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July 3, 2017July 27, 2017

INTERVIEW: Isla Aguilar & Miguel Oyarzun – BE FESTIVAL

Words by Damien Russell / Lead pic by Graeme Braidwood

I’m sitting in the Marmalade Cafe in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) waiting to interview Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun – directors of the Birmingham European Festival, or BE FESTIVAL for short.

In this tumultuous political time, a festival of European art seemingly has no choice but to move beyond mere celebration and it has become in their own words, a responsibility. And bringing together performers from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Hungary, in styles incorporating dance, circus acts, puppetry, music, traditional styled theatre and more, BE FESTIVAL seems to be setting out to prove once and for all that we really are Better Together. As the festival programme says, ‘here, in the inclusive city of Birmingham, the multifaceted cultural identities and creativity of a continent will once again be celebrated through performance and art’.

Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun are lovely, approachable people, and our discussion runs to over 45 minutes – far beyond what my tired digits can type out in a single sitting. However, through everything we discuss their enthusiasm and passion are remarkable and heart-warming to see.

It’s a cheap start but I can’t help myself. I go back to square one and ask how the festival came to be. Miguel Oyarzun starts off, explaining “in November 2009 the Arts Council – in collaboration with the cultural sector in Birmingham, started a series of meetings and open talks with the idea of looking at how can we improve the scene in the Midlands. We had a friend that was from Birmingham, at that time we were living in London, and we said ‘why don’t we go to Birmingham and see what’s going on?’” So the birth of BE FESTIVAL came from interest outside of the city?

“At that stage we were thinking about setting up a theatre company,” continues Oyarzun, “and so we said ‘okay, well, we’ve never been to Birmingham, let’s go and see what the scene is like.’ We came to one of the open talks and it was a two day talk so after the first day we were saying ‘gosh, these people are great, they’re up for collaborating, there seems to be a good sector and they’re all talking about international work and saying there’s not enough. There’s not enough international work coming to Birmingham. At that stage the REP had just closed, or was about to close down to refurbish, so there was even less as the REP do bring some international work but even with the REP there wasn’t enough.”

“So we asked people ‘so when is the Theatre Festival happening? The International Theatre Festival?’ Assuming there was one. And they said ‘no, there’s no theatre festival. There’s a brilliant performance festival, there are festivals of music, festivals of cinema, but there’s no theatre festival.’ We were kind of a bit surprised by that really.”

“It’s (Birmingham) the second city of the country and it was kind of weird,” add Isla Aguilar. “In Spain almost every single city has a festival of theatre and here the tradition is much bigger than in Spain so we were, like, wow, this is kind of… awkward.”

And so through raising the question in an open talk with members of the Arts Council, the City Council and the wider artistic community, Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun became the organisers of this long standing event. I smile at how raising an issue in an open forum can so often lead to you finding a solution to it yourself. Some clichés do prove themselves time and time again.

We talk more about that first year; I ask how the programme looked for their debut. “We put out a call (for acts),” tells Miguel Oyarzun, “and received 67 proposals which at the time we thought ‘wow, 67’…” “…this is massive” adds Ilsa Aguilar, before Oyarzun finishes, “now this year we received 1070. So, you know.”

I know. BE FESTIVAL has certainly grown since it began and it seems to be an annual event that doesn’t sit on its laurels or stay in its comfort zone. As the directors themselves write, the event has ‘the ultimate aim of breaking down borders, that only serve to divide us’.

The programme is expansive too, with this year presenting a variety of shows and subjects from pertinent to the more playful. There’s Paula Rosolen & Haptic Hide Aerobics ‘recalling the ’80s-born trend for aerobics’ in Aerobics! A Ballet in 3 Acts (Tues 4^th / Germany), alongside The Sensemaker – Elsa Couvreur’s one woman dance show ‘to a quick-switching backing track’ (Weds 5^th / Switzerland) and Anatomia Publica – the story of a solider returning home after being presumed dead to find his wife remarried, ‘performed in an intense style that bridges physical theatre and dance’ as presented by Man Drake and Tomeo Vergés (Sat 8^th/ Spain, France).

