email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 164 March Oxford’s Music Magazine 2009

Big Mouse Strikes Again! MephistoMephistoMephisto GrandeGrandeGrande Meet Oxford’s finest purveyors of the Devil’s own gospel Mephisto Grande by Johnny Moto. www.myspace.com/johnnsphotos NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255

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

BANDS wishing to play at this Shinkiba Studio Coast on Saturday year’s Oxford Punt on Wednesday 14th March and another on the 13th May have until Monday 16th 15th.” March to send in demos. The Punt, Youthmovies’ Myspace also now in its 13th year, is Oxford’s includes new links to a studio premier showcase of local unsigned video diary, some interview WOOD FESTIVAL returns for its second year over the weekend of the music. Previous stars of the event footage, a mix tape and live 15th-17th May at Braziers Park, near Wallingford. The environmentally- include Young Knives, Little Fish footage of the band’s 2003 Truck friendly music festival is organised by Truck and this year’s event and Elizabeth – Yannis and Jack Festival set. Visit features a special headline set from Welsh music legend Meic Stephens from Foals’ first band. The Punt www.myspace.com/youthmovies. (pictured), now 70 years old, a pioneer of welsh language pop and a will feature 17 acts across six city major influence on the likes of Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s centre venues in one night, starting OXFORD CONTEMPORARY Zygotic Mynci. The festival also features sets from Spiers & Boden, off at Borders bookstore and MUSIC celebrates its new spring Stornoway, Co-Pilgrim, Jonquil, Danny & The Champions of the World continuing at the Purple Turtle, the season of concerts with a second and many more to be announced. Wood features a solar-powered music Cellar, the Wheatsheaf and Thirst open session on Wednesday 8th stage, organic, wood stove-cooked food and craft workshops among its Lodge. April at the North Wall Arts Centre family-friendly attractions. Tickets for the weekend are on sale now, Bands or solo artists interested in Summertown. OCM are looking online from wegottickets.com, or in Oxford from Videosyncratic, the should email Myspace links to for original artists of any genre. Scribbler and Inner Bookshop; in Witney from Rapture; from Baby Nightshift, clearly marked Punt, to Anyone interested should email John’s in Didcot, and Mostly Books and Local Roots in Abingdon. [email protected] or demos or links to For more information visit www.thisistruck.com. send a CD – again clearly marked [email protected]. Visit Punt – to Nightshift, PO Box 312, www.ocmevents.org for more TICKETS for this year’s Truck Festival will go on sale at precisely Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Acts must details as well as OCM’s full 12.12pm on Thursday 12th March. Truck takes place over the weekend be unsigned and from Oxfordshire. spring season of events. of 25th-26th July at Hill Farm in Steventon. Tickets will be available Since most Punt venues operate a online from wegotickets.com as well as in person from Videosyncratic strict over-18s rule, unfortunately CHALGROVE FESTIVAL returns and the Music Box on Cowley Road. Supertrucker tickets, which give we cannot accept submissions from this summer after two years off. entry to both Truck and Wood, are on sale now, priced £100, online. any under-age bands. The three-day live music and Meanwhile all-venue passes for family entertainment event runs the Punt are on sale now, priced £7, over the weekend of the 7th-9th price, professional quality music reviewers to cover the local online from wegottickets.com or August and organisers are looking videos, ideal for websites, unsigned bands scene for its from Videosyncratic on Cowley for local bands to perform. Visit the Myspace and Youtube. Videos cost weekly podcast site. The site Road (both subject to booking fee). festival website at from around £500 and can be live, already has 80,000 downloads a Only 100 are available, so buy www.clmfestival.com for an storyboard or even animation. For week worldwide and is looking to early. application form. more details call Nick on 01235 expand. Reviewers don’t need any 525207 or 07590 504352, or visit experience, just enthusiasm. Email YOUTHMOVIES have denied TRACKING SHOT is a new local www.tracking-shot.com/music. [email protected] or they are set to split up but have project set up with the intention of visit thisrealitypodcast.com to hear put all live performances on hold providing new bands with low- THIS REALITY is looking for the podcasts. from this month. The band issued a statement via their Myspace site saying, “We’ve been getting asked a lot lately if we’re splitting up, to which the answer is simply no! We all still get on and enjoy making music together, so there is no reason to stop. We might be spread across the country these days but nothing has really changed. We’ve always had to fit the band around the other things in our lives. We all have full-time jobs. “As far as this year goes we basically plan to write and record a new album. We have no idea how long this is gonna take us, but the general idea is to record in bits and pieces as we go along, with people that we like, such as Ant Theaker, Oli Horton and Hugo Manuel. “Touring and shows are on hold for the time being. Having said that, we do have two shows in March which we’re ridiculously excited about, in Tokyo. We play QUICKFIX RECORDS have reacted angrily to removed immediately from iTunes. This was, as claims made by Baby Gravy in last month’s far as we were concerned, a friendly parting of Nightshift interview that they illegally released ways, despite the amount of work that had been the band’s debut single, ‘I Hate Your Boyfriend’, put into the band behind the scenes for future in 2007. releases and this single. It is only since then that Terri Bonham from the label contacted we have heard that we were having our name Nightshift to put Quickfix’s side of the story. tarnished by them, the proof coming a year and a “Baby Gravy commented that the single was half later in the form of the nasty surprise of released `without our legal consent’, which is not whole paragraphs used to lie and portray us in a true in any form: we had full verbal consent from negative light. We have always tried to help the band to release the download single and young bands coming from a youth centre accompanying video, to tie in with their background and try hard to do things above Nightshift Punt appearance. It was promoted by board, always paying bands for our gigs where the band on their website and beyond, however possible, and agreeing in written form with all when it came to signing or even discussing a draft bands our terms of a release, even if it meant us contract, Baby Gravy were uncooperative and losing money and time ourselves. It does not PJ HARVEY’s Oxford show on Thursday cagey. Thus we told them we would need to always work out unfortunately but as they say 16th April has been moved from the Regal to remove the single from iTunes as we could not in show business, `never work with children or Brookes University Union. Harvey is sell it without a formal contract. Baby Gravy animals’, and it seems we got bitten! We are not performing with long-time collaborator John then agreed to removing it, citing the imminent particularly concerned about what Baby Gravy Parish; the pair release a new album, `A sacking of half the band and potential writing/ think of us, but we would urge any bands who Woman Walked By’, this month. A few tickets performance credit issues as reasons. have read the comments to remember that there are still available, priced £20, on 0871 2200 “We then, embarrassingly, had to have the single are two sides to every story.” 260.

REWIND FESTIVAL offers a Carlisle, Kid Creole, Heaven 17, LADYFEST takes place in Oxford AS EVER, DON’T FORGET to nostalgic trip back to the 1980s Toyah and Nick Heyward, while over the week of 18th-24th May. tune into BBC Oxford Introducing this summer. The new festival, Sunday’s bill is topped by Gloria The festival celebrates women in every Saturday evening between which takes place at Temple Gaynor, who is joined by Sister music and the arts and will feature 6-7pm on 95.2fm. The dedicated Island Meadows, near Henley, Sledge, ABC, Paul Young, Go a number of gigs featuring female local music show features the best over the weekend of 22nd-23rd West, Midge Ure, Howard Jones, acts and bands. Anyone wanting to new local releases, band August boasts that it will feature Nik Kershaw, T’Pau, help out or discover more can email interviews, gig and clubbing guide the biggest line-up of 80s pop stars Chas’n’Dave and The Christians. [email protected], and demo reviews. The show, since Live Aid in 1985. The Tickets are on sale now, priced or join the organisers every presented by Tim Bearder and Saturday features a headline set £80 for adults. Visit Tuesday evening from 6.30pm at Dave Gilyeat, is available to listen from Kim Wilde plus Rick Astley, www.rewindfestival.com for more Far From The Madding Crowd in to online all week at bbc.co.uk/ Bananarama, Billy Ocean, Belinda details. Friar’s Entry. oxford.

A quiet word with MephistoMephistoMephisto GrandeGrandeGrande

ON STAGE LIAM INGS- indulgent noise stuff and also some Reeves sings with the voice of the blues. I was very into the idea of an Devil himself. And as he casts erratic set that involves several another baleful glance towards the styles and genres, not letting the audience below him, it feels like he’s listener know what they’re going to selecting his next victim for some hear or see next. That’s been a unspeakable sacrifice. Around him is running theme in all the music I’ve a band jamming out some hellish written, but I feel I’ve come closest goblin blues: it’s Hell’s own house to hitting the nail on the head with band, a carnivorous collision of Mephisto Grande.” Bayou blues, wayward jazz, In what ways is Mephisto Grande subterranean punk, The Birthday different to SC4T to be part of and

