email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 138 January Oxford’s Music Magazine 2007
Boy! Girl! Revolution!!! Yeah! Baby Gravy Leading Oxford’s Class of 2007 - inside
NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255
NEWNEWSS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected]
Hello everyone, and a Happy New Year, January is traditionally a quiet period for live music before things gear up again for the spring touring season. Even so, a quick glance at this month’s gig guide shows there is still plenty going on. This is also a great time to catch some of the best new acts around, with record labels keen to show off their latest signnigs after the bloated pre-Christmas period where Greatest Hits collections fill the shelves. As ever we take this opportunity to have a look at some of the best new bands coming out of Oxfordshire. Our cover stars, Baby Gravy, have been one of the most refreshing discoveries of recent months, while there are, as ever, a host of great new acts on the way up. Hopefully, in the absence of many big name acts coming to town this month, you’ll try and see a few homegrown talents. Just so you can brag to your friends when they become famous. Happy gigging.
David Kosten and Guy Gigsworth, who has previously worked with Björk and Madonna. In recent times Richard has found a new following THIS YEAR’S OXFORD PUNT will take in the States where his track ‘All At Sea’ was place on Wednesday 9th May. The annual featured on CSI: Miami. Richard launches the showcase event of the best emerging Oxford rd new EP with a gig at the Zodiac on Friday 23 talent is now in its tenth year. The Punt will February. feature nineteen local artists across six venues in the city centre over the course of one night. THE FUTURE OF LIVE MUSIC at the Last year’s event featured Xmas Lights, Wheatsheaf seems ever more secure this month Deguello, Rebecca Mosley (pictured) and after news that the pub has been bought by Witches, amongst others. Previous stars of the Admiral Taverns as of April. Current landlord Punt include The Young Knives, Fell City Al is set to remain at the pub and Admiral have Girl, Winnebago Deal and Goldrush. DIVE DIVE release their second album at the given assurances that music will continue for This year the venues taking place are Borders end of January. ‘Revenge Of The Mechanical the foreseeable future, with a full refit due in bookstore, QI Club, the Wheatsheaf, the Dog’ is the follow-up to 2005’s ‘Tilting At April, including planned improvements to the Music Market, the Purple Turtle and the Windmills’ and finds the band on a new record live music room upstairs. Cellar. label, Landspeed, after parting company with Bands or solo artists wanting to play at the Diablo. Dive Dive also head off on a UK tour in STUDIO 45 are organising a charity live music Punt should send a demo, clearly marked The nd support of former-Million Dead frontman event on Friday 2 February at the Emperor Punt, to Nightshift at PO Box 312, Frank Turner, who they have been acting as Ballroom, Romanway in Cowley in aid of Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. backing band recently. The tour comes to ROSY (Respite Nursing For Oxfordshire’s Sick As ever, 100 all-venue Punt Passes will be th Oxford on Thursday 15 February at the Youngsters). The gig features sets from jazz, available, from the beginning of February. Zodiac. Tickets for the gig are on sale now, urban and soul acts, including a promised More details in next month’s issue. priced £6 adv, from www.ticketweb.co.uk or in special guest appearance by a Def Jam artist. person from the Zodiac box office. Other acts confirmed are Jada Pearl, G Block, Teressa Edwards, Colette, Zuby and Danielle for CDs from local acts. www.myspace.com/ GOLDRUSH return to action next month with Scott. For more details, visit newoxfordmusic has all the details, or you can a new album. ‘ The Heart Is The Place’ is www.studio45.org.co.uk or www.rosy.org.uk send stuff to New Oxford Music Show, C/O 19 released on February 5th on Truck Records and Southfield Road, Oxford, OX4 1NX was produced by Manchester’s electro artist POLAR BEAR RECORDS on Cowley Road Pedro, who previously studied at Oxford has closed down. The shop closed its doors for AS EVER, don’t forget to tune into The University. the last time on Christmas Eve, leaving East Download every week. The local music radio Oxford with no outlet for new releases or local show is broadcast every Saturday between 6- RICHARD WALTERS has signed to Big Scary bands’ CDs. 7pm and is available to hear all week online at Monsters Records and releases a long-awaited bbc.co.uk/oxford. The show features local EP at the end of February. ‘The Pilot Light EP’ NEW OXFORD MUSIC have just started a releases, demos and interviews as well as a gig features four new songs and was produced by regular podcast of Oxford artists and are looking and clubbing guide.
KLAXONS (pictured) come to Brookes Meanwhile, Regina Spektor plays at Oxford University Union on Tuesday 13th February as Town Hall on Tue 13th February (tickets part of the annual NME Awards Tour. The new available from wegottickets.com). rave rising stars are joined on the bill by Brazil’s The Zodiac is shaping up nicely too. excellent CSS as well as New Young Pony Club February’s highlights include Patrick Wolf (Tue and The Sunshine Underground Band. Tickets 6th), Thirteen Senses (Sun11th), And You Will are on sale now, priced £9.50, from the Brookes Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (Mon 19th), box office (01865 484750). Also coming to Duke Special (Thu 22nd), Foals (Sun 25th), Brookes are Get Cape, War Cape, Fly (Sat 27th Forward, Russia (Tue 27th) and Bat For Lashes Jan), Jamie T (Tue 6th Feb) and Idlewild (Sat (also Tue 27th), while the brilliant Tilly and the 17th March). Wall return to the Zodiac on Sat 3rd March. A Quiet Word With Baby Gravy
NIGHTSHIFT’S CEASELESS while Freddy is part of electronic trawl around the venues and pubs soundscapists The Keyboard of Oxford in search of great new Choir. Iona sang with promising music throws up more frustration grunge-punk group Harlette until and disappointment than it does their recent split. elation. Like, to bastardise the title At the end of last year the band of an old children’s TV programme, put out their first demo EP, entitled Why Don’t You Turn Off That ‘Well Done Mary-Ellen You’re a Emo And Go And Play Something Dance Teacher Now’, a sweet title More Interesting Instead? for a CD whose opening line is Seriously, we sometimes feel like “Sometimes I think it would be King Canute, trying to hold back nice if I ripped out both of your the tide of earnest, overly-sensitive eyes” before moving onto the young men whose limited musical subject of swallowing some of the horizons begin with Funeral For a more intimate bodily fluids. Iona’s Friend and end with some other almost cheerleader-like chants band who sound exactly like stand at odds with Cecilia’s Funeral For A Friend. wandering sax lines and the harsh But then, sometimes we get lucky electronic squeaks of Freddy’s and chance upon a band like Baby synth. It’s a good-naturedly Gravy. A band who have an brattish affair, with plenty of attitude and vision that belies their lyrical bile to complement the tender years and go against every musical dizziness. grain you’ve got going. Our first This month Baby Gravy will be encounter with the disparate filming a video for the EPs lead collective of three boys and three track, ‘I Hate Your Girlfriend’, girls was a soundcheck downstairs with Mya Padget who has at the Zodiac where we found previously made videos for The ourselves captivated by an White Stripes and The Corrs; it is awkward, shambolic and unhinged due to be released as a download mess of sound that bizarrely single by Quickfix Records. seemed to marry the rudimentary What brought the band together pop-punk of X-Ray Spex with the initially, what different things does rambling prog-hippy jazz jamming each member bring to the table and of Hawkwind or Here And Now. how have things changed since the Here was a band who not only dog’s bollocks. Come on, where genius. early gigs? didn’t fit in with what most of else do you get to hear what As many gig goers will come away Cec: “In the early stages, we were their peers were playing but didn’t sounds like a collision between The hating Baby Gravy as will love shambolic, mainly due to lack of even seem to fit in with what each Slits, Hawkwind, Mad Scientist, Le them, but then it’s always the sign rehearsals and the conflict between other were playing. It was like Tigre, The Human League and a of a great band that you couldn’t what kind of music to play-we hearing two completely different punch-up at a zoo? Songs teeter on simply put them on in the corner hadn’t come to the terms with the bands playing simultaneously. A the verge of collapse or wander off of a pub for Oasis-loving beer fact that we couldn’t just play mess, but a bloody great mess. The for a cup of squash. drinkers to nod along to before exactly what each person wanted.” sort of mess that everyone should Baby Gravy are the antithesis of declaring that, “they’re alright”. At Zahra: “I just had this idea of be encouraged to make. the legions of musically competent best they’d simply confuse or stealing all the young talent from A Nightshift contributor reviewing but soulless emo drones with their amuse people; more likely they’d around Oxford. A bit of a Hansel that night’s gig was equally rigid, militantly precise tedium. be bottled off. and Gretal moment: my table is bemused and fascinated by the Beyond the fringes of early punk made of chocolate and talent.” spectacle but weeks later relented exuberance, prog’s more naïve BABY GRAVY ARE ZAHRA What sort of reactions do you tend on any criticism he’d levelled at dabblings and the experimentation Tehrani (drums), her brother David to get from people who see you for them, having become converted by of 70s synth-pop, Baby Gravy’s (bass), Freddy Mason the first time, especially from other their lopsided brilliance. closest soulmates would probably (keyboards), Iona Roisin (vocals), musicians? be Pram, the Birmingham-based lo- Cecilia White (saxophone) and Cec: “Bunch of kids, which is true, BARELY A YEAR INTO THEIR fi misfits whose early blend of Adam Whitley (guitar). At 18, but it doesn’t mean we can’t play lifetime Baby Gravy