Plus1 Bath - June 2012

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Dear Readers,

Hurrah! The festival season is just around the corner and we’ve been fortunate enough to have a taste of what’s to come courtesy of the Darling Buds of May event and Pennyfarthing Festival, which you can find coverage of inside. We must admit, there was a bit of a moment when we were returning from Moles one night this month and heard live music pouring out of a host of busy bars - there really is a wealth of live music taking place on any given night of the week.

Once again, we’ve had an insanely busy month. We’re launching a new column this month, giving local music figures an opportunity to express their views on Bath music and more - this month our guest columnist is the excellent Joseph Little who you’ve probably seen fronting the mighty Peyote. We hope you enjoy this issue. See you out there again this month!

Peace

Team Plus1x

NEWSFARMFESTIVAL announce new acts to its already bursting line-up. Catch top names on the up-and-coming circuit before they hit the stratosphere, including The Boy Least Likely To, Submotion Orchestra and understated yet propulsuve dance-pop outfit Trophy Wife. Tickets are on sale now from www.farmfestival.co.uk.

KATEY BROOKS, signed to local label Long Tale Recordings, has been recording her new work with locally based Producer/Mixer Stuart Bruce at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. Now touring her new EP ‘Live Now’ all over southern England, she will be appearing at festivals and additional dates over the summer. Best described as “Folked up Soul”, you can catch her at St James Wine Vaults on 6th June.

BATH’S 1920s PROHIBITION PARTY on Saturday 16th June provides the perfect opportunity to shimmy the night away, sip cocktails from tea cups and immerse yourself in an evening of lively music from Top Shelf Jazz. Cabaret and roulette is also on offer... if the police don’t get to you first! In keeping with the theme, when alcohol was banned and parties were held underground, the location has until now been kept a secret. Party goers are issued with passwords and location details when tickets have been purchased. Tickets are available from www.jamandjuice.co.uk.

THE BLOOD CHOIR release their debut album ‘No Windows To The Old World’ on IRL/Top Cat Music on 18th June. It will be available from Rise Stores (rise-music.co.uk), or via iTunes/Amazon/Spotify. The album release sees the Bristol/Bath band play a series of shows across the southwest and London, along with a radio session on BBC Wiltshire Introducing on 21st June.

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Statistics show that most people will change career at least twice in their lives, but career changes are rarely this dramatic: an award-winning architect with a glittering career ahead of her fractures her skull in a near-fatal car crash. A decade later this same woman performs a three-week sell-out run in London’s West End. A decade that saw Camille O’Sullivan run away with the circus, flirt with Hollywood, sell out the Sydney Opera House and

bring the dark, bitter sadness of the cabaret songbook to brutal, vivid life. From the tangled metal of a wrecked car was born a performer who, in the great tradition of the greatest of singers, oozes sex, burns with pain and leaves audiences feeling like they’ve been punched in the heart by their one true love. If that sounds overwrought, then it’s entirely appropriate: the world Camille inhabits is one of intense emotion, facilitating a bipolar

approach to performance which veers from raunchy to heartbreaking to hilarious to vicious. There’s a theatricality to her delivery, which in lesser hands could feel forced and affected. Yet Camille inhabits her repertoire, living out each line on stage – one moment a brawling fishwife, the next a bruised innocent. What’s perhaps particularly remarkable is that Camille herself wrote none of these songs, preferring

instead to cherrypick at will from the torch song orchard: works by Brel, Brecht and Weill, Waits, Cave, Bowie and Cohen through to Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Arcade Fire all get the O’Sullivan treatment. All of which might make you, dear reader, head straight for the uncomplicated climes of your local indie disco for fear of spending an evening being sat on by a hectoring, half-drunk stripper force-feeding you your soul’s dark matter against your will. But you’re being a wimp, aren’t you?

Let’s say you got over your fears and took a risk on Friday 18th of May, heading down to Komedia, red-wine-drunk and emotional: you would have sat and experienced one of the most charismatic and versatile vocalists in the world today. Striding onto the stage through the audience look-ing like Kate Bush playing Little Red Riding Hood, a swirl of disembodied voices echoing through the room like a goth reimagining of Dark Side of the Moon, Camille sets her stall out

early: we’re visiting shadowy territory tonight. A delicate music-box re-working of ‘Wake Up’ by Arcade Fire kicks off proceedings before erupting into a full-blown epic of squalling guitar and tribal drums. Gone are the big-band arrangements that characterised previous tours. Instead, we are treated to a stripped-down three-piece which are far noisier and more discordant than you might expect, particularly on ‘The Crack of Doom

