email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 155 June ’s Magazine 2008 Winchell Riots

How Oxford’s ace songsmiths learned the joy of true independence - interview inside

Plus News, reviews and six pages of local gigs

NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 Wakestock ad NEWNEWSS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] Online: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net

Congratulations also to Little Fish for their award. There are now so many festivals of all shapes and sizes that it’s hard to tell the difference between them - most are owned by the same few major entertainment corporations - so it’s ZAPFEST is a new one-day live that takes place in South extra special to be voted the best Park on Saturday 12th July, featuring bands, DJs and comedians over by the public. It’s a sign of the three stages. times that even Grazia magazine The event features the cream of Oxford’s musical talent, including runs features on ‘B-fests’ - they , A Silent Film (pictured), Little Fish, Jonquil, Witches, called Truck the ‘all-about-the- Stornoway, The Family Machine, Richard Walters, The Rock Of music’ one. We don’t see Truck as Travolta and This Town Needs Guns. a Boutique Festival - it’s just a The dance stage, which is being organised by local club nights Blunted, festival that happens to be small! Hit’n’Run, Dugout, ASM and HQ, features sets from DJ Fu Vs Jungle The reasons we started Truck still Drummer, DJ Lee, Robert Luis, Para & Baila, Confidential Collective, stand: a stage for ourselves and Mackating, Riz MC, Indecision and more, while the Beard Museum and other to play on, a real Free Beer stage hosts Danny & The Champions Of The World, Morrison and LITTLE community event, the farmer’s Steam Fayre, Alphabet Backwards, Baby Gravy, Keyboard Choir, Black FISH have both been recognised at Rotary Club burger stall raising Hats, Half Rabbits, Joe Allen and more, plus comedy from Richard the 2008 Indy Music Awards. funds for charity. Here’s to ten Herring, Nick Page and Tom Greeves. Little Fish were voted Best Rock more years!” Tickets, priced £21 for adults and £5 for children, are on sale now from Act, while Truck awarded wegottickets.com, as well as Ryouki on St Ebbes and SS20 on Cowley Best Festival at a ceremony in Meanwhile, TRUCK are making an Road. Alternatively, you can buy tickets, without booking fee, direct by at the end of April. additional allowance of tickets calling 01865 202804. The Indy Music Awards were available during June for this year’s started last year to highlight the event. Check www.thisistruck.com best bands and venues in grassroots for details. live music. Promoters around the UK can nominate acts and events ARCANE FESTIVAL is the latest which are then shortlisted before event to be added to this summer’s being voted for by the public. local festival calendar. The two-day Truck Festival organisers Robin event takes place at Horsenden and Joe Bennett spoke to Meadow, Tetsworth over the Nightshift about their award: weekend of the 2nd and 3rd August. “We’re delighted to receive the Featuring local bands and DJs, award for Best Festival, especially amongst those performing are as one of the criteria for winning Mackating, InLight, Shirley, Danny was ‘most supportive of & The Champions of the World, independent music’. That is very Stornoway, Maria Ilett and The much what we are about. It was New Moon. also a nice celebration after the Tickets for Arcane, priced £20, are flood troubles last year. on sale now from wegottickets.com

HAPPY MONDAYS are among the final acts to be announced for this month’s inaugral Wakestock Festival, which takes place in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, Woodstock over the weekend of the 27th-29th June. Other new acts added include Estelle, Plump DJs, Nu-Mark and The Blackouts. They join the likes of Groove Armada, The Streets and Mark Ronson at the 15,000-capacity event, which also features displays of wakeboarding. For a full festival preview, see this month’s gig guide. MARIA ILETT has won the chance to open this year’s Cornbury Festival after being picked by Radio 2 DJ Richard Allinson and festival organiser Hugh Phillimore from a host of local acts. Electro folk-pop starlet Maria plays on the main stage at midday on Saturday 5th July, joining headliners Paul Simon and Crowded House. Tickets and full line up for Cornbury are online at www.cornburyfestival.com

THE PURPLE TURTLE is looking for local bands to play its regular gig nights. The venue’s STORNOWAY, pictured, were one of the previous promoter, Greg, has moved on and highlights of the first Wood Festival last new manager Tom is keen to hear from any month. Over 1,000 people attended the bands wanting to play – call 01865 247007. environmentally-friendly festival, organised by Truck, at Braziers Park, near Wallingford, over LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM host a night the weekend of the 16th-18th May, with the of dance music at Baby Simple on Cowley music stages powered by recycled chip fat, Road on Friday 6th June, featuring DJs from THE GUTTER TWINS have been confirmed solar panels and cycle power, while all the many of Oxford’s best club nights, including to play at the Academy on Monday 11th food on sale was organic and cooked in wood Simple, Slide, HQ, Fresh Out Of The Box, Club August as part of a short UK tour. , stoves. Dub and Hit & Run. The evening is hosted by formed by former-Screaming Trees and Queens A specially-constructed wooden stage was Oxford rapper Mr Shaodow and veteran local Of The Stone-Age singer Mark Lanegan, and installed in the grounds, which will become a music maverick Asher Dust. LMHR also host a Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli, have just permanent fixture for future festivals. Other night of live music at Thirst Lodge on Thursday released their debut , `Saturnalia’, on Sub highlights of the weekend were The Coal 19th June, with acts to be confirmed. Pop. Tickets, priced £16, are on sale from the Porters, Lightspeed Champion and Circulus. box office or online from www.oxford- THE DOWNLOAD has been renamed as academy.co.uk. LITTLE FISH singer Juju, Joe Allen and Oxford Introducing. The weekly local music on Other gigs coming up at the Academy include Agharad Jenkins, trip-hop duo Reverse E and BBC Radio Oxford 95.2fm is broadcast every Clutch (Mon 18th August); Dragonforce and Pennsylvanian singer Brooks West all play a Saturday between 6-7pm and features a Turisas (Thu 25th September); The Automatic benefit gig for Pump Aid at the Port Mahon on selection of new local releases, demos, (Sun 28th September - re-arranged from this Wednesday 4th June. The charity raises money interviews, gig previews and a gig and clubbing month); Cajun Dance Party and Enter to install clean water pumps in African guide. The show is also available to listen to all Shikari (both Tue 7th October) and villages. week online at .co.uk/oxford Spiritualised (Mon 13th October)

Dr SHOTOVER Steptoe And Ones Ah, the joys of the goggle box. Now, I know you never thought you’d hear me say this, but there REALLY are some quite ENJOYABLE programmes on it - as long as one ignores all the Barbie and Ken lookalikes crying REAL TEARS as they audition to be Technicolor Josephs and Nancies, and all the TV chefs, and all the property programmes, and the adverts, and the documentaries about obesity... Hmmm, what’s left? Oh yes, just one, which has proved quite popular in the East Indies Club Television Room - Master Holland, J. and his “Later Live”. Druggy New Wave Band Particularly the week they featured Seeks Frontman - No our old chums The Only Ones. Breadheads Frontman Peter Perrett used to be a decent sort (if a little over-keen on leopardskin), with whom I believe I may have shared a bong or two back in the mid 70s... however, our ways have parted. I of course became ever handsomer and more distinguished, while, after decades of substance-related escapades, he has turned into Old Man Steptoe... I expected him to shout “HAR-OLD” at John Perry before the solo. The song they played was, predictably, “Another Girl, Another Planet” - as Lord “Smithy” Smythe puts it, “The only Only Ones one I know”. Very droll, Lord Smithy. Now where was I? Ah yes, talking of drug-related skincare (“Heroin - because you’re worth it”), Barmy Winehouse seems to be catching up with Prat Doherty on the Dr Shotover Top Ten of People Most Likely To Cause Extreme Boredom. Just a quick scan of this list can be more effective than a sackful of tranks in putting one to sleep... in fact perhaps we should email it directly to Messrs Doperty and Shitehouse, and they need never reach for the ketamine again... Next month: Tomato Ketamine

A Quiet Word With Winchell Riots “I LIKE THE IDEA THAT FELL They are all, however, pocket City Girl was a little blip in people’s battleship pop gems of a vintage too lives and maybe once made them rarely heard in modern day indie stop and think, feel, sing, shout, and music. no more. Rip it up and start again, I guess.” AND SO, ALREADY WINCHELL Riots look set for better things. PHIL MCMINN IS TALKING TO First, though, Phil needs to clear up Nightshift about the demise of his any lingering misconceptions about old band, Fell City Girl, one of the that Fell City Girl split. best loved and most exciting young “The quick version of events is this: bands to come out of Oxford in we signed a deal with a label who recent years. As well as selling out were totally unsuited to what we the Zodiac three times, they toured were aiming for and ultimately didn’t the UK, performed at Reading generate the sufficient ‘hype’ in the Festival and released a string of right circles because (we feel) we absolutely brilliant EPs, topping didn’t have people behind us who Nightshift’s end-of year Top 20 two believed in us enough to ignore other years running – the only band ever people’s doubts. And when that to do so. happens it’s over. We split because Fell City Girl seemingly had it all – we knew that it would be a massive a genuinely fanatical fanbase, great uphill struggle without management, songs and the world at their feet. without a booking agent and without Then along came the a deal and we’d already been fighting and a year later – March 2007 to be like that for three years. Some precise – they played their last gig people may say we should have stuck and announced they had split. Local at it but I’ve seen too many bands music fans were genuinely shocked; from Oxford and elsewhere achieve the rumour mill went into overdrive great things and not realised when with talk of machiavellian goings- their luck was up and walked away.” on, stories seemingly confirmed How far ahead did you see it when Phil, plus Fell City Girl coming? drummer James Pamphlion re- “It happened very, very quickly but emerged a mere three months later really slowly with hindsight, but it with a new band, Winchell Riots, made total sense to us when we said featuring a new guitarist and bassist. it out loud. Once we signed a record deal really it became a slow death on LAST AUTUMN WINCHELL that front, but it was coupled with us Riots played a set at Truck Festival getting bigger and bigger in Oxford – “A terrible show” in Phil’s own and when we sold out The Zodiac words – and finally laid the ghost of three times in a year our label were their former selves to rest. Now it is like, “oh that’s quite cool” and we time to look to the future, with were so frustrated with them for that Winchell Riots already showing all – there was this parallel thing going the promise of Fell City Girl. In on that was very confusing for us. April they released their debut EP, We played our last show in front of a `Histories’, on their own Andrew completely unsuspecting audience – The Great label, a DIY approach no friends, no girlfriends, no family that allowed Phil and James – just the four of us, which was one complete control over their songs, of the hardest things I’ve ever done. artwork and release schedule for the No ‘Final Show’ or any bullshit – we first time in years. `Histories’ is epic, were just a band after all, so we cultured, atmospheric, abrasive and wanted people to just remember us emotive, all the things that made for what we were. A lot of people Fell City Girl so thrilling, but more were cross with us for that, I guess compact. Its inner turbulence recalls but there was no way I was in any Echo & The Bunnymen’s earliest state to get up and do some final post-punk days, the hollowed-out thing, I would have found that too production reminiscent of Joy sad. Division, but the whole song “It really wasn’t until that fairly expanded to a more grandiose level terrible show at Truck last year that a la Muse. Further in, more I finally understood Fell City Girl contemplative songs like `The Man was over and we had to start again Who Mapped The Oceans’, carry from total scratch – we were still the glacial contemplation of totally riding on history and that Icelandic soundscapists Sigur Ros. show really made us go back to the start again and redraw the map for set of influences and bands as before for the few at the bottom of the We’re going into the studio next the new band.” – it’s not like suddenly I became an ladder. You have to try, don’t you? month with Dan Austin who expert on or some Michael from the Half Rabbits put it recorded FCG’s ‘Swim EP’ to record THE NEW BAND NOW weird hippy . My goals are still best when he said, `it’s a good job the next single and that for me is features guitarist Rich Leicester and totally the same. I also had a fairly we’re not part of the music industry, about as good as it gets for us – he’s bass player Phil Jones. They were difficult year last year – my band isn’t it’ which I liked.” amazing and he knows what we’re recruited pretty quickly after the broke up, my girlfriend and I broke trying to achieve. None of us are split; had Phil had them in mind up and then my Mum died just before ANDREW THE GREAT RECORDS deluded to think that any major before FCG officially split and how Christmas after a long illness, so I is one of many ways Phil and the labels would touch us in the current did it help him to get over the split? think the songs are bound to be band are taking back control of their climate – last year only something “No, they just kind of popped up in influenced by me actually having lives after that brush with industry like 20 bands got signed by majors, the best way possible – no one else something to convey this time.” politics. Does he see Winchell Riots and sure as shit we’re not what came to audition or anything, continuing doing stuff on their own they’re after as the ship sinks. But although we had a lot of people PHIL HAS LONG SINCE label, or is it merely a stepping stone I’m super excited about going it interested in what were doing. Rich I expressed a strong sense of to another label? alone, about trying new methods out knew from years back: he used to frustration with so many “Well it started with me sending and trying to retain a level of stalk Fell City Girl, we thought he contemporary guitar bands – the demos out to these independents and independence while still achieving was pretty weird but he had a car so bland, seemingly mass-produced say- I thought, what can they do that we something. We have so many new the deal was sealed, and Phil got in nothing drones that clog up the can’t? Then it became a sort of songs that I am so happy with – big touch and I thought he had a cool airwaves and music press, offered as when I registered epics, a few three-minute pop songs, name so that was that. I think me some kind of alternative when really Andrew The Great as a proper label. a lot of sad stuff and a lot of very and James needed to sort out where they’re as vacuous and manufactured It’s great to be able to have my Dad uplifting stuff. I have no plans for an we were at with each other – he’s as the pop they’re supposed to be doing the artwork, my friend album yet – it seems like it’s not the like my big brother, I love him so offering an alternative to. Does Phil mastering it, our friends at Truck right thing for us at the moment: much, but we’d been playing still feel angry? recording part of it – it feels far EPs are far better for us to find our together for five years or something “Right around the time FCG split I more like we have 100% control.” feet and see what works before that. and because there was no break started to read Everett True’s book What advice would you offer to any But probably 2009 we’ll do an between bands we were kind of sick on Nirvana and at the close of the other band faced with a similar album. Who knows. But my biggest of each other for no real reason and book Everett is on the floor of some situation to you? regret with FCG is how little music once we’d sorted that out then we bar drinking himself into a coma “Absolutely, utterly hold on to what we put out, so this time we’ll be were away again!” because, after everything that had you’ve got until you feel you have making sure music gets out – for What do the new boys bring to happened, he says `music had failed the right people helping you. Our free, for cheap, on limited EPs, Winchell Riots? me’ and that line really rung true for mistake was to work with people limited downloads, anything we “It’s nice to be working with people want. We’ve given away two CDs who weren’t part of FCG because by with new material on these tours the end of Fell City we were all so “The music industry is we’ve been doing, there’s a free tired and confused and angry as to download for our mailing list people why it wasn’t ‘happening’ that we all and so on.” needed a fresh split. In terms of totally screwed” You’re playing this year’s Truck, working together we just retained the which will be the first time a lot of same work ethic from FCG that if it me. Not just from my own band’s who wrestled complete control from local music fans have seen you; what isn’t working, then it goes – no egos experience but in general: I feel us. And if you feel like you’re at odds would you say to them and what can about songs, just insist that the songs almost totally alienated from what’s with everything else around you, people expect from that show? are great, not merely good.” supposed to pass for ‘indie’ now – that’s a good reason to exist.” “God, I have so many memories of What would you say is the biggest these bands just mean nothing to me playing Truck. One year rain was difference between Fell City Girl and in the same way that they used to. RECENTLY WINCHELL RIOTS pouring through the roof into our Winchell Riots? Maybe that’s me getting older but I embarked on an extensive tour of monitors and nearly blew us up; one “The songs are far more concise, I don’t think it is: I still see a few the UK to coincide with the release year our drummer stayed out all think; they’re more direct. We’re bands that totally rock me to the of ‘Histrories’, playing venues far night and turned up barely conscious much, much tighter as a band and I core but it’s so rare now. 65 Days Of and wide, beyond the normal just as announced they think that FCG became so caught up Static were really the last ‘new’ band capabilities of such a new band. Are would be filming our set; another in what the label would think that we who totally made me rethink what a there still a lot of people out there year I got chased by security for became really restricted by our own band should be and that was a few who are keen to support the band on shouting my mouth off after too expectations of what they wanted, years ago now – on this last tour we the strength of old loyalties built up much drink and had to apologise to so I definitely feel a sense of did almost all the bands we played by Fell City Girl? every single person I knew the next liberation. I also think we’re learning with were some poor Arctic “Yes, very much so – in every town morning … This year will hopefully that to be ‘epic’ doesn’t necessarily Monkeys tribute; we stood out we played on the last UK tour we did be the first time we play like adults! mean being big and loud and in your pretty badly, which is a good or bad we had people from FCG days I really can’t wait.” face; there are other ways. And for thing depending on how you look at coming up and it was so good to see me the live thing has taken a totally it. There are other bands out there them because we had such a small but TRUCK WILL GIVE new direction – I wish I could have doing it – and Her Name devoted following and it felt like a ’s music fans their first walked away from everything after is Calla are two bands I have massive little club – and now they’re coming big stage opportunity to witness the FCG but the only time I really feel amounts of respect for.” to see us having heard hardly any emergence of a band that is destined any sense of ‘peace’ or total Is the music industry screwed? music, there seems to be a belief to achieve some level of greatness. happiness is when I’m singing “Yeah, totally screwed. But they amongst a handful of people that we Fell City Girl may have been a lesson onstage with my band – it’s difficult have all the money so they’ll always share and that feels nice to be a part in how the music industry can to explain to someone who doesn’t retain control and they’ll be the of. These people travel miles to see destroy great young bands, but do it but I feel very immersed in ones putting in place a new structure The Winchell Riots on the back of Winchell Riots is ample proof that what we’re doing onstage that I that we’ll adhere to. It’s really David our last band and it totally, totally you can’t keep a good band down. don’t really know where I am and and Goliath except Goliath will validates us as human beings making that’s got a lot stronger with The always rule David. Guy Hands is just music. There’s really no greater ‘Histories’ is out now on Andrew Winchell Riots. too powerful for anything else to compliment for us.” The Great Records. Winchell Riots “I would be lying if I said that The happen. But part of a band’s Where do Winchell Riots go from headline the Bullingdon on Winchell Riots are drastically challenge is to go in and fight here? In particular, you’re a pretty Wednesday 18th June. Visit different from FCG because my song because a very small percentage prolific writer; when might be see a www.myspace.com/winchellriots to writing is still informed by the same actually ‘win’ and then they stand full album? hear tracks and for more gig dates. Sponsored RELEASED by

