Sounds Around Town with Dave Franklin (From This Is Wiltshire)

Sounds Around Town with Dave Franklin

2:55pm Thursday 19th January 2012 in Music

Sounds Around Town with Dave Franklin

Some weeks when compiling this column it’s easy to forget that Swindon is, culturally speaking, a reasonably small concern.

There are some weeks when on the music front we look very healthy compared to our near neighbours, Oxford and Bristol, weeks when we certainly punch above our weight in the gig stakes.

Unfortunately by my, admittedly exacting, standards, this week isn’t one of them; this is a week that reflects our status as a parochial railway town.

Nothing wrong with that – we are what we are, and it does help to emphasise the musical embarrassment of riches that we often take for granted. Ignoring the usual standard listings of Quiz, Karaoke, Disco and the ever popular TBC, original bands are a bit thin on the ground; thin but not totally devoid.

Fans of people playing other people’s music will have a field day, and I know that next week is set to deliver a slew of fantastic gigs to go to, but for now it’s all about leaving boundaries largely unpushed and embracing the familiar sounds of what has already gone before.

So then, as if to deliberately trip myself up and contradict my opening statement, I urge you all to check out The Roving Crows at The Beehive tonight. This music award-nominated favourite of the festival circuit inject their core Celtic folk sound with everything from jazz to klezmer, blues to ska, to create a highly unique, fiery live show. Take it from me, you will not be disappointed.

If rock and metal covers are more your sort of thing, then Hot Flex at The Victoria will get your juices flowing. Get that patched denim jacket out, embrace your inner mullet and boogie the night away to the sounds of UFO, Thin Lizzy, Saxon and the like. It will be like the New Wave of British Heavy Metal never went away. Rock on!

More classic rock at The Victoria on Friday with a tribute the most metal R’n’B band in the world, AC/DC, while the Great Nothing plunder the back catalogue of the likes of Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, ELP and The Doors (you have got to admire a band who are named after a song by arch-prog rockers Spock’s Beard. Whaddayamean who?) Syntronix at Riffs Bar is the one to go for if you “just can’t get enough” of those 80s hits.

Staying at Riffs, Saturday brings something very interesting in the form of Happy Martyr. Morrissey sidekick Boz Boorer and Who Shot Who vocalist Alex Lusty combine to create a unique urban folk sound – think an MC fronted early Tyrannosaurus Rex. Intriguing, no?

Innes Sibun delivers his white-hot blues to The Rolleston, and on the tribute front, Jimi Hendrix and Cream are being replayed at The Victoria and it’s blue rock all the way at The Bakers Arms from Straight Six.

The Sunday afternoon session at The Beehive features Jim Blair. Normally found fronting the wonderful Hip Route, as a solo act he is no less impressive; virtuosic lap guitar and funky, upbeat blues vibes make this the perfect chill out before facing up to the fact that you have work in the morning.

As always, Tuesday night is jazz night at Baker Street. This time The Bateman Brothers will be playing tribute to the legend that was Louis Armstrong and, if ever there was a reason to play someone else’s songs, this must surely be it.

Finally I shall bow out with another original act. The debut show for A & T at The Victoria is going to be a real must-see affair as this nine-piece band throw funk, jazz, rock and brass into the hip-hop mix and come up with something extremely unique.

If this week shows anything it shows that people are quite happy to stay with the music that is familiar to them, music that evokes the good times of their youth maybe, music that feels like greeting an old friend, music they can identify with and have grown up with.

With that in mind I will leave you with one quote to ponder: a ship may be safe in harbour, but that is not what ships are for.