Lifestyle and Culture Magazine Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire
No: 153 March 2019
Free
Sometimes you just need to shut up and dance Dancin’ Oxford Festival takes over the city p30
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STYLE / EATS / BREWS / SCREEN / COMMENT 20/02/2019 13:54
MARCH 2019 FRI 1st FEROCIOUS DOG W/SUPPORT MICK O’TOOLE- CELTIC/FOLK/FOLK ROCK - 8.30pm-11.30pm £16.50 adv
FRI 1st VOODOO VAGAS - HARD ROCK ORIGINALS - 9pm-11.30pm
SAT 2nd SUPERNAUT + WIZARDS OF OZ + LIZZY LEGACY - 3 SUPERB ROCK TRIBUTES - 8pm-11.30pm £10
SAT 2nd SOUND AFFECTS - FOLK ROCK COVERS - 9pm-11.30pm
THURS 7th BUSWELL & NYBERG’S SPECTACULAR POP-UP ORCHESTRA - SWINDON - POP-UP ORCHESTRA MADE FROM LOCALLY-SOURCED FREE-RANGE MUSICIANS - 8pm-11pm £10
FRI 8th THE VIPERS - LOCAL ROCKABILLY LEGENDS MAKE A COME-BACK! - 9pm-11.30pm
FRI 8th REEF - THE 90’S ORIGINAL - 8.00pm-12.00am £25 SAT 9th NO MOTIVE DN’B NIGHT - DRUM N’ BASS - 10pm-3am £8 adv/£10 otd
SAT 9th JAMIE THYER AND THE WORRIED MEN - OUTSTANDING BLUES-ROCK ORIGINALS - 9pm-11.30pm
FRI 15th THE VARUKERS + STREET OUTLAWS - 8.30pm-11.30pm £6 adv/£8 otd
FRI 15th BLUES NIGHT FEAT. GLAS - MUSIC OF BLUES ICONS - 9pm-11pm
SAT 16th MORETALLICA + LET THERE BE DC (AC/DC TRIBUTE) - DOUBLE HEADER - 8.30pm-3am £8 adv/£10 otd
SAT 16th EMERGENCY BANTER - ROCK COVERS - 9pm-11.30pm
SUN 17th ERIC BELL - THIN LIZZY - THIN LIZZY CO-FOUNDER AND GUITARIST - 7.30pm-11pm £12 adv/£15 otd FRI 22nd 90’S VS 00’S TRIBUTE BAND-OFF SHADES OF SEATTLE VS LAST CALL - 8.30am-3am £3 SUN 24th LAZULI- FRENCH PROG-ROCKERS - 7.30pm-10.30pm £10 FRI 29th PRIVATE PARTY - VENUE CLOSED, ROLLY STILL OPEN AS USUAL - 8pm-12am SAT 30th ALL THE YOUNG DUDES - KIDS DAYTIME DISCO - 2pm-4pm £3 kids/£5 adults SAT 30th THE BRITPOP BOYS - 90’S BRITPOP CLASSICS - 8.30pm-11.30pm £6 adv/£8 otd
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FRI 22nd HAMSTERS FROM HELL - BLUES-ROCK & PSYCHEDELICA - 9pm-11.30pm SAT 23rd STAT-X - ALT-ROCK COVERS - 9pm-11.30pm FRI 29th VOODOO PENGUINS - ROCK ORIGINALS - 9pm-11.30pm SAT 30th SHEPHERDS PIE - SWINDON’S PREMIER ROCK COVERS BAND - 9pm-11.30pm
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#153
MARCH ISSUE
For Starters
04 Nerd’s Last Word, Luke Coleman 06 Encyclopaedia Ocelotica 08 Brexit means Brexit Lifestyle
11 Get A Life: La Traviata 12 Style 14 TV and Film 16 E-Sports Brews and Eats
17 Wine not? 18 Beer Monkey 19 History of doughnuts 20 The Red House 21 Recipe Arts and Culture
25 Macbeth at The Watermill 26 The month ahead 28 Swindon Fringe Festival 30 Dancin’ Oxford 2019 Music
34 Francis Rossi 36 Level 3 40 EP Reviews 42 The O2 44 The Month Ahead The Final Bit of the magazine
46 Agony Girl
Mutton & Onion Suet Pudding with Swede of the Month
Uncertainty’s good isn’t it? Do you know what’s going on? Because we certainly don’t. And with each passing day it’s becoming quite clear that no-one else, not even our Prime Minister, has a scooby what’s going on either. I’m, of course, talking Brexit. At the end of this month we’re meant to be leaving the European Union and none of us have a clue how or whether we will leave. I’ve kept no secret in these pages that we thought the referendum was the height of stupidity. An internal fight within the Tory party that somehow infected our entire country. But whatever happens this hateful division in our society has to stop. Everybody’s just so angry and it’s all being fought on the battleground that is social media. Families have been torn apart as brothers find out other brothers hold unsavoury views supporting Trump and racial inequality whilst the other brother finds out that their loved one is a snowflake lefty who just wants everyone to just get along. But neither of those brothers know what’s going to happen next. It’s all just a bit of a mess and the uncertainty is crippling not only politics but also businesses up and down the land (as how can you budget when you don’t know what you’re budgetting for?) Anyway, we delve further into it on page 8. Write in to me at jamie@theocelot.co.uk
Jamie Hill
Editor: Jamie Hill - jamie@theocelot.co.uk Deputy: Ben Fitzgerald - ben@theocelot.co.uk Reporter: Claire Dukes - claire@theocelot.co.uk Sales: Dave Stewart dave@theocelot.co.uk - 07872 176999 Rosy Presley rosy@positive-media.co.uk - 07717 501790 Kay Wainwright kay@positive-media.co.uk - 07769 978823 Telephone: 01793 781986 Publisher: Positive Media Group, Old Bank House, 5 Devizes Road, Swindon SN1 4BJ Printers: Deltor, Saltash, Cornwall
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For Starters
How to prep for Spring The Nerd’s Last Word with Michael Bosley Spring is nearly here! Rejoice! So to celebrate, we have compiled a list of inconvenient life hacks and common sense advice to help guide you through what will essentially be just a slight improvement in weather and a few more flowers. 1. Survey the garden Chances are winter has ravaged your once pristine lawn and your shed is probably mouldy. Write down a list of all the things that need doing, screw that list up tightly into a ball and launch it furiously at the sun. The sun God should hopefully take care of these problems for you. If not, go out and buy a massive gas burning barbeque that you’ll spend more time cleaning than using. 2. Renew your Spring wardrobe Gather all your coats, jumpers, jeans and shirts and snip the sleeves and legs off with a pair of scissors. Voila! A sexy spring wardrobe fit for even the most discerning fashionista! 3. Make annoying plans Warmer weather means spending more time outdoors doing things that seemed like a much better idea when you were planning them. Fantasising about hot summer festivals and road trips around the country seem romantic and exciting, but when you realise this isn’t LA and that festivals mean long weekends trudging through mud and faeces and road trips mean endless hours on the M1 queuing for some event you weren’t even that enthusiastic about, you’ll soon come to appreciate a quiet cocktail in the garden. 4. Food related nonsense You’ve managed to quietly bury the grand plans you made on New Year that ultimately ended in
failure and now need something else to announce on social media. Probably something to do with food, or detoxing or growing things in your garden, or something organic and vegan and other such noise. Make some kind of calendar counting down something or counting up to something and take lots of pretty pictures of exotic vegetables and fruits you’re only ever going to try once because of how expensive they are and how terrible they tasted. 5. Fuck about with your house You’ve effectively spent the past four months holed up in your house shivering under a blanket in front of Netflix and waiting for the warm weather to arrive. The whole place is starting to look a bit ‘lived in’ and you’ve been neglecting the housework in favour of eating hot puddings and complaining about your feet being cold. Simple chores such as cleaning the windows and mowing the lawn are a start, but you’ll soon progress to moving the furniture around for no practical or discernible reason and perhaps even resort to removing entire walls or extending a room so you can fit your new fish tank in, because, you know, you’re into fish now.