She strides onto the stage through the audience looking like Kate Bush playing

Little Red Riding Hood

LIVE @ KOMEDIAWords: Joe Swarbrick

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C a m i l l e

is Coming Soon’ - a Waitsian junk-shop stomp by fellow cabaret weirdos The Tiger Lillies which sees Camille inexplicably dressed as a donkey and terrorising the audience in what must be Bath’s first instance of bestial sexual pageantry since the Roman occupation. Tonight’s show feels purposefully obtuse at times - the second half features two Kid A-era Radiohead songs, for crying out loud - but it is in these awkward, confrontational moments that Camille is at her best. Sure, Kirsty MacColl’s ‘In These Shoes’ makes for an explosive act one finale; Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ is given a honky-tonk wild west barroom makeover to great effect. But it’s the quiet moments that linger longest after the lights have dimmed - a hushed, cracked ‘The One That I’ve Been Waiting For’ by Nick Cave; Radiohead’s ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ performed as if scoring the closing scenes of Brief Encounter; a vengeful acapella howl through Brel’s ‘Port of Amsterdam’. Over the course of the set, these rapid-cycling swerves do feel a little bewildering: one minute we’re safely in Radio 2 land, the next we’re watching what feels uncomfortably yet thrillingly like an on-stage melt-down. Much like dating the clinically

insane, it’s incoherent, a bit frightening, and intensely alluring. Such intensity takes its toll: Camille had to cancel her interview tonight under doctor’s orders to rest her voice and, having seen her utterly transcendent performances in the past, it’s possible that she’s not firing on all cylinders tonight. Yet when it works, it works beautifully. When, in Leonard Cohen’s ‘Anthem’, she sings, “there is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in” with a sad, knowing half-smile and a voice like honeyed gravel, we are aware that what Camille has, uniquely per-haps, is the gift of communication – finding a narrative tone for a classic

song that makes you listen to the words as if they were tumbling fresh-minted from her mind at that precise second. At these moments, Camille O’Sullivan justifies her reputation as a singularly gifted artist, a transmitter of meaning and pathos rather than hollow sentiment: an architect of the tower of song.

:: www.camilleosullivan.com ::

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Photos by Owen Davies

O’ S u l l i v a n

Some say that music, like the human race at large, has reached an evolutionary standstill. Every melody, chord sequence and combination of notes has probably already been explored by somebody, somewhere in the world. It is more difficult than ever to create something entirely groundbreaking and original. Unless of course you’re part of an Eastern European improvised space jazz orchestra.

So, what’s the solution? The best music has always lifted its ideas from various sources and arranged them into a beautiful collage. On paper, Sheffield’s Slow Club take inspiration from a colourful tapestry, pitching sounds against one another that are not commonly associated. That’s the first part of the battle, the other bit is to somehow end up sounding vital and new in the process. It’s a feat that Slow Club often threaten to pull off yet frustratingly never quite do. There’s an almost cinematic, gospel tint to their palette and in Rebecca Taylor they have a richly resonant voice at their disposal that recalls the white soul of Dusty Springfield. When set against the band’s fairly pedestrian yet passionate indie

delivery you are presented with a formula that threatens to break into wonderful new pastures yet never quite does.

The reason why is difficult to pinpoint for there is some genuinely affecting songwriting on display. There are a batch of songs debuted tonight from a soon to be recorded new EP that shows this is a band with a clear knack for a striking melody. As Taylor sings with peculiar apathy, ‘I’m a lazy quitter, I panic and I dither’ the band’s 60s soul charm comes to the fore. There are harmonies straight out of the Mamas and Papas back catalogue and they manage to stumble upon a meeting point between The Velvet Undeground and Arcade Fire. They’re an interesting yet tamed beast with a genuine ear for a classic song. However, whilst the elements are all there yet they never quite reach a glorious unison.

:: www.slowclubband.com ::

The band’s pedestrian yet passionate indie delivery presents a formula that threatens to break into wonderful

new pastures yet never quite does

Slow ClubLIVE @ MOLESWords: Arthur Beanfield

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Photos by Paul James

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Local Release:EDD LANE

‘THE SAILOR’S ESCAPE’

Label - Thin Man Records“Just another set of lyrics that I couldn’t wait to share” sings Edd Lane on the opening salvo, ‘Soul Laid Bare’. It’s certainly a bold way in which to open an EP - the Bath-based troubadour original-ly from the Devon-Cornwall divide is exhibiting his inner self for all the world to see. Yet this EP isn’t quite as emotionally wrought as that song’s title might imply; in reality this is a collection of lyri-cally playful paens to subjects ranging from the wisdom of books to King Arthur and Pendragon. A lid is kept on meloncholia and there’s a jaunty, journeying quality throughout these songs that comes from the Billy Bragg and Frank Turner school of modern protest folk. Whilst he doesn’t unearth any socio-political truths, he does have an ability to deliver quirky lyrics with real clarity. You can imagine him stirring a right ole knees up at some cosy tavern hidden up on the moors of Bodmin. Benjamin-Doughty IV

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Friday 1stFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk forevents

LIVE MUSIC: Joe Coleman + Dexter Selboy + Jack Wallen Gaz Brookfield, 6pm, Ye Olde Farmhouse

*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC : Tellison, 7.30pm, Moles

LIVE MUSIC: Hot Potato Syncopators, 6pm, Bath Fringe Spiegeltent

CLUB NIGHT: Top Vinyl DJa, 10pm, The Porter

COMEDY: Krater Comedy Club, 8.30pm, Komedia

CLUB NIGHT: Confession, 10pm, Moles

Saturday 2ndFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

FESTIVAL: The Last Jubilee Festival, Bath Racecourse

*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC: Port Erin + Beth Porter and the Availables + Shelleyan Orphan, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Michael Loader, Rebecca Smart, Martin Solomon Baba Yaga’s Oven, 7.30pm, St James Wine Vaults

COMEDY: The Fez Comedy Club with Phil Kay - All Night Long, 8pm, Widcombe Social Club