string arrangements to really fly, notably on the TELLING THE BEES soaring album opener, ‘Waiting For Dawn’ and ‘Untie The Wind’ the intense, poetic ‘The Worship Of Trees’. Only on the rather trite ‘Telling The Bees’ itself (Black Thrustle) does Andy’s voice falter, dropping into that We’ve been send some funny gifts by bands in nasal twang that can get English folk music a our time but never a large ginger beard. But bad name. Straight away, though, he’s making having suggested they may be a bit “too amends with the gorgeous solemnity of beardy” for us synth-pop kids before we ‘Beautiful’, a close relation to Seth Lakeman’s reviewed their demo a couple of months back, gothic storytelling (perhaps not Telling The Bees have furnished us with exactly unsurprising given that Andy grew up in the the sort of facial decoration we’ll need to make West Country). The album’s high point, though, it all the way through their debut album. But comes almost at its close with title track ‘Untie what do you expect from a band who name The Wind’ exposing the power of Jane themselves after the old folk tradition of Griffiths’ playing as she comes close to informing the family beehive of any significant matching The Bad Seeds’ Warren Ellis’ darkly events, lest they get upset and fly away? Old, atmospheric scraping. Two border pipe-led folk and tradition being the key words there, fresh, spiky approach that means they tap into instrumentals offer a different perspective on since `Untie The Wind’ is steeped in English the form’s bucolic roots while lending an ear to TTB’s sound, and it’s telling that all the songs folk music’s ancient traditions. more contemporary sounds, in this case here are originals. English folk music is enjoying its biggest everything from John Cale to Nick Cave (two Like all good traditional folk, ‘Untie The Wind’ renaissance since the late-60s at the moment men unafraid to sport the odd bit of facial hair accepts modern life in without surrendering its and Telling The Bees are indicative of why. when duty called). old world appeal. Telling The Bees might recall a Formed by local luminaries Andy Letcher, Colin Andy’s voice is a full, rounded tenor and carries far off place, but one that’s still very much alive. Fletcher, Jane Griffiths and Josie Webber, here the hushed, atmospheric melodies with Can I take this beard off now? It itches like hell. they rejuvenate old world sounds with a understated power, allowing Jane and Josie’s Ian Chesterton

SHARRON KRAUS roots music still elicits a thrilling chill in our hearts, especially on the album’s opener, ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ ‘Brigid’, the eerie flutes and Sharron’s high- ‘Rebel In You’ (Durto Jnana) pitched, crystal-clear voice dropping you in the (Parlophone) Back again with a new solo album after last middle of Summerisle on May Morning before That Dave Grohl has picked Supergrass to month’s collaborative Rusalnia project with she breaks into an unearthly warble above a support Foo Fighters on their US tour is great Philadelphia’s Gillian Chadwick, local folkstress hypnotic psychedelic drone. It’s a genuinely news, but it’s also a bit bloody weird for a Sharron Kraus continues to explore the bleaker unnerving moment and shows the power of seasoned Oxford music fan. Following on from outposts of traditional English and Appalachian traditional music to capture timeless menace. Arctic Monkeys’ patronage, it seems that, music. Matching that opening gambit is ‘Green Man’, almost without anyone noticing, Supergrass have Assisted by Telling The Bees’ Colin Fletcher notionally lighter in mood, for all its solemn become a global rock inspiration. Maybe it’s and Jane Griffiths amongst others, Sharron’s , Sharron’s voice literally dances over the because I remember seeing them sneaking sly ongoing fascination with the dark side of rustic minimalist instrumentation; it’s the most spliffs round the back of the Jericho Tavern in captivating melody on ‘The Fox’s Wedding’, their teens. So I’ll have to resist the temptation where an earthy pagan ambience holds sway. to act all great aunt-like and exclaim, “Ooh, If there’s a fault to pick with Sharron it’s that haven’t you grown?” over the course of an full album there’s precious Anyway, experienced masters of making old little change in pitch in her voice which can sounds sound fresh, Supergrass’ two previous seem shrill when she lets it dominate too much, singles from ‘’, have found the as on ‘In The Middle Of Summer’, although on band having a bash at (‘Diamond the best tracks, such as the deathly, Hoo Ha Man’) and (‘Bad Blood’). squeezebox-led ‘Thrice Toss These Oaken ‘Rebel In You’ takes them back to familiar glam- Ashes’, her pitch seems perfectly suited, rocking territory, echoes of Bowie’s ‘Station To enhancing the weirdly ethereal atmosphere. It’s Station’ period much in evidence, honky-tonk this vocal starkness that lends so many of her piano powering the muscular 70s stomp as Gaz songs the disquieting ambience that makes them Coombes sounds simultaneously like an so magical. And for all its stripped-bare exhausted smoker after a 200-yard dash and a simplicity, the sheer richness of this music is strutting dandy up for a fight with anyone who abundantly clear. looks at his threads in the wrong way. Ian Chesterton Dale Kattack Selected Oxford releases are now available on the ground floor HMV Oxford supports local music Open Sundays 11-5pm & late Thursdays till 7pm. 10% student discount every day thethe portport mmahonahon Live Music in June 1st Degüello + 12th Jamjar Records Parasols Launch with Olivier Jaroa 2nd Oceanographers + + The World Is Not Flat + Alpha Rd + Theo Jackson Tomcat Murr 4th Juju Fish +Brooks West 13th Lost Chihuahua + Joe Allen & Anghard 14th James Joyce Blooms June 5th Crusader + Citizens of Day Earth 15th Off Field All Day Every Monday 6th Soul Jacker + Modern Festival THE FAMOUS MONDAY NIGHT Cliches 17th I Am Thieves The best in UK, European and US blues. 8-12. 7th Quickfix presents 18th Red Valve 2nd HARPER () th A Birthday Party For 20th Shakellers 9 LIGHTNIN’ WILLIE & THE POORBOYS (USA) th 21st Indie Karaoke 16 DANI WILDE BAND (UK) rd 8th Permanent Vacation 22nd Deputees 23 ROBERT HOKUM & THE GUVNORS (UK) 30th JONATHAN KALB BAND (USA) presents Jakob Olausson 25th Chalk + Dear Mitchell Duo + 26th Club Playthings Amber Sleep + 27th Deadlok Every Tuesday Reconciliation 28th Monro THE OXFORD CLUB 10th The Dacoits 29th Zangryus + Sacred Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am rd th th 11th Oxford Improvisers Divide 3 / 10 / 17 THE HOWARD PEACOCK QUINTET 24th DENNY ILETT Jr

Now taking Summer Booking. Call soon, nights going fast. Wednesdays th 82 St Clements, Oxford. Tel: 01865 202067 18 COO COO CLUB presents THE WINCHELL RIOTS / HOUSE OF BROTHERS 8-12am / £6

Thursdays 5th SWISS CONCRETE presents WENDY CODE / MOLLOY / ANTON BARBEAU / DEAR LANDLORD 12th MAD ABOUT THE 80s with SKAVILLE (ska supergroup featuring members of Bad Manners, The Selecter and Belle Stars). 8pm; £9 19th SWISS CONCRETE presents THE SCHOOL / FLICKLISTEN / PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT 26th TRANSFORMATION

Every Friday BACKROOM BOOGIE Funk, soul and R&B. 10.30pm-2am; £4.