In event of Brexit pull the escape cord
Off The Grid with Luke Coleman - Our man in Iraq It’s quite exciting, living in these times, is it not? I mean, at least some people are lying. Jacob Rees-Mogg seems certain everything is going to be quite fine, and even though it’s easy to mock someone whose accent is only out-absurded by that picture of him as a kid in a camel coat and monocle, he is behaving like leaving Europe will be great eventually. He’s on record as saying 50 years, but if this great capitalist makes
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a success of Somerset Capital Management’s foray into EU markets via Dublin, then I’m sure he’ll be reinvesting in the UK forthwith, through a new a footman and nanny, probably. There’s something terrific about the Dublin swagger too, as it puts to bed the lie that Rees-Mogg doesn’t understand the delicate tango danced along the Irish border. He may have said that he wants a return to checks “as we had during the Troubles.” This just sounds like the price we must pay for taking back control from the Brussels buggers, even if it
sounds like a grim return to the days before a hard-won peace was in place. It feels like a Schrodinger’s rant this, being written at a time where things at once change quite quickly in Brexit world – you may be reading this in a world where Article 50 has been extended – but also exist in a cryogenic state, to be pushed out on a gurney before Parliament about 4 nanoseconds before we crash out. Anyway, if you need me to bring some supplies over from Iraq, you can find me on Twitter.
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By Ben Fitzgerald
Encyclopedia Ocelotica:
Water
Water is interesting - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Here’s why. Every drink (apart from Vimto - which is a mystery to science) is mostly water - even vodka, and is especially true when we think of American lager such as Budweiser, which is like making love in a canoe.. In other words, fucking close to water. Because water is the universal solvent, it can dissolve more things in it than any other substance we know. This is not just brilliant for creating a wide range of smoothies and cocktails - but also for ensuring that living organisms can transport
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important chemicals around their systems to keep them alive, not forgetting of course that the human body is 75-78 per cent H2O. Water is also weird because it expands when it freezes, instead of becoming more dense like most other normal substances. The upshot of this is burst pipes and potholes which is annoying. But without this property, we would all be dead… similarly annoying. Ice floats - and water is at its most dense at 4 degrees. This means that aquatic creatures can survive the winter buried under the mud in the bottom of a pond which doesn’t freeze. And more broadly set the conditions to allow our
slimy ancestors to evolve enough to clamber out of the water and invent central heating. And as if this is not impressive enough, water is also sticky - it has the highest surface tension of all non-metallic liquids. This means that it can work its way up though tall trees and plants - against the pull of gravity. Water also protects us against extremes of temperature - because it has a very high specific heat capacity, meaning that it takes a lot to make it hotter or colder. The oceans help protect the planet from wild changes in temperature, which is nice of them. Thank you water.
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Can’t we all just get along? Words by Jamie Hill
It’s been a tumultuous couple of years. This whole Brexit fiasco has opened up divisions in our society that we never even knew existed. We’ve got left versus right, right versus hard right, left versus hard left and that’s just the politicians. In society itself we’ve been torn asunder as battle lines are drawn up as the debate rages on and on and on and on and on. There’s old versus young, rich versus poor, educated versus non-educated, gammon versus snowflake. To quote Nigel Farage’s ill thought out - and blatantly racist - poster from the campaign, ‘We are at breaking point’. Something has got to give before we all do untold damage to ourselves. But the arguments rage on like an unstoppable hurricane with people never waivering from their poles apart viewpoints. There’s nothing wrong with voicing your opinions but we’re all now shouting at the top of our voices at a brick wall of opposing forces who are also shouting at the top of their voices. Some of the loudest shouts are completely nonsensical and don’t even pass the slightest investigation.
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Personally my biggest bugbear that I have seen repeated verbatim thanks to a certain Theresa May is ‘Brexit Means Brexit’. Let’s break that down in an imaginary argument between Tom, Dick and Harry. Tom: ‘Brexit Means Brexit’ Dick: ‘Okay, but what does Brexit actually mean?’ Tom: ‘Brexit Means Brexit’ Dick: ‘Yes, but what is Brexit? What does it actually mean? What kind of Brexit? Hard Brexit? Soft Brexit? No Deal Brexit? What does it actually mean?’ Tom: ‘It means... urm... Brexit doesn’t it?’ Dick: ‘But what is Brexit?’ Harry: ‘Hi guys, I’ve got the new iPhone XS. Aren’t I great?’ Tom and Dick: ‘Shut up Harry. We hate you!’ We are at it like rabbits when it comes to having a good argument. And we’re all immovable objects. All of us feel that all of us are right and that everyone else is wrong. But there are degrees of right and wrong. I blame the referendum campaign where both remain and leave campaigns decided to veer away from their strongest cases.
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For forwa is ove inequa benefi takes work But card t comin blame had b creak And They EU. Al farmin There should decid if you financ It wa that it And
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For instance the Leave campaign could have put forward the argument that the EU isn’t perfect. It is overstuffed and full of red tape and there are inequalities inherent in the system where some countries benefit a lot more than others. To get anything done takes an age and it needs a complete overhaul to work so we would be better off out of it. But they didn’t. They just played the immigration card telling us mere mortals that it’s those ‘foreigners’ coming over here taking all of our jobs that are to blame for our creaking infrastructure (when in fact it had been austerity that caused our infrastructure to creak and immigration had had a net benefit). And The Remain campaign weren’t much better. They could have argued about all the benefits of the EU. All the good they have done with workers’ rights, farming subsidies, cultural grants, peace and trade. There were a thousand good arguments as to why we should stay in the EU but instead the Remain campaign decided to go down the lot sexier route saying that if you vote ‘Leave’ you will all die in some kind of financial armageddon. You know? Project Fear. It was negative fighting negative. And no wonder that it turned the entire country against itself. And now we’re left in a situation where none of us
know what’s going to happen and we’re only weeks away from it actually happening. And even now we’re still arguing although we should all be hiding under our duvets watching Netflix until it’s all over and hope that the birds are still singing and the sun is still shining when we emerge. Dick: ‘I think we should have a People’s Vote!’ Tom: ‘That’s not democracy. You lost. Get over it.’ Dick: ‘Actually Tom, a vote is democracy by its very nature.’ Tom: ‘You can’t keep having votes? What is this best of three?’ Dick: ‘But we know more now. We’ll be voting more on what the deal looks like.’ Tom: ‘But that’s not democracy. There’ll be rioting in the streets.’ Harry: ‘Hi guys, have you seen my pictures I’ve just posted of me in Las Vegas. I had a great time!’ Tom and Dick: ‘Shut up Harry. We hate you!’ Soon, we should actually find out what’s going to happen and hopefully we can all start getting along again and the anger will subside. But I’m just a lefty snowflake so what do I know?
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Tattoos, booze and poos by Sara Witham
A stones throw away...
This half term, myself and three friends decided to go for the safety in numbers option and do a day at mine with 6 kids vs the four of us. As it’s the holidays, this epic play date started at 10am rather than post school so there was no gin. I am proud to say we just about survived with the help of coffee, all the snacks to chuck at them, the conservatory to shut them in occasionally and that fact that the one year old napped for two hours. When they asked to go in the garden we agreed and off they went. Things got a little rowdy so we went out to investigate, at the same time the doorbell rang. This was the start of #stonegate. Turns out the buggers had been throwing quite sizeable stones over the fence and hit the neighbours window, I am lucky that she is seriously lovely and understanding. So we now have detective work to do... they all initially deny involvement, the four year old says he didn’t do it and to be
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fair his buddies back him up. The other three deny it and all blame each other. Hmmm. So my lovely friend asks me if ‘I still have that camera upstairs that looks out over the garden’ (genius), I reply yes and we give them a chance to redeem themselves. One goes straight in with an admission but the other two are in denial, one’s even swearing ‘on the dogs life’. This is serious stuff. So I go upstairs to ‘look at the camera’ but wait on the stairs and see if the fact that I’ve left the room has an impact on the squealing. One caves, yes he ‘might have poked a stone through a hole in the fence’ ok so we’re getting somewhere now. I come back down and eye plead my buddy as to our next move to crack the final culprit. She then pulls out the big guns and tells them that I am taking the footage to the police station (you can tell she’s had three children right?). This seals the deal and we trot them round to apologise. The last two then spend the afternoon trying to make out that
their friend who left earlier than them was the ringleader, like I said, little buggers. There was also a seriously amusing conversation between two of the boys about boobs which went along the lines of... ‘That lady has big boobs!’ Both snigger. ‘Ooh look at me with my big boobs’ ‘Boys don’t have boobs, we have dimples’ ‘Oh yeah I know we have dimples, I was just pretending to have big boobs, mine are as big as a t-rex’. ‘Oh ok, we’ll mine are as big as a big boob bus!’ Uncontrollable laughter from both. ‘Well mine are as big as a house!’ More uncontrollable laughter and I am also sniggering into my tea at the ‘boob off’. Shortly after this, I discovered the state of the conservatory and immediately wished I hadn’t drank all the gin the night before...