LIVE MUSIC: Lach, 8pm, Love Lounge at The Bell


CLUB NIGHT: DJ Itchy Fingers, 10pm, The Porter

CLUB NIGHT: Motorcity, 11pm, Komedia

CLUB NIGHT: Metripolis with Rob da Bank + Tom Maddicott, 10pm, Moles

Sunday 3rdFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

*Recommended*LIVE MUSIC: EP launch for Laura Jayne and Gus Hackett featuring Laura Doggett and Georgie Vale, 3pm, The Porter


LIVE MUSIC: Fable Of The Bees (lunchtime show), 1pm, The Bell

LIVE MUSIC: Acoustic Heaven presents Kevin Brown and The Shackdusters, 7.30pm, St James Wine Vaults

LIVE MUSIC: Renzo Spiteri - Silence Sounds and Spaces, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

JUNE LISTINGS

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Motown DJs, 10pm, The Porter

CLUB NIGHT: The Big Cheese, 10pm, Moles

Wednesday 6thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

KIDS: ‘Jubilee’ Kidz Cooking Club, 10.30am, Komedia

*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC: Katey Brooks, 7pm, St James Wine Vaults

THEATRE: Bath Fringe - Gray, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Candle-Lit Open Mic Night, 8pm, The Curfew

LIVE MUSIC: Open Mic Night, 9pm, The Porter

LIVE MUSIC: Backbeat Sound System, 8.30pm, The Bell

LIVE MUSIC: The Wednesday Menagerie, Love Lounge at The Bell

LIVE MUSIC: Mandalyn’s Open Mic Night, 9pm, Mandalyn’s

CLUB NIGHT: I Only Dance To Songs I Like, 10.30pm, Moles

Thursday 7thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

KIDS: ‘Jubilee’ Kidz Cooking Club, 10.30am, Komedia

LIVE MUSIC: The Yiddish Twist Orchestra, 8pm, Bath Fringe Spiegeltent

Monday 4thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events


ALIEN INVASION?: Voyager. Who knows? We’re buggered if we do.

LIVE MUSIC: Cat Dog live lounge, 8pm, The Porter

LIVE MUSIC: Fingerstyle Guitar Night, 8pm, St James Wine Vaults

LIVE MUSIC: Acoustic Array, 7.30pm, Moles


LIVE MUSIC: Praying For The Rain, 9pm, The Bell

Tuesday 5thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events


LIVE MUSIC: Dusty Stray, Love Lounge at The Bell

LIVE MUSIC: What Flag, 8.30pm, St James Wine Vaults

LIVE MUSIC: Adorable

JUNE LISTINGS

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Saturday 9thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bath-fringe.co.uk for events

*Recommended* RECORD FAIR: The Fringe Record Fair, 12pm, Love Lounge at The Bell

DANCE: Flamenco Azabache, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: The Spoonful, 8pm, Ye Olde Farmhouse

*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC: Jamma de Samba Carnival, The Porter

LIVE MUSIC: New Street Adventure, 10pm, Moles

LIVE MUSIC: B-Side To The A-Side, 8pm, The Royal Oak

LIVE MUSIC: Bard of Bath Competition, 8.30pm, St James Wine Vaults



CLUB NIGHT: Play, 10pm, Moles

Sunday 10thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

Thursday 7thLIVE MUSIC: Sheelanagig and The Mandibles, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC: Katy B, 8pm, Moles

CLUB NIGHT: Stereo-Types, 10pm, Moles

Friday 8thFESTIVAL: Bath Fringe Festival, multi-venue, see www.bathfringe.co.uk for events

KIDS: ‘Jubilee’ Kidz Cooking CluB, 10.30am, Komedia

LIVE MUSIC: K’Chevere - Latin Extravaganza, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: The Gig At The Edge Of The Fringe, Love Lounge at The Bell

*Recommended*LIVE MUSIC: Revolver Showcase, 8pm, The Porter

LIVE MUSIC: Bath Songwriters Showcase, 8.30pm, St James Wine Vaults

LIVE MUSIC: People’s String Foundation + Crows Parlia-ment + Minky + Stevie Jo Dooley Band, 8pm, Ye Old Farmhouse

LIVE MUSIC: Furthur presentsMcDowell, 8pm, The Royal Oak

LIVE MUSIC: Last Dinosaurs, 10pm, Moles

JUNE LISTINGS

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MUSIC FROM: THE IMAGINED VILLAGE GAUDI / YES SIR BOSS / THE EGG HIDDEN ORCHESTRA / LAID BLAKMUNGO’S HI FI FT. SOOM T & MR WILLIAMZ GABBY YOUNG & THE OTHER ANIMALS WARSAW VILLAGE BAND / SHEELANAGIG T H E D E S T R O Y E R S / P R O N G H O R N DIZRAELIDIZRAELI & THE SMALL GODS / BANCO DE GAIA BENJI VAUGAN (TWISTED) / MASTER BLASTERS

KING PORTER STOMP & many more

21st-24thJune 2012

4 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF EXTRASENSORY DELIGHT

100% SUSTAINABLY POWERED

100s of Talks & Workshops from international Speakers

'Another World is Possible'

Festival of Organic ArtsBruton, Somerset

CABARET: Burlesque Festival, 12pm, The Speigel Tent Bath Rugby Ground

MUSIC EVENT: Silent Disco, 8pm, Royal Victoria Park

LIVE MUSIC: Attila The Stockbroker with Rory Ellis (lunchtime show), 1pm, The Bell

