As we power towards the end of the year, the gigs keep coming thick and fast. Here’s our weekly round up of what’s going on outside of Northamptonshire in our surrounding counties which there’s still tickets available for.
A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH
Thursday, October 31
The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
A Pale Horse Named Death siphon strangely blissful melodies from apocalyptic heavy metal awash in swells of cavernous gothic keys and grunge songcraft. The New York quintet released their long awaited third full-length album When The World Becomes Undone in January. Doors 7pm, tickets £12.
SISTERAY
Friday, November 1
The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
Sisteray met when they collided in the mosh pit at a Libertines gig and soon discovered their shared love for The Smiths, Velvet Underground, The Clash and The Replacements. They have played up and down the country, performing pop-up guerrilla gigs, organising their own club night and have played roof raising sets at Camden Rocks and the Isle of Wight and Reading and Leeds festivals. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £7.
ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW & THE LOW RIDERS
Saturday, November 2
The Stables, Milton Keynes
Andy Fairweather Low shot to fame as lead singer in Amen Corner singing massive hits like Gin House Blues, Bend Me Shape Me and If Paradise is Half As Nice. A hugely successful solo career followed with Wide Eyed And Legless being the biggest International hit from his three solo albums. Together with his band Andy will be playing songs from across his career. Doors 8pm, tickets £25.
MICHAEL MONROE
Saturday, November 2
The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
Former Hanoi Rocks Frontman Michael Monroe is in the UK in support of his band’s new LP One Man Gang. The band’s all-star line-up features former Hanoi Rocks and New York Dolls bass player Sami Yaffa, guitarists Rich Jones and Steve Conte and drummer Karl Rockfist. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £22.50.
JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET
Saturday, November 2
MK11, Milton Keynes
James Taylor, one of the great British instrumentalists of his generation, has taken his trademark howling Hammond sound to the masses for more than 25 years. The band’s relentlessly entertaining tunes take inspiration from the rare-groove style funk and boogaloo funk of the 1960s and 1970s. They are one of the most important jazz-pop crossover outfits in British music. Doors 8pm, tickets £20.
LAZYBONES
Sunday, November 3
The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
Lazybones are one fuzzy bass guitar, amplified organ and drums, creating a trashy, unapologetic, to-the-point sound, comparable to the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Slaves. With initial singles championed by all the usual suspects across the music press, Lazybones released their debut EP Bang! Bang! in February. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £7,
HIMALAYAS
Sunday, November 3
Esquires, Bedford
Himalayas are an indie / garage rock band from Cardiff with a cinematic sound and style featuring heavy guitar lines, dual vocals and huge anthemic hooks. In the past year they have played both Reading and Leeds, Festival no. 6, SXSW, The Great Escape, Live at Chelsea, Isle of Wight and many others. Their latest single The Masquerades was released in October and this is the band’s first headline UK tour. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £8.
VISTAS
Tuesday, November 5
Esquires, Bedford
Edinburgh’s Vistas are fresh off a tour with Circa Waves and have been surging to the forefront of the indie-rock scene over the last few years with a steady stream of catchy singles leading to extensive praise from the likes of Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, 6 Music, DIY Magazine and Clash Magazine. The Scottish trio have become known for their brand of colourful and energetic guitar-based indie pop and are quickly beginning to show their universal appeal. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £7.50.
THE DELINES
Tuesday, November 5
The Stables, Milton Keynes
The Delines second album The Imperial was released in January and took three years to finish while vocalist Amy Boon recovered from a serious car accident. She is joined by keyboard/horn player Cory Gray, pedal steel player Tucker Jackson and a bunch of Richmond Fontaine band members, namely Sean Oldham, Freddie Trujillo and novelist Willy Vlautin. Doors 8pm, tickets £19.50.
LUCY SPRAGGAN
Wednesday, November 6
Esquires, Bedford
It’s proving to be another hugely successful year for Lucy Spraggan. The singer songwriter released her fifth studio album Today Was A Good Day in May played Glastonbury and SXSW, toured Europe and Scandinavia with Melissa Etheridge and completed her own US and UK headline tours. Now she’s out on the road as part of a mammoth 32-date UK tour. Doors 7pm, tickets £18.
HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN
Wednesday, November 6
The Stables, Milton Keynes
Award-winning Austin, Texas-based Hot Club of Cowtown may be the world’s most globe-trotting, effervescent string trio, whose joyful sound blends the traditional Western swing of the American southwest with European hot jazz influences of the same era. Doors 8pm, tickets £17.50.