are now inspiration and incompetence Zahra is the oldest in the band, our instruments. Also that we’re marginally less shambolic and seems echoed in Baby Gravy’s Cec, Iona and Fred are all 17, while jazzy just because we have a chaotic than those initial gigs but music – part 5th form music lesson Adam and David are both just 15. saxophone in. That seems to be the they remain a sound engineer’s experiment, part electro-dub jam Zahra also plays drums with indie favoured easiest way to write nightmare, part dog’s dinner, part session, part wobbly-headed popstrels Where I’m Calling From, about the inclusion of the saxophone in a review, but we’re seem to have any great manifesto not at all jazzy.” or clear ambition. Questions FUTURE THRILLS Iona: “People seem to label us as a provoke terse answers and some ‘potential’ band; they half like it, bewilderment as to what a band is A whistle-stop guide to some of the best new local acts coming but they don’t get it, they seem to meant to say in the face of your way in 2007 see what we could do but aren’t journalistic probing. In this they’re doing, where we could go and at odds with more ‘cool’ press- THE DELTA FREQUENCY aren’t going. I think the people friendly bands with eyes more This month’s Demo Of The Month – beating the mighty Xmas Lights who do like us are just curious to firmly set on a career than simply to the title at that – and a band thoroughly unashamed to ROCK OUT. see what we do next, how we doing what comes naturally. Not surprising really, containing as they do Phill Honey, ex of The Rock improve, if at all.” Gigs, or at least parts of them, Of Travolta, and Smilex guitarist Tom Sharpe. We described them as Fred: “People make the seem to teeter along a knife edge of goths when we first saw them, and they do seem to harbour desires to assumption that we are an electro musical collapse. What are the be Marilyn Manson, but that sort of theatricality goes a long way. indie band just because we have virtues of chaos? HAMMER Vs THE SNAKE two keyboards.” Cec: “There aren’t any really; it’s Another recent Nightshift Demo Of The Month, Hammer Vs The Snake Zahra: “First impressions usually not intentional. It’s a hoot, we’re are a university band locked into the rigid, robotic grooves and uptight come across as quite positive, and endearing.” new wave rhythms of Devo, Wire and Blur, marrying wobbly funk and people generally respect us for Zahra: “Chaos makes the world go military precision, guitars and synths equal players in a surprisingly trying to do something different.” round.” fresh sound given its obvious influences. Often it sounds like there are two Lyrically there seems to be a SPACE HEROES OF THE PEOPLE different band up on stage playing dichotomy of playful silliness and The band that reunites two thirds of Eeebleee (electronics and samples two different songs. Is there a misanthropic spite. Are you happy chap Tim Day and double bassist Jo Edge), taking a more esoteric path, common meeting ground or is there people or angry at the world? one lined with laptop glitchiness, classical pretensions, primitive an ongoing battle for musical Cec: “Sometimes happy at people computer game bloops and metronomic drumming that all add up to a supremacy? and things, sometimes not.” krautrocking, synth-popping experience of pure joy. Cec: “There isn’t much common Iona: “I take the piss and I bitch. MONDO CADA ground between all of us – we all There’s no more depth there, I’m A band who have come into their own much more in recent months, like Björk and Battles, but that’s afraid.” Mondo Cada’s straight-down-the-line grunge racket dismisses all those about it. It doesn’t really matter What does music need more and lame post-Nirvana navel-gazers and heads straight for the temple of any more that we all like different less off these days? Mudhoney, just occasionally stopping off to squall nastily round bands; we know what kind of Cec: “Less twee indie bands and Dinosaur Jr’s backyard. music we play and we stick to it. more dance and techno music.” SUSPICION OF AFFRAY David likes wrestling, that’s some Fred: “Less use of glockenspiels as Rising from the ashes of Near Life Experience, Suspicion Of Affray prove Tenacious D’s claim that “you can’t kill the metal” correct, raging common ground. Sometimes we gimmicky easy-to-play and flailing somewhere twist Judas Priest’s old school riffery and like to watch matches together and instruments.” Dillinger Escape Plan’s maths-crazed hardcore. Meanwhile, Pete then re-enact them.” Iona: “Less NME & Gang Of Four Bougourd does the best Uruk-hai impersonation in town. Grrr. Iona: “It tends to come out like impressions.” MARY’S GARDEN that as we have no idea what we’re Zahra: “More gangster rap and less Proving that goth needn’t be all execrable AFI-aping mallrat crap, trying to achieve. We all have emo.” Mary’s Garden’s doomladen Euro-rock is equally pompous and completely different music tastes, Aha, just as we hoped. Are Baby haunting, tom-heavy beats, atmospheric synths and billowing guitars all which is why we sound like an Gravy the band that can finally kill topped off with Laima’s striking voice. Pomp, portent and sweet amalgam of different genres and emo? melody, it’s all theirs. sounds. We all put in the kind of Cec: “No, I don’t think so, unless LIND OPTICAL sound we want irrespective of Fred gets over his arrogance From cinematic wall-of sound 60s psychedelia to 70s-styled TV theme what everyone else is doing.” problem.” tunes, Lind Optical can be either magnificently epic, recalling the best of What have been the main Fred: “Yes if we get our act The Verve and Flaming Lips, or frustratingly self-conscious, but we’ll inspirations on each of you? together and Cec gets over her take the best of them and hope they build on it. Cec: “Sweep The Leg Johnny have drinking problem.” MARY BENDY TOY inspired me. Actually, that’s just Iona: “Emo hasn’t even started, It’s a rare trick to be a bit wacky in rock music and not make us want to me name-dropping the only band I it’s just going to get bigger and punch you squarely in the teeth, but industrial horror-pop crazies Mary like with a saxophone in it.” bigger, radio play will be far more Bendy Toy carry it off, sticking The B52s through Ministry’s grinder, Iona: “Riot Grrl, Billie Holiday, frequent and it will be completely squawking about ringtones and spiders in the bath, like Lena Lovitch Elliott Smith, Regina Spektor and abolished from the ‘alt’ scene.” starring in a Carry On film scripted by Trent Reznor. Amanda Palmer, from Dresden Zahra: “Well with Miss Briona BORDERVILLE Dolls.” Emo in our band – the founder of Fronted by former-Sexy Breakfast chap Joe Swarbrick (in fact, featuring Zahra: “Todd Trainer, Scout emotional lyrical content – it is most of that old band), Borderville invite some eccentric theatricality Niblett, Project Pat and all the frankly impossible.” and vaudevillian grandiosity to spice up their bombastic space-funk bitches in the dirty south.” rock, partway between Bowie and Prince and promising to live up to all Fred: “I would like the Flaming SO THERE YOU GO. THAT’S the potential of their former incarnation. Lips to have more of an influence Baby Gravy. They’re not emo. But BRICKWORK LIZARDS over our sound but the dominatrix whichever pigeonhole you try and Going back intoTHE a time before rock ANY even existed, Brickwork DAYS Lizards pick in our band is omnipotent. We do squeeze them into they won’t fit. their way through musical history and geography, from The Ink Spots have a vague common interest in In fact they’ll stick out like a to folk, East Asian lute playing, Dick Dale, Louise Armstrong and more what we want Baby Gravy to fluorescent sore thumb. If only contemporary hipCD hop singleinfluences. Sometimes`MONDAY silly, sometimes MORNING’ inspired, sound like but we’re not sure what more young bands were prepared always entertaining.at Polar Bear Records, Cowley Road it is.” to do the same. JONQUIL Sounding like the musical equivalent of a bleached-out photo from an TALKING TO BABY GRAVY Baby Gravy support The Idiot acid trip from another time,www.theanydays.com Jonquil (basically multi-instrumentalist about the band and their music, it’s Rate at the Zodiac on Wednesday Hugo Manuel and assorted chums from the cream of Oxford’s post-rock quite refreshing to come across a 24th January. ‘Check out community) eschewswww.myspace.com/theanydays samples in favour of exploring the more exotic band who, although enthusiastic www.myspace.com/babygravy for possibilities of violin,(check guitar, websites glockenspiel andfor melodica. local Agig dreamy dates) about what they’re doing, don’t track downloads and gigs. melting pot of Eno, Jansch and Reich. Sponsored RELEASED by
and still retain the freshness and vitality of their teenage selves. In fact musically they’ve GRANT changed only a little in a decade, still preferring ‘Apolaustic’ short, sharp shock tactics and the simple melodic route, always backed with just enough (Big Red Sky) muscle to keep the boys in the moshpit happy The album title must be ironic. Apolaustic even as the closet pop kids in the crowd lip- means devoted to enjoyment, but it doesn’t sync along with Jamie’s deceptively tender sound like there’s too much joy going down songs. here; carefree bubblegum pop this ain’t. Instead The album races out of the traps with ‘Let The Grant Baldwin’s second solo album is awash Blind Lead the Blind’, puppy dog punk baring with melancholic, almost baroque music that its small but sharp teeth, Nigel Powell’s fervent ranges from orchestral pop, through propulsive drumming as ever propelling everything new wave to sombre semi-acoustic chamber onwards with due haste. From there Dive Dive music. ‘Apolaustic’ is an ambitious, often canter along at a gently giddy pace until they hit grandly-recorded project, featuring an ‘Take It, It’s Yours’, seven tracks in, coming assortment of local luminaries, including Loz down to rest with a faltering ballad that almost Colbert and Katherine Hieronymus, as well as DIVE DIVE drops them into McFly territory. We’ve never former bandmate Martin Newton, who been huge fans of this side of the band to be contributes most of the backing music. But it’s ‘The Revenge Of The honest, preferring their more effervescent face Grant’s voice that is always the centre of (best exemplified here by ‘Clarence Bodiker’ attention. Possessed