bizarre homemade instruments, spread around the stage, are strange Victorian-looking creations cobbled together out of old gramophone horns and pram wheels, and they are played with a ‘just get up there and do it’ punk spirit.
When Mother Superior, his drum machine, breaks down, no-one is sure whether the 10- minute break while he fixes it is genuine, or just a clever way to introduce the interval.

Either way, he spends the entire time at the back of the stage, tinkering away until the pulley-powered percussionist is back on her metaphorical metal legs. The singer likes to interact with the crowd, and even in the a fairly confined space ohe weaves through the audience, standing on tables, chairs, even the bar at one point, all the while shining a fairytale full moon on to the ceiling using a torch attached to his guitar. While most of Truax’s songs have a stream of consciousness foundation where melody is just an afterthought and  lyrics that often sound like an exercise in free writing, each song is completely compelling.

Even if some of his music is more than a little impenetrable, you have to applaud the sheer eccentricity and audacity of Thomas Truax.      Mike Shaw