BREVIEW: Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15

Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham Review

 

 

 

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Michelle Martin

You know that moment when you find a band and think ‘I really must go and see them sometime’? Do it. Go and see them. Don’t ‘catch them next time’, or wait until you’re not ‘too tired’ for a non-work night, or whatever else it is that you tell yourself to give you an excuse to be lazy. Go out of your front door, down the road by whatever your chosen method is, and see them.

This is the lesson I have been teaching myself, painstakingly, over the last 12-18 months and never was it more poignant than with Goodnight Lenin.

I first came across the musical strains of Goodnight Lenin in 2015 and the video I found online had been up for two years already at that point. I liked it, got the album and kept an eye on their social media for when they might be about. Sometime later, after nothing had materialised, I had stopped being so diligent in my approach and waited for something to just pop up in the ether and grab me which, of course, it never did. And now in August 2017 I have finally made it to a Goodnight Lenin gig for the first and probably last time.

Not for lack of quality or enjoyment, you understand, but because I left it too long and this gig is currently set to be their last. The creative flame is a delicate thing, to be nurtured lest it fade away out of sight, and while Katherine Priddy - supporting Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham ReviewI don’t know all of the reasoning behind this hiatus in the Goodnight Lenin story I sincerely hope that lack of support isn’t part of it.

All of these things and more are running through my head as I make my way to the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath and up the stairs to the far room. This taller and more impressive of the Hare & Hounds stages is already fully set up and the lights (full disco ball included) are heightening the atmosphere of anticipation. Very fitting, and while the room is surprisingly only about a third full it’s early and there’s still a feeling of electricity in the air. Predictably, I move to the bar and get a pint while I wait for the inevitable rush and for the proceedings to… well, proceed.

About 15 minutes later Katherine Priddy takes the stage. She is to perform seated, which is a nice low-key start to the evening and working to my expectation that musically the event is set to build with each act. As she starts I become acutely aware that she has a very good voice (clean and clear, slightly ethereal) and a complex finger picking guitar playing style – the combination of which make her songs seem both simple and intricate at the same time. A hush settles over the room as she plays, receiving enthusiastic applause at the end of each song.

Boat to Row - supporting Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham ReviewWhile I admit Katherine Priddy is an excellent opening act for an evening headlined by a full band, I can’t say that she would be out of place as a headliner and I could easily imagine her on the Cropredy Folk Festival or Beautiful Days stages. Priddy’s set is well thought out and, even containing two songs based around Greek mythology, manages to be relatable and engaging. Doing some YouTube searching post-gig, I’m pleased to find a cover of ‘Beeswing’ that justifies the fact I was comparing Richard Thompson and Katherine Priddy in my head during the set.

After a short break, Boat To Row start to plug in and tune up. Lead singer/rhythm guitarist, Michael King, joined Katherine Priddy for her final song so I have an idea what to expect. Although now King has changed into his gig outfit and is joined by the full band, so it’s a fresh introduction and a fuller sound. A bit too full if I’m honest.

I find Boat to Row provide that particular brand of folk where the songs are quite busy, with several different melodies present at once. I can’t deny that as a band they work very well together, and the precision in such detailed song writing can’t be understated, but I find it hard to grab a ‘hook’ in most of their songs and found them too ‘art for art’s sake’ for my taste (‘chorus, for God’s sake’ I find myself thinking, stealing 10cc lyrics). My favourite song of theirs is the penultimate in tonight’s set – a new number called ‘Fairies Flaws’, I believe, that has a funky undertone and quite a driving tempo, standing out as the most accessible to an uninitiated listener.

Boat to Row - supporting Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham ReviewAnd then, of course, our main event. The room has been filling up more and more over the course of the evening and at this point it’s roughly three quarters full. And by full, I mean having your toes stood on and breathing the hair of the person in front of you because that’s the only space left in the room.

*At this point, I would like to take a moment to thank the three women by the bar who were loudly and relentlessly cackling and bumping into my friend and I. Without your inconsiderate rudeness, we would have stayed put by the PA and not moved further into the crowd. We got the best of the atmosphere where we moved to so you did us a favour, in a way. I hope you got your money’s worth of being shushed and glared at because I know I wasn’t the only one who called you out on your nonsense.