of a domineering baritone, Mechanical Dog’ and the terrier-like ‘Perfectly Apathetic’), but it he does a pretty mean impersonation of Ian (Land Speed) seems with much of ‘The Revenge Of The Curtis at times, notably on the post-punk Popping rather unexpectedly out of the blue, Mechanical Dog’ Dive Dive are starting to ditch clamour of ‘Patterns’ and the more desolate Dive Dive’s second album, and their first for Fugazi in favour of something lighter, less ‘Both Side Of The Hill’. A bigger influence new label Land Speed, finds the band angled and more accessible. And here is where would be Scott Walker, and Grant comes close attempting to kick-start a career that promised they’ll really need a label behind them that’s to the disorientating splendour of that man’s much but faltered on the rocks of record label properly on the case, perhaps one that can most recent works on tracks like ‘Dust’. incompetence two years ago, when Diablo finally launch them into the mainstream From portentous gothic atmospherics to failed to make the most of their debut, ‘Tilting (although how readily Radio 1 play-list spooky synthetics, hazy saxophone and almost At Windmills’. compilers will take to a track called ‘Talentless Gregorian ambience, the album’s mood remains Having been on the local scene for ten years Fucks’ is debatable). sombre but it’s only when Grant lets his voice now – if you include singer-guitarist Jamie Because commercial success is overdue Dive slip that the album hits a downer. ‘Belize’ Stuart and bassist Tarrant Anderson’s initial Dive: their uncontrived marriage of pure pop promises a lost Bond theme but lacks vocal Dustball incarnation – Dive Dive have with a trashy punk edge, all executed with a punch, while ‘Overflow’ is ponderous. Given themselves inspired a generation of younger zest that eludes both the emo massive and the that ‘Apolaustic’ clocks in at a somewhat local rock bands and become part of the current crop of flat-pack boy-punk acts, cries wearing 80 minutes, when 40 would have given furniture, so it’s always good to be reminded out to be loved. him so much more impact, there seems little exactly why they’ve survived the test of time Sue Foreman reason to include such obvious filler; Grant is a singer with few equals locally and given the right vehicle he is a colossal presence. So there you have it, you can have fun after all, ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS even when you’re feeling miserable. ‘Double Egg with Chips and Beans (and a Tea)’ Dale Kattack (TFS) Antique Seeking Nuns is a side project for local too discreet and tasteful (inasmuch as a song songwriter Joff Winks, of whom we are rather about double eggs, chip and beans and a cup of fond (his ‘Juniper’ track was in our end of year tea can in any way, shape or form be tasteful) Top Twenty), but as side projects are wont to but it just doesn’t have the flowery Donovan- be, and particularly ones with silly names and meets-Steely Dan sweetness off Joff’s other even more silly song titles (add to the title band. The rest of the EP coasts on loungey funk track, ‘Son Of Cheese’, apparently about “the grooves, indulgent guitar solos and fear of being stranded on a desert island with inconsequential piano intervals and it all smells cheese as your only food”), it’s, er, well, a bit like 1970s spirit. Egg, chips and beans is great crap. Not completely crap, mind, just a bit, but comfort food, and there are some people who isn’t that enough? ‘Double Egg’ is passable find comfort in easy jazz. Unfortunately it languid jazz lounge pop topped off with Joff’s gives us chronic indigestion and a desire to breathless, excitable voice, Matt Baber’s Fender cause immense suffering on the perpetrators. Rhodes leading the tune along. It’s perhaps a bit Dale Kattack Selected Oxford releases are now available on the ground floor HMV Oxford supports local music Open Sundays 11-5pm & late Thursdays till 7pm. 10% student discount every day DR SHOTOVER: 2007 Abominations Happy New Arse! I don’t know about you, but I certainly need one after all the port and fine cheese I consumed over the “festive” season... at this point you are probably saying (in that irritating whiny voice of yours): “Too much information, Dr S! Tell us something amusing about the state of the country/modern music/ Young People... go on, go on, you KNOW you want to!”... Well, I January could regale you with some stories of my experiences in the Burma campaign and/or my time spent Every Monday living in a commune in Notting THE FAMOUS MONDAY NIGHT BLUES Hill with Janet Street-Porter when she was the Swingingest Chick in The best in UK, European and US blues. 8-12. £6 Town, but I think instead it is the 8th RESERVOIR CATS (UK) moment for me to deliver a tirade Fair Maiden: “Hallo, Dr S! I know th about how BLOODY 15 KING B BLUES BAND (UK) a FANTASTIC hangover cure! And nd MARVELLOUS some of this Nu- 22 PETE BOSS & THE BLUEHEARTS (UK) I think Acid Folk is REALLY Acid-Folk is. You probably already th GREAT! Come with me to my 29 SPLIT THE RIFF (UK) have the albums by Circulus and centrally-heated CASTLE!” Espers and are sitting there in a Dr Shotover [waking up]: “Oh medieval jester outfit, sadly bollocks - it was just a dream...!” Every Tuesday jingling the bells on your cap and saying (as always in that annoying THE OXFORD JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM whiny voice): “Tell us something quail’s egg... No, didn’t think GREY QUINTET NEW, Dr S!”... but I shall have to you’d be up to that. Fiddle-dee- Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am disappoint you, I’m afraid, unless dee, fiddle-de-rol, excuse me while you can promise to whisk up a I tune up my lute... monumentally successful hangover Every Friday cure involving Chivas Regal, brown Next month: As I a-wassailing BACKROOM BOOGIE sauce and the yolk of a freshly-laid did go, upon the Cowley Road. Funk, soul and R&B. 9-2am Free B4 10pm; £4 after.
Plus DELICIOUS MUSIC Thu 11th AWESOME! GIGS presents Live In January ALBATROSS PROJECT + THE SHAKES + THE SKIES + THE BETTS Saturdays @ The Music Market Sat 13th OX4 (Drum’n’Bass) 9-3am Delicious Music Entertainment in association with th Up’n’Coming Entertainment presents Sat 20 MARTIN FUREY (of the legendary 06 CHRIS MARTIN + NONSENSE + SLY + Furey family) with support from Padraig Lalor DJ SHAKER of Henry Martin’s Ghost 13 THE DEADBEAT CAVALIER + CAMINUS + support 20 BLIND PILOTS + THE UPSTREAM PROVIDERS + DBC 27 ONE DOLLAR PEEPSHOW + MOOCHER + support Sundays @ Market Tavern Weekly Electric Open Mic Jam / 8pm Free! Bring your own instruments - amps, PA & drums provided. Acoustic open mic artists welcome Sat 27th Tuesdays @ Pizza Express, HOMESPUN Golden Cross featuring DAVE LIVE JAZZ & MORE – Downstairs in Bar Milano / 7.30pm / Free Entry 02 PEDRO DERASCONCELOS + PAWEL KUTERBA ROTHERY 09 THE JAZZ EMPORIUM (Beautiful 16 LOS HOMBRES South) and 23 NPK JAZZ DUO 30 KATE GARRETT BAND SAM BROWN Tickets on sale DEMOS to: DMR LTD 99 St ALDATES – now from The T 01865 242784 M 07876 184623 FOR BOOKINGS email [email protected] Bully - £10. gig guide Sponsored by
MONDAY 1st CHRIS MARTIN + NONSENSE + SLY: The Urgh… I feel like a pig has shat in my head. JANUARY Music Market – Delicious Music local bands TUESDAY 2nd night, featuring someone isn’t actually the th frontman from Coldplay. JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM GREY THURSDAY 4 BLACK JACK TABAC: The Duke, St QUINTET: The Bullingdon – Free weekly THE NEW MOON + JOE WOOLLEY + LEE Clements – Punk, funk, soul and rock’n’roll live jazz club with resident band and guests, DAVIES + KEYSMAN ROB: The X, Cowley session. plus DJs til late. – Grinning Spider club night with local acoustic RUBBER DUCK + THE SIREN’S CALL + SHUSH OPEN MIC NIGHT: The X, Cowley duo The New Moon, plus psychedelic folk ZOE BICAT: The Jericho Tavern – Freestyle – Weekly open mic session. singer Joe Woolley, synth-rock and random funk from Rubber Duck, plus Oasis-styled DELICIOUS MUSIC JAZZ NIGHT: Bar piano noise from from Keysman Rob. indie rock from Sirens Call and folk-pop from Milano, Pizza Express – With guest Pedro GENUINE PREACHER + MIKE FINLEY: Zoë Bicat. Derasconcelos, plus Pawel Kuterba. The Port Mahon rd OPAQUE: The Magic Café (1pm) WEDNESDAY 3 SABOTAGE: The Zodiac – Weekly rock club SUNDAY 7th FOLK SESSION: The X, Cowley night playing the latest metal, hardcore and ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3: OPEN MIC SESSION: Marlborough House alternative releases. The Zodiac – Former Soft Boy and all-round MARK CROZER: The Ben Johnson, Weston JONQUIL + THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS + quintessential Englishman Robyn Hitchcock on the Green STORNOWAY + LITTLE COSMONAUT: The Cellar – Cinematic experimentalism from brings his new band, featuring REM’s Peter Saturday 20th Jonquil, plus emotive indie rocking from TTNG Buck, to town in support of recent album, ‘Olé and gentle, celtic-tinged pop from Stornoway. Tarantula’, still a master of irreverent, EQUITRUCK II: CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford whimsical psychedelic folk-pop. The Port Mahon Community Centre – Weekly all-comers club ELECTRIC OPEN JAM: The Music Market night with singers, musicians, poets and – Weekly plugged-in all-comers session. After the success of last year’s sold-out performance artists. ELECTRIC JAM: The X, Cowley – Free jam mini-festival, Equitruck returns with another OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon session with in-house band The X-Men. full day of local and national underground th BLUE STONE: The Black Horse, starlets. The gig is intended to mark the FRIDAY 5 Kidlington halfway point between Truck Festivals, THE DRESDEN + FLAG BLACK + MONDAY 8th SICARIOS: The Music Market – Hardcore giving a bit-sized taster of the sort of lo-fi RESERVOIR CATS: The Bullingdon – The rock night. and leftfield acts you would likely catch at local hard-rocking bluesmen perform their KLUB KAKOFANNEY with STORNOWAY the summer’s main event. Headlining this traditional New Year opening ceremony for the + THE IDEA + COLINS OF PARADISE + year’s Equitruck will be Goldrush who have Famous Monday Blues club. MOIETY: The Wheatsheaf – Klub Kak been rather quiet on the release front in WITCHES + GOBWITS: The Port Mahon – returns to the Wheatsheaf after a brief sojourn recent times but now launch their new Promising mix