Friday Early Shows 13th MOSHKA presents CAT MATADOR + THE CRUSHING 27th MOSHKA presents THE DRUG SQUAD Bands 8-10.30pm. £4. Includes entry to Backroom Boogie afterwards

Saturdays 7th SIMPLE – Funky House 9-3am. 14th OX4 – Drum’n’Bass. 9pm-3am 21st TBC 28th PHISH 6 – Old skool 90s classics with THE MIGHTY DISO & DJ LEZZARD. Plus, playing live, US band LADYFINGERS. 7.30-late. £5 / £3.50

Sunday 1st BULLINGDON COMEDY CLUB with ROGER MONKHOUSE / HENNING WEHN plus compere SILKY. gig guide

SUNDAY 1st listing, in worrying detail, all the equipment they use. So bassist Jeff Letts (aka “Letts DEGUELLO + SHAGGY PARASOLS: The Party!” – geddit? Eh? Geddit? Let’s p… oh Port Mahon – Excellent experimental forget it, it’s obviously too highbrow for you psychedelic hardcore from Deguello. JUNE mere mortals) utilises an Ampeg SVT Classic LETHAL BIZZLE: The Academy – Re- 8x10 with an Ampeg SVT Classic head. Admit arranged from April with the rabble-rousing rap nd MONDAY 2 it, your life is incalculably richer for that piece and grime frontman with an eye on the indie : The Academy – Please note, of information, isn’t it? Anyway, load of rock dollar after a series of collaborations, Black Kids will not be teaching your boyfriend rubbish, best left to hormonal 14 year olds with including Gallows. how to dance – see main preview reading difficulties. What’s that? It’s cancelled? BLUES JAM: Fat Lil’s, Witney (3pm) – + BOYS Aw shame; was it something we said? Open session for local musicians. LIKE GIRLS + : The HIT & RUN: The Cellar – Hip hop and THE KYLA BROX BAND: The Regal – Live Academy – Truly horrendous facsimile pop- drum&bass club night. jazz and blues from the upcoming singer. punk from the Fueled By Ramen-signed New OPEN MIC SESSION: The Temple INDICA RITUAL + THE RIPTIDES + VON York State clothes horses. BRAUN: Thirst Lodge HARPER: The Bullingdon – UK-born, Perth- THURSDAY 5 th bred singer and blues harpist with a string of GLASVEGAS: The Academy – Glasgae’s nd Monday 2 awards to his name in his native Australia, dark-hearted wall-of-sound rockers – see main BLACK KIDS: singing with a Motown-inspired soulfulness preview and playing the harp in the style of Little WENDY CODE + MOLLOY + ANTON The Academy Walter, over in the UK on tour in support of his BARBEAU + DEAR LANDLORD: The latest album, ‘Day By Day’, injecting world Bullingdon – Another great mixed bill from Following on from their sold-out show at music, including Aboriginal instrumentation, Swiss Concrete, featuring a joint headline tour the Jericho back in January and the into his rootsy blues and rock. from spaced-out Parisian electro-prog-pop subsequent acclaim afforded irresistible ROSALITA + THE COLOURS + THE LE outfit Wendy Code and East London’s post- single ‘I’m Not Going To Teach Your VENS: The Jericho Tavern – Post-punk punk-inspired electro-dance rockers Molloy. Boyfriend How To dance’, Black Kids set yelping and electro-pop from Ipswich’s By way of contrast Californian psychedelic about conquering the UK in earnest and set Rosalita, plus Reading’s stadium pop hopefuls folk-pop songsmith Anton Barbeau returns to to appear at pretty much every festival The Colours and local indie rockers The Le town, plus local one-man acoustic soul singer going this summer (including Wakestock at Vens. Dear Landlord, giving it some in an early Van the end of the month). Before they’d even OCEANOGRAPHERS + ALPHA ROAD + Morrison vein. toured, the Florida five-piece had the music THEO JACKSON: The Port Mahon NOT MY DAY + A GENUINE FREAKSHOW industry on both sides of the Atlantic in a TANGLEFOOT: Nettlebed Folk Club – + ALPHABET BACKWARDS: The X, right old lather, on the back of free to Return of the longstanding Canadian folk Cowley – Jangly guitar rocking and punky pop download debut EP, ‘Wizard Of Ahhhs’, favourites. exuberance from headliners Not My Day, plus creating a buzz similar to that which greeted ROCKDISCO: Po Na Na Reading’s downbeat atmospheric rockers A a couple of years back. And the Genuine Freakshow and recent electro-folk pop similarity doesn’t end there, Black Kids rd TUESDAY 3 Punt stars Alphabet Backwards. possessed of a similar orchestral clamour as BAT FOR LASHES: The Academy – Natasha INTERNATIONAL JETSETTERS: The Canada’s finest, coupled with a wonderfully Khan warms up for her tour support Jericho Tavern – Shoegazey indie rocking in uplifting sense of pop joy akin to Go! Team. – see main preview the vein of The Wedding Present and Magoo ‘I’m Not Going To Teach…’ is the meeting JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With with the recent Punt stars. point between ’s most pop-friendly keyboard-led resident band The Howard ECLECTRICITY: The Cellar – Electro and moments, New Order and Motown – soul Peacock Band. techno club night featuring sets from Mental and grooves, synth-pop and classic 80s Groove’s Brodinsky and Jibba. indie all rolled very neatly into one and with th CRUSADER + CITIZENS OF EARTH: The frontman Reggie Youngblood – along with WEDNESDAY 4 Port Mahon sister Ali the only two actual black kids in the PUMP AID : The Port Mahon – OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon band – doing a scarily -on impersonation Benefit gig to raise money for building water CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford of Robert Smith along the way. Destined to pumps in African villages, featuring Little Fish Community Centre become an indie dancefloor staple, Black singer JuJu playing a solo set, with support SMASH DISCO: The Academy – Weekly Kids’ job now is proving they can follow it from Pennsylvanian singer- Brooks electro, indie and club night. up with equal style. West, inventively unnerving trip-hop duo Reverse E and wonderfully emotive guitar and th violin duo Joe Allen & Angharad Jenkins. FRIDAY 6 BLACK POWDER + DESERT STORM + RACHEL UNTHANK: The Academy – TWAT DADDIES: The Wheatsheaf – Local Northumbrian folk singer and cellist and her metal and punk night. Winterset band riding high on the back of CARTEL: The Academy – Depressing critically-lauded new album, ‘The Bairns’, an identikit whiny American punk-pop from intimate and downbeat mix of classic English Georgia’s Cartel who sound, ooh, just a teeny folk and acoustic pop. weeny bit like New Found Glory, who they HOT CLUB DE PARIS: The Academy – just happened to support a while back. For Loveable mix’n’match Liverpudlian rockers some reason their MySpace profile has them signed to Moshi Moshi and now out on tour in support of new album ‘Live At Dead Lake’, rising rap star Mr Shaodow joins the armed with a veritable smorgasbord of supporting cast. influences that stretches from Minutemen-style NATUREBOY: Jacqueline du Pre Building – hardcore to math-rock time signatures to Special benefit concert for Enfant de la Rue, Afrobeat and simple folksy punk-pop. From helping street children in The Congo, with frantic mayhem to sweet three-part harmonies acoustic world, jazz and funk band Natureboy. in the space of a minute and who couldn’t love THOMAS TRUAX + STORNOWAY: The X, a band whose debut single was called Cowley – Oddball anti-folk, blues and bluegrass ‘Sometimesitsbetternottostickbitsofeach from Thomas Truax and his eclectic collection otherineachotherforeachother’. of self-made instruments, coming on like a KLUB KAKOFANNEY with BARRY & THE modern-day Viv Stanshall, plus lovely folk-pop BEACHCOMBERS + RISING DRAGON + somewhere between The Waterboys and Belle MR SHAODOW + BROOKS WEST: The & Sebastian from local starlets Stornoway. th Wheatsheaf – Oddball punk-metal from Barry THE CORSAIRS: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Thursday 5 & Co headlining tonight’s Klub Kak. Local Rockabilly and rock’roll. GLASVEGAS: SOULJACKER + MODERN CLICHÉS: The Port Mahon The Academy rd Tuesday 3 FRESH’N’FUNKY: Thirst Lodge – New Following on from their chaotic, sold-out BAT FOR LASHES: weekly club night. show at the Jericho back in February, that LOVE MUSIC, HATE RACISM CLUB proved there is plenty of substance to the The Academy NIGHT: Baby Simple – Special benefit gig for hype surrounding Glasgow’s Glasvegas, the the anti-fascist music movement with DJs from band step up a gear for their first Academy Having been handpicked to support local clubs night Fresh Out Of The Box, Simple, Radiohead on their forthcoming UK tour, show. At the end of 2007 NME awarded Slide, The Dugout, Hit & Run and OX4 playing Glasvegas’ debut single, ‘Daddy’s Gone’, Bat For Lashes play, appropriately enough, a selection of dubstep, drum&bass and a warm-up gig in Oxford, memories of their the number 2 slot in their tracks of the year; breakbeats, hosted by local rap luminary Mr not bad for an unsigned act, and the band last show here, back in February 2007, still Shaodow and musical maverick Asher Dust. fresh as shiny black daisies. Bat For Lashes are well worth the attention, mixing up lo-fi BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon – sonics with epic pop ambition and making is essentially Pakistan-born, - Classic funk, soul and disco every week. resident singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, sweet teen poetry out of gritty slice of life SHAKE: The Academy – Funk, soul, reggae, lyricism (notably on the brilliant, tragic whose 2006 debut, ‘Fur & Gold’ was rock’n’roll and jazz every week from Count Nightshift’s favourite album of that year and ‘Flowers & Football Shirts’). The raw Skylarkin and crew. simplicity derives from early Jesus & Mary was robbed of a deserved GET DOWN: The Brickworks – Disco, Latin last year. It was a stunning debut: a twisted, Chain and classic Doo-Wop, the grand and funk DJ session. arrangements come via Phil Spector’s 60s haunting and completely magical journey DUGOUT: The Cellar – Soul, rare groove and through smouldering sensuality and raw girl groups, notably the Ronettes. Add in funk with Latin-tinged funksters Urban James Allan’s broad, warm Scottish singing emotion, coming from that dark corner of Allstars. folk where love and death walk hand in hand voice and it’s not unlike reinventing Wah!, but in the dark recesses of in beautiful union. It’s musically inventive, th dreamlike and often arcane, portentous SATURDAY 7 70s New York drone-pop. Alan McGee piano, viola and harpsichord dominating the STEVE EARLE: The Academy – The hardcore loudly sang their praises, calling them the treated and marching drums, troubadour brings his politicised country most exciting Scottish band since the Mary something enhanced live by her all-female rocking to town – see main preview Chain, and with ‘It’s My Own Cheating backing band, but everything centres on DEATH VALLEY RIDERS + THE FIERCE + Heart That Makes Me Cry’ threatening to Natasha’s exquisite vocals. She’s been TEMPLETON PECK: The Wheatsheaf – sew up the single of the year award already, compared, not unfairly, with Bjork, Kate Instrumental thrash, death and stoner metal Glasvegas are a genuine rarity – a hyped-up Bush and Sinead O’Connor, but, gender from DVR. tip for the top that live up to, and surpass, aside, she’s as close to the likes of Nick CHAOS DAYS + MEET ME AT MIDNIGHT all that’s written about them. Cave and Marc Almond. The truth is, + PHANTOM THEORY + TARGET 9: The X, Cowley – Punky power-pop from Sussex’s though ,that she is a unique talent, and after week with classic and contemporary indie at that auspicious first offering, her follow-up, Chaos Days, with support from Oxford heavy rockers Meet Me At Midnight and cool, lo-fi Transformation, 80s pop and kitsch noise at expected later this summer, can’t come Trashy, plus metal, hardcore and alt.rock at quickly enough. stripped-down hardcore riffage from Phantom Theory. Room 101. SIMPLE: The Bullingdon – Funky house club night. SUNDAY 8th BABY GRAVY: The Cellar – Kooky, fun JAKOB OLAUSSON + DEAR MITCHELL electro-punk noise-pop at Big Hair’s club night. DUO + AMBER SLEEP + CHEAP THRILLS: Fat Lil’s, Witney RECONCILIATION: The Port Mahon – RIVER RAT PACK TOUR: Unicorn Theatre, Intimate nocturnal drone-folk and blues from Abingdon (2pm) / Stocks Bar, Abingdon (7pm) Sweden’s Jakob Olausson in the style of Papa – A novel idea to take nine unsigned bands on a M and Leonard Cohen, plus improv boat trip along the Thames from London, experimentation from The Dear Mitchell Duo stopping off for afternoon and evening gigs at and newcomers Amber Sleep, leaning waterside towns along the way. Among those towards the Sufjan Stevens and Anthony & The performing these two gigs are Mumford & Johnsons side of things. Sons, Six Nation State, Neil Jenkins, Jay Jay SIMON DAVIES & COLIN FLETCHER + Pistolet and Beans on Toast. THE MAEVE BAYTON BAND + JON THE PETE FRYER BAND + FILM NOIR: FLETCHER: East Oxford Community Chester Arms Centre – Acoustic music at Maeve’s Rave. LEE DAVIES & FRIENDS: The Temple FINN PETERS: The Regal – Winners of the TRANSFORMATION / TRASHY / ROOM 2007 BBC Jazz Awards band of the year, fronted 101: The Academy – Three clubs in one every by versatile flautist and saxophonist Peters. MONDAY 9th + NOUGHT + LIGHTNIN’ WILLIE & THE POORBOYS: PREFONTAINE: The Cellar – Fearsome The Bullingdon – Another visit to the Famous math-core brilliance from Sunderland’s Rolo Monday Blues club for the -born, Tomassi, back in town to spread the word of Pasadena-resident electric blues-rock guitarist, a pin-tight post-hardcore and hellish screaming. big favourite on the UK blues circuit with his See them; love them; fear them. Jazz-core rocking blues, swing and rock’n’roll that mixes pioneers Nought return to their home town in up Otis Rush, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie support. Cochran. OLIVER JAROA + THE WORLD IS NOT DOWNES & BEER: Nettlebed Folk Club – FLAT + TOMCAT MURR: The Port Mahon Singers and multi-instrumentalists Paul Downes – Launch night for Jam Jar Records. THE VICE + NOT MY DAY + BOY DID Saturday 7th and Phill Beer team up for a night of traditional English folk songs. GOOD: The Jericho Tavern ROCKDISCO: Po Na Na OUT OF THE BLUE: The New Theatre – STEVE EARLE: More head-smashingly fantastic a capella The Academy th covers of modern rock classics from the Oxford TUESDAY 10 University barbers shop quartet. A rare chance to see the Hardcore : The Jericho Tavern – Cutesy, OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Troubadour in Oxford as ’s idiosyncratic electro-folk pop from Stockholm’s CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford most enduringly controversial star tours to Lykke Zachrisson – see main preview Community Centre promote his Grammy-winning return to form JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With SMASH DISCO: The Academy album, ‘Washington Square Serenade’, the keyboard-led resident band The Howard follow-up to the ragged, rampaging ‘The Peacock Band. th Revolution Starts Now’. Steve Earle is that THE DACOITS: The Port Mahon FRIDAY 13 rarest of rare things – a Texan-raised country- QUICKFIX PRESENTS with HARRY rocking socialist. Brought up on the songs of WEDNESDAY 11th ANGEL + BILLY + CITY Woody Guthrie and oft compared to Bruce LIGHTS JUST BURN: The