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By Ben Fitzgerald
La Traviata:
live cinema screening
You can divide people in all sorts of ways - one of these being ‘Opera People’ and ‘Non Opera People’. I fall into the latter category… I suppose I’m more comfortable with prog rock. But in the spirit of exploration I dipped my toe into these hitherto uncharted waters. And where better to start than at Swindon’s Empire Cinema in Greenbridge - for a live screening of the Royal Opera’s performance of La Traviata? This was a double first for me, as it was also my first experience of ‘live cinema’ - in which performances are broadcast, as they happen, to hundreds of cinemas dotted around the globe. Verdi’s La Traviata is one of the clutch of operas that most people have heard of... And the famous duet (Libiamo ne’lieti calici) that crops up in Act 1 is immediately familiar to most people - even those who assume that La Traviata must be some sort of Italian car or that pizza with an egg on it. This gave me a way into the piece and allowed me to relax a bit. Presenter Clemency Burton Hill filled the screen and welcomed us to Richard Eyre’s production
- before taking the chance for a quick chat with veteran opera legend Placido Domingo who plays a supporting role in the performance. And as the drama unfolded, I found myself being caught up and carried away by the tale - the medium of an operatic performance serving to drive the intoxicating emotional intensity rather than acting as a barrier to the story telling. Jaw dropping performances by Ermonela Jaho as the female lead Violetta and Charles Castronovo as her smitten suitor Alfredo meant that I was emotionally invested in the fate of the two lovers and was borne along by the unfolding tragedy. Verdi’s La Traviata tells the story of Alfredo Germont and the courtesan Violetta Valéry who fall in love at a party in Violetta’s Paris salon. Alfredo is determined to cure Violetta of her tuberculosis, and the couple leave Paris and begin a contented life in the country. But Violetta’s happiness is destroyed when Alfredo’s father Giorgio Germont pays her a visit. Violetta’s scandalous relationship with Alfredo jeopardises Germont’s daughter’s engagement, and Germont
persuades Violetta to leave his son. Heartbroken, Violetta promises not to tell Alfredo why. Alfredo is stunned when Violetta disappears, and decides she must have left him from selfinterest. He confronts her at a Paris party and leaves her. Only when Violetta is dying does he learn the truth. As the lights came up, I was left with the stillness of mind that comes from being put through the cathartic mangle. I had to remind myself that I was sitting in the Empire Cinema Swindon rather than Covent Garden - no bad thing. It’s an uplifting feeling knowing that you don’t have to spend 30 minutes staring at someone’s armpit on the Northern Line, before sprinting for your train back to Swindon. La Traviata was a performance that will stay with me - amazingly I don’t feel it was in any way diminished by the fact that it took place in a cinema. I was genuinely transported - in the way that a flawless artistic performance can do. Perhaps I’m one of those opera people after all… See www.empirecinemas. co.uk or www.roh.org.uk for forthcoming live screenings.
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Leighton Denny’s Expert Nails Polish (£12) has a dark blue shade called Inkjet visit www. leightondennyexpertnails.com
The Belinda Velvet Throw (£75) can bring a luxury dusky feel to any space, for a full range of options visit www.raggedrose.com
The SIGG Thermo Flask In Midnight (£37.90) is a great option to suit both cooler and warmer days going into Spring visit www.sigg.com
e h t n i e r ’ You ! w o n y v a N
For some time now fashion and home styling has been dominated by grey and every colour that will go with it. Black never goes out of fashion but it’s been a while since we’ve seen blue and
particularly the darker blue shades takeover. But blue is back and specifically ‘midnight blue’ is having its moment. With Spring in the air bringing the chance of actually seeing the
stars again it is no wonder minds are moving towards the magic of midnight blue. If you want to get in on the midnight blue trend here is how. By Fashion writer Gina Akers
From left Lightweight Overhead Hoody (£20), Navy Chevron Crew Top (£28), Star Embroidered Tee (£18) www.next.co.uk
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Arabella Velvet Cushions (£35) can bring a luxury dusky feel to any space, for a full range of options visit www.raggedrose.com
To add tech to your home opt for a wireless speaker such as the smart wireless ZIPP 2 (from £229) available in grey and black which resonates perfectly with a midnight blue theme www.libratone.com
The Dune 16-Piece Cutlery Set (£55) offsets a deep blue colour way perfectly. www.viners.co.uk
The Navy Drape Front Jump Suit (£55) makes for sharp Spring styling and this shade and style will see you into Summer. www.next.co.uk
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TV and film reviews Words by Claire Dukes
Velvet Buzzsaw
Polar
From the moment I saw the trailer for Velvet Buzzsaw (from Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy) I was counting down the days to finally see it. The gist: A diseased artist’s ground-breaking work is discovered, turning the artworld inside out when its demonic subjects come to life. Cast-wise this film cannot be beaten with strong leads, - Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, John Malkovich and Zawe Ashton - outrivalling each other in the toxic art world of LA. This makes Velvet Buzzsaw extremely engaging from the off. If only the story correlated in sync... The combination of elitist personas and the use of ‘of this world’ locations (Art Basel Miami) fuses the eccentric with the
I really wanted to like Polar, I truly did. But it just fell so flat. The gist: The world’s greatest assassin, Duncan, aka the “Black Kaiser” (Mads Mikkelsen), is up for retirement. His boss sends teenage assassins to kill Duncan so the company can swipe his retirement funds because if he doesn’t make it to retirement the money goes back to the company. Given that the film is based on Victor Santos’ graphic novel “Polar: Came From the Cold”, you’re half expecting hyper-violence - it’s just a shame this is relied on the entire way through. Mads Mikkelsen is everything he is supposed to be - he’s stern, blunt and with that accidentally humorous. Whilst residing in a cabin in the middle
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plausible - it allows you to sit comfortably on the border of fact and fiction. When a collection of paintings take a dark turn within the consumer market there are certainly interesting reprisals, allegories, perhaps - but they fail to pack a punch. The premise is no doubt brilliant, and the working relationships have that celebrity intrigue, but it is seemingly the horror angle that lacks direction. It offers intrigue but falls just at the last hurdle - I had anticipated more suspense and thrill. In part this could be due to the many strings which need tying up, which distracts from finding one secure knot at the end. Although scattered the film ultimately has a brilliant premise, sensational acting, and has a lot of fun.
of nowhere, befriending his new sad-girl neighbour (Vanessa Hudgens), the ‘bad-ass’ bandits seek high and low to kill him. The assassins are spread thinly on ‘Harley Quin’ sadism - you know, where a hot girl laughs as she tortures someone, attempting to give her that sexy psycho vibe and it quickly becomes over-used and doesn’t have the same finesse. When the Black Kaiser does kick into action there are some easy-watching kicks to be had, but Polar then gets caught back into the same narrative whirl pool that keeps going around in circles with no fun slide at the end. It’s annoying, because it seems as though you know where the movie wants to go but it just keeps missing the turning.
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On the horizon...
