email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 123 October Oxford’s Music Magazine 2005 Photo: Miles Walkden Photo: Miles Riding the synth-pop super highway with ttttthehehehehe eeeeeveningsveningsveningsveningsvenings Interview inside Plus News, reviews and six pages of local gigs! NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 NEWNEWSS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] HELLO AND WELCOME to a particularly packed issue of Nightshift. October is always the gigging highlight of the year but this year is madder than ever, with so many bands on tour as well as a host of gigs by local acts. This month’s gig guide takes up a phenomenal six pages, so there must be something there for everyone. A very brief welcome to Oxford to all the new students starting this term. If you’re reading this it hopefully means you have some interest in live music and we’re sure you’ll enjoy your stay in Oxford which has one of the best gig scenes in the UK. There’s no room to say any more, so have a great gigging month. See you again in November. ANDY YORKE plays a rare solo Saturday 8th October. The band will gig at the Zodiac on Friday 21st also be selling a compilation CD October. The former Unbelievable and DVD of all their old recordings. Truth singer will be supporting one-time Miracle Legion frontman THE CATWEAZLE CLUB has Mark Mulcahy who in turn moved. The weekly all-comers regularly supported the Truth on night, now in its 11th year, has tour. Tickets for the gig are taken up residency at East Oxford available from the Zodiac box office Community Centre every on 01865 420042. Thursday. Thursday 27th will be In other former Unbelievable Truth the club’s birthday party and all members news, bassist Jason performers are welcome. Moulster has, along with ex-Ride drummer Loz Colbert, joined OXFORD GUITAR GALLERY in Ninestone Cowboy, the band Summertown hosts a jazz fronted by former-Candyskins masterclass with Sid Jacobs on guitarist Mark Cope. Quite an Tuesday 18th October. A limited Oxford supergroup, then. The new- number of tickets, priced at £10, look band will be playing live at the are available from the shop on beginning of December. 01865 553777, or email [email protected] THE EXETER HALL in Cowley thethe portport mmahonahon hosts a special John Peel Day CORROSION OF commemoration gig on Thursday CONFORMITY’s gig at the Live Music in October 13th October. The gig, featuring sets Zodiac, scheduled for Monday 26th from Kaned Citizen, Andensum, Lee September, has been postponed. Every Monday - Open Mic Night Davies, Ben Dugard, Ally Craig and The reason given was that singer Every Friday - Oxford Folk Club The Hero Story, is part of a national and guitarist and New Orleans day of gigs to celebrate the life of resident Pepper Keenan is currently 1st - Badge the legendary DJ, one year on from displaced and looking after family 4th - Music Quiz with Dave Finnon his sad demise. Entry is free. members as they await word on 5th - Oxford Improvisers The Ex also hosts an all-day gig in when or if they will be able to 6th - The Dharma aid of Great Ormond Street return to the city after last month’s th th 8 - Phil White plus Twizz Twangle Children’s Hospital on Saturday 8 hurricane. No news as yet about 11th - Badly Built presents Jon Fletcher, Simon Davies October. The gig has been organised when the gig will be rescheduled, and Andy Letcher by local pop band True Rumour but tickets for the original date th who will be launching their debut remain valid or refunds are available 12 - Blue Junk - Fusion Rock th CD release the same day. Music from point of purchase. 13 - True Rumour th starts at 3pm with local singer- 15 - Betty & the Werewolves/ Life with Bears / The Hot songwriters Chris Thompson, Lee HARD FI follow up their sold-out Silk Pockets Davies and Ben Dugard, and there gig at the Zodiac this month 20th - Charlotte James - Alternative Rock are sets from Laima Bite and Sarah (Tuesday 18th October) with a visit 22nd - Custom Blue / Monstro / Ghost Warriors / Piexo - Wilson, Kohoutek, The G’s and of to Brookes University on Sunday ‘My Initals Records’ celebrates its first birthday course True Rumour, amongst 18th December. Call the Brookes 26th - Lost Chiuaua others. Admission is a very box office on 01865 484750 for 27th - Twat Daddies (punk rock) / Drew Atkins reasonable £3. ticket details. 