Goodnight Lenin are a wall of sound. It’s the only way I can describe it. The sound has been good all night, but Goodnight Lenin are a cut above and their depth and ‘fullness’ is noticeable against the other acts on the bill this evening. I listen hard and I can pick out every instrument individually, which is my test of a well-mixed band. Impressive work from Jon Nash on the desk too.Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham Review

The band are in good form and seem to want to send themselves off in style. They tell us they have an extended set planned including some covers and all the ‘hits’ from the new and old original material. And they’re not kidding. Goodnight Lenin move through the set smoothly and confidently, and from their In the Fullness of Time album I pick out the familiar strains of ‘The Constant Lover’, ‘Weary’ and ‘Cautionary Tale’ among others.

In particular, ‘The Reason’ was blindingly good – a song that is a real treat to listen to live. As was ‘Old Cold Hands’ with its anthemic ending, a near ‘lighters in the air’ moment. Sadly they don’t play my personal favourite, ‘Tell-tale Heart’. But it is quite slow one and I didn’t really expect them to. They can be forgiven.

There are songs I’ve never heard in tonight’s set as well, perhaps not being as much of a die-hard fan as I might have been; ‘Wenceslas Square’ being an easy one to pick out as it was an audience request. While they may well have played it anyway, the fact that Goodnight Lenin asked for requests and then actually played one is a nice touch and not something all bands do.

Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham ReviewFrom the newer material we are treated to live versions of ‘Desire’ and ‘Portrait of Youth’, with the fresher faced tracks standing up against the tried and tested classics. Were I bolder, I might venture the opinion that perhaps the new songs don’t quite cut it as well. But honestly, I think that’s only because I’m so familiar with the older ones.

Covers-wise, we are treated to Neil Young’s ‘Helpless’, where Goodnight Lenin are joined by Katherine Priddy and Boat to Row for a huge multi-band rendition and a nice rock oriented version of ‘Come Together’. A solid nod in the direction of the bands that have inspired them over the years.

There’s a lull in the set somewhere in the middle, when some technical issues occur, and Liam is forced to use a guitar kindly lent by Boat to Row. No idea what happened to his as it just seemed to give up between songs (although it was very considerate of it to wait until the previous song had finished). John did a good job of keeping the set going with his comfortable patter and a couple of solo songs, but it is an inevitable come-down in an otherwise high octane set. A shame but nothing that could have been helped, I imagine, and these things do happen.

Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15 / Michelle Martin - Birmingham ReviewEnding with ‘Without You’, the band invite their sound technician, Jon Nash, onto the stage wielding a black Telecaster – bringing the lesser-spotted member of the Goodnight Lenin family into the limelight for this swansong.

And then it’s over.

Goodnight Lenin put on a cracking show and despite the technical issues kept things flowing very well. If I had to offer a criticism, it would be that the set went on too late and people had to leave before the end for buses and trains home. A shame, in a way, but one not easily combated.

For some reason it was one of those gigs where I thought I knew what to expect; I had it in my head that it would be packed from the outset, that musically it would build and build and then Goodnight Lenin would hit the stage hard, smash through their set to rapturous applause and then do two, maybe three, encores before bidding us a fond farewell. But it was so much more than that. So much more personal.

Tonight was more than just a last gig, it was a real goodbye. I’m sure every Goodnight Lenin fan would join me in wishing them the very best of luck in whatever they choose to do from now until the reunion (fingers crossed) and while I can’t stop feeling the edge of sadness, I’m glad I’ll be able to say I was there, the day a chapter in Birmingham’s musical history closed.

For more on Goodnight Lenin, visit www.soundcloud.com/goodnightlenin

For more on Boat To Row, visit www.soundcloud.com/boat-to-row

For more on Katherine Priddy, visit www.soundcloud.com/katherine-priddy

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For more from the Hare & Hounds, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

For more from Moseley Folk, visit www.moseleyfolk.co.uk

BPREVIEW: An Indian Summer with Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky @ The Electric Cinema on 17.08.17 & The Wellington on 25.08.17

BPREVIEW: An Indian Summer with Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky @ The Electric Cinema on 17.08.17 and The Wellington on 25.08.17Words by Ed King

Paul John Single Malt Whisky invites you to enjoy their ‘Indian Summer’ with two tasting events this August – as presented by The Birmingham Whisky Club.

