Ally CraigHaving never been in a band (or having the ability to play an instrument), there are many things that I fail to appreciate when seeing bands. There are also many aspects of a show that don't dawn on me unless fully explained or acted out. Since being with Jo, one thing that I have picked up on is that how intertwined local music scenes are. I can now understand why the Nigthshift and Oxfordbands sites allow anonymous comments - otherwise no-one would have the guts to give criticism for fear of upsetting a friend/acquaintance/useful person to know. Of the 9 acts I saw on the Punt, I would like to think that I have friends in 4 of them. This of course compromises not only my opinion of them, but also my ability to express my opinion. One cannot be too harsh or unforgiving to someone that would get hurt by your comments. It is fine to slag off a band you don't know (Keane etc), but to do it to a friend's band, you have to do it in a round-about "constructive" manner.
Thankfully, I don't have to do that. As bland as my thoughts may be, I did genuinely enjoy the majority of the bands and had a great time catching up with friends old and new, listening to bands old and new, and generally getting quite plastered. Pear cider. I'll never learn....
Opening up my second ever Punt (I never went to the Punt when I actually lived in Oxford) at Border's is Ally Craig, a young singer-songwriter. I confess that I actually went into his set hostile towards him. I was adamant that I wouldn't like him/feel sorry for him because of his disability, and that I would be critical of him. As it turns out, he totally won me over by the second song. He is an excellent performer, comfortable "on stage", possessing an excellent voice and some sh1t-hot guitar skills. He has a somewhat unique/unorthodox style, and I suppose that makes it easier for him to adopt more unusual pieces. During his set, he played a sparse, minimal guitar that let his vocals and lyrics come to the fore. This was a good move.
He displayed a whole other style of guitar, when he played in Rebecca Mosley's band. He utilised his pedals and eb-thingy to great effect. The set itself was pretty good. Rebecca Mosley is pretty charismatic, with an excellent voice (though she should quit the growling) and she isn't exactly uneasy on the eye. When she gets some high-quality songs, she'll be great. Saying that, the last song, with both Ally Craig and a cellist, was pretty good. And I think I'm in the minority when I say I prefer Laime Bite to her.
Then off to Jongleurs to see Witches, who were excellent. They seem to have become a lot heavier since I saw them a few months ago. They have ditched the eeebleee covers (at least for that set), and the whole thing flows a lot better. At The Wheatsheaf, I lost interest after the first two, excellent, songs but here it was sustained throughout.
Harlette were next on our list, playing at The Wheatsheaf. Unfortunately for them, the sound was incredibly poor. They sounded quite flat for the first few songs - particularly "Sometimes She P1sses Me Off" - though they picked up towards the end. A shame as Staz is fast becoming an excellent drummer, and Iona is a very charismatic frontwoman.
Back to Jongleurs for The Keyboard Choir. I'm generally not a fan of improv music. I'm of the school of thought that planning and practice reap more rewards than spotaneity. As it were, a compliment of sorts that I can pay to The Keyboard Choir is that I didn't always notice which bits were improv and which were planned. I particularly enjoyed the heavier parts of their set, though it tended to be after the crescendo when things threatened to fall apart.
A sprint to The City Tavern to see the second half of Sow I would have loved this band 4 years ago - proper heavy metal and an Oxford supergroup of sorts (Jor, Days of Grace, Miazma). I still enjoyed it, and it was good to listen to a genre that I have neglected of late, but it didn't really get my blood pumping as it would have done back in the good old days.
Inevitably, we ended up at the Cellar. 100 Bullets Back are so much better in a packed, atmospheric environment than an empty, dingey pub (unsurprisingly). Unlike in New Cross, I was able to experience beefiness in their sound. Rather than feel lightweight, their sound filled the room. Very, very good. Though I am very much a fan of the live drummer, and think they would sound even better if they recruited a half-decent one. I didn't really pay much attention to Jaberwock as the Pear Cider had kicked in, and I ended up talking at various people at great length. I'm not the biggest fan of funk, so it was probably for the best. Nailbomb Cults, however, was a fantastic way to end the Punt. To get me a) dancing and b) dancing on my own requires a lot. Me being wasted is one of those things. Another is to actually play good music. And he did - some excellent jungle/dnb/electro nosies were coming out of his laptop.
