email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 148 November Oxford’s Music Magazine 2007 Little Fish Fins are going swimmingly for Oxford’s brightest new rock sprats - interview inside

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AS HAS BEEN WIDELY Oxford, with sold-out shows by the REPORTED, RADIOHEAD likes of Witches, Half Rabbits and a released their new album, `In special Selectasound show at the Rainbows’ as a download-only Bullingdon featuring Jaberwok and album last month with fans able to Mr Shaodow. The Castle show, pay what they wanted for the entitled ‘The Small World Party’, abum. With virtually no advance organised by local Oxjam co- press or interviews to promote the ordinator Kevin Jenkins, starts at album, `In Rainbows’ was reported midday with a set from Sol Samba to have sold over 1,500,000 copies as well as buskers and street CSS return to Oxford on Tuesday 11th December with a show at the in its first week. performers. In the afternoon there is Oxford Academy, as part of a short UK tour. The Brazilian elctro-pop Nightshift readers might remember a fashion show and auction featuring stars are joined by the wonderful Metronomy (recent support to Foals) that in March this year local act clothes from Oxfam shops, with the and Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong. Tickets are on sale now, priced The Sad Song Co. - the prog-rock main concert at 7pm featuring sets £15, from 0844 477 2000 or online from wegottickets.com solo project of Dive Dive drummer from Cyberscribes, Mr Shaodow, Nigel Powell - offered a similar deal Brickwork Lizards and more. OPTIX relaunches this month with to fans for his last album, `Poignant Tickets are on sale from deadly sins. It was produced by a show at the Cellar. After an initial Device’. At the time Nigel told wegottickets.com. former-Skunk Anansie guitarist test period earlier in the year the Nighthsift that, “I’m hoping this Ace. Both releases are available internet broadcasting station has will make some people at least THE HOBGOBLIN in Bicester from www.quickfixrecordings.co.uk installed a fully integrated think about what they’re getting has been forced to cancel its regular broadcast system in the venue and for how much”. A similar live rock nights after a single EQUITRUCK III will take place at which can stream gigs and comedy th sentiment to that expressed by complaint from a neighbour. The the Jericho Tavern on Saturday 12 shows live onto the internet. The Radiohead. monthly rock nights, organised by January. The mini-festival, planned first show, in conjunction with Read our review of `In Rainbows musician Rus Blaine, have attracted to run equidistant between Truck Bassmentality, is on Friday 23rd on page 6. the cream of Oxfordshire’s heavier Festivals, has moved from its bands, including the likes of November with ska-punk previous home at the Port Mahon newcomers Imperial Leisure. Past OXJAM comes to a close this Headcount and Mephisto Grande. where it has hosted the likes of shows can be viewed online as month with a special day-long Speaking to Nightshift, Rus said, Goldrush, Morrison Steam Fayre well. For more information and event at Oxford Castle on Saturday “Things are up in the air at the and The Epstein. The event, which competitions visit 3rd. Throughout October thousands moment. I don’t know how it will raises money for Truck’s charities www.worldiswatching.tv. of Oxjam events have been held work out. The nights were of choice, will feature eight local across the UK to raise money for extremely busy so I guess the pub and out of town bands. The line-up RICHARD HAWLEY has Oxfam, including dozens of gigs in will try to start them up again.” is due to be announced shortly at rearranged his show at the New www.myspace.com/equitruck. Theatre for Tuesday 5th February Tickets, priced £8, go on sale soon 2008 after his gig there in after. September was cancelled due a double booking by his agent. BELARUS posthumously release Meanwhile chart-toppers their debut album, `Communicate’, Sugababes have announced a show on Playdead Records this month. at the New Theatre on Monday The band, from Faringdon, 17th March as part of their UK tour previously featured on the front to promote their fifth album, cover of Nightshift and were ‘Change’. Tickets, priced £26, are managed Andy Ross who founded on sale now from 0871 2200 260 or Food Records and discovered Blur. online from gigsandtours.com. The band split earlier this year. The Decemberists gig at The Oxford album features eleven tracks, Academy last month was cancelled including their debut single due to illness in the band. There are ‘Standing In The Right Place’, and no plans to re-arrange the gig as yet is available from and refunds are available from www.playdead.co.uk. point of purchase. AS EVER, don’t forget to tune into SMILEX release a new single and The Download every Saturday SYNTH-POP LEGEND GARY NUMAN will perform the whole of his their debut album this month. The evening between 6-7pm on BBC seminal `Replicas’ album at the Oxford Academy on Thursday 13th single, a download-only affair, is Radio Oxford 95.2fm. The local March 2008. The gig is part of a UK tour reliving the album which called ‘Dead Horses’ and features music show, presented by Tim spawned the number 1 hit `Are Friends Electric’ as well as cult favourite vocals from MC Lars. Smilex Bearder and David Gillyeat, plays `Down In The Park’. `Replicas’, released in 1979 under the band name support Lars at the Oxford a host of new Oxford releases as Tubeway Army, launched Numan as one of the most influential stars of Acaemdy on Thursday 8th well as featuring interviews with the 70s and 80s, inspiring the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Smashing November. The band then release local and touring acts and a local Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Beck and Blur, all of whom have covered their debut album, ‘7’, later in the demo vote. The Download is also his songs. Tickets for the show, priced £17, are on sale now from the month. ‘7’ was recorded in seven available to listen to all week at Academy box office or online from wegottickets.com days and deals with the seven bbc.co.uk/oxford. A Quiet Word With Little Fish WHATEVER THEIR NAME when my voice disappeared that I was suggests, Little Fish are no minnows. finally forced to face how I was They are the newest, sharpest sharks leading my life. It had been a long in Oxford’s rock pool. And they bite. time coming, but the sky finally fell A two-piece, Little Fish are lean; in on me. There was no avoiding it. they move fast. Since they played For so long I had betrayed myself, my their first gig a little over a year ago, body. I wanted to sing and I had no they’ve established themselves as one voice. From losing my voice to of the most exciting new bands forming Little Fish, I focused on around, earning themselves a healing myself.” Nightshift Demo Of The Month with So losing your voice was the turning their first demo, garnering a string of point? rave reviews, playing at Glastonbury “At first, I thought that my throat Festival, becoming the first Oxford was victim to a drying cold. My band to play at the new Carling throat was sore. Maybe it was an Academy - supporting The Young infection? After two months of Knives - and attracting an increasing simple rituals one does to heal number of record company scouts to common colds there was still no sign their frequent, packed, London of change. I feared my ambition to shows. the remarkable that she is now mess that I made of my life since! sing might be mocking me. I went to possessed of the most powerful Meeting Nez gave me an opportunity a vocal specialist. I was told I had NIGHTSHIFT FIRST female voice in Oxford music. to give my life order, form and gastric reflux and that acid had burned encountered Little Fish back in April beauty. Where Dolly was about my vocal chords. I followed a course when they opened the show for Fields PERHAPS APPROPRIATELY FOR skipping happily from adolescence of Lozec and although it got rid of and Hush The Many at the old a band called Little Fish, the duo first into adulthood, Little Fish is about the acid, my voice did not recover. Zodiac, effortlessly blowing both met in a chip shop. the forging of a firm, positive Still, my throat was tight, dry, and bands out of the water with a primal Juju: “I like my chips with ketchup. identity that is aching to respond to vocal-less. I was scared. My jaw was blend of blues, folk and old-fashioned Nez likes his with brown sauce. I like life and become part of it.” tight and I was suffering from rock and roll. Singer and guitarist Julia fish in batter. Nez prefers to eat a Nez: “I had a great time with Hal and intolerable migraines. It wasn’t until Heslop (better known as Juju) had a burger. Who mentioned music? The Sam and I learned a lot and not just June that I had my second simply astonishing voice, raw, chip shop talks. I thrash the guitar. about playing drums. It was my first appointment with another vocal emotive and versatile, like a blend of Nez plays drums. I’m mouthy. He is experience of being a full time specialist. Almost one year had gone Janis Joplin, Sinead O’Connor and too. We laugh. We both like music. I musician and I loved being able to by. The doctor told me, ‘In all my Suzi Quatro while behind her drummer like The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. He loves practice for long periods regularly, to life, I have never seen someone as Neil Greenaway (Nez to his friends) Vinni Coliauta and I’ve never heard play music and to be paid for it. The stressed as you. You will probably thrashed his kit with an almost jazz- of him – but I don’t care. `Let’s hear two bands are very different and I feel never be able to sing again’. My like nonchalance. you play then Little Fishee!’ A that I am now playing ‘the music’ heart stopped. I packed my bags and Since then we can’t get enough of the challenge later, we’re both sat in a rather than just playing ‘the drums’. left for Paris. It was only after six band, their demo, especially its lead barren garage with no PA, me It’s been a bit of a shock singing on months of living in Paris that I track, ‘Devil’s Eyes’, with its Suzi holding my electric guitar and Nez stage for the first time and my murmured my first tone. From this, Quatro-like glam-stomp, is on sat behind a drum kit. `One, two, French accent stinks.” little by little, I stretched my voice constant rotation on the Nightshift three, go!’” Juju’s experiences after Dolly split out again and worked seriously on office stereo, while the band’s were a long way from the youth and teaching myself how to sing. From numerous local shows have seen them HOW DO JUJU AND NEZ enthusiasm she experienced in that losing my voice to finding it again, it grow into an ever-more confident remember their formative years in band, but they almost certainly made took two years of my life. It was a fighting unit. their previous bands, Dolly and Vade Little Fish the band they are now. terrifying experience, but if that’s Mecum, and how is Little Fish Juju: “I could say that I packed my what I had to go through, so be it.” NOT THAT IT’S ALL BEEN PLAIN different? bags and set out for a long, lonely sailing for Little Fish, and they Juju: “I haven’t really ever thought journey across the desert. It certainly REACTION TO LITTLE FISH haven’t come out of nowhere. Juju about it that much over the years. felt like that at the time! In fact, I has been unanimous in its enthusiasm. was previously singer with local all- Thinking about it now, I might feel went to University to study. It was It’s impossible not to get carried away girl band Dolly, who made a bit of a that Dolly was more about four young there that I started to lose myself. I by the band as they strip away all the name for themselves in the late-90s girls growing up - going out, meeting found Birmingham tough and years of excess baggage rock music and also featured Smilex bassist Jen people, going to parties, experiencing depressing. After graduating, I got has accumulated, whether they’re Acton, while Nez played in the love and life. What I didn’t realise at involved with a ‘frozen hell’ so to screaming “Am I crazy?”, like The original line-up of Vade Mecum, with the time was that I was alone within speak. I removed myself from Pixies’ Flamenco-crazed Francophile brothers Hal and Sam Stokes, who it all. Music was the bond, but we were accessibility and turned myself into a cousins, loping down Devilgate Drive later became The Thieves before all different. We all had different gargoyle. I lost touch with friends and on `Devil’s Eyes’ or staring broken- relocating to Los Angeles. visions of life. Dolly gave me life but family. I studied to become a luthier hearted into the sun as on `Error In In the years after Dolly split, Juju it was not my life. I suppose that we but I didn’t finish the course, because Your Sunrise’, the best love ballad moved to Birmingham to study all have to begin somewhere and for I accidentally chopped some of my we’ve heard from a local act since before entering a prolonged period of me, it might as well have been with finger off. In the ambulance, my Laima Bite’s awesome `Did You Used self-destruction that culminated in Dolly. mum helpfully suggested that I could To Love’. her completely losing her voice and “Where Dolly gave me youth and always play the piano! Juju: “Not having gigged or showed being told by a doctor that she would enthusiasm, Little Fish is more a “In retrospect I realise how far from any of the music to anyone for a never sing again. Which makes it all result of me wanting to justify the life I had removed myself. It was only while before our first gig, we had no idea what people’s reactions to the musical chemistry between Juju and music might be. Having any reaction Nez. What do they most like about at all certainly came as a surprise. the other, musically? Are there The fact that it has been so positive disagreements about the way the for us has been a bonus! band is? “It is only from having a reaction at Juju: “What I love the most is that all, that we have come to realise how he is an extremely talented musician vulnerable we as musicians or artists who is still willing to listen, adapt make ourselves. When you don’t gig, and work at making the songs work you are not exposed and therefore, without transforming it. This makes cannot be judged. You are safe. When all the difference because my you do start to expose yourself, if rhythms can be a little sketchy you are disliked, you can accuse sometimes so having someone there people of being ignorant. When who is willing to work things out is a however you impress, you then have good thing! Disagreements? Umm… to live up to expectation. That is I think we only ever disagree on November something that until now, we haven’t who’s wearing the braces!” ever had to experience. But without Nez: “For me, the variety of what going too much into it, everything Juju writes and plays always keeps it Every Monday has been really great. Supporting The interesting. Of course, we don’t THE FAMOUS MONDAY NIGHT BLUES Young Knives at The Carling always agree about everything, but we The best in UK, European and US blues. 8-12. £6 Academy and packing out the Dublin have our say and then decide what th Castle for the first time in London we’re doing and go for it. It’s a 5 ANGELA BROWN & THE MIGHTY 45s (UK/USA) th this month was ace! Getting played healthy relationship.” 12 BIG DEZ (France) on Radio 1 has also been incredible. It What are the best and worst things 19th PAUL LAMB & THE KINGSNAKES (UK) makes all the days that you struggle about being a duo? 26th THE EDDIE MARTIN BAND (UK) to believe in yourself worth the while. Juju: “Best things…. We can fit all It is a huge relief to know that there the gear and us in one little van! are other people who also feel what We’re both best mates so that’s great, Every Tuesday you do towards music. People are and band practice is really easily THE OXFORD JAZZ CLUB forming a real sense of unity around organised! Worst things… On stage, Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am Little Fish. That is more rewarding there is no hiding behind anyone or th th than anything.” anything. If we make mistakes then it 6 / 20 THE HOWARD PEACOCK QUINTET How does it feel to be compared to is blindingly obvious! There is quite a 13th PADDY MILNER singers of the quality of Janis Joplin, lot of pressure on figuring out how to 27th THE JOSEPHINE DAVIS BAND Sinead O’Connor and Polly Harvey? fill out the songs the way another Juju: “I am really pleased and band can, as we can’t orchestrate the flattered to be compared with these songs with colourful instrumentation. Thursdays singers, but to be honest, they are not We have to produce the sound in 1st PHISH 2 (90s night) 10-2am specific influences on me. I never other ways.” 8th GET FUNKED 10-2am heard them until I was told about Nez: “Well the worst thing is that th them. As far as singing is concerned, I being the only male in the band I’m 15 LIVE BANDS tbc am my own biggest critic and I know also the only camel and our 22nd ROCK NIGHT with live bands that I have a long way to go in my equipment weighs a bit when you cart 29th SS20 Presents career before I could truly accept any it up a load of stairs.” compliment of that sort – if ever!” Juju: “Fuck Off! I carry stuff!” You say you didn’t even start Nez: “Hmmm. Well, the good thing Every Friday listening to music properly until your is that there are only ever two BACKROOM BOOGIE late teens. opinions to consider, unlike bands Funk, soul and R&B. 10.30pm-2am; £4. “I didn’t listen to music when I was with bigger line-ups.” younger as I found music all too over powering. In fact, I found music so OF COURSE, ROCK AND ROLL Fridays early shows hard to accept that I turned to sport glory is a long swim upstream. Little 9th HUGH TURNER BAND – Live Funk (includes entry to instead. I spent all of my youth Fish look like they’ve got the musical club night aftwerwards) 8.30pm £4 playing basketball and running around fins to make the journey; where do 16th DUST APPARITION presents AXOLOTL + BIRDS fields! My starting points were more they go from here? subliminal ones: Ray Charles in the Juju: “We are thinking of putting a OF DELAY + JOEY CHAINSAW 7pm £5 rd kitchen, French songs at the dinner single out in January. We have 23 AN EVENING OF DEEP PURPLE – tribute band 8pm £4 table. As far as my tastes and significant interest from labels but we influences go, I’ll go with anyone don’t want to wait to fit in with other Saturdays who sings with soul. The music style people’s schedules, so we will do it 3rd SIMPLE Funky House with Radio 1’s The Trophy is not important for me; it is about ourselves if necessary. Like most the artist’s conviction. This has musicians, ideally we would want to Twins and Street Life DJs 9.30pm-4am th always been the case for me and still record an album. Until that day 10 OX4 – Drum’n’Bass 9-3am. is. The artists I can relate to the most comes, we’ll keep our head down, 17th SIMPLE Funky House - Anniversary Night 9.30pm- are Patti Smith, Janis and PJ Harvey, keep writing, keep gigging, keep 4am and more current artists, M (French sweating it out, unloading and loading 24th GET MASHED – Mash-up of the biggest and best artist), The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and the van, then one day… We’ll hope tunes from hip hop, funk and reggae to electro house, Jack White.” to be salmon!” breaks and drum’n’bass. £5 (students £3 B4 11pm) WITH ANY GREAT DUO, Little Fish play at the Cellar on including The White Stripes and Saturday 10th November with Sundays Fiery Furnaces, to whom Little Fish Winnebago Deal and at the Jericho 4th LIVE STAND-UP COMEDY 8-11pm £6/7 th could fairly be compared at times, Tavern on Saturday 24 with 18th ACOUSTIC NIGHT 8pm the relationship between the two Borderville and Stornoway. Visit musicians is amplified far more than www.myspace.com/littlefishmusic for in a bigger band. There is real more gig dates and music. Sponsored RELEASED by