There’s a film/cocktail combo at The Electric Cinema on Thursday 17th August, followed by a more extensive tasting session at The Wellington on Friday 25th. We’ve gone into a little more detail about each event below, but for direct info and booking from The Birmingham Whisky Club, click here.

But first a little background… Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky is distilled in the small(ish) Goan town of Cuncolim – mainly known for its large church, larger private hospital, and sewing the violent seeds for the eventual liberalisation/invasion of the Portuguese stronghold. What better place to brew moonshine.

Straddling the NH66 (or the Panvel/Kochi highway) Cuncolim is a prime place on the modern silk route to distribute domestically produced liquor – a vice that’s not officially welcome in every pocket of India, but one that fuels the tourist trade of the Konkan coast line.

And whilst the neighbouring state of Maharastra has become quite prominent for its wine in recent years, Goa is still the place for beer and spirits – between a Kingfisher and a seven year Old Monk (or a Honey Bee, should you have a taste for formaldehyde) most restaurants and hotels in ‘The Pearl’ are on a constant lookout for more premium products. So if you’re going to start a single malt distillery anywhere in India, Goa’s probably your best bet. Or the Foreign Correspondents Club in Delhi.

So what are these August tasting sessions all about then? On a mission to booze up every corner of Birmingham, in the most refined way of course, The Birmingham Whisky Club has come up with two cross promotions to whet your whistle with some Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky – have a looksie below:

Thursday 17th August / The Darjeeling Limited cocktail tasting @ The Electric Cinema

Serving two whisky cocktails – prepared by the owner of the cocktail taster menu magnificence that is Smultronställe (Go Team Birmingham) – we are invited to sit back, relax and watch Wes Anderson’s film about frustrated bothers. You know, the one set on a train that runs through North East India… like haggis in St Ives. But who really cares when it’s Wes Anderson and cocktails from Smultronställe. Doors open at 8pm, with tickets to this sub continental love in priced between £25.50 – £30.30 (+booking fee). For direct info and online booking, click here.

Friday 25th August / A Taste of Goa with Paul John Indian Single Malt

Now this looks like fun. Paul John Single Malt Whisky’s UK brand ambassador, Shilton Almeida, will be walking us through five of their ‘delicious whiskies’ and ‘delectable drams’. On the menu are: Paul John Brilliance, Paul John Edited, Paul John Bold, Paul John Classic, Paul John Peated – with some background, history and the ‘many personalities of Goa’ that surround each single malt being presented by Mr Almeida. Just a shame we won’t be sitting on the banks of the Mandovi, but The Wellington will do. Until the end of monsoon, anyway. Tasting starts at 7pm, with tickets priced at £20 (standard) or £15 to members of The Birmingham Whisky Club. Or direct event details and online booking, click here.

For more on Paul John Indian Single Malt, visit www.pauljohnwhisky.com

For more from The Birmingham Whisky Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thebirminghamwhiskyclub.co.uk

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For more on The Electric Cinema, visit www.theelectric.co.uk

For more on The Wellington, visit www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk

For more on Smultronställe, visit www.barsmultronstalle.co.uk

BREVIEW: Regina Spektor @ Symphony Hall 05.08.17

Regina Spektor @ Symphony Hall 05.08.17 / Michelle Martin – taken for Express & Star

Words by Paul Gallear / Lead pic by Michelle Martin – taken for Express & Star

A man, younger than I am but around the same height, is wondering around the streets of Sheffield, slightly lost. He has recently started university and is still unfamiliar with his surroundings.

Shuffling through the snow, he passes The Leadmill – a long-established music venue in the city. ‘TONIGHT: REGINA SPEKTOR’ proclaims the poster by the door. Amazed at his luck he calls around all of his newly-made university friends, trying to find someone to go to the gig with. Either no one is available or they are unwilling to take a risk on a last-minute invitation to an unknown gig. Undeterred, the young man queues that evening in the chilly northern air to try and get a ticket on the door. His luck is in.

