Not many musicians deserve elevation to celebrity status. In fact celebrity is a word so devalued by its application to reality TV chancers and inflated pop dross egos that we need a new label for the likes of David Bowie. Maybe Icon is a better fit. 25 of the most influential albums of all time, film and theatre roles and untold creative innovations; he embodied art, androgyny, contradiction, mystery, elegance and eloquence and even his death and final musical statement seem like a work of art.
What better person then to be used as a force for good and tonight’s Bowie For Aleppo show does just that. Acts, including George Wilding, Canute’s Plastic Army and Rob Beckinsale, will be covering his seminal songs, there are DJ’s, karaoke and even an art auction, all raising money to help alleviate the suffering of the young caught in the maelstrom that rages through Aleppo. That is tonight at The Victoria.
And good deeds don’t stop there. At Level III on Friday, South West Hardcore returns after a long absence with a show full to the brim with thunderous energy and euphoric dynamics. Local legends Roads To Nowhere top the bill with NYC punk referencing At The Helm reforming just for this event. Opening the show and launching their new ep are Erase The Rat. The show is to help support the local food bank network and punters are asked to bring some tinned or non-perishable foods…and remember there are options besides baked beans.
At The Beehive, those Songs of Praise chaps continue their emphasis on smaller and more unusual shows in a string of compact and bijou venues with the wonderful Paul Tiernan and his trusty mandola. Paul is a master of the bitter-sweet love song and a prime mover in the “sad folk” movement where melancholy and majesty go hand in hand. Support for this comes in the form of George Wilding and his line in acoustic street mythology and underdog tales.
Ahead of their forthcoming North American tour, Desert Mountain Tribe head to The Victoria to warm up their musical muscles. These pan-European rockers revel in dark, hazy psychedelia strapped on to visceral garage rock, a bit like the sound of Wolf Alice getting stoned with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Imagine that!
And if after that you want more barricade kicking, unique music in your life, -Saturday. The Locomotive. Port Erin. Okay, I’ll give you a bit more to work with. Port Erin’s unique feature is their ability to weave a path through a variety of broad genres; space-rock, jazz, avant-garde, funk, psychedelia, ambient, progressive and more besides, and deliver it with energy, fun, dexterity and an infectious love for music.
Sunday is the day of unrest at The Victoria as a collection of bands deliver brutal and uncompromising assaults on the senses. It is metal but at its most extreme, most intense, most devastating. Osiah head the bill with Harbinger, Diabolus and Depravity joining the fray.
Finally Wednesday sees the return of a big name to Swindon. The Dan Reed Network made their name mixing hard rock, funk and soul around the pre-grunge Pacific North West of America and they bring those enticing elements to Level III in aid of Fatboy’s Cancer Charity.
Meanwhile at The Victoria whilst the karaoke of Wacky Wednesday happens up stairs, below is a great collection of bands. Black Sheep Apprentice, fresh out of the recording studio, explore the dark and intense corners of a punk ethos Americana whilst Awakening Savannah and My Social Decline wander through more alt-rock musical pastures.