RADIOHEAD Radiohead wait to see how much cash ‘In Rainbows’ fans will leave on their table (Download) Inevitably the very nature of its release will tend to overshadow the actual music on this, Radiohead’s first album in nearly five years, and their first since their contract with Parlophone expired. Whether it will signal a watershed in how bands release albums in future is anybody’s guess and at least it’s created a proper debate, in an age of free downloads and newspaper give-aways, about the true worth of music. As anyone with an ounce of passion knows full well, great music is priceless. Radiohead have created more than their fair share of great music over the past 16 years and are, as we said when reviewing Thom Yorke’s solo album, ‘The Eraser’, last year, in a rare and privileged position now as a band who have a global reputation second to none and sales figures that mean they don’t have to worry too much about buying Tesco’s value bread for a few years, and yet have no major record label on their backs nagging them for hit singles or unit-shifting product (as I believe music is called nowadays by the people who control its lyring) and lacerating guitars, Thom’s voice a Ten years on from their commercial zenith, traditional distribution). And the mass distorted scream by its conclusion; that in turn Radiohead are so far beyond rock music, or the availability of downloads simply makes makes way for the soft-focus ‘Nude’, which music industry’s confines, they are near enough Radiohead’s bold move that much easier to swims like the vanishing final scene of an early incomparable to much else going on. Their only execute. Of course, they could have decided to morning dream. Radiohead may have taken much genuine antecedent is Scott Walker who, at the hand deliver each copy of a gilt-edged CD by of the last few years off to concentrate on family height of his pop star fame, left it all behind to carrier pigeon, but if the music contained therein life but there are only sporadic suggestions that make music of astonishing emotional gravity wasn’t all that, the whole exercise would have it’s mellowed them. while almost disappearing from view as a public been pointless. The demons that drive them might not be as icon. Radiohead’s story is a similar one on many But then this is Radiohead we’re talking about. apparent on tracks like the minimalist ‘Weird ways: they have almost become a cult of anti- They don’t do substandard. Creatively restless Fishes_Arpeggi’, or the almost lounge-like celebrity in a pop world that increasingly dines to a point approaching Obsessive Compulsive ‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’ but they glower on soundbites and fashion accessories to survive; Disorder, ‘In Rainbows’ never sits still, never around ‘All I Need’, creating a shroud of gloom, in doing so they become infinitely more gets comfortable and never lets the listener the song recalling Rezsõ Seress’ old Hungarian fascinating than a million guitar-toting gobshites. second guess its next move. So skittish opener suicide song ‘Gloomy Sunday’; “I’m an atom The release of ‘In Rainbows’ is an anti-gimmick ‘15 Step’, with its scattershot beats and fidgety bomb trapped in your hot car” is certainly one of that finally makes people think about what synth hums, makes way for the ferocious the most pessimistic announcements you’ll hear genuinely matters: the music and its value. ‘Bodysnatchers’, with its bizarre opening steal this year. The album’s highlight, though, is Radiohead remain what they have been for so from Iron Maiden’s ‘Number Of The Beast’ (go ‘House Of Cards’, with its tender, simple long: priceless. on, listen to the two together and tell us we’re melody and lush but anxious orchestration. Dale Kattack

VERTICAL MONTANAS ‘Of Scramblers’ / ‘Thick Mugs’ (Motive Sounds) You might expect many things from a band that is essentially all of hole in her head. Hard to work out who’s the dominant force here since it Youthmovies and all of Jonquil, but it’s unlikely you’d quite expect a really sounds unlike either band at all, other than it shares both musical tribute to East Anglia with a football chant chorus of “Norfolk! Youthmovies’ and Jonquil’s musical perversity by taking you somewhere Norfolk!” performed with a lounge-jazz orchestra vibe that’s part Steely you didn’t really think you’d end up. We guess that makes the exercise a Dan, part Andrew Gold and part barber’s shop quartet. But with an odd resounding success. dub coda. And something in the lyrics about the singer’s mum having a Sue Foreman 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 REDOX ‘On The Move’ thethe portport mmahonahon (154) In an age of haircut bands and Arctic Monkeys-coattail-chasing, Live Music in November it’s sometimes good to remember 1st Port Mahem with Simon 14th Kate Chadwick + Nick that bands like Redox are out there, Davies + Desmond Chancer Breakspear oblivious to such fashion whimsies. 2nd Oxford Folk Club 15th The Full Metal Waistcoat + In fact, other than singer Sue 3rd Quickfix presents Jaupe Bell + Swinging Molly Smith’s occasional worrying Crusader + Black Powder 16th Oxford Folk Club tendency to sing like Smeegle out 4th Audioscope Warm-up with 17th Dethlock of Lord Of The Rings, most of the about Redox is when they’re at Andy Yorke + The Half 18th Myanalog Presents past 30 years seem to have passed their most irritating: when Sue gets Rabbits + 50ft Panda 19th Divine Coils + Hanaslimai + them by. While Redox’s debut all witchy, like a ham actor from an 5th Dufus + Art Is But A Word Open Verge album, ‘Bullaburra’ stopped in at old 50s mediaeval b-movie and goes + Collective Era + One Dollar 20th Poor Girl Noise presents every musical port from north off on her druid gothic apocalyptic Peep Show Skill 7 Stamina 12 + You’re African folk to Cajun dance, ‘On poetry thing, as on ‘Eternity’. It 7th The Ruins + Big Bad City + Smiling Now But We’ll All Turn The Move’, is rather more borders on toe-curling on the one Le Vens + B-Phil Into Demons + Box + Elapse-O parochial, preferring to jam it out in hand and reminds us horribly of 8th Luke Leighfield + Echo 21st Botox Cowboys + Fodder southern-fried roadhouse funk- Mother Gong, but equally it’s so Echo + Set Them on Fire and friends blues style, occasionally silly there’s no other bugger out 9th Oxford Folk Club 22nd Oxford Improvisers succumbing to a spiked drink and there willing to do it, which means 11th Swiss Concrete presents 23rd Oxford Folk Club heading spaceward, as on ‘Dan it’s about eleventy-six times better The Brownies + Baby Gravy + 25th Pindrop Performance Dakker’, with its oddly chanted than The Courteeners or Joe Lean Helens Evil Twin 26th Vacuous Pop presents vocals, or ‘MTV’, with Phil & The Jing Jang Jong or whichever 12th Permanent Vacation Picastro + Viking Moses Freizinger’s treated flute lead and heap of fifteenth-rate Libertines presents Please + Edward 27th Swiss Concrete presents heroically awful attempt at rip off crap the music industry is Sounding Block + Don’t Move, Sargasso Trio + Tiny Tigers rapping. ‘Dancing Days’, trying to hoist on us this month. Play Dead 28th My Analog Presents meanwhile, takes a misty-eyed trip So hats off to the hippies – the 13th Superloose + Script + 29th Johnny’s Sexual Kitchen back to 50s prom night rock’n’roll day they start caring what Rami 30th Oxford Folk Club but ends up sounding rather more everyone else thinks will be a sad like ‘Tiger Feet’ by Mud. day indeed. Book your band into play at Oxford’s best small music venue! Paradoxically, what we like most Dale Kattack 82 St Clements, Oxford. Tel: 01865 202067

Corner Cowley / Marsh Road 01865 776431 November

Every Monday - Poker Night 7pm Every Tuesday – Shush Open Mic – Come Sing / Play / Listen. 8pm FREE; All Welcome

Thu 1st Grinning Spider presents Haelo / Toy #1 / Mr Shaodow / Botox Cowboys Fri 2nd The Three Guitarist - Acoustic Heaven Roland Chadwick / Amrit Sond / Michael Berk 8.30pm £4 Sat 3rd Exposure At The X Presents Harry Angel / The Defeat 8.30pm £4 Sun 4th Jessica Goyder / support 8.30pm £3 Wed 7th Shirley Wednesday presents Daniel Hammersley / Loopy / Shirley 8pm £3 Thu 8th Amnesty International Fund Raiser with Zoe Bicat / Simon Davies Duo / John Fletcher / Nick Carpenter / Josh Knight / Samantha Twigg Johnson 8pm £4 Fri 9th Gammy Leg presents Joe Allen & Angharad Jenkins / Fugazirum / Domes Of Silence 8pm £4 Sat 10th Wittstock Fund Raiser. Acts TBC 8.30pm £4 Sun 11th Electric Jam - Come jam with the house band The X Men. All THE ANY DAYS Welcome. 8pm FREE Wed 12th Jazz At The X Presents Performance Night TBC 8pm £5 Thu 15th Liddigton / Dave Bristow / support 8.30pm £4 CD single `MONDAY MORNING’ Fri 16th Grinning Spider Presents Toby / The Ally Craig Band / Tamarind Sun 8.30pm £4 at Polar Bear Records, Cowley Road Sat 17th Assassins of Silence / Xexon Codex 8.30pm £4 Fri 23rd Sam Kelly’s Blues Band 8.30pm £5 Sat 24th Chantelle Pike / One Dollar Peep Show / Suzanna Starling 8.30pm £4 Sun 25th Electric Jam 8pm FREE Wed 28th Jazz At The X Presents A Jazz Jam. Come and jam with the house band led by Paul Jefferies. All welcome. 8pm FREE Fri 30th King B £8.30pm £4 gig guide

