Oxjam Norwich 2014

October in Norwich can only mean one thing…other than the Next Big Thing and the scariest-of-all-time outfits staggering up and down Prince Of Wales Road it’s the Oxjam Norwich takeover, of course. 2014 saw the Oxjam road-to-October starting in June and this weekend saw its takeover climax; five venues, 28 artists and all for one wristban,for a tenner, for charity; it’s a win-win situation all round. If you’re one of those people, that when faced with the question of  “So, what kind of music are you into?” you’d reply with a general “All of it; I’ll listen to anything!” then this is the yearly event for you. My tour of Oxjam 2014 started at The Owl Sanctuary with Swarmed spilling out into the crowd; head banging, cymbals crashing, string strumming, fans on vocals and an incoherent bass player. Pint stop two was The Murderers for a slightly later than billed Invisible City set, but it was certainly worth the wait as they got straight to the music once set up and just in time for the front man to give his ‘secret’ lyrics/set list a glance; too many melodies for one melon. I then rushed over to my half way stop, Bedfords Bar to get to the Woodland Creatures. I managed to catch their last track, in a floaty, fairylike, country atmosphere, where an intimate and captivated audience took comfort sitting on the cushioned floor. I also inadvertently learnt wine in England is stronger than the wine in Japan. Fact. Dashing to venue four, The Birdcage, I caught Patrick Lappin who was standing center stage. The back room was packed out but I managed to squeeze into a corner near the entrance and caught the last half…of the last joke…I felt like his story of his uncle’s sandwich eating was essential to the joke, as it had everyone in roars of laughter before he left the stage. The last stop, where what seemed to be half the people in the city were baring their yellow wristbands, was Karma Kafe, ready to get sweaty with Killamonjambo. The guys played some originals, a few covers and even got Slightly Offensive Steve involved for a while; a fun night was had by all. But that place definitely needs a bigger bar! The best thing about Oxjam Norwich 2014 was doing the jam…not just one venue, but five…and from that seeing how much bands and artists that make up the Norwich music scene support one another. It’s a beautiful thing and provides the very foundations of the Norwich music scene essence. Don’t stop supporting each other!