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Oxford - 27/4/01

Just a quickie, this one, cos it's late and I'm dog tired. First, this morning, Otis is pretty shy at the moment, I think perhaps somehow because of his brother Steve's new fame. We set off for Oxford about lunchtime, stopping in Camden market to buy another polka dot shirt for tonight.


Camden's as weird and wonderful as it was yesterday. Even the mannequins are cool. When we arrive at the Zodiac club in Oxford (having approached it from the north after missing our turning off the M40, so quite a bit late), Robyn says there's a nice review in the national press this morning. Pretty soon the minutes have flashed by and once again it is Sonic onstage, draping the room with his beautiful sound.

Robyn's in one polka dot and I'm in another and the gig's strong but a bit strangely disconnected. It's funny with bands, it's a very sensitive chemistry and some days the 'togetherness' isn't quite there on a kind of spiritual level and it's really noticeable. Like today. Still, the music's really fine and all seems to go OK. We rest Kennedy and put Hots in the set. And hatch a plan to play the whole original UM album at Portsmouth, but let's see if we do .....

My old friends Bridget and Rick are there and it is great to see them and talk, plus my mate Terry who used to roadie for the pretty things in the 70's so he's potentially original spinal tap material. I remember he kept losing one of his guitarists, once through the floor when the guitarist jumped off his amp and just kept going and once into the audience when he trod on his wah wah pedal and just kept going (the Pretty Things, I think it was). Tonight, he's threatening seriously to disrupt the physical integrity of someone who's DAT-ing the gig but I explain we don't mind such things and he lets the poor soul live (I think) ..... then long sleepless drive back to London, and bed ..... Portsmouth Sunday (that sounds like Sheffield Wednesday, but it isn't meant to) ..... G'night.

— Matthew