THURSDAY 1st darned good band. The Happy Mondays and Oasis influences are apparent enough but The GRINNING SPIDER with TOY #1 + HAELO NOVEMBER Smiths and U2 also infect their loping, groove- + MR SHAODOW + BOTOX COWBOYS: blues, reggae and country rockers Botox led songs, and anyone who doesn’t think The X, Cowley – Heavyweight gothic grunge Cowboys open the show. ‘Either Way’ is a great single is a fool. from Toy#1 with support from Hungarian PORT MAYHEM: The Port Mahon – More DUGOUT: The Cellar – Superfly soul, rare rockers Haelo who hold the distinctive honour musical mellowness from the Port Mayhem groove and badass funk from DJs Indesition, of being awarded Demo Of The Year in the crew. Blues and soul from Desmond Chancer & Odie and Zappa, plus live funk band. Slovakian Metal Hammer. Local downbeat The Long Memories, featuring Brickwork THE MIGHTY PORKER + AMANACE + rd Lizards’ Tom O’Hawk, plus sweet psychedelic GRACE SOLERO + EMBERS FIRE: The Saturday 3 folk-pop from Anton Barbeau and Su Jordan, Jericho Tavern DIZZEE RASCAL: plus folk and bossanova from Simon Davies and OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon Colin Fletcher. BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon The Oxford Academy 100 BULLETS BACK + 303 DID THIS TO MOROSE BROTHERS: Chester Arms – Already sold out and not surprising since, ME + CLANKY ROBO GOB JOBS + Irish folk and acoustic pop. even four years on from his Mercury Prize- CASIO KID & THE ULTIMATE THE GULLIVERS + INSILICO: The Purple winning debut, ‘Boy In Da Corner’, and SOUNDFUSE: The Cellar – Electro night at Turtle – Spiky indie-punk from Bicester’s having ditched much of that album’s grim, Big Hair with synth-rocking techno crew 100 Gullivers. steely grime edge in favour of more Bullets Back headlining. One-man cyborg war SATURDAY 3rd dancefloor-friendly beats, Dylan Mills Clanky Robo Gob Jobs spreads more lo-fi, DIZZEE RASCAL: The Oxford Academy – remains probably the best rapper in the UK hardcore digital mayhem in support. Sold-out gig for the Mercury-winning rap star – at the moment. Where ‘Boy…’ was SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – see main preview musically harsh, vocally twitchy and Pianist Neil Angilley is tonight’s special guest THE EPSTEIN + STORNOWAY + LIZ lyrically bleak, Dizzee’s latest album, playing with the Spin house band. GREEN: The Zodiac @ The Oxford ‘Maths & English’ is poppier, assured and, PHISH: The Bullingdon – 90s club night. Academy – The local country rockers celebrate if not smooth, more pumped up and THE MESSENGERS + ROUNDHEELS + the release of their debut album, ‘Last Of The commercial. While grime stayed resolutely THE REPEATS: The Jericho Tavern – Charanguistas’, mixing in an exotic mix of underground even as everyone was Country night with pedal-steel-led alt.country gypsy dance and south American folk into their predicting its imminent world domination, types The Messengers, Appalachian folk and sweet Neil Diamond-meets-Crosby, Stills, Nash Dizzee’s knack with a pop hook and his country from Roundheels, plus newcomers The and Young rocking. lyrical lack of insularity has meant he’s in a Repeats opening the show. KID HARPOON: The Oxford Academy – better position to make a full crossover CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Special Transformation club appearance from break. ‘Maths & English’ covers hip hop, Community Centre – Long-standing bastion the Syd Barrett-inspired Medway singer- drum&bass, two-step and metal as well as of open-minded and eclectic performance songwriter who’s been out on tour with pure cheese, but still references old skool continues to showcase local singers, musicians, Wombats and Holloways recently. hip hop purity like Rob Base and DJ EZ- poets and performance artists. EXPOSURE with HARRY ANGEL + THE Rok’s ‘It Takes Two’. While he’s OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon DEFEAT: The X, Cowley – High-octane, goth- collaborated with Alex Turner and Lily FRIDAY 2nd tinged hardcore pop from Harry Angel with Allen, he doesn’t seem to be courting the ROLAND CHADWICK + AMRIT SOND + support from epic indie rockers The Defeat. indie crowd quite as frantically as Lethal MICHAEL BERK: The X, Cowley – A night BIG BAD CITY + BLIND PILOTS: The Bizzle, but his own individual talent looks of acoustic guitar virtuosity from three of the Wheatsheaf – Funk rock from Big Bad City. set to keep him in the ring for the long term. world’s leading new-acoustic rising stars. CRUSADER + THE SCOUNDRELS + Australian composer Roland Chadwick is a BLACK POWDER: The Port Mahon – master of classical, steel, slide and electric guitar Quickfix Records night with metallers Crusader, as well as mandolin, adding elements of jazz, old-school punks The Scoundrels and heavy blues, Latin and rock styles into his classical rockers Black Powder. compositions. Kenya’s Grammy-winning Amrit DESTA*NATION: The Cellar – Reggae, dub Sond, meanwhile, is renowned for his and jungle. unorthodox tunings, mixing up world, jazz and GUO YUE: Sutton Courtenay Abbey – folk traditions, while Michael Berk stretches Internationally-renowned Chinese flautist. himself from flamenco and heavy metal to celtic MELTING POT with KING FURNACE + sounds. WHITE SUNDAY + SLASHED SEAT KLUB KAKOFANNEY with EDUARD AFFAIR: The Jericho Tavern – Scuzzy, SOUNDING BLOCK + ABORIGINALS + funked-up heavy rock from King Furnace at BEAVER FUEL + FILM NOIR: The tonight’s local bands showcase. Wheatsheaf – Proggy/math/metal monsters SIMPLE: The Bullingdon – Funky house Eduard Sounding Block headline tonight’s club night with Radio 1’s Trophy Twins and eclectic Klub Kak happening. Support from lo- Street Life DJs. fi indie-punk nutter Beaver Fuel. PECKE + ALICE DOYNE: The Temple THE TWANG: The Oxford Academy – HANGMAN CHARLIE + MONEYTREE + Having risen above the initial hype and swift LIDDINGTON: The Purple Turtle – Classic backlash, now we get a chance to hear The heavy rock from Hangman Charlie, plus Twang for what they really are – a pretty melancholic indie shambling from Liddington. SKITTLE ALLEY ACOUSTIC: King’s Head instrumentalists 50ft Panda. & Bell, Abingdon – Funk-rockers XMAS LIGHTS + OCTOBER FILE + Quadrophobe and gothic songsmith Mark GEHENNA: The Cellar – Maniacal ultra- Bosley do the honours. hardcore brutalists Xmas Lights showcase their SUNDAY 4th new singer with support from Killing Joke- ACTION BEAT + ELAPSE-O + SAD inspired heavyweights October File, featuring SHIELDS + PATEL PRETAL: The former-Jor frontman Ben Hollyer. Wheatsheaf – Experimental noise from the no- BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH + TINCHY wave big band – see main preview STRYDER: The Oxford Academy – ANDY YORKE + THE HALF RABBITS + Deceptively-named lightweight Canadian ska- 50ft PANDA: The Port Mahon – First of a pop trio return with more sincere but watered- short series of warm-up gigs for this month’s down Clash and Specials-influenced dribble. Audioscope festival on the 10th. Jeff Buckley- JOOLS HOLLAND & HIS RHYTHM & Monday 5th inspired downbeat pop troubadour and former- BLUES ORCHESTRA: The New Theatre – Unbelievable Truth frontman Andy headlines Another trip to town for Geezer Jools and his 65 DAYS OF STATIC / with support from darkly-inclined fuzz rockers swinging chums. The Half Rabbits and riff-heavy MY LUMINARIES + GO FASTER + HOW I ASOBI SEKSU: BECAME THE BOMB + DIATRIBE: The Purple Turtle – Rootsy stadium rocking from The Oxford Academy Sunday 4th Reading’s My Luminaries, plus support from Sometimes the gods of pop send us a little Liverpool’s Wombats-inspired indie rockers Go something special to keep like a secret ACTION BEAT: Faster, Tennessee’s jerky electro-pop types trinket in our hearts, and over the past year How I Became The Bomb and local new wavers it’s been New York’s Asobi Seksu (pictured), The Wheatsheaf Diatribe. essentially a duo formed by guitarist James Friday 16th MONDAY 5th Hanna and Japanese vocalist Yuki AXOLOTL: 65 DAYS OF STATIC + ASOBI SEKSU: Chikudate, plus bassist Haji and drummer The Oxford Academy – Virulent Sheffield Ben Shapiro. Originally they were scheduled The Bullingdon noisemakers headline along with Noo Yawk to headline at the Jericho Tavern but have shoegazing starlets – see main preview been moved over town to support 65DOS. Oxford’s noise scene continues to grow An exotic combination, musically Asobi apace, with local artists finding a regular live ANGELA BROWN & THE MIGHTY 45s: The Bullingdon – Live blues, soul, jazz and Seksu throw themselves prostrate at the outlet courtesy of Permanent Vacation, and altar of shoegazing pop noise, Hanna’s more out of town acts finding their way gospel from the acclaimed singer oft compared favourably to Etta James and Koko Taylor. turbulent, oceanic guitar thrash underpinning here. PV bring back no-wave big band Action Yuki’s cutesy bilingual vocals, kind of like a Beat (pictured) back to Oxford for another DUFUS + ONE DOLLAR PEEPSHOW + HORIZONTAL LIFE: The Port Mahon – stripped-down, high-octane collision of My display of improvised guitar battery Bloody Valentine, The Sundays, early Lush mayhem, the Bletchley collective inspired Occasionally thirty-strong (not in the Port Mahon they aren’t!) freaky, experimental anti- and Shonen Knife. In full flow they’re an by early Sonic Youth and Glenn Branca and astonishing racket but always at their core variously featuring at least four guitars and folk collective from New York, who have collaborated with Kimya Dawson and Regina are simple, almost childlike melodies that anything between one and four drummers; either shimmer sweetly or hit you with a no two sets are ever the same. Support here Spektor, over in the UK to promote their new album, ‘Legend Of Walnut’. Support from bounce factor that goes off the scale. The comes from local Sightings-inspired band’s name is Japanese for playful sex: experimentalist Elapse-O, garage-punk and sweet-natured electro-poppers One Dollar Peepshow and trip hop crew Horizontal Life. they were made and named to be enjoyed. riot grrl noisenicks Sad Shields and vocal And of course the venue switch means you drone act Patel Pretal. CHRIS WHILE & JULIE MATTHEWS: Nettlebed Folk Club – The two former- get to see the mighty 65 Days Of Static too, Over at the Bully, meanwhile, San regular visitors to Oxford over the years but Francisco’s Karl Bauer, aka Axolotl, brings Albion Band singers and current leading ladies of English folk return again to Oxfordshire’s still a thrill of thermonuclear proportions, an his dense, abstract, slowly-evolving guitar astonishingly intense fusion of post-rock, and electronics noise chaos, rated as one of premier folk club. th techno, drum&bass and out-and-out volume the most innovative rising stars of the noise TUESDAY 6 that sounds like the soundtrack to imminent scene, creating shifting patterns of sound JACKIE-O-MUTHAFUCKER + PUMAJAW atomic holocaust. over William Sabiston’s imaginative + KEYBOARD CHOIR: The Wheatsheaf – percussion, with references to Terry Riley, Leftfield psychedelic folk-pop from the rudely- Cluster and La Monte Young along the way. monikered Portland collective – see main keyboard player Howard. Completing an uncompromising bill are preview VERTIGO: The Cellar – Indie cub night with Berlin’s drone and distortion alchemists SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE DUKES: live bands. Birds of Delay and FX-crazed noise The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy – SHUSH OPEN MIC SESSION: The X, manipulator Joey Chainsaw. If it’s cosy Grandfather of the New Jersey Sound and long- Cowley ballads or a nice bop you’re after steer well time pal and collaborator of Bruce Springsteen, OPEN MIC SESSION: Far From The clear. If you want your synapses blown and blues and r’n’b singer and harmonica player Madding Crowd th ears spiked, join the queue. Southside Johnny continues his never-ending WEDNESDAY 7 touring, having been an enduring cult figure SONS & DAUGHTERS + THE throughout the 80s and 90s after his initial VICTORIAN ENGLISH GENTLEMEN’S creative peak in the 70s. With almost as many CLUB: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy record labels as albums over the last twenty- – More than welcome return of Glasgow’s dark- five years, it’s fair to say he’s never enjoyed the hearted rockabilly romantics – see main preview luck or commercial success of his pal, but he MONKEY PUZZLE + THE GATEWAYS: can at least claim credit for inspiring Jon Bon The Wheatsheaf – Jangly indie rocking from Jovi to take up singing. Should we be headliners Monkey Puzzle. congratulating him on this point? SHIRLEY + DANIEL HAMMERSLEY + JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With regulars LOOPY: The X, Cowley – Shirley’s monthly The Howard Peacock Quintet playing lively club night features guest sets from sweet- modern jazz with contemporary grooves, led by natured acoustic singer Daniel Hammersley and THURSDAY 8 th GAMMY LEG PRODUCTIONS with PORCUPINE TREE + ANATHEMA: The DOMES OF SILENCE + FUGAZIRUM + Oxford Academy – A genuine and enduring cult JOE ALLEN & ANGHARAD JENKINS: The success story in a time when longevity is an X, Cowley – Another eclectic bill at GLP ever-rarer commodity. Steven Wilson’s tonight with heavyweight darkwave rockers Porcupine Tree have been making prog rock of Domes Of Silence mixing up The Doors, Primal varying shades since the late-80s, building a Scream and Depeche Mode, while Fugazirum fanbase across Europe and the States along the mash up UK hip hop with roadhouse blues way and finally, in the last couple of years, (and aren’t, perhaps sadly, Fugazi drunk out of hitting the charts, notably with new album their heads on rum). Local singer Joe Allen and ‘Fear Of A Blank Planet’, which featured guest electric violinist Angharad Jenkins open the bill slots from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and King in soulful style. Crimson’s Robert Fripp. Past work has owed HUGH TURNER BAND: The Bullingdon – Tuesday 6th more to Talk Talk than Genesis but more Live funk. recently they’ve gotten heavier, but that BOSSAPHONIK: The Cellar – Live jazz JACKIE-O following just keeps on growing and it should dance club night with Afrobeat band Yaaba MOTHERFUCKER / come as little surprise that tonight’s gig is Funk. already sold out. QUICKFIX BANDS NIGHT: The PUMAJAW / MC LARS + LAST LETTER READ + Wheatsheaf – With Action + Action and more SMILEX + THE EVENINGS: The Zodiac @ tbc. KEYBOARD CHOIR: The Oxford Academy – Truck Records’ SAMSON + OFF THE RADAR + favourite rapper returns to town for another QUADROPHOBE: The Jericho Tavern – The Wheatsheaf dose of his patented post-punk laptop rap, a Not the 70s metallers featuring Bruce Cough, splutter. Er yes, sorry about the world removed from mainstream hip hop Dickinson, but a completely different Samson. language but you have to forgive such culture, backed by a full on punk band and Ones what play folk music. Reading indie profanity when you’re dealing with as cool a lyrically informed by Herman Melville and rockers OTR and local funkers Quadrophobe band as Portland, Oregon’s J-OM. Tonight Edgar Allen Poe. A new album, ‘This Gigantic support. sees them making their first visit to Oxford Robot Kills’, produced by Wheatus’ Brendan REDOX + THE PETE FRYER BAND + FILM as part of a warm-up for Audioscope and Brown is out soon. Local sleaze-core punkers NOIR: The Magdalen they’re as wonderfully strange as you’d Smilex and electro-groovers The Evenings AMBERSTATE + THE GRAND: The Purple expect. Originally a duo of multi- support. Turtle – Trip-hopper Amberstate play their instrumentalist Tom Greenwood and SAMANTHA TWIGG JOHNSON + THE last ever gig. saxophonist Nester Bucket, since 1994 SIMON DAVIS DUO + JOSH KNIGHT + PARKER: The New Flyer, Banbury – New they’ve gone through over 40 musicians, THE JON FLETCHER GROUP + ADAM & live music night for Banbury. drawn from the US experimental scene. NIC CARPENTER + ZOË BICAT: The X, OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon More of a collective than a band, and relying Cowley – Acoustic night in aid of Amnesty BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon th heavily on improvisation, their musical style International. SATURDAY 10 depends on who’s playing at any given time, SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – AUDIOSCOPE: The Zodiac @ The Oxford although the current five-piece line-up, still Featuring guests Jutta’s Party Band. Academy (1.30pm) – Krautrock legends headed by Greenwood, has been together for LUKE LEIGHFIELD + ECHO ECHO + Michael Rother and Dieter Möebius headline three years and the sound veers towards SET THEM ON FIRE: The Port Mahon – this year’s festival in aid of Shelter – see main traditional American folk, krautrock, Mixed bag of noise with singer and keyboard preview psychedelia and blues, and for all their player Luke Leighfield going up against Bloc THE JOFF WINKS BAND + THE GREEN: radical nature, they’re often as not a Party-styled Brighton rockers Echo Echo and The Wheatsheaf – Psychedelia-tinged jazz- fantastically melodic proposition, while lo-fi ranting thrashcore duo Set Them On pop from JWB, finding a meeting place between dark, minimalist covers of bands like The Fire. Flaming Lips and Steely Dan. Beach Boys and Public Enemy show their ELECTRICITY: The Cellar – Electro club COO COO CLUB with MULES + great versatility. Superb support tonight night with Riotous Rockers. FIREWORKS NIGHT + GODWITS: The comes from Scotland’s Pumajaw, formed by CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Jericho Tavern – Spiky post-punk funk and former-Loop man John Wills together with Community Centre gypsy dance from Mules at tonight’s Coo Coo Pinky MacLure. Desolate, psychedelic folk OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Club. Downbeat alt.country rockers Fireworks of the highest order. Meanwhile, Oxford’s GET FUNKED: The Bullingdon – Funk club Night support. own electro-soundscapists Keyboard Choir night. WINNEBAGO DEAL + LITTLE FISH + open a must-see show. FRIDAY 9th CUCKOO’S NEST: The Cellar – A night of PAUL HEATON: The Oxford Academy – The two-piece rock excellence with Winnebago Deal jangly pop types Loopy, as well as Shirley’s former Housemartins and Beautiful South cranking out their blitzkrieg garage-metal noise own party-friendly 60s-styled rock. frontman heads out on his first solo tour with alongside this month’s Nightshift cover stars THE RUINS + BIG BAD CITY + LE VENS + his trademark through-a-pint-glass-darkly tales Little Fish. B-PHIL: The Port Mahon – Smithsy indie of kitchen sink romance and loss. EMPIRICAL: Wesley Memorial Hall – rocking from The Ruins, plus funk-rock from FRESH OUT OF THE BOX with PLUMP European Broadcasting Union Jazz Big bad City. DJs: The Oxford Academy – Fresh Out Of Competition winners giving traditional modern AMERICA: The New Theatre – 70s country- The Box presents a mega night of nu-skool jazz an energetic update by way of Ornette rock giants hit the road again with hits like breaks in conjunction with Finger Lickin’ Coleman, John Coltrane and Ali Farka Toure. ‘Horse With No Name’, ‘Ventura Highway’ and Records. Andy Gardner and Lee Rous are on KADIALY KOUATE: Ramsden Memorial ‘Sister Golden Hair’. the decks with a new album, ‘Mad Cow’, out Hall – Senegalese kora player in the Mandinka GREEN: The Cellar – Hip hop club night and cementing their position at the head of the storytelling tradition. with DJs Fu, Green T and P-Dex. breakbeat crossover. There are also sets from WITTSTOCK FUNDRAISER with ANOTHER LOST LEADER + MARTHA Soul Of Man, plus old-school ravers Drumattic JESSICA GOYDER: The X, Cowley – ROSWELL + VICKY STUART: The Purple Twins. Recreational Hazard host the second Ephemeral acoustic pop with a rich Catalan Turtle – Acoustic night. room with techno and electro minimalism from edge from local songstress Jessica. OPEN MIC SESSION: Folly Bridge Inn Kostas G, Bass Face, Ed Steele and Matt OX4: The Bullingdon – Drum&bass club OPEN MIC SESSION: Temple Bar Carter. night. REDOX + SUPERLOOSE + TALC THE BROWNIES + BABY GRAVY + HELEN DEMONS + ALPHABET BACKWARDS: & APOS’ EVIL TWIN: The Port Mahon – Abingdon British Legion – Skittle Alley Spiky female-fronted punk noise from bands nights with local festival funk rockers Norwich’s Brownies at tonight’s Swiss Redox headlining. Concrete session. Similarly-inclined local THE REPEATS + ROB LEVER: The Temple starlets Baby Gravy join in the fun. WORLDVIEW + THE FOCAL POINT + FEE ELECTRIC JAM: The X, Cowley – Jam along FI FO FUM: The Purple Turtle with the in-house band. SUNDAY 11th SUNDAY ROAST: The Cellar – Chilled club THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE night. DISASTER + THE ZICO CHAIN + THE BEAR IN THE AIR: The Purple Turtle th DIRTY: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy MONDAY 12 – Gothabilly heroes return to action like a THE BIG DEZ BAND: The Bullingdon – rocket from the crypt – see main preview Rocking Texas-style blues from Paris singer and TOP OF THE OX: The Zodiac @ The guitarist Phil Fernandez and band, paying Oxford Academy – The local text vote battle of tribute to Alberts Collins and King. the band chart showcases its top acts of the PLEASE + EDUARD SOUNDING BLOCK + year, with student harpist Sarah Warne, folky DON’T MOVE, PLAY DEAD: The Port indie types Stornoway, Bob Dylan-influenced Mahon – Wobbly-headed blues and singer Minwah and sweet-natured acoustic psychedelia craziness from Please at tonight’s singer Daniel Hammersley. Permanent Vacation show, mixing up Magic SLOUNGE: The Vaults Café, Radcliffe Band with USAisamonster. Prog, metal and Friday 9th Square – The latest instalment in Oxford math-rocking from ESB, plus keyboard noise Contemporary Music’s multi-arts series, from Luton duo DMPD. FRESH OUT OF THE BOX tonight featuring folk-punk harpist Serafina DIGITALISM: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Friday 23rd Steer and international slam poetry champion Academy – The rebirth of the rock-rave th Steve Larkin, coming on somewhere between crossover courtesy of Berlin’s speed-addled SLIDE 13 BIRTHDAY: Spike Milligan and Enimen. electro-dance duo Digitalism, covering The Cure The Oxford Academy and remixing Futureheads even as they crank up Wednesday 7th the Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers block An excellent month for house and breaks in rocking beats. Synths fed through guitar pedals, Oxford with two quality club nights. Fresh SONS & a deep, deep love of Kraftwerk and its’ Out Of The Box presents a mega night of DAUGHTERS: futuristic dance music of the type people in the nu-skool breaks in conjunction with Finger old sci-fi movies doubtless envisaged it. Lickin’ Records. Plump DJs Andy Gardner The Zodiac @ The DIR EN GREY: The Oxford Academy – and Lee Rous are on the decks with a new Japan’s leading metal lights make a rare UK album, ‘Mad Cow’, out and cementing their Oxford Academy appearance – see main preview position at the head of the breakbeat crossover. There are also sets from Soul Of A good month for returning cult heroes of a JAZZ @ THE X: The X, Cowley Man, plus old-school ravers Drumattic noir-ish persuasion this, with Eighties JOHN TAMS & BARRY COOPE: Nettlebed Twins. Recreational Hazard host the second Matchbox B-Line Disaster and Sons & Folk Club – UK folk circuit regulars Tamms room with techno and electro minimalism Daughters both back in action. Formed out and Barry mix up traditional and original songs from Kostas G, Bass Face, Ed Steele and of members of Arab Strap back in 2001, on keyboards and guitar. Matt Carter. Glasgow’s Sons and Daughters have eclipsed th TUESDAY 13 Later in the month Oxford’s peerless house their parent band in terms of style if not RILO KILEY + GRAND OLE PARTY: The night Slide celebrates 13 years, having commercial success. Former Arab Strap lady Oxford Academy – From leftfield indie- played host to the likes of Groove Armada, Adele Bethel leads the band alongside Scott country starlets and support act to Bright Eyes Carl Cox and James Lavelle along the way Paterson and their shared love of The to polished AOR fluff, LA’s Rilo Kiley’s and choosing to celebrate this auspicious Smiths, Velvet Underground and Leonard creative star has declined in inverse correlation occasion by inviting back James Zabiela Cohen makes for deliciously dark art. Black- to their commercial one. New album ‘Under (pictured) after his sold out show here last hearted rockabilly, primal country rock, The Blacklight’ is awash with shiny unit- year. Zabiela’s career has been on a constant razor-sharp guitar riffs and songs about shifting pop product, somewhere between upwards trajectory since he won Muzik’s murder and voyeurism hide a romantic Shania Twain, Fleetwood Mac and 70s smooth Bedroom Bedlam award in 2000, culminating nature and it’s no surprise Nick Cave was jazz-rock, and easy-on-the-eye singer Jenny in last year’s award of Best British DJ in DJ enamoured enough to ask them to support Lewis has an army of fans all by herself, but it’s Magazine. His mastery of layering sounds him a while back. They also toured with saccharine stadium pop of little discernible and warping and twisting tracks provides a Morrissey and Domino labelmates Franz emotional or musical depth. There, that should perfect mix of entertainment and innovation, Ferdinand. Having gone quiet on the release be enough to have a mob of lovelorn geeks and proves Slide is still ahead of the game front since 2005’s ‘Repulsion Box’, they baying outside the Nightshift door for the next after all these years. return this month with a new single, ‘Gilt month or two. Complex’, produced by Bernard Butler, and THE CARDIACS + GOD DAMN WHORES: a new album due in the New Year. The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy – Tim JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Special guest Smith’s enduring musical mavericks return – see set from Paddy Milner. main preview SHUSH OPEN MIC SESSION: The X, SUPERLOOSE + SCRIPT: The Port Cowley Mahon INTRUSION: The Cellar – Goth and TELLING THE BEES + THE EAST industrial club night. ANGLIAN CHANCERS + MAEVE BAYTON OPEN MIC SESSION: Far From The & IAN NIXON + MANDY WOOD: East Madding Crowd Oxford Community Centre – Benefit gig for WEDNESDAY 14th the EOCC with acoustic folk and psychedelia BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: troupe Telling The Bees, in the vein of John The Oxford Academy – A return trip to the Martyn and Roy Harper. venue where they made their UK debut back in OPEN MIC SESSION: Folly Bridge Inn TOBY + THE ALLY CRAIG BAND + OPEN MIC SESSION: Temple Bar TAMARIND SUN: The X, Cowley – Acoustic THURSDAY 15th pop from Australian girl duo Toby at tonight’s TWO GALLANTS + BLITZEN TRAPPER + Grinning Spider club. Local luminary Ally Craig KELLY STOLTZ: The Zodiac @ The Oxford showcases his new band line-up while winsome Academy – Excellent raw blues and folk racket acoustic pop newcomers Tamarind Sun open. from San Francisco duo Adam Stephens (vocals JUXTAPOSITION: The Cellar – Reggae, and guitar) and drummer Tyson Vogel, sort of dancehall, dubstep and jungle with DJ the Delta counterpart to White Stripes electric Heatwave, plus live set from Vexd. Chicago blues sound. QUICKFIX NIGHT: The Purple Turtle – SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – Local Free live music night. JONNY RACE + THE LE BROCKS + th jazz guitar favourite Luis D’Agostino guests. Saturday 10 ANNI ROSSI: Modern Art Oxford – PANIC NUMBER + MALC EVANS: The AUDIOSCOPE: The Maverick Californian viola virtuoso, singer and Jericho Tavern tap dancer. OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon FULL METAL WAISTCOAT + JAUPE BELL BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon Zodiac @ The Oxford th + SWINGING MOLLY: The Port Mahon – SATURDAY 17 Academy Traditional English folk from Full Metal CALVIN HARRIS + THE MITCHELL Audioscope has surpassed itself once again Waistcoat. BROTHERS: The Oxford Academy – Like an with this year’s line-up. The annual mini- NAPOLEON III + PAGAN WANDERER LU annoying kid brother to LCD Soundsystem, festival in aid of Shelter has consistently + APPLICANTS + KEYBOARD CHOIR: Calvin and chums make a suitably cheesy attracted some of the great underground and The Cellar – Minimalist electro-pop, drones attempt to rehabilitate 80s electro-funk with leftfield acts from around the world, from and 60s acid pop from Wakefield mixed results. Admit it, a year from now you’ll Damo Suzuki to Four Tet, but this year experimentalists Napoleon III at tonight’s Big be hiding your copy of ‘I Created Disco’ under beats the lot – Michael Rother and Dieter Hair club. the floorboards lest anyone you care even Möebius. While Rother was a pivotal SHIRLEY + VIGILANCE BLACK SPECIAL vaguely about notices you own a copy and member of Neu! as well as Kraftwerk, + ANOTHER LOST LEADER + sneers at you like a leprous toad. Möebius played with Cluster before the two SUPERLOOSE: The Jericho Tavern – NICK HARPER: The Zodiac @ The Oxford of them, along with Hans-Joachim Crosstown Traffic night with harmony-heavy Academy – Impassioned English folk from son- Roedelius, formed Harmonia in the early- 60s power pop, surf and Latino party rock fun of-Roy Nick Harper. 70s. So, krautrock gods ahoy. The pair’s courtesy of Shirley. Dark-pop splendour from ASSASSINS OF SILENCE + XEXON headline appearance coincides neatly the Vigilance in support. CODEX: The X, Cowley – Hawkwind tribute. with the release of a live Harmonia album LIDDINGTON + DAVE BRISTOW: The X, THE GOG + THE PLAUDITS: The from 1974. Expect machine beats, industrial Cowley Wheatsheaf ambience and hypnotic grooves. Other SELECTASOUND presents THE DEDLOCK: The Port Mahon – Hardcore highlights of the day-long event are post- BRICKWORK LIZARDS: The Bullingdon - thrash metal. rockers The Sea and Cake, featuring Tortoise Wonderfully eclectic blues, jazz, Arabic and hip ABORT, RETRY, FAIL?: The Cellar – fellow John McEntire; incendiary four- hop sounds from local faves at tonight’s Electro club night with live bands and resident drummer, two-bassist wall-of beats Selectasound show. DJs. spectacle Shit & Shine, somewhere between FRIDAY 16th SIMPLE: The Bullingdon – Anniversary Sunn0))) and Beach Boys; UK underground AXOLOTL + BIRDS OF DELAY + JOEY night at the funky house club. legends Rothko and Birmingham’s utterly CHAINSAW: The Bullingdon – Experimental REDOX + THE PETE FRYER BAND + PETE awesome krautrockers Einstellung. The local noise with San Francisco’s Axolotl – see main CLACK: The Crawley Inn, Witney contingent is made up of the divine Witches, preview JESSICA GOYDER: The Shed, Charlbury whose debut ‘Heart Of Stone’ could well be HOT HOT HEAT + THE THIRST + SOULJACKER: The Temple the best Oxford album of the year, while BLONDELLE: The Oxford Academy – BAD SANDWICH + TRIBAL VIBE: The Audioscope organisers Sunnyvale Noise Sub- Canada’s Hot Hot Heat – previously known Purple Turtle – Funk rock and reggae. Element play their traditional opening set in a as The Best New Band In The World back in SUNDAY 18th Neu-meets-Shellac stylee. 2003 on the back of their rather good OYSTERBAND + DAN DONNELLY: The anti-war song ‘Bandages’ – return with new Oxford Academy – Canterbury’s enduring 2001 for BRMC, back on musical form with album ‘Happiness Ltd’ and their trademark mix English folkies return, promoting new album, new album ‘Baby 81’ after 2005’s rootsy, of upbeat new wave pop and ska. ‘Meet You There’, in recent years having acoustic ‘Howl’, recorded during a temporary ABRAM WILSON: The Zodiac @ The returned to their easy, melodic roots after split with drummer Nick Jago. With the new Oxford Academy – New Orleans trumpeter collaborations with June Tabor and The album they’re back doing what they’ve always and sidekick to Soweto Kinch, out on his own Handsome Family. done best – classic, smoke-shrouded blues-rock, and mixing up scat, blues, soul, hip hop and CHERRY GHOST + TACK, THE BOY inspired equally by The Stones, Led Zep, and jazz. DISASTER: The Zodiac @ The Oxford The Velvet Underground. SCRATCH PERVERTS: The Oxford Academy - Another dose of understated but MANNEQUINN WOODS + A DAY CALLED Academy – Hip hop, scratching and luxurious home-made country pop from DESIRE + SECRETLY SOULMATES: The drum&bass from Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and Bolton’s Simon Aldred, the man they’re calling Wheatsheaf – Grunge and metal noise from Plus One, fresh off the back of their recent The Lancastrian Bright Eyes, enjoying some local rockers Mannequin Woods, with support ‘Watch The Ride’ mix album. success with new album, ‘Thirst For Romance’, from Brummie emo shouters A Day Called ILL EASE + THE PATTY WINTERS SHOW following a tour support with Amy Winehouse Desire. + THE YOUNGS PLAN: The Wheatsheaf – earlier in the year. KATE CHADWICK + NICK BREAKSPEAR: Vacuous Pop night with the return of Brooklyn’s ACOUSTIC NIGHT: The Bullingdon The Port Mahon – Campfire acoustic pop Elizabeth Sharp, aka Ill Ease, bridging the gap th cosiness from Kate Chadwick, plus Black Hats between The Velvet Underground, Moldy MONDAY 19 frontman Nick in solo action. Peaches and New York No-Wave as she skitters PAUL LAMB & THE KINGSNAKES: The HIT & RUN: The Cellar – Hip hop and between looped guitar and hip hop drumbeats. Bullingdon – North-east blues harpist with a drum&bass club night. Vacuous Pop signings The Patty Winters Show 30-year career on the European blues circuit to CAT ‘APPENIN’ + DJ BISKIT: The Jericho recall the spirit of The Wedding Present with his name. Blues, boogie, swing and jump from Tavern – Psychedelic funk. their angular, harmony-heavy indie pop. the man and his dancefloor-friendly band. CHRIS T-T + A SILENT FILM: The Jericho DEMONS + BOX + ELAPSE-O: The Port Tavern – Arch lyrical observation and Mahon – Leftfield art-rocking from Skill 7 downbeat electro-folk pop from Chris T-T with alongside Portsmouth’s spiky garage rockers intricately grandiose rock from A Silent Film in YSNBWATID. support. THE PIGEON DETECTIVES: The Oxford THE DUKE SPIRIT + CREEPY MORON + Academy – Sold-out gig from the everyman MAN FROM MICHAEL: The Zodiac @ The indie rockers ploughing an unabashed post- Oxford Academy –Post-grunge noise-pop in Arctic Monkeys furrow. the vein of Pixies and Stooges, fronted by spiky THE HEAVY: The Zodiac @ The Oxford frontwoman Leila Moss. Academy – Why not treat yourself to DIVINE COILS + HANASLIMAI + OPEN something a little bit more exotic than Pigeon VERGE: The Port Mahon – Experimental Detectives by catching this lot on their noise and drones from Divine Coils and guests. unstoppable rise. Formed from the ashes of CARA DILLON: Nettlebed Folk Club – hugely underrated Bristol band Alpha, The Monday 12th Traditional folk from the Irish singer and Heavy sound like Curtis Mayfield fronting Led erstwhile Seth Lakeman collaborator. Zeppelin by way of the theme tune to The A DIR EN GREY: TUESDAY 20th Team. It’s glam-soul-funk-psychedelia and it’s The Oxford Academy AMEN + INBREDS + SPEED RANCH: The great, as amply displayed on ace debut single Wheatsheaf – Hell of a night in store in the ‘That Kind Of Man’. After ten years and six albums, Dir En Grey compact confines of the Sheaf as Casey Chaos’ JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Live set from played their first UK gigs back in July this hardcore punk-metal marauders – once hailed as regulars The Howard Peacock Quintet. year. Both sold out in an hour and fans The Best Band In The World by Metal Hammer SHUSH OPEN MIC SESSION: The X, queued outside the venue for two days – return to the UK, set to release a new album Cowley beforehand to get to the front. Back in their later this year, their first since 2004’s ‘Death VERTIGO: The Cellar native Japan that’s simply par for the course Before Musick’. Support from London’s OPEN MIC SESSION: Far From The for a band who have one of the most rabid scumbag metallers The Inbreds. Madding Crowd fanbases in the country. In 2005 the band st SKILL 7 STAMINA 12 + YOU’RE SMILING WEDNESDAY 21 played their first European date – selling out NOW BUT WE’LL ALL TURN INTO SONIC BOOM SIX + THE FLAMING a 4,000-capacity venue in Berlin is less than TSUNAMIS + GROWN AT HOME: The 72 hours with no publicity campaign – followed by a string of sold-out gigs in the th Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy – Sunday 11 Manchester’s hard-gigging punk-hip hop-ska States, where they’ve since supported Korn THE EIGHTIES battlers hit town again, tempering their Bad and Deftones. Unprecedented success for a Brains and Specials-inspired ire with some cute Japanese rock band, then. Fronted by MATCHBOX B-LINE Fugees-style soul-pop. theatrical vocalist/screamer Kyo, Dir En STATUS QUO: The New Theatre – Another Grey play melodic power and thrash metal, DISASTER: The Zodiac two-night stint at the New Theatre for Ver influenced as much by glam, goth and synth- Quo, who, a full forty years after they formed, pop as the usual metal titans, while earlier @ The Oxford Academy now find themselves considered cooler than albums featured more traditional Japanese After being one of Nightshift’s favourite they have since back in the days of ‘Pictures influences. With `Withering To Death’ and bands for a while a few years back, we’d Of Matchstick Men’. In part this is down to their new album, ‘Marrow Of A Bone’’ the given Brighton’s Eighties Matchbox B-Line the fact that recent albums, notably 2005’s music and words have become more Disaster up for dead as the trail went ‘The Party Ain’t Over Yet’ – the band’s 33rd westernised and harder-edged, much of the strangely cold, but, like the hardcore goth full-length release – were as good as anything new album lurching into hardcore territory. monsters they undoubtedly are, they they’ve done since their late-70s / early-80s Tonight’s show is only one of two UK gigs couldn’t stay dead for long and now they’re commercial heyday. Not that Ver Quo have on their current tour, so it should be a pretty back, black clad and wanting your soul. If ever had much time for being critically fanatical affair. And you’ve got to love any your idea of what constitutes goth is dour, acclaimed, not when they’ve just been band with a song called ‘Agitated Screams overly-sensitive panstick kids obsessed declared the most successful British singles act Of Maggots’. with metaphysical poets and a liking for of all time, ahead of even The Beatles. Folks crap emo bands, here’s your re-education. just love a nice bit of unadulterated barroom SILVERSTEIN: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Inspired by The Cramps, Bauhaus and The boogie fun. Rossi and Parfitt’s formula has Academy – More sad-sack emo-cum-stadium- Birthday Party, Eighties Matchbox are a remained unchanged for nearly half a century pop soul-bearing from The Band That Just howling rockabilly riot and capable of and the pair of them have lived every rock Won’t Go Away. There’s a new album, inspiring serious slam-dancing frenzies that cliché going, but Status Quo will be rocking ‘Arrivals & Departures’ out on Victory match any hardcore bunfight. Coffin-voiced all over the world for many more years to Records. All together now: loud bit, quiet bit, frontman Guy McKnight sings about come. loud bit, quiet bit….. paranoia, the wrath of God and 1930s high- BOTOX COWBOYS + FODDER: The Port FROM THE JAM: The Oxford Academy – diving circus horses as you’d expect from Mahon The combined visionary pop genius of Bruce any dark-minded rock soul, while the band’s JAKOBINARINA + VIDEO NASTIES: The Foxton and Rick Butler returns with more recent Live Best Of came in a limited-edition Jericho Tavern – Charmingly bolshy teenage dazzling mod rocking fun. Paul who? ouij board box. How black? None more punk rocking out of Iceland, just prove it’s not STATUS QUO: The New Theatre black. all glacial splendour and wildlife documentary OXFORD IMPROVISERS: The Port Mahon soundtracks. – Freeform jazz and experimentalism from the CLUB DUB: The Cellar local improv collective and guests. OPEN MIC SESSION: Folly Bridge Inn ELECTRICITY: The Cellar OPEN MIC SESSION: Temple Bar PAM + THE PLUGS + 50ft PANDA: The JOE PARKER + JULIANA MEYER: The Jericho Tavern – Indie rocking from Purple Turtle – Acoustic singer-songwriters Nottingham’s Pam, plus synth-led prog noise night. from The Plugs. Ace heavy riffage from recent nd THURSDAY 22 Demo Of The Monthers 50ft Panda. SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – With ROCK NIGHT: The Bullingdon – Live bands guests The Blake Wilner Quartet. and rock DJs. unlikely name of Orifice Vulgatron. Although in BLACK HATS + THE FAMILY MACHINE: this day and age, you wouldn’t put it past some The Stocks Bar, Abingdon – 60s-styled indie parents to actually name their child so. pop from Black Hats plus lachrymose country- THE FAMILY MACHINE: The Wheatsheaf pop from The Family Machine at tonight’s – Wry, lachrymose country-tinged rocking from Skittle Alley session. ace local songsmith Jamie Hyatt and crew. UPROOTED + GREEN ONIONS + LIFE & SAM KELLY’S BLUES BAND: The X, SOUL: Romanway, Cowley Cowley – Live blues from the award-winning BEN CLAMPSON: The Temple drummer and band. GET MASHED: The Bullingdon – DJs BASSMENTALITY: The Cellar – Funk, hip mixing up indie, hip hop and more. hop and breaks with ten-piece ska-rap band MISS LARDYDA: The Purple Turtle – Live Imperial Leisure. Tonight’s show also sees the funk, hip hop and soul. relaunch of interactive internet station Optix. SUNDAY 25th BLACKMARKET + HI FLYER + THE WE ARE SCIENTISTS: Brookes University TROUBLE WITH ME: The Jericho Tavern Union – New York’s post-punk faves play NEVER ENOUGH + HARLEQUIN + their first Oxford headline show (their second CONTRACT: The New Flyer, Banbury ever show outside of the States was supporting REDOX: Fat Lil’s, Witney Editors at the Zodiac in 2005), preparing to DEEP PURPLE NIGHT: The Bullingdon – release their follow-up to acclaimed debut Tuesday 13th Live tribute to the heavy rock legends. album, ‘With Love & Squalor’. OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT th THE CARDIACS: SATURDAY 24 BRITAIN: The Oxford Academy – Fun, The Zodiac @ The NOUGHT + THE ROCK OF TRAVOLTA + sometimes cheesy but more often inspired BIG JOAN + MORE: The Cellar (5.30pm) – covers of rock, punk, jazz and classical Oxford Academy An extended evening of leftfield rocking from the favourites played entirely on ukuleles. An always welcome return to town for the Big Hair crew. Local jazz’n’decker legends SCOUT NIBLETT + DEVASTATIONS + IT enduring maverick musical circus that is The Nought return to town to blow speakers and HUGS BACK: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Cardiacs. Formed in Surrey back in 1977, minds with their virtuoso instrumental hardcore, Academy – Dark’n’dirty blues and folk, with they were once banned outright from while the brilliantly theatrical TROT meld Spinal echoes of early PJ Harvey, from the singer/ appearing in NME by a disgusted editor, Tap metal mentalism with Add N To (X)-style drummer whose new album, ‘This Fool, Can but widespread press hatred only fuelled electro noise and Stravinsky-like classical Die Now’, features Niblett duetting with Will their rise to cult status and a career that has epicness. Guitar noise monsters Big Joan lead the Oldham, while Steve Albini once again takes the outlasted all their detractors. In their long supporting cast alongside narcotic-popsters production reins. Suave indie rockers and varied career the band have gone Brother Francisco, Eduard Sounding Block, Devastations support along with pop cuties It through myriad line-up changes, but are Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element and Von Braun. Hugs Back. forever led by frontman Tim Smith. GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with PINDROP PERFORMANCE: The Port Stylistically they take in everything from RUBBER DUCK + SKETCHBEAT + Mahon – Ambient noise from Crossword prog-rock, metal, pastoral psychedelia and AGENTS OF JANE: The Wheatsheaf – Records acts tbc. nods to bands as disparate as King Crimson, Funk, reggae and rock from local Rubber Duck JESSICA GOYDER + ARCHIE: The Jericho XTC and the Sex Pistols. Smith’s very at tonight’s GTI show. Funky rock from Tavern – Anglo-Spanish folk-pop from local English lyrical slant and vocal accent Sketchbeat plus campfire folk from openers singer-songwriter Jessica. preceded Britpop by a good decade but was Agents of Jane. ELECTRIC JAM: The X, Cowley typical of the band’s out-of-time feel which THE SMITHS INDEED: The Zodiac @ The SUNDAY ROAST: The Cellar th forever cast them as outsiders. Still, the Oxford Academy – All the old hits and cult MONDAY 26 band have never lost their cult status and favourites with none of the not-so-good new THE EDDIE MARTIN BAND: The their influence, though hardly widespread, is Morrissey stuff to distract you. Bullingdon – British blues guitarist, twice still being felt – from Blur’s wonkier NEW MODEL ARMY: The Oxford Academy nominated for best UK blues guitarist and adept outings, to Oxford’s own Eduard – Chest-beating folk-punk stalwarts prepare to at acoustic, electric and slide, drawing on all Soundingblock. For lovers of genuinely off- rouse the rabble into revolution once again. manner of American blues traditions, from Delta beat rock music, and for anyone who They believe in killing the bastards, killing the and Texan style to Chicago and New Orleans. forever despairs of the music press’ bastards, killing the bastards…. PICASTRO + VIKING MOSES: The Port inability to deal with anything out of the TANGO NUEVO: Pegasus Theatre – New Mahon – Somnambulant electro-classical ordinary, here’s another chance to celebrate wave Argentine tango from Tango Siempre, soundscaping from Toronto’s Picastro, the continuing survival of one such taking the dance back to its fiery roots while headlining tonight’s Vacuous Pop gig. extraordinary band. mixing it up with new musical styles. Missouri’s Viking Moses brings his downbeat, COO COO CLUB with BORDERVILLE + whisky-soaked songs of regret in support. CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford STORNOWAY + LITTLE FISH: The MARAH: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Community Centre Jericho Tavern – As good a line-up of local Academy – Brooklyn-based roots rockers out OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon talent as you’ll get anywhere. Vaudevillian on tour. FRIDAY 23rd space rockers Borderville launch their debut EP THE POOZIES: Nettlebed Folk Club – The RAVEONETTES: The Zodiac @ The Oxford with support from sweet-natured folk-pop all-female Scottish folk troupe welcome Sally Academy - Danish shoegazing dreamers - see troupe Stornoway and this month’s Nightshift Barker back into their ranks. main preview cover stars Little Fish TUESDAY 27th SLIDE: The Oxford Academy – Monthly DEACON BLUE: The New Theatre – IAN BROWN: The Oxford Academy – A house club night with special guest James Virulent, politicised punk mayhem fro… oh, mere four days after The Complete Stone Roses Zabiela – see main preview. sorry, they’re next to Dead Kennedys in our pay tribute to Manchester’s indie greats, here’s THE COMPLETE STONES ROSES: The music encyclopaedia. the real deal – former Roses frontman Ian Oxford Academy – Tribute to the Manc ONE DOLLAR PEEPSHOW + CHANTELLE Brown now ensconced as Britpop’s kindly but legends. PIKE + SUZANNE STARLING: The X, slightly mad uncle, but managing to knock out FOREIGN BEGGARS: The Zodiac @ The Cowley – Electro-folk pop from ODP in the the odd decent album along the way. And these Oxford Academy – London rap crew with a vein of Garbage and Cardigans. Extravagant days, apparently, he’s even started playing the loose stoner vibe and a frontman with the blues-tinged pop from Chantelle Pike. odd Stone Roses track or two. UNI-TRUCK with THE WARLOCKS + HIT & RUN: The Cellar – With DJ Fu and BLOOD RED SHOES + GOLDRUSH + Tonn Piper plus MC Mantmast. WITCHES – Brookes University Union – OPEN MIC SESSION: Folly Bridge Inn First of a new termly club night from Truck OPEN MIC SESSION: Temple Bar Records with LA’s narcotic rockers The MOIETY + DISAPPOINTED + KATE Warlocks – see main preview CHADWICK: The Purple Turtle – Acoustic THE SARGASSO TRIO + TINY TIGERS + night. YOUNG*HUSBAND: The Port Mahon – THURSDAY 29th Acoustic and synth-led folk, blues and BUZZCOCKS: The Oxford Academy – bluegrass from Norwich’s Sargasso Trio. Another trip to town for the enduring punk Dreamy psychedelic folk-pop from recent legends, with Mssrs Shelley and Diggle cranking Jeffrey Lewis support Young*Husband open out timeless classics like ‘Ever Fallen In Love’, the show. ‘Orgasm Addict’ and ‘Promises’ along with JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With The actually-very-good new stuff. One of the Josephine Davis Band playing live. genuinely greatest singles bands of all time. ACID WAX: The Cellar – Live set from PAMA INTERNATIONAL: The Zodiac @ T.A.P.E. The Oxford Academy – Classic punk SHUSH OPEN MIC SESSION: The X, downstairs, full-on ska and reggae party Cowley upstairs – it’s just like 1977 again. And OPEN MIC SESSION: Far From The coincidentally, Pama International became the Madding Crowd first band in 30 years to be signed to Trojan Tuesday 27th th WEDNESDAY 28 Records. No surprise when you consider the JAZZ JAM: The X, Cowley – Jam along with collective’s pedigree: formed by Finny and Sean THE WARLOCKS: Paul Jefferies’ in-house band. Flowerdew (The Loafers, Special Beat), they also feature Fuzz Townsend, Ernie McKoe Brookes Union Friday 23rd (Galliano), Simon Wilcox (Steel Pulse), Lynval When July’s Truck Festival was flooded Golding and Horace Panter (The Specials) and out, the organisers and headline acts RAVEONETTES: Madness’ Lee Thompson at various times. decamped to Brookes Union for a welly- Mixing up soulful ska, rocksteady and dub, wearing mini-festival. And they had such fun The Zodiac @ The they’ve played with The Skatalites and Toots they thought they’d make it a one-a-term Oxford Academy and The Maytals along the way. event. So here is the first Uni-Truck club SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – night, with a headline set from LA’s narcotic Winter it may be now but here’s the sweet Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins is tonight’s guest groove rockers The Warlocks, a band whose scent of summer to cheer us through the turn. starting points seems to be Spacemen 3’s long, dark nights. Or, as one Nightshift FARMYARD ANIMALS: Modern Art Oxford adage: “Taking drugs to make music to take reviewer wrote about their last visit to the – OCM present an early-evening show of jazz drugs to” and whose chemical intake Zodiac, the musical equivalent of the smell and experimentation from the Bellowhead side apparently makes Pete Doherty look like Lenor are always trying to sell us. Danish project, taking inspiration from English, Balkan, Ian MacKaye. Unsurprisingly then there’s duo Raveonettes (multi-instrumentalist Sune Arabic and Catalan traditions. been a fair amount of chaos and conflict Rose Wagner and singer / bassist Sharin Foo) HREDA + TUSKEN COALITION + THE within the ranks throughout their eight-year are a sweet-as-sugar-coated-sunshine pop OCTOBER GAME + THE CARTER lifetime – over twenty band members have experience, joyous and invigorating, taking MANOEUVRE: The Cellar – Instrumental been and gone and the seven-strong line-up the sheen and sadness of 60s girl pop, a rock action from local newcomers Hreda at of their 2005 album, `Surgery’, is once again surf-pop twang, The Everly Brothers’ two- tonight’s Big Hair gig. redrawn, the core being singer and guitarist part harmonies and a little of Johnny and SS20 PRESENTS: The Bullingdon – Live Bobby Heckster, himself a temporary June Cash’s country duetting and icing it bands and DJs from the local skate emporium. member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. with swirling shoegazing dreaminess. In fact JOHNNY’S SEXUAL KITCHEN: The Port The musical debt to Spacemen 3 is huge – all they don’t really look or sound like a band Mahon flanged guitars, narcotic drones and st from the 21 Century: Sune looks like a 50s THE SIRENS CALL + NOT MY DAY: The relentless guitar grooves, but homage is also rocker and sings like a young, lean Lou Reed, Jericho Tavern – Local indie rock double bill. paid to The Velvet Underground, Rolling while Sharin looks like Nico’s kid sister and CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Stones, Ride and The Jesus and Mary croons like Julee Cruise or Nancy Sinatra. Community Centre Chain. Maybe not the band to kick-start a Together they’ve got a seductive playfulness OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon jolly student party, but at their best a about them that’ll make you smile like it’s OPEN MIC SESSION: The Somerset, monolithic wall of sound. Exemplary your fifth birthday all over again. Their last Marston Road support tonight comes from pop-friendly, album, ‘Pretty In Black’, featured FRIDAY 30th Lightning Bolt-heavy girl/boy duo Blood contributions from Ronnie Spector, Mo Red Shoes, plus local stars Goldrush, Tucker and Martin Rev. They’ve got a new REPUBLICA: The Zodiac @ The Oxford Witches and Stornoway. album out this month, ‘Lust Lust Lust’, Academy – Hard house and trance with guest which apparently finds the band in more Mark eg, plus Ratpack, Digital Era, GQ, reflective mood, but hell, we just know it’s Sandman and Alex Lays. HQ: The Cellar going to make us happy. MATT BERRY: The Zodiac @ The Oxford SOULJACKER + ODD ONES OUT + Academy – The star of Snuffbox and The IT FEARNE: The Jericho Tavern – Classic 60s Crowd, as well as sometime Mighty Boosh and 70s-styled rock from headliners Souljacker. villain, Matt Berry shows the other side of his OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon talents, along with his experimental backing BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon band Jonas 3. GLITTERSKIN + STRAIGHTJACKET + KING B: The X, Cowley – Live blues-rock. CENTURY MAN: The Purple Turtle

