birminghamreview, Author at

February 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Tegan and Sara @ O2 Institute 18.02.17

Words by Helen Knott / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

It can be hard for artists to change musical direction. Perhaps some don’t have the talent or imagination to reinvent themselves… not everyone is Bowie. Maybe others are concerned about alienating a fan base they’ve worked hard for years to develop.

So it was nothing if not a brave move for Tegan and Sara to ditch the earnest indie-rock that had earned them a solidly successful career for over a decade. Teaming up with Greg Kurstin, who last week was named Producer of the Year at the Grammy Awards (not just for his work with Tegan and Sara, but also, more famously, Adele) helped them move into the more mainstream realm of 80s inspired synth pop.

It’s a move that has paid off, helping Tegan and Sara gain critical and commercial success for their last two albums Heartthrob and Love You to Death. Tonight’s show is the penultimate in a month-long European tour in some of the biggest venues they’ve visited to date. Still, it does pose a problem for their live show: how do you create a cohesive performance with incohesive material?

Set opener ‘Back in Your Head’ is a statement of intent on that score. It’s one of their most famous tracks off The Con, which is probably their best pre-pop album. Normally an introspective, though pacey piano-led track, tonight it’s reworked into an electro-pop belter. And it fits seamlessly in with the pop.

Other re-workings have mixed success. ‘Alligator’, one of the set highlights, easily works in the synth pop style – even back on 2009 album Sainthood the sisters knew how to pen a pop classic. On the other hand, ‘Northshore’, also from Sainthood, is an ill-conceived, souped-up mess.

In the main, the set sticks to Tegan and Sara’s two most recent albums. However, it’s said that Taylor Swift was influenced by Heartthrob and songs such as ‘How Come You Don’t Want Me’ are very Swift-esque. When the tracks are good, it’s not unreasonable to mention Tegan and Sara alongside such pop heavyweights; ‘Closer’ and ‘Boyfriend’, tonight’s closing two tracks, are brilliantly witty and catchy as hell.

A three track acoustic segment of songs from The Con celebrates the album’s tenth anniversary. It feels like a small concession to appease older fans, who would probably like to be hearing a little less synth pop. It gives everyone else the chance to catch their breath from the dancing.

If tonight’s audience is anything to go by, the change in direction has helped the twins to reach out to a new generation of young fans. It makes sense that their music now appeals to younger people. Tegan and Sara might be in their mid-30s, but the subject matter of their songs remains stubbornly adolescent, concentrating on subjects like break-ups and that hot new person you fancy, though always with an interesting sideways twist.

It all adds up to a fun, if ultimately unfulfilling evening. I’d like to hear Tegan and Sara’s music reflect the off-kilter world of their lyrics – it all sounds a little too safe. And they may make a good fist of reworking their old songs into their new style, but that does mean that things end up a little samey and one-note.

As the years go by and their career continues the big question will be: can Tegan and Sara reinvent themselves again?

__________

For more on Tegan and Sara, visit www.teganandsara.com

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

For more from Live Nation, visit www.livenation.co.uk

February 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Cinderella @ Hippodrome 15-25.02.15

Ed’s Note: Bethan is seven. She has been attending free weekly ballet lessons at Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) as part of their Dance Track programme, after being selected when a team from BRB came to her school. BRB are keen to reach children ‘who often wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to participate in dance’ and to ‘introduce the young participants and their families to ballet and to incite an interest in the art form’.

For our BREVIEW of BRB’s Cinderella, a returning production that gathered some momentum on tour, I wanted this perspective. The following was written by Bethan and her mum, Jenny, without direction from either BRB or myself. Bethan probably has better grammar than I.

I want to thank both Bethan and Jenny for their contribution, as well as BRB for playing along with this approach.

Words by Bethan & Jenny

Cinderella. We all know the story, and non better than my Disney-fanatic seven-year-old daughter. The magic, the romance, the happily ever after… all of which Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) most certainly delivered on, in their true to Disney style production.

Wednesday evenings, for Bethan and I, usually follow the standard homework, dinner, bath and bed routine. So imagine the excitement of a little girl, a little bit in love with ballet, getting ready to go to the opening night of one of her all time favourite love stories on stage. Bethan chose her best party dress and most sparkling jewellery to wear, and a glamorous bow for her hair. “I’ve got to look pretty mummy,” she told me, “it IS the opening night AND Prince Charming will be there.”

Upon our arrival at the Hippodrome we were greeted by a friendly chap from BRB. He shook my daughter’s hand, said he had heard all about her and that he couldn’t wait to read her review. He even invited her to another production.

As we made our way to our seats, Bethan’s excitement doubled. She saw The Nutcracker last year, another fantasy production from Birmingham Royal Ballet, but we were quite far away from the stage. When Bethan realised tonight we were only six rows back she was over the moon, “I’ll be able to see their faces!”

We took our seats, the lady next to Bethan helping with her booster seat, and as the hush fell across the theatre she gripped my hand with anticipation.