Wheatsheaf – RASCALS: The Academy – Arctic Monkeys- Springsteen, he shares similar lyrical ground Rip-snorting fuzz-pop from Harry mentored indie rockers out of the Wirral. with Pete Seeger, not afraid to go against Angel, plus Liverpudlian alt.rockers Billy OUTCRY: The Wheatsheaf everything that is considered right and England and local psych-rockers CLJB. JOHN WESLEY + TREV WILLIAMS: The proper and patriotic in the States. Having MORCHEEBA: The Academy – Trip hop and Jericho Tavern – Sometime Porcupine Tree lived most of his life in Nashville, he’s now r’n’b from Morcheeba, back with a new album, guitarist Wesley plays a rare UK solo gig, resident in New York following 20 years of ‘Dive Deep’, and new singer, Jody Sternberg, displaying his intense, soulful acoustic side, hard drinking, drug-taking and seven after their mid-90s, Skye Edwards-led with support from melancholic local songsmith marriages that reached its nadir in 1994 when commercial peak. Trev Williams. he was jailed for heroin possession whilst MOSHKA with CAT MATADOR + THE OXFORD IMPROVISERS: The Port Mahon living in a car outside a crack den. Now clean CRUSHING: The Bullingdon – New York CLUB DUB: The Cellar he’s filled with renewed musical vigour, New Wave-inspired dark rocking from recent OPEN MIC SESSION: The Temple ‘Washington Square…’ continuing his broad- Punt stars Cat Matador at tonight’s Moshka, minded approach to rootsy Americana, plus a return to action for Marconi’s Voodoo th taking in hip hop and Appalachian ballads as THURSDAY 12 fellow Snuffy with his new band The Crushing. it rails against war in Iraq and the like. It’s a : The Academy – TO THE BARRICADE + DIAL F FOR long way on from his debut, ‘Guitar Town’, Joyously spiky jangle-rocking from Ontario’s FRANKENSTEIN + THE PICTURE SHOW but marks him out a true survivor and young sensations – see main preview + DYING ANIMALS: The Jericho Tavern – outsider, one who has never stopped SKAVILLE: The Bullingdon – 80s ska Reading’s lush, oceanic piano-led rockers To championing the underdog and remains very reunion tour with members of Bad Manners, The Barricade headline with grungy pop much on top of his musical game. Belle Stars and The Selecter getting it together. newcomers Dial F For Frankenstein and scratchy punk rockers Dying Animals. OUT TO GRAZE FESTIVAL: Rookery Farm, Shabbington - First day of the outdoor festival to raise money for the Oxford Wheels Project. Local bands, including Baby Gravy, International Jetsetters, Raggasaurus, Scanners, Borderville, One Dollar Peepshow, Dogshow, Von Braun and Jaberwok are joined by DJs from Skylarkin’, Simple, Slide and Bassmentality. Visit www.outtograze.com for more details. LOST CHIHUAHUA: The Port Mahon THE MIGHTY REDOX + THE PETE FRYER BAND + JEREMY: The Magdalen BOSSAPHONIK: The Cellar – Latin jazz dance club night. BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon SHAKE: The Academy GET DOWN: The Brickworks FRESH’N’FUNKY: Thirst Lodge SPIRO SPERO: The Temple – Local post- keyboard-led resident band The Howard rockers. Peacock Band. TRANSFORMATION / TRASHY / ROOM I AM THIEVES: The Port Mahon 101: The Academy WEDNESDAY 18th th SUNDAY 15 THE WINCHELL RIOTS + HOUSE OF : The Academy – Rescheduled gig BROTHERS: The Bullingdon – Headline gig after last April’s cancellation The Kills return to for this month’s Nightshift cover stars – see plug new album, ‘Midnight Boom’ which finds main interview feature them opening up their musical vista and THE TALIBAND + DIAL F FOR discovering the joy of dancing, produced as it is FRANKENSTEIN + NO DESPAIR: The by Alex Epton (aka Armani XXXchange). With Academy – Second night of the Oxford those beats come a heightened sense of melody Cherwell Valley College bands showcase with and increased emotional resonance, with odes to instrumental metal and classic rockers Taliband east London clubbing alongside tales of failed joined by promising new grunge-pop act Dial F romance. Don’t expect any great happy clappy For Frankenstein. reinvention though, the duo remain in the darker MR GINGER: The Wheatsheaf Tuesday 10th shadows of pop’s underworld, sharing a love OPEN MIC SESSION: The Temple for all things Velvet Underground, Beefheart and RED VALVE: The Port Mahon LYKKE LI: The Suicide. Jericho Tavern OFF-FIELD 5: The Port Mahon – Extended THURSDAY 19th evening of leftfield and experimental noises with THE SCHOOL + FLICKLISTEN + Born in Sweden and raised in a Portuguese Baby Gravy, Egyptian Death, Truck Pitch, PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT: The Bullingdon – mountain-top hippy commune with only a Wire Rooms and Toad. Swiss Concrete club night with Cardiff’s cutie- copy of ’s ‘Immaculate Collection’ NATTY: The Jericho Tavern – Jaunty, for musical company, Stockholm’s Lykke Li lightweight reggae-soul from the London singer- (or Lykke Zahrisson to give her her full, un- songwriter who, at various points in his short Thursday 12th popstar name) was always going to be a career so far has supported Kate Nash and slightly oddball proposition. But that hasn’t , engineered the last Razorlight album, TOKYO POLICE stopped her becoming one of the hottest sampled Neil Young and Simon and Garfunkel CLUB: The Academy young singers around with record labels and covered Vampire Weekend. He’s also Tokyo Police Club come from Newmarket, clamouring for her signature after a series of performed on Later... with Jools Holland with but thankfully that’s Newmarket in Ontario, star performances at this year’s SXSW his new single, ‘Cold Town’. rather than Suffolk, which is good because, festival in Texas, while she’s already EMPIRICAL: The Regal – Live jazz in the while we have nothing against East Anglia, appeared on Later… with Jools Holland. style of Ornette Coleman, and Canada does just keep on giving us great The 21-year old singer is currently being Ali Farka Toure, promoting their recent pop bands. And to the growing list you can compared to and Feist but listen to Courtney Pine-produced album. her eccentric, stripped-down electro-jazz consider adding Tokyo Police Club. A four pop and her so cute you could stick a pair th piece barely into their 20s they got a lot of of floppy ears on it and stick it in a hutch MONDAY 16 people very excited early last year when voice and closer comparisons would be THE DANI WILDE BAND: The Bullingdon they released their debut EP, ‘A Lesson In Nelly Furtado, Clare Grogan and even – Rising UK blues and soul singer-guitarist Crime’ – seven frantic mod-punk songs in Vanessa Paradis. Lykke’s new album, tours her debut album, ‘Heal My Blues’, on sixteen minutes, quickly followed by equally ‘’, was produced by Bjorn Ruf Records, following on from work in frenetic live shows at , Yttling from Peter, Bjorn and John, and Maddie Prior’s Band. Coachella, Reading and Glastonbury as well there is much shared musical ground .She’s : The Academy – Return to as a whistlestop tour of the UK at the start currently signed to uber-trendy Moshi town for the band formed from the ashes of The of last year. And now they’re back, to Moshi Records in this country, but songs Darkness with bassist Richie Edwards taking coincide with the release of their first album, like ‘I’m Good, I’m Gone’ and the over lead duties after the departure of tight- ‘’. Melodic and agile and wonderfully flirtatious ‘Little Bit’ look set trousered drug hoover , joined infused with irrepressible youthful to take her to another level. We lykke it, oh by plus erstwhile-Grahan Coxon exuberance, songs like ‘Your English Is yes we do. bandmate Toby McFarlane .The band played Good’ and ‘Nature Of The Experiment’ their first gig at the end of November and have sound a bit like The Strokes might have done SATURDAY 14th since toured in support of Thin Lizzy. And for had they lived up to their early promise and anyone who frets over the progress hard rock maybe decided to have some fun. From HREDA + ELAPSE-O + PLEASE + has made in the last 25 years, here’s a reminder jangly pop to classic college rock, there are PREFONTAINE: The Wheatsheaf – Reliably of how it used to be played. hints of Pavement and Editors in their sound challenging night of experimentation from Poor ROCKDISCO: Po Na Na but their uplifting feel and dedication to Girl Noise – see main preview brevity (which can, admittedly, do them a CARA DILLON: The Academy – Soft-centred th disservice at times), simply makes them a folk-pop from the Irish singer and former TUESDAY 17 great fun pop band. Equation bandmate with Seth Lakeman. RONJEREMI + INSPECTED BY TEN + CAPTAIN BLACK: The Jericho Tavern – CITIZENS OF EARTH: The Academy – First Lively mix of folk-punk, and skiffle of a two-night showcase of bands from the from Camden’s Captain Black at tonight’s Coo Oxford Cherwell Valley College music course. Coo Club. Hardcore thrash merchants Ronjeremi headline QUEEN B: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Tribute to and are joined by rock, funk and soul outfit Freddie and the boys. Inspected By Ten plus meandering funk rockers OX4: The Bullingdon – Drum&bass club Citizens of Earth. night. CHRIS TOWNSEND + MIRIAM JONES + OUT TO GRAZE FESTIVAL: Rookery MESH 29 + THE LAYLANAS: The Jericho Farm, Shabbington - Second day of the Tavern festival. JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With core popstrels The School, taking lessons from the-line Delta and Chicago blues. Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura amongst THE BLESSING: The Academy – Re- others, plus Cambridge’s none-more-twee arranged gig for the Bristolian jazz-rock Puncture Repair Kit, a band with a name to put crossover combo, featuring former-Portishead all those determinedly shambolic 80s acts to rhythm section Jim Barr and Clive Deamer, shame, armed with, oh yes, glockenspiel, plus brass players Pete Judge and Jake recorders and a typewriter. Moshtastic! McMurchie, whose CV includes Super Furry LITTLE FISH + IVY’S ITCH + FROM Animals and the National Youth Jazz MARS: The Cellar – Incendiary double bill Orchestra, somehow finding a meeting point featuring the two best female singers on the between The Stranglers and Ornette Coleman. local – Little Fish’s Juju, coming on like a ROCKDISCO: Po Na Na young Patti Smith and dead set on rock’n’roll Saturday 14th glory with drummer Nez with their sublimely TUESDAY 24th poppy garage rock; plus demon-voiced Eliza THE DAYS: The Academy – Piano-led soul- PLEASE / HREDA / from Ivy’s Itch, making out like a cross between pop from the rising Devon troupe who you Linda Blair and Katie Jane Garside over her might find lurking somewhere between Ben’s ELAPSE-O / band’s brutal-tender gothic grunge rocking. Brother and Toploader were you so inclined to PREFONTAINE: TRANSMISSION + FOR THE go looking in such places. COMMONWEALTH: The Jericho Tavern – SOLE + SJ ESAU + JONQUIL: The Cellar Epic grungy rock somewhere between Feeder – Crosswords Records night with a rare UK The Wheatsheaf and Puressence from Transmission. Oxford’s noise scene has been one of the appearance from Anticon founder Sole, aka Tim OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Holland, displaying his dark, dense stream-of- most exciting developments on the local SMASH DISCO: The Academy music scene over the past year or so but, consciousness rap style. Fellow Anticon chap SJ Esau, from Bristol and a former Tricky perhaps understandably, it remains a cult FRIDAY 20th concern, beyond the comprehension of too THEA GILMORE: The Academy – Chillingly many gig goers. But tonight’s Poor Girl Friday 27th Noise-promoted gig is as good an gentle folk from Thea Gilmore, back in action introduction to the experimental side of with new album ‘Liejacker’, the follow-up to THE MUSIC: things as you’ll get, so maybe cast aside 2006’s acclaimed ‘Harpo’s Ghost’, currently any preconceptions and discover something collaborating with The Zutons. The Academy SAM ISAAC: The X, Cowley – Intimate genuinely new. Hreda are a lesson in Funny how you can forget all about a band’s country-tinged rock and electro-folk from the technically-outstanding instrumental math- existence if they deign to disappear for a London singer and his band. rock, full of ambient menace as they recall year or two. Such is the case with The LIGHTNIN’ WILLIE & THE POORBOYS + Slint’s more contemplative moments with Music, Leeds’ rockers touted as the future THE EPSTEIN: The Jericho Tavern – intricate interplay and a musical intelligence of, erm, music, back in the early noughties Second local gig in a month from the Texan that never slips into self-satisfaction. The on the strength of their Fierce Panda debut blues-rock guitarist. mighty Elapse-O (pictured) are simply single, ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’ as FRESH OUT OF THE BOX: The Cellar – astonishing live, recalling the innovative well as their pretty incendiary early live House, breaks and techno featuring sets from lack of compromise of bands like Suicide, shows. After a Top Ten debut album and a Ape Records’ Ben and Lex. Liars, Swans and Cabaret Voltaire, mixing reasonably successful follow-up in 2004, EVOLUTION: Fat Lil’s, Witney up feedback, distortion and pulsing singer Robert Harvey’s depression and KRISSY MATTHEWS: Labour Club electronics with a truly fearsome noise. alcohol dependency caught up with him and – Didcot’s monthly Red Hot Blues Club. London’s Please, meanwhile, mix up all it’s only now the band are back in action. SHAKELLERS: The Port Mahon manner of exotic sounds, taking influences Their forthcoming third album, ‘Strength In BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon from north Africa and eastern and Numbers’, has been co-produced by Flood SHAKE: The Academy layering it in a stubborn, marching and Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll, which bodes heaviosity, while Prefontaine are angular, well, and they were always a step above st obstinate and antagonistic. Go on, flog that SATURDAY 21 most of the lauded guitar-toting hopefuls ticket for The Automatic and treat your NEARLY DAN: The Academy – Tribute to that were their contemporaries. Most ears to a good sonic cleansing. . recognisable for Harvey’s trademark vocal WHISKY BLITZ: The Wheatsheaf wail, it’s Adam Nutter’s cacophonous guitar ABORT, RETRY, FAIL?: The Cellar – playing that really makes the band, a wah- Electro, indie and dance club night with live sets wah heavy wall of noise, funk chops and from Jersey’s electro-funkers Velofax, jittery oceanic drifting that rides over the clattering post-punkers Hair Traffic Control and local tribal rhythms. They’re epic in a similar electro-rock faves 100 Bullets Back way to but equally in thrall to Led Zep’s GREEN ONIONS: Fat Lil’s, Witney – mighty hard rocking blues. Whether they’re Tribute to The Blues Brothers. still anyone’s tip for the future of rock is TRANSFORMATION / TRASHY / ROOM doubtful but for the present, it’s good to 101: The Academy have them back. SUNDAY 22nd TIM GODDARD: The Regal – Jazz composer and saxophonist who has previously worked with Chick Corea. THE DEPUTEES: The Port Mahon