So seven years later, with more than 15 times the production proposals coming in, how do Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun come to choose the acts at BE FESTIVAL? “The idea behind the programme has always been a kind of festival to cross borders so we programme work that does that,” explains Oyarzun. “The first criterion is the quality and then we programme work that does one of the following things; one, to cross disciplines. So work that is in-between dance, theatre, circus, puppetry, any kind of discipline.”

“The second thing would be that they cross the language border. So it’s work that is either not using words, so, communicating through physicality or through other means. A show that would fit into that is a pure theatre show where they use masks and there’s no words so we see everything that happens before the words are needed or when there’s not a need for words any more… Emotion and content come from a different place that is more touching, that is deeper than words.”

Quality is also key at BE FESTIVAL and “everybody has to do an application and goes through that application process” continues Aguilar. “It’s a way also that we will see a lot of people that have not necessarily made it onto the circuit yet. It’s a way to discover companies who are doing amazing things and it’s beautiful because each year we feel confident that we have companies that haven’t been seen in this country or haven’t been seen on many other festivals and we are giving them their first opportunity.”

“And that doesn’t mean they don’t have quality”, adds Miguel Oyarzun, “it’s an extraordinary programme of beautiful unique art. Some of the companies are world class companies. However, they may have not jumped into the stages of the UK yet or some of them are very big in their countries but haven’t come. Some of them are not big in their countries but have a lot of potential or are very good but for some reason they haven’t managed to get their art out.”

We touch on Britain leaving the EU (the referendum vote took place during BE FESTIVAL 2016) and as organisers of a festival celebrating European work it comes as no surprise that the political situation is a concern – one that changes the tone of our discussion to a more sombre one, tinged with sadness. But whatever their personal feelings, Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun are keen to see people come together at BE FESTIVAL and openly discuss their thoughts and apprehensions, “it takes a lot of work to bring people together,” begins Oyarzun, “it’s something that you build very little by little and then it’s very easy to break things apart. It takes much less work to do that… of course, we would want this to be open to people who think differently to us and hopefully seduce them that another Europe is possible and we can live together.”

BE FESTIVAL has also commissioned a new piece of theatre exploring the subject, with British Enough? showcased on Thurs 6^th, Fri 7^th and Sat 8^th July. A collaboration between artist/filmmaker Kristina Cranfeld and writer/director John Harrigan, this new production explores ‘the notion of becoming British’ through the ‘fixed, itemised cornerstones which are deemed critical by immigration officials for fitting into British society’.

The underlying messages are challenging perception, encouraging thought and providing quality – “making these (theatre) doors more accessible to the people”, tells Isla Aguilar, and trying to “make them feel comfortable in here. A way to cross borders”. Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun want there to be a healthy platform for debate and expression throughout BE FESTIVAL 2017 and both “expect this year to be particularly lively and energetic”.

Togetherness, diversity, quality and opportunity, these are BE FESTIVAL watchwords – an event that despite its best intentions of being a celebration of art, has become more than that. It’s become a celebration of people, open thought and communication, of hope and potential.

BE FESTIVAL 2017 – official trailer

https://vimeo.com/220815348

BE FESTIVAL runs at the Birmingham REP from 4^th to 6^th July. Day tickets are priced at £20-22 (with dinner) or £12-14 (without dinner). Weekly tickets are priced at £100 (with dinner) or £60 (without dinner).

For more on BE Festival, including a full event programme and online ticket sales, visit www.befestival.org

For more from the Birmingham REP, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

June 30, 2017July 27, 2017

BREVIEW: An Evening with Jackson Browne @ Symphony Hall 27.06.17

Words by Ed King / Live pics by Aatish Ramchurn

I’m standing on a corner in Selly Park, Birmingham, waiting to go and see Jackson Browne; it’s a grey English Tuesday, I’m late and my hair is too long for the humidity. Some problems are obvious and fickle. But with a portfolio stretching back to the front lines of the 60’s what to expect on stage (and off) tonight is a little less clear; the Symphony Hall has billed this gig as ‘An Evening with…’ but that might not be long enough.