Party and Beefheart’s Magic Band. Mephisto Grande by Johnny Moto in the way you approach music? Do Amid the five-strong throng is a you feel you have more freedom to man dressed in gold lamé pyjamas do what you want now? simultaneously playing saxophone LIAM: “Well, discipline has been and clarinet. important in both bands but I would Welcome to the strange and say more so in Mephisto Grande. frightening world of Mephisto We’ve decided upon a zero tolerance Grande, a band of devilish mischief policy toward mistakes. We each who have chosen their name well. know if we fail we must leave and cannot return before passing various OFF STAGE, LIAM INGS- vigorous tests. Suitable Case was Reeves is another character more metal orientated, I would say. altogether: quiet, unassuming, Although there were lots of wholly unthreatening. What different influences, I think they are possesses him when he steps up on of ‘Frere Jacques’ you ever heard. album launch, wondering first of all probably more apparent in stage is a question possibly best Still central to the band’s sound, how Mephisto Grande came into Mephisto Grande. Everyone had a investigated by psychiatrists, though, was Liam’s unholy Uruk- being after the demise of Suitable lot of input in Suitable Case: I priests or even an exorcist, but it’s a hai growl, a voice that rumbles right Case For Treatment. certainly had musical freedom. rock and roll persona that’s stood through you, chilling your soul LIAM: “We had a certain amount Mephisto Grande is much the same him in good stead since he fronted slightly along the way. of success with Suitable Case; we in that respect.” proggy jazz-core combo Suitable After a string of gigs, Pete went managed to play with some top acts PHIL: “I’m not sure if it is that Case For Treatment earlier in the travelling in Madagascar, leaving then it all slowed down a bit. I think different. Both bands really have decade, a position that eventually Liam unsure whether he still had a the consensus was to leave it on a been about supporting Liam. Both found him performing on the band. He turned his hand to a series high, rather than let it slow any bands have had the same kind of Richard & Judy Show with of solo shows which brought out a further. But it was very strange for a message. Both bands really like newsreader Jon Snow reciting one of more rootsy side of his cannon, while, a band breaking up is an making a lot of well-constructed his songs. No doubt his onstage inspired by early gospel, bluegrass emotional experience. I mean, after horrible noise.” manner scares a fair few fans away, and Delta blues and on Pete’s return appearing on Richard and Judy I felt but it makes Liam the most Mephisto Grande have recruited dead inside. So I consulted with Jon AFTER SUCH A SWIFT BIRTH, beguiling and intense frontman in new members to fully realise that Snow, who suggested I stop playing Mephisto Grande’s infancy didn’t Oxford. vision. Joining the original duo are dad rock. run as smoothly as it might, with former-Borderville bassist Phil “I was angry and without direction Pete’s long-term absence. But MEPHISTO GRANDE FORMED Oakley; percussionist John Bosley, for some time before Mephisto perhaps that was the catalyst for in 2006 when Suitable Case For who drunkenly approached the Grande truly solidified. In the band to grow and evolve as it Treatment split in half: guitarist band after a gig at the Port Mahon, retrospect I think it all worked out has done. With each new member Jimmy Evil and bassist Pete Bastard and lastly saxophonist and clarinet well. Pete Bastard and Jimmy are has come different ideas. To witness went on to form Eduard player Zack Gvirtzman, whom doing Fat Elvis and I’m really Mephisto Grande live can be a Soundingblock, while Liam and Liam spotted busking around town chuffed with our work.” revelation: they can appear like a Suitable Case drummer Pete Ward and persuaded to join. His debut Yourself and Pete got Mephisto bunch of disparate freaks initially reconvened, initially as a two-piece, show with the band was at last Grande together pretty quickly after and they play so loosely and under the guise Mephisto Grande. year’s Truck Festival where the split; what was your aim when naturally that it’s easy to miss just Early shows, including a set at the Mephisto Grande performed with starting the new band? how well drilled they are. In fact the 2007 Oxford Punt, sounded like a the Oxford Gospel Choir. LIAM: “Pete and I had discussed intensity of their performance is stripped-down continuation of their This month Mephisto Grande writing music which reached quite terrifying at times – a lurching, previous band, the more expansive launch their debut album, ‘Seahorse extremes in terms of heaviness but uncaring form of voodoo rock that proggy tendencies shed in favour of Versus The Shrew’, on their own also experimented with our interest can feel like The Ramones colliding a raw, garage-blues approach, Refuses label, with a show at the in blues and gospel. Before Suitable sideways on with John Coltrane. At powered by Pete’s energetic, Cellar. Case split we’d been messing every turn it is utterly captivating. expansive drumming, but tempered around with some projects that Pete was away for quite a long time by excursions into French nursery NIGHTSHIFT TALKED TO were basically the seed from which in Africa and you started playing rhymes, such as the meanest version Liam, John and Phil ahead of the Mephisto Grande grew, a mixture of solo shows; were those just stop- gaps or did you ever envisage doing elements that helps us avoid falling when we started out we were off-stage self; is that a conscious that long-term? into an established mould.” listening to a mixture of some classic thing or does the muse just take LIAM: “I played under the name You also performed with the gospel, particularly the Staple hold? Are you surprised that people Mephisto Grande as a solo artist to Oxford Gospel Choir at Truck; how Singers, and some more erratic stuff, who only know you from watching keep the flag flying. I’ve always was that and is it something you such as Mike Patton’s various the band can be intimidated by you? preferred playing with a full band as would like to do again? projects. I think Brickwork Lizards, LIAM: “The onstage presence is it allows more scope but it was fun LIAM: “Truck was a really good A Silent Film and Fat Elvis are inevitably different to that off stage, to play on my own for a while, gig for us, despite some extreme really powerful local bands, each it’s not consciously aggressive but occasionally being joined at gigs by hangovers that day. It’s always fun very different to one another and I’m aware that it can be a bit local musicians. After a gig playing playing with a choir: that sweet that is testament to the diversity of intimidating for the more sensitive with Tarik from the Brickwork sound that only a gospel choir can the Oxford music scene.” souls out there.” Lizards I was approached and asked produce alongside big guitars and What are your impressions of the Some time ago you suffered a about a recording contract, which heavy beats is quite striking. We’ve local music scene and the way it has seizure during a gig; is that was exciting. Some big name got some a cappella groups that helped, hindered or shaped you? something that you have to be producers and studios were being we’re planning on working with in LIAM: “Oxford has a great music constantly aware of? mentioned but once we started the near future. Collaborations can scene, which is constantly changing LIAM: “The glossalalic twitches, talking money and contracts I be good for varying your sound, and with new bands starting up, jerks and outbursts are the voice of became really quite scared and I they can sometimes lead you in a breaking up or moving on to bigger the devil or possibly God coming wasn’t sure if I was cut out to be a different direction.” things. I’ve met some really good through me. I’m having an ECG this solo artist. For better or worse the musicians and worked on some weekend to find out which. I’ve deal was never clinched but it was WITH A SETTLED LINE-UP, interesting musical projects since always known I was special.” an experience that ultimately Mephisto Grande have been able to coming to Oxford. You can almost enforced my love of being in a band. get on with recording their debut always go out and catch a good gig SPECIAL. THAT’S AS APT A I started playing with Phil on bass album. According to Liam the in this town if you look for it.” word to describe both Liam and his and percussion, which led to some process has involved a year of hard JOHN: “I think the broad band as you can get. Mephisto new songs and an expansion on sweat but with the last three spectrum within the Oxford music Grande are something unique. what Pete and I had started.” months being the most productive scene has worked well for us. We’ve Strange. Disconcerting. Occasionally PHIL: “I thought it would make and the album being “bungled always tried to have a diverse sound fucking terrifying. But always, more sense playing percussion than together in a few weeks”. and the local audience seems to always special. The Devil really bass at first while Pete was away JOHN: “ We’ve tried to capture all appreciate it.” does have the best tunes. and it was something that I always the elements that make up wanted to do. When Pete got back I Mephisto Grande in the album and WE CAN’T LET LIAM GO ‘Seahorse Versus The Shrew’ is was shown how to play the drums it sounds awesome. It proved to be without asking him about his stage released this month. Mephisto and went back to playing the bass.” a difficult album to put together persona – so markedly different to Grande play at the Cellar on The band has expanded now; how because of the massive range the man we speak to outside of his Saturday 7th march. Visit have the new members come to join covered by the songs, combining the performance space. There’s a big www.myspace.com/mephistogrande and what do they each bring to the raw live sounding tracks with the difference between your onstage and for news and tour dates. band? heavier ones and the more gospel- JOHN: “I saw Liam, Pete and Phil influenced stuff was a tough playing at the Port Mahon. I process, but the outcome is drunkenly spoke to Liam to see if amazing.” they could use some extra LIAM: “It started off as little more percussion, and Liam called me up than my solo EP with Phil hitting sometime later to see if I wanted to stuff in the background. But it play at Charlbury Festival. So I just progressed massively. Paul, our turned up to the festival – Liam and producer, was superb, the most Pete were quite late so I thought for thorough engineer I’ve ever worked a while I was going to be playing on with. When Pete got back from my own! Eventually they turned Madagascar and everyone else was up, we had a two-minute run on board we knew we were working through before the gig and I played on a full album. It was a drawn out for the first time there and then.” process but I’m very happy with LIAM: “Pete and John’s rhythms what we got at the end of it all. work really well together and helped What was it like to record? Imagine to create a far bigger sound. I’d also sitting in a dark, windowless room seen Zac busking, playing the for a year with people that annoy clarinet and saxophone you.” simultaneously in the centre of Oxford and loved what I heard. I MEPHISTO GRANDE ARE bumped into him and asked if he very much in a league of one in would play with us some time. He Oxford; not for them the self- took a bit of convincing but we got consciously convoluted path of him on board.” math-rock or the hapless flailing of JOHN: “Having seen Mephisto indie rock’s last hurrah. How do Grande previously as a three piece I they think their influences and way saw the potential for using of playing, writing and performing additional drums and percussion to are different to other bands around? mix up more genres in the set and LIAM: “I’m not sure how it add some weight to the instrumental compares to other bands, but we moments. The addition of Zac on tend to have a pretty loose the clarinet and saxophone has approach to our songs. We like to opened up possibilities for play around with different combining sounds from different structures and have several versions ends of the spectrum, and I think of some of our songs so the set is it’s a mix of all these very flexible. In terms of influences, RELEASED sponsored by SPIRAL 25 ‘Spiral 25 EP’ (Own Label) Rock and roll’s dark side of the street – the side to dig their musical furrow deep and where the pimps and smack dealers and rakish claustrophobic. They wear their influences not leather-clad waifs exist in eternal shadow – has so much on their sleeves as stamped on their always held a more seedily romantic lure than foreheads but confidently and with single- the sunny side. From The Velvet Underground’s minded unselfconsciousness, and as they lay speed’n’smack rock experimentalism through down a groove as black as a fallen angel’s The Stooges, Spacemen 3 and Warlocks, the armpit, guitars providing a shifting pattern of needle traces a blackened line that can veer off textures over the relentless rhythm, you’re lost at strange, exotic tangents or spiral forever in a flotation tank full of tar and treacle, the inwards. hymnal ‘Let The Light Shine On’ spiralling Here’s where you’ll find Spiral 25, the band, through Loop’s heavy-duty psychedelia with lest we forget, formed by assorted members of grim, morbid determination, while ‘Signals’ The Factory, arguably one of Oxford’s great lost bubbles spaceward from its subterranean you need to scrub out your lungs by the time it bands, certainly of recent years. Reconvened beginnings, a kindred spirit to Spacemen 3’s finishes. It may be a musical cliché but this is one after a brief time under the moniker Dirty Sci- ‘Things Will Never Be The Same’. CD you really must play at excruciating volume Fi, guitarist Chris Monger, bassist Joe As the mood darkens through the EP, Spiral 25 to do it full justice. Thankfully, if the neighbours Chapman and drummer Andy Proper have really hit bedrock with ‘Today’s Future do call the police, you’ll be so whacked out on recruited guitarist Sunny Singh and vocalist (Tomorrow’s Past)’, exhuming those old blues the pretty fractal patterns in your head you Russell Denham, a singer in the spaced-out and via The Doors’ ‘The End’ and a ceaseless won’t even mind when they cart you off. devotional mode of Jim Morrison, and set out narcotic grind that’s so thick with soot you feel Dale Kattack

SEFTON ‘Rick’s Seat’ apparently won an award for CAT MATADOR ‘Skimming Stones’ Acoustic Song Of The Year in 2008 on ‘Mara EP’ American online radio and taken alone it’s an (Rainbow Records) easy, simple minor hit in waiting, pitched (Own Label) Sefton opens his album with the promising around the Nick Drake / Damien Rice school of Even for a band who choose to walk down the couplet, “I’m an angry man / Who lost the fight”; folksy introspection. But from there Sefton is less sunny side of the street, this new EP is on it’s almost an echo of the old “I fought the law wallowing in Radio 2 playlist-friendly the downbeat side. It’s a slight disappointment and the law won” clarion call. The song is called balladeering, ambitious in his arrangements, given the quality of last year’s debut demo, `Rick’s Seat’ and through its wistful haze of particularly Mark Walker’s expansive electric which nabbed the band a place on the Punt. melancholy, you feel there are the stirrings of piano, Wurlitzer and Hammond contributions, Certainly ‘Mara’ shouldn’t be the EP’s opening some real emotion. Sadly, by the time the album and occasionally sweetened by Charlie number, taking too long to work up a head of ends he’s singing about skimming stones and Amadeo’s backing vocals, but craving any real steam, over-egging the serious-young-man indie- declaring that “beauty lies within us all”. Sefton emotional depth beyond lyrical clichés of the goth schtick before Sian Lloyd-Williamson’s wasn’t far wrong when he pleaded that this lost love variety. violin scree elevates the whole thing to a more might not be our bag in his introductory letter. ‘Was It Something That I Said’ offers respite substantial level of spidery moodiness. First- with its almost country jaunt, but ‘Crimson song honours should instead have gone to Skies’ is merely Joe Cocker and Jennifer ‘Clarity’, a better picture of what Cat Matador Warnes’ ‘Up Where We Belong’ in disguise and can do, tumbling in on a tom-heavy drum too soon we’re wallowing in Ronan Keating- cascade and malevolent violin drone, marrying style ballads that feel soulless and sterile, while the Bunnymen’s sullen, expansive grey skyline the emoting is often so over-egged you could with Clinic’s metronomic pulse-pop. Too soon, stick the CD in an oven and it’d come out as though, they’re trying to steer a path through a fluffy as a soufflé. jangly, spangly emo-math instrumental that But as Sefton says himself, this sort of thing eventually settles into a solemn orchestral pop was never going to get us going; it’s aimed lament and it’s left to closing track ‘Eyes’ to try squarely at the safe, smooth middle of pop’s and settle the ship with its feeling of doomed highway, where anything further left than the urgency. latest Van Morrison guff would be considered A decent enough effort on balance but you do edgy. And so we’ll leave Sefton to his stone feel that given the quality of songs at their skimming. We’re off to lob a brick through David disposal, Cat Matador might have come up Cameron’s front window and listen to The Clash. with a more consistently pleasing EP. Dale Kattack Dale Kattack

VIDEOSYNCRATIC, 101 COWLEY ROAD, OXFORD, OX4 1HU. Tel: 01865 792220. LOCAL CDs - GIG TICKETS - COMICS - GRAPHIC NOVELS - T-SHIRTS - POSTERS - TOYS - DVD RENTAL Frampton. DESERT STORM But by god this is a trawl and a half. With a ‘Desert Storm’ combined 148 minutes, any act would struggle to hold the listener’s attention and with Foetus (Own Label) 502 being something of a one-trick pony, you’re There are two photos of Desert Storm on their being driven to distraction long before you’re album sleeve that might offer a distorted view of even halfway through. The fact that that one the band. The first pictures them deep in trick isn’t even his own but ripped wholesale meditation in the studio, the other shows the from electro pioneers Suicide makes it all the band standing in a large greenhouse surrounded more galling. Suicide were an incredible band by flowering plants. Listen to this debut album who broke all sorts of barriers and performed though and it quickly becomes clear the meditation some of the most extreme live shows in the is simply them clearing their minds before history of rock and roll, and they’ve inspired unleashing hell on unsuspecting passers-by, while some great bands since, from Spacemen 3 to those plants are obviously DRUGS. Drugs that Liars, but simply repeating their minimalist Desert Storm smoke in huge quantities enabling synth-abilly bubble and Alan Vega’s heavily- them to cultivate giant blunderbuss stoner-metal some spirited, soulful female backing vocals, as reverbed Elvis yelp over and fucking over again riffs, the better to crush your puny skull to on ‘Cosmic Drips’. The result is a remarkably for 36 tracks isn’t just cheap, it’s criminal, since something resembling peanut butter. fresh take on music that’s as old as the hills, and we lose an entire afternoon of our lives staring Thankfully eschewing the current trend for as heavy as them too. ever more forlornly out of the window, hoping a metalcore, Desert Storm return to source, from Ian Chesterton passing bus might plough into the office and Led Zeppelin’s bluesy hard rock riffs, through put us out of this misery. And we don’t even old fashioned roadhouse blues to Hendrix’s live on a bus route. high-octane psychedelic excursions, everything Don’t get us wrong – take the best four or five beefed up big time with a classic metal FOETUS 502 tracks here, including a cheeky take on Robert heaviosity, solos and drum salvos. The band’s Palmer’s ‘Some Guys Have All The Luck’ – and real star attraction, though, is singer Matt ‘Feast’ / ‘Torture’ / ‘Metal you’d have a passable, if ultimately forgettable, Ryan’s great gravel-gargling growl, up there Man’ / ‘Sex Attack’ EP. But as each passing opus sounds more and with Killdozer’s Michael Gerald in its earthy, more hacked out, random and aimless, ogre-ish belligerence. (Eyeless) converging as one huge mush of Casio-core While Desert Storm can be granite heavy and Bloody blimmin’ ‘eck, in all our years reviewing inconsequentiality, you start to wonder if that relentless as a steamroller with faulty brake Oxford’s music scene this is the first time we’ve copy of Oasis’ most recent album, which has pads, they paint from a pleasingly mixed been sent a quadruple album. Mind you, sat, unplayed, on the desk for the past month, palette of textures, tempering those hoary, hairy perhaps we shouldn’t be too shocked since it might provide some kind of relief. And then you onslaughts with contemplative ambience and emanates from Eyeless Records, the label realise just how bad things have got. tabla (as on the track ‘Desert Storm’) and even founded by local electro-core maniac David K Dale Kattack