Russian Doll
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Umbrella Academy
Abducted in Plain Sight
Fyre
I’ve seen this twice now once for my own curiosity, and the second time was purely to watch people’s reaction when seeing it for the first time. Priceless. The gist: A man abducts, molests, and marries his neighbours’ daughter. Meanwhile, somewhere in between, the parents of said daughter continue to have a relationship with the man/paedophile... Don’t get me wrong, this documentary’s plight is harrowing - a woman (Jan Broberg) who was groomed, abducted and molested at 12-yearsold is sharing her story and using it to educate people on the signs of paedophiles. It’s quite extraordinary. But, the tragic thing about this story, for me, is that her experiences are overshadowed by her parents’ moronic actions (or inactions). Many unfolding events had me raising
This has to be the slowest and most expensive car crash of a situation I have ever seen. The gist: An exploration into the power of marketing and social media which casts a storm over what is meant to be a luxurious festival in the Bahamas. In other words: how not to put on a festival. It’s amazing really watching the Fyre promo videos yourself you’d think you’d be spending up to $100,000 on a ticket to party like, and with, top models on a beach. It was quite a spectacle to behold when videos came through on the news and social media of what looked like feral rich kids on a desert island. What this documentary offers is the fundamental real cost - deception, fraud and theft. You then have to ask, ‘who are all the culprits?’ Billy McFarland?
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my eyebrows, - like the parents letting a man or ‘friendly neighbour’ lay in bed with their child, alone, as part of his ‘therapy’ but I went full Macaulay Culkin as the mother spoke about having an affair with the man who abducted and married her 12-year-old child. Okay, a simple-minded, Church-going family living in a rural community in the 70s can be painted as naive... But the Broberg’s are next level doolally. ‘Love thy neighbour’? Sure. But you don’t give your neighbour a hand job because they have a crap sex life, just out of the blue - regardless of your sexuality. It’s a mind-bending affair. The ending proves most educationally poignant in regard to Jan’s story, but the story of her parents - which runs alongside - is just the most outrageous Netflix watching I have ever seen.
The Square
Absolutely. Ja Rule? He seems to wander off... The models? This is where it gets interesting - they, like many other people were certainly blindsided but you have Kendall Jenner accepting $250,000 to post on Instagram while a local restaurant owner, Maryann Rolle, lost thousands of dollars making food for the stranded rich kids. Furthermore, many other Bahamian residents were promised money in return for their work on the festival and the Fyre crew legged it. It’s harrowing when this is foreshadowed by all the warning signs that read: stop. As a film this has been put together really well - kudos. You’d think as a documentary it’s hard to go wrong, but it definitely has happened before. The story is fluid, researched, informative, and still evokes a melodramatic thrill. A must-see.
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GAME: Sport, e-Sport and Online Fitness Words by Simon Oxlade
I have a rule when it comes to the definition of what is a sport: if the activity can be comfortably performed in a pair of jeans, then it is not a sport. Running = Sport. Darts = Pastime. I want to point out that my definition is not intended to denigrate the skill involved in many pastimes; for example Golf is a game requiring a huge amount of skill, but be honest, you can play a round without breaking a sweat. So now that we’re all agreed on what constitutes a sport, let’s take a quick look at the modern phenomenon of eSports. eSports are a form of competition using video games. This is different to online video gaming where players compete against each other in an online arena or world. eSports are organised competitive tournaments with players competing either individually or as teams, for prize money, and events frequently ‘televised’ via online streaming sites. They have proven incredibly popular, audiences for the big events numbering in the millions. The prize money is likewise large, with tens of millions of dollars in prize money being awarded annually, and top players can even be salaried. Despite the popularity, this author would argue that eSports fail the “is it a sport” test. However, these are pastimes that require the development of skills, tactics and teamwork that take months, or even years, of hard work. The skills top players have developed are truly astonishing and their
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dedication to their craft is easily equal to the top sportsmen and women. I get it, but in my opinion being amazing at DOTA2 does not make you the equivalent of Roger Federer. Yet I have recently discovered something called Zwift. Zwift is a online cycling simulation where players ride a real bike attached to an indoor trainer that replaces the back wheel of the bike with a computer controlled flywheel. The ‘game’ is an accurate simulation of a range of cycling routes. When a virtual hill begins, the indoor trainer automatically increases resistance applied to the flywheel, thus making it harder to pedal. Add in a group of virtual riders and you can have a decent workout on a bike but without going anywhere. Zwift also offers sophisticated training plans, monitoring for heart rate and power meters, and online competitions that anyone can enter. It should be pointed out that riding 100 miles on Zwift delivers a serious physical workout, and is part of a wider movement for virtual fitness. Ten years ago apps such as Strava arrived and ‘gamified’ exercise with points, scores and kudos. Zwift, Peloton and other virtual trainers further blur the lines between game and sport by adding online real-time competition. We now have an e-sport that meets my exacting definition of the term. With Zwift now supporting treadmills and offering virtual runs, who knows where we will be in the next ten years?
www.theocelot.co.uk
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Holy smoke! Cannabis wine is a thing By Darren Willmott of vinesight.me
Two words: cannabis wine. It might sound like something invented by Willy Wonka, and yet, it is a real thing. It’s coming. In fact it’s been around for several years but, due to the differing possession laws from country to country, it’s been very hard and very costly to get your hands on a bottle. The tail end of last year saw Canada follow the likes of Spain, Uruguay and various US States by legalising the recreational use of cannabis and, with another large world market opening up, the potential for infused drinks has moved a sizeable step forward. With many other countries allowing cannabis possession for personal use, experts believe that it’s only a matter of time before more and more change their stance and get onboard with full legalisation. Whilst cannabis wine isn’t likely to replace the aesthetic pleasure of reaching, for example, for a Chilean Cabernet, low/no alcohol alternatives are very much in fashion, and there is already evidence that the latest generation of drinkers are
shunning alcohol, such is the rising concern about what we put in to our bodies. Many wine drinkers would surely love to be able to get the same relaxed pleasure of taking a glass without the risk of a hangover, at a fraction of the calories and without ingesting alcohol. And cannabis users would surely love not to be risking their lungs each time they smoke it? So how does it work? Avoiding any serious mindaltering implications, only the non-psychoactive stress-busting compounds of the Cannabis plant, such as CBD, are used. The natural flavour profile of the leaf plays a dominant part to the taste and each producer will work to tease out the intricacies, in much the way standard wine is blended. Whilst alcohol is a proven antiseptic and disinfectant, it has no health benefit to the body, but cannabis has a long-proven track record of doing good, providing chronic pain relief, relieving stress disorders and treating epilepsy. Being able to freely access a safe dosage, in a legal way,
would be a benefit to users both existing and new. That’s certainly what top drinks manufacturers are pinning their hopes on, and companies such as Diageo, AB InBev and Constellation (who collectively own top brands including Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Gordon’s, Bud and Stella) are already upping their investments in cannabis growing companies. One is actually selling off some of its established brand portfolio to fund the move. With other possibilities on the table, such as infused sparkling water, even Coca-Cola are reported to be in talks. Whilst our current legislation remains as-is, it may still be some time before we see bottles of Cannabis wine adorning the shelves of UK supermarkets, but the UK cannot afford to ignore the growing trend, especially one led by the Americas. If the predicted revenues touted by the Canadian Government are anything to go by, in a post-Brexit world, we may actually not be able to afford to miss it. Cheers!
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The Beer Monkey Column From The Ocelot’s tame beer industry insider... Oxford CAMRA Awards 2019 he Oxfordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale recently celebrated all that is good in the local pub and brewing industry by handing out their annual gongs for ale-related excellence in a ceremony at St Aldates Tavern in Oxford. City pub of the year once again went to stalwart of the Oxford beer scene Chris Mee, landlord of The Masons Arms in Headington. Chris has now picked up this award a staggering 6 times since 2004 in deserved recognition for the breadth and quality of his beer selection. Town and Country Pub of the year also went to a previous winner, The Brewery Tap in Abingdon who were collecting the award for the second year in a row, and third time overall. Landlord Matt Heritage pointed out how it was down to the pub’s ability to appeal to a broad market without compromising on quality that enabled this level of consistency and excellence. The brewing gong for best beer of the Oxford Beer festival went to Little Ox’s Yabba Dabba Doo, an IPA full of peach, passionfruit and citrus flavours.
