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November 19, 2015

BPREVIEW: Boat to Row (album launch) @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15

Words by Ed King

On Friday 20th Nov, Boat to Row play at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) with support from Dancing Years, Declan McKenna + DJs from Goodnight Lenin.

Doors open at 7pm (last entry 10pm) with advance tickets charged at £10 – as presented by This Is Tmrw. For direct gig info & online tickets sales, click here.

Boat to Row are coming to the Hare & Hounds to celebrate the launch of their debut album, I Found You Here – released via local label/promoters, Nocturne Records, on Friday 20^th November. Hence the shindig.

And with support from Leeds’ debut EP impending Dancing Years (Learn to Kiss – Feb ’16) and the Pilton funded precocity that is Declan McKenna, this is a pretty full bill for a tenner; some strong and promising voices. But, perhaps, more so if you like singer/songwriters and Folk. Think singer/songwriters and Folk. It’s going to be singer/songwriters and Folk.

Birmingham Review last saw Boat to Row at The Rainbow in May this year, with the melodious love-in leaving Ceri Black floating on a cloud of world piece for longer than normal. Certainly talented and confidently friends, the onstage ensemble won over our stalwart reporter; a trusted scribe who once surmised Hanson’s return to Birmingham by declaring ‘I wanted to hide my face and pretend none of it was happening.’

But she’s arguably not the only one, with Boat to Row earning a reputation for multi layered and considered compositions, driven by a campfire sealed narrative and winsome delivery. People like ‘em, in a nutshell. They’re, like, well cool.

And now with an LP to shout about, a ‘labour of love’ which was reportedly two years in the making, the Birmingham multi instrumentalists are out on the road with their fresh stocking filler suggestion – playing at the Hare & Hounds (20^th Nov), before heading to London (The Finsbury – 22^nd Nov) and Nottingham (The Bodega – 25^th Nov).

So dip your finger in the sugar bowl and see what you think; try before you buy, watch the official video to ‘Turn the Page’ – taken from Boat to Row’s debut album, I Found You Here.

And if anyone can corroborate, the site of the ‘TESCO LIES’ in Stirchley, right…?

‘Turn the Page’ – Boat to Row

Boat to Row perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) on 20^th November, with support from Dancing Years, Declan McKenna + DJs from Goodnight Lenin. For direct gig info & tickets, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.skiddletickets.com/event.php?id=12541982

For more on Boat to Row, visit http://boattorow.com/

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For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listings & online ticket sales, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/

For more from This Is Tmrw, visit http://thisistmrw.co.uk/

November 18, 2015

BPREVIEW: MCM Comic Con @ NEC 21-2.11.15

Words by Olly MacNamee

*MCM Comic Con (Birmingham) is held at the NEC from 21^st to 22^nd November, with standard day tickets priced at £16 and standard weekend tickets at £16. For direct ticket info & sales, click here.

Coming this weekend, and closing down the comic-con season in Birmingham for the year, is the return of the memorabilia mammoth that is the MCM Comic Con*.

With it’s usually mix of celebrities, cosplay and comics – and a great opportunity to grab that favourite geek in your life a bostin’ Christmas present (you still say “bostin’” round here, right?) this can be a demanding weekend if you don’t know what you’re doing.

So, here are my top five survival tips to consider if you’re a newbie to these kinds of shows.

Cosplay catastrophes cancelled: With cosplay being an integral part of the fun to be had at MCM, fear not if you’ve dressed to impress but find a ladder in your tights or a tear in your cape; there are people on hand with their magic box of needles and threads that will help restore you to Justice League standards. Just make sure you’ve used your Wolverine like tracking skills early in the day to seek ‘em out.

Plan ahead: With several cast members of the uber popular Game of Thrones holding court, as well as appearances from Liv Tyler (Sunday only), Maude Hirst (Vikings), Victoria Smurfit and Merrin Dungey (Once Upon A Time) and the Bionic Man himself, Lee Majors, you may want to check with the MCM online guide (available on the day as a floppy copy) to decide on a battle plan. Where are the celebs you want to see, what time are the photo opportunities, and where are the bogs. These are all logistic nightmares if you are keen to get as much out of the weekend as you can.

Bring money. Lots of money: While there is a goddamn awful lot to see, the temptation is to spend like a banker (recklessly) only to find you’ve bankrupted yourself ahead of Sunday. My advice: wait till about 4pm. No one wants to lug unsold products home, so this is the time to swoop in on the many bargains you can pick up, some less than half-price. Then, you can pretend you spent top dollar on your mates’ prezzies and they’ll be none the wiser.

Be ready to be amazed, but keep your hands to yourselves, fanboys: The cosplayers are a friendly lot and always ready to pose for piccies. But regardless of their costume, do not see them as something to manhandle and slobber over. Trust me, it happens.

