Next Week in Munich – Gregory Alan Isakov, Cloud Boat, BASSart

The first week in November is the time of year when I miss England most. Guy Fawkes Night is my favourite event in the British calendar – bonfires, bangers’n’mash, fireworks and toffee apples with friends. Sadly, the lady at the German-English Association who organized the annual bonfire night in Munich has left the country, and it doesn’t look like anything is planned for this year (do correct me if you’ve heard otherwise!). Thanks to Christie, I’ve just discovered the Viennese sausage maker Britwurst, so at the very least, I’m hoping I can tuck in to some proper British sausages soon, albeit without a bonfire.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of things going on in Munich to take your mind (and mine) off sausages and bonfires.

Cloud Boat are at the Ampere on Monday. The London duo have recently had to cancel quite a few dates (their event manager Creative Talent has gone bankrupt), but thankfully are still playing Munich, so make sure you go see them. Tickets cost 21 € on the door.

On Monday and Tuesday, explorer Reinhold Messner is talking about survival at the TonHalle. Tickets are 42 € (which I think is a little steep for a talk), but if you’re a fan of his adventures, it’s a chance to hear about them first hand.

The talented Gregory Alan Isakov is playing at the Ampere on Tuesday (tickets 17 € on the door), and industrial/electronic musician FM Einheit is playing in the Muffathalle at the same time.

As part of the current Afghanistan exhibition at the Gasteig, there’s an interesting talk on Wednesday – two Germans, Monika Koch and Heiner Tettenborn, travelled to eastern Afghanistan, to Jalalabad, to teach. There, they forged lifelong friendships and found an Afghanistan far beyond the media focus on the Taliban, civil war and opium fields. The talk costs just 5 €, and in my opinion, is far more worthwhile than a chat with Reinhold Messner.

Budapest’s L’aupaire are at Milla on Wednesday, and Milla have compared them to a young Dylan. They have the voice, the harmonica and guitar melodies, and the music’s rather nice:

JazzFest is on in the Black Box, Gasteig from Thursday to Saturday. Ninety-year-old Bob Dorough will take to the stage on Thursday night (10:30pm), and tickets are available here (26.40 € per day).

Lykke Li is at the Kesselhaus on Thursday, promoting her third studio album I Never Learn. I saw her in 2011 at the Muffathalle and she’s fantastic live, and tickets are available for 37 €.

The weekend has a couple of mini festivals going on. The Sound of Munich now is on at the Feierwerk. Featuring the best of Munich’s musical offerings, the two-day event will see Young Chinese Dogs, Gabriel Miller Phillips and Rhode & Brown take to the stage, along with a host of other DJs and bands. Entrance is completely free, and it’s a great way to discover new music.

Non-profit BASSart‘s on in the Postgaragen on Friday and Saturday, promoting urban art via electronic music, audio-visual art and performance art. The line-up‘s pretty comprehensive, so you’ll be kept busy.

California’s The Growlers at at The Atomic on Saturday night, promoting their new album Chinese Fountain. They are super theatrical on stage, often performing with wigs and OTT outfits, so they’re bound to be a lot of fun to catch live.

Also on Saturday, Sean Grant and the Wolfgang are at Cord, as part of a small European tour. They’re releasing their EP soon, and I wish them all the very best of luck – the lyrics are great.

My gig of the week is on Sunday – Iron & Wine is playing at the Kammerspiele. It’s completely sold-out, and I’m so glad I got my ticket early.

If you don’t have a ticket, I recommend the Sailing Conductors – they’re at Backstage and tickets cost just 10 € on the door. The duo’s aim is to sail from Sydney to Berlin, and to make music with as many different people as possible along the way. The ARD series Soundwave2Berlin features the pair sailing across the world in pursuit of collaborations.