MONDAY 23rd ROBERT HOKUM & THE GUVNORS: The Bullingdon – West London r’n’b outfit adding funk and Latin touches to their straight-down- protégé, has more recently ditched his SATURDAY 28th alternative hip hop style for a wyrd folk WAKESTOCK: Blenheim Palace – and psychedelia path, while local Day two of the wakeboarding festival - see cinematic alt.folk starlets Jonquil bring the main preview sea shanties. GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With THE DEPUTEES + L-MO + LES local jazz guitar stalwart Denny Ilett Jr. CLOCHARDS: The Wheatsheaf – Strangulated folk-rock and jangly indie th WEDNESDAY 25 pop from The Deputees at tonight’s GTI 1000HERTZ + GUNNBUNNY + 50ft club. Leeds’ acoustic funk trouper and PANDA: The Wheatsheaf – Triple bill of human beatboxer L-Mo and local Gallic- heavyweight noise with screaming pop faves Les Clochards support. hardcore hellbastards 1000 Hertz, who THE FAMILY MACHINE: The Jericho claim to originate from Fuckston, Tavern – Lovely lachrymose mood pop Fuckshire, and listening to them, we don’t from the recent Nightshift cover stars. doubt it. Raw, bluesy grunge beasts GHOSTWOOD: The Academy – Aussie Gunnbunny and rifftastic instrumental duo rockers, mixing Oasis-style stadium indie 50ft Panda support. with more dark-hued shoegazing noise, OPEN MIC SESSION: The Temple kick off a short UK tour. PHISH 6: The Bullingdon – 90s club THURSDAY 26th night with DJs The Mighty Miso and TRANSFORMATION: The Bullingdon Lezzard spinning everything from grunge THE BRAIN POLICE + THE to trance, plus a live set from US FULLERTONS + THE COOLING rockabilly band Ladyfingers. PEARLS: The Jericho Tavern – Not the MUNCH MUNCH + LONELY Scandinavian stoner-metal Brain Police, GHOSTS: The Cellar – Vacuous Pop but the new band formed by ex-South Sea night with Bristol’s chaotic Casio-core Company Prospectus keyboard player manglers Munch Munch and Brighton’s Jim, with support from maudlin folk-pop strident electro-rockers Lonely Ghosts. band Cooling Pearls and Watford’s mod- GREENISH DAY: Fat Lil’s, Witney – punkers The Fullertons. Tribute to Green Day. SKYLARKIN: The Cellar – Ska, soul BEELZEBOZO + TALC DEMONS: and reggae with Count Skylarkin plus Stocks Bar, Abingdon – Skittle Alley guest DJ Derek. bands night with local metallers OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Beelzebozo and Rami’s bluesmen The Talc CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Demons. Community Centre THE MIGHTY REDOX: The Crawley SMASH DISCO: The Academy Inn, Witney BEHAVEYA: The Temple th TRANSFORMATION / TRASHY / FRIDAY 27 ROOM 101: The Academy WAKESTOCK: Blenheim Palace – First day of the new three-day th wakeboarding and music festival – see SUNDAY 29 main preview WAKESTOCK: Blenheim Palace – THE MUSIC: The Academy – Leeds’ Final day of the festival - see main The Purple Turtle epic rockers resurrected – see main preview preview ZANGRYUS + SACRED DIVE: The MOSHKA with THE DRUG SQUAD: Port Mahon Oxford’s Best Student bar The Bullingdon – Ska-punk chaos at th tonight’s Moshka club night. MONDAY 30 Live Bands and DJs VIXENS + TURNPIKE GLOW + THE JONATHAN KALB BAND: The GIOVANNA & THE SANDS + THE Bullingdon – Renowned US blues Open until 3am RRRRRs: The Jericho Tavern – Dark- guitarist and singer, steeped in the minded indie jangling from the headliners, traditions of Muddy Waters, Albert Happy Hour between 5.30 – 8pm plus electro-indie rock from Italy’s Collins and BB King, but drawing on a £1 pints and spirits Turnpike Glow. wide range of blues styles as well as soul, HQ: The Cellar – Drum&bass club night funk and country, now enjoying his 36th Frewin Court, opposite Zavvi with Random Movement, Jordan V and year on the road, touring the US and DJ Bekah. Europe, as well as backing the likes of Bo VENUE PHONE NUMBERS SNEAKY BONUS: Fat Lil’s, Witney Diddley, Otish Rush and Lightning DEDLOK: The Port Mahon – Grinding Hopkins. Oxford Academy: 0844 477 2000 (ticketweb) thrash metal. THE GALVATRONS: The Academy – The Bullingdon: 01865 244516 BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Fantastically OTT Aussie robo power- The Wheatsheaf: 01865 721156 Bullingdon rockers of a distinctly 80s hue. It’s like The X: 01865 776431 SHAKE: The Academy , Queen and Rush never went The Cellar: 01865 244761 GET DOWN: The Brickworks away. The New Theatre: 0870 606 3500 FRESH’N’FUNKY: Thirst Lodge ROCKDISCO: Po Na Na The Port Mahon: 01865 202067 The Jericho Tavern: 01865 311775 Nightshift listings are free. Deadline for inclusion in the gig guide is the 20th of each Brookes Union: 01865 484750 month - no exceptions. Call 01865 372255 (10am-6pm) or email listings to The Purple Turtle: 01865 247086 [email protected]. All listings are copyright of Nightshift and may not be The Temple: 01865 243251 reproduced without permission East Oxford Community Centre: 01865 792168 WAKESTOCK Friday 27th - Sunday 29th Blenheim Palace

OXFORDSHIRE’S SUMMER FESTIVAL hip hop roots and covers of UK indie hits. season has a new giant in its midst with the Madchester veterans Happy Mondays are the arrival of Wakestock to the spectacular most recent addition to the bill, following their surroundings of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. recent sold-out show at the Academy, while Wakestock began in north Wales eight years ago Welsh heroes Funeral For A Friend up as part of the annual wakeboarding the guitar count. championships – the fast-growing sport that There’s cheesy 80s electro revivalism from mixes water-skiing with surfboarding. And if , choirboy punk-pop from Elliot you’re wondering what surfers are doing in Minor and similarly-minded rocking from You landlocked Oxfordshire, you obviously haven’t Me At Six, quirky prog-tinged jangle-pop from seen the size of the lake in Blenheim’s 2,100- regular Oxfordshire favourites , acre grounds. In fact there can be few more party house from Brandon Block, post- spectacular sites for a music festival than hardcore noise from Wales’ The Blackout and Blenheim, and if all that having a good time gets epic prog-tinged rock from Northern Ireland’s a bit much at any point, you can simply sit In Case Of Fire. Former-Soul 2 Soul legend back and marvel at the vast landscaped gardens. Jazzie B heads up the DJ cast, along with Dykeenies, Californian folk singer Matt So anyway, there’ll be displays of sound system king and Kiss FM founder Sir Costa, acclaimed hip hop team The wakeboarding over the weekend (and after last Norman Jay. Nextmen and house and trance producer and summer’s downpours, we’re hoping they’ll be DJ Miguel Del Bosque. the only people getting wet over the weekend) Sunday’s bill looks to be the strongest, with but it’s the music we’re most interested in and local promoters TCT Music teaming up with For full updated information visit there’s plenty of that on three stages across the Xfm for one stage, featuring local heroes www.wakestock.co.uk three days. Supergrass and The Young Knives, as well as Tickets for Wakestock are on sale from the the best of Oxford’s rising stars, A Silent Film festival website and wegottickets.com, as well Being a new festival to the area Wakestock will and Little Fish. Joining them are post-punkers as the credit card ticket line on 01758 710 000. looking to establish its identity this year and set The Futureheads, melancholic acoustic Tickets can also be bought from HMV Oxford the scene for (hopefully) future years. This songsmith Lightspeed Champion and synth- in Cornmarket Street, SS20 on Cowley Road year’s bill is a mix of dance, indie and rock, with pop revivalists Metronomy. and Rapture in Witney. Prices are £85 for a good few local acts included on the bill. The big names on the main stage include Mike weekend tickets, or £110 with camping. Day Electro, big beat and house stars Groove Skinner’s hip hop storymakers The Streets, tickets are also available at £40 per day. Armada were the first headline act to be Radio 1’s veteran dance DJ Pete Tong, r’n’b announced and they top the Friday night main singer Estelle, Scottish new wavers The stage bill, along with electronic duo Audio Dykeenies, Californian folk singer Matt Bullys, while Australia’s drum&bass hitmakers Costa, acclaimed hip hop remix team The Pendulum head the main tent stage the same Nextmen and house and trance producer and night. They are joined by new ravers DJ Miguel Del Bosque. Hadouken!, post-punk funk-pop starlets , Aussie teen-punks Operator For full updated information visit Please and Sparks-meet-Supertramp stadium- www.wakestock.co.uk pop newcomers Royworld. Among the other Tickets for Wakestock are on sale from the dance-orientated acts on the Friday bill are festival website and wegottickets.com, as well as London’s nu-skool breaks team Trophy Twins, the credit card ticket line on 01758 710 000. Polish-Iranian-American hip hop DJ Nu-Mark Tickets can also be bought from HMV Oxford in and funky house duo Trophy Twins. Cornmarket Street, SS20 on Cowley Road and Rapture in Witney. Prices are £85 for weekend Mark Ronson heads Saturday night’s bill, with tickets, or £110 with camping. Day tickets are his band and assorted guests set to mix up his also available at £40 per day.

LIVE All photos: Sam Shepherd, except Tristan & the Troubadours: rphimages

Faceometer Tristan & the Troubadours

Sikorski Cat Matador Non-Stop Tango

THE OXFORD PUNT parts. It’s no exaggeration to say that through them like seaside rock, and that they’re INTERNATIONAL JETSETTERS hitting the stage currently being courted by Linda Perry, Will Tattersdill sits facing the early evening at all, never mind on time and in front of a packed undisputedly the world’s premier A&R person, is Borders crowd and announces, “Hi I’m house, is a minor miracle. They have pedigree, hopefully a sign that things will very soon be going FACEOMETER and I’m from Birmingham”. As which shows in their mature songwriting and stratospheric for them. an opening gambit at the Oxford Punt it’s not a sophisticated sound, oddly reminiscent of Sisters Of great start. Will is, however, studying at Oxford Mercy without the goth baggage, and better Someone who is highly unlikely to have the music University, so we let it pass. You can tell he’s a haircuts. One of the bands tonight most likely to industry chasing him for a signature is DAVID K clever fellow because he manages to squeeze about make waves, and true to their name they fly off to FRAMPTON, but he seems to be everyone’s Punt 100 words per minute into his twitchy, caffeinated New York the next day. highlight, playing a powerful, pulverising set of anti-folk, even managing a song that takes in the From here on is where the Punt gets considerably laptop brutality at the Cellar that at first encounter complete life of William Blake. Abetted by the more hectic and occasionally messy with disrupted seems more like physical assault than music, but excellently-named Dapper Swindler, Faceometer set times meaning we sometimes charge across stealthily hits a groove that’s irresistibly danceable, produces what sound like frenzied Polish dance town to stand and watch an empty stage for like Fuck Buttons mangling dubstep with an angle tunes with lyrics by and Edward Lear twenty minutes, or are forced to down pints in grinder. Clutching three mics like a fat kid and shows an odd mixture of New York cool and seconds to make it elsewhere in time for the returning from an ice-cream van, he screams, slightly frightening effervescence: imagine second half of some band or other. “We’re gonna rock’n’roll tonight!” It’s no empty Lawrence Ferlinghetti as an assistant scoutmaster. At Thirst Lodge nervous audience members are promise. His vocals might not be very supple but his way weighing up the risk involved trying to walk across It’s the heavier, more experimental side of Oxford with language is dexterity itself. the dancefloor to get to the loos, since BLACK music that comes to the fore tonight, from We’re leaning against the pulp romance section at SKIES BURN’s heavily-tattooed frontman is ELAPSE-O’s rumbling, bass-heavy percussive Borders this year, trying to ignore the bodice- prowling the open space like a guard dog with urgency and wandering guitar noise that dwarfs the ripping sleeve artwork and concentrate instead on toothache and a ferocious roar as his band do a fair slightly sparse crowd, to EDUARD DESMOND CHANCER AND THE LONG approximation of Slayer locked in combat with SOUNDINGBLOCK’s Beefheart-flavoured MEMORIES, which isn’t difficult given Desmond Meshugga, and we feel it wiser to hold on to our boundary-pushing blues-core explorations, their (aka Tomohawk from Big Speakers, Brickwork bladders and simply enjoy the undeniable pleasure increasingly complex riffs displaying their Lizards et al) has a voice that could disembowel of an extreme metal band in full flight. dexterity while remaining unrelentingly rock solid. buffalo at fifty paces. In retrospect his drunken Many in the crowd have got here extra early to be And then there’s the misleadingly-named NON- barfly delivery may be better suited to a wee small sure of catching LITTLE FISH, and by the time STOP TANGO, who sound like Talking Heads and hours whisky session instead of a strip-lit bookshop JuJu and Nez take to the stage, it’s impossible to and Tom Waits and Captain but the band’s smoky trawl through gutter life jazz get in the door, the audience at the back stood on Beefheart and and Hawkwind and Björk ballads that recall ‘Blue Valentine’-era Tom Waits tables and hanging off every vantage point to see and The Fall and The Art Of Noise and lots of is louche and endearing, with some excellent jazz this astonishing duo perform. We’ve ranted and others. Not necessarily our opinion, but this is just sax solos. raved about Little Fish’s feral soul-bearing garage a selection of comments we overheard in The rock so much over the last 12 months but it bears Wheatsheaf as the set progressed, which goes some There are some heroic scenes at the Purple Turtle repeating, especially with new songs like the way to explaining how varied their sound is. where sound engineer James Sergeant is coping Pretenders-play-‘Heroin’ churn of ‘Darling Dear’, Composed of Oxford’s free improv luminaries, with a venue seemingly stripped of any working that here is a band that has star quality running Non-Stop Tango is really an experiment in taking All photos: Sam Shepherd, except Little Fish: rphimages; King Furnace: Jonny Moto Little Fish