Known for a string of household hits he wrote for other artists, then propelling himself into the spotlight with his eponymous debut LP in 1972, Jackson Browne was a golden boy of his time. Combining celebrity status with talent (something that’s not a given in the music industry), sex appeal, five albums in five years, and an ability to write songs of equal beauty about love, loss and foreign policy, Jackson Browne carved himself a unique place into the American songbook.

There’s some pretty sterling peer reviews too, with Bruce Springsteen declaring that “in 70’s post Vietnam America, there was no album that captured the fall from Eden, the long slow after burn of the 60’s – its heartbreak, it’s disappointments, its spent possibilities, better than Jackson’s masterpiece Late for the Sky” as he inducted Browne into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. And that from the man who wrote ‘The River’.

But to me Jackson Browne’s seminal album was Lives in the Balance – which combined his almost Faustian songwriting (…a dark red signature somewhere wouldn’t totally surprise me) with a proud dig at America’s ‘friends’ and the ‘Governments killing their own’ that we still rally against today. Some problems are obvious and yet never go away. But at 50quid a pop I’m not sure how many people will be sitting left of centre at the Symphony Hall tonight – despite the four story auditorium being virtually sold out before we published our BPREVIEW.

After some rushing around with a ticket in my mouth looking for gates and doors (think last call for a long haul flight) I land at Seat 16 / Row N – as central as I could have hoped to be; the lead mic stand is about 30metres directly in front of me. As soon as I sit down Jackson Browne walks onto the Symphony Hall stage with the casual confidence of a teenager who’s learnt to live forever, moving straight into ‘Just Say Yeah’ and launching ‘An Evening…’ with a track from his penultimate LP, Time the Conqueror – the first release via Browne’s own imprint, Inside Recordings.

The sound is immediate and impressive, with a tight band who clearly work well together fronting a man whose vocals sound as near to the record as you could expect them to be. Mind you, when you’ve been performing for half a century this is either patronising or a moot point. Or arguably should be.

‘The Long Way Round’ is up next, from Browne’s most recent album Standing in the Breach; even messing up the first verse doesn’t faze the front man, as we “…just start over” and laugh our way through the mishap. I hear more ‘whoops’ and ad hoc cat calls than I have from any Birmingham audience in a while. A solo piano introduces the next song – ‘After the Deluge’, the closing track from The Boss lauded LP – and starts a trend of sporadic stand up ovations that would continue throughout the night.

Somewhat downplaying his own political portfolio, Jackson Browne introduces the often “unrecognized… scathing satire” of Randy Newman next, with a cover of ‘A Piece of the Pie’ – the Harps & Angels album track that cites Browne as the chorus’ punchline. Worth noting here that Greg Leisz plays lap guitar in Jackson Browne’s touring band, who is excellent throughout.

We leave the acerbic dissonance of Newman’s two fingers to the American dream and head “back to my songs… like falling off a log” with the title track from Browne’s 1993 LP, I’m Alive, before returning to the source (kinda, sorta) with the title track of his sophomore LP, For Everyman. It is at this point I notice some of the Symphony Hall audience who are holding their hands in the air, pointing to the ceiling and giving the occasional fist pump of solidarity; a nasty side of me can’t help but laugh at the ironic and ‘strangled cries of lawyers in love’, celebrating an ideology they are paid well to forget. Integrity’s not a pastime and altruism’s a bitch. But judgment’s pretty shitty too and I’m not proud of these thoughts.

A superb drum roll denouement highlights the tight proficiency of the touring ensemble on stage, before bringing us another call to arms with ‘Walls and Doors’, again from Browne’s latest LP – “a song that would be good for your country to hear right now”. Written by the nueva trova singer/songwriter Carlos Varela, the poignant pen from America’s island neighbor couldn’t be more pertinent – as Browne’s homeland continues to ostracise the “collective joy” of Cuba whilst our own gets dangerously close to doing the same with mainland Europe. A shout out request brings Browne back to the ivory to perform ‘For a Dancer’, which breaks me in two, before a foot stomping delivery of ‘Doctor My Eyes’ takes us into the interval. I pick through the somewhat sauntering Symphony Hall crowd, looking for the quickest route to rum and then back to my seat.

