It’s
Swindon Shuffle time again! This multi-venue, multi-night charity-focussed
local event, conceived by my old mate Rich Craven as Swindon’s answer to the Camden
Crawl and shining a light on the musical talent available in the ‘don, had been
shamefully absent from my Dance Card for 3 years for a variety of reasons, but
mainly due to the demise of my local faves Raze*Rebuild. With nothing else
local really grabbing me by the ‘nads and depositing me on the dancefloor like
Si’s blue-collar popcore rockers did, I allowed myself to drift a bit from the
goings-on within my very own town. However, with a smattering of intriguing
local acts that I’d been meaning to check out, plus a couple of old faves and
one surprising Big Name (well, at least for The Shuffle!) on this year’s bill,
it felt time to end my self-imposed absence…
Starting
with the (musical) opening night on Thursday, and a run of checkable-outable
acts on at the upstairs room of The Hop. I drove up the hill early doors and
parked in Britannia Place behind the venue, greeting Linda, manning the merch,
and popping upstairs to join the early comers for openers AQABA, on at 7.15. A
veteran Bath unit, this lot, I have to confess I didn’t hear too many of the
supposed Death Cab/ National US alt-rock influences in their sound, but what I
did hear was intriguing; some taut, brooding rhythms on opener “Girls On
Glass”, then some more upbeat keyboard embellished jangly 70’s new wave and
more understated melancholic pop on subsequent tracks. A couple of bum notes
too, but to be expected from this evening’s opening act, which I cut short as I
needed to return a call from my brother.
Stepped
back in via a chat with old mate Andy, for SEBASTIAN AND ME, next up. This was
immediately much more the ticket, and right in my 90’s alt-rock wheelhouse;
“Keep On Running” was an anthemic slice of Dinosaur/ Superchunk laze alt-rock,
and “Love Conquers All” featured some nice choral harmonies from this Devizes
lot, along with some more sweeping and widescreen middle 8 guitar work. “I
Wanted You To Know”, apparently a recent release, recalled early Teenage
Fanclub in its chunky ascending guitar pattern and mid-song harmony break, and
overall this was a heartfelt emotive rock set played with attention, purpose
and no shortage of talent, culminating in the band exhorting a mate to add the
“la la la”s on closer “Typical Boy”. Good stuff from a band whose overall sonic
template would have seen them fitting right in with TFC, Posies and even my
faves Gigolo Aunts in that 90’s post-grunge era…
Took
a break in the pub downstairs, running into old Posse mate Rog, in town for the
Shuffle! Popped back upstairs for the more popular SOBER SUNDAYS; a younger
band (clearly with plenty of mates in the crowd!), I liked the slow-burn,
heartfelt number about the singer’s older brother, which ultimately proved an
outlier to their usual oeuvre of bouncy, taut, tempo-changing almost funk based
pop with occasional pastoral interludes and brief nods to knockabout Britpop
indie, over which the chunky, kinetic vocalist largely rapped his delivery. As
I said, a popular set and clearly good at what they do, but not my cup of
eclecticism.
Another
downstairs break, another old friend; this time my fellow R*R fan Paul, whom
I’d not seen for a few years! Catch-up time then, and a quick chat with the
Sebastian And Me gents (which earned me a free CD. Yay!) before we joined the
busiest crowd of the night for the 9.30 arrival of BETTER HEAVEN… this was so
busy, in fact, that much of the young BH massive had stepped up onto the front
of the Hop’s admittedly wide stage. This however created a two-pronged issue
for us folks at the back; not only did this render seeing the band nigh-on
impossible, but it also mucked with the sound, the onstage bodies absorbing the
speaker volume and bouncing it back onstage. Given that BH’s material was
largely wispy female fronted Summery yet understated ethereal dreampop, this
gave the impression that their songs might just drift away on the slightest of
breezes! So ultimately a frustrating experience overall, with their most
memorable number being the closer, a real outlier with an almost scuzzy glam
metal base. Bizarre!
And
so to tonight’s headliners WILD ISLES. I’d heard good reports of their
billowing and windswept post grunge/ alt-country sound, which made them sound
like a toned-down Manchester Orchestra, and the lead singer’s fulsome beard
only added to that impression! However, opener “Stand In Silence” was much more
upbeat than expected, giving very Therapy? vibes in its rambunctious riff-heavy
alt-rock groove. Things became mellower thereafter; “What Would You Say” was a
blend of slow-burn QOTSA desert/ stoner rock with strumalong interludes and a
big crashing crescendo; a “couple of emo things” were suitably brooding and
plaintive; and “Fake Hearts” was a more upbeat Gaslight Anthem-esque heartland
blue-collar bluesy rocker. Closer “Still Dreaming” featured a big singalong
choral hook and a riff-heavy climax, before Shuffle impresario Ed persuaded the
band back out for an impromptu (and moshpit-inducing) encore, rounded off with
thanks from the singer, “for staying out way past my bedtime!” Mine too, but
chats and catch-ups with Paj and Avril saw me getting home about half 11, after
a fine Shuffle Day 1 won out, for me, by Sebastian And Me!