Eduard Soundingblock King Furnace

David K Frampton International Jetsetters groove-based music and destroying it from the the sudden, welcome drop into dubby reggae, volume (my God, the volume!) again and again and inside, bombarding funky basslines with electronic they’re never going to be chin-stroking critics’ again. They really do it incredibly well, but, like drums, tinny keyboards and incomprehensible favourites but will always create a party wherever another local duo that has two people making the vocals. Not many people last the distance, but if they play. RAGGASAURUS’ take on the reggae noise of ten, Winnebago Deal, listen to it for more they left confused we’ll call it a victory. The Punt beast, meanwhile, is more exotic and esoteric, than thirty minutes and your brain starts to melt. needs bands like this. Scratch that, the world needs helped in no small part by frontman Tunsi’s huge, At this point the sight of the Cellar bouncer eating bands like this, there aren’t enough surprises left. soaring Arabic vocals. raw eggs sends those remaining sensitive souls off Beats and grooves of a very different nature from to their beds, leaving a rump of hardcore Punters On the poppier side of the coin are Witney’s SIKORSKI at Thirst Lodge. 80s electro with a to discuss the relative merits of CLANKY ROBO TRISTAN & THE TROUBADOURS, still all 16, hint of industrial, they’re like the future as it used GOBJOBS in the liveliest of drunken fashions. once demo dumped in these pages and now looking to be viewed. They pack an electronic punch more “But it’s not even music”, declaims one. Perhaps, like an outside bet for local band most-likely-to in subtle than David K Frampton, although subtle but it is theatre. And noise. And a bit silly. And, and the next year or so, managing to sound isn’t a word you’d normally associate them with this is important, fun. Does that count for simultaneously naïve and ramshackle and on any other night; they’re more like the nothing? exquisitely on the nail with a keyboard-led sound soundtrack to a night time drive through central that’s greatly augmented by B’s violin scrawls. Detroit with Robocop, and don’t tell us that isn’t It maybe something of a forgone conclusion that More violins with CAT MATADOR at the an inviting prospect, especially when they’ve got bands at the Punt get a good write-up in Nightshift Wheatsheaf, combining well with the chiming recent Miss England, Ellie Glynn, on hand for – we chose them after all – but the truth is the guitars, creating a high-octane form of indie rock company and guest vocals. Nightshift writers out in force tonight argue that veers between epic and introspective but with belligerently about the relative merits of just about enough force and character to keep the large crowd The Punt never peters out. Even as the school every one, except the unanimously admired Mr fully engaged. night gets later and the more responsible souls out Frampton. For every act on here tonight there is a Sadly ALPHABET BACKWARDS isn’t just on the town start to contemplate tomorrow’s critic who loves them, and that’s what’s important. someone rewinding an episode of Sesame Street, consequences, KING FURNACE are showing why We can only hope that any inquisitive local music but happily they are a pretty feisty pop we think they’re the most improved band in town virgins who got a Punt pass found something they concoction with some excellent fixing keyboards over the last year. These days they’ve got loved to treasure in their memories…and we hope and bouncy backbeats. Sadly the vocals let the side character, and a sense of showmanship, and loads they found something they abhorred too, that’s down with some clumsy pub rock intonations, but and loads of unabashed balls-out rocking energy, what music should be all about. apparently the normal vocalist is off tonight, so frontman Jan leaping from keyboards to mic, the And in a week that found the newly-published we’ll give them a bye. Worth a second listen, we band decked out in dapper shirts-and-braces clobber Rough Guide To England declaiming Oxford’s live feel. that adds a touch of civility to their otherwise music scene as not all that, the Punt, and the primal party blues-rock clamour. variety of bands it hosts, is living proof that what As an evening of venue-hopping and badly-paced 50FT PANDA are Oxford music’s equivalent of a we’ve got in Oxford is the envy of any town and drinking begins to take hold there is an Belgian truffle: creamy and delicious, but too rich city in the country. opportunity to dance in that ungainly fashion we to want too much of. Imagine all your favourite have, to RUBBERDUCK, undoubtedly the Punt’s heavy rock records distilled down to their essence, Words: Dale Kattack, David Murphy, Sam most unselfconsciously good-time band. From their and that’s essentially what this duo produce: Shepherd, Pascal Ansell, Art Lagun, Ben 70s-styled guitar chops and loping funk grooves to nothing but fiery drumming, the riff, and the Woolhead. Whip photo by Sam Shepherd THE WHIP / SOUTH CENTRAL The Jericho Tavern It’s always worrying when a band is prone to giving each other pre-gig hugs and high fives as a kind of motivational bonding tool. It’s particularly disturbing when the band in question is a bunch of pencil-thin, hoodie- wearing indie-kids who look like they’ve come straight from the streets of Shoreditch. Looks can be deceiving, so we try and ignore the in- band hugging and the fact that there’s a keytar on stage. Turns out that there might be something in this self congratulation because South Central are awe inspiring. There’s nothing particularly new about what they do, which is fairly brash punked-up electro, but it is steeped in attitude and sometimes that’s enough. So when they deconstruct The Fall’s ‘New Big Prinz’ for ‘Nothing Can Go Wrong’ and turn it into a dancefloor stomping anthem it doesn’t feel like , more like a fitting tribute. Likewise when they lift from 808 State’s ‘Cubic’ for ‘Revolution’ it feels like they’ve taken the original in a new direction, themselves New Rave. However, The Whip hook you and you in, which is why within appropriating rather than engaging in some have something about them that elevates them seconds of ‘Trash”s rumbling bassline kicking cheeky shoplifting. South Central are perhaps a above the likes of and the like. Mixing things off, the Jericho has turned into a seething little too harsh to appeal across the board, but up indie guitars with 80s dance sounds such as dancefloor. It is not inconceivable to believe they make an irresistible noise. New Order or Human League, their sound is far that in a matter of months The Whip will be Just like South Central The Whip are hardly more subtle and infinitely more poppy than huge, in fact on this evidence it’s almost a pushing back barriers by adding their name to most. That’s not to say they make instantly certainty. the list of bands that can happily call forgettable tripe, in fact their songs are quick to Sam Shepherd