It was 20.02.07 and that was the first time I saw Regina Spektor live, touring her 2006 album – Begin to Hope. Ten-and-a-half years later I again had the chance to see her in concert, this time touring her seventh studio release – Remember Us to Life. Nothing would be left to chance this time; I had signed up to the mailing lists and was ready with my unique verification code when the pre-sale opened at 9am.

I managed to secure prime seats a mere six rows back (not too close, not too far) and just off-centre in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, a larger and more prestigious venue than The Leadmill. Hosting the likes of Marina Medvetskaya’s Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Hall claims to be ‘widely considered one of the finest concert halls in the world’ and their website lists an impressive set of acoustic specifications (all of the venues on Regina Spektor’s six date UK tour are more up-market than they were a decade ago). Sporting my by now vintage Soviet Kitsch album T-shirt from the Sheffield gig, I survey the stage: a black Steinway & Sons grand piano, a monikered drum kit, a cello, a guitar, and a keyboard. Can that be the same piano stool as last time? Am I dreaming? Musicians can be creatures of habit.

Despite this being a show without support and having a tightly-scheduled start and finish time, Regina Spektor takes to the stage half-an-hour late. The room is not quite sold out, but the anticipation has built and Spektor enters stage right to rapturous applause and cheers. She and the band burst into ‘The Calculation’.

Full disclosure. Some of the tracks from Regina Spektor’s latest album haven’t struck a great chord with me; it is the album I have listened to least frequently. The opening half of tonight’s set is, as you’d expect, laden with these new tracks (such as ‘Grand Hotel’, ‘Tornadoland’ and ‘The Light’) which are performed to an enthusiastic audience. I even find myself enjoying these songs live in a way I hadn’t enjoyed recorded. But during these early numbers I pick up on a buzzing sound which is surprising from a venue that boasts about its acoustics – I would have expected perfection.

The set is diverse. Regina Spektor is of course always present, but she is either backed by the entire band whilst she plays piano and sings, or abandons the piano and sings more like a pop star with a backing band. Her playing has few audible mistakes and the cello playing is, I’m reliably informed, very good. For other tracks, such as ‘That Time’, she abandons the piano all together and picks up the guitar. But for me some of the best and most successful tracks are when the band leaves and Spektor plays such song as ‘Après Moi’ unaccompanied (how many songs can you name which feature three different languages?).

The quiet nature of the audience between songs is not something I’m used to (being a frequenter of more rock-orientated concerts) but Regina Spektor manages to hold the atmosphere. That’s not to say that she is entirely silent in these short gaps. “Do you have a train to catch?” she sasses when an audience member calls for ‘Samson’, a track which would be played (inevitably) as part of the encore.

There is even an endearing moment of humour at the beginning of ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)’ a favourite track of mine from  Begin to Hope, when Spektor forgets her own lyrics; cue a great moment of audience interaction as she calls out for prompts. But I do get the feeling that a lot of these songs have stories behind them that I would have loved Regina Spektor to have gone into, giving us a little insight into her life and writing process.

Nor does she forget where she is; giving a nod to the Birmingham audience by mentioning that local boy Jeff Lynne (of E.L.O fame) had been a producer on her album Far, Spektor bursts in ‘Folding Chair’ – a bouncy crowd-pleaser.

As I mentioned, Regina Spektor ends her encore with perhaps her most famous and most enduring song, ‘Samson’ (after ‘Us’ that is, which was performed with aplomb just before exiting the stage for the first time). I’m not a fan of the trite modern assumption that artists will play always an encore at the end of the set, but nothing could have pleased me more than to have seen Spektor’s ruby-red shoes patter across the stage once more to retake their place on the piano’s sustain pedal. The audience are on their feet at the end of the show and it is thoroughly deserved.

Adding a band to her live shows, Regina Spektor has developed a more complex and mature sound in the last decade. But I can’t help wonder if something of the arty rawness and fun of her earlier performances might have been lost along the way. Spektor has come a long way since emerging from the anti-folk scene in downtown New York’s East Village, and she does concentrate on her work from the previous three albums rather than delving into her archives.