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SEASICK STEVE The Oxford Academy When Seasick Steve was handed the Mojo Breakthrough Award earlier this year the former hobo, who left his Mississippi home at thirteen to escape an abusive stepfather, commented that it had only taken him sixty years to breakthrough. The fact the world has finally woken up to the wandering bluesman’s music is fantastic, but the irony is, without those years in the wilderness, the stories he tells through his songs wouldn’t be so fascinating. And what stories he has. Steve lived in Haight-Ashbury in the 60s, Paris’ Left Bank in the 70s and in the flat below Kurt Cobain in Seattle in the 90s. Along the way he played guitar with Son House and Lightning Hopkins and produced albums for Modest Mouse and Bikini Kill. This guy has really lived. And he is a genuine star. Sat down and armed only with a guitar and a box on which he kicks out a beat when needed, he commands the room, from front to back, even getting away with singing without a microphone when the inane chatter from those at the very back starts to irk him. Seasick Steve’s blues is as raw and pure as it was when Son House and Robert Johnson were first around. His songs are simple, stripped down, languorous in their execution and occasionally filled with an almost dumb humour that contemporary irony has all Without the break he got when a lone radio DJ playing his guitar, the crowd is in rapture. but killed (on ‘It’s All Good’ he drawls the picked up on his debut album (he’s here tonight, He returns for the astonishing autobiographical immortal lines, “I should be at home singing to just off stage and gets his due respect) it’s certain ‘Doghouse Blues’, which contains in its few my dog / But he dead now”, while further along that Seasick Steve would still be playing these notes, more wit, warmth and wisdom than most we get a song called ‘I Wear My Socks Up To same songs to however many people, til the day bands will manage in a career, and it’s clear to My Knees’). In fact, watching Seasick Steve is he finally croaked, and because he’s never sought everyone here that real stars aren’t made in like watching a master craftsman creating adulation, he seems to genuinely appreciate it stage school or on TV talent shows, but forged sturdily ornate furniture in an age of flat-packed when it comes. In fact, when he hobbles offstage in the trials of real life. blandness. at the end of the set, with no fanfare, still Dale Kattack