Shuffle
Friday, as per last night at The Hop, was a one-venue night, Vic all the way
for me; a slightly later drive up the hill meant the usual Vic car park was
already full, with cars circulating aimlessly, but luckily, I grabbed the last space
in the car park behind the Roaring Donkey. These parking shenanigans however meant
that I was a bit late for ANYMINUTENO’s opening set at 7.45. Featuring mate
Pete “Monkey” backing up his punk rock scenester brother Jeeves, I was
expecting this to be a bit of a buzzsaw UK82-alike hardcore racket. Happily I
was proven wrong from the outset; this was strong-armed robust street urchin
punk rock, undoubtedly, but with more leanings towards the class-struggle
polemics of the likes of Stiff Little Fingers, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, and
the ‘No’s most obvious comparison, New Model Army (a bit on the nose, this comp,
but hey, if I hear clip-clops, I’m saying “horse”…). Much more coherent and actually
melodic than I expected too, particularly when Jeeves hit the frantic
strumalong acoustic guitar button, this was a fine opening set, Jeeves announcing
at the end, “there’s loads of other bands coming up; [however] I can’t remember
them as I’ve got a fish head,” his bandmate retorting with, “and a mouse cock…!”
Loads
of folks already out – Paul, Andy, Dubs, Paj and Avril, and old punk mate Olly
(it’s crusty old punk rocker night, of course Olly is out!) – so a bit of rock chat
whiled away the time between bands. A particularly fun catch up too with old
You Are Here drummer Alan, who I’d shamefully not recognised putting in a shift
with Jeeves’ lot, which then pitched us up for Essex folk trio WILSWOOD BUOYS,
next up. Taking the noise down a notch, their set was however still shot
through with a similar protest punk attitude (viz. the early emotive anti-war
protest “Crisis”) alongside their rootsier hoedown material, with an early
“This Must Be Love” a bouncy hoedown with a stream-of-consciousness gabbled vocal.
“Change”’s speeded-up ending required some intricate picking from guitarist
Joe, and “Save The Queen”, referring to a drinking game of the same name, was a
punkier closer recalling (again, clip-clops = horse) Frank Turner.
It
then got noisier again (and a damn sight busier!), with a double-whammy of
younger local punk/ emo types. NOT WARRIORS, on at 9.15, had seemingly brought
their families and all their college mates with them, and played it hard and
riff-heavy from the outset, with an early “Escape Redefined” taking me right back
to those 2000’s Finch/ All American Rejects/ Taking Back Sundays times. A
well-observed cover of Modern Baseball’s excellent “Your Graduation” was an
early highlight for me (also sounding a bit scuzzy and Midway Still-esque to
these old ears!), a punk rock cover of the Scooby Doo theme had me texting my
absent son Logan (a headache precluding his planned attendance tonight –
lightweight!), and a frantic, noisy yet occasionally quite hooky and anthemic
set closed out with a robust fist-pumping “King Of The Playground”. A chat with
a passing Pete Monkey, before VIDUALS kept the volume up at 11 and the pace setting
to Eiffel Tower High with some hard-hitting emo punk popcore. A bit more
haphazard and thrashier than the previous lot, surprisingly, Swindon’s self-confessed
“laziest power trio” nonetheless ploughed gamely through their technically
beset (the singer repeatedly cussing out his pedal board) yet well-received
heavy beat/ power-chord driven set, the hooky chorus of closer “Coming Back To
You” the best of a Greatest Hits set from an apparently long if unproductive career…
This
took us to 10.30 and the place surprisingly thinned out a little (past Not
Warriors’ college mates’ bedtimes, maybe?!), but I was joined by Beef and his mate
Jas for tonight’s headliners, and possibly one of the best-known bands to play
The Shuffle. “I’m so fucking excited I might wet myself!” exclaimed Shuffle
Head Honcho Ed by way of introduction to PET NEEDS; I’d last seen this Essex rabble
delivering an impressive set in support of Frank Turner in Bristol in 2022 (gig
1,248), and since then they’d put together a valid case to be the Mega City
Four of current times, packing in their day jobs and embracing a DIY “have van,
will travel and gig” ethos which has seen their profile raise accordingly.
