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Cherwell Music’s guide for freshers

Venues

Baby Love

Home to the city’s premier gay night (Poptarts, Tuesdays), best alt dance night (Eclectric, even week Thursdays), and gathering place of the University’s self-appointed glitterati (Supermarket, odd week Thursdays), the tiny bar known as Baby Love is integral to the Oxford night scene. With its unisex bathrooms, drink-soaked staircase, and grotto-esque dancefloor, it tends to get more than a little cramped, but the music and company are (usually) worth it. So dump your coat in one of those grimy makeout booths, grab a Woo Woo (£4), and enjoy the beat.

The Jericho Tavern

Tucked away in the attic of North Oxford’s rather well-to-do Jericho. the Jericho Tavern is the city’s most legendary music venue: The Jericho. Radiohead debuted here in 1986, Ride and Supergrass made their break on its (cramped) stage. The Jericho still offers the most varied line-ups in Oxford, including shows from local notables and student bands as well as playing host to touring indie up-and-comers. It’s dark, it’s loud, but for the devotees of Oxford’s lively music scene, it’s home.

Modern Art Oxford

For anyone interested in getting acquainted with the city’s music scene, MAO should be a regular haunt. Not the most obvious place to look for live music, the gallery’s schedule isn’t exactly cram-packed with gigs but the cheap as anything shows in MAO’s small basement space are always worth a punt. Having recently hosted the spectacular ODC Drumline vs. Coloureds (four live drummers playing to fuzzed-out electro, what’s not to love?), MAO is consistently at the forefront of Oxford’s fascinating music scene and warrants a visit during the day for its always interesting, although admittedly of variable quality, exhibitions which change a couple of times per term.

The Cellar

Hidden down the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Frewin Court, just off Cornmarket Street in the centre of town, The Cellar bar has something of a split personality. Jumping without a thought from comedy club to live music venue to night club, The Cellar’s schedule is as eclectic as its punters. Of the regular events at The Cellar, dancing the night away on the packed stage between the huge, bass spewing speakers at d&b/dubstep night Freerange is a highlight and probably one of the best nights out Oxford has to offer.

 

Shows

The Horrors, O2 Academy 21st October

The gloomy post-punk sounds of Southend’s hippest export The Horrors should serve as a fitting soundtrack to Michaelmas term’s shortening days and fast approaching essay deadlines. Touring with their expansive new record, Skying, The Horrors have spent the summer on the festival circuit refining their already well-oiled live show. Prepare for cinematic keyboards, pounding bass and drainpipes.

DOOM, O2 Academy 10th November

Masked Atlanta rapper and underground legend MF DOOM has carefully cultivated an aura of mystique. Ever the ‘supervillain’, he is known to send imposters to his own live shows in his stead. Still, the risk is worth it for DOOM, an unsurpassed lyrical genius and producer extraordinaire. This isn’t your standard shouted-out hype hip hop gig: expect a brooding, rhyme-spitting performance.

Wild Beasts, O2 Academy 11th November

Wild Beasts, coming off their acclaimed release of Smother, have a strain of earnest theatrically that makes their music peerless, and their gigs are no different. Their operatic renderings of picaresque Kendal lad life are translated perfectly into the live setting. Thorpe and Fleming’s voices ricochet off the rafters, matched in intensity only by their ferocious and marvellously precise instrumental backing. Consummate professionals all, the quartet is sure to deliver. Come early for delightful dream pop openers Braids.

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