On Friday 29th October I was very excited to attend my first Oxjam event. Oxjam has had loads of these events throughout the month of October showcasing a host of incredibly talented up-and-coming acts. This particular event was in Crouch End, a location I have never been to and thus arrived late and a bit lost. Being Halloween, Oxjam had decked out the venue with spooky decorations, booths selling items including some very intriguing metal-like masks and a curious 19th century theme. The theme was a bit confusing at first. Basically between music sets, actors in 19th century attire acted out scenes and a compere - freakishly in 19th century character - introduced all the bands. There was also a beautiful dancer between sets doin her thang on the dance floor:

The headline act of the night was Eric Ness. Do not be confused by the name because this is a 7-piece band! These guys were insane, you got a little mandolin, flute, double bass, and even 2 gorgeous back-up singers. Eric has obviously fine-tuned his live performance because each song had something clever and enticing fused in whether it be a sing-a-long or conducting his singers to hit the highest note. He is obviously very aware of his audience and keen to keep them happy and engaged throughout the performance. I loved the level of entertainment they all delivered and the mix of gypsy jazz and contemporary pop. The songs were all so catchy and animated, make sure you visit his website on myspace (ericsbandofficial) and catch his next performance on 1st December at Proud Camden.

The first band I caught was The Mike Brown Band. Mike Brown had such a great voice and his tunes were all so catchy and danceable. It was a pleasure to watch this trio, his originality and unique fusion of musical genres was impressive:

Next up was Chromatone: A marriage of Funk, Rn'B and B-Boy Dancing. This band was so cool and I can honestly say I have never seen a band quite like this. It was so entertaining with the mixture of dancing, jazz, trumpet, saxophone...there was a lot goin on and it was all very original. Each member of the band was interesting to watch and all contributed such an integral part to the band. The lead singer, Philipp Cerny, delivers an extravagant show so make sure you go to his myspace (chromatoneband) and catch their next gig:

9/10

Joss Frank