THE PATTI SMITH GROUP The Oxford Academy As far as living legends go, they don’t come any better than Patti Smith. on ‘Within You Without You’. Arguably the greatest female rock icon of all time, her 1975 debut, For the most part, though, it’s her own songs that send shiver down the ‘Horses’, is easily one of the greatest punk-era albums while, along with spine tonight, the majority taken from ‘Horses’ and its 1978 equal Bruce Springsteen, she is author of the greatest sex song of all time, ‘Easter’. ‘Ghost Dance’ is dark and haunting, while a final encore of ‘Because The Night’. Tonight, in the flesh, she never once disappoints. ‘Rock’n’Roll Nigger’ is simply magnificent in its primal aggression, Patti From the opening, loping skank of ‘Redondo Beach’ Patti lives up to the once more the ferocious young punk girl beside constant guitar partner legend on every count. An oddly ramshackle figure, speaking in a stoner Lenny Kaye (who takes the lead for a thunderous rendition of The Seeds’ New York drawl and prone to rambling, surreal monologues infused with ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’). razor-sharp wit, once she sings her voice is a thing of wonder, even after Of course two songs steal the show from even these incredible all these years, gloriously strident and infused with sleepy-eyed soul. highlights. Patti long ago made Van Morrison’s ‘Gloria’ her own, taking it Musically her songs, and her band, are quite traditional, steeped in blues, to unimagined realms of violent passion, while ‘Because The Night’ is jazz and rock and roll, which sometimes seems at odds with her arty, perhaps one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever had at a gig, having poetic side. That part of her comes to the fore on a cover of Hendrix’s waited a lifetime to hear it performed live by Smith herself. It’s a love ‘Are You Experienced?’ wherein Patti takes the instrumental lead on song with few equals and Patti’s soul-rending vocal performance knocks clarinet; a clever and unexpected move. Cue another cute story about even the most experienced gig goer backwards. Really, there are no words being stoned and having kids which in turn makes way for a lysergic that can do justice to that song. poem about a Dodo that finally leads into another cover, Jefferson Finally seeing a childhood hero in concert is a risky business. Tonight, Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’, possibly the only disappointment of the though, Patti Smith is everything she promised to be. A living legend. entire set since for once Patti is unable to make the song her own, unlike Still. an astonishing version of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and a spaced-out take Dale Kattack OXFORD IMPROVISERS THE GOLDEN WOK The Port Mahon It’s always been a mystery to me why landscape. Accompanied by Pat Thomas Finest Chinese Cuisine Take-Away improvised music is seen as somehow on keyboard they head off on a journey 170 Cowley Road weird and difficult. After all, most people that goes to some fairly extreme places (Opposite Tesco) dance in a free, unstructured way, so why that recall Thomas’ beloved Sun Ra. He’s shouldn’t music reflect this? Most rock never been afraid to push boundaries, and pop music, with all its wild and including reaching inside a grand piano to 01865 248158 rebellious associations, is still slave to all pluck the strings with his fingers. After Home Delivery Available sorts of structural and rhythmical Radiohead he’s probably Oxford’s most conventions that belie that image. Maybe influential musical figure, with a list of we’re more unsettled by challenging and collaborations long enough to fill this Open 7 days a week unpredictable art than we like to admit. paper. Next, Thomas and Sanders join In the absence of the scheduled but sadly battle, a phrase I don’t use lightly. Their flu-ridden Charles Hayward, some familiar unconstrained and in-yer-face Oxford faces are joined tonight by performance has some of the attentive drummer Mark Sanders and vocalist Viv audience laughing out loud. Corringham. Sanders is probably best After a duet with McPhail and known for his role in Jah Wobble’s world Corringham all five conclude with an dub project, but his roots are in jazz and ensemble piece, though this is the only improvisation. Tonight’s first set brings part that doesn’t really work. him together with Pete McPhail on sax and Improvisation seems to involve a certain flute and Dominic Lash on double bass. unspoken agreement as to roughly where The result is assured yet gentle, the three things are going, and maybe it’s easier for seeming to share a telepathic sense of two or three people to achieve this. where the others are going. Sanders uses an The Oxford Improvisers perform assortment of bells to augment his regularly, and I met someone who’d standard kit, with fine results. driven for six hours to be here. Why not Viv Corringham doesn’t sing in a try something different for your next conventional way but uses her voice to gigging experience? make sounds that create her own musical Art Lagun

