Get Out There And Groove

If there’s one time of year when it’s tempting to just batten down the hatches and curl up inside with a mug of tea and a copy of the TV guide, then it’s January.

After all, for most of us, we’re hard-up, jaded and have just, well, overdone it. Plus, have you seen the weather out there? Yep, it’s all too easy to curl up in the warmth and hibernate.

But resist the temptation to throw another log on the fire by getting out and making the most of another glittering new year of noise, courtesy of stellar local and international acts.

So come on, get out and get back on it with our highly subjective list to the season’s best happenings.

l For the pop kid – Alexandra Burke: Hallelujah! If you are into pop, you’re probably into X Factor, and if you are, then Alexandra Burke needs no introduction.

The winner of the show’s fifth series hit the record books when her cover of Leonard Cohen’s bittersweet anthem sold 105,000 copies in a single day – a European first, as well as becoming the first woman soloist to sell more than a million in the UK.

She has since clocked up three more Number Ones and had four million of her records snapped up by adoring fans.

Next month she plays Oxford for the latest of her All Night Long tour gigs with all the hits, plus gems from her ridiculously well-selling album Overcome.

The Saturdays: Billed as Britain’s favourite girl group, and with good reason. The Saturdays return to our fair city next month for another night of sassy pop.

As much a hit with the dads as their daughters (for some reason), Una Healy, Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Wiseman, Mollie King and Vanessa White performed to thousands last year on their sold out tour.

This time they present their Headlines tour, in support of their Number Three album of the same name, and they admit they can’t wait to get stuck in.

Unsurprisingly, the girls’ Oxford date has well and truly sold out. But the fact this band, who have already sold two million records including 10 top 10 singles and are busy making TV stars of themselves through their Saturdays: 24/7 ITV2 show, are returning is tremendously exciting for lovers of joyous uncomplicated pop Alexandra plays the New Theatre, Oxford on February 18 (Tickets are £36.50 from ticketweb.co.uk) and The Saturdays play the same venue on February 19 (sold out).

lFor the country dude – Ray Lamontagne: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and now Ray Lamontagne. The latest in a long and illustrious line of country-tinged singer-songwriters, New Hampshire-born Ray is loved and admired on both sides of the Atlantic, for his poignant songs and grainy, raspy, delivery.

His appearance in Oxford is a treat of the highest order. It will see him and his band The Pariah Dogs performing older faves and stuff from latest album God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise, the follow-up to his hugely acclaimed Gossip in the Grain, and written in the woods of western Massachusetts.

A great chance to be in the presence of a clutch of world class musicians, the Pariah Dogs themselves have played with the likes of Beck, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and Joe Cocker and we love them.

Ray himself is an intensely private, and shy, man and has even been known to play in the dark! It could be an interesting night.

He plays the New Theatre on February 25. Tickets start at £28.25 from ticketweb.co.uk lFor the festival-freak – Equitruck: It may be a long way to summer, but the festival spirit is alive and well in Oxford this month, with the city’s best indoor bash – Equitruck.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, the event is an all-dayer featuring some of the best-loved bands from the summer’s annual Truck Festival, which takes place on Hill Farm, Steventon, each July. The event is timed to coincide with the halfway point between Trucks (a kind of festival equinox, if you will) . meaning it’s only another six months to this year’s al-fresco fiesta.

Highlights include Fixers, Ute, The D Band, Dead Jerichos, Dial F for Frankenstein and Dreaming Spires.

Rather than being organised by the Bennett brothers, like Truck, Equitruck is pulled together by the loveable rogues from the Truck bar. This year’s will be a suitable tribute to much-missed Truck barman Simon Stocker, who died last year. More details in next week’s Guide.

Equitruck takes place at the O2 Academy Oxford, Cowley Road, on January 15. Tickets are £8.50 from ticketweb.co.uk l For the folkie – Richard Thompson: One of this country’s greatest songwriters and a virtuoso musician Richard Thompson has been mentioned by none other than Rolling Stone as one of the greatest living rock guitarists.

A regular at Cropredy Festivals over the years, where he has acquired a mythical reputation for making it rain, this month he plays a comfortingly indoors show at the New Theatre on his Dream Attic Tour.

He appears with his acclaimed band, boasting Pete Zorn (guitars, flute, sax, mandolin), Michael Jerome (drums), Taras Prodaniuk (bass) and Joel Zifkin (violin, mandolin), all of whom joined Rich in recording the album.

Richard Thompson plays the New Theatre on January 20. Tickets start at £25.25from ticketmaster.co.uk For a free download from the album, go to richardthompsondreamattic.com Oh, and on February 11, Richard’s son Teddy Thompson plays the Oxford O2 Academy, alongside ex-Easyworld singer-songwriter David Ford (£13.50 from ticketweb.co.uk) l For the denim rock & roller – Francis Rossi In the words of Status Quo: “Whatever you want; Whatever you like; Whatever you say; You pay your money; You take your choice.”

And for our money you’d be hard-pressed to spend your money on a more fun night of rock & roll than in the company of that band’s iconic frontman Francis Rossi.

Rarely seen without his bouffant-clad three-chord guitar botherer Rick Parfitt, Francis steps out alone next month to do his own thing – sans ponytail and now minus Quo.

As he says: “I never stop writing songs and melodies but there have been many tracks over the years that just weren’t right for Quo. These songs have been gathering dust in my mind for too long and now seems the right time to showcase them. It’s a big step for me but I hope to see lots of the same faces out there on the road!”

Francis Rossi plays the O2 Academy Oxford on February 11. Tickets are £19.50 from ticketweb.co.uk l For the indie-rocker – Indie guitar rock is the stock in trade of the Oxford music scene, and if this month is anything to go by, this year looks like being a corker.

Among the highlights at the Oxford O2 Academy will be sets by Walkmen (January 22, £12.50) who are back with new album Lisbon; Los Angeles indie-punks Funeral Party (January 26, £7.50); and singer-songwriter Joan as Policewoman (February 11, £15), who has played alongside everyone from Lloyd Cole to Rufus Wainwright and Sheryl Crow, and who brings her glittery violin and guitar back to the city to promote her new album The Deep Field.

Oh, and next month sees the return of chaotic-high-kicking Brighton boy/girl sextet Go! Team (February 15, £12) and one half of The Libertines Carl Barat (February 19, £14), still riding high after last summer’s Reading Festival triumph with erstwhile-bandmate Pete Doherty, and armed with new single So Long My Lover.

l For the party animal – The famous Monday Blues With Oxford’s Famous Monday Blues now well on the way to completing its third decade in the city, silver-topped impresario Philip Guy Davis kicks off the night’s 27th year with another action-packed line-up, featuring old favourites and a sprinkling of new names.

Look forward to sets by local heroes Reservoir Cats on January 10, and Mighty Redox on the 17th, Steamroller on 24th, and the striking Clare Free on 31st. Things then take a state-side twist with the Southern-fried blues of the Bayou Brothers on February 7 and the thrilling, if bonkers, Adam Bomb on February 14.

His party trick is shooting fireworks from his guitar. It’s quite a sight, but not one for the health & safety fascists.

A great value night, tickets are £10 on the door at the Bullingdon, Cowley Road.

* lFor the sweet soul sister: Mary Wilson A true legend of Motown, Mary Wilson is the founding member of the Supremes, with hits like Baby Love and Stop in the Name of Love. Don’t miss the chance to see this classic artist on a rare trip to the UK, with the Chi-Lites.

She plays the New Theatre on March 17. Tickets are £33.50 from ticketmaster .co.uk