Monday 11thLIVE MUSIC: Acoustic Array, 7.30pm, Moles

LIVE MUSIC: Matt Woosy, 9pm, The Bell

Tuesday 12thCLUB NIGHT: The Big Cheese, 10pm, Moles

CLUB NIGHT: Adorable DJs, 10pm, The Porter

Wednesday 13thLIVE MUSIC: Woody Mann, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Answer Back + Raj Raj Raj, 8pm, Ye Olde Farmhouse

LIVE MUSIC: TopShelf Jazz, 8.30pm, The Bell




CLUB NIGHT: Kick & Snare, 10pm, Moles

Thursday 14thFILM: IMDb Script to Screen Award, 7,30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Terry Kelly, Trom-bone with JazzHouse Trio + DJ Tony Clark, 8pm, St James Wine Vaults


Friday 15thLIVE MUSIC: Jenna Monroe - ‘Love Laid Bare and Minor Obsessions’, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

CLUB NIGHT: Tuff Luck Club featuring Tesla, 10pm, The Porter


Saturday 16th LIVE MUSIC: The Producers Blues Band, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC/CABARET: Bath’s 1920s Prohibition Party, 8pm, Banqueting Suite at The Guildhall


CLUB NIGHT: DJ Shadowfax, 10pm, The Porter


JUNE LISTINGS

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Saturday 16thCLUB NIGHT: Drop x Instinct -+ Rockwell + Hamilton + Bladerunner, 10pm, Moles

Sunday 17th*Recommended* LIVE MUSIC: Lucy Rose, 8pm, Moles

LIVE MUSIC: Jessie Hardy Band, 8pm, Ye Olde Farmhouse


LIVE MUSIC: Bobby Michot, 9pm, The Bell

Tuesday 19thCLUB NIGHT: The Big Cheese, 10pm, Moles

CLUB NIGHT: Adorable DJs, 10pm, The Porter

Wednesday 20thLIVE MUSIC: Candle-Lit Open Mic Night, 8pm, The Curfew



CLUB NIGHT: I Only Dance To Songs I Like, 10.30pm, Moles

Thursday 21stLIVE MUSIC: Track Factor Bath College music event, 8pm, The Porter


Friday 22ndTHEATRE: A Life in Monochrome, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Live music, 8pm, Ye Olde Farmhouse

CLUB NIGHT: Sonic Shakedown, 10pm, The Porter


Saturday 23rdLIVE MUSIC: The Norman Beaker Band, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: B-Side To The A-Side with The Lone Sharks, 8pm, The Royal Oak



Sunday 24thLIVE MUSIC: The Long Notes (lunchtime show), 1pm, The Bell

JUNE LISTINGS

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Tuesday 26thCLUB NIGHT: Adorable DJs, 10pm, The Porter

CLUB NIGHT: The Big Cheese, 10pm, Moles

Wednesday 27thLIVE MUSIC: The Innes Sibun Blues Explosion [reunion gig], 8.30pm, The Bell




CLUB NIGHT: Kick & Snare, 10pm, Moles

Thursday 28thLIVE MUSIC: Nick Malcolm, Trumpet with the JazzHouse Trio plus DJ Tony Clark, 8pm, St James Wine Vaults

CLUB NIGHT: Selective Hearing, 10pm, The Porter


Friday 29thLIVE MUSIC: Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

LIVE MUSIC: Amadou Di-agne, 8pm, Ye Olde Farm-house

CABARET: Ministry of Burlesque’s High Tease, 8.30pm, Komedia


CLUB NIGHT: Recall, 10pm, The Porter

CLUB NIGHT: The Beat Carni-val, 10.30pm, Komedia

Saturday 30th

KIDS: It’s Boogie Time, 2pm, Komedia

LIVE MUSIC: Sean Taylor, 7.30pm, Chapel Arts Centre

CLUB NIGHT: Tom Maddi-cott’s Innervisions, 10pm, The Porter

CLUB NIGHT: Play, 10pm, Moles

Please check all details and timings directly with the venue in case of changes.

Please email all listings to: [email protected] .

All events are considered for this guide and are listed free of charge.

Deadline for inclusion in the next calendar month’s issue is the 20th of each month.

MUSIC FROM: THE IMAGINED VILLAGE GAUDI / YES SIR BOSS / THE EGG HIDDEN ORCHESTRA / LAID BLAKMUNGO’S HI FI FT. SOOM T & MR WILLIAMZ GABBY YOUNG & THE OTHER ANIMALS WARSAW VILLAGE BAND / SHEELANAGIG T H E D E S T R O Y E R S / P R O N G H O R N DIZRAELIDIZRAELI & THE SMALL GODS / BANCO DE GAIA BENJI VAUGAN (TWISTED) / MASTER BLASTERS

KING PORTER STOMP & many more

21st-24thJune 2012

4 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF EXTRASENSORY DELIGHT

100% SUSTAINABLY POWERED

100s of Talks & Workshops from international Speakers

'Another World is Possible'

Festival of Organic ArtsBruton, Somerset

JUNE LISTINGS

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JUNE PREVIEWS

SUNRISE CELEBRATION Bruton, 21st-24th JuneHeld on an organic farm in deepest Somerset, Sunrise Celebration strives to make a 12-stage event out of the colourful and exotic underworld of Glastonbury festival that tends to go unnoticed by the mainstream majority. Expect a heady carnival of alternative culture taking in dub, world, ska, electronica and folk. Heading the bill are eclectic Afro-folk collective The Imagined Village and cosmic dance-funk legends The Egg whose repu-tation as one of the best festival bands in Europe has endured since the late 1990s. Elsewhere you’ll find the likes of Hidden Orchestra, Sheelanagig, The Destroyers, Banco De Gaia amongst an array of performance art, workshops and a ‘gong bath’ should you require some spiritual re-alignnment. Stay up until dawn and then wake up reborn on a ley line. This is how festivals were meant to be.

