Jan Sessions

WE’RE broke, cold, bloated and suffering the vestiges of epic yuletide hangovers and too much good living. Let’s face it... we don’t want to go out.

And anyway, there’s nothing on, right?

Well, actually, no. While January is usually the musical equivalent of an extended ice age, this year offers real sonic gems to those hardy enough to brave the Arctic chill.

But where to go? Well, as is so often the case, most of the big guns are all heading to the Oxford 02 Academy.

But don’t forget the smaller venues. The lovely Jericho Tavern continues to stage some cutting edge gigs, The Cellar is as cool and pokey as ever, The Wheatsheaf, and Purple Turtle offer some of the best nights out in town, and, hurray, our old fave The Port Mahon is back in business.

And, for the rock dinosaurs, there’s that art-deco riot of gaudy velvet, the New Theatre.

Anyway, here’s our prescription for a January musical re-tox.

* For the pop kid They’re fun, they’re poppy and they love themselves.

Narcisistic Los Angeles five-piece Iglu & Hartly have set out to inject a dose of good time party spirit into rock & roll.

And if they seem familiar it might be because their tune In This City was used as the theme tune for Match of the Day’s Goal of the Month. They come to Oxford following the release of much-hyped debut album And Then Boom.

They play the O2 Academy on January 31. Tickets are £8.

* For the electro-afficionado They’re not a bloke but a band, and they remain one of Europe’s best acts.

Sweden’s Miike Snow provided one of the best albums of 2009 – and, with Animal, one of the best songs.

Who are they? Well, none of them are called Miike, for a start. Instead we have singer-songwriter Andrew Wyatt, and producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, also known as Bloodshy & Avant, who won a Grammy for Britney’s Toxic.

Miike Snow play the O2 Academy on January 29. Go to ticketweb.co.uk for details.

* For the denim rock & roller Get Down, Down, Deeper and Down… yes, those legendary three-chord rockers Status Quo are back in town.

Rossi and Parfitt are natural-born performers with a legendary propensity for partying – or at least they used to be. As of this month they are offically national treasures after landing OBEs. They play the New Theatre on January 22 and 23, in gigs rescheduled after the cancellation of their November shows.

* For the air-guitarist Release your inner Lizard King by shaking your money-maker to the likes of LA Woman, Riders on the Storm, Alabama Song and Light My Fire, courtesy of ultimate Jim Morrison tribute – The Doors Alive. They may not be the real thing, but they’re as close as any of us are going to get.

They play the O2 Academy on January 17. Tickets are £10.

More mock-rock antics take place later this month with Whole Lotta Led, who play the O2 academy on January 23. Tickets are £11.

* For those with a sense of humour Aylesbury’s self-styled two-hit wonder John Otway returns to Oxford this week, bringing with him a bunch of great songs, an hilarious stand-up spoken-word routine and a step ladder, from which he can be relied on to dive from mid-set.

Otway is a huge draw on May Mornings, so to get him here out of season is a rare treat.

John plays the Port Mahon tomorrow. Tickets are a tenner from wegottickets.com * For the folk-geek With songs inspired by geology field trips, caving and astronomical phenomena, Laura Veers is as far as it is possible to get from your archetypal folk-rock chick. A sublime Americana-loving singer-songwriter, her songs have an elevating and escapist quality, while rooted in the folk-country of her native Pacific North West.

She plays the 02 Academy on January 22. Tickets are £12.

* For the local scenester For a proper good, old-fashioned gig-in-a-backroom, you can’t beat The Wheatsheaf.

Tucked away down an alleyway off High Street, it’s small, intimate and friendly.

The bread and butter of the Wheatsheaf is local music, and what better way to reacquaint yourself with the visceral thrill of the Oxford music scene than with an evening in the company of a brace of the city’s finest bands – Mephisto Grande and Long Insiders.

They play next Saturday. Go to wegottickets.com * For the skanker Ska-rockers Reel Big Fish are brash, ballsy and, however hard you fight it, will get your feet a-movin!

Aaron Barret’s bunch of real-life OC (Orange County) punks bring their high-energy California party tunes to Oxford in a tour to follow up the release of irreverent covers album Fame, Fortune and Fornication.

Expect a riotous cocktail of noise when they play the O2 Academy on January 20. Tickets are £14.50.

* For the party animal With Oxford’s Famous Monday Blues having just celebrated its quarter century, silver-topped empressario Philip Guy Davis boots the gig into its 26th year with another stellar line-up, featuring old favourites and a sprinkling of new names.

Look forward to sets by Easy Tiger on January 18, The Cadillac Blues Band on 25th, Pete Boss and the Blueshearts on February 1, and, the thrilling Kyla Brox on February 8.

The fun starts this Monday with a now-traditional year-starting set by Oxford party band The Mighty RedOx.

Featuring celebrity busker Phil Freizinger, these psychedelic electro-rockers know how to get a party going with lysergic blasts of 60s hippy pop mixed with funk, reggae, blues, and total freak-out butt-shaking nuttiness. Tickets are £7on the door.

Turn up, tune in, freak-out!