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If Little Ox are new to you, go and check them out – they are based in the village of Freeland. Head brewer and owner Ian Hemingway is creating some magical brews on their 10 barrel kit that are well worth a taste. Notable mention must go to the team at Tap Social who scored runner up with one of my recent favourite brews, Get Your Hops Off. Not a bad result for a brewery more used to brewing keg beers rather than the cask ales that CAMRA promote. Tiny Rebel Celebrate Turning 7 South Wales based brewer Tiny Rebel are one of the biggest success stories in modern brewing, with a stable of award winning beers in their portfolio and a huge reach and influence in the industry. Therefore it is hard to understand how they have only just turned 7 years old! To celebrate they collaborated with seven breweries they have become good pals with over that period to brew some absolutely fantastic brews. There’s a few special things about this set though, as it marks their first release of 440ml cans and each can features unique, standalone artwork full of little details and Easter eggs, all inspired by the beer inside.
Each brewery picked was invited to brew a beer that really sums up what Tiny Rebel loved about them, meaning as a set, it illustrates the massive breadth of the UK beer industry. So, with Fourpure, they brewed a Double Dry Hopped Pils, because their lagers are some of the best in the UK. With Deya, it was of course a mega-juicy New England IPA. Magic Rock brew some of the most drinkable, hoppy, sessionable IPAs in the land, so that’s what they brewed with them. The rest of the set is completed by a Pomegranate & Molasses Belgian Ale brewed with Yeastie Boys, a Tropical Sorbet IPA brewed with Neon Raptor and a Dark Chocolate & Cherry Barley Wine created with Siren Craft Brewing. They also added to the set a 0.5% Not So Imperial Mocha Vanilla Stout created with alcohol-free masters Big Drop. The beers are available as a gift set, or on draught at selected outlets. Lucky beer drinkers who can get to Swindon will get a chance to try these as the extended Birthday celebration tour takes in a stop at The Tuppenny on March 21st for a Tap Takeover and Meet The Brewery night.
www.theocelot.co.uk
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By Ben Fitzgerald
A history of doughnuts
By Ben Fitzgerald
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t was those crazy Dutch guys who are thought to be behind the early forms of the humble doughnut. Records reveal that the clog-wearing windmill botherers were getting their chops around ‘olykoeks’ from as early as the 19th century. These oil cakes were simply balls of dough that were deep fried in pig fat until golden brown. These ‘delicacies’ were popular amongst the Dutch who presumably needed those calories to fuel their incessant dam construction efforts and to keep them going while standing around with their fingers inserted into
dykes. Early on in the evolution of deep fat fried globs of batter, it was disovered that while the exterior of the doughnut crisped up a treat, the interior remained raw and quite frankly disgusting. This early setback was seen as a simple challenge by a resourceful nation who refused to allow the fact that most of their land is essentially underwater defeat them. The sort of people who, when confronted by a lack of available leather, decided to simply carve shoes out of wood. They simply stuffed the centre of these gloopy delicacies with nuts or fruit - leading to the name
dough-nut see?. And as the Dutch immigrants began to travel around the world and settle in different places, they became well known for proudly bringing out their olykoeks at every dinner party they were invited to. The Dutch olykoek - with its gooey interior was reworked by Hansen Gregory, an American sea captain, who punched a hole in the dough ball before frying, thereby increasing the surface area to centre ratio and ensuring an even cooking time. His ring proved highly popular - and he too was invited to many a dinner party.
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The Red House, Newbury Words by Claire Dukes
As far as British pubs go, The Red House in Newbury is about as traditional as you can get. Tucked away amongst fields sits a quaint thatched barn in Marsh Benham. Had it not been for the signs leading us down towards the entrance of a cottaage door, I would have been convinced it was someone’s home. And, this is telling of what to expect inside. Whether you sit in the bar or designated restaurant area there’s something very homely about The Redhouse - I imagine this to be what tourists think everywhere in England looks like.
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The menu matches the aesthetics in this regard - we’re in game territory now, and the menu boasts Guinness braised ox cheeks & black pudding, onion croquettes, buttery mash, Beef bourguignon and Grilled lamb’s liver. I turned my attention to the salmon and crab fish cakes on the specials board, accompanied by salad and fries. The consistency was more pasty than flaky, and with that the fish cakes tasted incredibly fresh and rich - which really complemented the texture of the breadcrumbs. My only qualm was the wooden
chopping block on which my lunch was served. It’s more of a preference thing, but it can make dining more of a task and I was enjoying the homely food dished up on a plate aesthetic, - as seen with my colleagues’ dishes - because the food speaks for itself at The Red House. What became quickly evident after our meal is that this is home dining at its best - motherly portions within a ‘Country Living-esque’ dining room - where the interior, like the food itself, is quite simply a taste of the country. www.theredhousepub.com
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Carrot
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This 1980s pairing seemed very cutting edge back then, but it has stood the test of time. Carrot and coriander are a good match and the soup has become a classic. 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 onions, chopped 1kg carrots, peeled & chopped 1 potato, peeled & chopped large bunch of fresh coriander (leaves and stems), roughly chopped salt & black pepper Heat the oil in a large pan then add the onion and carrots and sweat them gently over a
coriander soup
low heat for 20–30 minutes, being careful that they don’t catch. They should be no more than lightly browned. This is the most important stage as it is when the vegetables release most of their flavour. Add the potato, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover the ingredients with water and simmer until the potato is fully cooked, about 15–20 minutes. Finally, add the chopped coriander and whizz with a hand blender until the soup is really smooth.
Garnish ideas • a dollop of crème fraîche or cream • toasted almonds • toasted and lightly crushed cumin seeds • a couple of drops of orange flower water • walnut, hazelnut or sesame oil • 1 heaped teaspoon of ground mixed Moroccan spices, such as caraway and cumin with a little hot chilli • chopped parsley or chervil Credit: www.riverford.co.uk/ recipes
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Theatre
Shows, dance & comedy
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What links Shakespeare with Johnny Cash and The xx? This Spring, The Watermill Theatre present a bold new version of Macbeth fusing live music with Shakespeare’s thrilling tragedy. Inspired by the fierce sounds of Johnny Cash, The xx and The Rolling Stones, The Watermill’s resident Shakespeare company combine electrifying actor-musicianship with a powerful new approach to the timeless play. In times of uncertainty, power is within reach for those with the strength and courage to seize it. A ruthless, violent struggle for power leads to a devastating coup. Fuelled by greed, ambition and desire, the Macbeths will stop at nothing to survive. Billy Postlethwaite will play the title role. His credits include Game Of Thrones (HBO), Chernobyl (HBO/Sky), Journey’s End (The Watermill) and The Madness of King George (Nottingham Playhouse). The cast also includes Victoria Blunt, Sally Cheng, Eva
Feiler, Lillie Flynn, Emma McDonald, Peter Mooney, Offue Okegbe, Max Runham and Mike Slader. The Watermill Ensemble use innovative actor-musicianship to create exciting new versions of Shakespeare’s classic plays that are bold, fresh and daring. Last year, the Ensemble’s soul infused version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream thrilled audiences in Newbury and their prohibition era jazz reimagining of Twelfth Night transferred to Wilton’s Music Hall in London. Blazing with tension, energy and passion, Macbeth runs at The Watermill until March 30. Tickets £29 to £16. There are a limited number of £10 tickets available for those aged 16 to 25 to all performances. Find out more at www.watermill.org.uk/ macbeth or call the Box Office on 01635 46044.
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Theatre: highlights of the m By Ben Fitzgerald See comic legend Frank Skinner as he presents brand new material for the first time since his 2014 sell out tour, Man in a Suit - at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre this month. Don’t miss the chance to see the comedy icon live on stage. www.swindontheatres.co.uk
Frank Skinner at Wyvern Theatre, Swindon - 20/21 March 2019
In Loyal Content - Barn Theatre, Cirencester. 9/10 March 2019
In Loyal Company is the incredible true story of missing World War II soldier and prisoner of War Arthur Robinson, written and performed by his great-nephew, David William Bryan. May 1941. Hitler’s bombs rain on Liverpool. Local packer, Arthur
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Robinson, joins up becoming a private in the 18th reconnaissance division. Deployed to Singapore, his ship is destroyed by Japanese dive bombers on arrival. Arthur is declared missing. This extraordinary true story of survival is a tourde-force war epic.