:: www.sunrisecelebration.com ::

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PATTI SMITH AND HER BANDThe Forum, 28th JuneReally, she needs no introduction. The Godmother of punk makes a rare visit to Bath this month with her band in tow having reportedly recorded a new studio album due for release this summer. Her influence on popular culture can be felt across three decades stretching back to the Bohemian counter-culture of 1970s New York through the 1980s to the present day. Her voice possesses an almost frightening power and her poetry remains as vibrant and vital as the most lauded laureate. Not only does her status as an activist and spokeswom-an almost supercede her influential musical standing, she’s also penned some of the world’s most enduringly powerful rock songs in ‘Because the Night’ and ‘Danc-ing Barefoot’. Everyone should witness Patti Smith at least once in their lives.

:: www.bathmusicplus.co.uk ::

LUCY ROSEMoles, 17th JuneHaving found fame recently providing vocals on Bombay Bicycle Club’s acclaimed album ‘A Different Kind of Fix’, Warwickshire’s Lucy Rose steps under the spotlight in support of her own material this summer. In the wake of tours supporting pals Bombay and Noah and the Whale, Rose finds herself as one of the breakthrough indie stars of 2012. Her homely tones recall the likes of Beth Or-ton, Laura Marling and Florence Welch. Reputedly, she serves tea and jam to audience members which is an incentive in itself, no?

:: www.moles.co.uk ::

THE LAST JUBILEE FESTIVALBath Racecourse, 2nd-4th JuneHere’s one for the punks. With a staggering line-up that reads like a guided tour of punk history from 1977 on-wards, there’ll be safety pins and leather jackets aplenty. There are three whole days of blissful-Brit nostalgia as the legendary Buzzcocks top the Saturday bill - arguably one of the most influential bands of all time. On Sunday, vamped-up punks The Damned, still going strong after all this time, bring the day to a close and on the final day Eddie and the Hotrods round off a weekend that also includes Anti-Nowhere League, U.K Subs, The Vibrators, Glen Matlock and too many more to mention. See you in the time machine.

:: www.lastjubilee.co.uk ::

Up Close & Personal...

Largo EmbargoOne of the most prominent sounds you tend to hear getting carried across in the wind whilst trawling through the littered expanse of a summer festival site is that of a ska band in full flow. In some far flung corner a riotous after-noon party is taking place, where people lose themselves in the midday sun. This is the kind of atmosphere Bath’s very own Largo Embargo thrive on; they’ll be taking their ska-funk fusion to a host of festival dates this summer taking in Sunrise Celebration, Secret Garden Party and Bestival to name but a few. A band who add a sense of exoticism to any bill on which they find themselves, they’re like a giddy and energetic collision of Sublime and Parliament led by a biting MC edge that recalls Asian Dub Foundation in their prime. We caught up with frontman Jake to talk about their plans this summer and Bath music.

You’ve already played lots of prestigious festivals and have many more coming up this summer. Which are you most excited about and have there been any particular highlights so far?

Last year was a pretty amazing first summer season to go into - Glasto, Green Gathering and Small World stand out for me. We can’t wait to get back out with the Small World crew, and we’re really excited about playing Sunrise Celebration this year and just generally sitting in a field with our friends.

Do you have any memorable festival stories?

One thing that stands out in my mind was at Green Gathering where our sax man, Mossy, had blagged us a slot on Saturday afternoon at Floating Lotus. We arrived after a stressful journey and started our set to a completely empty tent but by the end of it, it was rammed with beautiful happy people, and through that we went on to get a headline slot in the Small World tent the next night. It’s shit like that that makes it sweet.

How do you feel about what you’ve achieved so far considering you only formed in 2010?

Yeah it’s pretty sweet. We’ve met a lot of supportive people along the way which has made it all possible, and had a lot of fun too.

What should people expect from a Largo Embargo live show if they haven’t seen you before?

Well, we just like to party really. Personally I don’t rate our current recordings that much compared to our live sound, so yeah definitely come watch us some time, have a dance and prepare to get super sweaty.

Do feel an affinity with any other local bands? Who in particular?

Bath’s got a banging scene at the moment, we’re all real fans of the locals. Personally I love to play with The

Bohemian Embassy and Bite The Buffalo. Maribou Stalk are dope and I watched Port Erin the other day - those guys are incredible. Me and our bassist chris also play in a band of swinging cat brothers, Southpaw Quartet. Theres good shit going on almost every night in Bath, you just have to know where to look.

What music are you listening to generally at the mo-ment? Any stand-out favourite albums?