The second set opens with ‘The Late Show’, alongside an almost offensive volley of requests from the post interval drink audience. It seems ‘For a Dancer’ set a dangerous precedent; dance boy dance… it’s a little rude. Although one shout out mercifully (selfishly) makes is down from the balcony and onto the stage; Browne tunes a steel guitar with Latin flavour as the unmistakable message of ‘Lives in the Balance’ comes triumphant off stage, complete with an extra verse citing 9-11 sang beautifully by Althea Mills. My turn to stand up and clap.

Another cover (and homage) brings Warren Zevron’s ‘Caramlita’ rolling round the Symphony Hall, as shoulders across the ‘world renowned’ auditorium twitch with memory, condemnation or ignorant bliss. How appropriate. Now we’re heading into the halfway point of a two set performance, something not many artists can hold up, and I write ‘if he plays ‘Late for the Sky’ this could be the last of my perfect evenings’ whilst Browne pays tribute to his friend and lover, Valerie Carter, though ‘That Girl Could Sing’ – from his 1980 LP, Hold Out.

So guess what comes up next… I put my notebook and pen on the floor.

The rest of the set plays out with some of the great and good from Jackson Browne‘s half century portfolio with ‘The Pretender’, ‘In the Shape of a Heart’ and ‘Running on Empty’ all getting a notable outing. There were some noticeable omissions too, as that-song-from-that-film was left in the dust jacket, along with ‘The Load Out’, ‘Rosie’ or anything from Lawyers in Love. As half the Symphony Hall takes to its feet whilst the other half rush to the front of the stage, we say goodbye to ‘An Evening with Jackson Browne’ in an encore medley of ‘Take it Easy’ and ‘Our Lady of the Well’. And I was right, we would have welcomed longer.

I have my reasons for being here tonight as everyone in this room will do; at nearly £50 a ticket in a four story auditorium, that’s a lot of reasons. And as I began the evening wondering who I’d be sharing it with I end realising the error of my assumptions; Jackson Browne is a composite songwriter, a confident performer, with the power of both his lyrics and his melodies reaching comfortably across five decades and beyond. You could accuse me of ‘gushing’ here but it’s hard not to when you see this on stage.

I guess it’s the memories and the inspiration too, getting to believe that one person’s work can truly make a difference – and what’s more personal than your politics, eh Steve? This made me write.

And now, over 30 years after the car journeys that introduced me to this artist, I get to see such expression delivered so beautifully – all whilst crossing two boxes off my bucket list and singing along to both of them.

(‘Late for the Sky’… in case you were wondering)

For more on Jackson Browne, visit www.jacksonbrowne.com

For more from Inside Recordings, visit www.insiderecordings.com

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For more on the Guacamole Fund, visit www.guacfund.org

For more from the Town & Symphony Halls, visit www.thsh.co.uk

June 30, 2017July 27, 2017

INTERVIEW: Amy Smart – Flatpack: Assemble

Words by Heather Kincaid / Pics courtesy of Flatpack Film Festival

If you’ve ever struggled to catch interesting independent films in the West Midlands, you’re not alone. For all Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city, the region’s indie and arthouse cinema offerings have long been frustratingly limited outside of special events and festivals. But all that is now on course to change thanks to a new project from Flatpack Film Festival.

Launched in 2016, Flatpack: Assemble delivers a year-round programme of screenings and special events aimed at raising the profile of independent film in the region as well as supporting potential exhibitors. Following a preview of Hannes Holm’s irresistible Swedish comedy A Man Called Ove, project manager Amy Smart told Birmingham Review more about Flatpack: Assemble, its goals and its impact so far.

“About five years ago, the BFI set up the Film Audience Network, which was the first time any sort of serious money or support had gone into exhibition, because normally everything tends to focus on production,” explains Smart. “The network consists of nine film hubs scattered around the country, and each one has a lead organisation which is responsible for a given patch. When this started, the West Midlands was weirdly split between Film Hub South West and West Midlands, led by The Watershed in Bristol, and North West Central, which is led by HOME in Manchester.”

“Obviously that was a bit crazy, so Ian Francis, our director, had some conversations with the BFI about how Birmingham and the Midlands were quite underrepresented in terms of the number of screens and funding, and how it needed someone to champion the region. So in 2016, we got the funding from them to set up a sort of sub-hub, working closely with the Watershed in Bristol.”

