Growing up, my descent into the rebellious years of teenagehood came late. Very late...

And unfortunately these years coincided with my A-Levels, which I of course messed up through a lack of effort and a general feeling of apathy towards my studies.

From this experience I gained two very different but fundamental aspects of my character.

One, is the lesson that the amount you put into something is the amount you’ll get out of it; the other, rather thankfully, is a love of rock music.

There are a few nights that cater to rock fans around Oxford, most notably Room 101 and Mutiny.

The former plays well known rock anthems to a huge and energetic dancefloor at the O2 Academy every Saturday as part of its Transformation night; the latter focuses much more on emo and punk music at the Purple Turtle every Wednesday.

Both are great nights that I regularly enjoy, but it never quite satisfies the music fan in me.

Anthems are great for rousing a huge crowd, and there is nothing quite like screaming every word of Killing in the Name along with a crowd of everyone you know – both these nights allow that opportunity, but for a dedicated music fan like myself, you never get to hear the sort of songs you fell in love with, the songs that remind you how good music can be.

Tell All Your Friends at the James Street Tavern solves two problems for me.

One is that it provides a decent night out on a Friday, which for some reason I’ve never quite been able to find, and the other is that it truly does satisfy my inner music geek.

Having no dance floor to play to seems to liberate the DJs – who regularly play both Mutiny and Room 101 – from having to play purely anthems and crowd pleasers and gives them the opportunity to play more interesting songs.

I know no other night where I will hear Fugazi, or Cursive, or Desaparecidos, or McClusky (I could go on forever) but this night plays them with unabashed shamelessness, the DJs freed to play songs not because it’ll please a judgemental dance floor, but for the best reason in the world: simply because it’s good. Tell All Your Friends is a masterclass in what can be achieved if you’re brave enough to play the songs you want to hear, and as such transcends the quality of either of the other evenings I’ve mentioned.

While I like Room 101 an awful lot as it is, Tell All Your Friends is undoubtedly Room 101 as I would want it to be.

This is a night that appeals to my inner critic, soothing that rebellious teenager inside who’s moaning about not having ever heard Hot Water Music at a club night...