Back in Sheffield we stood in awe as Regina Spektor, bandless, thwacked out a rhythm on her piano stool using a drumstick; in Birmingham we sit as she and her band play through a largely flawless set. Though I don’t leave disappointed, I am greedy. I would like a second show, more stripped back without a band and with a smaller audience, during which she could reconnect with her roots. A boy can dream.

Thoroughly satisfied that my high expectations have been met, I leave the venue clutching a new t-shirt. Hopefully I won’t have to wait another decade to wear it to one of her concerts.

For more on Regina Spektor, visit www.reginaspektor.com

For more from the Town and Symphony Halls, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

BREVIEW: An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17

BREVIEW: An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17

Words by Molly Forsyth

Reclining in my camping chair, I look across to my right at one of the ruinous baileys of Dudley Castle. A full moon sits ominously to the side, peering neatly over a grey cloud. Poetic, I think, for such a night as this.

I sit at Dudley Castle with hundreds of others (999 more, according to the ticket sales – Ed) for a screening of the 1981 cult classic film, comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London, hosted by Flatplack.

The open-air cinema event has the crowd abuzz; hives of Black Country folk swarm the bars and food stands, symbols of the occult are beamed on the walls, and the blow-up screen beams the iconic face of the ravenous lycanthrope that gave many people nightmares over 35 years ago.

The event opens with the much-lauded 2011 short film Howl, telling the tale of a young mother in denial of her daughter’s feral tendencies, from rampantly drinking water out of the toilet bowl to feeding from the pet dog BREVIEW: Howl - shown before An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17 amongst her puppies. Conflicted by her duties as a parent, the mother eventually accepts her daughter’s truth as a creature of the night, choosing to let her live freely as a werewolf rather than repress her.

Howl refrains from invoking plain-faced terror and instead explores the quietly-ignored horror of social denigration of those who are different, all through the eyes of a loved one. Natalie Bettelheim and Sharon Michaeli’s seven-minute feature is an able demonstration of how less is more, creating suspense, pathos and ultimately catharsis for its subject with a limited monochromatic palette and simplistic, hand-drawn animations.

Next is a more in-your-face spectacle, the full version of Michael Jackson’s music video masterpiece, Thriller. Thriller is director John Landis’ other most famous work aside from American Werewolf in London, and proves to be just as entertaining as it was in 1983. It strikes me upon viewing how rare it is to see such a complete conceit as Thriller in modern day pop culture.

BREVIEW: An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17 From the wry inclusion of horror film icon Vincent Price, to the iconic dance of the zombie troupes as they descend upon Jackson’s helpless cinema date, every detail is accounted for in the full 14-minute run. While music videos are used more as a marketing ploy these days, Thriller remains a work of art in its own right and deserves its legend status judging by the audience members up on their feet.

Before An American Werewolf in London’s opening shots of the moors roll out on screen, an introductory video from John Landis himself plays for the crowd. In an unexpected treat, Landis jokes about the zoo setting for tonight, and warns the crowd to stick to the roads in a sly nod to the fates of David Hessler and Jack Goodman on their Yorkshire trip.

As American Werewolf in London is screened, the audience screech and wail their way through the 90-minute romp. There’s laughter at rotting corpses confronting the tortured David in the middle of a moral crisis at an adult cinema, and some fright as he makes his graphic transformation into the titular wolf and stalks his pray through the deserted Tube and Regent’s Park.

The communal element to tonight’s fun plays on my mind. For many sitting with me within the castle remains tonight, this screening is a moment of sweet nostalgia. We all share the experiences of sneaking into the forested BREVIEW: An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17 grounds at night, looking over the houses of Dudley and getting our kicks from ghastly and grim folklore born from the castle with over a millennium of history to its name. Indeed, An American Werewolf in London is a film from some of our youths that compounds the chills and scares we indulged in recklessly, which makes tonight all the more valuable to this town.

All in all, tonight is a resounding success. Following their screening of Bride of Frankenstein last year, Flatpack have put on another fun event that is part of Dudley’s commitment to bringing its nightlife and entertainment offering back to its former glory.

