Purpose Built Venue? It's Madness

I went to see Madness at the Oasis on Monday. You might not be bothered, but I was. I was in the crowd, jiving along with multiple hits, when I noticed a photographer from the Swindon Advertiser. Obviously, I knew a review would appear, but now I knew for certain.

The next morning, I feverishly tore through a copy of the Adver until I found it. I read through it and, to be brutally honest, I was disappointed. It started off as a concert review, but halfway through it shifted focus. From a live review, the story went on to cover the long standing debate about Swindon having it's own purpose-built music venue.

I'm sorry, but if I wanted to know about the debate, I'd read a story covering just the debate, but to bring it up in a music review? How annoying must it have been if you wanted to go to the concert but was unable to, and you opened up the paper to find a review/debate hybrid.

I don't even understand why people are so bothered about it. The Oasis is a damn fine venue that pulls in big names. Lily Allen, Dizzee Rascal, Alice Cooper. All well known, I think you'll agree. Were they bothered about playing in a leisure centre? I don't think so. I mean, what is the point in spending loads of taxpayers money to replace something that's already proving to be successful? Performers are drawn to the Oasis because it's not as big as arenas, but not as small as pubs and clubs, which, they argue, gives it brilliant acoustics.

Moving away from the Oasis, we have smaller, more intimate venues, such as The Furnace and 12 Bar. Granted, it's mostly tribute acts that play, but Zebrahead have played The Furnace many a time. And they keep coming back. A couple of bands that have previously played at 12 Bar in Swindon have said how much they enjoyed it, and how good it was. Snuffs the argument, doesn't it?

I suppose I should look at the other side of the argument. People have said that the Oasis is too cramped, not well ventilated, there is only one way out (which can involve fighting through the boisterous crowd) and it smells. Well surely some of these arguments can be applied to any venue? Depending on the act and where you stand, of course it's going to be cramped: fans want to get close to their favourite band. Along with the multiple bodies packed close together, all bouncing to their favourite tunes, you're going to have the smell of sweat. Gruesome, yes, but a given at any concert.

Still, Madness enjoyed playing the show, and that counts for something, right?

Young Guns review.

YOUNG GUNS
PLUS: DISCLOSURE, NONE THE LESS
12 BAR, SWINDON
23.07.09

You know what they say: never judge a book by its cover. When Disclosure clambers onto the stage, it would appear they are not your everyday rock band. Dressed in collared t-shirts and with short spiky hair, they look as if they should be behind decks, not drums. Despite this, they try their best to get the crowd moving, which is largely a wasted effort. Having the energy is one thing, but you have to couple it with variety; there was a distinct lack of the latter.
Hailing from Watford and describing their style as ‘metal n roll’, None The Less put on a good show, hammering out tunes that start to warm up the crowd. Mid-way through the second song of the set, the lead vocalist, Ant Giannaccini, leaves the stage and spends the rest of None The Less’ presence in the large space that’s directly in front of the stage. If that’s not trying to get involved with the crowd, I don’t know what is.
By the time High Wycombe quintet Young Guns have donned their instruments and noticeable absence of sleeves, the chasm of space between audience and performer has shrunk. From the off, Young Guns give it their all and smash out brilliant sounds, despite not many people not knowing many, if any, of the words.

As lead singer Gustav Wood is keen to point out, they were expecting no-one to turn up, so to be playing to the sizeable crowd that have attended is excellent. And they love every minute of it. When Gustav announces the next song is ‘Daughter of the Sea’, the band is met with roars and whoops of delight, to which he replies “Sounds like you might know this one. I wanna see you prove it to me.” The crowd responds in abundance, and sing along with every stomping chorus and epic verse.
At the end of the night, I’m surprised no-one is shouting for an encore but even so, this is one night neither the fans nor the band will forget for a long time.