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SUNDAY 1st makes the trip to Oxford, backed up by regular COLLISIONS & CONSEQUENCES + bassist Alison Payner. Best known as the guitar MARCH presenter of BBC’s Rockschool in the 1980s, WINTER CINEMATIC: The Wheatsheaf – Epic, emotive indie-rocking from C&C, with Cartwright now performs in a number of bands support from Lincoln’s grungier stadium keeping on. And it’s worth remembering that at as well as acoustic, mixing up jazz standards and poppers Winter Cinematic. that commercial peak, they were only kept off original songs with offbeat covers of anyone THE BLUETONES: O2 Academy – Probably the Number 1 spot by Babylon Zoo – and from Kate Bush to Nirvana. She’s currently out destined always to be labelled “Britpop where are they now? Bluetones’ dedication to on the road plugging her last album, ‘Tune In, Survivors”, fourteen years on from their biggest touring and a DIY ethic has seen them keep Turn On, Stretch Out’, and is rated as one of the hits, `Slight Return’, Hounslow’s finest keep on their old fanbase and tonight’s show follows on most accomplished female guitarists in the world. from a short tour where they played debut JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Free weekly album, `Expecting To Fly’ in its entirety, so live jazz club with lively keyboard-led sounds th Thursday 5 plenty of chance for 90s nostalgists to relive from The Howard Peacock Quintet. those glory days. ALCHEMY: The Cellar – Rock, metal, punk HOWLING BELLS / PETE ROE + STARS OF SUNDAY LEAGUE and goth club with live sets from punk-metallers THE JOY + I SAID YES + CAMIONETTES: The Dirty Youth, thrash-punk outfit The Shuffle and Jericho Tavern – A night of mostly acoustic death metallers As Gods. FORMIDABLE / talent with Pete Roe proffering rootsy acoustic folk-pop in the vein of John Martyn and Bob WEDNESDAY 4th CHEW LIPS: Dylan, while Scottish one-man-band Stars Of Sunday League mixes up Dick Gaughan and CHANGO SPASIUK: Wesley Memorial O2 Academy James Yorkston. They’re joined by travelling Church – Oxford Contemporary Music’s new After supporting Mercury Rev last troubadour I Said Yes, plus the relatively more spring season kicks off with a rare chance to hear November, Howling Bells return to the grungey guitar-pop band Camionettes. Argentine accordion virtuoso Chango Spasiuk and Academy as headliners and with a new REGGAE REGGAE SUNDAY: The Cellar – his band, plying a lively version of his native album out. The Sydney-formed, now UK- Reggae, dub and more. chamamé music, a traditional barn dance style that based quartet are still at that tenuous stage marries Latin American and European traditions. of critics’ favourites, but with ‘Radio Wars’ nd Having won Best Newcomer at the 2005 BBC displaying a bolder, more sweeping take on MONDAY 2 Radio 3 World Music Awards he returns to the their tumbledown rural gloom-pop than their THE SEAN WEBSTER BAND: The UK to promote new album, ‘Pynandi’. excellent eponymous debut, commercial Bullingdon – The Famous Monday Blues LITTLE FISH + DRUNKENSTEIN + BLACK success probably isn’t so far away now. plays host to guitarist and singer Webster as he HATS + CAND ELECTRIC: The Wheatsheaf Fronted by sister and brother Juanita and plugs his third album, ‘Live & In Session’, his – Oxford’s brightest young stars Little Fish shine Joel Stein, Howling Bells’ sound is as guitar work inspired by the likes of Albert again, building up to the release of their debut inspired by film as much as other music – Collins, Eric Clapton and Gary Moore, while album and, for newcomers, mixing up Patti notably the spooked soundtracks of Twin vocally his deep, husky delivery recalls Joe Smith-style vocals with a cool, melodic garage- Peaks or Paris, Texas, but comparisons to Cocker and Bryan Adams. rock sound. Oddly-shaped prog-punk-goth PJ Harvey, Mazzy Star and Loretta Lynn JAMIE T: O2 Academy – Already sold-out strangeness and charm from Drunkenstein in are equally close to the mark. The music is return gig for the Wimbledon troubadour, set to support, plus spiky new wave rocking from shadowy, occasionally trashy countrified release the follow-up to 2007’s debut album, Black Hats. garage pop, but Juanita’s kittenish vocals ‘Panic Prevention’, armed with a keen SOUNDS GOOD IN YOUR EAR: Fat Lil’s, give it wings and a smoky romantic observational electro-acoustic songwriting style Witney – Open decks night. splendour all its own. Good supporting cast that somehow finds a meeting point between FREE RANGE: The Cellar – Dubstep and tonight too with Welsh boyfriend/girlfriend Billy Bragg, Arctic Monkeys and The Streets. drum&bass with Jungle Drummer Vs DJ Fu and garage-pop outfit The Joy Formidable Hydro Vs Charris, plus more. adding a sweet pop sheen to Sonic Youth TUESDAY 3rd AMOROUS JAZZ: Prince Of Wales, Iffley – Local jazz trio fronted by Sheila Selway. and Breeders-style noise, while London’s HORSE FEATHERS + WE AERONAUTS: OFF THE RADAR + ROSALITA + Lamacq-endorsed electro-pop hopefuls O2 Academy – Portland, Oregon folksters INLIGHT: The Jericho Tavern Chew Lips crank up the Casio and dance signed to Kill Rockstars, playing it sparse and beats, following in the footsteps of La Roux warmly desolate in a stripped-down Neil th and Little Boots. Young-gone-bluegrass fashion. Local nu-folk THURSDAY 5 popstrels We Aeronauts support. HOWLING BELLS + THE JOY IPSO FACTO + KING’S SHILLING: O2 FORMIDABLE + CHEW LIPS: O2 Academy Academy – Gothic psychedelia and dark- – Aussie garage-pop etherealists out on tour – minded surf-pop from the London lasses last see main preview seen in town singing backing vocals with RISE AGAINST: O2 Academy – Chicago’s Magazine and before that supporting Last melodic hardcore merchants continue along the Shadow Puppets on tour, and coming in path of righteousness with latest album, ‘Appeal somewhere between Siouxise & The Banshees To Reason’, and even have a special range of and Long Blondes. vegan shoes made for them by VANS. Musically, DEIRDRIE CARTWRIGHT & ALISON they show little sign of mellowing, still raging in PAYNER: East Oxford Community Centre – the style of Bad Religion and Minor Threat, and The world-renowned jazz fusion guitarist nothing at all wrong with that. SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – Jackie Wilson with an admirably punkish Acoustic jazz and Latin bop from tenor attitude. Desmond Chancer, meanwhile, digs saxophonist Dave O’Higgins guesting at deep into the sleazy, wee-small-hours side of tonight’s Spin Club. jazz in the vein of Tom Waits. THE SCARLETTS + THE FOLLYS + OPEN ROAD: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Classic SECRET RIVALS: The Bullingdon – rock covers. Moshka club night featuring new local ska- BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon punkers The Scarletts, while emotive rockers GET DOWN: The Brickworks The Follys launch their ‘Maps To Nowhere’ SKYLARKIN: The Cellar – Soul, ska, album. Indie-punk rockers Secret Rivals dancehall and rock’n’roll party night, featuring complete the bill. a live set from local Arabic dub collective GHOSTS ON PEGASUS BRIDGE + THE Raggasaurus, plus DJ sets from Count ELIJAH: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Epic melodic Skylarkin, Indecision and Action Stations. metal and emo noise from GOPB at tonight’s MR WILSON + TWAT DADDIES + Apple Pirate Promotions gig. OSPREY: The Winchester, Crown Street CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Monday 16th Community Centre SATURDAY 7th OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon DANA GILLESPIE: MEPHISTO GRANDE + NOUGHT + THE ECLECTRICITY: The Cellar – House, GROG: The Cellar – This months Nightshift bassline and electro club night with Matt The Bullingdon cover stars summon the Devil from his blues Walsh, Casper C and more. Okay, so you can’t always judge a musician shack slumber. Instrumental post-rock ULYSSES + KANGO BILL + FRANCIE from the company they keep, but even the noisemongers Nought return to town in JONES + SMALL ENGINE REPAIRS: The most cursory glance through Dana Gillespie’s support. – see main interview feature Jericho Tavern – 60s psychedelia and 70s resume provides a stunning who’s who of ALPHABET BACKWARDS + JUNE + glam from Liverpool’s Ulysses, plus acoustic rock legends. In her forty years as a singer MATT KILFORD: The Wheatsheaf – folk-rock from Kango Bill in support. Gillespie has made fifty albums, as well as January’s Nightshift cover stars Alphabet appearing in a string of movies. In the 60s she Backwards get happy again with their rousing th was better known as a folk singer and was FRIDAY 6 electro-pop bounce and singalong songs about Bob Dylan’s girlfriend; in the 70s she moved 36CRAZYFISTS + POISON THE WELL + polar bears. Indie rocking from June in more into glam rock and sang on Bowie’s ‘It GWEN STACY: O2 Academy – Alaskan support, plus delicately emotive acoustic pop Ain’t Easy’ as well as working in the studio metalcore monsters 36 Crazyfists visit Europe balladeering from Matt Kilford. with Jimmy Page. She was the original Mary in support of their ‘The Tide & Its Takers’ BABY GRAVY + UNIQUE SOUL + THE Magdalene in Lloyd-Webber’s Jesus Christ, album, with bullish hardcore shouters Poison VIBE: O2 Academy – Completing a night of Superstar musical and as recently as 2005 she The Well in support. recent Nightshift cover stars, last month’s was duetting with Mick Jagger at her annual KLUB KAKOFANNEY with BRAINDOGS honoured guests launch their new single, ‘Did Mustique Blues Festival residency. So, the + NON-STOP TANGO + OVERRATED + It Again’, mixing up scrappy punk energy with lady’s been there and seen a fair old bit, but RED SQUARE: The Wheatsheaf – Eclectic primitive electro-pop squelch. Hip hop crew it’s as a jazz and blues singer of the vocally mix of sounds at Klub Kak as ever with Tom Unique Soul support, along with teenage raunchy type that’s she’s best known around Waits-styled acoustic jazz and Americana from newcomers The Vibe. the world these days and tonight’s Famous Braindogs, plus improvised electro-jazz-rock- DATA.SELECT.PARTY + COLOUR + Monday Blues session sees her appearing dub-prog collective Non-Stop Tango recalling OMES + COLLISIONS & once again with her London Blues Band. the punk-era explorations of This Heat. Also a CONSEQUENCES: O2 Academy – Return Really, her voice is huge; she always declared chance to catch confrontational improvised to town for the Foals-y math-poppers, on that it was only as she got older that she was jazz-metal mentalists Red Square, reforming tour to promote debut album ‘Hanging Out able to sing the blues properly, having for the first time in 30 years. With Humans’. Surrey’s similarly-minded developed the necessary emotional maturity, THE ORIGINAL RABBIT’S FOOT SPASM rockers Colour join them, along with local but she’s taken to it pretty damn well, as her BAND + DESMOND CHANCER + INIGO emotive indie types Collisions and myriad Best British Female Blues Singer JONES BAND: The Jericho Tavern – Self- Consequences. awards and her induction into the British proclaimed ‘chav-jazz’ collective The Original LETZ ZEP: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Classic Led Blues Connection Hall Of Fame testify. Rabbit’s Foot Spasm Band celebrate the old Zep covers. time sounds of Count Basie, Fats Waller and SLIDE: The Bullingdon – Funky house club night with guest Erol Alkon. TUESDAY 10th THE PETE FRYER BAND: Seacourt Bridge Hotel HOT LEG: O2 Academy – Return to town for LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE: The former-Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins and Winchester, Crown Street – Led Zep his cock-rocking chums. classics from Denny Ilett Jr, Jerry Soffe, Ady JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – With Alvin Davey and more. Roy’s Reeds Unlimited. INTRUSION: The Cellar – Goth, industrial and darkwave club night. SUNDAY 8th SUE SMITH & PHIL FREIZINGER + WEDNESDAY 11th DES BARKUS + OVERRATED: The Magdalen – Acoustic session from the MR HUDSON & THE LIBRARY: O2 Mighty Redox duo. Academy – The Streets meets Cole Porter meets Sting in Mr Hudson’s strangely timeless th amalgam of hip hop, soul, lounge jazz and show MONDAY 9 tunes that has seen him support The Police and KENT DUCHAINE: The Bullingdon – The Amy Winehouse in recent times. blues veteran – with four decades of touring PHAT SESSIONS: The Cellar – Funk jam behind him, returns to the Famous Monday open session. Blues, as ever accompanied by his 1934 ACOUSTIC LOUNGE: Fat Lil’s, Witney – National Steel guitar Leadbessie. Acoustic open mic session. CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford from the new local supergroup made up of Community Centre members of Sunnyvale, The Workhouse, The OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Evenings and Thumb Quintet. THE MARTIN HARLEY BAND + 100 ELECTRIC SIX + TRAGEDY + THE THINGS TO DO IN DOVER WHEN DELTA FREQUENCY: O2 Academy – It YOU’RE FRED + SEAN STEWART comes as something of a shock to discover that BROOKES: The Cellar – Acoustic blues, Electric Six are out on tour in support of their folk and Americana in the style of Ry Cooder fifth album (‘Flashy & Sexy Trash’), since and Jack Johnson from travelling man Martin they never looked like being a band who would Harley and his stripped-down band. endure. Still, they’re still going, a good few GO FASTER + ARROWS OF LOVE + VON years after Top 10 hits with ‘Danger! High BRAUN + MOLOTOV SEXBOMB: The Voltage’ and ‘Gay Bar’. Or at least frontman Jericho Tavern – Funky, spiky post-punk Dick Valentine is, with his revolving door line- pop from Liverpool’s Go Faster, recent tour up. The new stuff is typically clever/dumb support to The Wombats, plus indie punk tongue-in-cheek garage rock-disco bombast, noise from Arrows Of Love and post-rock which might be mistaken for Queen on from Von Braun. occasions. And, in keeping with all things REVOLVER: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Alternative camp, tonight they come with heavy metal Bee club night playing grunge, hardcore, punk and Gees tribute band Tragedy in support. Local th Friday 20 metal. electro-goth rockers Delta Frequency open the VIC GODDARD & show. FRIDAY 13th NICK HARPER: O2 Academy – Acoustic singer-songwriter, son of blues-folk hero Roy SUBWAY SECT / LES SMILEX + THE VOORHEES and a man whose Wikipedia entry must surely FREQUENCY: The Wheatsheaf – Special CLOCHARDS: have been written by his own mother. Friday 13th show from Quickfix with Smilex THE EPSTEIN + THE FOLLYS: The The Wheatsheaf doing their raucous garage-metal mayhem Cellar – Charity gig in aid of MIND with Subway Sect really were the lost band of thing, while The Delta Frequency pay special country rockers The Epstein putting an exotic punk’s first wave. Though they played the homage to Jason Voorhees. twist on traditional prairie and Tex-Mex September 1976 100 Club Punk Festival with FREE RANGE: O2 Academy – Three-deck border sounds. the Pistols, The Clash and Siouxsie and the scratching and beats from Scratch Perverts at STORNOWAY + IVAN CAMPO + Banshees and subsequently toured with The tonight’s hip hop and electro club night. VATICAN CELLARS + ANTON BARBEAU: Clash, their lack of released material has THE SHAKER HEIGHTS + RED BULLETS The Jericho Tavern – Seductive, big-hearted always seen them overlooked. Manager + QUOTES + MINOR COLES: The folksy pop and clever-clogs craziness from the Bernie Rhodes (who also managed Strummer Jericho Tavern – Melodic rootsy Americana inspired local favourites, with support from and co.) sacked all of the band on the eve of and indie rocking from Shaker Heights, plus lo-fi folk ensemble Ivan Campo, plus dark- their debut album’s due release and it’s been bluesy rockers Red Bullets and others in hearted acoustic pop and gothic folk lullabies lost to the world ever since. Goddard himself support. from Vatican Cellars and Californian songsmith formed a new band around himself, started BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon Anton Barbeau returning to his home from exploring classic rock’n’roll and rockabilly, PINDROP PERFORMANCE: Holywell home for more psychedelic 60s-styled pop Rat Pack chic and swing long before it became Music Room – Acoustic folk-tinged inspired by Robyn Hitchcock and Syd Barrett. fashionable to do so and, disillusioned, left minimalism from Ben Ulph, plus Gregorian MY SHIKOME + SOULJACKER + EMPTY music behind in the 80s to become a postie. string quartet Bleeding Heart Narrative and the VESSELS: Folly Bridge Inn – Triple bill of It’s in the blood though, and by the end of the Pindrop Chamber Ensemble tackling the likes heavyweight local bands with Banbury’s full- decade he was back writing, playing in bands of Messiaen, Xenakis and Birtwistle. on metal outfit My Shikome, funky classic with the likes of Paul Cook and ATV’s Mark THE MIGHTY REDOX + THE PETE rock from Souljacker and blues-rocking from Perry, while re-issues of early Subway Sect FRYER BAND + FILM NOIR + MOON Empty Vessels. material re-ignited interest in him. Goddard LEOPARD: The Magdalen – Monthly THE YOU WEREN’T THERE BAND: The remains even more of a cult concern than he residency from the local psychedelic blues Jolly Postboy, Florence Park – Classic 60s was back in the day, though he has influenced favourites and assorted chums. psychedelia, from Cream to The Creation. plenty of indie and underground bands along GET DOWN: The Brickworks SOUL & REGGAE SESSION: The the way. Since the turn of the century he’s BOSSAPHONIK: The Cellar – Jazz dance, Bullingdon been pretty prolific, re-recording the entire Afrobeat, latin and nu-jazz club night with live Subway Sect debut album with original bass set from New York’s Kokolo. SUNDAY 15th player and drummer Mark Laff and Paul NINE-STONE COWBOY + BLACK Myers and re-animating the band name for POWDER + OSPREY: The Winchester, LIGHTS. ACTION + WINCHELL RIOTS + 2002’s ‘Sanged’ album. Tonight’s Swiss Crown Street – Through-a-glass-darkly SAID MIKE + MOTION IN COLOUR: O2 Concrete club night also features one of vignettes and epic guitar pop from Mark Cope Academy – One-time local rock hopeful Oxford’s original punk rockers, Ian Nixon, and co. plus support from thrash- who played in The No and now, 30 years on, punk maniacs Black Powder and leads his Gallic-pop-cum-country-rockers acoustic songsmith Osprey. Les Clochards on an elegant and exotic KING B: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Local musical journey. blues-rock favourites.