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e months ahead... Rocky Horror Show at Oxford’s New Theatre March 25 - 30 2019
Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ‘n’ roll musical will be taking to the stage at Oxford’s New Theatre this month. As part of a sell-out worldwide tour, having now been seen by over 30 million theatregoers, this classic musical extravaganza will star Blue singer and Hollyoaks actor Duncan James as Frank, Strictly Come Dancing Champion Joanne Clifton as Janet and a1’s Ben Adams as Brad.
Philip Franks will take on the role of The Narrator and Kristian Lavercombe will also be reprising his role as Riff Raff, following more than 1,300 performances in The Rocky Horror Show around the world. Directed by Christopher Luscombe and featuring timeless classics, including Sweet Transvestite, Damn it Janet, and of course, the pelvic-thrusting Time Warp, The Rocky Horror
Show is the story of two squeaky clean college kids - Brad and his fiancée Janet. When by a twist of fate, their car breaks down outside a creepy mansion whilst on their way to visit their former college professor, they meet the charismatic Dr Frank’n’Furter. It’s an adventure they’ll never forget... www.atgtickets.com/shows/therocky-horror-show/new-theatreoxford
Macbeth - Watermill Theatre , Newbury - 28 February - 30 March In times of uncertainty, power is within reach for those with the strength and courage to seize it. A ruthless, violent struggle for power leads to a devastating coup. Fuelled by greed, ambition and desire, the Macbeths will stop at nothing to survive. Blazing with tension, energy and passion in their
boldest production to date, The Watermill Ensemble return with Macbeth. Inspired by the fierce sounds of Johnny Cash, The xx and The Rolling Stones, The Watermill’s resident Shakespeare company fuse electrifying actor-musicianship with Shakespeare’s thrilling tragedy.
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Swindon Fringe Festival 2019 The Swindon Fringe is back! “The Swinge”, as it is affectionately known, will play host to some fabulous comedians, fun family shows, exciting workshops, and live music. From April 5 to April 14 Swindon’s festival of
theatre, comedy and music will be returning to host an array of local and national acts. The phrase “bigger and better” is one that is frequently over-used. So it’s a testament to the Swindon Fringe that this is the perfect way to describe it. Taking place across pubs,
cafes, gallery spaces and dance studios, the Swinge continues to play host to a selection of both national and international talent from award-winning comedians, to amatuer dramatics. For the full line-up visit www.swindonfringefestival.com
Matt Fox Co-founder and director “2019 marks the 7th year of the Swindon fringe, and it’s bigger and better than ever! We’re now a major player of the global fringe circuit, affiliated with the World Fringe and attract artists from all over the planet. From something which started as a long weekend, featuring shows mainly written by the fringe directors themselves, the festival is now one of the top places to bring your show before it hits Edinburgh in the summer. With new venues coming on-board this year, including The Incredible Comic Book Store, and the newly revamped Artsite, we’re predicting larger audiences than ever before, for what is now one of Swindon’s primary arts events of the year. Get your tickets early before they all go!”
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The Opening Night
Step Dad Jokes
Where: The Crossing When: Friday April 5, 7pm What: “With live music and entertainment throughout, come and have a drink, and meet some of the acts.”
Where: The Victoria When: Sunday April 7, 7.30pm What: “Tony Cowards will bring you crashing back to reality with a rapid fire array of one liners.”
Tropez!
Monstrous
Where: Artsite When: Monday April 9, 7.30pm What: “The extraordinary escapades of a failed cat burglar and a struggling gigolo” told by an award-winning duo.
Where: Artsite When: Thursday April 11, 7.30pm What: “A powerful one woman show with more than a hint of feminism that explores the female rage.”
Sunday Solos
Everything Wrong With You Is Beautiful
Where: Swindon Dance When: Sunday April 14 What: “A collection of short performances including monologues, songs and poetry performed by local talent.”
Where: Swindon Dance When: Sunday April 14 What: “Tina Sederholm melds memoir, comedy and poetry in a thoughtful show about her fathers descent into Alzheimers.”
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Dancin’ Oxford returns this month for its thirteenth year of innovative dance performances! The event is at the helm of Oxfordshire’s innovative dance scene for celebrating and showcasing local, regional and national dance companies. From March 1 to May 21 critically-acclaimed and award-winning companies will be exploding across Oxfordshire’s venues, Pegasus Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, North Wall Arts Centre and Westgate Shopping Centre - offering both stunning spectacles and performative projects. The event is funded by Oxford City Council and Arts Council England, Claire Thompson, Oxford City Council Dance Officer said: “I am delighted that we have now engaged with venues all over the county with a wide variety of performances that should suit all tastes. “For our annual free event in Oxford City Centre we are upending the dance floor for a series of aerial performances danced to a driving musical score. What a treat!” www.dancinoxford.co.uk
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Dancin’ Oxford “the leading dance organisation in Oxfordshire” Words by Claire Dukes
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Highlights for the Spring season: Moving With The Times Where: Pegasus Theatre When: March 1 to March 2 What: “Examining the relationship between dance and life-sized sculpture.” Tickets: £13
The Head Wrap Diaries Where: Kingsmere Community Centre When: March 2 What: “Stories of community, heritage, friendship, and most importantly, hair.” Tickets: £13
Dance Creative – A Million Memories Where: Museum of History of Science When: March 7 What: “Onset dementia, told through dance, music and poetry.” Tickets: £7
Rambert2 Where: Oxford Playhouse When: March 9 to March 10 What: “A new group of the world’s best young dancers coming together.” Tickets: £10 - £25
Gecko – Missing Where: Oxford Playhouse When: March 19 to March 20 What: “A deliciously warped journey into the depths of the human psyche.” Tickets: £10 - £25
Justice in Motion – Bound Where: Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot When: March 20 What: “A thought- provoking tale of dreams and broken promises.” Tickets: £14
Clod Ensemble – On The High Road Where: Oxford Playhouse When: May 20 to May 21 What: “An intoxicating explosion of movement, music and light.” Tickets: £10 - £22
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Music
News, interviews & reviews
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The Quo must go on! Ben Fitzgerald gets deeper on down with rock legend Francis Rossi on life after Rick, the joys of touring and his latest projects...
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can’t do that, it’s your stock. But I did find myself adopting a bit of a different persona, you know, just to fit in.” So do you have a different stage identity from the other Francis Rossi - you know, the one who puts out the bins… and does other normal things? “Well yes, of course. And I suppose I have been doing this thing for so long now that it has become second nature for me. I had someone backstage saying to me ‘how do you do that?’ because right up to the moment that I am due to go on, I’m just me, just standing around chatting
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Did the doubledenim chug rock legend just say he’s a frustrated shopkeeper?