Personally i’m all about Dizraeli at the moment. Dr. Syntax is sick and stuff like Sublime, Atmosphere, Fugees I can never get tired of. Also anything put out on Trojan Records.

What are your favourite things about Bath and where do you like to spend your weekends?

My favourite thing about Bath is that my beautiful friends are here. It’s a pretty quiet city which gets a little boring at times. But as I said, theres always good music going on somewhere and when it’s sunny there’s a few killer parks. If you wanna chill I say go to Henny, if you wanna get fucked then probably just go to The Porter, or if you wanna watch a band then check out Ye Olde Farmhouse.

What’s your songwriting process? Do you all write together organically or does one member bring ideas to the rest of the band which then forms the basis of the writing?

I write the lyrics, but it takes me a while. The boys normally are sitting on a few nice ideas for beats and we just smash it together in a practise room or soundcheck. We’re all tight as well so sometimes we work on stuff when we’re just chilling.

What are your plans for the next 12 months onwards as a band?

Plans for the next year include having a fat summer, seeing a bit of the world, then coming back to get a new set together for next summer. Also I need to get the mole on my back checked, get some form of job and maybe find a woman to treat me nice and tender like!

You can catch Largo Embargo at Upfest over in Bristol on 2nd June or at Sunrise Celebration in Bruton 21st-24th June.

:: www.largoembargo.com::

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VOX BOX The Rhubarbs talk to us about The Sweatbox Hype tour and their single launch at St James Wine Vaults: “All the shows are really sweaty and we’re just trying to create a bit of ‘hype’. So we chose to use ‘Sweatbox Hype Tour’ as a bit of a tag line, it’s a catchphrase with a lot of energy. The St James Wine Vaults suits the vibe of the eveniing; it’s cramped with lots of people and we’ve never played here as a band before. It’s a bit like the Cavern Club in Leeds.”

“We’re putting two new songs into the set tonight. One’s a slower song - the slowest we’ve ever writ-ten but that’s still pretty fast. A Rhubarbs ballad if you can call it that!”

“We’re looking forward to playing Hoxton Underbelly, we have all of our family coming to that one.”

DARLING BUDS OF MAY FESTIVALLIVE @ WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUBWords: Benjamin-Doughty IV

It’s not often that you find people from all walks of life gathered together at a live music alldayer. But stumbling into the reassuringly British environs of the Widcombe Social tonight, it’s interesting to see the social club regulars enjoying the music alongside the younger gig-going brigade. It’s not your typical music event and manages to cram a huge array of acts over the course of a whole afternoon and evening. You’re free to come and go of your own accord but the enter-tainment keeps rolling on in cyclic fashion. The first act who strikes us is loop-tastic flamenco prodigy The Flamenco Thief who knows his way around the guitar better than most - his traditional-ist pieces recall film composer Gustavo Santaolalla. It’s a testa-ment to the diversity of the event that he’s followed by Bath favourites Grace who bring in the biggest crowd of the day so far with their assured Queens of the Stone Age meets Razorlight anthemic rock; there’s a heroic American edge to them that recalls the E-Street Band. Ones to look out for. The ever well turned out Peyote get the social club regulars on their feet and dancing like some apocalyptic wedding reception, they’re like the house band from Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn and tonight they show their slower side with a 12 bar serenade akin to the Von Bondies and a Brian Jonestown homage. The beer starts flowing more rapidly as Anima Circus turn the place into a party with their Jazz World Stage ska sounds; under-pinned by dub bass and horn stabs, it’s almost impossible not to start moving as the room goes positively nuts in May. The star turn however is reserved for The Bohemian Embassy; they don’t really sound like anything else out there at the moment - a kind of strange meeting point where the restless eccentricity of Talking Heads meets Holy Bible era Manic Street Preachers laced with The Who’s showmanship. The songs stand tall - ‘Built for the Future’ and ‘Tales of a Russian Winter’ are quirky yet infectious and delivered with effortless zeal. Tonight they’re on electrifying form, charged up with a gleeful energy and displaying that they’re a force to be reckoned with as peformers and musicians. Then DJ Dib Dab takes us long into the night and ensures that the next morning will be an interesting one to say the least.

:: www.daddy-longlegs.co.uk ::

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The Bohemian Embassy

Grace

TALL SHIPSLIVE @ PENNY FARTHING FESTIVAL, BATH PAVILLION

Words: Penelope Vamp

The inaugural Penny Farthing Festival kicks off what is hoped will be an annual event, taking place at the spacious Pavillion. A unique concept of making an all-day music concert environmentally sustainable, the PA is powered by a series of bikes which are located to the right of the stage. A horde of willing festival-goers each volunteer to take a turn cycling to keep the music flowing. It certainly makes a change from the rumble of generators and toxic chip van plumes at Reading Festival. There’s also not an ironic festival hat in sight. Perhaps a surprising addition to the line up comes in the guise of former teacher Mark Grist who entertains with his breed of rap poetry, imploring that “I want a girl who reads, yeah reads”. Call it geek-rap. The headliners are Tall Ships from Brighton. They’re rather reminiscent of heroic melodic hardcore titans Hundred Reasons, occupying that niche world of studious guitar interplay that stays just the right side of post rock and pitches them somewhere in between Maps & Atlases and Biffy Clyro. A good way to get the summer festival cogs moving whilst keeping an eye on the future.