THURSDAY 12th SATURDAY 14th THE BEAT: O2 Academy – The 80s ska SPACE HEROES OF THE hitmakers return, playing old classics like PEOPLE + FROM LIGHT TO ‘Mirror In The Bathroom’ and ‘Too Nice To SOUND: The Wheatsheaf – Talk To’, along with a selection of ska, reggae Krautrocking electro-groove and punk covers. merchants SHOTP do the robot SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – Italian once again. Inventive krautrock- saxophonist Renato D’Aiello is tonight’s guest. cum-post-rock grooves in support Patrick Currier (once of former Nightshift Tavern – Acoustic pop night. cover stars Bloodroses) returns to town with APPLE PIRATE PROMOTIONS: Fat Lil’s, his new band, out on tour in support of debut Witney – Metal, emo and post-hardcore bands album, ‘Welcome To The New Cold War’, night. proffering stadium-sized soft rock. Emotive indie rocking from local favourites Winchell FRIDAY 20th Riots and soft-centred guitar pop from Motion VIC GODDARD & THE SUBWAY SECT + In Colour. LES CLOCHARDS + THE GULLIVERS: THE DAVID SHIRES BIG BAND: The The Wheatsheaf – Original punk hero turned Bullingdon lounge-pop pioneer returns – see main preview GWILYM SIMCOCK: Holywell Music GOJIRA + IN THE EYES OF A TRAITOR + Room (3-5pm) – Special afternoon masterclass PILGRIMZ: O2 Academy – Environmentally- from the jazz pianist. conscious death metal brutality from the REGGAE REGGAE SUNDAY: The Cellar Friday 20th French rockers – see main preview OXFORD FOLK FESTIVAL: Oxford Town GOJIRA: O2 Academy MONDAY 16th Hall – Opening night of the sixth OFF with a Gojira was the original name for the first DANA GILLESPIE BAND: The Bullingdon headline set from Dhol Foundation – see main Godzilla movie. In a reversal of that, Gojira – Award-winning blues veteran gives her lungs preview were originally called Godzilla, changing a workout – see main preview OUTCRY + THE DACOITS + WISE MAN their name due to legal problems. Whichever RIFLES + NEW EDUCATION: O2 Academy SAID + FROM HERE WE RUN: The way it works, the band are every bit as – Re-arranged about twelvety-seven times, Jericho Tavern – Lightweight, piano-led soul- monstrous as the star of the film. Hailing Jam-referencing, Weller-favoured rockers the rock from headliners Outcry, with support from the southern French town of Bayonne, Rifles might finally get their fifteen minutes of from grunge-glam rockers The Dacoits. Sweet- Gojira formed back in 1996 and have semi-fame on the Academy stage. Tour natured math-pop newcomers From Here We retained the same four-man line-up since, support New Education make Oasis sound like Run open the show. featuring brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier, Little Boots. BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon Joe also being an original member of Max FRESH OUT THE BOX: The Cellar – Cavalera’s Cavalera Conspiracy. Theirs is a TUESDAY 17th House and breaks club night. mid-tempo, sometimes meandering, but GET DOWN: The Brickworks ROGUES + RUPERT & THE ROBBERS + technical and highly rhythmical form of THE YOU WEREN’T THERE BAND: The TRISTAN & THE TROUBADOURS: The death-metal with all its hallmark sounds, Red Lion, Yarnton Wheatsheaf – Electro-pop and disco-punk from the double kick-drum salvos to MARIA ILETT & SMITHY BAND + fun from recent Iglu & Hartley support Duplantier’s death growl vocals. As such OSPREY: The Winchester, Crown Street – Rogues at tonight’s You! Me! Dancing! gig. they come in somewhere between Morbid Sunshine electro folk-pop from Maria and Hereford’s fidgety indie-punk newcomers Angl, Sepultura and especially Meshugga: band. Rupert & The Robbers and local rising stars brutal but (for the genre) melodic. In their 13 OPEN MIC SESSION: Stocks Bar, Crown T&TT support. years together the band have progressed & Thistle, Abingdon – Skittle Alley open JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Live set from playing support to Cannibal Corpse session. from The Howard Peacock Quintet. and Impaled Nazarene to a wider audience COVERS NIGHT: Fat Lil’s, Witney – touring with Trivium and Lamb Of God. Charity gig featuring a selection of local covers th They only released four albums in that time, WEDNESDAY 18 bands. but each is an epic work, last year’s ‘The KLAUS SAYS BUY THE RECORD + WISE Way Of All Flesh’ continuing their lyrical CHILDREN + UTE: The Wheatsheaf – SATURDAY 21st fascination with all things spiritual and Elegant, wistful folk-pop and indie jangle from OXFORD FOLK FESTIVAL: Oxford Town environmental, beacons of positivity in a the last year’s Red Stripe Music Awards Hall – Kate Rusby and Lau are today’s genre more normally obsessed with black- winner. Gentle acoustic pop from headline bands – see main preview hearted death and ruin. Southampton’s Wise Children. ELECTRONIC NIGHTS: The Jericho GILAD WITH STRINGS: Wesley Tavern – Response Collective headline the Memorial Church – Oxford Contemporary third Electronic Nights show, celebrating the Music’s spring season gets into gear with a best electro and experimental sounds in Oxford tribute to Charlie Parker’s jazz classic, ‘Bird and featuring their own cinematic electro-hip With Strings’. hop soundscapes, plus DJs and visuals. FREE RANGE: The Cellar CAPILLARY ACTION + ICE, SEA, DEAD PEOPLE + FRIENDSHIP: The Cellar – th THURSDAY 19 New York’s confrontational jazz-rockers hit GOLDIE LOOKIN’ CHAIN: O2 Academy – town – see main preview Oh, for Christ’s sake…. HIGH & MIGHTY + BLACK POWDER + SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – SOUTH PARADE: O2 Academy – Annual Highly-rated young jazz pianist James Pearson reformation gig for the veteran local punk- is tonight’s special guest. metal faves, plus support from rising local ABSOLUTE BOWIE: Joe’s, Summertown – thrash-punk monsters Black Powder. Career-spanning tribute to the Thin White OXFORD PROFESSIONAL CHOIR + Duke. MWA: The Bullingdon – Oxjam Benefit gig. BRUTE CHORUS + VULTURES: The FREE AT LAST: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Tribute Cellar – Bluesy rockabilly and indie noise to Free. from Brute Chorus. ATTACK OF THE….: Bar Milano – CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Breakcore, gabba, electronica, drum&bass and Community Centre dubstep from Macheen Boi, Sinister Tek, OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Dinner Ladies and more. TAMARA & JAMES + THE JOE ALLEN PETE FRYER BAND: Blue Boar Inn, BAND + FACEOMETER: The Jericho Chipping Norton JIMI HENDRIX TRIBUTE: The YELLOW CRAYONS: The Wheatsheaf Winchester, Crown Street – Denny Ilett Jr PHAT SESSIONS: The Cellar pays homage to the guitar master. ACOUSTIC LOUNGE: Fat Lil’s, Witney SUNDAY 22nd THURSDAY 26th OXFORD FOLK FESTIVAL: Oxford Town GLASS LIGHTS + SECRET RIVALS: O2 Hall – The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain Academy – Anthemic, emotive AOR out of and Spiers and Boden headline the final day of London. the festival – see main preview GARY GO + VV BROWN: O2 Academy – THE BOXER REBELLION: The Bullingdon Double headline tour from two of the most – Having hit the Billboard Top 100 and iTunes widely-touted new pop offerings around. MOR Top 5 recently with self-released album pop softie Gary Go belies his fun moniker in ‘Union’, Boxer Rebellion continue to make their favour of safe Athlete-cum-Coldplay emoting, Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd comeback in forceful style after early hype which has at least caught the ear of Take That, surrounding their Poptones deal and tours with who have picked him to support them on tour OXFORD FOLK Biffy Clyro and Killers. By turns dark and this summer. This after supporting Script grungey and pretty and ethereal, they’re around Europe. A collaboration with Rammstein FESTIVAL: somewhere between Muse and Black Rebel seems unlikely at this point. Meanwhile, Motorcycle Club. bubblegum soul-pop lady VV Brown offers far Oxford Town Hall THE DIRTY EARTH BAND: The Cellar – more fun, mixing up lively electro-dance, classic The sixth annual Oxford Folk Festival finds Classic heavy rock covers at the Dolly 28th rock’n’roll and doo-wop with a quirky the event now firmly cemented not just in the reunion party. approach to soul. local music calendar but also the national folk WE Vs THE SHARK + PULLED APART BY music one. Testament to the hard work and MONDAY 23rd HORSES + IVY’S ITCH: The Cellar – innovation of the organisers, and as per Athens, Georgia’s sharp-elbowed math-rocking ROADHOUSE: The Bullingdon – Blues-rock previous years, the weekend attracts a cross disco-punk noisemongers over in the UK to from the London veterans, currently sporting section of folk and world music favourites, plug last year’s ‘Dirty Version’ album, drawing three female vocalists and taking inspiration plus a selection of newcomers, local hopefuls on Fugazi, Q & Not U and Les Savy Fav for from The Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and an array of workshops, celidhs, buskers, post-hardcore inspiration. Leeds’ hardcore et al. morris dancers and the traditional parade that spazz-rockers Pulled Apart By Horses COURTNEY PINE’S JAZZ WARRIORS: make for a diverse and colourful festival. support, along with angular hardcore monsters Oxford Playhouse – The UK’s leading jazz Friday evening finds Punjabi bhangra Ivy’s Itch. saxophonist reconvened his seminal big band for collective Dhol Foundation headlining, along THOMAS TRUAX + THE the Afropeans project in 2007 to mark the with two great local acts – Afropean Choir, RELATIONSHIPS + KANGO BILL: The bicentenary of the abolition of slavery and now mixing urban beats with traditional African Bullingdon – Oddball Americana and folky takes it on the road, featuring a selection of the song, and Tandara Mandala, playing pop from the eccentric Mr Truax and his country leading soloists, including Jason Yarde, traditional eastern European and Russian folk assortment of homemade instruments. Tweedy Alex Wilson and Omar Puente. tunes. English folk star Kate Rusby is psychedelia and lovely melancholy 60s pop SILVANITO + DRUNKENSTEIN + Saturday’s star turn, this year teaming up from The Relationships in support. Acoustic GABRIEL MESH: The Jericho Tavern with Donald Grant and the Red Skies String rockers Kango Bill complete tonight’s Moshka Ensemble. Also on the bill is Orkney singer club night. th Kris Drever’s Lau band, who won Best TUESDAY 24 SPIN JAZZ CLUB: The Wheatsheaf – Group at last year’s BBC Radio Folk ASH GRUNWALD: O2 Academy – Australian Expressive, dynamic alto and soprano sax from Awards, plus African dance from Robert bluesman over in the UK to promote his recent guest soloist Julian Nicholas at tonight’s Spin. Maseko and Congobeat, and innovative trad. acclaimed album, ‘Fish Out Of Water’, initially CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford English folk from locals Telling The Bees. inspired by classic blues and roots legends like Community Centre Festival stalwarts The Ukulele Orchestra Of Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson but more OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Great Britain and Spiers and Boden headline recently taking in some of Tom Waits’ more OPEN MIC SESSION: The Jericho Tavern Sunday and are joined by, among others, experimental influences. THE LONG INSIDERS + BLACK HATS + Dutch folk group Cum Suis. While the THE BOOTLEG BEATLES: The New GOOD THINGS HAPPEN IN BAD majority of events take place at Oxford Town Theatre – Spectacular homage to The Beatles TOWNS: Fat Lil’s, Witney – Sultry, Hall, there is a ceilidh up at Brookes on from the original and best tribute act, from shimmering cinematic pop from The Long Saturday night featuring the Cock & Bull Hamburg to Abbey Road, costume changes and Insiders, plus raucous new wave rocking from Band, while other concerts take place at the all. Black Hats. Holywell Music Room and around the castle JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Live set from complex. Visit www.oxfordfolkfestival.com The Howard Peacock Quintet th for full line-up and ticket details. FRIDAY 27 PNEU + SHIELD YOUR EYES: The th WEDNESDAY 25 Wheatsheaf – Great double bill of wigged-out RESONATE + SAN ANDREAS + guitar noise, with regular tour partners Pneu and DIAL F FOR FRANKENSTEIN + Shield Your Eyes both cranking out a frenetic, I AM THIEVES: The Bullingdon oblique guitar attack that mixes up 80s Chicago – Double dose of Lockjaw Records hardcore with post-rock experimentalism. bands at tonight’s Burning Legacy MELTING POT with THE SIRENS CALL + promotion. Exmouth’s Resonate HEARTS IN PENCIL + 14TEN: The fire out progressive post-hardcore Bullingdon – Emotive grunge rocking from The while Holland’s San Andreas opt for Sirens Call at tonight’s Melting Pot, plus a spot of melodic emo. Local grunge- chipper indie-punk from Hearts In Pencil and pop outfit Dial F and Led Zep- female-fronted metal from 14Ten. shaped heavy rockers I Am CHALK + LOYAL TROOPER + Thieves add extra weight to SHATTERED DREAMS + URSULA ROSE: proceedings. The Jericho Tavern – Indie rock from Chalk, plus acoustic rock from London’s Loyal ADORNO + UNKNOWN FLOW: The Trooper. Wheatsheaf – Mixed bag of sounds at tonight’s THE MIGHTY REDOX + THE GTI with melodic guitar pop in an REM vein HEADINGTON HILLBILLIES + MARK from Music For Pleasure, featuring assorted COBB: The Ampleforth Arms, Risinghurst members of Unbelievable Truth and Harry BACKROOM BOOGIE: The Bullingdon Angel, plus quirky clever-clogs electro-pop GET DOWN: The Brickworks from Project Adorno, offering musical tributes HQ: The Cellar – Drum&bass session with to Jeremy Paxman and Davros, and rambling Lynx, Dan B and MC Fozz. neo-prog rock from Unknown Flow. EASY TIGER + JSK + OSPREY: The STIFF LITTLE FINGERS: O2 Academy – Winchester, Crown Street – Classic 60s and More punk revivalism from Jake Burns and 70s-style rocking from Easy Tiger. crew. Saturday 28th THE PINEY GIR ROADSHOW + THE WOE SATURDAY 28th BETIDES + THE ROUNDHEELS: The DANANANANAYCKROYD: Jericho Tavern – The Kansas singer and Truck DANANANANAYCKROYD: The Festival stalwart returns with her sweet-natured The Bullingdon Bullingdon – Brighton fight-pop scrappers hit country review, with support from skewed There are of plenty spellcheck-bothering town; furniture removal and minor demolition folk-pop and art-rock duo The Woe Betides and band names out there but Glasgow six-piece jobs a speciality – see main preview local trad folkies The Roundheels. Dananananaykroyd really make you have to GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with THE PETE FRYER BAND: The Magdalen think what you’re typing. Still, such MUSIC FOR PLEASURE + PROJECT BASSMENTALITY: The Cellar – Ska, silliness is all part of the fun of the band, reggae, hip hop and drum&bass club night with recently described by DrownedInSound as the best live band in the world. Such Saturday 21st live set from Imperial Leisure. DENNY ILETT Jr: The Winchester, Crown hyperbole is possibly a bit previous but CAPILLARY ACTION Street – Jazz session. their notoriously over-enthusiastic shows BARRY & THE BEACHCOMBERS + are what are getting the band noticed, venue + ICE, SEA, DEAD TELLING THE BEES + CHICKEN SHED: furniture tending to get rearranged in a Stocks Bar, Crown & Thistle, Abingdon – decidedly un-feng shui fashion as the band PEOPLE + Skittle Alley live music night with eccentric hurtle through the sort of hook-laden post- punkers Barry & The Beachcombers, plus hardcore angularity and screaming noise that FRIENDSHIP: inventive folkies Telling The Bees. marries Blood Brothers, Fugazi and The Cellar QUEEN OF HEARTS CABARET: Isis Futureheads. Talking of which, bass player Tavern, Iffley Lock – Live music from Laura Hyde is married to Futureheads’ A rare UK showing for New York’s Edinburgh street band Orkestra Del Sol, plus Barry Hyde. Elsewhere Dananananaykroyd confrontational jazz-rockers, centred around Horns Of Plenty, Bop Samba and DJ Mystic. feature two drummers and two vocalists, virtuoso guitarist and composer Jonathan ECLECTIC DANCE: The Bullingdon though their drummers tend to leave or Pfeffer, who recorded the band’s 2004 debut LONG WEEKEND: Fat Lil’s, Witney – change roles with such regularity it’s hard to album almost single-handedly when he was Classic rock covers. keep up, and really you should concentrate just 17. By the band’s second album, ‘So more on their all-action party-fury Embarrassing’, the sound had expanded, th performances and any stray flying bar embellished by strings, horns, electronics SUNDAY 29 stools. After a couple of low-key singles, and vocals and featuring a revolving door LEMAR: The New Theatre – Bizarre mutant including a debut for Moshi Moshi Records, cast of players, mainly drawn from hybrid of Kajagoogoo’s old singer and a long- they have signed with Best Before and are Philadelpia’s music college graduates, who tailed monkey creature created in the notorious set to release their first album, ‘Hey somehow manage to meld Zappa, Steely Fame Academy laboratory and turned insane Everyone!” next month, a statement of their Dan, Shellac and Black Sabbath together, after accidentally sharing a stage with Usher. chaotic fun intent. Along the way they’ve often as not in the space of a single song. As ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC SESSION: Red supported Foals and Johnny Foreigner and such Capillary Action find themselves feted Lion, Kidlington are fresh back from a European tour with as much by the jazz press as alt.rock critics, REGGAE REGGAE SUNDAY: The Cellar Kaiser Chiefs. They describe themselves as and if they remain a cult concern – supports “Fight Pop” and if Hollywood starts making to acts like USAisamonster and Fugazi MONDAY 30th 21st Century cowboy films, bassist Joe Lally are hardly likely to make THE KYLA BROX BAND: The Bullingdon – Dananananaykroyd will doubtless be them household names – their challenging soundtracking the saloon bar brawl scenes. clash of styles should see them reap their Daughter of British blues legend Victor Brox, reward in time. Energetic angular post- Kyla has shared a stage with her father many hardcore noise from Bedford’s Ice, Sea, times, matching his powerful vocals easily and Dead People in the vein of Oxes and Ex- on course to become the UK’s premier female Models, plus lo-fi, super-fuzzed London- blues singer, mixing up classic r’n’b, funk and VENUE PHONE NUMBERS based two-piece Friendship. Another soul. O2Academy: 0844 477 2000 triumphantly esoteric night courtesy of st (ticketweb) Vacuous Pop. TUESDAY 31 The Bullingdon: 01865 244516 JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – George Haslam is tonight’s guest at the free weekly live The Wheatsheaf: 01865 790380 jazz club. The Cellar: 01865 244761 The New Theatre: 0844 847 1585 The Jericho Tavern: 01865 311775 Nightshift listings are free. Deadline for The Purple Turtle: 01865 247086 inclusion in the gig guide is the 20th of each month - no exceptions. Call 01865 372255 The Temple: 01865 243251 (10am-6pm) or email listings to East Oxford Community Centre: [email protected]. All listings are 01865 792168 copyright of Nightshift and may not be Isis Tavern: 01865 243854 reproduced without permission Sponsored LIVE by