of glitchy electronics, country- at The X. Tonight’s bill features Celtic-tinged album, ‘The Heart Is The Place’, later this tinged rock and indie noise from Witches. month. They are joined for the day by tender popsters Stornoway, plus Buzzcocks- th fellow local country-tinged rockers The influenced punkers The Idea and spaced jazz TUESDAY 9 Epstein, making out in a Flying Burrito from Colins of Paradise. JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM GREY Brothers vein, psychedelic blues-folkies THE SO AND SO’S + SODASTREAM + QUINTET: The Bullingdon Morrison Steam Fayre (pictured), new wave HANGMAN’S JOE: The X, Cowley – Local THE RUINS + BEAR IN THE AIR + BLACK popstrels The Quarter Finals, narcotic drone bands night. HATS: The Port Mahon – Local indie bands rockers Brother Francisco, DIY-punkers BANDS & SINGERS NIGHT: The Victoria, night, with Ride and Smiths-influenced rockers Ciccone, Piney Gir’s 60s-styled bubblegum Jericho The Ruins. pop outfit The Schla La La’s, local ‘dirty BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon SHUSH OPEN MIC NIGHT: The X, Cowley pop’ supergroup Prohibition Smokers Club, OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon ART IN THE PUB: The Music Market featuring various members of Smilex, Baby SATURDAY 6th DELICIOUS MUSIC JAZZ NIGHT: Bar Milano, Pizza Express – Featuring Jazz Gravy and Suspicions of Affray amongst ORKO + BHASKER + TREV WILLIAMS: Emporium. others, cool folk-pop singer Rebecca The X, Cowley – Heavyweight post-grunge Mosley, balladeer Trevor Williams and OPEN MIC SESSION: Mangos rocking from Orko, influenced by Smashing th indie-ska youngsters Tristan and the Pumpkins and Biffy Clyro amongst others, WEDNESDAY 10 Troubadours. All in all a pretty natty ten plus Radiohead-leaning indie rock from FOLK SESSION: The X, Cowley hours of noise. Things kick off at 1pm and Bhasker and lovelorn balladeering from Trev OXOFRD IMPROVISERS: The Port Mahon with the Port Mahon being on the small Williams. OPEN MIC SESSION: Marlborough House size, it’s probably worth getting your ticket FELIX + PAUL MARSHALL + GUNS OR THURSDAY 11th in advance from wegotttickets.com. KNIVES + THEO: The Port Mahon – Mixed ALBATROSS PROJECT + THE SHAKES + bill of leftfield-leaning bands, including local THE SKIES + THE BETTS: The experimentalist Theo. Bullingdon – Four band bill presented by Awesome Promotions, featuring local new JOHN OTWAY: The Port Mahon – Return of wavers The Albatross Project, plus a the self-styled rock and roll clown prince with supporting cast of out-of-town touring bands, his trademark madcap performance and lunatic including The Skies, in the process of signing to take on pop classics, plus all the usual Otway Sanctuary. faves. DOGSHOW: The Music Market ELECTRIC OPEN JAM: The Music Market A SILENT FILM + COLOUR + POLAR OX4: The Bullingdon – Drum&bass club REMOTE: The Cellar – Prog-tinged rocking night. from the ever brilliant A Silent Film. SLINK: The Black Horse, Kidlington ELECTRIC CIRCUS: The Port Mahon MONDAY 15th SABOTAGE: The Zodiac KING B BLUES BAND: The Bullingdon – GOOD COP BAD COP + BEELZEBOZO + UK roadhouse-style blues-rockers fronted by DEGUELLO: The Hobgoblin, Bicester – singer Claire Johnson, mixing up original Much heaviosity tonight as Beelzebozo’s material with covers by Bob Dylan, Dana funereal metal goes up against Deguello’s Gillespie and more. excoriating hardcore. The winner is your ears. MARK CROZER: The Port Mahon – Quality CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford singer-songwriter stuff from Mark, drawing on Community Centre the likes of Radiohead, The Mary Chain, The OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Smiths and Edwyn Collins amongst others. FRIDAY 12th TUESDAY 16th MARY’S GARDEN + DIATRIBE + SCRIPT JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM GREY + HANGMAN’S JOE: The Zodiac – QUINTET: The Bullingdon Atmospheric gothic rocking from Mary’s SHUSH OPEN MIC NIGHT: The X, Cowley st Garden headlining tonight’s local bands night. DELICIOUS MUSIC BLUES CLUB: The Sunday 21 Indie rock from Diatribe, doleful guitar pop Music Market IMOGEN HEAP: from Script, plus grunge and classic rock from DELICIOUS MUSIC JAZZ NIGHT: Bar Hangman’s Joe. Milano, Pizza Express – With Latin jazz The New Theatre GAMMY LEG PROMOTIONS with guitar duo Los Hombres. After the forced cancellation of her show SHIRLEY + BRENDA + AGENTS OF JANE: th WEDNESDAY 17 here back in October when she lost her The X, Cowley – Girls’ names-themed band FOLK SESSION: The X, Cowley voice for three days, Imogen Heap returns night at this month’s GLP. Shirley’s feelgood OPEN MIC SESSION: Marlborough House to Oxford. The Essex singer-songwriter 60s-flavoured Latino punk-pop comes with a THURSDAY 18th prepares to finally hit the big-time after her bounce factor of 10, while London’s Brenda add biggest UK tour to date, following a a good dose of loops and samples into their HUNDRED REASONS: The Zodiac – Rescheduled date after illness forced the summer that saw her playing both spacious rock. New local acoustic folkies Coachella and V Festivals. Classically Agents Of Jane open proceedings. cancellation of last autumn’s UK tour. The Surrey emo-rockers continue their never-ending trained on the cello and clarinet as well as QUICKFIX presents THE COURTESY an adept guitarist and drummer, Heap is KILL: The Wheatsheaf – Grungey pop from tour, even following the departure of guitarist Paul Townsend, who left after the band’s very much a one-woman band, later former-At Risk crew. discovering electronics and sampling and BANDS & SINGERS NIGHT: The Victoria, Japanese tour in support of third album ‘Kill Your Own’. Big, sweaty post-grunge anthems tending to play live using a laptop. Though Jericho probably more successful in the States BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon are their stock in trade. Once more into the moshpit then, dear friends. Bring your lighter (where 1998 debut album, ‘iMegaphone’ OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon has just been re-released after her songs th with you, they even do slow songs these days. SATURDAY 13 TRUE RUMOUR: The Port Mahon – were played on The O.C), Japan and JIM DRISCOLL + JONNY RACE + Delicate, 80s-styled pop. Australia, she’s hit the charts here in the AMBERSTATE + THE RUINS + THE SABOTAGE: The Zodiac past, notably with the band Frou Frou, a EPSTEIN: The X, Cowley – Fundraiser for UNDERGROUND RAILROAD + ROSE collaboration with Guy Gigsworth. With Wittstock Festival, featuring country rockers KEMP + REBECCA MOSLEY: The Cellar – the re-release of 2005’s ‘Speak For The Epstein, plus Ride-inspired indie types Velvet Underground and Cure-influenced dark Yourself’ album (originally put out on her The Ruins, jazz-popsters Amberstate and more. rocking from Underground Railroad, with own Megaphonic label, but later reissued DEADBEAT CAVALIER + CAMINUS: The support from PJ Harvey-inspired songstress when she signed to BMG after fighting shy Music Market – Delicious Music local bands Rose Kemp and local folk-pop favourite of major labels for so long) part Madonna- night. Rebecca Mosley. ish dancefloor-friendly pop, part Laurie ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN: The New Theatre CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Anderson-influenced electronic strangeness, – Tribute to Freddie and the gang. Community Centre a full break into the mainstream beckons. RIP THE JOINT: The Port Mahon OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon RAPHAEL & MARCUS JOHN: The Burton th FRIDAY 19 The Zodiac (downstairs) – Local bands night Taylor Theatre – Oxford/Madrid-based THE VOYAGERS + MATT SAGE & THE with headliners Greenacre doing their melodic Flamenco guitarist Raphael plays a one-off ORCHESTRA OF LOVE: The Zodiac screamo thing. intimate gig after selling out the main Playhouse (upstairs) – Bassist Daphna Sadeh – formerly THE RUINS + NUMBERNINE + BLACK venue twice in the past year. Tonight he’s joined of the East-West Ensemble – leads her new HAT + BETHANY WEIMERS: The X, by r’n’b / Latin crossover artist Marcus John. band through a fusion of Asian, Middle-Eastern Cowley – Grinning Spider club night with EVOLUTION: Burford Golf Club and Mediterranean sounds, featuring vocalists dreamy indie rocking from The Ruins. SHARRON SUBBARAO: The Magic Café from Kurdistan, Armenia and Turkey and BANDS & SINGERS NIGHT: The Victoria, (1pm) – Jazz violinist and pianist. drawing on jazz and traditional Jewish music th Jericho SUNDAY 14 along the way. Local songsmith Matt Sage SKYNNY NYRDS: The Music Market – A WILHELM SCREAM: The Zodiac – brings his big band along in support, mixing Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Massachusetts rockers pay their first visit to world sounds into his gentle psychedelic pop BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon Oxford in support of new album, ‘Ruiner’, swirl. REDOX + PETE FRYER + FILM NOIR: The mixing up melodic hardcore with old-school GREENACRE + THE FORGIVING + Magdalen – Funtime funk and swamp-rock metal riffs. GEHENNA + REMEMBER THE FLOOD: from Redox, plus eccentric rocking from Pete MARTIN FUREY: The Bullingdon – theatricality with more considered folk-pop Traditional Irish folk from Martin Furey, part songs. Cellist Barnabus supports along with of the legendary folk family. Mary Chain-inspired songwriter Mark ARCHITECTS + THE GORGEOUS + Crozer. CHINESE FINGER TRAP: The Zodiac – DELICIOUS MUSIC JAZZ NIGHT: Bar Brighton hardcore metallers return to the Zodiac Milano, Pizza Express – With NPK Jazz after supporting Sikth late last year. Duo. ASSASSINS OF SILENCE + INACUN + OPEN MIC SESSION: Mangos SNAKE EYES: The X, Cowley – Hawkwind WEDNESDAY 24th tribute from Assassins, plus heavy rock THE IDIOT RATE + BABY GRAVY: The Saturday 23rd support. Zodiac – Liverpudlian hardcore newcomers out BLIND PILOTS + THE UPSTREAM on their first headlining tour, following support NORMA JEAN / HE IS PROVIDERS: The Music Market – Heavy slots with Sikth and Still Remains. Nightshift rock from Blind Pilots, plus 60s-style garage cover stars Baby Gravy support – see main LEGEND: The Zodiac psychedelia from The Upstream Providers at interview feature A good night to perhaps cast aside any tonight’s Delicious Music showcase. FOLK SESSION: The X, Cowley lingering assumptions about Christian rock as MAEVE BAYTON: The Magic Café (1pm) – OPEN MIC SESSION: Marlborough