I believe we ended up staying until about 1.30 before walking en masse (well as big a mass as 8 people can form) home. I managed 8 hours of being passed out, before eventually waking up for work. No being sick this time - I remembered to drink plenty of water before bedfordshire
Thankfully, I don't have to do that. As bland as my thoughts may be, I did genuinely enjoy the majority of the bands and had a great time catching up with friends old and new, listening to bands old and new, and generally getting quite plastered. Pear cider. I'll never learn....
Opening up my second ever Punt (I never went to the Punt when I actually lived in Oxford) at Border's is Ally Craig, a young singer-songwriter. I confess that I actually went into his set hostile towards him. I was adamant that I wouldn't like him/feel sorry for him because of his disability, and that I would be critical of him. As it turns out, he totally won me over by the second song. He is an excellent performer, comfortable "on stage", possessing an excellent voice and some sh1t-hot guitar skills. He has a somewhat unique/unorthodox style, and I suppose that makes it easier for him to adopt more unusual pieces. During his set, he played a sparse, minimal guitar that let his vocals and lyrics come to the fore. This was a good move.
He displayed a whole other style of guitar, when he played in Rebecca Mosley's band. He utilised his pedals and eb-thingy to great effect. The set itself was pretty good. Rebecca Mosley is pretty charismatic, with an excellent voice (though she should quit the growling) and she isn't exactly uneasy on the eye. When she gets some high-quality songs, she'll be great. Saying that, the last song, with both Ally Craig and a cellist, was pretty good. And I think I'm in the minority when I say I prefer Laime Bite to her.
Then off to Jongleurs to see Witches, who were excellent. They seem to have become a lot heavier since I saw them a few months ago. They have ditched the eeebleee covers (at least for that set), and the whole thing flows a lot better. At The Wheatsheaf, I lost interest after the first two, excellent, songs but here it was sustained throughout.
Harlette were next on our list, playing at The Wheatsheaf. Unfortunately for them, the sound was incredibly poor. They sounded quite flat for the first few songs - particularly "Sometimes She P1sses Me Off" - though they picked up towards the end. A shame as Staz is fast becoming an excellent drummer, and Iona is a very charismatic frontwoman.
Back to Jongleurs for The Keyboard Choir. I'm generally not a fan of improv music. I'm of the school of thought that planning and practice reap more rewards than spotaneity. As it were, a compliment of sorts that I can pay to The Keyboard Choir is that I didn't always notice which bits were improv and which were planned. I particularly enjoyed the heavier parts of their set, though it tended to be after the crescendo when things threatened to fall apart.
A sprint to The City Tavern to see the second half of Sow I would have loved this band 4 years ago - proper heavy metal and an Oxford supergroup of sorts (Jor, Days of Grace, Miazma). I still enjoyed it, and it was good to listen to a genre that I have neglected of late, but it didn't really get my blood pumping as it would have done back in the good old days.
Inevitably, we ended up at the Cellar. 100 Bullets Back are so much better in a packed, atmospheric environment than an empty, dingey pub (unsurprisingly). Unlike in New Cross, I was able to experience beefiness in their sound. Rather than feel lightweight, their sound filled the room. Very, very good. Though I am very much a fan of the live drummer, and think they would sound even better if they recruited a half-decent one. I didn't really pay much attention to Jaberwock as the Pear Cider had kicked in, and I ended up talking at various people at great length. I'm not the biggest fan of funk, so it was probably for the best. Nailbomb Cults, however, was a fantastic way to end the Punt. To get me a) dancing and b) dancing on my own requires a lot. Me being wasted is one of those things. Another is to actually play good music. And he did - some excellent jungle/dnb/electro nosies were coming out of his laptop.
I believe we ended up staying until about 1.30 before walking en masse (well as big a mass as 8 people can form) home. I managed 8 hours of being passed out, before eventually waking up for work. No being sick this time - I remembered to drink plenty of water before bedfordshire