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rancis Rossi is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s a fast as a whip and his words tumble over themselves trying to keep up with his thoughts. When I give him a call he picks up after the second ring, singing the Judy Garland classic from Singin’ in the Rain: ‘Good Morning, Good Morning, We danced the whole night through!’ What would you be doing if you weren’t busy being ‘that-FrancisRossi-from-Status-Quo?’ I’m still mouthing ‘Quo’... when he comes back with his reply. “Retail..” And it takes a while for his answer to sink in… did the double-denim chug rock legend just say he’s a frustrated shopkeeper? He’s deadly serious. “It’s in the blood. When I was growing up in Forest Hill my parents ran an ice cream parlour. And in a way, being in show business is not really that different. “You are selling a product people get a bit funny when I talk about what we do in that way, but I think being aware of what you are selling, and who you are selling it to is why we have been so successful. “I’m always aware that I’m supporting a whole bunch of other people, not just my family, but also all the people who are behind the project. The thing is, people don’t want to peer behind the curtain… but that’s show business! “When I was growing up people thought I was from the posh end of town. Imagine that! It’s all relative I suppose, but it’s because my parents had a shop. They assumed that I would be helping myself to free ice cream all the time - and obviously you
and having a cup of tea. But then I can go out and perform in front of a large crowd of people and I’m that performer that everyone knows me for. It is strange I guess.” I suppose that most people know you from the classic Quo years - from the early 70s to the start of the 80s - when you became well known for your boogie rock classics. But I imagine that many are not aware that you went through an early psychedelic phase and that there are many more strings to your bow. “Oh yes, that’s very true - there is a pressure from the fans who want to pigeonhole you as a certain type of act. But the older I get, the less I find that I worry about what other people think. “My latest album is a collaboration with Hannah Rickard ‘We talk too much’ which is a country album. “As a musician, it’s important to
keep growing and pushing the boundaries.” Why do you keep touring…? “I love it. It’s because of the buzz - it’s like an addiction. You are always looking for the next fix. I suppose it’s a form of showing off. “People say that I wear them out - I’m always on the go and I’m obsessive about every little detail. “Does that make me a monster? Maybe it does. But that is one of the reasons why I have been successful - it’s the boring bits in the background that are important.” We can’t talk about Status Quo and not mention your partner in crime Rick Parfitt… “He was with me from the early days - I do have many fond memories of him. But at times he could also be a right pain. But that’s going to happen if you work so closely with someone. It’s something I talk about in my show.” Were there any moments when you wanted to call it a day for Status Quo? “Every day mate…!” Francis Rossi and collaborator Mick Wall will be touring with his spoken word show ‘I Talk Too Much’ at 36 venues including Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre during which he lifts the lid on 50 years of life on the road. Expect laughter, revelations, tales involving some of the giants of music, exclusive video clips and classic tunes. Francis Rossi’s show comes to the Wyvern Theatre on April 26. Tickets: £25 or £32.50 (for VIP seats) www.statusquo.co.uk Francis Rossi has also confirmed the release of a collaborative album We Talk Too Much with vocalist Hannah Rickard and a new autobiography written with Mick Wall.
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What’s going on? After a few years floundering in the musical doldrums, well-known bands and the hard working people who book them in are once again casting their eyes in the direction of Swindon. As a town, we’ve always embraced live music and there’s a healthy appetite for local output - but convincing tour buses to turn off at junction 15 or 16 has always been a bit of an uphill struggle. But there is a distinct whiff of change in the air. One of the key players driving this resurgence of musical interest is Darren Simons who has recently taken over the running of Level 3 and the Rolleston on Commercial Road - a stone’s throw from the town centre. It’s a punchy venue with a gleam of ambition in its eyes. Notable bookings include Pete Doherty, Electric Six and Reef. Darren explained: “In Swindon you have pockets of fans who keep the whole thing going. This is something that we are keen to build on. “Music is so diverse so you have to cater for different groups of fans. That’s what we are trying to
do at Level 3. “The local music scene has been struggling a bit because there seem to be fewer younger people getting involved in playing live music - but perhaps we are going to see that turn around now? “Since taking over Level 3 we are feeling quite optimistic about the future of live music in Swindon. We have had some great nights here and it’s great to see people from Swindon and further afield turning out to support us.” Darren explained that there was a strong following for tribute acts as well as acts playing their own original music. “We are building a strong relationship with the management of some of the larger acts. When they see that some of their smaller acts have done well here, they begin to consider us for some of their more established artists. “Hopefully it will begin to generate a buzz about the place and get people talking. “We are in talks about bringing more big names to Swindon which we hope to announce soon.” For further information see www. level3swindon.com
Pete Doherty & the Puta Madres PLAYED ON February 18 Reef March 8 Electric 6 May 16 At Level 3 73 Commercial Road, Swindon 36
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Pete Doherty & The Puta Madres
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Festival line-ups: what we know so far... Words by Claire Dukes
Good grief - it’s March already. As terrifying as it might be (for me, at least) that 2019 is speeding ahead, the plus side is that festival season is fast approaching! Last month saw a tsunami of festivals announce their headliners and this season is
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shaping up pretty nicely! More acts are shortly to be announced, but I’m already sold on many of the line-ups as they are – we’ve got some acts that I’ve recently been getting in to, some old loves that I never got the chance to see live and others I’m simply curious about. The acts
catching my eye include Foals, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Robyn, Caravan Palace, Our Girl, Don Broco, The Cat Empire and Honey Moon. This month we’re sharing some line-up snippets, but we’ll be back with our full 12-page festival guide in May.
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Reading Festival
Truck Festival
Who: Foo Fighters, Post Malone, Royal Blood, The 1975 and Frank Cater & The Rattlesnakes When: August 23 to August 25 www.readingfestival.com
Who: Foals, Wolf Alice, Slaves, Nothing But Thieves, Don Broco, Two Door Cinema Club and IDLES When: July 26 to July 28 www.truckfestival.com
Larmer Tree Festival
Cornbury Festival
Who: The Cat Empire, Kate Tempest, Jack Sovoretti, Gomez and KT Tunstall When: July 18 to July 21 www.larmertreefestival.co.uk
Who: Thr Beach Boys, The Specials, Keane and The Hairy Bikers Festival Feast When: July 5 to July 7 www.cornburyfestival.com
2000 Trees Festival
Readipop Festival
Who: You Me At Six, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, While She Sleeps and Every Time I Die When: July 11 to July 13 www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk
Who: Cassette Boy, Sleeper, The Orb, The Keep Cats, Brand New Heavies and The Primitives When: July 12 to July 14 www.readipop.co.uk
Are you Listening?
Wilderness Festival
Who: Flamingods, Krafty Kuts, Willie J Healey, Catgod, Our Girl and Honey Moon When: Saturday April 27 www.areyoulistening.org.uk
Who: Robyn, Bombay Bicycle Club, Caravan Palace, Tom Odell and Groove Armada When: August 1 to August 4 www.wildernessfestival.com
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Words by Claire Dukes
The Ocelot music reviews
Album review: My Nebraska Artist: Jol Rose
My Nebraska is old country at the forefront, but hasn’t been achored by the same aging often associated with the genre. Rose’s lyrics balance reflexive sorrows with an anticipative energy - and it makes the album very aware of itself. There’s elegant introductions and backing from the violin that cradles the gentle guitar strokes througout - most complimentive
in Waltz and Autumn Song. I am here reminded of Nico and Lou Reed’s storytelling abilities of life as it is. It’s harmonious listening. Although not very versatile in sound, the album is rooted in raw, heart-felt feeling that strips itself back to a sweet simplicity which really captures the essence of My Nebraska: a man, a guitar and the open road.
www.soundcloud.com/jol-rose
If you set fire to Lenka and Feist, it would be Joely that would rise from the ashes by the way in which she plays on their melodic vocals, with a modern twist, to create urban jazz-pop with plenty of edge. With this Joely has taken angsty thoughts and transcended them into contemporary café jazz, - evoking soul as well as
pop - which has been executed is a suave yet agile manner. My favourite tracks gather in the middle with ‘Tuesday’, ‘Desire’ and ‘Mean’, - the swagger, sophistication and rhythm could have seen them featured on HBO’s Girls - through the way in which Joely intimately approaches her lyrics whether they be self-referential or not.
EP review: EP Artist: Joely Rendle www.soundcloud.com/joelyrendle
Album review: Songwriter Artist: John Oaks
Songwriter is an album I’d happily feel sad to. It’s Simon & Garfunkel folk rock instrumentals meets the soothing vocals of R.E.M, encompassing a sorrowing wisdom that seems to ignite both anguish and rapture (It Cannot Be). As far as lyrics go Oakes is a natural, and poetical, storyteller. Accompanied by guitar, piano and harmonica, the album takes
you from the back streets of Paris (The Evacuee) to the remote lands of sea ports (Through the Years). He echoes the visceral capabilities of Laura Marling in this regard, and his songs transport you through memorial states, but ultimately offers solace. Songwriter is all very ‘misery loves company’, but in a very tranquil and redemptive fashion.