Part of the difficulty of setting up a full hub in the West Midlands was the scarcity of decent-sized venues: all of the other nine hubs are based in relatively large, multi-screen independent cinemas, of a kind that just doesn’t exist here. Though Birmingham is home to the UK’s oldest working cinema, The Electric only has two screens, and without the safety net of being part of a subsidised arts centre like mac, it also has to remain commercially viable, showcasing popular blockbuster films alongside more unusual fare. As such, in Amy Smart’s own words, “Flatpack probably is the go-to organisation for film in Birmingham”.

To its credit though, Flatpack has managed to turn its lack of a fixed abode – other than its Custard Factory offices – into a strength, reaching out further and holding events right across the region. The next Assemble event, for example, will be an outdoor screening of La La Land in Rugby. The press and industry previews at the heart of its programme, meanwhile, take place at The Electric.

“Assemble is a bit of a beast,” laughs Smart. “Over the last twelve months, we’ve been doing a real range of different things – audience-facing activities like short films and pop-ups, and previews here for the professionals who don’t necessarily get chance to trot off to London to see new releases every other week. It’s also a great chance for press and bloggers to help shine a light on new films. The main thing we’re hoping to achieve is to encourage people to take a chance on indie films more. There are so many films being released every week that often things get lost, and something like [A Man Called Ove] might not even get a screening in the Midlands at all.”

Amy Smart, who previously worked as mac Birmingham’s cinema producer – putting together its screening programme, knows first-hand how tricky it can be for exhibitors to get to London on a regular basis.

“Often people who are working in the industry here end up programming blind – they’re having to go on recommendations and reviews rather than seeing things first, so it’s great that we’re doing these every other month,” explains Smart. “We knew that there was definitely a demand for this amongst distributors. I work with one other programmer from the Midlands who does go to London and see previews, but the others generally don’t, so I think it was quite important from that point of view.”

Flatpack’s criteria for selecting films is far from fixed, however: the only real stipulation is avoiding blockbusters and any films that aren’t likely to need help getting noticed. Of course, sometimes films will defy expectations and end up surprisingly commercially successful – both Moonlight and Hidden Figures received Assemble previews here in Birmingham. More often though, they’ll be much more low-profile picks: powerful documentaries like Notes On Blindness, or foreign language films like the superb Iranian horror Under the Shadow.

“It has to be British and/or independent, and we’ve tried to use different distributors each time so we can build up relationships with different people and get more variety. We’ve also tried to vary the genres, so we’ve done horror, comedy and documentary – we want to make sure it’s not just one kind of offering. But essentially it’s just stuff we want to see in Birmingham and we’re hoping people will trust Flatpack’s suggestions.”

How much take up there is for each screening seems to depend on the title (there have been attempts to vary days and slots with little apparent impact) but audience figures have remained pretty respectable since the project’s inception, particularly considering the Assemble previews are only open to those in the Flatpack network, rather than to the general public.

“With these things you never really know how it’s going to be received, but I think the lowest number of people we’ve ever had was about 40. Our best one [Moonlight] booked up completely.”

As well as bringing films to the people who might help to raise their profile or run future public screenings of them in Midlands venues, Assemble also offers professional training and networking sessions for those involved in the local film scene.

“In terms of training and development, we’re quite keen to offer things exhibitors want, so we’re quite open to talking with programmers and projectionists and marketing teams – and not just in traditional theatrical venues. It could be a festival, a pop-up, a community cinema or a film society – anyone who’s exhibiting films in some way.”

“For example, as part of Flatpack 11, the festival just gone, we had an industry day called Film Camp which was a mixture of workshops and panels on things like screening films with a live score. There’s quite a lack of quality children’s programming in the Midlands, so we had a workshop called Build Your Own Family Screening. We also ran a workshop called DIY Driving, where families made big cardboard cars and parked them up to watch a film, which was great – something a bit different from just going to the cinema and watching Frozen or Cars 3 or whatever. We’re quite interested in making events more special and interactive.”

Those looking to get started on new projects like community cinemas or local film nights can take advantage of the specialist advice, training and cheap equipment hire Assemble has to offer.