House Atlanta, Georgia’s Norma Jean crank up the Blues and ballads from the local singer. THURSDAY 25th hardcore noise as part of a short UK tour to ANYDAYS + THE COLOURS + CAPTAIN EAGLES OF DEATH METAL: The Zodiac – promote new album, ‘Redeemer’. As well as MANDATE: The Jericho Tavern – Retro Josh Homme’s garage rock side-project – see being practising Christians, the moniker rocking from The Anydays. main preview Norma Jean (Marilyn Monroe’s real name) st SUNDAY 21 SABOTAGE: The Zodiac literally means patterns of God’s grace and IMOGEN HEAP: The New Theatre – mercy. But you won’t find too many spiritual Electro-popping songstress makes up for last th sing-alongs here (or at least not ones you year’s cancelled show – see main preview Thursday 25 could sing along to at Greenbelt Festival). THE PINEY GIR COUNTRY ROADSHOW EAGLES OF DEATH Instead chaotic heaviness is the order of the + STORNOWAY + NOAH & THE WHALE day, discordant breakdowns and jarring time + HUGH J NOBLE: The Port Mahon – METAL: The Zodiac changes mixing it with a new-found melodic Truck’s resident synth-pop queen continues intensity on the new album, featuring new Not content with ruling the world of rock along her country side path, with support from with Queens Of the Stone Age and his vocalist Cory Brandon and produced by Ross gentle-natured popstrels Stornoway and the Robinson, who has previously recorded At consistently great ‘Desert Sessions’ albums, Biblically inaccurate Noah and the Whale. Josh Homme finds time to form a scuzzy The Drive-In and Sepultura. The intense LOW Vs DIAMOND: The Zodiac – New LA- recording sessions added to a gruelling touring garage rock side-project with chum Jesse based synth-rockers on the rise, recently taken Hughes. Aside from this duo, the band has schedule have made for an intense band who up by Killers’ management and over in the UK manage to tread the line between mainstream had a rotating cast of players, including, at to promote debut single, ‘Life After Love’, various times, Dave Grohl, Nick Oliveri and accessibility and fringe extremism. Support plying a familiar 80s-styled rock that owes comes from Century Media labelmates He Is Brody Dalle. The name is misleading plenty to Talk Talk. obviously, apparently the result of a Legend, out of North Carolina. Their new ELECTRIC OPEN JAM: The Music Market album, ‘Suck Out The Poison’ arrives this drunken argument in a bar about the band JUXSTAR: The Black Horse, Kidlington Poison. The intention instead is to play month, mixing up Southern rock, grunge, nd metal and emo. MONDAY 22 party music for rockers and it seems to NOISETTES: The Zodiac – Raw blues-rock work. The band’s first outing, 2004’s ‘Peace, and classic r’n’b from London’s Noisettes, fresh Love, Death Metal’ was warmly received Fryer and Smiths-inspired indie noise from Film from supporting Muse on tour and all set for and adopted by a multitude of major Noir. their debut album release, ‘What’s The Time, advertisers, while this year’s follow-up, OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon Mr Wolf’ after a string of well-received singles. ‘Death By Sexy’, has found Homme and th SATURDAY 20 Shingai Shoniwa’s Billie Holiday-meets-Skin Hughes supporting The Strokes and Peaches EQUITRUCK II: The Port Mahon (1-11pm) – from Skunk Anansie voice is the star of the as well as Guns’n’Roses. At least it would All-day mini-festival to mark the midway point show. have done had they not been thrown off the between Truck Festivals. Goldrush headline – PETE BOSS & THE BLUEHEARTS: The tour after the first date when Axl Rose see main preview Bullingdon – Oxford’s own Slowhand revives described them as The Pigeons of Shit his Clapton-inspired blues-rock. Metal. This from a man with a rampant, THE BULLY WEE BAND: Nettlebed Folk delusional ego who hasn’t written a decent Club song in over 15 years. Still, any enemy of TUESDAY 23rd his is a friend of Nightshift’s and while there’s a bit of side-project slackness about NORMA JEAN + HE IS LEGEND + Eagles of Death Metal, and the feeling that MAYLENE & THE SONS OF DISASTER: it’s not entirely serious, it is fun, loud and The Zodiac – Hardcore in the name of God raucous. Things that all rock music should from Norma Jean – see main preview strive to be. JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM GREY QUINTET: The Bullingdon THE CARTER MANOEUVRE + KING ALEXANDER + CAUSE OF ACCIDENT: The Port Mahon – Another night of quality underground sounds from the Swiss Concrete crew, tonight featuring Leamington’s new wavers Carter Manoeuvre. SHUSH OPEN MIC NIGHT: The X, Cowley CHANTELLE PIKE + BARNABUS + MARK CROZER: The Jericho Tavern – CD launch gig for Chantelle Pike, mixing show tune 01865 311723 TIM MATHEWS + THE UNKNOWN: The blend and fronted by hitmaker Sam Brown, on X, Cowley secondment from Jools Holland’s band. ELECTRIC CIRCUS: The Port Mahon ONE DOLLAR PEEPSHOW + MOOCHER: RESONATE + KLAY: The Cellar – Big Hair The Music Market – Sweet, sometimes trippy new bands night. guitar pop in a Cardigans vein. CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford THE RACE + MY DEVICE + PAPERLUNG + Community Centre SEAGULL STRANGE: The Zodiac – Shifty OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Disco celebrates 10 years of indie rocking with FRIDAY 26th a night featuring its current roster, including BLOOD BROTHERS: The Zodiac (upstairs) Reading’s anthemic rockers The Race, NME – Welcome return for velocity hardcore terrors, Breaking Bands winners My Device, Paperlung, making out like early Beastie Boys on a Black the new band fronted by Sice from The Boo Flag and glue-sniffing rampage. Radleys and Bristol’s Seagull Strange. GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with KILL KENADA + RIOTMEN + TEKNIKOV + HEADCOUNT + RATFACE: ANDNOSTAR: The Port Mahon – Menacing, The Zodiac (downstairs) – Another mixed bill melodic hardcore out of Bognor from Kill Monday 29th from the GTI crew, tonight featuring Norwich’s Kenada, plus dissonant post-rock from locals clattering art-rockers Teknikov, plus local punk- AndNoStar. JOHN CALE: metal tyrants Headcount, making out like KING B + CHICO & THE MAN: The X, Therapy? sodomising Adam & The Ants. Cowley – Live blues rock. The Zodiac Ratface open the show with their atonal chants MOR KARBAJI: The Abbey, Sutton As a principle player in The Velvet and lo-fi ambient noise. Courtenay – A night of Latino music, mixing Underground, the arty foil to Lou Reed’s THE POWDERS + KANED CITIZEN + up Flamenco and Jewish traditional sounds, rock’n’roller, John Cale’s legend is secure, REBECCA MOSLEY: The X, Cowley – Local from the Big Village crew. but ever since the release of those two bands night with melodic rockers Kaned EVOLUTION: The White Horse, Abingdon epoch-making albums, ‘The Velvet Citizen, plus ethereal folk-pop from Rebecca ED STANTON: The Magic Café (1pm) Underground and Nico’ and ‘White Light, th Mosley. SUNDAY 28 White Heat’, Cale has done plenty to prove BANDS & SINGERS NIGHT: The Victoria, PINDROP PERFORMANCE with he was the real innovator in that band. Over Jericho BRICKWORK LIZARDS + APE HAS the course of 40 years he’s released 25 solo BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon – KILLED APE + TALLULAH RENDALL: The albums and 20 soundtracks as well as With guest DJ Aidan Larkin. Port Mahon (5pm) – Discreet music to start producing some of the most important OXFORD FOLK CLUB: The Port Mahon the evening again at the monthly Pindrop, albums of recent times (notably Patti SATURDAY 27th tonight featuring world-folk-jazz-hip hop Smith’s ‘Horses’ and The Stooges’ debut). Describing himself as “a classical composer, GET CAPE, WEAR CAPE, FLY: Brookes starlets Brickwork Lizards, plus moody dishevelling my personality by dabbling in University Union - Return of special agent electronica and monologues from Ape has Killed rock ‘n’ roll”, Cale has always surpassed the Sam Duckworth, champion of the underdog, Ape, and PJ Harvey-inspired rocking from boundaries that separate those musical chronicler par excellence of life’s bitter-sweet singer Tallulah Rendall. worlds, his classical training and early time details and standard-bearer of a new wave of McQUEEN: The Zodiac – Strutting grunge- spent playing with La Monte Young and anti-racist pop. All-round chap, then. infected metal from Brighton’s McQueen, John Cage lending him an experimental edge HOMESPUN: The Bullingdon – The band fronted by the bluesy drawl of Leah Duors, that has stayed with him throughout his formed by Beautiful South guitarist and making out in a Joan Jett style. career. ‘Paris 1919’ (released in 1973) songwriter Dave Rotheray, treading a similarly ELECTRIC OPEN JAM: The Music Market remains Cale’s solo masterpiece but all along personal lyrical path, mixing up country, folk, BEARD MUSEUM with THE CEDAR: The the line he’s remained a versatile innovator, pop and soul into a simple but sophisticated Purple Turtle TRIBUTE TO DIRE STRAITS: The Black alternately dark and threatening – and Horse, Kidlington remarkably confrontational for such an MONDAY 29th established figure – and playful and romantic, his skill with viola and piano JOHN CALE: The Zodiac – Former Velvet easily matched by his wonderfully rich Underground legend makes a rare visit to Welsh singing voice. Tonight’s gig, in Oxford – see main preview support of new album, ‘Circus Live’ is a rare SPLIT THE RIFF: The Bullingdon – Nine- chance to see a genuine legend, one of the piece local blues, swing and boogie collective, single most important figures in musical featuring a full horn section and the vocal history. talents of Carol Reese. TUESDAY 30th CUTE IS WHAT WE AIM FOR: The Zodiac Music Market – Inexplicably popular New York State power- SHUSH OPEN MIC NIGHT: The X, rockers whose debut album was Fueled By Cowley Ramen’s fastest-selling album ever in the States. DELICIOUS MUSIC JAZZ NIGHT: Bar But then people over there voted George W Milano, Pizza Express – With guests The Bush into office. Twice. Kate Garrett Band. ASSEMBLY NOW: The Zodiac – New south WEDNESDAY 31st London indie-punk favourites head out on tour FOLK SESSION: The X, Cowley in support of new single, ‘Leigh-On-Sea’. OPEN MIC SESSION: Marlborough House JAZZ CLUB with THE TOM GREY IMSOC BATTLE OF THE BANDS: The QUINTET: The Bullingdon Wheatsheaf – First heat of the University DELICIOUS MUSIC BLUES CLUB: The independent music society’s annual BOTB.