Quite a coup for The Shuffle, then (I suspect my gig friend Joanne, who’d toured
Europe with them as merch person and was standing next to me, front and centre,
at this point, had a hand in their inclusion...), and the boys proceeded to
justify their status from the outset, tearing the Shuffle a new one with a
high-octane, high energy set of rabble rousing yet hooky emo punk/ old school
punk noise. “We’ve got a brand-new van – it’s been cleaned inside and out and
is the slippiest thing ever!” announced frontman Johnny Marriott, prior to a
riotous Buzzcocks-esque “Fingernails”; “Separations” was a super-speedy
gabbling punk rock luge ride with Johnny’s in-your-face vocal a feature; and
“Tracey Emin’s Bed” an old school proto punk romper stomper. Throughout, Johnny
demonstrated he’d learned much at the feet of the archetypal audience mass communicator
Frank, calling for singalongs, jumpalongs and general involvement and inclusion
from the unusually engaged Swindon crowd. The “ba ba ba” singalong of
“Toothpaste” and emotive and anthemic “Get On The Roof” rounded off a
breathless and incendiary set from a band I really need to get to see more
often…
Caught
my breath, grabbed a list and got it signed by the buoyant band, and bade
farewell to all and sundry after a very enjoyable punk rock Shuffle Friday,
home after midnight via the kebab van for a (very) late tea. I still got up for
my usual Saturday morning gym sesh, however, but the after effects of said workout
and the Friday night, plus the Red Sox on TV, persuaded me to give the Saturday
Shuffle a miss altogether. Now who’s the lightweight…? Nonetheless, after a
family Sunday lunch gathering, I was up for some Sunday afternoon acoustic
shenanigans at the Beehive, this time with son Logan and his boyfriend Kristian
in tow. We hit the surprisingly quiet ‘hive at 4.30, the Tuppenny apparently having
run late so shunting back acts here by 15 minutes. We grabbed a drink and a
seat in the side room, then, for a listening brief for Beehive openers TRIAMI
at 4.45. A trio of 3 female voices and one lightly strummed acoustic guitar,
their stock in trade was warm, wistful and wispy pastoral strumalongs with
layered and intertwining choral harmonies, very angelic in expression and
delivery, and formed a pleasant backdrop to our quiet chatting (didn’t want to
disturb any listeners…).
Ben
Sydes and Evie arrived midway through after apparently travelling 5 ½ hours (!)
from Pembrokeshire for his B SYDES set; we offered our services as a backing chorus
if he wanted to compete with the opening act but thankfully he declined, announcing
to a fuller crowd when he kicked off his set at 5.30, “[those were] lovely
vibes from the previous act – and now I’m going to ruin all of that!” After a
suitably pacey and impassioned new opening number, “Crutches” was its’ usual
rollicking self, Logan and I chanting “knees! Knees!” at the suitable juncture.
Another newie, the slow-burn descending chorus of a stark “Full Of Screams” preceded
a singalong to “This Was My City Once”, and another newie, the sombre and
introspective self-examination of “Character Arc” was followed by the discordant
emo of “Self-Sabotage”, before an ebullient Ben rounded off an energetic and
intriguing (with some splendid new material on show) half hour with another
rousing choral singalong to “The Desperate Dance”. Fine work, young man!
We
took a break outside as this oddly shaped multi-tiered pub got really stupid busy,
popping outside into the side alley as Tim and his bandmates arrived, so we
stayed out there chatting instead of catching an expanded Canute’s Plastic
Army. Sorry! At the appointed hour, we shoe-horned our way back in, past mates
Paul and Paul (!), and managed to grab a bar space alongside Paj and Avril and
Avril’s sister Ingrid for THE SHUDDERS’ onstage arrival at 10 past 7, now in
front of an utterly rammed Beehive (so much so, that Ed suggested as part of
his introduction that if anyone needed the loo, they go out of the door at the
back and walk round the outside of the pub rather than trying to squirm
through!). Tim and the boys were however in no mood to make concessions to the
packed and seriously hot venue, delivering a full-on rock set of their indie/ alt-Americana
blend, with opener “Get Out Of Here” setting the tone with some rocking and chunky
early 90’s Gin Blossoms vibes, and the layered harmonies of “Thought I Saw You”
featuring some intricate and melodic picking from guitarist Liam and a fine crescendo
build.
“We’re
almost there, and we’re all still alive…” commented vocalist Danny before the
Byrds-ian heartland country rock of “Long Way Down”, then the sombre and morose
yet widescreen “Mary’s Grace” provided some respite from the rock (“we were
going to start with this one but thought we wouldn’t be bastards!” quipped Danny
before kicking this one off). Closer “Rolling Sea” however was the highlight, a
slow burner which built momentum throughout, a big harmonic pre-middle 8 crescendo
particularly notable, and earned a comment of praise from Ed at the conclusion
of this slightly truncated but fine, dynamic set from “the Shuffle House Band!”
as Ed described them.
And
that was us all Shuffled out, as I needed to take Kristian back home to Malmsbury.
Farewells to all and sundry, then, before we hit the road after an excellent
weekend of fine music and company. Glad I ended my Shuffle exile this year
then; whilst “outsiders” Pet Needs may have been hands down my favourite band of
the weekend, an intriguing and entertaining slew of new (well, new to me) local
bands, headed by Sebastian And Me, enlivened my first 2 nights, and veteran faves
B Sydes and The Shudders delivered fine Sunday sets too. So hopefully after
this year, The Swindon Shuffle will stay back on my Dance Card again!