MAGAZINE Magazine by Johnny Moto. www.myspace.com/johnnsphotos O2 Academy As the opening bars of ‘The Light John Doyle is equally solid and Pours Out Of Me’ kick in and Howard flexible. Guitarist McGeogh Devoto shimmies onstage the (remembered tonight as a missing triumphant roar of the crowd is friend) is replaced in the band by tempered by looks of near disbelief: Noko, Devoto’s former partner in this is really happening; Magazine are Luxuria and he plays his part back. Lifelong world-weary cynics of perfectly, his raw, jagged style our acquaintance are grinning like powerful but never overbearing, loons and we’re grinning right back. allowing Dave Formula’s powerful Amid the throng of new wave synth sounds to invade every corner. veterans younger fans realise they’re Most of tonight’s set is exactly what witnessing something historic. we expected and hoped for: a strident Magazine are probably equalled only ‘Model Worker’, a simply gorgeous by the far more widely celebrated Joy ‘You Never Knew Me’ featuring sweet Division amongst the post-punk era’s backing vocals from Ipso Facto’s pioneers and tonight, a low-key Rosalie Cunningham and a majestic warm-up for their upcoming London ‘Motorcade’. But Magazine are and Manchester shows, is their first typically perverse too: there’s a gig in 28 years. All the original line- reading of – even by their standards – up, bar the sadly deceased John bizarre short story ‘The Book’, McGeogh, are here and it’s obvious which segues into ‘20 Years Ago’, this isn’t just some ageing rockers’ which in turn morphs into ‘Definitive cash-in show. Magazine were always Gaze’, while for the encores they more artful than that: the Pistols eschew the longed-for ‘Back To may have spurred them into life but Nature’ in favour of two cover it’s Kafka, Dostoyevsky and Ballard versions they made their own back in that shape their sprawling, crawling the late-70s: Sly & The Family tales of paranoia and detachment. Stone’s ‘Thank You For Letting Me Tonight Devoto, completely bald and Be Mice Elf Again’ and Beefheart’s ‘I without his specs, looks every inch Love You, You Big Dummy’. Twin the genial psychopath, indulging in peaks of a phenomenal set are an to delve into prog, even jazz. And stripping a Magazine poster from the typically oblique between-song imperious ‘Permafrost’ and the set when they finish there’s the thrill of wall as a memento: a modern-day pronouncements, his singing voice closing ‘Shot By Both Sides’, one of knowing that perhaps their legacy rock great reduced to the state of still a crisp, caustic snarl. Behind him punk’s definitive anthems. Along the won’t now be lost to new generations over-eager fanboy. That’s how a dapper Barry Adamson conjures way they remind us why they stood of fans. Over in the corner important Magazine are. darkly funky basslines, while drummer out so much first time round, unafraid Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood is Dale Kattack