Well, Act One certainly didn’t disappoint. The dance, props and costumes all helped Bethan to understand exactly who each character was and what they were doing. She found humour in the performance of the ugly sisters, felt sad for cinders as she was tormented, and was in awe of the fearsome wicked stepmother.

As the story continued, the magical transformation of a dreary Cinderella clutching a pumpkin – along with two lizards, two mice and a frog – into a stunning coach and some handsome footmen, all added to the magic. Sadly this was a short-lived scene, and we both felt a little cheated out of the chance to enjoy it for a little longer before Act One was over.

The ballet dancers really came in to their own in Act Two, which was dedicated to the ball. Bethan has been learning ballet through the Dance Track programme with Birmingham Royal Ballet, after being selected from tryouts at her school, and was delighted to be able to recognise a few dance moves from her own lessons.

We both had a giggle at the clumsy dances of the two truly awful step sisters, trying to woo the Prince with their own unique charms (when not distracted by a waiter carrying a plate of cakes piled high) but to no effect. Of course, then the famous shoe was abandoned on the steps and, as the clock struck midnight, the curtain fell on Act Two.

Much of Act Three was dedicated to the Prince searching for his true love, running around the stage whilst being hotly perused by the many eligible maidens, and balancing on an ever increasing pile of shoes. When Cinderella and her Prince were finally reunited, the curtain fell as they wondered in to the moonlight, hand in hand, much to the delight of my seven year old theatre companion.

Although rather tired, Bethan had loved every second of her special night out at the ballet. She had engaged with the whole performance from start to finish, understanding the story and empathising with the leading lady. But with such incredible acting and dancing talent on the stage, alongside the clever costumes and set design, this could be an amazing experience for all ages in the audience.

For more from Birmingham Royal Ballet, visit www.brb.org.uk

For more on BRB’s Dance Track programme, visit www.brb.org.uk/up-close/dance-education/dance-track

For more from Birmingham Hippodrome, including a full prgramme of events and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com

February 21, 2017February 21, 2017

BPREVIEW: Worry Dolls @ Kitchen Garden Café 22.02.17

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 22^nd February, Worry Dolls perform at the Kitchen Garden Café (Kings Heath) coming to Birmingham as part of their national headline tour.

Doors open at 7:30pm with tickets priced at £7adv / £8. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Worry Dolls, aka Zoe Nicol and Rosie Jones, met through the Liverpool music scene and a shared love of the lighter side to the Cohen Brothers. Although it may have been more about the Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Forming their own ‘contemporary bluegrass band’, Nichol and Jones started out playing covers and paying homage, with artists including Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, Earl Scruggs, Dixie Chicks and Gillian Welch cited as influences.

But no Americana dream is complete without a road trip and the ‘almost telepathically linked songwriting force’ pootled across the pond, to Nashville, to record their debut album. Go Get Gone was released through Bread & Butter Records on 27^th January – to read a Birmingham Review of the album, click here or on the sleeve artwork.

Having been on the (British) road since the day after the album’s release, Worry Dolls are quite literally living their dream – no doubt with all the dark turns and happy accidents you can expect from the unexpected. But Go Get Gone appears to have been a brave endevour from the start.

Birmingham get’s it’s chance to see Worry Dolls on tour date lucky 13, before Nicol and Jones continue their somewhat head spinning criss-cross of the country. And Kitchen Garden Cafe is arguably one of the better second city settings for some good ol’ fashioned stripped back, bluegrass and country.

But with 25 dates to play until this year’s summer festival season, when another significant wheel starts turning, there’s probably not too much time to notice. Life on the open road can be a cruel and kind mistress, so I remember. And save those diary blues for album two.

‘Miss You Already’ – Worry Dolls

Worry Dolls will be performing at the Kitchen Garden Café on 22^nd February. For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Worry Dolls, visit www.worrydollsmusic.com

For more from the Kitchen Garden Café, including a full events programme and menus, visit www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk

For more from Bread & Butter Music, visit www.breadandbuttermusic.com

February 21, 2017February 21, 2017

BPREVIEW: Leviathan @ mac 24.02.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield / Pics by Steve Tanner

James Wilton Dance presents Leviathan, coming to mac on Friday 24^th February.

Doors open at 8pm with tickets priced at £14 (£12 concessions). For direct info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

The long-unanswered question that all choreographers strive to fulfil: can a story be told through the medium of dance? It is hard enough to create a brand-new narrative for the stage, but it is even harder to adapt one of the greatest novels of all time. James Wilton Dance has done just that, re-imaging the seminal novel by Hermann Melville, Moby Dick.

This American epic is long held as a stage must, although history has told us that most theatrical adaptations of this story have failed to stay on the stage for very long. However, Leviathan has been cited as the multi-award winning choreographer’s ‘best production to date’ by The Reviews Hub, with The Stage calling it a ‘viscerally exciting’ production from ‘extraordinary’ dancers.