www.johnoakes.bandcamp.com
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www.theocelot.co.uk
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LIVE: allusinlove at The Jericho Tavern, Oxford Words by James Queralt
It doesn’t take long from first stepping into north Oxford’s Jericho Tavern to realise just how steeped in musical history the venue truly is. The pub, situated half way down and thus right in the middle of the action of Jericho’s famously hip Walton Street, prides its intimate upstairs music venue as a platform that helped to launch some of the UK (and beyond)’s biggest ever bands. Local heroes Supergrass, Ride, Radiohead, Foals and Stornoway have all played there during their formative years, with the likes of Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club, Ben Howard and, one of my personal favourites, Perfume Genius – who I had the pleasure of seeing at the Jericho some eight-to-ten years ago – all going on to make a name for themselves having played there. On Monday night, it was the turn of Yorkshire outfit allusinlove to follow in the footsteps of those famous names by making the Jericho stage their own. A fourpiece originally from Castleford, West Yorkshire, the band formerly known as allusondrugs garnered something of a cult following from live shows in Leeds as early as 2012. After their previous moniker raised the eyebrows of one event booker too many, allusinlove were
born following a brief hiatus in late 2018, announcing their return with a four-night residency at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club over November and December. Fastforward to Monday night at the Jericho, the band took to the stage after support from local boys Lake Acacia and Sheffield band Hands Off Gretel. Frontman Jason Moules once said in an interview that “anything we see live played with feeling will always influence us in some way or another” and it’s fair to say that feeling is what we got here, right from jangly indie rock opener Full Circle through to closing track All Good People – the first release from the band’s recent self-titled EP. While the band have previously cited Nirvana as “a huge part” of their formation as a band, All Good People is distinctly more Foo Fighters in execution, though the manner in which the melody crescendos into a strong vocal hook is reminiscent of both bands. Through no fault of his own, Moules’ voice was often lost in the noise of bandmate Andrej Pavlovic’s swirling guitar, so the song’s extended outro provided a welcome opportunity to break from this issue and for the crowd to focus solely on the
band’s energetic instrumental performances. Despite that, Moules smiled through every song and moved around the stage with a confident swagger. In between, the crowd – who were continually encouraged by the band to move forward and occupy the space near the stage with the invitation: “don’t be shy; we may be northern, but we don’t bite” – were treated to older track All My Love, described by Moules himself as “quite catchy”, and brand new song It’s Ok To Talk, a downtempo yet characteristically noisy track – evidence of a penchant for My Bloody Valentine – that follows along with some of the darker themes of the new EP concerned with broken relationships. At the end of the set, the band hopped off the stage, sweaty but seemingly very satisfied, mingled with the crowd, and headed to the bar or merch desk accordingly – the same route taken by a collection of bands who are now amongst the country’s favourite of recent times. It’ll be interesting to see whether allusinlove’s tracing of that route stops there, or whether they can take it beyond the doors of the Jericho and onto some of the country’s biggest stages.
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The Coral bring latest album to Oxford’s O2
After a five year hiatus, The Coral are back on the scene with brand new material and a set of UK gigs - including Oxford’s O2 Academy, Saturday March 2. Move Through The Dawn is the second chapter in the story of The Coral Reborn. After 2010’s Butterfly House this beloved Wirral band, whose members apart from singer James Skelly went from being at school to being on tour with Oasis with hardly a moment to stop and think about what was happening, took a five-year break. That
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period was, as keyboardist Nick Power says, “Like going into Castle Greyskull. The outside world was a scary place.” But it was necessary. The Coral returned recharged with 2016’s psychedelic, riff-heavy Distance Inbetween. Now they have come back with an album filled with perfectly crafted songs: melodic, hopeful. “We had pretty much written a whole other album in the style of the last one,” says James, on how Move Through The Dawn came to be. “Distance Inbetween was well
received, and it would have been easy to go in and do the same thing again. Then we booked the studio and had a revelation: we had to go in the opposite direction. We had to write three minute songs, all the fat trimmed off, hardly any solos. I mean, I like the War on Drugs and the Arcade Fire, but does your shortest track have to be over five minutes long? It seemed that three minute songs had become unfashionable in guitar music and they needed reviving.” www.academymusicgroup.com
www.theocelot.co.uk
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Music for the months ahead Words by Claire Dukes
As far as music announcements go, last month was crazy. Festival season isn’t well and truly upon us just yet, but the lineups sprung up like wild fire - as did some amazing UK tour dates for some bands I haven’t heard for a while, like Blood Red Shoes! This duo (pictured above) had reigning moments over my teenage soundtrack - ‘Box of
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Secrets’ (2008) still holds dear memories. They’re currently touring their fifth studio album ‘Get Tragic’ to sold out venues across the UK and Europe. Coming out for a second leg they’ll be hitting Bristol’s Thekla, November 15, during their winter tour as a three-piece to give the album an extra kick. I cannot wait! And now we wait... and happily
kill time with some ever-great gigs coming up these next two months! My highlights have to be the menacing math rock trio Let’s Swim, Get Swimming, a Bristol band/artist on the rise, - Chay Snowdon - and the majestic Erja Lyytinen returning to the UK! For previews, interviews and reviews email claire@positive-media.co.uk
www.theocelot.co.uk
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Let’s Swim, Get Swimming
Candy Says
The Orielles
Where: Darkroom Espresso, Swindon When: Friday 1 March, 8pm www.lsgs.bandcamp.com
Where: O2 Academy, Oxford When: Saturday 2 March Doors open: 7pm www.academymusicgroup.com
Where: The Bullingdon, Oxford When: Sunday 3 March Doors open: 7pm www.thebullingdon.co.uk
Reef
Mellor
Erja Lyytinen
Where: Level III, Swindon When: Friday 8 March Doors open: 7pm www.thevicswindon.com
Where: Modern Art Oxford When: Friday 22 March Doors open: 8pm www.modernartoxford.org.uk
Where: The Bullingdon, Oxford When: Wednesday 27 March Doors open: 7pm www.thebullingdon.co.uk
Chay Snowdon
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation
William The Conqueror
Where: The Louisiana, Bristol When: Thursday 18 April Doors open: TBC www.thelouisiana.net
Where: The Bullingdon, Oxford When: Tuesday 23 April Doors open: 7.30pm www.thebullingdon.co.uk
Where: Fat Lil’s, Witney When: Friday 26 April Doors open: 8pm www.academymusicgroup.com
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Agony Girl
Six-year-old Amy celebrated her birthday last month and now owns nearly every LOL doll in the whole wide world, but she’s still got time to answer your questions. We read her the questions and these are her answers... honest. Dear Amy, I’m a bit uncertain. I’ve been in this relationship and announced a couple of years ago that I wanted to leave but now I’m realising that if I leave I’ll end up totally on my own with no money and unable to really stand on my own two feet. I’m thinking of going back but I don’t know if they will take me back but I’m thinking of using a backstop arrangement to make sure that there’s still access to the rest of my family. Should I just leave or should I remain? Greta Britton Remain because you still want to talk to your family and you’d have money. Dear Amy, Your big sister seems to play with you a lot but sometimes she doesn’t and wants to do her own thing. Are you getting quite good at playing on your own and what do you play? George, Swindon I play Barbies and LOL Dolls. Sometimes I’m good at playing on my own but sometimes I just want to play with somebody and my sister is good at playing with me. Dear Amy, If a squirrel had a fight with a badger who would win? And what would they be fighting about? Do you like fighting? Gav, Oxford No. I hate fighting. The badger would win. They would be fighting about whoever can run the fastest. Dear Amy, I want to build a wall to keep my neighbours out as they
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keep coming into my garden but I want my neighbours to pay for it but they’ve refused. I’ve then asked my parents to pay for it but they’ve also refused. Should I just call an emergency and use all my savings to get the wall built even though it’s not really an emergency? Donald, Washington Nope. You should just make friends with your neighbours then you wouldn’t have to build a wall at all. Dear Amy, If you don’t know someone do you think they really exist or do things only exist if you’ve actually met them? Karen, Chippenham If they are real that means they exist. I haven’t met someone at school in the new class but I know they are real because I saw a new person. Dear Amy, If you could make a theme park what kind of rides would it have and what would it be called? Sandra, Salisbury It’ll be called Wyvern and it would have a big wheel, rollercoaster, and a new ride that I’ve just made up called character cars. There’s some Mario Kart people and there’s a car on top of them and there’s a ladder to go up and then you’re into it and then you ride. Dear Amy, You smell! Stephanie, Swindon You smell more! To write into Agony Girl send in your questions to editorial@theocelot.co.uk
www.theocelot.co.uk
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