RICHARD THOMPSON highwire act, albeit a well-practised one, that just might fall at any moment. The second half is The New Theatre more relaxed and lacks that earlier tension as it For those of a certain age Richard Thompson is vocals, and Judith Owen on vocals and keyboard, covers ground much closer to both the musicians both an English treasure (even though home is in Thompson proceeds to indulge in some rapid and and audience, and also maybe there is a touch of California) and a legend in his own lifetime. He audacious time travelling, getting into the 20th tour fatigue creeping in. We get enjoyable cover was with Fairport Convention when they made Century by the end of the first half. Along the versions of early Beatles, The Easybeats’ ‘Friday ‘Liege and Leaf’ and is regularly listed amongst way he moves seamlessly from singing with On My Mind’, and Abba’s ‘Money, Money, the top twenty guitarists ever. A prolific relish about ravens picking out the eyes of a dead Money’. Judith Owen performs expressive songwriter, he has shown he is very much his own knight, to medieval Italian to Gilbert and versions of the standards ‘Night and Day’ and man over the past four decades. Sullivan, all treated with respect and introduced ‘Cry Me a River’, complete with beautiful 1950s This tour, however, finds Richard Thompson and in a dry, droll style. jazz guitar from Thompson. friends taking on “1,000 years of popular music”, Thompson makes his guitar sound like a lute to It’s not until Thompson pulls off Nelly Furtado’s rather than his own songs. The 1,000 years redeem the dodgiest moment of the night, Judith ‘Maneater’ – partially in medieval Latin – and concept is Thompson’s way of reminding his Owen singing Dido’s final aria from Henry sticks a 12th Century troubadour song in medieval audience not to forget to take “a look at what’s Purcell’s opera ‘Dido and Aeneas’, and then French by Richard Lionheart into the encore, back there to see if it still does the trick”. displays his versatility by launching into a though, that the show really rediscovers its vibe He comes on stage playing a hurdy gurdy and steaming version of the early-19th Century of making a serious point, while keeping its singing a song from the 1200s. With his ‘Blackleg Miner’. tongue firmly in its cheek. collaborators Debra Dobkin on percussion and The first half of the show is like a watching a Colin May SKY LARKIN / PULLED APART BY HORSES We are currently seeking a new artist/band to add to the roster, any genre welcome. Please send a The Bullingdon CD or myspace link to the following: Pulled Apart By Horses? That’ll probably be jour, Los Campesinos!, they now share a label RADIATE MGT the fate in store for bassist Rob Lee when he (Wichita) and a producer (John gets back to Leeds, if pictures get out of him Goodmanson). Pigtailed Katie Harkin PO BOX 5038 sporting a T-shirt endorsing the work of (vocals, Korg, “tip toes guitar”) also takes CHECKENDON Sheffield cock rock kings Def Leppard get the time to thank us effusively for coming OXFORDSHIRE out. His band may look like Kings Of Leon, out to see them and “making our little hearts RG8 0AW but judging by the racket they make – a head- glow”. Aww, bless. Well, Katie, all we can say [email protected] on collision of thrashy punk and Sabbath riffs is that the feeling is mutual. Current Roster - Stornoway, Royworld that at times calls to mind Modey Lemon – Sky Larkin’s is the confident performance of A&R experience includes Willy Mason, they can only be the sons of a preacher man a band secure in the knowledge that they if the old fella spent his days spreading the have a brace of great singles (‘Fossil, I’ and Stereophonics, Daft Punk, the Spinto Band word about the Church of Satan. ‘Beeline’) behind them and a corking debut Having spent the last week squeezed together album (`The Golden Spike’) in the can. within the narrow confines of a van, it’s little Particularly glow-inducing on the night is the wonder they set about their sub-half-hour slot slow-burning ‘Matador’, dedicated to PABH’s like uncaged beasts. As charmingly-titled Rob in honour of his being so engrossed in a debut single ‘Meat Balloon’ gives way to porn film that he was late for the ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ and the soundcheck. on- and frequently offstage frenzy intensifies, There’s nothing fashionable or self- guitarist James Brown’s barnet mushrooms to consciously clever about what Sky Larkin do epic Buzz-Osborne-esque proportions like – early 90s college rock that could be some kind of hairy erection. Not to be described without any derogatory outdone, frontman Tom Hudson ends ‘I connotations as “classic” – but that’s all part Punched A Lion In The Throat’ rocking back of the charm. As an antidote to landfill indie and forth on the floor clutching his guitar in and what is fast becoming its equally vapid, a disturbingly amatory fashion. tedious and disposable opposite, sleazy Which means their hometown pals Sky electronica, `The Golden Spike’ could prove Larkin are quite a contrast. Not only have to be an invaluable shot in the arm. they shared a tour with twee indie band du Ben Woolhead