Reporting on James Wilton Dance’s previous production, Last Man Standing, critic Robert Beale has previously celebrated the company for its ‘breathtaking virtuosity and split-second synchronisation’, whilst stating ‘the world’s best classical companies rarely approach this level of physical discipline.’ No doubt, hopes are Leviathan will be of equal merit.

James Wilton is the lead choreographer and artistic director of his eponymous dance company, which he started after graduating from London Contemporary Dance School in 2009. Since then the company has gone on to create five theatre based works and five outdoor works, which have toured to South Korea, China, the USA, Dubai, India and Europe.

Wilton‘s choreography combines contemporary dance with athletic bravura, which has previously lent itself to small intense pieces. Leviathan, however, takes on a larger narrative – exploring themes such as Man vs. Nature, ambition, psychological control and self destruction.

For Leviathan, James Wilton will take the lead role of Captain Ahab himself – a man determined to capture the legendary white whale. Ahab’s crew, featuring a cast of six dancers, will traverse the dangerous sea the whale inhabits using Wilton‘s trademark verve and style, mixing a ‘blend of athletic dance, martial arts, capoeira and partner-work’. These athletic and highly energised movements will be accompanied by a progressive rock soundtrack by Lunatic Soul.

Leviathan – James Wilton Dance

James Wilton Dance presents Leviathan, coming to mac on Friday 24^th February. For direct event info, including venue details and online tickets sales, click here.

__________

For more on James Wilton Dance, visit www.jameswiltondance.org.uk

For more from mac, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

February 20, 2017

THE GALLERY: Hidden Charms + The Bay Rays, The Lizards @ Hare & Hounds 16.02.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

I shouldn’t be here. I should be at home, dressing gown clad, half cut and punching nostalgic travel plans into Skyscanner. But I’m not. A pantomime of missteps has brought me to the second room at the Hare and Hounds; fully dressed and upright I’m watching Hidden Charms, a band I didn’t know until chance and their PR company (Sonic, a more reliable source) threw me into this review. And so it begins.

The first two bands tonight have been superb: The Lizards, with their Faustian approach to distorted psych/prog rock, and The Bay Rays – a stadium seducing blues rock three piece. It’s competitive. Rob and I joke about having to follow this kind of support. I don’t know much about tonight’s headline band but the stakes have been raised at each sound check and they’d better have big enough feet. Hidden Charms saunter into view, croaky, crumpled and confident; just like a rock band. A harmonica sounds, a hand goes up. We are called to the front of the stage. We are Act III. We are on.

A brooding screech cuts through a driving rhythm guitar; the beats drum, a whammy pedal breaks, Americana pours through the room like ill tempered bourbon. I am standing in the cracked mirror ball lights of an old motel bar. Then Bez in a cowboy hat (apparently ‘found on a beach in New Zealand’) drags us further into the stage. We shuffle through imagined broken glass and comply.

‘Over Now’ brings some serious shoulder drop blues; Addidas and broken Converse in a fist fight with keys and guitar. It’s Thursday night in a tired second city, but a complicit front row continues to accept this increasing and almost violent invitation – before ‘Long Way Down’ presses us further into our focal point and foe. John Lennon with balls. There’s no escape; it takes less than ten minutes and Hidden Charms’ front man is climbing into the crowd.

I was promised the London four piece would be ‘well worth seeing, you’re in for a good night’… but what does that ever mean. There is no truth, right? But the energy in this small live room is immediate and palpable – the music, ferocious and infectious. If chairs start getting thrown I don’t think anyone will care, or notice. As long as sound stays on and the bar open.

Usually I step through a set list, number punching the pertinent plot points and looking for chances to sound funny, but not now. After a small stationary skirmish I am reminded… I am here. So I put the pen down and dance. Anyway, you could pick five words (on, driving, cowboy, blues, rock) to surmise this review but in essence you only need four: go see Hidden Charms. You can get the rest from YouTube, Spotify or (better still) iTunes.

I did write the following (as I took a five minute double whiskey break at the back of the room) so I guess I should give them to you. Unedited, picked from the drunk spider scrawls in my now slightly crumpled notebook:

‘Punching it up between foot stamp blues anthem 101, seduce the front row, all round awesomeness – the whole room is, or should, or wants, to be having as much fun as possible. Then at some point, I’m not sure when, the front of the stage moves into the front of the crowd and we’re buying rounds of Tequila.’

Tonight has been a barrage of blues, psychedelic and prog rock – delivered by a live triptych of almost absurd quality. Raw and unexpected. You don’t see this too often. So go and watch all of these bands: The Lizards, The Bay Rays, Hidden Charms.

And by the end of a night I hadn’t planned for, I was picking my way off a fan fervent stage – full of pedals, alcohol stains and stories for the next day. Which reminds me of two more words: happy accidents.

Hidden Charms @ Hare & Hounds 16.02.17 / Rob Hadley