:: www.wearetallships.co.uk ::Peyote

Photos by Paul James

SPEAKERS’ CORNER

JOSEPH LITTLE ON THE BATH MUSIC SCENE

In the eighties, Bath was renowned for its music scene, producing bands such as Tears For Fears and Everything But The Girl, whilst at the same time boasting host to influential and reputable venues (Moles). Now it’s 2012, and I have heard more than once that Bath is again, on the rise. Come the 90s and British music evolved and with it the places that were making it, and Bath quickly lost its great reputation, but on arriving here a little over a year ago, I came to find countless innovative youths and a throbbing music scene which felt way too big for a population of 80,000. Not only are there so many youths making art and music, but its quality is high; in London, you’d have to sift through piles of pretenders and posers before finally reaching a real life diamond, and their existence is made harder for them by the way the business has become - not only with the bank-ers who are now labels and managers, but also with the arrogance and the reservation of the venues. The cruelty is, that when I talk about a city’s difficult music scene, we should be grateful that such a thing exists at all, as now only a small fraction of places out there actually offer host to great young bands and venues for them to play in.

However, I digress. The country is in a state of artistic flux, and the Bath music scene at the moment is great, but the most striking thing about it is its professionalism. This and its innovation exist because of two simple catalysts; Bath Spa and the City of Bath College. Both offer different courses with essentially the same outcome; at Bath Spa, students are able to partake in Commercial Music (CM), and at City of Bath College, Music and Performing Arts, both being relative-ly new. These courses offer students the opportunity to develop as artists, produce high quality recordings and performances, and ba-sically immerse themselves in a music industry which is now harder than ever to penetrate. The difference between the two, from what I have gathered, is that although both require the formation of a prod-uct to sell (whether a band, DJ or solo artist etc), Commercial Music focuses a little more on the business of it all (management, phone apps, music synchs) whereas Music and performing Arts focuses more on the (you guessed it) performance and artist development. Nevertheless, almost all music in Bath has something to do, whether directly or indirectly, with one of these courses, and the experience of the lecturers and advice available to students is incredible.

However, this could be improved. One issue for Bath Spa is the fact that its several campuses are spread out over Bath, with the music students separated from the photography and fashion students and vice versa (courses which would obviously work best in close prox-imity). As well as this, I came to realise as I became (as a Bath Spa student) more and more involved in the City of Bath College music scene, that so much more could be done between the two. There are bands that should perform together but are unaware of each others existence, and crowds that would love a band from the other institution but are again, unaware of their existence.

Communication is the issue here, and it’s as though somebody should create a medium or a hub with which everybody could plan, organise, meet, and share. Events could be organised between the two, whether they be gigs or showcases, and this doesn’t just apply to music, but to art, drama and fashion also. A website, more maga-zines, a radio station, it’s all good, and it will happen soon, and once it does the scene will be become twice what it is now. All we need is brains, guts, hearts and mouths passionate enough to pull it off.

Joseph Little is frontman of Bath band Peyote

THE RHUBARBS

/ NUDY BRONQUELIVE @ ST JAMES WINE VAULTS

Words: Benjamin-Doughty IVThe back wall of the dimly-lit vault that hosts this single launch for Bath’s brat-punk youngsters is adorned with a plaque bearing the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody in full. Indeed there is something peculiarly bohemian hanging in the air tonight - you can just about make out expressionless faces lined up on benches making the atmosphere reminiscent of the Moloko bar in A Clock-work Orange. This is the Sweatbox Hype tour and it’s loaded with boundless energy. The loutish theatre of Swindon’s youthful urchins Nudy Bronque has seem-ingly been beamed in directly from an episode of the Old Grey Whistle test from 1978. We weren’t even aware there were people who dressed or listened to music like this any more which is what makes them all the more refreshing. The lead vocalist is a bowler hatted loon who looks like Ian Brown cast as the artful dodger in a West End production. Most of their songs are about beer and shagging and their brand of Dexys meets Maximo Park proto-punk is a righteous barrel of fun. They should have appeared on an episode of the Young Ones.

To say things turn a little bit wild here on in would be something of an understatement. There’s barely an inch in which to move as The Rhubarbs take to the stage seemingly super-charged inside a blizzard of booze and Buzzcocks bootlegs. It’s messy and it’s noisy in a way that tends to make The Libertines sound like The Lighthouse Family - notions of subtlety and restraint don’t really enter the fray but who’s to argue with a seething mass of enthused moshing mules. We can barely see anything but their snarling garage rock spirals through the St James tunnel and threatens to turn the place into an amphetamine addled ceilidh. Launching new single ‘Guilt’ which is an explosive slice of Cribs style garage rock pitched against angry punk vocal chants, their popularity is here for all to see.

:: www.facebook.com/therhubarbs :::: www.nudybronque.co.uk ::

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DRUID’S LIST:Positive Energies:

*Pub of the Month*ST JAMES WINE VAULTS -

A good ol’ music joint-----------------

www.stjameswinevaults.co.uk

YOUTH LAGOON ‘THE YEAR OF HIBERNATION’ -

Raising the bar once more for the lo-fi bedroom pop brigade

CHARLI XCX ‘NUCLEAR SEASONS’ -

She may dress like a Spice Girl gone goth but this piece of Kate Bush

inspired electro pop is

majestic

FARMFESTIVAL -If you go to one Somerset festival,

make it this one-----------------

www.farmfestival.co.uk

SNOWDONIA -Easy to forget that this awe inspiring

alpine fortress is so close

Negative Vibes:

SUPERCELL STORMS -Beware mother nature

FORMER EMPLOYERS -

who try to pay you with post-dated cheques.

