I turned up and thought "Wow! A lot of people have come to see Capdown!" but was disappointed to find out that the vast majority had come there to see Kate Nash in the other venue.

It's nice to be in the front row, but I felt a bit sorry for Desperate Cycle who started playing to a single row of people. Still, they were a great band. For such a young band they were very impressive: Capdown have taken them on tour as support before so they've got a good few live shows under their belt. Their music may not be ska but it's energetic and powerful and well delivered. They're an excellent rock/hardcore band; it was a pity more people didn't see them.

Shortly after Desperate Cycle left the stage it was time for The King Blues. Vocalist Itch came onstage and spray painted "the King fuckin Blues" onto a plain canvas backdrop, and as the smell of paint filled the air the band members came on one by one to join in an instrumental intro to Blood on My Hands. The King Blues have a unique reggae/folk/punk sound: they're probably the only band I've heard with a ukulele as a main instrument. Mr Music Man was truly anthemic live and Come Fi Di Youth was
accompanied by a short speech from Itch about chasing the BNP out of town if they ever dare step foot in Oxford, which was greeted with cheers of agreement. They got the crowd singing the chorus of Taking Over like real pros.

Capdown were headlining, and I was more watching them out of curiosity than anything else. I'd never heard their songs properly before so I felt a bit out of place in the front row. Their performance was full of energy and jumping around, and their fans seemed to be having a fantastic time. The lead singer was air guitaring enthusiastically and splitting the crowd into 2 parts for a good old shout-along. They played quite a long set including Home Is Where the Start Is, and the crowd wouldn't let them
leave until they'd played Ska Wars. It's a pity that a band with such a strong following is splitting up after all these years. However, I didn't really think that they were AMAZING. They were good, just not as good as sliced bread, and believe me I know a few bands that are better than that. For me the King Blues owned the Zodiac that night, but still it was a wicked gig.

Carling has done an amazing job renovating the Zodiac and creating the new Carling Academy Oxford. Now it's an even better place to come for a gig.