UPDATE - date has been changed for Sunday night - 1st November

NOWTHEN will be playing down at Guarana in Santa Eulalia port, Ibiza on Friday night. We’ve met the guys already and are great fun so we’re looking forward to some live rock n roll.

Here’s some blurb:

Playing together for a number of years, Rock n Roll sometimes riotous, sometimes powerful and haunting. Powerful bass lines, whirring guitar, piercing psychedelic organs accompanied by driven avant-garde percussion. Matched with all original, catchy, quirky songs that are instantly likeable and a passionate, charismatic front man. NOWTHEN are here to open eyes change life as we know it and have ONE F*CKING GREAT TIME along the way!!

Ryszard (lead singer) had always written music. He would play songs to his friends in his room on his acoustic guitar to entertain and sometimes perhaps enlighten the trippers, and think no more about it. Years went by and sick of being told he was wasting his life sitting in his room, and after meeting some like-minded musicians. Ryszard decided to join forces to give the trippers a meatier portion of the musical pie. Off the band of five went to the local studios to practice and after a while invited some of the friendly trippers to come and experience the delightful brand of powerful magical madness they created. The friendly trippers were shocked!!

The next week the friendly trippers came again, but with more friendly trippers in tow. The week after, the same thing happened and the number of the friendly trippers grew and grew. It grew so much in fact, there was soon a queue of friendly trippers down the stairs and out of the entry! ‘HANG ON! There must be something in this’ thought the band of five. NOWTHEN were born, unleashed onto and unsuspecting world, spreading their musical message of open eyes love and freedom.

Other dimensions DO EXIST! Experience them NOW!

Regulars at the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool and known mainly in their adopted home of Leeds as the Biggest and Best Unsigned band in town. Playing regularly at Leeds venues such as The New Roscoe, The Cardigan Arms, Josephs Well, and The Primrose. Working their way up through the ranks of Leeds diverse music scene. Gig’s at trendy underground psychedelic event ‘Freak Out’ and Headlining Leeds Record Label nights for ‘Dead Young Records’ live event’s. Word spread and NowThen were asked to play The Brixton Jamm in London and headline a 12 hour unsigned band festival in Liverpool at The Barfly in May.

From there the band moved to Ibiza to be this summers resident band for CLUB NME every Thursday at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel. Playing alongside amongst others The Holloways / Ok Tokyo / A Human / The Click Click.

As a result of the performance here, the band were asked to play The ‘Ibiza Tailandia Full Moon Festival’ at Las Dalias. A Psychedelic set of Rock and Roll to Ballard was played with a huge mix of music to please a very mixed crowd. The event was shared with the likes of Kym Mazelle / Thai supermodels and appeared on Fashion TV.

Back to England a move to London to smash the scenesters circuit there with a high profile homecoming gig at happening venue The Monto Water Rats. Then a Triumphant Headline Return to The Cavern Club Liverpool set the pace for the biggest gig of their career; in Support of Alabama 3, at Leeds premier live music venue ‘LEEDS ACADEMY’ NowThen are the first Leeds based band ever to support a Major act at the LEEDS ACADEMY.

It’s Thursday night in Santa Eulalia in Ibiza, it’s late January and all of the usual last drink of the night bars are already shut - s**t.

Back down the town’s main street for an early night with a good book - no-one’s getting laid tonight then.

But lo, that’s not a loud car stereo, it’s coming from Santa Eulalia’s infamous Cosmi Bar.

Sure enough, the town is out in force enjoying Blues Dave performing live to the proprietors of all of the other bars in town and their assembled clienteles.

It’s a party stuffed with locals of all nationalities sharing their common thread - live music in the form of classics that everyone knows…

Could be another late night - and long may it continue…

The lovely Kate McGregor and Volker Schmitz will be playing at Rincon de Pepe on Restaurant Street in Santa Eulalia, Ibiza on Saturday from 9pm.

You can buy her album from our ishopibiza online store

According to this mornings Diario de Ibiza and Ultima Hora - The Kooks and Kasabian will play at Ibiza Rocks on the 15th July and 5th August respectively

Ultima Hora

Diario de Ibiza

We did ask for clarification but got a “no comment”

make of it what you will

This evening we went into Ibiza Town to check out some live music at the new BLU, which used to be The Blue Rose - a "slightly" different place now…. Funcale were playing - it was good…

All change at the Blue Rose in Figueretas this winter. Completely refurbished, the poles have vanished from the stage to be replaced by musical equipment and a PA and lighting system fit to stage live bands; which is what they’re now doing every Friday night.

In similar fashion the audience of suited and sweaty elderly businessmen, with bulging wallets and things, have been replaced by a young Spanish audience enjoying the musical offerings of local bands playing indie rock music.
Blu is busy – it’s standing room only.