SOULFLY O2 Academy Metal doesn’t take snow days off. While the legendary troll-giant of metal lore that he is. rest of south east England folds into a duvet Soulfly do sound like Sepultura, in that week (poring over the Xbox and crafting they’re cranium-crumbling loud. The opening inane ice sculptures), a near-capacity numbers pound the claustrophobic industrial Academy proves that it takes more than a riffs of late-90s alt-rock – circa `Drowning dump of frozen water to keep Oxford’s long- Pool’ – into Cavalera’s unmistakeable, haired, Satan-rockin’ devotees from a night scratched-over-concrete growl. By ‘Killing of Brazilian groove-thrash. Fields’ – appropriately titled – he’s split the Max ‘nee Sepultura’ Cavalera emerges – face audience into a wall of death; an ever- obscured by a black hood for the first few expanding tornado of a circle pit flipping on numbers – and dominates the room like the a drum riff to slam into the other side of the venue. It makes throwing snowballs look conciliatory. Cresting the wave of sheer ritual destruction comes one of the Brazilian beat breakdowns Soulfly are famous for: an extended, tribal rhythm drum fill. But before it all turns too jungle, the run-up to the encore 876084 shreds the exhausted pit into Slayer-style frenzy: a quick dive into Dave Grohl/Probot collaboration ‘Red Wall’, then a pause. “Here’s something a bit more familiar,” Max barks, before ripping into endorphin- pumping, grisly anthem ‘Roots Bloody Roots’. Everything about the band is enormous, from the throbbing volume and violence to metal myth. Pounding original thrash whirlwinds like Sepultura is old ROCK-POP-DANCE-GOLDEN OLDIES-INDIE- news; Soulfly’s merciless rock SOUL-TECHNO-HIP-HOP-JAZZ-LATIN-REGGAE- blasts out the February cobwebs DRUM&BASS-GARAGE—R&B-DISCO-1950s- and disintegrates the snowdrifts. 2000s. Brand new back catalogue CDs £4 - £7 Liz Dodd Soulfly photo by rphimages VON BRAUN / THE HOLY ORDERS / THE JOE ALLEN BAND / JUJU FISH DIAL F FOR FRANKENSTEIN / THE The Wheatsheaf It’s one of those nights, where it feels blood-chilling guitar melodies from SCARLETTS as if the artists have crept inside your Joe, taut harmonies from Angharad head, feasted on your feelings and then Jenkins’ violin and thumping beats The Wheatsheaf regurgitated them on stage for all to from stand-up drummer Chrissie The Scarletts are causing a fair few north with the likes of Dinosaur Pile hear. For a moment this creates a Sheaf and it’s a wonder there aren’t ripples at the moment, and although Up, Dial F could well find themselves sense of being crudely violated but a physical tears being shed. Gone are on first inspection it’s not entirely adorning a fair few modern quick glance around the pub shows the musical interludes which allowed clear why, they do grow on you. scrapbooks. nodding approval from the entire audience to drift off and in its place Young and impetuous, they’ve got a Kudos must go to Hull’s The Holy audience, suggesting such an emotional are short bursts of instrumentals heap of energy as they tear into a set Orders who have travelled down for offering is the order of the day. which seem to stab at your that calls to mind The Specials and the gig despite losing their bass player It opens with Chris Thompson, who consciousness, ensuring every ounce Libertines in equal measure. Musically temporarily due to a car crash. The doses the Wheatsheaf with a decent of attention is devoted to the music they’re stupendously tight, with the lack of a bassist means their songs helping of gloom created by his own alone. Whilst ‘Watered Down’ stands rhythm section locking down ska seem a little disjointed, but the spirit crafting, as well as a humbling finger- out as the song of the night, they motifs with considerable aplomb. shines through. Like a meths-powered plucking cover of Oasis’ ‘Half The never fail to thrill. It seems, then, Only frontman Johnny threatens to Wedding Present, they are both World Away’, resulting in a more than that their break from the Oxford derail things with a voice that is one emotive and cathartic as they switch satisfying start to an evening that’s scene has been time well spent, part Terry Hall and one part drunken between jangling sentiment and not for the faint of heart. allowing them to develop their sound, gibbon. That said, the enthusiasm and immersion in noise. With the With that in mind, Little Fish’s Juju which now immerses itself in emotion commitment make such quibbles bottom-end replaced they’d be a rises to the stage and promptly adds and fuses feeling into every chord, practically irrelevant – when they’re stunning prospect. rendering it truly breathtaking. coasting on attitude and rolling No bottom-end by choice for Von to the cocktail of prescription They say misery loves company and basslines The Scarletts are a genuinely Braun, just two guitars intertwining sadness. Offering delightful acoustic exciting proposition. beautifully. Or so we’d hoped. A versions of some of Little Fish’s most there’s seemingly no better Dial F For Frankenstein look like malfunctioning guitar amp hamstrings poignant songs, as well as nerve- camaraderie for all things depressing they belong in a scrapbook of 90s the band considerably tonight to such tingling newbie ‘Sorry State’, she than the three talented acts witnessed college bands. In fact they sound like a degree that we wonder if we’re ensures the audience receive all the at the Wheatsheaf tonight. they’ve stepped larger than life from missing the point somewhat before sorrow the doctor ordered, paving the Nevertheless, despite the melancholic a scrapbook of 90s college bands. feeling a bit sorry for them. Without way nicely for the headline act. nature of the gig, somehow the music Elements of grunge punctuate their the twin guitars working as they By the time the recently expanded seems to turn even this bleakest of set of comfortably competent indie- should they seem directionless and Joe Allen Band reach the stage there evenings into a heart-warming affair, rock to the point where we’d swear morose, but seeing as they’ve been seems to be nothing else to do, using music the way it was intended; there are at least a couple of Green dealt a bad hand tonight it’s unfair to except to crank up the volume and to capture the essence of human River riffs in there. With a resurgence judge them on this showing. welcome more melancholy into the emotion, be that happy or sad. in the grunge aesthetic beginning up Sam Shepherd mix. Cue gut-wrenching lyrics and Lisa Ward THE ORIGINAL RABBIT’S FOOT SPASM BAND / SPACE HEROES OF THE PEOPLE / PICTURE BOOK The Wheatsheaf At their best Leeds’ Picture Book are a somersault or two. Perhaps it’s the a cross between Lamb and Sade (as in live vocals; perhaps it’s the ‘Smooth Operator’, not De Sade); at unexpectedly meaty Sabbathesque their worst they’re a load of old half time sections; perhaps it’s the balaerics. They do show plenty of righteously hefty sound that the rhythmic inventiveness in their sleek engineer coaxes from them, but this techno pop, and a nice line in is a superb set. We just can’t shake flatulent 80s keyboards, but the the image of Maggie Philbin coming March vocals aren’t able to breathe life into onstage during ‘Barbie Is A Robot’ to the songs; if they had an Alison explain what a vocoder is, though. Every Monday Goldfrapp or a Roisin Murphy The Original Rabbit’s Foot Spasm THE FAMOUS MONDAY NIGHT BLUES hamming it up we might be talking. Band are not at all original, but The best in UK, European and US blues. 8-12. Having said this, the last two tracks everything else about them is 2nd THE SEAN WEBSTER BAND (UK) blow the rest of the set out of the fantastic. They play 30s jazz songs, th water, the finale pitching keening but we feel as if we’re in a sordid 9 KENT DUCHAINE (USA) th violin against the synth hum, and sweaty speakeasy, not some horrific 16 THE DANA GILLESPIE BAND (UK) single ‘Strangers’ a fussy bustle of sanitised tea dance. These songs 23rd ROADHOUSE (UK) dubstep keys and exuberant syn-drums (‘Mack The Knife’, ‘The Sheik Of 30th THE KYLA BROX BAND (UK) that are half Karl Bartos and half Araby’) are about sex, narcotics and Tito Puente. More like that, please. impossibly louche tailoring, and they Space Heroes Of The People have should be treated with the dirt they Every Tuesday always been about balance. Their deserve, not emasculated by legions THE OXFORD JAZZ CLUB music is live enough to feel organic, of function jazzers. The Spasmers Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am and programmed enough to seem get to grips with the soul of the rd th th inhuman; the sound is minimalist music through riotous trumpet, 3 / 17 / 24 THE HOWARD PEACOCK QUINTET th enough to be hypnotic, but compact rasping sax, and by being heroically, 10 ALVIN ROY & REEDS UNLIMITED enough to class them as an ace pop Biblically, drunk. This, my friends is 31st GEORGE HASLAM band. It’s a tough tightrope to walk, the authentic sound of New Orleans. but tonight they nonchalantly saunter Possibly during the hurricane. Wednesdays across, possibly stopping midway for David Murphy 25th BURNING LEGACY presents RESONATE / SAN ANDREAS DIAL F FOR FRANKENSTEIN / LILY ALLEN I AM THIEVES O2 Academy Thursdays A fool of my acquaintance questioned of her banter word for word in 5th MOSHKA presents THE SCARLETTS / why the hell I’d want to go and see London the following night. THE FOLLYS /SECRET RIVALS Lily Allen, while another couldn’t Still, you can’t argue with fucking 26th MOSHKA presents THOMAS TRUAX / believe it was my “sort of thing”. fantastic pop music, can you, and THE RELATIONSHIPS / KANGO BILL Both of course missed the point that ‘It’s Not Fair’, with its western movie Lily Allen simply makes fantastic theme scurry or the electro sparkle of pop music. Or, since this is Lily Allen ‘Go Back To The Start’ are good Every Friday we’re talking about, fucking fantastic enough to battle through any barriers. BACKROOM BOOGIE pop music. Elsewhere there is Bavarian-style Lily likes the F word. It crops up oompah, circus ring bombast and Funk, soul and R&B. 10.30pm-2.30am; £4. throughout her songs, from debut hit something that sounds like ‘Rawhide’ ‘Smile’ to superb newbie ‘The Fear’. amid the effervescent electro-pop, Friday Early Shows And her new album, ‘It’s Not Me, It’s soul and slender funk. Those hit 27th MELTING POT presents THE SIRENS CALL / You’, even weighs in with a song singles are tonight’s highlights, simply called ‘Fuck You’. But with though – the sunshine calypso tilt of HEARTS IN PENCIL / 14TEN. £5 (£3 NUS) music as great as hers she could recite ‘LDN’, the razor-sharp lyricism and the contents of Roger’s gilded synth bubble of ‘The Fear’ Saturdays Profanasaurus and we’d love it. (joyously announced tonight by Lily 7 th SIMPLE funky house with EROL ALKON. 10-3am Lily live is a bit different to Lily on who boasts its mid-week sales are 14th SOUL & REGGAE. 10-3am; £7 record, and not always for the better. higher than Lady Ga Ga’s, putting it st Too often tonight her band are at Number 1), and of course ‘Smile’, a 21 OXJAM BENEFIT with THE OXFORD caught trying to rock out, either to complete and utter joy of a song with PROFESSIONAL CHOIR / MWA. 8-2am; £5 try and earn cred points, or simply to its infectious reggae lope and Lily’s 28th ECLECTIC DANCE 10-3am beef out songs that might otherwise typically creamy vocal delivery. get lost in the crowd. But doing so She encores with Britney’s strips some of the charm from it all, ‘Womanizer’, a glitterstomping finale Sundays st ‘22’, for example, losing its playful that sends tonight’s packed throng 1 KILL FOR A SEAT COMEDY CLUB with MARTIN spite as Lily is overwhelmed by home in the highest of spirits. Back ‘BIG PIG’ MORE / PAUL B EDWARDS & compere guitars. Equally for all her bubble and home still singing along to each and SILKY. Door 7.45pm; £7.50/£6.50 bounce, she lacks the kind of every pop gem as passing prudes 15th THE DAVID SHIRES BIG BAND charisma as a performer that her doubtless blush and mutter at such 22nd TCT MUSIC presents THE BOXER REBELLION £8adv ever-entertaining interviews and blogs base language. Ah, fuck ‘em. promise. Noticeably, she repeats most Sue Foreman BRONTIDE / BITCHES The Jericho Tavern Bitches is a great name for a band – it’s light-hearted fury and no end of chaotic direct, aggressive, cuts the crap and has a punk-style rock’n’roll, that’s aware enough hint of tongue-in-cheek stupidity about it. not to outstay its welcome. They’re done It’s a great name for this band, as they’ve and dusted within twenty minutes. got all of those qualities in abundance. Conversely Brontide, for all of their Nikki Sikk photography Although this is explained to me as one of studied musicianship and super-tight their first gigs, I remember seeing them thrash, quickly become stale. As one fellow play around a year ago, in this very same punter remarks, “Battles with riffs” – and venue, soon after the dissolution of the that’s more accurate than it’s pleasant to ridiculous, brutal, bear-fetishising Walk- admit. For every ear-swilling pound of Off, whose frontman Blake Ivinson now noise and arcing guitar squall that they seem takes the lead as chief Bitch in a two-piece impressively great at leaping into with consisting of two vocalists, one angry fuzz vigour, there’s a whole pile of today’s de bass player and one yelping drummer in rigeur circular melody, guitar interplay the form of one-time Harlettee Staz. The twinkling and pseudo-post-post-rock previous gig was centred around the furious deconstruction to be seen here. Whilst they thrashing of a full-size trash can by another can certainly bring the house to attention ex-Walk-Offer; that aspect is now gone, with often unexpected turns of squeal and and Bitches are all the better for it. They’re freneticism, they’re still safe at the core – now everything that is or was good about they’re going through the motions with a Bratmobile and Bikini Kill, White Stripes set of tunes that would once have been and Coachwhips, Sonic Youth and Black exciting and fresh, but nowadays is Flag. Amazingly full-sounding songs, becoming increasingly laboured and constructed from nothing more than a few wearing. effortlessly effective bass riffs, a ton of Simon Minter

NME AWARDS TOUR O2 Academy I really should know better than to trust singles are the stand outs: ‘Kiss With A NME’s opinion on things by now. Two Fist’, with all its resigned brutality, and years ago I went to the Indie Rave leg of the crystalline beauty of ‘Dog Days Are these tours and was shocked just how bad Over’. New song ‘Ghosts’ is another to The Klaxons, CSS (a good band normally) remember, its pummelling drums, which and some others whose names escape me, threaten to blow your brains out, making actually were. Tonight is better, but still it, in Florence’s words, perfect not the amazing showcase you would headbanging material. As their set comes to hope for. a close I’m ruing the queueing problems Firstly, take White Lies and Friendly that caused me to miss the start of their Fires. Please. If this is what passes for the set. best nowadays I fear for the bands who From first to last and Glasvegas prove weren’t good enough. White Lies don’t themselves worthy headliners, being by help their cause by having a singer who head and shoulders the best thing tonight. bellows like a donkey caught in an animal They know how to make an entrance, trap. This combined with some fey 80s unleashing ‘Geraldine’ right at the start. industrial greyness makes for an unholy This is how great stadium rock could combination. One song sounds like ‘Love sound in the right hands as the band Will Tear Us Apart’ played really badly; threaten to surge the song right through the others are sub-Editors dullness. Their best roof. Two things seem key to Glasvegas’ moment is when a hi-NRG disco beat greatness: the rudimentary drumming, unexpectedly intrudes half way through standing up and with half a kit, is perfect the last song, but even that can’t save for the band. Less is often far more. They them. also manage to pick up the baton from the Friendly Fires start promisingly with Jesus and Mary Chain and take the ‘Lovesick’, all bubbling beats, jungle fuzzed-up Spector-ish Wall of Sound one rhythms, yawning vocals, and a whole lot step further, a feat they do best on ‘It’s of Rapture. Thereafter the law of My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me diminishing returns applies as they play Cry’. ‘Flowers and Football Tops’, while what appears to be the same song over and not as epic as on record, does at least have over, making the next forty minutes seem a maudlin/epic refrain of ‘You Are My the longest of my life. Sunshine’, while ‘Go Square Go’ is a Before both of these we at least get barrelling fight club-style song, and Florence & The Machine. Florence contains a “here we fucking go” chant. It’s knows how to work an audience, and another Glasvegas trick: if the obvious doesn’t need any tricks to do it. She just works, you might as well use it. The set struts around with her kooky, imposing ends with a cracking version of ‘Daddy’s stature. It’s a bit disconcerting just how Gone’, again making a sad tale sound much louder her band is than the others; optimistic. And for that we should be this is a band, after all, featuring a harp, grateful. but the songs still come through. The Russell Barker EMMY THE GREAT THE BUMBLEBEES / PARAFFINS / O2 Academy ACE BUSHY STRIPTEASE Despite being a London-based approach. Backed by violin, bass, The Wheatsheaf Hong Kong émigré, Emma Lee- guitar, drums, piano, it seems that, If I was being true to the spirit of this and we are not sure he actually Moss doesn’t display universality gradually, once the set starts evening of Enid Blyton pop-punk, knows that. He is a brilliant well- in her songs. She is touring to wearing off, all songs blend into then this review would be written in pool of creativity, though, as if Lou promote her first album, ‘First the same mash of melodies. I can’t crayon on a hand-folded ‘zine made Reed or Ian Broudie were running Love’. This is all about personal distinguish one from another. out of paper torn from the early OMD. His computer squelches diaries torn and shredded and then There is so much one can do to LazyTown Christmas Annual. It and oozes bass, cheesy Hammond re-taped in the form of music. pump things up with only a few would also shower you with glitter and faux tabla layers during Personal notes that do not go bare chords arranged per song. when you opened it and end by `Cardboard Cut-out’, as he daubs us further than boyfriend tales, trips There clearly is a dichotomy giving you instructions of how to with lyrical gems like “Every black to the grocery store, friends nearly between Emmy and the band too, refold it to make a hot air balloon hole has a silver lining”, before (but not in the end) getting both going in different directions. that wouldn’t work, but hey, you suddenly going all genius on us by pregnant and daily trivialities. Whereas Emmy sticks to the had hours of fun, not watching TV. leaping off the stage to pop the Mind you, her acoustic vignettes sweet lollipop folk lyrics while Ace Bushy Striptease, out of Brum balloons on the floor amongst our fizz with dark humour and caressing acoustic strings (where is and Brighton, have gruff riffing feet, each blast totally in time with sarcasm at times when she sings, that electric approach?), the band guitar, confidently unconfident the music. You had to be there. “Every time I think of you, I have breaks into a full swing of hollering and what could easily be a The Bumblebees, from Bristol, to go to the toilet / Can’t tell if Americana, as if ready to gallop pillow talk translation of ‘Jolie Taxi’ continue the We Aeronauts ethos: this is love or a stomach disorder”. away without her. Not surprising by singer Emma Champion, counter- that not having any pitch shouldn’t But then I gather it’s only men really, since she insists on ripping pointing the chaotic punk thrash of stand in the way of starting a band. that laugh, and who clearly seem off Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, songs like ‘Mervyn and Issac Find A Lopsided art school haircuts, Iggle to be about to wet in their pants Lou Reed’s `Walk On The Wild CD’. It’s as daft as a 13-year-old Piggle keyboards, and what’s this, and would be more than willing to Side’, and also Billy Bragg, dad, and would have kookily eased the ghost of Oxford’s arch punk go to the loo with her. Indeed her Magnetic Fields and even Cat into John Peel’s Festive Fifty. discoists Holy Roman Empire rising immaculate, doll-like looks are a Power at one point. The “windows are where the doors up to say, it’s not the sound that’s wonderful marketing tool. There is some potential here, but should be” weirdness continues being played but what you are But surely there must be if they don’t fix this mix-up soon, when Billy from Knockentiber in hearing in your head that matters. something special in her music? there will be soon an even greater Scotland climbs up on stage and As Shakespeare always puts it Apparently, she wants to steer distance between Emmy and ‘The announces that “We are the better than I can: Joy’s soul lies in away from her basic acoustic Great’. Paraffins”, when actually it’s him, a the doing. sound and go for a more electric Liane Escorza few instruments and a laptop, Paul Carrera Introducing….