HAROLD BUDD The Holywell Music Room Pianist and composer Harold Budd is both the innate strength of his perhaps best known for his pioneering compositions and also their more work with Brian Eno in the late 1970s and traditional influences from classical music. early 80s, though later collaborations with Chopin’s Nocturnes are evoked more than the likes of the Cocteau Twins, David once, while the fluid lines and shifting Sylvian and John Foxx have also done much colours seem to connect directly with the to bring him to the attention of a wider French impressionism of Ravel and audience. Only three years ago, Budd let it Debussy. Elsewhere Budd’s playing is be known that creatively he had little more more dramatic and there is a piece from to say and was retiring after thirty years in 1991’s ‘By Dawn’s Early Light’, which music. However, since then there has been a includes a sombre poetry recitation. retraction; new albums have appeared and However, it is the pieces from the two new collaborations planned. seminal albums with Eno, ‘Plateaux of Looking like a shy, greying and affable Mirror’ and ‘The Pearl’, which are the American tourist, Budd sits at the concert most transfixing. Even without the rich grand and proceeds to take us through an electronic treatments on the original hour’s worth of selections from his body recordings, these pieces are extremely of work. Ambient is a word that is atmospheric, desolate and haunting. invariably associated with his music, Then, with the hour up, there’s a salute to largely due to the considerable influence of the crowd, a stiff bow and he’s gone. It’s the early seminal albums made on Eno’s tempting to say that in some ways this Obscure Records label, starting with was a little bit of an underwhelming 1978’s ‘Pavilion of Dreams’. His subtle performance that didn’t completely do yet crystalline piano technique has long justice to the man’s achievements and rich been central to his output of instrumental body of work. Much of his best music is compositions, though synthesizers and a quite ethereal and disembodied and it’s range of instruments and musicians from almost disconcerting to live through it the worlds of jazz, and traditional attentively as a performance, rather than, American and world music, have all it has to be said, an ambience. Still, as an contributed to the collective achievement. intimate sampler of Harold Budd there Tonight the electronic processing of his was enough here to win over converts to ROCK-POP-DANCE-GOLDEN OLDIES-INDIE- playing is minimal. Rather we have the his unique talent and generate a positive SOUL-TECHNO-HIP-HOP-JAZZ-LATIN-REGGAE- starker and more immediate experience of reassessment of a still evolving, still DRUM&BASS-GARAGE—R&B-DISCO-1950s- Harold Budd as a single performing challenging career. 2000s. Brand new back catalogue CDs £4 - £7 musician. The effect of this is to highlight Steve Thompson each. Brand new chart CDs £5 - £10 each But tonight is Foals’ party, their big homecoming, and they’re second to none. When we witnessed Foals tearing up the Wheatsheaf in front of fifty people eighteen months ago they were spectacle enough; tonight, in front of a near-rabid full house, they’re