“We’ve got a project called Build Your Own Film Night that we’re really proud of, which is essentially a workshop to give people the skills, tools and knowledge to put on their own film night legally. We take them through property rights and creating playlists and selecting features, as well as how to promote it and put it on technically.”

We’ve also got some kit that we hire out to people through Cinema for All, which is a national organisation for championing community cinemas in the UK. It’s amazing – there’s a projector, speakers and a 12ft screen, and we’re hiring it out for £25. That gets a lot of use because one of the biggest barriers if people want to put on their own film night is that they’ve got to get kit from somewhere, and if you’re hiring it from a private company, it can cost you about £100.”

“While Assemble is predominantly industry-focused, ordinary film fans and audiences should be equally excited about these developments. With so much support available, we can hope to see a significant expansion and improvement in film offerings in Birmingham and beyond over the coming months and years.” Asked whether she’s optimistic about the future of film in Birmingham, Amy Smart’s response was emphatic: “Absolutely! I think we engaged with just shy of 40,000 people last year, so hopefully it’ll just keep growing and growing.”

“I think film is the most accessible artform, really,” she adds. “Some people wouldn’t necessarily walk into a gallery because they think it’s not for them, but pretty much anybody can walk into a cinema, so we’re just trying to build on that.”

For more on Flatpack: Assemble, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/flatpack-assemble

Flatpack: Assemble will be screening La La Land in Caldecot Park, Rugby on Sat 1^st July – in partnership with Rugby Festival of Culture. Attendance is by direct invitation from Flatpack Film Festival.

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For more on Flatpack Film Festival, including full details on the Cinema For All and Build Your Own Film Night initiatives, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk

Flatpack will be screening American Werewolf in London at Dudley Castle on Sat 5^th August, with tickets priced at £10 (concs £8). For direct event info, click here.

June 26, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Miranda Lee Richards @ Ort Café 28.06.17

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 28^th June, Miranda Lee Richards performs an ‘acoustic trio’ set at Ort Café, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced at £6 (advance) – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

‘Richards sang in school choir, but didn’t consider playing music professionally until a chance meeting with Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who taught her how to play Mazzy Star songs on guitar.’

OK, so I’ll just stop there. And the award for Best Line in a Press Release goes to….

But a hybrid of ruthless American rock and the opiate haze of Hope Sandoval is not a bad summary, albeit somewhat esoteric. The more tangible outcomes of this encounter (queue lazy writer Beauty and the Beast references) are four studio albums and a bunch of EPs, with Miranda Lee Richards’ latest long player, Existential Beast, released via Invisible Hands Music in June this year.

Initially signing to Virgin Records, Miranda Lee Richards released her debut album, The Hearafter, in 2001. Having been a vocalist with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a model in Paris, and reached the Top 5 in Japan with her single ‘The Long Goodbye’, you’d think this would be an A&R wet dream. But the partnership with the major was not to last and ‘following a non self-imposed hiatus after parting ways with Virgin’ (Best Supporting Line in a Press Release goes to…) Richards signed with the Terry McBride brainchild, Nettwerk – releasing her Early November EP in 2008. Delivering a darker sound to the lighter Americana of her debut, Richards would stay with Nettwerk to further release her sophomore LP, Light of X, in 2009.

We’d have to wait over six years for more new material, but in January 2016 Miranda Lee Richards released her eight track Echoes of the Dreamtime through Invisible Hands Music. Her first release on the UK based independent, this was followed up just over a year later with Richards’ fourth studio album – Existential Beast.

“It is a political album to the core,” explains Richards, “examining the issues of our time, but with an intent of tackling these difficult and sometimes taboo subjects in a poetic and heartfelt manner. The title is also a mash-up of terms, referencing the existential crisis that has in turn arisen. In essence, we are all still working with animal urges of fear, competition, survival, sexuality, which are deep-seated and manifesting in varying ways and degrees for different individuals, depending on where one is at.”

“A more endearing outlook may be to see this as an assignment working with the inner child, who at times can behave like a wild beast. But like it or not, these tendencies have been revealed, within our leaders, our countries, and ourselves; it is indeed a pivotal and transformational time and there is much work to be done.”

