There is a new strangeness lurking in the hallowed barrows of Oxford these days, and it is not hiding at the dark end of the street, but live onstage. After many reported sightings of the now infamous cult band Ego Shovel, hiding behind the name Sin City Redemption Band, this reporter was compelled to take part in something he was not prepared for, or even remotely aware taking place.
Sometime past midnight on July 7, just outside of Oxford at a place known as Cooter's Farm , the band was warming up, with a definite feeling of electricity in the air. It was hard to tell who was the leader of the band (supposedly a character named Blano) as all the members were acting independently of each other. But this had no impact on the music: it resounded in a spiritual kaleidoscope of mind altering rhythm that struck at the very foundation of my soul.
The swarming crowd writhed in a mesmerized trance to a song titled "Pleasuredome"- a song about a secret place that members of the cult communicated with aliens in. After this, the band took a break, retreating into a dark building stage left.
Soon returning to the stage, strange looks of enlightenment upon each and every band member's face, they began chanting "We have shared the Archea, we have4 shared the Archea." At this point things were becoming out of hand. I was feeling the effects of the liquid that everyone seemed to be sharing and it was rumored that the band were heavy users of the popular drug Rophynol. A woman, topless, walked by saying,"I need your help, do you find me attractive?".I had no answer for her.
Until the early hours of dawn the band played and prayed, taking numerous breaks to retreat to that mysterious building where only a select few were allowed. Asking a wide eyed fan what the building was, all I was told was,"Not the Pleasuredome." Early that next morning, asking some of the scores of people who still remained about their experience of the show , the only reply I could get was,"I only remember being compelled by some great force and than nothing at all." Well, this reporter could about say the same.
Article by guest columnist: Jimmy Thomas