Nightshift listings are free. Deadline for inclusion in the gig guide is the 20th of each month - no exceptions. Call 01865 372255 (10am-6pm) or email listings to [email protected]. All listings are copyright of Nightshift and may not be reproduced without permission photo: Richard Hounslow LIVE
THE MELVINS / BIG BUSINESS / PORN The Zodiac The Melvins might have been Kurt Cobain’s favourite band but they were never going to make the break into the big time that their biggest fanboy did. They were always too heavy and too hairy to be pin-ups and so a cult act they remain to this day, as well as a by-word in heaviosity, as we shall later discover. But first here is a bloke dressed as Santa and another as Elvis going under the name Porn, doing their best Killdozer impersonation before collapsing into a series of interminable drum solos and wacky private jokes before concluding, several weeks later, with the sort of hardcore grunge jam that any bunch of sixteen year olds could kick out at rehearsal. Yeah, okay it’s actually The Melvins in fancy dress, and exactly the sort of deliberately antagonistic stunt they’ve always tried to pull. Tonight though, it’s just not funny. Anyway, after Santa, here’s another large bloke with a huge afro and a voice like thunder. It’s Jared Warren from California’s Big Business, who, along with drummer Coady Willis has just become a fully-fledged Melvin. Tonight’s set is a mix-up of Big Business’ own songs followed by a full new-look Melvins set. BB’s take on the grunge beast is of the raw, bluesy variety, where Mudhoney meets led Zep, but it only rarely sparkles. As soon as Buzz Osborne joins the fray, looking like the bastard offspring of Sideshow Bob and The Toecutter from Mad Max, everything takes a turn for the heavier. Drummer Dale Crover joins Willis for a synchronised display of duel drumming, beating out a militaristic tattoo, heavy but always willing and able to fly off at obtuse tangents, but while up front two phenomenal haircuts unite in the pursuit of true tonight they play it pretty straight, building and building until the final, metal. Because forget their hardcore and grunge roots, tonight The extended number simply rolls over and through you like a storm. Melvins are metal to the core. Motorhead, Sabbath and Metallica collide Afterwards we turn on the car stereo to hear Tenacious D’s new song, and planets are rocked on their axis. It’s unforgiving stuff but strangely ‘You Can’t Kill The Metal’. Not with The Melvins around, you can’t. buoyant, one track even sounding suspiciously like The Knack’s ‘My God bless The Melvins. Sharona’. The Melvins are a band steeped in the traditions of slow and Dale Kattack
ANDY YORKE CHRIS WOOD / TELLING THE BEES The Zodiac Holywell Music Room Six years after quitting Andy, shyly embarrassed by his Telling the Bees are Andy Letcher, traditional folk and increasingly for Unbelievable Truth and seemingly warm reception, manages to joke vocals and mandolin, and Josie drawing on the tradition in his own turning his back on music as he about the lack of festive cheer. Weber, cello. Theirs is a taster set of songs of what it means to be pursued a career in Russia, Andy Just occasionally the full band four songs, with stalwarts of the English and living in England now. Yorke returns to a venue his old clutters things up too much, or heads local folk acoustic scene, Colin His songs are about modern band used to sell out with ease in off into widdly 70s MOR Fletcher, double bass, and Jane fatherhood, alienation, Albion, and the late-90s. indulgence, while a couple of times Griffiths, fiddle, joining on the last in his award winning ten-minute Tonight Andy’s backed by two of Andy’s lyrics verge on 5th form one. Andy can write songs which ballad of Hugh Lupton’s love story his old bandmates, drummer Nigle angst. These rare occasions, though, are a tad quirky: the best is the in a chip shop, ‘One In A Million’, Powell, still technically brilliant, only show up because what praise song to wood and another the triumph of enduring love over effortlessly on the nail, and bassist surrounds them is so much better. A about not running off to be a gypsy. the lure of bright lights, big city Jason Moulster, as nonchalantly clutch of old Unbelievable Truth Promising, though their overall consumerism. When he does the precise as ever, playing most of the songs stand out, simply due to their sound didn’t totally work. The cello traditional ‘Our Captain Calls’, gig with his eyes closed. A new familiarity and are enthusiastically is too low key until the third song; about a woman questioning why cellist-cum-keyboard player fills greeted, ‘Stone’ in particular a perhaps cello and mandolin aren’t her man is going off to fight other out the band but it’s quickly reminder of what a great band they the best combination. I wonder people’s wars he makes it a song evident that with Andy’s new were, while the encore of ‘Landslide’ what it would have sounded like had for modern times. Chris has a dark songs, less is more: they are borders on the devotional. The best it been their musical alter egos there, brown voice, which is not only simple, stark melodies, as full of of the new songs easily stand Andy on his Bretton bagpipes and comforting but can create a sense of dramatic melancholy as before and alongside those favourites and in a Josie on her funk-rock electric bass. danger when he lets it run ahead of at their best when it’s just Andy time when so many bands have taken Chris Wood plays two sets; the the guitar tune, giving the feeling with his acoustic guitar and Nigel Unbelievable Truth’s understated man gives value for money. The that it is about to fall over the edge ditching the kit to play piano, the epic sound and lifted it to stadium opener is an Appalachian Mountain onto some abyss. The man knows cello occasionally adding extra levels, Andy’s return couldn’t have ballad; this challenges my he has to entertain to get us to gravitas. Tonight’s gig was never been better timed. preconceptions, since Chris is listen to his message, and he does. going to be a barrel of laughs, but Sue Foreman known for singing English Colin May FRANCOIS AND THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS / Rehearsal Rooms HOLIDAY IN VIETNAM / SLEEPING Recording db STATES / ROXANNE: THE EARLY YEARS Photography The Port Mahon Decibel Studios The one advantage of the sparse crowd chunk of Baby Gravy in tow. For Artwork Chalgrove Oxfordshire tonight is that Roxanne: The Early Years someone who doesn’t go much for Video Transfer 01460 221541 gets the attention she deserves. There’s improvised stuff I find it works pretty 07774 228440 something about the warmth of her voice well, mostly on the louder stuff, which Filming/Editing www.decibelstudios.co.uk and softly-spoken delivery that makes Zahra provokes from behind her drums, email: [email protected] you fall for her music immediately. These much to Seb’s consternation. PA/Lighting Hire sketchy songs may sound brittle, but Francois And The Atlas Mountains are they’re welcoming and enticing in equal an absolute delight. Numbering seven, measures. they bring clarinets, toy instruments and Sleeping States are two guys with all manner of percussion alongside the electric guitars and their various toys and more common instruments. Their songs effects. They make even more brittle contain a lot of things I love in bands at songs than Roxanne, despite being double present; they’re gleeful, shambolic and in members. The loveliest thing about the utterly charming. I guess you might first half of their set is that their singer position them somewhere between Jens sounds like Josh Caterer from The Lekman and I’m From Barcelona; Smoking Popes, lush and dreamy with a although they’re not Swedish in ROCK-POP-DANCE-GOLDEN OLDIES-INDIE- touch of Morrissey thrown in. Being nationality they certainly are in spirit. SOUL-TECHNO-HIP-HOP-JAZZ-LATIN-REGGAE- boys they have a tendency to rely too The rudimentary drums work perfectly DRUM&BASS-GARAGE—R&B-DISCO-1950s- much on their toys, covering songs with with the fragile songs and the constant 2000s. Brand new back catalogue CDs £4 - £7 unnecessary noise at times. So it takes hopping about between instruments each. Brand new chart CDs £5 - £10 each the arrival of Rose from the Atlas keeps things fresh, while always retaining Mountains on drums to kick them in their the band bonhomie. That a band can make twee-pop asses and produce the best you want to take them home and feed songs of their set. them piping hot soup can only be a Holiday In Vietnam is Seb from the wonderful thing. Evenings’ improvising outfit, with a fair Russell Barker
CATO STREET CONSPIRACY / OUR OWN DEVICES / THE SIEGFRIED SASSOON / RATFACE The Port Mahon Sometimes it’s not such a bad thing being to grab your attention. slightly out of place on a bill. Ratface’s The Siegfried Sassoon’s skewed post- amalgam of punk, hip hop, and out of rock drifts frequently into jazz territory key screeching is noticeably at odds with and is certainly gentler on the ears. the angular rock bands also on offer Despite the presence of an exceptional tonight. drummer and the occasional fizzing riff, Seemingly nervous and, as the set they do little to really excite. Our Own 5K progresses, increasingly amateur in their Devices’ take on ‘Red Medicine’-era 32 stage presence, it’s as if they’ve been Fugazi is well executed, and at times they throw together at a karaoke bar, and too show flashes of brilliance. despite not knowing any songs, been Nevertheless, you often find yourself forced to sing. As a result they end up feeling that you’ve heard all the stop/ shouting randomly at anyone who’ll starts, loud/quiet bits and clever changes listen; or so it seems. before, and that the band isn’t bringing There’s actually some very clever word any fresh ideas to the table. play going on (the rant about Pete Cato Street Conspiracy eschew such Doherty is particularly inspired) and cleverness, and with their heads down OXFORD PUNT 2007 some nice interplay between the DAT and guitars thrashed, make for familiar backing track, and both vocalists. What punk territory. We may well have heard Wednesday 9th May initially appears to be a shaky set worms the punk thing before but they do it well, One Night, Six Venues, Nineteen Acts its way into our heads and somehow with big choruses and strangely The best showcase of new Oxford ends up being the most memorable and recognizable riffs. For some reason they enjoyable. throw in guitar sections that Iron Maiden music of the year. Our Own Devices and The Siegfried would be proud of, which shouldn’t work Sassoon are in a completely different at all, but somehow find their place in the Want to play? world to Ratface. Both bands are assured songs without being in the slightest bit Send demos to: The Oxford Punt, and evidently consummate musicians, but ridiculous. PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU sometimes it takes a blast of total naivety Sam Shepherd JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN MONDO CADA / DOMES OF The Zodiac SILENCE / SAVAGE HENRY / Joan Wasser is Joan as these situations one almost hates Policewoman. Originally a touring to make comparisons. It’s difficult THE THIRTYTWO member and backing singer to to pinpoint the style, which is Antony and the Johnsons she’s a what is so nice about it. You can’t The Music Market native New Yorker and has been ignore the popularity of many I emerge alive. With seventy Domes of Silence are bigger in the on the art/music scene for a while recent acts looking to the 30s, 40s percent hearing loss, but alive. US and on the Continent than there, working with the likes of and 50s jazz and swing for their Don’t let anyone tell you Oxford most round here give them credit Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and inspiration. Amy Winehouse, doesn’t do class rock amongst all for. This is primeval rock at its Sparklehorse, just to name a few. Madeleine Peyroux and (closer to the indie-schmindie. Four hours very heaviest, four-chord Tonight she’s here with her normal home) Feist to name a few. strapped to a Downbeat Sounds monolitic riffs that make you want touring band: Ben on (a very loud Although Joan brings in many of night should convince you. What’s to go out and become a set of) drums and Rainy on bass. these loungey elements it’s still in that you