RAY / THE SWAMIS / WHYBIRDS DJ YODA’S MAGIC CINEMA SHOW The Jericho Tavern The Academy At first sight The Whybirds look with a snappy humour, and a DJ Yoda – aka Duncan Beiny – is Before long, the Star Wars theme like a bad accident with a time- woman’s “thousand word” glare. a North London scratch DJ who, blasts from the crackling Academy machine. They are flowing haired, The audience mosh and things get despite selling out venues speakers - the unmistakable Lynynrd Skynyrd-style rock stars trampled. Matt Banham’s pin- nationwide, modestly admits he triumph of the cheeky North that have stumbled off a tour bus sharp drumming completes the does it all “purely for my own London DJ announces himself via from Okie Fanokie, USA circa- feeling that this Milton Keynes amusement”. A vinyl-scratching a hefty span of Western video 1969. But titter ye not, they turn band are not only bathed in sweat virtuoso and cereal box-collecting culture. Those fleeting galactic out to be the most consummate but also great potential. freak, he is ‘One of the top three letters pass by on the screen and charismatic British band doing After all the fizz and fireworks, DJs in the world’ according to Hip behind Yoda’s desk; “A DJ to alt- I’ve ever seen. Ray’s black-shirted, sober Hop Connection magazine. His scratch DVDs in ways never seen In a personnel of four they have lamenting is really the only way Magic Cinema Show is the before”. Hundreds of the clips four lead singers of great quality, forward. Powerful songs of quiet culmination of a brand-new hip- invade the screen: Superbad, and in taking their turn each subtly desperation, this is indie as it was hop conception: scratching DVDs. Anchorman, Sesame Street, David changes the texture of the band. So and should be, where Guy The £1500 Pioneer DVD Mixer Dickinson, Tom Jones, Rocky; all ‘Girl Is On Fire’ is something Bon Chadwick drinks with Brett has been keeping Yoda company in get the DJ Yoda treatment. The Jovi would be proud of; ‘Hauling’ Anderson aftershow in the 12 Bar his past months of touring – the warm, nostalgic clouds from The is prime Eagles, and the E Street Club, and Janis Long puts on gadget enables him to scratch Simpsons appear, cunningly Band would be slavering to have a another Echo and the Bunnymen DVDs at the same time as CDs. matched with a jungle beat crack at ‘Four Letter Word’. By track as you sit up in bed, reading The result is, in his own words, “a accelerated to the tempo of a the end I don’t want them to leave with the radio on after midnight. big potpourri of... all my favourite speedy infantile sugar-rush. It’s the stage, the crowd whooping and The band’s sound revolves round bits of all my favourite movies, not always thrilling to watch a hollering, and I think, I really the two Bradford brothers: Mark’s TV programmes, cartoons, music grumpy DJ pore over his decks all wouldn’t want to follow that. guitar a swirling counterpoint to videos...” evening. But The Swamis’ singer Dan Nev’s one-line-at-a-time tenor Styluses, turntables, covert DJ Yoda, however, is far from po- Buckland would happily follow phrasing. ‘Roulette Sun’ is typical spliffs; we’re now a couple of faced: his grinning and immature Queen on stage, given the chance, of the grave but beautiful feel to it hours before his set, DJ Dub humour is irresistible. While such is his confidence. With all, and while you really need to providing a tidy warm-up session transcending the ‘novelty’ status, brilliant guitarist Paul Jackson live with their album, ‘A Death In with sludgy, throbbing slices of Yoda achieves an amazing acting as a sort of Mick Ronson to Fiction’, a week or two before dark choc hip-hop à la Flying spectacle, a brilliantly puerile his Bowie, they embark on a coming to see them, you can see Lotus. A dizzying concoction, hotchpotch of images and beats, session of tight-riffing rock songs they are worthy of their place in spiralling basslines travelling snail- stuttering, multiplying the clips (‘Gypsy Pig’) and epic Led Zep the noir canon. paced with some laid-back but into a scratching mayhem. balladry (‘Take You Soon), replete Paul Carrera unremarkable scratching. Pascal Ansell NME NEW NOISE TOUR The Academy NME’s latest heavily-sponsored nature. A new name is in order to showcase tour could more aptly fully reflect their talent. Might we have been called The New 80s suggest Team Shite? Tour, such is the unabashed The night takes a significant turn genuflecting at that maligned decade for the better with FRIENDLY going on tonight from the four FIRES, steeped in the turn-of-the- bands involved. decade funk of Talking Heads and The night starts badly, gets worse Gang Of Four as well as New and finally picks up a head of York’s burgeoning disco scene. steam. WHITE LIES are a They, so much more than what’s functional post-punk , a come before, sound fresh and in Witney’s Premier Live Music Venue sort of Editors Reserves who only danger of getting a party started. get us to contemplating how many But it’s the rapturous reception different marketing committees afforded CRYSTAL CASTLES were needed to perfect their sterile that shows who tonight’s stars JUNEJUNE take on all things Bunnymen, really are. A blizzard of bleeps and Associates and Simple Minds. squiggles, beats and strobes, a There are a thousand bands better bolshy, minimalist techno-rock Sunday 1st than this rehearsing in village halls throb fronted by raven-haired pop BIG BLUES JAM SESSION (from 3pm – all welcome) and garages across the country vixen Alice Glass, they are an Friday 6th every day. The irony is, back in the unnatural, unholy and cool-as-fuck THE CORSAIRS collision between Bikini Kill and early-80s, the NME would th doubtless have savaged White Lies Visage. Such is the blizzard effect Saturday 7 for their utter lack of authenticity, of the strobe lighting it’s hard to CHEAP THRILLS but since the weekly has lost its really see what’s going on on stage Friday 13th soul, we’ll do it for them. and Alice’s vocals are little more BLUE WHISKY TEAM WATERPOLO are a new than a squeaky, shouty hectoring Saturday 14th nadir altogether, though. Whether succession of sloganeering chants QUEEN B (featuring Paul Jackson as Freddie) £15 but she’s one of the most engaging it’s the singer’s cocksure falsetto th ‘rap’, the band’s anonymous funk- frontwomen we’ve seen since Wednesday 18 pop and sluggish MOR rock stomp Karen O on this same stage, and FAT LIL’S COMEDY CLUB or simply the drummer’s Peruvian when she dives into the crowd Friday 20th hat that simply screams “KICK she’s predictably mobbed. Perhaps EVOLUTION ME, I’M A TWAT!” there really is NME’s tastemaking talent isn’t Saturday 21st no end of reasons to despise them quite moribund just yet. And as for GREEN ONIONS (tribute to the Blues Brothers) synth-pop? Who says it can’t rock for even daring to exist. Team th Waterpolo is a name that suggests like a bastard? Friday 27 some degree of skill or exotic Dale Kattack SNEAKY BONUS Saturday 28th GREENISH DAY (Green day tribute) £7 THE MENTALISTS / BABY GRAVY The Academy Unless stated, entry to all gigs is free! Tonight’s gig serves as a launch keep things tight and allow Zahra Coming up in July party for ‘Spark 3’, an album and Iona to add the sparkle and showcasing the local talents being flair, an ideal combination. ‘I’m KING EARL BOOGIE BAND discovered by the Young Women’s Not Like That’ will hammer its THE COLLECTOR (tribute to The Jam) Band Project. As well as the two way into your consciousness. It’s a LETZ ZEP (tribute to Led Zeppelin!) main attractions, we have five acts short sharp set and Baby Gravy from the CD who, in a shift from seem best that way, a musical the ‘Spark 2’ rock acts, are mainly shock to the temples. folk and blues, duos and solo acts. And so to special “professional” Of these, the pick are Rachel guests The Mentalists. To be Hughes, who has a fantastic bluesy honest, what with them having a voice for one so young, and Jadey frankly dire name and having gone & Spam who write well-crafted on a program where Jo Whiley is pop with a country feel. Their the arbiter of musical taste, I hold contrasting voices blend well, the out little hope. However it’s homely one of Spam and angelic almost like they created their own style of Jadey’s. obstacles to give them strength to Baby Gravy have come a long way go on. The band is locked together since they stripped out the as one, slapping you about with deadwood and came out fighting more brutal songs than I expected. Fat Lil’s with their current line up. It’s a fact They throw a magnificent curveball Fat Lil’s that seems to have gone un-noticed on the last song, a song that is 64a Corn Street, Witney by most of Oxford, but it can impossible not to dance to. Its surely be only a matter of time galloping horse rhythm has people 01993 703 385 before it dawns on them what cavorting around the dancefloor. www.fatlils.co.uk they’re missing. Dale and David Russell Barker Photo: Liane Escorza makes up withthekindof the album.Randy Jacobsmorethan Kramer, though he doesappearon original facesarehereapartfrom innocent time.Prettymuchallthe it’s likea trip backtoamore expertly andconfidentlyplayed, tunes withoffbeatlyricalcontent, sixteen yearsago.Infectious,funky much exactlywheretheyleftoff Thenewmaterialtakesuppretty this, thefirstdateofaworldtour. back withanewalbum‘Boo!’and side projects.Butnowthey’re they wentoffintohibernationand a pocketfulofhits,afterwhich twelve yearsofmodestsuccessand Harry Bowensandledtheminto of SweetPea Atkinson andSir Detroit, includingthesoulfulvocals set ofmusiciansfromtheirnative collected anoutrageouslytalented and hadpainstakingly bound scientist.MastermindsDon lyric aboutajealous,wheelchair- strangling hisguitarandaderanged Wayne Kramerfrom The MC5 funk beat,Latin-tingedpercussion, music beingmade;ahard-edged Me Out’soundedlikenoother the ultra–hipZeRecords.‘Wheel since 1980andtheirdebutsingleon Was (Not Was) havebeenaround The Academy W confusing mushymumblewhich,somehow, fall riffs, andathleticbeatsintermingleina found theirlittlenicheyet.Loudsynths,quick punk who,albeittalented,don’tseemtohave from Devonplayingfreneticspazzdiscoindie Load. 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W AS) Art Lagun what aboutthenew one?” says, fixingmewith astare,“but all myoriginalrecords.“Yeah” he and gushlikeahopelessfanabout Outside IgrabSweetPea’s hand guest onbackingvocals. who getBrianWilsonaskingto movie, andtherearen’tmanybands soundtrack forthenew while Davidhasdonethe others asproducerandco-writer, Dylan, theStonesandahostof humour. Don W just don’t‘get’theirsenseof the generalpublic,alotofwhom more popularwithmusiciansthan issue isthatthey’vealwaysbeen been lessthanpackedout. Another reports arethatotherdateshave people greetthemtonightand time inpopmusic.Barelyforty sixteen yearsisanawfullylong Theproblemtheyhaveisthat incredibly fresh. original recordstillsounds has thepowertothrilland Your Head’.‘WheelMeOut’ still Dinosaur’, butsadlyno‘Shake bring outhitslike‘Walk The They stilldroptheoddballadand only hearin American funkbands. screeching butmeasuredguitaryou Black Eyesset,andahungoverteamFoals. contours ofBloodyPandaon45rpm,amuffled the tuneisstrangelyfamiliar. Itedgesthe airy andsuperblymath-poppy. Buthangon, song, when,miraculously, itallfeelstightand into placeaboutaminutebeforetheendofeach as hasworkedwith X Files The Academy CAMARA TRIO JUSTIN Arabic rhythms, aswell as bursts knowledge of West African and little run.Using his deep showy solos,justtheoccasional plays asarhythmguitarist–no Adams’ intimate feel. conversational style,hecreatesan vocals, byalsosingingina Also aswellgivinguspowerful scream, downandbackupagain. swoop fromhigh-pitchednear- obsessive bowingmakesthesound seems partofhisbodyas of thetime,oozescharisma;riti and standingtallstillformost Camara,wearingtraditionalrobes Village gig. So thisishighly-anticipatedBig them aBBC World Musicaward. many bestof2007listsandwon ‘Soul Science’,wasnearthetopof scene. TheirdebutCDtogether, has madewavesinthe World music and singinginhis African language, African one-stringedfiddle,theriti, Camara, playingthetraditional Plant’s band,andGambianJuldeh whose dayjobiswithRobert Adams, anEnglishrockguitarist The comingtogetherofJustin guitar workisbrilliant;he ADAMS &JULDEH Liane Escorza explosive bubbleofecstaticblur. the audiencetocreatetheirownlittleworld–an punk, experimentalbandslack,whichentices an overallintrospectivenessthatotherpost- precision. Inthismixedmushofstimuli,thereis frenetically pacingsoundstoexcellent manipulating, interplaying,simulatingand their disparatemusicalinfluences- exploding burningspirit.Theywearandbreathe developed musicallyandprofessionallyintoan ‘Chrome Panthers’released,theyhave ‘Other Mathematics’,‘ZooPsychology’,and than fouryearsoftouringundertheirbeltand minimalist un-lineartimechanges.Withmore guitar fingerwork,andmuddy, noisyand display anenthusiastic,overloaded,defined guest drummerKidMillionsfromOneida,they Brooklyn, andtogetherwithZachLehrhoff by ShahinMotiaandhisbrother. Nowbasedin ExModelsstartedoffasahighschoolproject through self-cleansingshowersofnoise. overly-curious innocentchildhoodmumbling, metallic environment.Itislikeatripbacktoour displayed inasurprisinglyelegantandclean and brokenprimalvocalutterances,all factory, combinedwithlayeredguitarstrums goldsmith atworkoraJapanesecoinpress describe, abeatreminiscentof Viking reason. Theycreateasounddifficultto experimental noisescene,andwithagood steadily settledthemselvesinagrowinglocal Oxford’s Elapse-Oduohaveslowlybut that theyneedtoloadbeforeshooting. Despite theirname,theyhavenotfiguredout Colin May which couldbethe answer. for tryingthevery unexpected, doe showJustinandJuldehareup Appalachian Mountainsong,but it night isacoverofCarterFamily only songnottocomeoffonthe CD tokeepthemusicfresh.The it comestothatdifficultsecond more theycouldpossiblydowhen Theyvaryitsowell,begswhat voices. and Adams’ response betweenCamara’s voice like doingthetraditionalcalland repetitive, asdostylistictwists their soundbecomingoverly Adams’ sound evenearthier. percussion instruments,makesthe beard, andusingonly African withlong,whitewispy Miller, verymuchlookingtheold Science’. DrummerSalahDawson through thetrackson‘Soul music astheyworktheirway Together theycreate raw, gutsy Juldeh’s musicreallymesh. gig bymakingsurethathisand style ChicagoBlues,hemakesthe of bottleneckandMuddy Waters- varied playinghelpsavoid guitar, ratherthantwo

photo: Nick Courtney PHOEBE KILLDEER & THE SHORT STRAWS The X It’s a rough start. Tonight is the first night for delve into their first song she hangs on to the the promoters at The X, which itself is only mic stand with a haughty stance and with a just getting back into action after its forced punchy voice that is dark and deep, we’re closure and having their PA explode during immersed in bluesy, dirty, , a sound check certainly gives everyone some slowness that verges on dirge. The smattering of challenges. Unfortunately it’s too much for the souls that have stuck around are deathly silent, first band and they’re off, but for Phoebe including the three or four previously Killdeer & the Short Straws having to piece a rambunctious drunks in the corner. PA back together themselves and playing to Song after song Phoebe treats us to something a only a handful of people only seems to raise little different. In ‘Paranoia’ there’s simplicity their spirits. When they do finally take to the and space with shards of Portishead and Alison stage you get the feeling whether it’s two poking through. ‘Looking For A people or two thousand, Phoebe and co. are Man’ brings to mind Holly Golightly as the going to still put on an amazing show. Shorts Straws bring a 60s twist to this drunken Rumour has it that Phoebe was fired from her sardonic ¾ (“I cook and clean, I’m a breaking band, Nouvelle Vague, for ‘bad perfect machine,” she croons). And on ‘He’s behaviour’ and albeit she’s not throwing water Gone’ Phoebe goes all Eartha Kitt over angular balloons at us or making farting noises with her and scratchy guitars and tribal, rhythmic drums. number of people here, but I hope she’ll come armpit, she definitely seems to have a deviant It’s the best gig of the year so far for me. A back and be bad for us again. Very, very bad. streak about her. As she and the Short Straws shame about the difficult start and the paltry Katy Jerome

HARRY ANGEL / TOUPE / BEAVER INDEED FUEL / JAMES BELL The Academy The Bullingdon The genius of Morrissey lies in voice down to a tee - the operatic the fact that he’s at once deeply flourishes; the R-rolling; and the We’re fascinated by acts that bouncy band. We still wonder heartfelt and utterly artificial. dancing, too - that rather gauche nearly don’t work, performers who whether lumpy punk with Mojo Even when he’s probing the posturing that oscillates (wildly) skirt the shores of musical solos is the ideal vehicle for Leigh’s rawest lesions of his psyche, its between Emily Bronte swoon and embarrassment and somehow arrive writing, but this is a band done with a smirking awareness of the warm-ups of an amateur safely at the port of artistic improving steadily. the absurdity of all human hammer-thrower. Nor do the songs integrity. James Bell is a fine Slap bass. Swearing. Boob jokes. emotion which turns self- example; his supersized, falsetto- You’re not going to believe us that disappoint, the setlist being an disclosure into self-. The heavy cabaret acoustic shows, Southampton’s Toupe are geniuses, Everyfan’s treasury of favourites: persona at all times steps in for replete with implausible covers and are you? Led by stand up comedian ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Still Ill’, the person - and somehow that’s frenetic leaping, should have all the Grant Sharkey, they use drums and ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable what makes him such a real charm of a precocious toddler, yet two basses to create propulsive Now’, ‘There is a Light The Never somehow he not only escapes with and surprisingly varied smut funk, presence. It’s this paradox as Goes Out’. No ‘Girl Afraid’, pride intact, but also manages to coming off like a cross between much as the accessible brilliance of sadly, but you can’t have it all. sneak some powerful emotions into and The the songs that makes The Smiths With the exception of a bit of the room. His cover of ‘Canadee-i- Grumbleweeds, like a pier-end such perfect candidates for a dodgy guitar playing, the o’ may sound like Thin Lizzy, but Primus. Oxymoronically, they tribute act. - with its similitude is pretty spot-on - great it reveals a deep fondness for survive because they don’t take subtexts of contrivance and enough, certainly, for middle-aged traditional folk song, and ‘Last Of their silliness too seriously, and proverbially incomparable men in the audience to near-sob The Corners’ manages to mix Elvis goof off more to amuse themselves sincerity - was what The Smiths with the emotion of it all and to Costello’s lyrical intricacy with than to create an air of calculated were all about. chant ‘Morrissey! Morrissey! authentic Waterboys yearning. A wackiness – and beneath it all the Watching The Smiths Indeed Morrissey!’ as though the flower- real talent. music is actually superb, with requires a similar doubling up. tossing figure on stage were he in That song aside, Leigh Alexander’s magnificent drumming from Jay Half your brain suspends disbelief fact. songwriting for Beaver Fuel can Havelock. One of the best bands in order to immerse itself in As to the suspicion of actually be more subtle than is you’ll see all year, though we know delighted nostalgia; the other half cringeworthiness simmering just generally perceived, and he cuts big you still don’t believe us. eyes proceedings from a skeptical below the surface, I suspect this issues down to size with cheeky It’s been two years since we last remove, fearing the whole thing may be in the nature of the tribute verbosity a la Carter USM. Having saw Harry Angel, and we’re glad to may descend into ludicrousness of band, rather than owing to any said that, the new tune is called report that little has changed. The the Stars in their Eyes variety at particular failings of The Smiths `Fuck You, I’ve Got Tourettes’, so early Radiohead references may any moment. The nostalgia- Indeed. It seems sadly unfair that let’s not get carried away. Beaver have been swapped for some mid- illusion is greatly fostered by the an imitation done in the spirit of Fuel is an act that doesn’t normally period Sonic Youth, but otherwise fact that the band clearly live The eulogy, as opposed to satire, must thrive in the live environment, they still spew out fizzing Smiths. It’s impossible to imagine always be a little embarrassing, ending up a stodgy mess. Not amphetamine goth, a huge wall of “Morrissey” combingCD outsingle his quiff `MONDAYbut there it is. TheMORNING’ human heart’s a tonight, however. Something’s irascible noise with Chris Beard’s and donning the weekdayat Polar uniform Bear Records,bitch. Then again, Cowley in the Road context, changed in Camp Buttcrack since vocals as a black smear across the of management consultant, or even this hint of the risible is the lacklustre EP launch scant front. They also look like they’re anything else for that matter. He fitting. As the ‘real’ Morrissey weeks ago: Leigh’s voice may not playing in the last few seconds of looks too much like his inspiration once opined, ‘I think we all have be the most versatile in town, but their lives. “Proper rock’n’roll”, - with the skinny frame and to sit down and look in the mirror he’s clearly been working on his shouts a drunken punter. Girls bookish appeal and backside and think, What is that absurd projection and his lyrics sail clearly Aloud must still be getting over it. furnished with a veritable forest of monstrosity?’ over a surprisingly neat and David Murphy springtime flora. He’s got the Emily Gray ULRICH SCHNAUSS / AIRIEL / We found love with an advert in Nightshift INTERNATIONAL JETSETTERS The Cellar Shoegazing was a term of description narcotic guitar squall. ‘ Here I offered almost as a piss-take of bands the Come’ is more 60s sunshine psychedlia music press of the early-90s considered to with the guitar fuzz coating its lightness be somewhat lacking in charisma, hiding with a layer of sonic tar, while closing their dearth of star quality behind vast number, ‘Inside You’ finds Fi’s voice at its walls of turbulent guitar drones as they peak as the band come close to matching studiously avoided eye-contact with their Magoo’s sublime ‘Billion Dollar Brain’. Find your perfect band, drummer audience. The term has morphed since the Chicago’s Airiel are an even more pure, or partner. Ads from only £30 days of Ride and their ilk to signify a distilled amalgam of the shoegazing particular strand of indie rock, one that firmament. From the clattering Ride-like had a major impact on the whole post-rock drums and an opening number that sounds movement and where attention to sonic remarkably like that band’s ‘Seagull’, they texture, either of the dreamy, ambient kind, mix soaring melodies with incandescent or the more eviscerating variety still holds fuzz that threatens to strip layers of your sway over performance or easy pop tunes. inner ear. Sonic Cathedral is a regular club night, in Flange-heavy, they can be as delicate as Oxford, London and beyond that Pale Saints or as unforgiving as Loop, celebrates what, at its best, can sound like ultimately spiralling in on themselves for a the music of the heavens. final number that you’d gladly lose As drummer with Ride Loz Colbert yourself in for an hour. should know all about that and having Berlin’s one-man electronic shoegazing joined his current Jesus & Mary Chain cult star Ulrich Schnauss joins Airiel for bandmate Mark Crozer’s International one number but after their raucous, Jetsetters, they’re a welcome reminder of a incessant set his own solo performance is time when indie really meant independence a come down, undulating keyboard of mind and spirit. From the giddy, textures providing a gently spaced-out spiralling rush of ‘Inside Out’, they cut a ambience but too close to Tangerine dash through prime Wedding Present, Dream’s cosmiche musik to really engage while new singer Fi McFall provides an your head. Or your shoes for that matter. often strident counterbalance to the Ian Chesterton