Not on

RESTAURANT REVIEW

SOTTO SOTTO***Words: Lara Ford

This was always going to be a tricky one; firstly, it’s taken me weeks to be able to finally sit down here, and secondly, reviews of this place have hyped it up so much that it has a lot to live up to. Upon glancing at the menu, innovative Italian dishes look deliciously inviting, so my tongue was already doing sumersaults at the prospect. I’ve tried on numerous occasions (including times when the restaurant looks empty) but been unable to get a table, so the only way with this place is to book at least a week in advance. On the times when I’ve walked in on the off-chance, the welcome from staff isn’t quite as friendly as I’d hoped for, which makes you feel as though you should be grateful to have a table at all.

But upon finally eating here, the beautiful cave-like rooms are taste-fully, authentically Italian in decor. The underground cellar rooms take you a million miles away from the bustling streets above. Dishes are priced very reasonably, wines are excellent and produce is sourced locally with speciality ingredients brought in from Italy. A large selec-tion is on offer, and the speciality dishes are really where Sotto Sotto shines, with veal, racks of lamb and rib-eye steaks calling out to you. The pasta dishes could do with a bit more bite - the seafood linguine doesn’t set the world alight, but I’m concerned this may be because my expectations were nothing short of sky-high for this place - if I’d have strolled in off the street with no pre-conceptions, the ambience and creative, contemporary menu would have left a lasting impression worthy of the rave reviews.

:: www.sottosotto.co.uk ::

...and

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SOME PLUS1 STOCKISTS: The Porter, Moles, Saracen’s Head, Gascoyne Place, Molloys, The Huntsman, King William, The Pig & Fiddle, The Bell, The Griffin, The Raven, Hobgoblin, King’s Arms, Belushi’s, The Curfew, The Hop Pole, The Royal Oak, Green Park Tavern, Green Park Brasserie, The Marlborough, St James’ Wine Vaults, Ye Olde Farmhouse, Mandalyns, The Beau Nash, Widcombe Social Club, The Barley Mow, The Crown, Adventure Cafe, Boston Tea Party, Jazz Cafe, Wild Cafe, Cafe Retro, The Curfew, Schwartz Bros, Golden Plaice, Mr D’s, Sam’s Kitchen, Billy Burger, Same Same But Different, Garfunkel’s, The Locksbrook Grocer, Mix Grill, Mega Bite, Moghul, The Little Theatre, Theatre Royal, The Egg, Burdall’s Yard, Chapel Arts Centre, Komedia, The Cheese & Grain, The Mission Theatre, The Rondo, ‘Appy Daze, Broad Street Jazz, HMV, Detour, Mickelburgh Pianos, Yellow Clothing Company, American Dreams, Electric Vintage Tattoos, London Road Stores, Mr B’s Bookshop, Sounds International, Vintage & Rare Guitars, BA1 Records, Bath College SU, Central Library, YMCA, Bath Spa Uni SU library & cafes, Bath University music dept, ICIA, Bath Spa Art dept Sion Hill, Michael Tippet Centre, Victoria Art Gallery, Holburne Art Gallery, Shockerwick Studios, Bath Road Studios, Get Real Studios, The Old Crown, Jika Jika, Barber Brown’s, Revolution, Society Cafe, Ring O’Bells, Baroque, Colonna & Smalls, The Star, Lamb & Lion, Tramshed, Volunteer Rifleman’s Arms, Flan O’Brien’s, Ring O’Bells, West Gate

Album:BEACH HOUSE

‘BLOOM’Label - Sub Pop

****Arguably one of the records of 2010, Beach House’s subtly alluring ‘Teen Dream’ transported the listener to a world of beautiful detachment. It seemed to be caught in a kind of vivid sea-spray ecstasy of windswept Californian sand dunes where bewildered odes to lost love drift away into the rolling waves. This latest opus offers more of the same and there are certainly worse paths to retread; it’s a dreamscape that we’re more than happy to surrender ourselves to. Things do seem ever-so strikingly familiar but that’s part of their charm; Victoria Legrand’s ethereal drawl is like a ghostly postcard sent from the previous album. At the halfway mark there is a turning point as they hit a glorious utopia with two of their finest songs in ‘Other People’ and ‘The Hours’. Any doubts are cast aside as the closing track ‘Irene’ drifts into dreamy oblivion with Legrand repeating ‘It’s a strange paradise’. Our flights are booked. Ronald Cosmonaut

Film:MARLEY

Director - Kevin Macdonald

***Bob Marley’s musical influence and socio-spiritual significance is bought to the fore in this documen-tary which covers his life in some detail. It takes us back to the iconic singer’s early years in St. Ann’s, Jamaica and right through to the Wailers moving to Chelsea in the wake of an assassination attempt. It’s a moving piece featuring revealing interviews with family members and culminating in the his-toric One Love peace concert and his sad demise at a holistic retreat in Bavaria. A timely reminder of a figure whose impact was seismic and who lived life to the absolute full. Ronald Cosmonaut

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Plus1 Bath - June 2012

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