It’s not as if the venue hasn’t had its ups and downs. It held the first ‘sala de fiestas’ music license in Ibiza town – pre-dating even Pacha!

This license enables them to entertain with live music until 4 in the morning, so that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Tonight was the first of their regular Friday night sequence featuring local Ibicenco bands. Alternate Monday nights are ‘Cocoon’ nights featuring the renowned Cocoon DJs. Saturday nights are slated to feature the new Balearic sound epitomised by the likes of Jonathan Ulysses of Space and Andy Wilson of Sonica radio.

Following in the footsteps of the great Alfredo, some twenty years on you might say…

This new venue means business and looks set to potentially become an Ibiza town version of Santa Eulalia’s Guarana. Good luck to Sid Shanti and Marcus, the partners promoting these events. Another option for these winter evenings won’t go amiss.

As ever, click on the images for larger versions.

Ibiza in winter is where everybody gets to meet up and spend a good few months with friends when all the distractions of the summer are out of the way. Realistically we dont know many people who prefer the summer to the winter… Tonight the Lost Mountain Orchestra and Miko played down at Guarana. Guarana is the north’s godsend to those nights when you want to go out but don’t want to traipse across the other side of the island - and all this on a sunday night.

As ever, click on any of the images for the larger versions…

Santa Eulalia Beach this sunday afternoon	Lost Mountain Orchestras 2nd Birthday at Guarana’s tonight

We hadn’t been to the Las Dalias Hippy Market on Saturdays for ages - (probably something to do with football…), but since there was an early game and the rain had stopped we thought we outght to.

Unlike the Hippy Market in Es cana on Wednesdays - this doesn’t bring the entire area to standstill. Its far less “touristy” and we love sitting outside at the bar and just watching the world go buy. Afterwards we caught up with a cuple of friends at the San Carlos main meeting point (Anita’s Bar) and then later went to the main square in Santa Eulalia for some live music. An impressive Drummming and Flamenco display finished off with some really good “rock music”.

Sitting at the garden bar at the Hippy Market, Las Dalias on Saturdays - watching the world go by

	Live music, druming & Flamneco outside the Town Hall on Saturday night

Click on the images as usual for larger versions….

Above: 2 Many DJs, below: Soulwax

Tonight was the last night of ibiza rocks and also our birthday. Perfect timing for a bit of a celebration… Weve enjoyed every single week and its been brilliant - Thanks to Andy, Dawn, Jill, Sabrina and everyone at Ibiza Rocks.

Great pics from saturday night (8th) by Reinhard Adel from Ibiza NOW & Ibiza HEUTE. As ever, click on any of the images for larger versions:

So we’re back at the ‘Gala Nights’ venue and the zoo is full, but once again it’s full of pretty little rock chicks rather than caged animals. Maybe they should take a look at this option all over the world where caged animals are ogled by hordes of curious humans. Rock stars definitely look happier with the attention than a cage full of monkeys…

The support band, ‘The More Assured’, put on a spirited display courtesy of the FREEDM organization, then everyone went walkabout around the grounds of the zoo garden trying to work out which of the many scattered bars might offer the swiftest service. In the centre of the complex the smell of hundreds of bangers and burgers attracted large numbers to form a polite queue at a bar beneath a huge plane tree, while they patiently prayed that the sole chef on the plancha would hurry up, so they got fed before the band came on stage.

At ten the band were announced as Andy McKay explained that the gig was sold out and implored people to explore the vagaries of this relatively new venue by moving from the distant hillside down into the pit in front of the stage. With that the band hit the stage, the lighting engineer exhibited his impressive wares and the audience went ballistic.

Throughout the set we were treated to choruses of the singalong section of ‘Chelsea Dagger’ by the expectant audience. This is the anthem that has been picked up and adopted by such diverse players as ‘Safeway’, for an advertising campaign and Celtic, Chelsea and Ipswich Town football clubs whenever they’re lucky enough to score a goal. In fact the list goes on to encompass Rugby matches in Wales and the Ice Hockey League, without paying due respect to the UK’s binge drinkers who all now know it off by heart and can prove it. It only ever reached No. 5 in the UK charts, but that could be an indictment of the latter?

The band made the audience wait, leaving that final treat till the second encore, but in the meantime exhibited the real repertoire that saw them proclaimed ‘the best new band in Britain’ a year ago by the NME and the ‘Best British Breakthrough Act’ at the 2007 BRIT Awards on Valentine’s Day this year.

They were excellent and held the audience captivated throughout as shades of many influences, from Dylan to the psychedelic guitars of Floyd, shone through the powerful indie guitar sound - not forgetting the impressive brass section on a couple of choice tracks which added to their sound.

Ibiza Rocks deserves a medal for cramming so much into what turns out to be less than a three hour experience - that you’ll probably remember for the rest of your life…

Click on the images as usual for larger versions….