‘Lucid I Would Dream’ – Miranda Lee Richards

Miranda Lee Richards performs at Ort Café on Wednesday 28^th June, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, click here.

For more on Miranda Lee Richards, visit www.mirandaleerichards.com

For more from My Autumn Empire, visit www.myautumnempire.co.uk

For mroe from Ryan Sparrow, visit www.ryansparrowmusic.co.uk

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For more from Ort Cafe, including a full events programme and online ticket sales, visit www.ortcafe.co.uk

For more for Birmingham Promoters, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

June 26, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Cabbage @ O2 Institute 30.06.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield

On Friday 30^th June, Cabbage will take over the main stage at the 02 institute Digbeth, with support from The Blinders and Strange Bones. Doors open at 6pm with tickets priced at £11.50 (advance). For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here.

This summer the Manchester five-piece are taking to venues across the UK in their biggest headline tour to date, following their recent stint with fellow Manchester band, Blossoms. Coming from the Scala in London (June 29th) to the 02 Institute in Birmingham (June 30^th) and then onwards North to the Ritz Manchester (July 1^st), expect to see Cabbage to pitch up at some major venues. For full tour details from SJM/Gigs and Tours, click here.

Cabbage have recently announced their new The Extended Play of Cruelty EP – set for a digital release on July 21^st, with a physical release on August 25^th via Skeleton Key records. Cabbage have previously released their new single, ‘Celebration of A Disease’, which is out now and the opening track from the EP. The Extended Play of Cruelty EP comes after a short recording session with producers James Skelly and Richard Turvey at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios. According to a post Cabbage’s Facebook page, “The Extended Play of Cruelty is our revisited conquest to our pop psychological platitudes. The deceit of man tests all in a moment of clarity and we deliver our position in a long search for Utopia. Our blend of fervent disdain is focused on local frustrations, whilst celebrating those who shall rise through the ashes.”

What looks like Cabbage’s thoughts on their The Extended Play of Cruelty EP does in fact read like a cultural and musical manifesto. Certainly, their new single is a seething comment on society’s unnatural fixation with social media that spreads like a ‘disease’ with ‘the corruption of technology’ breaking our ‘dreams’. Deep stuff, but not unexpected from a band who are known for their politically and socially charged lyrics, and during the run up to the 2017 general election had the words ‘Vote Jeremy Corbyn’ on their drum kit.

The Extended Play Of Cruelty comes hot on the heels of their collection of early EP’s, called Young, Dumb and Full of… in January 2017; twelve songs of hard-hitting post-punk that bubble away with an energy that is not so far removed from The Sex Pistols. However, the darker, more punkier sound is somewhat lacking in their new single, ‘Celebration Of A Disease’ which still retains the heavy throng of the drums but lacks the slicing guitar that made some of their classic songs like ‘Uber Capitalist Death Trade’, ‘Necroflat in the Palace’, ‘Indispensable Pencil’ and ‘Terrorist Synthesiser’. But Cabbage are proving they have a lot more material to give and are by no means a flash in the pan. It will be interesting to see how their new song fares when played live, especially as Cabbage can deliver a ferociously intense set on stage.

(Lucy Mounfield last saw Cabbage playing at the O2 Academy in March, as part of the NME Awards Tour with Blossoms and Rory Wynne. Read her BREVIEW here)

Support band The Blinders are a three-piece alternative group from Doncaster who are now based in Manchester. Combining political punk-rock with ‘psychedelic poetry and tones’ to create visceral ‘punkedelic’ sound, the band seem an equal match for Cabbage’s raw yet thought provoking punk. Equally so, Blackpool rockers Strange Bones are putting a modern twist to punk with their stand out tune ‘God Save the Teen’ – a nod and a wink to The Sex Pistols’ punk anthem.

‘Celebration of a Disease’ – Cabbage

Cabbage play the O2 Institute on Friday 30th June, with support from The Blinders + Strange Bones. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Cabbage, visit www.ahcabbage.bandcamp.com

For more on The Blinders, visit www.soundcloud.com/the-blinders

For more on Strange Bones, visit www.soundcloud.com/strangebones

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For more from the O2 Institute, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

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