say? weightlifter, as you stand there Or is it Brian Molko from her own inimitable style. Not to The Thirtytwo play like the stomping the floor like you are Placebo? Anyway, even though mention mixing it up with forlorn contents of Ronnie O’ Sullivan’s about to snatch 800 pounds. the drums are quite overbearing at and poetic lyrics: “I’ll brush the head. There’s enough melodic ‘Mescaline’ and ‘Hunter times and generally the playing hair from my eyes / Cause it’s in crescendo to impress The Rock of Thompson’ are music for bouncers can be a bit loose on occasion, it my way / And I wanna see you Travolta, fixed with a nail gun to to set to work to, and Sean’s really doesn’t matter, it’s Joan that see me shine”. For each song she everything King Prawn were vocals have never been more is centre here. She is core to it all. changes the vocal style depending about, and blessed (or blighted) heroically heartfelt. She is sublime. In fact, the on what mood the song conveys, with a singer who sounds like he’s Mondo Cada quickly pick up the looseness only reflects the but doing it delicately and in no being fed feet first into a wood fractious, brutal baton and send characteristics of the band’s way does it feel contrived. The chipper. the homeless drinker we can see personalities. In between numbers chill of an almost funereal Savage Henry border on being so out of the window, air guitaring you can’t help but be enamoured procession-like beat over a low musically proficient as to render below in Market Street, back into by Joan’s charms as she chats sexy whisky-tinged Billy Holiday them difficult to fully engage with. paroxysms of rock ecstasy. away to the audience. She tries to melody quickly transforms to an Maybe after all the chaos, having a Whatever it is in Eynsham’s water come off like a wee space cadet, ethereal boy-like chorister. From singer who can spank the licks that produces Winnebago, but it’s just a bit of an act. When Nina Simone to a punky Tori from his plank a la Hendrix and Gunbunny and these guys, I’ll Joan starts singing we know she’s Amos, Joan is Joan and it’s Page, and leading his troops to the take a crate. in complete control and knows breathtaking. Surely her days of bar rock high ground by way of Is that Christmas bells? No, its what she’s doing. ‘back up’ are long gone. Incubus, I was just molecularly my ears ringing. So what about the voice? Well, in Katy Jerome numb. Paul Carrera
Corner Cowley / Marsh Road 01865 776431 thethe portport mmahonahon January Live Music in January Every Tuesday – Shush Open Mic – Come
Sing / Play / Listen. 8pm FREE; All Welcome th th Every Wednesday – Folk Session – Come Thu 4 Dirty Boys Fri 19 Oxford Folk Club Sing / Play / Listen. 8pm FREE; All Welcome presents Genuine Sat 20th Equi-truck 2 Preacher + Mike Finely + (1pm – 11pm) th th Thur 4 Grinning Spider Sun 14 TBC special guest Sun 21st The Piney Gir th presents The New Moon / Fri 19 Grinning Spider Fri 5th Oxford Folk Club Country Roadshow + Joe Woolley / Lee Davies / presents The Ruins / Sat 6th Poor Girl Noise Stornoway + Noah & The KeysMan Rob 8:30pm £4 Numbernine / Black Hat presents Felix + Paul Whale + Hugh J Noble th Fri 5 The So & Sos / Band / Bethany Weimers Marshall + Guns or Knives Tue 23rd Swiss Concrete 8:30pm £4 Sodastream (From + Theo Presents The Carter Sat 20th Assassins Of Australia) / Hangman’s Joe Mon 8th Swiss Concrete Manoeuver + King Silence / Inacun / Snake 8.30pm £4 presents Witches + Alexanda + Cause of Sat 6th eXposure At The X Eyes 8:30pm £4 Gobwits Accident presents Orko / Bhasker / Sun 21st Electric Jam - Tue 9th The Ruins, Bear in Thu 25th Electric Circus Trev Williams 8:30pm £4 come jam with The X Men - the Air, The Black Hats Fri 26th Oxford Folk Club Sun 7th Electric Jam - come All Welcome - 8pm FREE Wed 10th Oxford Improvisers Sat 27th Poor Girls Noise jam with The X Men - All Thur 25th SelectaSound Thu 11th Electric Circus Presents Kill Kenada + Welcome - 8pm FREE presents Tim Mathews / The Fri 12th Oxford Folk Club Riotmen + AndNoStar Fri 12th Gammy Leg Unknown / support 8:30 till Sat 13th Rip the Joint Sun 28th Pindrop Productions presents Shirley late £4 Sun 14th John Otway Performance Presents / Brenda / Agents of Jane Fri 26th Live At The X Tue 16th Badly Built Boy - Ape has Killed Ape, 8:30pm £4 presents The Powders / Sat 13th Wittstock Kaned Citizen / Rebecca bands TBC Brickwork Lizards, th Fundraiser with Jim Driscoll Mosley 8:30pm £4 Thu 18 True Rumor Tailulah Renfell (5pm) / Jonny Race / Amberstate / Sat 27th Live At The X The Ruins / The Epstein presents KingB / Chico & Book your band into play at Oxford’s best small music venue! 8:30pm £4 The Man / 8.30pm £4 82 St Clements, Oxford. Tel: 01865 202067 WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT WITCHES / THEY DON’T SLEEP / The Zodiac HER NAME IS CALLA The Joy Division comparisons are ‘Girls In The Back’ and ‘Love Is inevitable: the Nazi-era name; the A Number’ are barnstorming - The Cellar nervy, haunted front man; the mysterious, catchy and hook- Always billed as the answer to they flip the lid off the ark and it’s edgy and angular bass-heavy laden. However, some songs are MOR drudgery, tonight’s Big Hair all like ‘FOOF- no skin!’, it was repetition. melodically dull - often closer to a evening actually begins with one of that face-meltingly good. The only Luckily, White Rose Movement series of slogans than the the most pedestrian bands to grace downer is that there is not a do offer far more than a mere traditional verse-chorus formula. the Cellar’s stage in say, oh, at least decent enough crowd to witness tribute act, and other influences Nothing emulates ‘Love Is A three weeks. If providing your this disturbingly talented band, are evident: New Order and Duran Number”, though they do try, common or garden variety post- who are ones to watch, in every Duran for the synth-guitar blend, notably on ‘Alsatian’ and rock passes for entertainment up in sense of the word. early Spandau Ballet, even Nine ‘London’s Mine’. Leicester, it definitely is not going Similarly Witches continue their Inch Nails for the industrial I really want to like them more to cut it here. Well, that said, the eternal quest for pure pop thudding. than I do: for me, they just don’t trés ethereal set is not without its perfection. I sense they are not There’s an undeniable energy and have enough stand-out songs yet, highlights, although they come quite there yet, but tonight’s a compelling anger in the room and I can’t help thinking that The mainly in the form of their “I am so breezy set glistens like that tonight, from bassist Owen Faint currently cover the same Thom Yorke/Phil from Fell City verboten sugared doughnut you Dyke’s viciously frugging peroxide electro indie post-punk dance Girl” vocalist. know you shouldn’t indulge in, fringe to keyboard player Taxxi’s ground more effectively and Their shortcomings are the guilty pop pleasure when all ice-cold pouting. Singer Finn Vine memorably. They could be so particularly transparent when held that shouting and angst gets too is captivating; he yelps much more - they’ve got the in contrast to They Don’t Sleep, much. Barely-there anti-riffs histrionically, yet sings rather sound, the looks, the style, the who prove that a small audience is provide an apt background for unintelligibly, so any message in attitude, the backstory (all no barrier to destroying some of Dave’s tongue-in-cheek lyrical the lyrics will require reference to members but Taxxi grew up what you know about music. Set delivery and it helps that they their debut album ‘Kick’, together in a commune in opener ‘Signature’ alone provides have expanded not only in sound, produced by man-of-the-moment Norfolk). the most blisteringly epic moment but in number too. Undoubtedly Paul Epworth (The Rakes, Now all they need is more good since Ben Hur won that race or more comfortable in their skin Futureheads, Bloc Party etc). material and a distinct sound of something. This one involves a now, while still searching for their Finn also breaks the aloof act by their own. They’re on their way softly, softly piano concerto of place in the world, here is a band chatting to the crowd, saying though, and if they keep it up, one. And screaming. Honestly, I that seem to enjoy the journey as they’re happy to be in Oxford - they should be brilliant by album felt like one of the Nazis at the end much as the goal. And for that, we it’s their spiritual home (full of number three. of Raiders Of The Lost Ark for salute them. posh and clever people, you see). Kirsten Etheridge crying out loud, the scene where Matt Bayliss photo: Richard Hounslow VASHTI BUNYAN / GOLDRUSH / THE EPSTEIN / KTB The Zodiac How’s this for a story: your first single flops in 1965, so you leave London to travel up to a hippie commune in the Isle of Skye to meet Donovan. In a horse and cart. After all, “horses don’t need petrol”. This travelling inspired Vashti Bunyan’s 1970 album ‘Just Another Diamond Day”, featuring Nick Drake arranger Robert Kirby, but alas: “it just edged its way out, blushed and shuffled off into oblivion. I abandoned it, and music, forever” according to Vashti herself. However, Vashti typed her name in Google in 1997 and found her ‘JADD’ LP selling on eBay at ridiculous prices. So through the ‘JADD’ album reissued in 2000, she accumulated a considerable following, collaborating with Devendra Banhart and Animal Collective and releasing the album ‘Lookaftering’ last year, featuring Joanna Newsom and Adem. Tonight’s gig is a 40 year homecoming for Vashti, a rather subdued Zodiac upstairs, with chairs, tables and candles - a gig you could easily take your mum to. The wonderful singer-songwriter KTB plays an enthralling set, with a voice so soothing and contemplative. She is joined by Piney Gir and Joe Bennett from Goldrush to end with ‘Bluebird’, a heartbreaking song with a moving melody line and spellbinding harmonies. The Epstein are fantastic but a slight shock to the senses after KTB’s heart-warming set. This is how old country should sound in today’s terms: updated, fresh and exciting. A surprise then, while expecting Goldrush, Vashti approaches the stage tentatively, much earlier than expected. The sound is an absolute joke: a terrible buzzing plagues the first song, ‘Hidden’, yet the pastoral lyrics and rich strings seep through and prevail over the shoddy set-up. A hushed crowd then welcomes ‘Diamond Day’, which works Thankfully, Vashti joins the stage again with two old friends, Jennifer extraordinarily well with the violinist and cellist. ‘Here Before’, a song Lewis and Angela Strange, who formed Oxford trio ‘The Three of Us’ in which Vashti “wrote before going to bed one night. It just came from the 60s. The magnificent KTB plucks the cello for a beautiful three-part somewhere else… This is for my children” is beautiful and moving. harmony on The Everly Brothers’ ‘Dream’. A triumphant encore finishes Sadly, Vashti’s set is cut short, replaced by Goldrush pouncing around a warm, low-key and long-awaited return. the stage, overriding the mood set by Vashti and tainting her performance. Pascal Ansell