Photo: James Gray King so finely honed and so tightly wound you feel the whole thing could snap like an over-stretched steel cable at any second, but conversely they’re fluid and fresh in a way all those tedious funk jam bands could only gawp at and drool in blind envy. Funk is what Foals are but their funk is so uptight and furious it doesn’t so much invite your feet to move as fire a semi-automatic machine gun at them until they’re no more than a blur. Yannis and Jimmy’s duelling guitars make way for Buzzcocks-simple two-note solos and even when they introduce their “love ballad” it sounds like The Cure going wild in FOALS / METRONOMY an MDMA trance. Before the forty-minute set is over they’ve The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy managed to break the drum kit and Metronomy are our favourite new As the opening track jitters and don’t stop dancing and grinning for there’s a five-minute break while band. Three geeky blokes from jerks urgently in a glorious post- the next half hour as they hum and it’s fixed for the final breakneck Brighton perched behind tiny punk sci-fi robo-pop fashion, you buzz through early Human League track. synthesizers, dressed in t-shirts want to leap on stage, stick plant and Kraftwerk, via beer hall polka “We reckon this is the best with glowing light discs on the pots on their heads and shout “You and middle eastern funk until they Monday night ever,” announces front that flash on and off when are Devo and I claim my five reach critical mass with some wall Yannis towards the end. The boy they perform their hysterically pounds!”. But then you’re too of noise synthabilly carnage. Now ain’t wrong. choreographed vogueing routines. busy dancing and grinning, and you that’s what we call fun. Dale Kattack

SHACK SPIERS AND BODEN / JOE HUGHES The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy The Bullingdon Love Shack or hate them (see what the sharp twists and tempo The only distinguishing mark of shines through. Spiers, on his I did there?) the Liverpool four changes make for a nice surprise - singer guitarist Joe Hughes’ set is various squeezeboxes is in maestro piece are champions of melodic The Beach Boys meets The Kinks, his quirky choice of songs. They form; next to me a closet concertina British guitar pop and have been tipping their hat to R.E.M. Forget have nothing in common in subject player is rapt in awe. Boden’s merrily strolling uphill on the any fuss or pretentiousness, Shack or style other than starting and vocals are excellent, the best I have outskirts of fame and fortune for may make pleasant songs but that ending with numbers about heard him, and his fiddle playing is over 20 years now. This is the doesn’t mean it has to be boring or Liverpool. What comes in between filled with variety. second night on a UK tour easy. ‘Meant To Be’ starts off as a includes, oh dear, a Tom Waits song The duo play a single set of nearly supporting their latest album, nice standard rock ballad but which performed as a sing-a-long, and an two hours. The touches of gypsy ‘Time Machine’, a greatest hits completely headbutts itself into a Arctic Monkeys cover, whose title, and café music are there but don’t showdown. It isn’t shoulder to spine-tingling Mexican passage ‘Mardy Bum’, is the best thing overwhelm the English roots music. shoulder tonight at the Academy, straight out of the Rio Grande. about it. He ends with `The Tunes they have played hundreds but think quality over quantity. ‘Streets of Kenny’ is one of many Leaving of Liverpool’, but brings of times, they are still totally into, The fans know their stuff and 3/4 songs tonight but sounds like a nothing new to a song worn out in including my current favourite, Shack are only happy to please Native American rain dance by the last century by a million sing- ‘Ramblin Sailor. They also play with hit after hit, mixed in with XTC. alongs in folk clubs and by the new material, of which ‘The Story some promising-sounding new It may not be the most polished of Spinners forever doing it on Of Beggar Tom Padgett’ is the material. The banter between performances, and Mick is quite flickering black and white TV. strongest. Unfortunately they Michael Head and the audience in obviously the worse for wear from John Spiers and Jon Boden have follow fashion and add in a Tom between songs make it, at times, drink, but there are many gleaming been making over traditional Waits song, which jars, but at least seem more like a bunch of lads moments. You get the feeling not English folk songs and tunes and they don’t invite the crowd to sing sitting round over a pint than much has changed over the years, have been known for some time along. Otherwise a pretty perfect watching a gig. Still, it’s what the as far as the way they go about now for playing traditional English set which ends with the young fans love. Shack offer up an making music. Endearingly songs and tunes loud and fast crowd in a frenzy of excitement and eclectic blend of jangly pop, shambolic, one thing is for certain: including with their 11-piece big cheering at what are now the Spiers treading on the toes of they love what they do and nothing band Bellowhead. What can get and Boden anthems, ‘Rochdale psychedelica and prog rock while is going to make them change the drowned out in the noise is that Coconut Dance’ and ‘Prickle-Eye snuggling up to some folk. ‘Al’s way they do it. they are great musicians. Tonight, Bush’. Vacation’ chugs away nicely but Katy Jerome in the Bully’s intimate space, this Colin May

Photo: James Gray King The Wheatsheaf KEYBOARD CHOIR ST projected fromsuchanelevated a big,warmhug. Themusicis much waftover you assidleupfor Stafraenn Hakon’s tunesnotso like adense,lachrymalfog,then inexorably slidesinyourdirection And iftheKeyboardChoir’s music as ashambles,theyarescintillating. at astraightforwardrockgig.Even lines thatwouldn’tbeoutofplace trip, incorporatingbangingsynth before theyareoffonahardtrance you intoafalsesenseofdread, consciousness oneminute,lulling achieve thisbypervadingyour effect isoneofeerieharmony. They claustrophobia, buttheiractual six keyboardshasthepotentialfor electronica. Theconfluenceofthe with theirdisorientating,pulsing each memberofthetinyaudience still managetoenvelopeandisolate start tofinish,TheKeyboardChoir complete anduttershamblesfrom and despitetheirsetbeinga tunes themselves.Inthisrespect, delivered isjustasimportantthe Quite often,thewaythatmusicis AFRAENN HAKON/ Matt Bayliss heavy tocarryweight. that musicdoesn’t havetobe guess, it’s arefreshingreminder you’ve everhadand,likeacloud, I soundtrack tothehappiestdream your eyes,itcouldbethe band. At timeswhenyouclose shared byseveralmembersofthe particularly lovelyandthedutyis poetry. Thevocals,too,are danger ofwantingtowritewistful synth anditallputsoneinterrible scattershot drumsandreverbed colliding withagroundswellof guitar pitter-patterdown,gently ossifying. Dropletsofwobbly troughs enoughtopreventitfrom ambient nature,itpeaksand Although themusicislargelyofan subtle varietyinhissongs. expertly bringouttherichand full complementofmusicians,who Josephsson) istonightjoinedbya sobriquet ofIcelandic-bornÓlafur comparison. Stafraenn(the positively weightlessin plain thatitmakesyoufeel debt). Oldersongs,notablythe increasingly seemtooweamusical Patrol, towhomEditors previous workwithU2andSnow rocker (unsurprisinggivenhis coaxed outtheband’s innerstadium Room’. ProducerJacknifeLeehas Editors’ debutalbum,‘TheBack the newsongstotracksfrom There’s adefiniteprogressionto Smith’s rich, wrapping itswayaround Tom swarming throughthehall, Urbanowicz’s glissandoguitar front ofaheavingfullhouse,Chris That songopenstonight’s setin Start’ isseeminglyomnipresent. video tonewsingle‘AnEndHas A get playedonRadio2,whilethe of twoyearsago.Thesedaysthey longer thedark-mindedcultheroes Butthenofcourse,Editorsareno bands likeEditors? apes likethisstartlisteningto sport, butsincewhendidnit-eating at theworld’s leastinteresting England havejustbeaten Australia front ofthehall. Apparently cabbage-brained rugbyfansatthe Chariot’ emanatesfromamassof up. A chorusof‘SwingLow, Sweet very end,afterthelightshavegone superlative gigtonightcomesatthe The onlylowpointofanotherwise The Oxford Academy EDITORS somewhere. SingerGareth is mix withthevocals waydown subtleties being lost inamurky songs passingbyinasludgyhaze, disappointed, thefirstcoupleof I’m morethanalittle to theirsetforawhile.Initially element, I’dbeenlookingforward twee, butwithadecidedpop momentum nowadays.Rather how fastabandcangather the PortMahon,whichshows in OxfordactionforMyAnalogat LosCampesinos!werelastseen hedge backwards. look likeCSSdraggedthrougha another bunchoffashionistasthat substance athomehere.Just cover upthefactthere’s notmuch gurgle, jerk,crackleandpopto Party! We SayDie!whogogurgle, First though,wehave You Say within thanitdoesonthesurface. least offersmoreentertainment latest charity‘fun’day, tonightat secretary’s e-mailadvertisingthe exclamation marksthana With alineupcontainingmore The Oxford Academy PAR LOS CAMPESINOS!/ TY! sonorous voice. WE SA Y DIE! Russell Barker wonderful place tobe. are LosCampesinos! It’s a flailing somewhereinthemiddle and Shop Assistants and The VanBeethoven, TheWannadies DrawatrianglebetweenCamper Cheeks’. set closer‘SweetDreamsSweet half-arsed synchroniseddancingto component oftheband)anddoing by Harriet’s violin(akey shambolic, raggedlypsychedout same song)theyareridiculously (and sometimesinthespaceof thing youcanimagine. At turns Campesinos! arethemostjoyous Gareth relaxesalittle,Los Oncethesoundisclearand works, fromthe through theproblems. And it sheer effervescencebattling righting themselvessomewhat, Underground’ findsmatters International Tweecore The Automatic. Newsingle‘The himself intosquealyfellafrom trying toohardandrisksturning biopic sees theopeningnightofIanCurtis coincidence thattonight’s gigalso part brilliantly(it’s mere the intense,doomedyoungman Psychedelic Furs,andSmithplays especially theBunnymenand mists ofnewwave’s broodierclan, brittle ‘Lights’,aresteepedinthe Victoria Waterfield such people. of. Musiclikethisiswastedon whichever cavetheylumberedout fans havelongsincereturnedto hopefully lastwellaftertherugby singalong. And ananthemthatwill has thecrowdunitedinamass black walls.Butit’s ‘Munich’ that dance betweenthevenue’s suitably picking as‘AllSparks’and‘Bones’ lump, thatquicklyfeelslikenit- the songsintoonehomogenous lest hiswallofsoundguitarbarrel space betweennotesalittlebetter Urbanowicz needstoutilisethe moments whenyoufeel Ifthereareveryoccasional continues torise. suiting SmithasEditors’star to seeChrisMartin-likestardom new songsbypianoandit’s easy hums of‘Blood’arereplacedonthe romantic misanthropy. The synth around himasheexpoundshis YOU SA Control ), wrappinghisarms reon in. Y GALLOWS / POISON THE WELL / LETHAL BIZZLE The Zodiac @ The Oxford Academy Lethal Bizzle is the first rock star days, they’re quick to disappointment of the night. Having proclaim themselves as one with the dispensed with the grime that crowd, over half of whom are initially made his name with More forming the biggest circle pit the Fire Crew, Bizzle tries too hard to Zodiac has ever seen. In fact wiry, court indie crowds while indulging tattooed frontman Frank Carter is in the sort of clichéd rap crossover straight into the crowd from the off, bravado that makes so much late- spending as much time being carried 90s music embarrassing to over the heads of the crowd, remember. New single ‘Police On hanging from the lighting rig or My Back’ is a rare highlight and standing on the bar at the back, still positively buzzes with energy, even bellowing his manifesto, as he does if you have to chuckle at two on stage. hundred skinny white kids chanting Gallows are a racket, a row, a “Fuck the police!” along with the disorganised storm of old punk chorus. A cover of ‘Jump Around’, chords mugged from Refused or though, is predictable and dated. Conflict or even The Beastie Boys’ An even bigger let-down are Poison earliest incarnation, but they’re also The Well, who have seemingly great pressure cooker fun. They dispensed with any former probably don’t need to do the creativity in favour of a show of macho posturing they end up falling choreographed macho bullshit, only for when Bizzle reappears on stage mildly leavened by the amusing site with them, and the cover of ‘Staring of singer Jeffrey Moreira constantly At The Rude Boys’ is hamfisted, pumping his elbow as he sings, as if but for the first time in years we he’s got an invisible set of bagpipes come out of a punk gig feeling like tugged under his arm. we’ve actually witnessed punk rock But no matter, Watford’s Gallows as it was meant to sound and not a are here to save punk rock from emo contrived, unit-shifting, airplay- and corporate whores. Armed with friendly approximation. And for an old school unifying attitude that that, we truly love Gallows. takes hardcore back to its pre- Ian Chesterton

TUNNG / EUGENE McGUINNESS / COGWHEEL DOGS The Oxford Academy With their line-up of guitar and cello and passionless: not two of my and stall set out simply as an favourite musical qualities. acoustic duo, it’s easy to assume Tunng, by contrast, are positively that Cogwheel Dogs might be unable bursting with imagination: an to throw any surprises our way. impossible mixture of the Beta Luckily, Rebecca Mosley’s Band, Fairport Convention and rhythmic, vaguely unconventional Múm - there certainly aren’t many guitar style, Tom Parnell’s bands who could combine gelignite discordant assaults on his cello, and and cuckoo calls in the same song. some oblique thematic tangents Their outer layer of traditional folk mark this out as something far more is subverted by skittering, crystal- satisfying. It’s far from the finished clear beat programming that’s very article, but there are highlights in cleverly put together: in places it’s ‘Ducking Stool’ and ‘Cress’ that are awkward and restless, but never to redolent of Nina Nastasia’s finest the extent that it demands attention hour, `Run to Ruin’. as anything other than a fine Consistently intriguing and complement. Ostensibly, you could occasionally inspired, then, unlike apply epithets like ‘jaunty’ to Eugene McGuinness, who, if there Tunng’s music, but this belies an were a sliding scale of wry, lyrically- abstruse undercurrent of songs knowing songwriters, would covering a whole range of unfortunately sit firmly at the Chris unpleasant ways to die. Beautifully T-T rather than the Jeffrey Lewis catchy songs pulled apart and end. His songs, touching on such reassembled anew into something levities as watching Neighbours darker and wholly more satisfying – twice a day too often come across it’s great to know that the future of as the musical equivalent of light folk is in safe hands. teatime observational comedy. Arch Stuart Fowkes SETH LAKEMAN The Oxford Academy A truly great musician should look and sound like they are at one with their instrument. Seth Lakeman is a pretty neat guitarist, a very

