First Call, Last Call

First Call

ADD N TO X is the latest German electronica group to play the UK, with a short tour next month. The band's synth-kitsch rock is the source of either complete confusion or an ecstatic trance in their audience, and you'd expect no less from a group whose name is taken from an algebraic formula. Avant- garde, but not for the faint-hearted.

Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth (01705 863911) 20 Apr; Princess Charlotte, Leicester (0116-255 3956) 22 Apr; Garage, London (0171-607 1818) 23 Apr; Riverside, Newcastle (0191-261 4386) 29 Apr; Leadmill, Sheffield (0114-275 4500) 1 May

Last Call

LONDON'S FIRST festival of literature is launched tomorrow, celebrating all aspects of writing from poetry to fantastical fiction. The Barbican plays host to several respected literary figures who will give talks during the carnival-style event, the first of which takes place this Sunday. The Literary Trio programme invites Terry Pratchett, Richard Holmes and Joseph Heller (right) to discuss some of their celebrated works, and the arguments which they have provoked.

Barbican Centre, London EC2 (0171-638 8891) 21 Mar