29th - Epstein 31st - Halloween Special - The Moneyshots and more! ONE-TIME LOCAL HARD DON’T FORGET to tune into ROCK favourites Charlie Mouse The Download every Saturday The Port Mahon, Under New Management. are reforming for a one-off gig this evening at 6pm on BBC Radio All new sound equipment installed by PMT. month. The band, who were one of Oxford 95.2fm. The weekly local the biggest acts in Oxford in the music show features an hour of Book your band into play at Oxford’s best small music venue! late-80s and early-90s will play at Oxford music, interviews and a 82 St Clements, Oxford. Tel: 01865 202067 the Red Lion in Witney on demo vote. A Quiet Word With The Evenings THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE compromise worth making. The is the drummer – gurning and recordings and gigs are starting to indulging in silent primal scream sound more like each other these therapy, his kit stage centre, the rest days as well, which, like all the of the band aligned around his things you have to do to improve, pivotal position. The second thing makes me nervous. you notice is the searing pain in your Where does `Louder In The Dark’ skull as the opening wave of find The Evenings creatively? synthesizer noise breaks upon the MARK: “The new EP comprises audience. Witness the hapless bar new recordings of old songs. The staff wincing and holding their youngest of the songs, “I Didn’t fingers in their ears. Later on you Remember”, was written over a year notice a maddeningly infectious tune ago, so it’s been a slow one to get dancing around inside your head that together, but it’s the first time we’ve you simply cannot shift. The band is all been on the same studio The Evenings and that nursery recording. I’d been fighting that for rhyme-simple ball of electro-pop a long while as we didn’t have the fluff teasing your internal jukebox is resources to do it properly, but one ‘I Didn’t Remember’, the stand-out The Evenings (l-r): Phil, Stuart, Mark, Jo, Seb day we stopped spending the band track from the band’s new ‘Louder earnings on beer and put them in a In The Dark’ EP. Mark in the band are Seb Reynolds inspirational experience of The little jar, and before we knew it we (synths) and Phil Oakley (guitar), Evenings in full live flow, where an had enough for a couple of days of ALL OF WHICH NEATLY SUMS both from Sexy Breakfast, Jo Edge air of studious mania reigns. studio recording. It’s been a really up The Evenings experience. At (electric double bass), previously of Nighthsift spoke to him shortly rewarding process, and despite once they’re an unusual band – Eeebleee, and Stuart Fowkes (synths) after the boat party along the having gigged the arse off the songs mostly instrumental but occasionally otherwise employed by Sunnyvale. Thames, which launched the new EP. for a long while it’s only now that led in song by drummer and founding They’re something of an Oxford The Evenings sound has developed we’ve recorded them that we know member Mark Wilden – often supergroup, one that is much more quite some way since your first how to play them properly. It feels sonically challenging, as at this than the sum of its talented parts. album. How much is this the way like the first complete Evenings year’s Oxford Punt when that With a predominantly synth-led your tastes and intentions have release at last. I hope the next one introductory passage of noise had sound, underpinned by more organic changed and how much is it the doesn’t take this bloody long.” such a profound effect on the instruments, The Evenings hark influence of different people coming Jongleurs staff, unused to such an back to the earliest pioneers of into and out of the band? THE BAND LINE-UP IS SETTLED extreme pitch of sound, but at their synth-pop – OMD, Depeche Mode MARK: “It’s partly me getting now, but musically where do you see heart, a seriously good pop band with and a pre-Midge Ure Ultravox, but better at what I do, and partly the yourselves going in the near future? an arsenal of heavy duty tunes that dragged into the space age by a more other members of the band gradually MARK: “I’m always hoping to combat and complement the more avante garde edge that can involve wrestling more and more of it away take the Evenings in musical experimental side of their nature. anything from Future Sound Of from me. The recordings and the directions we haven’t been in ‘Louder In The Dark’, released this London-style squelches and wobbles gigs are still very different beasts – before, trying to find as many month and launched with a boat trip or Add N To (X)-inspired I’m the one sat at the computer for different ways as possible to do on the Thames, is The Evenings’ symphonics to a massed chorus of the recordings and I do the bulk of what we do.