Photo: rphimages good singer and an excellent songwriter, but it’s when he picks up his fiddle that he enters that rarefied realm of the musical alchemist. Highlights in tonight’s hour and a half set are many, but most involve Lakeman shredding his bow against the strings of his fiddle, whether it’s the urgent stomp of ‘Lady Of The Sea’, the jigs and reels that make up tonight’s encores or the set’s centrepiece, ‘Kitty Jay’, where his bowmanship reaches its zenith, haunting and hypnotic, infused with the ghostly spirit of its subject matter. Not that the guitar-led songs are a let-down: Lakeman’s ability to take on centuries-old stories and bring them to life with an emotional intensity that can have you shivering beside Dartmoor ghosts or in the middle of a Civil War battlefield puts a lie to any idea that traditional English folk music is a moribund genre. In fact if there’s any criticism to be made of Seth Lakeman it’s that as his commercial appeal continues to widen, so too does his band, now expanded to a five-piece, including electric guitar, when it’s the stripped-down acoustic numbers that work best – notably ‘Kitty Jay’ – odd rockier songs come over as too middle of the road, as if he’s chasing Radio 2 appeal. He simply doesn’t need so much clutter. All that’s forgotten, though, as he airs most of last year’s superb ‘Freedom Fields’ album, as well as new songs, like recent single ‘Poor Man’s Heaven’, acoustic guitar rubbing up against mandolin and a strident double bass throb and lyrics full of rebellious defiance. With each visit to Oxford Seth Lakeman plays at a larger venue, and with tonight’s gig again sold out and a new album out early next year, folk music’s number one poster boy, who not so long ago was part of Cara Dillon’s backing band, looks like outgrowing even this place. A musician with his talent and vision deserves everything he gets. Ian Chesterton

photo by Sam Shepherd

THE BLACK HATS / SEVEN YEARS ON / DAVE CORRIGAN The Wheatsheaf There’s nothing worse than the bloke at a a bit too clever and they lose momentum. party who brings his acoustic guitar and a More time pounding the fretboard and less heart full of woe rather than a bin bag of time furrowing the brow, and they could beer and whiskey. Dave Corrigan skates be on to something. very close to being the kind of guy you’d The Black Hats start their set Vision On only invite to a party with the caveat style by drawing their back drop. Apart “Don’t bring your guitar”. As you might from this and a quick nod to new wave, expect his songs are pretty maudlin but at once they start their set there’s nothing least his structures are basic, so they have retro about them at all. Nick Breakspear room for a tune rather than endless finger- has always had a way with a tune and picked noodling. although The Black Hats are considerably VENUE PHONE NUMBERS Seven Years On hail from Swindon, which more noisy and raucous than his previous Oxford Academy: 01865 420042 instantly puts us on the back foot. You exploits, at the heart of each of these songs The Bullingdon: 01865 244516 can see why they might list Pavement is a kernel of pop sensibility. ‘The Lift’ among their influences but American has a chorus that inspires hands in the air The Wheatsheaf: 01865 721156 college rock this most certainly isn’t. The clap-alongs, while ‘Shout Out’ finds us The X: 01865 776431 vocals are nestled very much in the realm dabbing at the corner of our eyes and The Cellar: 01865 244761 of Blur, finding an apex at the point at pretending not to cry. The final song The New Theatre: 0870 606 3500 which Albarn and Coxon meet. Musically, tonight finds Breakspear lamenting being there are distinct flavours of Blur at work left on the subs bench and being nothing The Port Mahon: 01865 202067 too, but Seven Years On only find their more than ordinary. On this evidence, The Jericho Tavern: 01865 311775 feet when they are thrashing the hell out Black Hats are far from being anything of Brookes: 01865 484750 of their guitars and making a tide of white the sort. noise. Too many times they try to be just Sam Shepherd MyArse.com DR SHOTOVER Following the overwhelimingly positive response to last month’s MyArse Dark Side Of The Moog feature (two people said they liked it, although one admitted he didn’t I have always been a Mellotron man quite understand what it was all about) we’ve decided to flog it just a myself, but Stinky Stonesfield has little bit more. So here we go for probably the last time - Nightshift’s so- been trying to convince me of the honest-it-hurts guide to what your local favourites are really all about, superior merits of the miniMoog, as whatever they might try and tell you. played by pretty much everyone in late 70s Prog - Rush, Utopia, you WHO THEY ARE WHO THEY THINK WHO THEY ARE IN know the sort of thing... (Yes, well, THEY ARE THE REAL WORLD obviously at that stage in the game we Youthmovies Van Der Graaf Weather Report were all into PUNK ROCK and NOT Generator listening to Steve Hillage AT ALL... The Epstein Crazy Horse The Mavericks Ahem.) Meanwhile Kraftwerk were Redox Gong The Wurzels exponents of the mini- (and the poly- Klub Kakofanney The Exploding Plastic The PTA Barn Dance ) Moog too, in case you want Inevitable someone who fits in better with the “No Bad Vibes In These Eduard Sounding Mr Bungle Rainbow accepted canon. Talking of can(n)on, Premises” - Steve Hillage Block who were those people I wanted to A Silent Film Radiohead Marillion shoot again? Oh yes, the Kaiser looks into Elf and Safety. Ally Craig Robert Wyatt Pete Doherty Chiefs. The other thing that has been Witches Sparklehorse Athlete making my blood boil this month is those stupid notices stuck on the Stornoway The Pogues The Boomtown Rats doors of gymnasiums, toyshops and government offices everywhere: The Rock Of Travolta Nought Saxon “No Smoking: it is against the law to smoke in these premises”. Sharron Kraus Shirley Collins Pam Ayres Somehow, whenever I read one of these, I always hear a whining snide The Workhouse Joy Division The Shadows little voice - the sort of person who says “Shh” in the cinema and/or Xmas Lights Dillinger Escape Plan Christian Death was a prefect at school - and I find myself reaching for my riding Space Heroes Of The Keyboard Choir The Evenings crop. I would beat the malefactors to within an inch of their lives if People only I could find them... In the meantime I shall have to try and keep The Evenings Keyboard Choir Space Heroes Of The my blood pressure down with some Gong - “Camembert Electrique” People perhaps. And a nice full bong of your finest quality Nepalese Temple The Carling Academy The Zodiac Luton Airport Ball, Stinky... I’m sure they don’t call you Stonesfield for nothing... Nightshift Sniffin’ Glue The Daily Mail Aaah, that’s better...! Ronan Munro Lester Bangs Jeremy Clarkson Next month: Gong But Not Forgotten. DEMOSDEMOSDEMOS Please read the conditions below before submitting a demo,or we won’t review it.

display, never allowing the leads room for DEMO OF indulgence. Essentially this is what used to be called classical rock, and it’s a cultural step THE MONTH up from the band’s last demo, but it’s some way removed from Sky. It could all have been a bit poncy or overplayed but the MOUNTED INSANITY reality is genuinely exhilarating. CANNON In a month where those bands at least EUHEDRAL vaguely attempting some kind of traditional, When you completely strip out any vestige melodic approach to music fall as short of of melody, groove or recognisable beat from the mark as a lame piglet attempting to music, what you’re left with is aural sculpture break the world land speed record, the battle that, like any abstract form of art, allows the for Demo Of The Month is tightly fought listener / viewer to take what they want from between this and Flies Are Spies From Hell, it, if anything (most people being happier to Mounted Insanity Cannon winning out by be spoon-fed a simple melody, and nothing sheer dint of being, well, insane. From the wrong with that). Euhedral is a one-man starting point of a children’s story time, it project, part of Oxford’s burgeoning lurches violently into stuttering gabba synth- experimental noise scene, and its soporific core with all the flow and finesse of a ambience will either have you dreamily malfunctioning firework stuffed with nails. spotting delicate and shifting shapes in its There is much screaming and bits fly off at carefully textured layers, or lapsing into a exciting but messy angles, while the vocal coma from which only a prince’s kiss can parts, such as they are, sound oddly like the wake you. Euhedral quotes Mike Patton, falsetto bits from ‘Blockbuster’ by The John Zorn and Wolf Eyes as influences but Sweet. From then on we crunch through this is far more relaxed fare, electronic some erratic hardcore scat on ‘Word Of drones, wobbles, wows and flutters seemingly Mouth’ with its nagging refrain of “Your in no hurry to go anyway in particular. The eyes are bigger than your belly” backed up by best thing here is ‘S2’ that sounds a bit like the jolly sounds of a cyborg slaughterhouse, clockwork toys in a haunted nursery being racing past ‘The Laughing Song’ which spied on by a police helicopter. Guess that sounds like every CBeebies jingle ever puts us in the dreamers’ camp, then. mashed together, high on mescaline and armed with machetes and a distortion pedal and does indeed sound like it’s laughing at KNARF you. The descent into screaming hellbastard More instrumental ambience, this time from mayhem is complete with ‘Bill Oddie Vs the ambient electronica and drum&bass Sparrow Ninja’, which could be retitled, school of thought, and back quite soon after ‘Electro-convulsive Therapy: The Musical’. their last demo review. Now, as then, you feel And hey, Bill Oddie’s daughter played at the Knarf are just a bit too discreet to make any Cellar last month. Chances are she didn’t impact on your heart or dancing feet. It’s sound anything like this. Her dad’s beloved probably not even their fault that we can’t bird life wouldn’t approve. help thinking this gently bubbling mix of guitar loops and loping beats would fit in neatly in some Logan’s Run-themed overpriced cocktail bar where painfully cool FLIES ARE SPIES people stand around sipping £8 margaritas and not talking to anyone lest they let slip FROM HELL that they’re not actually very interesting. Oxford is awash with instrumental, nominally post-hardcore bands, some of whom are great and some of whom really 1877 need an imagination implant, but FASFH 1877? Blimey that’s a whole century before stand out a bit by dint of being piano as well punk broke; one hundred years before Joy as guitar led. In fact their three tracks here Division started out on their musical journey form some kind of extended duel between the into the heart of darkness. So Aylesbury’s two for domination, the grunged-up power of 1877 probably aren’t really from Victorian the guitars never allowed to swamp the guile England after all, since Manchester’s finest is of the keyboard, both driving each other on, where their story begins. Here be shadowy like some bizarre fusion of Mike Oldfield and post-hardcore thrash-pop fronted by a young Explosions In The Sky. In fact there’s one man with a bit of an Ian Curtis fixation and a bit of demo opener ‘Mountain Language’ band who cast admiring glances at Fugazi and that could be ripped straight out of ‘Tubular Sonic Youth without feeling the need to Bells’. FASFH’s real secret weapon, though, prostrate themselves at their feet. Of the is the drummer, who powers everything two tracks here, the first one, ‘A Bitter Pill’ 07967 229 102 along with an imaginatively energetic is the most effective, the singer screaming through gritted teeth into a black void as be Ozric Tentacles and, lastly, a remix of one guitars skitter and drums pound in paranoid of their tracks that sounds like an early-90s fashion around him. ‘Conversation In A techno track and bares so little resemblance Cheap Room’ is less urgent, more akin to to the source material that it’s inadmissible as Sonic Youth’s tightly-wound languor until, evidence in their favour. some six minutes later, it heaves into more grandiose territory and has a stab at being Muse. A small, dark treat, like a bar of THE LAST VERSE Bourneville chocolate. Lumpen, sluggish folk-rock that barely seems to be willing or able to drag itself into life for the most part, even though it’s got the most D-BLOCKERS basic foundations of something rather better Don’t know why but the name led us to – the maudlin prairie twang of the guitar and expect some rap crew or other, which would the female backing vocals that get us have been preferable to this execrable grunge thinking misty-eyed thoughts of ace folk- rock chugging. D-Blockers lay their cards on pop cult heroes Tansads. Any such promise is the table from the off with ‘I Want To Be inevitably subsumed to extended Snowy THE COURTYARD STUDIO The Death Of Disco’. What’s wrong with a White-style flights of guitar fancy and MOR bit of disco, eh? It can be fun, silly, a bit of a rock jangling that sounds like Fleetwood PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/ laugh. At least it’s not turgid, up its own arse, Mac, only without any of the interesting 24, OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE navel-gazing, sub-Pearl Jam shit layered over cocaine-induced tensions. ‘Halloween’ is a MACHINE, 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB with overwrought gravelly shouting and the polished musical shrug of a song, while ‘Start CONTROL ROOM WITH GOOD SELECTION sort of churning powerchords Alice In Chains This Thing’ is not so much breathless as OF MICS & OUTBOARD GEAR, + MIDI would have flushed down the crapper out of collapsing with coronary failure at the news FACILITIES (INC LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI sheer embarrassment. But, obscenely quickly that mortgage rates have gone up half a S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND ETC.) they dispense with such rollicking fun and get percent. At the death they start to rescue down to the sensitive ballad. Incredible how themselves with ‘Cabaret Routine’, which is Residential facilities included. crushingly inevitable these things are. The positively giddy compared to what’s gone www.courtyardrecordingstudio.com band do indeed seem to have ingested a fair before but sympathy goes out of the window PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS few D-blockers on this evidence, since all as it ends in a chorus of finger-in-the-ear olde ON 01235 845800 traces of adrenaline have gone, sucked out worlde folk yodelling. along with any vestige of life, soul or humanity that may have once flickered, however briefly, within its nauseating cadaver. That done it’s back to the Foo THE DEMO Fighters fantasies, the band sturdily oblivious to the fact they are actually Stiltskin’s DUMPER spiritually dead kid brothers. LIGHTBOX SUPERDEADLY What is this, National Shit Music Week or something? Apparently Lightbox are known NINJABEES as one of Aylesbury’s best bands, which Now there’s a name that screams Fun! in doesn’t say very much for Aylesbury, or your face, ain’t it? But no. It’s always a sad ignores the existence of bands like 1877. But sign when the bass player is the first band anyway, Lightbox have even put a cute little member listed (and what names: Cez! Mic! emoticon in their letter after the bit where Si! Verca! Er, Rupert! Actually Rupert they hope we’ll give them a positive review. becomes Ruup on the band’s MySpace site. If they think that will endear us to their Which is also where we discover one of their wretchedly over-earnest FM rock then they principal inspirations are… Jamiroquai. We don’t know us for the truly vicious bastards don’t know whether to laugh. Or cry. Or we are when it comes to hunting down the simply go round to their house and butcher musically underachieving like the hellhounds them where they sleep). “We’re not a funk of rock and roll Darwinism. Anyway, so band, even though we sound like one” they Lightbox, in their own pallid, overly-milky protest. Unconvincingly and incorrectly. way, try to be a bit funky, a bit, y’know, Because what’s that if it ain’t jazz-funk bluesy, a bit, hey, yeah! Doubtless knowing leaking out of the stereo like the stale fug of winks are exchanged during the thrilling student band competition? Bizarrely they Brian May-style guitar solos. Jesus, we barely also list Rammstein as an influence but know where to start with this: just imagine all there’s not a hint of a flame-throwing cod- the most depressing aspects of X Factor, piece or strident Teutonic industrial metal Battle of the Band competitions, village hall anywhere and believe us we searched long and charity rock nights and James Blunt all hard for it. Instead half the demo is an crumpled together like used bog roll and elongated onanistic orgy of slap bass self- served up with a flourish by a grinning congratulation, the worst rapping this side of imbecile of a waiter and you’ll begin to Limp Bizkit and the feeling that the whole comprehend the sheer unbridled joy of thing is the city council’s idea of a Lightbox. Was music ever meant to be this multicultural music workshop. The rest of po-faced and tedious? Someone really should the CD is made up of something that could box their lights out.

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