MINUS THE BEAR THE DELAYS The Zodiac The Zodiac Ah, Seattle. Long associated with bizarre time signatures like a I’m often left wondering what ambition-free epic content to one type of music and one type bulldozer in a china shop; it’s not combined forces of marketing plough the well-worn middle only: grunge. So when a band so much performance as a master power, plugging or divine ground without ever attempting comes out of that isolated outpost class in musicianship. This being intervention conspire to throw up anything new. In fact, their major making disco indie (and by ‘indie’ the first night of their tour, the each ‘next big thing’ beaming point of difference is apparently I mean ‘independent’, not ‘Kaiser gang do appear visibly tired at beatifically at us from the pages of to replace the usual pedestrian Chiefs’), then it is something of a times. But the majority of the set the music press. Having given up second guitar parts with some revelation. is bashed out like Bloc Party on the idea a long time ago that a equally pedestrian keyboard Minus The Bear, assembled with Valium, with the more recent combination of killer tunes, plonking. They touch on the care by highly respected producer additions to their cannon stunning live shows and your own requisite reference points with Matt Bayles, are packed to the (`Drilling’, `The Fix’) so particularly dextrous manner of businesslike efficiency (viz. The gunnels with hardcore talent relentlessly upbeat that it sounds skinning the songwriting cat are a Las, assorted 60s Californian (members of Botch and Kill Sadie like the music sunshine would guaranteed route to success, I’m pop), but it never feels committed fill their ranks). Surprising make. And God knows how we still child-in-first-snowfall amazed enough to leave an impression. perhaps that the music is anything need a large dollop of gleeful by how bland the bands Ultimately, it’s pleasant but but thrashy and by-the-numbers. optimism every once in a while, surrounded by the greatest hype utterly unremarkable music (think Quite the opposite. Sure, there are right? frequently are. The Thrills with a slight kick up moments of jaw dropping riffage, Reassuringly, I suppose, the Take The Delays: sure, there’s the the arse) to suit today’s busy but any outpourings of macho music is just that right side of odd sparkle of promise and one or modern professional who buys a posturing are forfeited for delicate, unconventional to ensure they are two nuggets of shimmering lot of music but never really intricate melodies that spill forth destined to remain under the radar, summery pop point to better listens to any of it. Perhaps it as effortlessly as punching the air or whatever term you’d use to things, but for the most part really is random chance that in sheer delight. describe such genre-benders. But they’re no better than a band propels bands onto the big stage, From the subversive, runaway to me MTB, by all accounts, randomly plucked from any but it’s those who take that electronica and finger-tapping create the perfect soundtrack for midweek slot at
ponderous on a couple of tracks, and DEMO OF because The Delta Frequency are even more over the top than they are. Otherwise, THE MONTH superior in almost every way to anything else you’ll hear purporting to be heavy metal this month. Or the next. Or the one THE DELTA after that. FREQUENCY Featuring as they do Rock of Travolta SHE CRIES founder Phill Honey and Smilex guitarist There’s something so heroic about Tom Sharpe, it shouldn’t come as any unreconstructed old rockers: the screams, surprise that The Delta Frequency have an the big riffs, the feeling that it’s still only OTT sense of rock and roll theatricality. 1975 or 1981, and that’s the feeling we get From the ugly, squelching drum machine when this demo first kicks in. Led Zep beat and raptor-like circling piano intro, trade blows with Iron Maiden and we through to the demo’s closing mantra, rummage in the wardrobe for that old “Truss me up, cos you’re fucking with the denim jacket so that we may fully join in man machine”, they layer on the intensity the fun. But then, two minutes and and occasional preposterousness in a nineteen seconds in, She Cries suddenly manner that would eat this month’s more lo- stop, like a cartoon character smacked in fi offerings as mere pre-breakfast snacks. the head by a falling anvil, and turn into `Eyes Wide’ seems in two minds whether to self-pitying indie chuggers. WHY? They tear up the whole street but settles for were doing so well. But then it all becomes overturning a couple of cars as it stops and clear – they’re really an emo band and starts and finally bursts into fuzzy life, the thereafter it’s all a very much more up-to- vocalist doing his best Bowie date though not necessarily more enjoyable impersonation, but they really open up as affair, the band going at it full-pelt, an ogre they go on, `High Five’ trying to find a rapping out a duel with a chihuahua like a meeting point between Underworld and The heavy metal version of The Automatic. Birthday Party but not afraid to add a hefty They’re an occasionally untidy melting pot dash of Motley Crue to the mix. Best of the of old school heavy rock, grunge, hardcore lot though is `Charge Me Up’, a squall of and emo but equally they’ve got a melodic grunged-up guitars and synths, a deadringer edge and inventive side that possibly for early Marilyn Manson. Bombastic and comes from having no bassist, that just fun, we’d pay good money to see The Delta about holds it all together. Frequency stalking the stage at the Cellar in a pair of pneumatic stilts. LES CLOCHARDS In these bleak, grey, rain-sodden days, it’s a welcome relief to be transported to the XMAS LIGHTS sunny West Bank of the Seine, to There is a moment of silence and then the daydream wistfully along to a cheerily- ceiling collapses in on you. The water tank squeezed accordion whilst sipping a fine has burst and the gibbering sprite who lives claret. Such is the Gallic-flavoured musical in the roof felting is loose. A fleet of lorries world of Les Clochards, a band featuring packed with cutlery and plutonium tumble former-Borgnine chap Ian Nixon and one- over each other in a frenzied attempt to be time Anyways luminary Karen Cleave. As the first to explode. Then in come the such there’s something of an 80s indie chanting monks and the militaristic marching jangle about them, even when they’re beat. Hang on in there, dear reader, we’re ruminating in doleful French style, like the almost halfway through the first song. closing monologue of a sombre French That’s what’s so great about Xmas Lights – existential arthouse movie. It’s got a the sheer volume of stuff they can cram into sparkle to it that is a rare commodity a few moments of utter bleedin’ chaos. elsewhere in this month’s demo pile and Second song in and there’s swarming spazz- gets even better as Ian switches from being jazz metal, bellowing and shouting. Lots of Serge Gainsbourg, first into Johnny Cash shouting. And screaming. Lots of screaming. mode and then into a very fine Elvis And more monks. It’s like Gregorian impersonation. ‘Sour Old Swine’ is less hardcore central round here. And then it all Parisian swagger, more Mid-West canter, comes to a head with a full-on shouting replete with pedal steel and an understated match between frontman Marco and himself hangdog humour that recalls The over some wildly discordant shards of Handsome Family. ‘Pride Prevents’ is guitar. Demo Of The Month has become lighter on its pins, comes with that Elvis almost a right as far as Xmas Lights go over impersonation and marks Les Clochards the last year or so and they’re only missing out as one of Oxford’s more exotic acts, in out this month because they tend to get a bit nature as well as name. medication can possibly dance to. Actually, THE GULLIVERS this sounds a lot like we imagine Mike Something of a sideways lurch for The Oldfield would if he was tuning up whilst Gullivers from their previously thinking about what to cook for dinner later. straightforward indie-punk racket-making. Here they head into reggae and funk territory with all the guile and style of a JONNY RACE punch-drunk bantam-weight fighter still up Poor Jonny Race. Someone killed his pet for a bit more action. Too scrawny to win puppy dog. And then stole his girlfriend. the fight, that doesn’t stop them wandering And then glued his eyelids to the toilet seat. off into the night looking for bigger blokes to And then replaced his vocal chords with two kick in the shins. ‘Black And White’ leans enormous balls of cotton wool. And now awkwardly on a stumbling funk groove, he’s sad. So here’s some songs about it all. aiming punches at The Maccabees and Getting it off his chest and all that. He lives Larrikin Love, while ‘Needless To Say’ in a street where no-one smiles and no-one strips everything down to a strangulated talks and the bus never comes but when it squeak and bare bones bass and drums. does he sits there reading Shelley while the THE COURTYARD STUDIO Scrappy but generally charming little bloke next to him shouts into his mobile. “I battlers, The Gullivers’ strength or wish there was more to life than this”, he PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/ weakness rests on whether they’re taken as opines. And we want to reach out and 24, OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE worthy contemporaries of those bands, or cuddle him, to stroke his pain away. Oh MACHINE, 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB merely latecomers desperately hanging onto alright, it isn’t as dreadful as we’re making it CONTROL ROOM WITH GOOD SELECTION the here and now’s coat-tails. out to be, but there’s only so much angsty OF MICS & OUTBOARD GEAR, + MIDI singer-songwriter stuff we can take before FACILITIES (INC LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI THE PISTACHIOS we feel like we’re staring into the deepest, S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND ETC.) darkest void wherein all the evil of the world Residential facilities included. Despite being a duo, The Pistachios’ My is contained. Actually, `Golden Boy’ is quite Space site claims they come from Oxford, pleasant in a summery West Coast hippy www.courtyardrecordingstudio.com Redditch and Sheffield. If only they could dreaming sort of way. Elsewhere Jonny’s PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS stretch their music so wide. Instead, and wordy in a Bob Dylan kind of way, though ON 01235 845800 despite, incredibly, claiming a likeness to musically he’s perhaps closer to Paul Simon. My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana, they’re Just lay off the apocalyptic dramatics, eh. a pretty standard acoustic act, trapped by It’s a brand new year. Soon be spring. The the self-constructed walls of that genre and world will be awash with new-born lambs without either the sublime vocal ability or and kittens and fluffy ducklings. genius songwriting skills to make a significant escape attempt. Not that they’re so bad, more polite to the point of being innocuous. Richard Kavanagh and Sarah THE DEMO Morrey both have decent voices and trade off each other well but more often than not DUMPER they sound like they’re simply strumming and hoping, the 30-second Flamenco break in the middle of ‘The Colouring Book’ all THE ALBATROS the more tokenistic for being so incongruous. Still, pleasant and able enough to be heading PROJECT in the right direction of they can stamp a bit Quickly bypassing the fact that this lot more personality on their songs. But for now, can’t even spell Albatross properly, we the kids won’t be going nuts for The initially warm to them since they appear to Pistachios. Yes, we know. Sorry. be so in thrall to The Violent Femmes that they not only sound a lot like them but they’ve even nicked the riff to ‘Blister In SHALL WE SET BEN The Sun’ wholesale for their first song, a sweet folky jaunt with sparingly-used ON FIRE twinkling electronics, only hampered by the Is that what youngsters do these days to singer’s lack of lyrical substance. Interesting amuse themselves? Set other kids on fire? bits over they revert to dirge mode, the Perhaps in some post-industrial wasteland vocalist now sounding like he’s completely next to a polluted canal? Obviously some fed up with the whole thing, songs moping do; others prefer to stay in their bedrooms, off into corners to be by themselves. An grow their fringes and study the Sonic Youth attempt to inject some spooky gothic songbook. Which is an admirable pastime in sparseness into proceedings boils down to itself but so many of them are doing it these someone heavy breathing over a randomly- days it’s all getting a bit wearing. We get strummed acoustic guitar and then whining about 28 demos exactly like this every day. about people dying for a bit. Twenty It’s like it is no longer necessary to even try minutes later and they’re still wandering the and write melodies as long as you can mimic corridors aimlessly, searching for the light Thurston Moore’s ponderously abrasive switch and muttering to themselves over an guitar sound and do all them rhythmically incoherent ambient ramble which we can awkward bits that mean no-one except confidently state is exactly what Buggles people who should be on intensive would sound like if they went senile.
Send demos for review to: Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1ZU. IMPORTANT: no review without a contact address and phone number (no email or mobile- only). No more than four tracks on a demo. If you can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo. Nightshift accepts no responsibility for deflated egos.