"Live jazz every Friday"

Added Thu 24 Jun 2010 by Leila

1920s-inspired bar Last Days of Decadence has launched ‘The Late Set’, a new Friday night experience featuring live music with a focus on contemporary jazz, pop and soul.

The venue is an elegant affair; stepping in reveals smart art deco furniture, a piano at the back of the room, and a large screen aptly showing black and white footage of Josephine Baker and peers.

The bar has a delectable cocktail menu; knowledgeable bartenders mix up delicious concoctions such as the ‘batida de coco’, a creamy coconut milk and cachaça drink, and a variety of tequila and whiskey-based cocktails.

The live music is due to start downstairs at 9pm courtesy of the venue’s house band, Quentin Collins/Brandon Allen Quartet, however unfortunately a World Cup England game interfered somewhat with the proceedings the night I was in attendance and kept the crowds away. A lively jazz performance started over an hour later than expected, perhaps in the hope a few more people would turn up for the special guest scheduled to perform afterwards.

The event, which is £7 before 9.30 and £9 thereafter, favours blues, jazz and soul performers, with past artists having included trombonist Dennis Rollins, named Trombonist of the Year at both the British Jazz Awards and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards.

After the live set the night continues with regular DJs taking over to play music from the 20s right up until the present day. The Late Set is a good enough idea – let’s just hope it’s busier on a non-football night.

"... just wait till word of its eclectic mix of electroclash, technopop and subtle fetishism spreads"

Added Wed 15 Jul 2009 by Leila

Hoxton Lab bring us Diabolika, a new concept night on Thursdays which fuses dance music with live performances in the sensual surroundings of E1 haunt Last Days of Decadence.

The venue’s sleek 1930’s décor perfectly matches the mood of Diabolika: debauched, decadent, and a dab of eroticism. In fact, the world’s most famous fetish night - Torture Garden - lends Diabolika one of their DJ’s tonight, which goes someway in explaining the motivation behind it. The atmosphere however is friendly and inclusive as a mixture of indie kids, glamour pusses in corsets and music fans turn up to the £3 event.

The first live act on stage are Vile Electrodes, a synth based group playing dirty electro-pop grooves, with lead singer Anais Neon’s deadpan vocals and fishnet stockings transfixing a small, yet attentive audience. DJ Marco Morano provides the between act record spinning – and spins some great records too, like Soulwax’s Night Versions remix of ‘It’s Not You It’s The E Talking’. The star appearance of the night is Megahertz, a statuesque DJ based in Italy, whose danceable electro tunes and synth vocoder combo keep the floor moving till the end.

Diabolika’s promoters have great plans for the monthly night, and are hoping to make it an increasingly interactive one where amongst other things boys and girls will be able to have their make up done in a suitably nudisco style.

After a stint at Ghetto in its new Old Street home, Diabolika moved further up the road to Shoreditch High Street, and I daresay they have made the right decision. Diabolika may not have been packed this time, but just wait till word of its eclectic mix of electroclash, technopop and subtle fetishism spreads.