Jul 22
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Sweat, love and rock n’roll. Tonight’s gig, headlined by a certain William Control (aka Wil from Seattle Alt Rock legends Aiden), had it all. |
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Jul 13
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Converge, just never seemed to touch Brum, every single time they’ve come to the UK. More the pity, as they’re arguably the one band from amongst their peers who have managed to successfully traverse the years since that first boom period almost a decade ago with their integrity and identity relatively intact. Until today, so for those who’ve been waiting for Converge since ‘Jane Doe’ or before, this gig really had a real air of anticipation attached to it. It also boasted a carefully picked undercard in the form of Kylesa and Gaza. |
Jul 05
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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. |
Jun 16
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It was much of a surprise when I turned up at the venue to find a crowd of all walks of life and more surprisingly ages at this gig. This band obviously attract the masses so it seems. From the moment the doors opened, the crowds got bigger and bigger... Keane evidently have evolved over the years into a band who have an affinity with everyone. Their radio friendly tunes appealing to all has definatly proved successful for them this evening as I can only assume that ticket sales have been rewarding for them tonight... |
Jun 14
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Right, mustn’t mention the World Cup... bollocks... okay that’s the last mention of it. Promise. Especially as the English team’s probably been knocked out/injured/ defected to a team with at least some frickin’ hope of winning by now. Gah! Did you see the game against the USA? Good grief. I only watched up to the point where our goalie decided to roll the ball into his own net. Genius. Speaking of (cheesy link ahoy) the USA (see, told you) tonight’s gig saw a brace of bands from way over United Stateside, kicking off (damn... bloody football) with |
Jun 04
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So it's the "The Summer Gypsy Ball" and first on Urban Voodoo Machine... They lived up to their "bourbon soaked gypsy blues bop 'n' stroll" moniker during their performance initially but really came alive during the on stage antics later on in the performance. Most notable was a dynamic double drumming display by the green bearded Booshesque lead drummer and his sidekick. Other delights of their ensemble included the intermittent appearance of a sort of 1920s ‘gong girl’ dressed in a minuscule eastern inspired costume along with Valentinoesque headdress. Her image reminiscent of an old black and white movie still. |
Jun 02
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Imagine having the top of your head lopped off, your brains scooped out with one of those ice cream scoops, placed carefully on the floor, battered with a series of blunt objects, then carefully put back in your skull again...that’s pretty much what tonight’s gig was like. |
Jun 01
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Whilst the name may conjure up an image of a huge band of angry country folk waving pitchforks and burning huge phallic symbols made of straw Villagers is, essentially, just one bloke, Conor J. O’Brien. Attracting gushing reviews for his/their debut album, earning comparisons with such greats as Laughing Lenny Cohen, Elliot Smith and king of the cabin blues Bon Iver, he’s got himself well and truly stuck on the tastemakers ‘ones to watch’ lists. First up tonight though someone who’s in a band that’s well and truly on my own personal ‘ones to watch’ list (smooth link eh...I should be on local news), it’s John Fell from Goodnight Lenin. |
May 27
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Man, that’s some powerful voodoo going on there. How else could you explain the sudden transportation of the Hare and Hounds from humble ol’ Kings Heath to the darkest depths of the Mississippi delta eh? Yep, shut your eyes tonight and you can almost hear the ‘gators a snappin’ at yer heels (if they hadn’t all been poisoned by several trillions of gallons of oil that is). |
May 22
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From scuzzy punk schoolgirls to glossy pop vixens, Fuzzbox crammed a fair amount in to their brief career (just three years from first album ‘Bostin Steve Austin’ to their demise not long after scoring a string of top 30 hits with follow up ‘Big Bang’). In fact I’m struggling to think of many other bands who went through such a rapid change of sound and vision – which might partially explain their disintegration at the height of their powers. I’ve no doubt that, had they carried on, they’d have settled into their own distinctive style and it’s one of pop’s great tragedies (if you can have such a thing) that they didn’t. But dry your tears pop kids. Put down that tatty copy of Smash Hits and bin that scratched to buggery Big Bang CD ‘cos they’re back, back, BACK! |
May 16
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Having previously thought of 'Folk' as being synonymous with quant country fairs, even in its most modern reinvention a genre that lends itself to being played in a natural setting (such as our very own Moseley folk festival). I was surprised and pleased to learn that a whole weekend devoted to folk, was being held at Birmingham's Town Hall. 'English Originals' a 'mini' folk festival, over a weekend in May featured the likes of folk greats Scott Mathews, Beth Orton and new to the scene Graham Coxon. I went for the Sunday helping, with performances from Jackie Oates and the band they call Bellowhead. |
May 11
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Florence casually sauntered on stage suggesting a relaxing gig, but I was wrong. Wearing in a black lacy dress over knickers and vest, she kicked off her shoes quite quickly and built up more and more energy with each song. Banging on a drum at her side and jumping around on stage, the audience were soon eating out of her hand. Her interaction with the audience created a really good atmosphere in the hall, which was just the right size, not allowing the intimacy she created to be lost and not letting her powerful voice overwhelm the room. |
May 10
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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. |
May 07
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Nothing to do with the performance - that was stunning - but more to the point, the fact that Rihanna didn't come on to the stage till nearly 10pm - almost an hour and a half after Pixie Lott had finished her performance. Now, it didn't really bother me, I had my iPhone to potter about with and there was a LOT of eye candy about, but - and it's a big BUT - the majority of the crowd were young girls, many of whom would be reliant on lifts off beleaguered parents/public transport to get home. I think even superstar Divas have a responsibility to their fans. It could have been a technical fault or she could have been applying another layer of make-up, who knows, but not a word of explanation or apology was uttered from either Rihanna or her management amongst the multitude of boos from the increasingly frustrated crowd as to why it was sooooo late to kick off. Bad form! Rant over! |