My only critique is that this needs to be done more often. With Hallowe’en around the corner, there are opportunities here for Dudley to make the most of its medieval history with more creative events such as these, and I sincerely hope they do so.

For more from Flatpack, including their Assemble screenings and ongoing projects outside of the festival, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk 

For more from Dudley Castle, visit www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/dudley-castle

BPREVIEW: Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15

BPREVIEW: Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15

Words by Damien Russell 

Presented by Moseley Folk, Goodnight Lenin are headlining the Hare & Hounds on the 11th of August – supported by Boat to Row, and Katherine Priddy

The night is scheduled to start at 19:30 and tickets are priced at £11.00, excluding bookings fees etc. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

A lot can happen in a week.

As I discovered when, six days ago, I found out Goodnight Lenin’s ‘indefinite hiatus’ was being brought forward and they sadly won’t make it to the Beyond The Tracks festival. But before they go, they are going to join us for one last show at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath which ‘so happens to be at our favourite venue with our favourite bands playing alongside us’, as they said in their farewell post. Arguably the most heart-warming way for any band to begin a break.

A lot can happen in a month, too. It was only three weeks ago that Goodnight Lenin announced ‘We are now well and truly finalising our second album’ and confirming that there will be a run of physical copies. As a happy listener and owner of the first album, this was very good news. The second hard copy recording they will have done. They did say, however, that it might be a couple of months more before it’s finished so fingers crossed it’s done before the hiatus hits.

And in six months? A year? Well, perhaps not filled with the same level of press-stopping headlines but I would describe Goodnight Lenin’s seven years as more of a book than an article, and the chapter that would be this last year has, in itself, been quite something.

BPREVIEW: Goodnight Lenin @ Hare & Hounds 11.08.15A year ago this Friday they were in the studio nailing bass lines to ‘Desire’, released on the 21st of November 2016 and ceremoniously rung in with a launch show at Muthers on the 26th.. The single was advertised as one of four to be released before the album comes out this winter.

Before the official release date, ‘Desire’ had piqued media interest and the band made appearances musically or in person on Brum Radio, BBC Radio2 and BBC Introducing West Midlands. While I’m on the topic of radio airplay; in January, BBC Radio 6 played ‘Desire’ and on the 24th, Goodnight Lenin were live on air with Steve Lamacq. On the same day, they were also featured on BBC Midlands Today who were reporting on Independent Music Week and interviewed Sammy.

The 2nd of December saw the two-year anniversary of the release of In The Fullness Of Time – their debut album and the record that cemented my (and a lot of other people’s) appreciation for Goodnight Lenin’s music. It wasn’t the album or even its lead single ‘You Were Always Waiting’ that first grabbed my attention though, it was their Sofar Sounds performance of Tell-tale Heart in Oxford that I found by accident while trying to get my own band some gigs and mooching through the Sofar Sounds website. But I digress…

On the 25th of January, the announcement came out that the second of the four singles would be ‘Portrait Of Youth’, released digitally on the 27th of March. Of course, another single means another party and this one was on the 2nd of April (no fools) at the Hare & Hounds. I must admit, the four single releases, four parties idea is great and one I must try to put into practise myself at some point.

But the great plan has now changed. Singles two and three (and associated parties) have seemingly been put on the back burner. It’s all about the album (I hope) and the last show. Goodnight from Goodnight Lenin. Hopefully not forever but at least for the foreseeable.

It’s always a shame to see a good band leave the limelight but, like any passing, it’s surely better to mark with a celebration of all that we’ve enjoyed up to now and to raise a glass (or five) to ‘until we meet again’. But before the currently unknown ‘next time’, we get this, one last time.

‘Portrait of Youth’ – Goodnight Lenin

Goodnight Lenin play at the Hare & Hounds on Friday 11th August, with support from Boat To Row, and Katherine Priddy – as presented by Moseley Folk. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Goodnight Lenin, visit www.soundcloud.com/goodnightlenin

For more on Boat To Row, visit www.soundcloud.com/boat-to-row

For more on Katherine Priddy, visit www.soundcloud.com/katherine-priddy

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For more from the Hare &Hounds, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk 

For more from Moseley Folk, visit www.moseleyfolk.co.uk