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What's the world coming to? I'm in The Library Room at the HMV Institute for a gig put on by BirminghamPromoters.com. Usually, Birmingham Promoters fill their calendar with up and coming bands as well as established artists with just a small dedicated following. Something about this gig isn't making sense. Instead of the usual band associated instruments; drum kit, guitars etc... Tonight there's nothing, not a jot. Unless you count a pair of decks, notebook pro, Kaos Pad and a microphone as instruments. Oh yeah! And a bare foot judge presiding over the scene. If you're a working roadie, I'd imagine a job with Beardyman must be considered an easy gig. |
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As my age progresses I find myself experimenting with different music and becoming much more open-minded. There was once a time I detested metal, there was even a time I could just about handle the sound of a real guitar. And even that was Dire Straits - Money For Nothing! But here I am many years later in the pit of a rock gig at Wulfrun Hall, and loving every second of it. Only this one has a twist. For those that know Finnish Metal Band Apocalyptica, will be aware that guitars do not feature in any of their stage shows. Instead their chosen instrument is the humble Classical Cello. Cello and Metal how can that possibly work? |
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Tonight is the night when dead leaves fly, Like witches on switches across the sky. Before clocks turn back Voodoo begins, Dark Hearts releasing their soulful sins. On this ghouls night eve a well hidden Digbeth boozer plays hosts to a Wacky Weird and Wonderful night of Garage Blues, Rockabilly and Misplaced Messthetic Aesthetic (blame Betty and the Id for that description!). |
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Is it the onset of boredom settling in or is a gradual feeling of anticipation creeping over me? If it is the former then it’s a feeling that had better dissipate soon. And the latter, well that’s surely a good sign. Considering the 11pm curfew I find myself clock watching, observing minutes slowly disappearing into the depths of... Ahh, finally Crystal Castles are here. |
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As a venue, The Flapper has to be one of my favourites; it's small, dark and hovers just the right side of not being a total shithole! The sound isn't usually unnecessarily loud and has just the right level of intimacy. Not a full on in your face assault, but a more feeling of warmth as you enter the dimly lit dungeon. At least these were my prior thoughts before heading into day two of this three day mini music festival, Off The Cuff. |
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I love this time of year. Hot sunny days, long warm nights, shorts and BBQs… And if you’re a music lover or Gig Junkie it means music festivals going off up and down the country every weekend. Of course there’s the biggie, the one every band wants to play – Glastonbury. By far the greatest asset of Glastonbury is it’s sheer power in bringing some of the worlds greatest bands to these shores. And whilst here why not turn one festival appearance into a mini tour and play a small handful of gigs in the few minutes you have spare. Taking this into account means that London, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham get the chance to see alternative Blues / Rock duo ‘The Black Keys’ before embarking on a full US tour. |
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Is too much hype a good thing? According to the NME The Drums are "New York's official coolest new band". Thankfully I had no idea of the hype or the NME statement proclaiming them to be so cool when watching them warm up the Civics crowd prior to the emergence of Florence and her ever-expanding Machine. |
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Is this really a sign of the times? It's early 2010 and Feeder is headlining Birmingham's O2 Academy 3, a venue with a maximum capacity of 250! Surely it wasn't that long ago when they were playing the main stages at some of the country's most prestigious festivals: Glastonbury, Download, Reading and Leeds as well as headlining their own much larger international tours. Perhaps this is a good indication of the life span of the modern music band? One minute you feature heavily on Radio 1's playlist, riding the crest of a wave, as it were. Then the next, you're scrabbling along trying to get back to those glory days when your brand new Jaguar had a CD player (player, player, player…) and you drank cider from a lemon (lemon, lemon, lemon…). |
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I’ve been really struggling to write what I hope is a decent intro for this review of OK Go. A band that could wrongly be described as an Internet phenomenon based purely on the amount of hits their videos get via YouTube. Whether or not you’ve heard of the band or can picture at least one of their records. I’d stake money on you having seen one of their videos or at least seen blatant rip offs on TV. But before we get to OK Go... |