Saturday 10 October 2026.

Saturday 10 October 2026...7pm to 11pm... DISHOOM - press preview - The Hop Exchange ,Park Street , Borough , London SE1. Dishoom opens its largest branch yet on the edge of Borough Market, having taken over two storeys in the west wing of the Hop Exchange, an extravagant Victorian edifice built as a hub for the brewing industry. Open for breakfast from 8am during the week (9am art weekends) until late, the new site will serve all the familiar Dishoom favourites along with a new Keralan Pepper Chicken dish and Black and Thunder Flip cocktail. This is the eighth branch in London of a brand launched in 2010 by cousins Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, inspired by Mumbai’s Irani cafes. There are another five in cities around the UK, along with five branches of the smaller Permit Rooms spinoff. Remarkably for a fast-growing chain, Dishoom has maintained the high standards it set from the outset, winning excellent ratings of 4,4 and 5/5 (for food, service and ambience) in this year’s Harden’s guide. Dishoom had a turnover that exceeded £130million in 2025, according to figures released this month. We shared several dishes including charred lamb chops, chicken ruby, butter pepper crab , fish curry, house black daal , etc. We shared three puddings/desserts , including chai misu. We had six cocktails each ,and a jug of water. Needless to say , we had a lovely time here ,and you can see why Dishoom is so popular . When they open to the public , there will be a soft launch offer with 50% off all the food . This runs from 12 October to Tuesday 20 October ...well worth popping in if you are in the area. ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Friday 09 October 2026. THE HU live at Brixton Academy The Mongolian rock band The HU supported Iron Maiden during their Fall 2024 North American leg of "The Future Past Tour" and at their massive headline show at Knebworth Park in 2026. As part of ' The Warrior Chant' UK & European Tour. ------------- You kinda feel playing this big venue was a bit too ambitious for The Hu, but they still manage to sell an impressive 3500 tickets out of the 5000 Brixton capacity. SKALD arrived on stage at 8.10pm for their 40 mins set. Five of them spread out across the stage, wearing monk like outfits. A male and female shared the vocals. Lot's of big drum bashing and chanting. They were an ideal support act, as they went down well. THE HU arrived on stage at 9.20pm for their 80 mins set . Several.musicisns are on stage . Great drumming and plenty of nifty guitar solos The band blended heavy Western rock and industrial metal grooves with traditional Mongolian instrumentation, including the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and tovshuur (lute), alongside signature kore-shoo / throat-singing. The show was a high-voltage, where the language barrier vanished under heavy, driving rhythms and deep communal energy. The London stop followed the summer release of their third studio album, HUN, which features tracks like "Warrior Chant", "Lost Soul" (with Johnny Hawkins of Nothing More), and "Echoes of My Father". After 20 mins a fan actually got passed security , and got on stage . Their encore was a Mongolian lyrics tribute cover to their chums Iron Maiden ' The Trooper '. 80 mins felt a bit short for a headline band , but a good interesting pair of bands to watch tonight. ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- Thursday 08 October 2026. BAND OF HORSES live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Band of Horses play the second show of two shows at this venue on their UK & European Tour Celebrating 20 years of their debut album ' Everything All The Time'. Band of Horses are a melodic indie rock and indie folk, featuring soaring, emotional vocals and hazy, reverb-drenched guitars.Ben Bridwell sings with a passionate, high-register, and emotive voice that often builds into soaring choruses.The music uses shimmering, jangly, and slow-building electric and acoustic guitars. Songs have a dreamy, spacious, and melancholic yet uplifting feel, created using audio echo and reverb effects. ----------- Level 3 is closed tonight , and Level 2 is half empty. My mate on venue security , said it was the same on the first night. BAND OF HORSES play for 1 hour 45 mins, over two sets of 45 mins and 60 mins. Five musicians on stage tonight. A film projector is used for images on the rear curtain. The first set is the album ' Everything All The Time'. • First Set (Everything All the Time in Order): The band opens with the full debut album played straight through, featuring tracks like "The First Song," "Our Swords," "The Funeral," and "The Great Salt Lake". The second half of the show spans their broader discography, bringing high-energy fan favorites and mellower cuts like "Is There a Ghost," "No One's Gonna Love You," "Factory," and "Laredo". Ben Bridwell and the band maintain their signature "loud/quiet/loud" dynamic, keeping the crowd engaged through both emotional, slow-burning ballads and heavy, guitar-driven climaxes. Ben's high pitch vocals certainly sound similar to Flaming Lips Wayne Coyne on many tracks. They created a nice wall of sound , that was very enjoyable.

Posted 8th October 2026