HEALTH / JAYETAL The Wheatsheaf There is a bit of a hype surrounding grasp their intention, but it is not powerful JayetAl, a duo from Winchester, making enough to keep us transfixed. electronica from Macs I Google Health and the BBC News come and drums and guitar riffs. They have been up: ‘Health | Music’ makes the brain learn said to drive people into a dancing frenzy better’. Indeed. Health’s music is like a with their soundscapes. However, even magic jagged little pill. It sticks to the though there is a pretty large crowd tongue, the jaw, the throat and ends up tonight watching them, the audience seem dissolving in your body and attacking the uninterested. I don’t blame them. Their brain fiercely. There is moaning, wailing, guitar melodies are too simple, stretched a tribal rituals. There are spasms, climax, bit too far, and the drums, although and voodoo howling. They make organic passionate, do not seem engaging enough. mother earth love and they share it raw and Their energy is lost in Al Gaudie’s laptop heavy. Having recorded with the bruising manoeuvres, so absorbed in creating his Crystal Castles explains this ferocious sample tricks that he fails to pay attention tendency. They may come from a sunny to the audience’s response. We can faintly Californian Los Angeles, but BJ Miller, Jake Duzsik, John Famigletta and Jupiter Keyes plunge into the dark, unconscious to resuscitate the animal in us. Rhythm is everything – a brutal, wild fight with ourselves. We are left exhausted with this euphoric re-discovery, yet we cannot wait to ROCK-POP-DANCE-GOLDEN OLDIES-INDIE- pop another one of SOUL-TECHNO-HIP-HOP-JAZZ-LATIN-REGGAE- their mind-blowing DRUM&BASS-GARAGE—R&B-DISCO-1950s- pills. 2000s. Brand new back catalogue CDs £4 - £7 Liane Escorza each. Brand new chart CDs £5 - £10 each Photo: Liane Escorza DEMOSDEMOS Sponsored by Demo of the Month wins a free day’s recording at Keynote. Call 01189 599944 to claim your prize and get special deals for local bands!

“Take the pain away-ee-aye-ee-aye-ee- DEMO OF aye” with so much intensity that something might burst. Part way between THE MONTH Maria Carey and Minnie Ripperton, a voice this powerful needs tunes to match, else everything gets overwhelmed. Still, a FEE FI FO FUM genuine talent and no mistake. In a pretty wretched month for demos this is the only one that didn’t have us THE ETERNAL despairing in some small way about the state of modern music / the music industry SUNSHINES / human existence, and given it was made The Eternal Sunshines come from by two teenagers, that makes us all the Newbury and they’ve got someone in the more optimistic that our future world band called Danny Bash, which sounds like won’t just be an endless morass of an old moniker for a shopping malls with those high-pitched spectacularly inept drummer with a anti-hoodie mosquito alarm thingies stuck penchant for trashing kits, venues and on the side. Thame-based duo Fee Fi Fo passing journos. The Eternal Sunshines are, Fum are an instrumental guitar’n’drums set however, as far away from a punk rock riot up who sound a lot like a stuttering, as it’s possible to be without actually being blundering, rumbling, twitching, ponderous, a tea party on Rick Wakeman’s lawn. It’s careering android trying to negotiate the dreamy, innocuous, nominally country- aisles in his local Spa store after a night out tinged semi-acoustic pop that trots, jogs on the lash, attempting to locate the Pot and shuffles along pleasantly, well Noodles while his circuits fail to respond mannered and neatly textured but efficiently to his commands. There is also apparently incapable of getting anywhere the sound of drilling, and drilling, and in any kind of a hurry. There’s a sweet drilling. And more awkward, clever, guitar shimmer to the languid, reflective doesn’t-quite-fit, oh-shit-we-forgot-the- ‘Running Nowhere’, but ‘Cherry Sunset’ tunes noodling, twitching and rampaging, tends to drift just a bit too much, the pair stealing bits and pieces from Hella, ultimately lacking real substance, more Philip Glass, Sunn 0))) and That Fucking suited to being the incidental music on a Tank along the way (we’re not trying to be documentary about Britain’s coastline. So, clever and obscure here, we just copied the nice enough in a soporific kind of way, bit out of their letter where they admitted although you start to wish Danny Bash nicking all their ideas from those acts). would live up to his name and starting There’s also a great guitar passage towards hitting things. Though not us, please. the end that reminds us a lot of Throbbing Gristle’s ‘Six Six Sixties’. We spotted that all by ourselves. Anyway, in summary: a SONIC BOB right old racket, but in a sea of mediocrity, With a moniker that sounds like the the closest thing to fun. nickname of the rhythm guitarist in a pub- rock covers band, Sonic Bob, aka Rob Digweed, promises us a free Milky Way for just listening to his demo. Milky Way JADA PEARL is, of course, a poor substitute for a bar of A singer with the sort of voice most X Bourneville, in much the same way as Factor contestants and stage school Sonic Bob is a poor substitute for Depeche students would kill for, Jada Pearl is this Mode. Or possibly Utah Saints. Or maybe month’s demo person most likely to . Depends on what mix and match appear on Later… with Jools Holland, or in Bob’s going in for at any given time, a West End stage production any time veering from happy trance to industrial soon. She does fluttering jazz cabaret synth-pop to all-out hardcore warble and slick soul emoting with noise. And then there’s the strange drop consummate ease over stylish honky tonk into almost country-rock singing on one piano, and you feel with some really decent track. All of which can be pretty material she’d tear the place down. Here entertaining, even if the synth patches though there’s the feeling she’s showing off seem to have been phoned in from some her voice too much in the absence of any point in the mid-80s at times. The main great songs. At times it’s as if Jada is problem is Bob’s vocals, which, apart from 07967 229 102 simply practising her scales, injecting the fact he’s standing way too close to the microphone, tend towards the shouting and the sort His Modjesty Paul Weller would moaning very loudly through his nose style probably approve. ‘Electricity Travelling of emoting. What he needs here is a sultry Through Metal’ carries a Who-like punch robo-rocking siren to do justice to the and if ‘Stitches’ is sturdy rather than retro-futurist-hardcore backing. More than stupendous it carries itself well. Best of the a bit of a mess at the moment but a mess bunch is ‘I’ve Got This Riff’, despite the with some fun potential. fact it’s got bongos on it (a bit like admitting someone’s quite attractive despite suffering from rampant acne). It NOT TOO SHABBY starts off as an incongruous mod-funk Awful name; really awful, but then so is jumble, complete with trebly guitar chops, Derek and we know two Dereks who are but then kicks in in the style of a very decent blokes, and so it is that Not soundtrack to a 60s Ealing crime caper. Too Shabby manage to squeeze past the ‘Waterfall’, meanwhile, is a bit too Oasis- Nightshift attack dogs relatively unscathed, like and the emotionally-wracked vocals do despite that name and despite the fact the it few favours but it’s a got pretty hefty THE COURTYARD STUDIO singer is so overwrought he sounds like he main hook to keep you interested. might burst like a giant Tom Jones-shaped PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/ abscess at any moment. Or the fact that the 24, OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE bass player is so rudimentary and so MACHINE, 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB domineering in the mix that he could be a THE DEMO CONTROL ROOM WITH GOOD SELECTION cross between Peter Hook and Pol Pot. OF MICS & OUTBOARD GEAR, + MIDI And why do we let such things pass? Well, DUMPER FACILITIES (INC LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI partly because it’s sunny outside and S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND ETC.) partly because they remind us a bit of Pearl JOSHUA KNIGHT Jam when they were doing good stuff like Residential facilities included. Dear old Joshua comes a moanin’ and a ‘Jeremy’ (see, again, rubbish names that www.courtyardrecordingstudio.com bleatin’ and a strummin’ at us with all the can actually be good). They chug along in PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS vivacity of a fingerless, laryngitis-infected ungainly fashion but undistracted by easy ON 01235 845800 sloth. His first song, ‘Kingdom’, is a escape routes like funk interludes or whopping seven-minutes of mournful widdly guitar solos, preferring a squalling dirge. Now, seven minutes can seem like a blues-metal guitar noise, and we gaze very short time indeed, if, for example, benignly upon its bullish single- you’re a goal down in the cup final with mindedness. the clock running down, or you’ve got seven minutes with the girl/boy of your THE HUNGRY I dreams but the last bus is about to leave. The Hungry I describes itself as “dark- But what about seven minutes having hued electronic post-rock”, although “the your more tender bodily parts drilled into sound of wallpaper slipping into a coma” by a sullen sociopath who insists on might be closer to the truth. There’s some reciting his poetry homework to you in a Mogwai-style guitar fuzz, plenty of dead-eyed monologue before exploding Boards Of Canada-like drifting and heavy into an elongated howl of constipated self- attention to texture as the music loathing that only he has the power to somnambulates through its six-minute stop? That’s a long seven minutes. Guess duration, completing its journey which one of those ‘Kingdom’ most competently and effortlessly (and therein closely resembles? ‘Restless Again’ is the lies the chief problem), gently-plucked musical equivalent of a laborious trawl acoustic guitar and shimmering synth along Scunthorpe’s main shopping strings aiding the music along to its precinct while trying to stop your inevitable plateau-of-noise peak with all intestines spilling out of your stomach and the predictability of counting blades of dragging a dead lurcher behind you on a grass on a croquet lawn. Don’t no-one heavy chain. And then, joy unbounded, write pop songs with tunes any more? there’s ‘Our Mother’, six minutes of strangulated living purgatory that crawls along like a slug over a mat of sawdust and VAPOUR TRAIL salt, onward to a shrivelled death, while We were really rather rude about Vapour Joshua whistles like a wounded nightingale Trail last time they deigned to send us a to soothe its path. Do you think that Bob demo and their letter suggests they haven’t Dylan, when he wrote ‘Maggie’s Farm’, or forgotten as much, although the fact Leonard Cohen when he penned they’ve sent us another suggests they’re ‘Suzanne’, had the slightest inkling what not quite the lily-livered cry-babies we they were leading on to? They’d have felt suggested, so more power to them. And like Oppenheimer after Hiroshima. Mind more power they have, having ditched all you, reckon he’d have heartily approved that self-pitying indie navel-gazing in of nuking this heap of crap to prevent favour of a gutsier mod-rocking sound of untold future suffering.

Send demos for review to: Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1ZU. IMPORTANT: no review without a contact address and phone number (no email or mobile-only). No more than four tracks on a demo. If you can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo. Nightshift accepts no responsibility for deflated egos.