Nightshift’s new monthly guide to the best local bands bubbling under Dr Slaggleberry Who are they? Dr Slaggleberry are an experimental metal band from Thame made up of Chris Pethers (guitar) Lewis Turnbull (guitar) and Rich Bateman (drums). The band formed back in 2005 with a completely different line up and was originally a funk-metal band inspired by bands like Primus and the Melvins. Eventually they ditched the bass and went for two guitars instead. After several line up changes and some individual progression, the sound became more technical. Dr.Slaggleberry was “one of those names that seemed funny and clever at the time when you’re out of your face, but in retrospect probably wasn’t.” But on the other hand, “People never know quite what Room Thirteen; getting our video on The Pitz metal TV show… Doing the they’re in for when they see Dr.Slaggleberry on a line up.” The current line- XFM live sessions was great as well, also making our debut video was a lot up has been together since April 2008 and has spent most of that time of fun but I hope the big highlights are yet to come.” gigging, and getting airplay and some decent reviews in the underground And the lowlight: press. Their new EP, `Tuc Into The Tar’, recorded live at the XFM Studios “Whenever we lost a member or had some other setback and thought for the John Kennedy show, is out this month. whether it is all worth it or not. We always managed to drag it through the What do they sound like? shitty times and it’s always been a blessing in disguise.” Jazz-metal freakery, math-core time signatures, tormented riffage, funky Their favourite other Oxfordshire band is: fury, monster grooves and spooky masks all add up to an instrumental band “Xmas Lights” full of energy and imagination that takes their technical approach to metal If they could only keep one album in the world, it would be: to virulent new levels of noisy fun. They opt for the short, sharp shock “`Skull Grid’ by Behold... The Arctopus.” approach, leaving no room for indulgence. Or, in their own words, “Spazzy When is their next gig and what can newcomers expect? experimental metal, with hints of jazz, funk and prog with the odd straight Thursday 9th April at the Bullingdon. Expect “A super tight experimental up metal riff.” metal show with twists and turns and a sinister vibe.” What inspires them? Their favourite and least favourite things about Oxford music are: “Bands like Pysopus, Meshuggah, Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum and Sikth to “There are lots of great venues that are putting on new up coming acts…… name a few, but we listen to all sorts, from hip hop to funk to death metal.” Oh, and Nightshift of course! The bad thing is there are too many indie Career highlight so far: bands.” “There have been loads; it’s been a pretty hectic roller coaster year for us. You might love them if you love: Supporting Italian band ZU at the Kiln Farm in Milton Keynes; getting EP Mr Bungle, The Locust, Rolo Tomassi, Behold… The Arctopus. of the week and appearing on the front cover of Organ Magazine; a 98 out Hear them here: of 100 rating and great review with Lords of Metal, 12 out of 13 with www.myspace.com/drslaggleberry DEMOSDEMOS Sponsored by Demo of the Month wins a free half day’s recording at Keynote. Call 01189 599944 to claim your prize and get special deals for local bands!

daydream we’re disinclined to rouse DEMO OF ourselves from given the look of the some of the other demos in this month’s pile. And THE MONTH when ‘Hannah’ introduces what sounds like a Hawaiian guitar, the temperature in the Nightshift office rises another five degrees MONDAY MORNING and we’re all set for a proper 24-hour SUN drinking session. If this month’s page was a real war, with Monday Morning Sun up against most of SEROTONIN the rest of the pile it would be akin to a Back down to earth with a bump, though, bunch of cave-dwelling pygmies armed with and Bicester’s Serotonin, who not only sharpened slices of mango going head to profess a love for all things Nirvana, and head with an entire armoured tank division. spend much of this demo trying to sound This is proper heavyweight stuff, none of exactly like Nirvana, but also have a singer yer poncy sub-Metallica thrash metal. called Jay Cobain, who we sincerely hope These boys look towards Swans, Joy really is called that and hasn’t just adopted Division and maybe even Psychic TV for the surname in some deluded misadventure. inspiration, keeping the mood relentlessly What to say? They sound a lot like Nirvana, downbeat through five tracks that clock in at but, like, not really anything like as good, a weighty 40 minutes. But why, shout the and hopefully as stated fans of that band, fools in the crowd, would anyone want to they’d concur. ‘Save Me’ is single-minded sit through forty minutes of unrelenting and bullish, full of grungy rumbling and gruff doom, misery and deathly ambience? Well, shouty vocals, while ‘What About Me’ aims we’d sagely counter, because it’s a damn more for that mid-paced ‘Polly’ feel. All sight more life-affirming than most of the harmless tribute fun, but elsewhere they lay stuff reviewed here this month. Umair it on too thick with some Stiltskin-style Chaudhry and Marco Ruggerio have crafted bombast on ‘Farewell’, while the apparently vast slabs of claustrophobic but obligatory ballad, ‘The Unattainable’, clocks wonderfully melodic industrial-pagan in at an unwelcome six minutes and sounds electro-doom that alternately sound like Ian more like some terrible 1980s hair-metal Curtis being inducted into a particularly band trying to write one “for the ladies”, morose chapter of Gregorian monks and Jay’s heavy transatlantic accent sounding afro-industrial tribal mantras. Beats rumble way too forced and the whole thing a sickly, almost at subsonic level, heavily-treated gooey exercise in soft-rock indulgence. guitars sear and grumble and Marco’s middle-distant chants reverberate eerily around the room. It’s like Depeche Mode on THE NOMINEES seriously super-strength downers making The nominees declare themselves to be one last apocalyptic opus before being “proud to sport an original blend of catchy sucked into the void forever, and you know material”, although how that fits in with what? It’s bloody great fun. what sounds like a hamfisted attempt to copy The Kinks as fronted by a singer with a dose of rhotacism and hence sounds like a pub karaoke take on David Bowie on opener LARRY `In The Company Of Trees’ is anybody’s guess. Perhaps the next song will provide a REDDINGTON better insight into their originality. Except As we listen to Larry’s CD it’s snowing it’s a cover version of Gnarls Barkley’s outside and we can see Pertwee the `Crazy’, played in a vaguely grunge-pop Nightshift cat sitting forlornly on a parked style that’ll doubtless prove to be a crowd- car gathering a fine dusting of white on his pleaser on the band’s forthcoming university poor wee furry head. Inside, though, it’s like tour. A switch to acoustic mode surprisingly someone’s lit a roaring fire and cracked open seems to do them some favours, although a bottle of fine sour-mash. This is country the increasingly Bowie-baiting nature of the and western of the old school, all Nashville singer, and his self-referencing lyrics do twinkle, down-home lap steel and banjo, detract from the piano and harmonica-led with Larry’s pretty authentic Stateside jaunt of `Music You Love’ with its sweetly accent recounting tales of loose women and cheesy female backing vocal sighs. It all ends sad cowboys. We start to imagine we’re with a fair-to-middling indie-grunge stumble holed up in a blizzard-strewn roadhouse bar that at least finds a little bit of summer in its with only whisky for sustenance and Glenn heart and we feel that maybe there’s nothing Campbell for company and it’s the sort of especially wretched about The Nominees, but we just know any memory of any of these songs will disappear as swiftly as PEERLESS PIRATES snow on recently gritted tarmac. Oh thank God, a bit of life. Peerless Pirates might display an annoying tendency to paint themselves as swashbuckling warriors of the SAMUEL ZASADA high seas in their biog, but musically they’re Samuel Zasada is, apparently, the catharsis decidedly less rum, kicking out a heavily of Witney singer-songwriter David Smiths-indebted form of jangly rockabilly on Ashbourne, which makes you wonder ‘Bring Out Your Dead’ with a sense of whatever happened to writing sternly- melodramatic melancholy that Moz himself worded letters of complaint to The Oxford would once have been proud to display. In Mail, and as he opens his account with fact you can imagine the singer gallivanting ‘Inside A Bomb’ and the immortal line “I about in front of his bedroom mirror, a grazed my knee as a little boy”, we prepare bunch of gladioli in his back pocket, as he for an onslaught of self-pity and celebrates the romance of tedium with a aggressively strummed acoustic guitar. But flourish that is a rarer occurrence than you we’re pleasantly surprised to hear what might imagine in modern day indie rock. THE COURTYARD STUDIO sounds like some between-the-wars gospel ‘One Over The Eight’ is better still, akin to blues over which Samuel/David croaks like a ‘Hand In Glove’ remade in the style of The PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/ budget Joe Cocker. It does sound a bit Wedding Present, and if ‘High Seas Love 24, OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE forced but has an ambition and a strangely Affair’ overdoes the pirate motif a little, it MACHINE, 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB exotic feel that holds it all together well. ‘Big eventually blossoms into a lively jangle-pop CONTROL ROOM WITH GOOD SELECTION Pointless Nothing’ does bring with it some sea shanty. Not quite a buried chest of OF MICS & OUTBOARD GEAR, + MIDI of that expected constipated anger we musical treasure just yet, unlike too many FACILITIES (INC LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI forever expect in these cases and ends up acts this month, who we’d gladly force to S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND ETC.) with Samuel/David shouting really, really walk the plank, at least Peerless Pirates are Residential facilities included. loudly, probably about something terribly looking at the right map and appear to have poignant and existential, but we’re a bit of the X-marks-the-spot-factor. www.courtyardrecordingstudio.com temporarily distracted by some stories in PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS the paper about some real suffering in the ON 01235 845800 world and so try and blot out such THE DEMO overwrought showboating. Much better is ‘Too Long’, a string-laden swirl with some DUMPER more of that Joe Cocker-style growling, though we could do without the soft-centred piano-led duet with his girlfriend that THYRD EYE concludes matters. Save it for a quiet This CD came in an envelope marked smoochy night in, eh? “Requested Material”, an old trick from years back when bands or labels would try and trick overloaded reviewers into thinking this was TREV WILLIAMS something they’d been looking forward to for When he’s not blogging about what he had for weeks. Now it just feels cheap and desperate, tea yesterday and how Nightshift doesn’t like especially when the music within is so him, Faringdon singer-songwriter Trev unappealing we’d be more likely to call up Williams occasionally actually writes some our local pizza delivery outlet and request songs. There’s one on this CD here and it’s that the chef blew his nose on the top of the called ‘Keep Singing’ and it features our pizza, wiped his backside on the base and left favourite metaphor of the year so far: the whole thing to fester in a dustbin for a “Blackbird singing in the dark / Falling like a week before delivering it to our doorstep. star / But singing like a lark”. Now, we’re no Thyrd Eye promise something they describe ornithologists here at Nightshift, but as ethereal metal. What they actually offer up blackbirds sound nothing like larks, do they? is more like a low-rent Lacuna Coil teaming Unless it’s a sign of some catastrophic up with a grunged-up Good Charlotte, sullen, biodiversity meltdown event. Anyway, lest soulless professionalism winning over any we allow such pedantry to unseat his paean kind of lively enthusiasm at each turn. The to positivity, we’ll concentrate on the fact female singer’s supposedly ethereal turns Trev appears to be wearing a clothes peg on sound more like the desperate gasps of a his nose while singing. Or maybe he’s paying panicked commuter trying to wedge a fiver in overdue homage to Frank Sidebottom, which the ticket machine as her train starts to depart is odd since usually he’s a pretty decent the platform and the guitars and synths singer. Anyway, at two and a bit minutes, it carousel with all the charm of so much poo does display a brevity that some of his web swirling around the toilet bowl before flushing postings have thus far failed to match. And away forever. Thyrd Eye also pomise since he does indeed sound pretty chipper for “crashing riffs as heavy as time itself”. Is time the duration and since it’s nearly spring, we’ll actually heavy? Maybe if Big Ben lands on hold back on the critical chainsaw. Talking of your head – an experience doubtless more spring - is that a blackbird we hear? Or a pleasant than having to listen through to this lark? So difficult to tell. bollocks again.

Send demos for review to: Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1ZU. Or email MySpace link to [email protected], clearly marked Demo for review. IMPORTANT: no review without a contact address and phone number. No more than four tracks on a demo. If you can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo. Demos reviewed may also be played on BBC Radio Oxford Introducing. By submitting a demo for review you also agree to it being played in part or whole on the show.