Go see the Ralph McQuarrie signed Star Wars prints: After 4pm on the Sunday, some lucky bugger will have bid on this one-off collection of Star Wars concept art – donated anonymously, with all money raised going to local charity, Acorns Children’s Hospice. Worth checking out if you’re a fan of Star Wars. If you know who Ralph McQuarrie, then you are a fan. If not, then these aren’t the art prints you are looking for. Move along, move along.

Above all, whether travelling with friends, family or solo, have a great time. It beats the Christmas Market, that’s for sure.

MCM Comic Con is held at the NEC from 21^st to 22^nd November. For more on MCM Comic Con (Birmingham), visit http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/birmingham/

For more from the NEC Group, visit https://www.necgroup.co.uk/

November 17, 2015

BREVIEW: Julia Holter @ The Glee Club 11.11.15

Words by Helen Knott / Pics by Michelle Martin (Visual Voice Media)

In the past four years, American composer and singer Julia Holter has made a gradual transition from the obscure, avant-garde soundscape of her debut album Tragedy (2011) to this year’s critically-admired Pop opus Have You in My Wilderness.

Now signed to Domino Records, the development in sound could partly be explained by changes in her recording process – moving from solitary recording on a laptop to a collaborative studio environment.

But that’s not to say that things have got less innovative or compelling; Julia Holter’s songs are still joyously off-kilter and inventive. A case in point is the opening track of her gig at The Glee Club tonight, ‘Silhouette’. The song starts conventionally enough, with its traditional Pop chord structure and melody. But gradually the order falls apart, with things getting more dark, dusky and disjointed. It’s like an idyllic, sunny walk that gets interrupted by an invigorating rain storm.

While Julia Holter may have moved away from making art music, her songs still encompass a wide range of influences; it’s just now they have been refined to make a cohesive Pop whole. Jazz is at the core of the hazy, dream-like ‘Vasquez’, but an elongated bass section accompanied by droning viola also suggests eastern influences, all while slightly reminding me of Air. In ‘How Long’ Holter has even created her own version of a Bond theme, with its dramatic strings and crooning vocals.

And it’s not surprising that some of Julia Holter’s music sounds filmic. Indeed, it has been announced just this week that she has been drafted in to write the soundtrack for Bleed for This – the latest film from Boiler Room director, Ben Younger. But stories are clearly important to Holter,
with her first three albums heavily influenced by pieces of literature. Have You in My Wilderness doesn’t have an overriding concept but the songs still feel like a series of short stories or vignettes, offering a window to curious incidents in her life.

Consequently, between tracks tonight Julia Holter is prone to long and convoluted speeches about the stories behind her songs. I quickly start to find this quite annoying, but everyone else seems totally charmed. Before ‘Horns Surrounding Me’ she draws particularly tenuous parallels between her dislike of marching bands and paparazzi. Luckily the song is great, pounding, unrelenting and sounding exactly like how it feels like to be claustrophobic in a busy city.

As the set unfolds I come to realise I prefer the recorded versions of Julia Holter’s tracks to the live ones. Recorded, they are precise and texturally perfect. Live, things can feel a little thin and flat, even though the backing band playing viola, bass and drums features musicians of quality.

Things brighten up with Julia Holter’s most out and out Pop song so far, ‘Feel You’ – the opening track from her most recent album. With harpsichord at the foundations it sounds Baroque, but also light, glassy and modern – its catchy melody punctuated with rhythmic strings and drums. And if there were anything right with the world ‘Feel You’ would top the chart for weeks.

For more on Julia Holter, visit http://www.juliashammasholter.com/

For more from Domino Records, visit http://www.dominorecordco.com/

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For more from The Glee Club venues, including all music and comedy listings, visit https://www.glee.co.uk/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/

November 17, 2015November 19, 2016

OPINION: The Clothes Show Live ’15 @ NEC 04-8.12.15

Words by Sasha Holt / Pics courtesy of NEC Group

Well hello fashionistas, its Sasha – your style guide through the fashion wilderness. Today we take another step closer to the style obsessed leviathan that is The Clothes Show Live.

Whilst daydreaming about the diaphanous dresses on my wish list for The Clothes Show Live ’15, I started to muse about the human clothes hangers that will be showing off the key pieces to a fashion hungry public on the Image Catwalk at this year’s event, and the influential effect they may have on many visitors to the event.

One example of this is the hope that many girls may have of being spotted by Select Model Management, The Clothes Show Live’s official scouting team, because they are 5 foot 10 inches and a size 6?

After all, if spotted they could in the footsteps of The Brit Pack – with the current faces of this year’s campaign, Erika Pattison, Sarah-Ann Macklin, Hannah Dodd and Rhiannon Laslett, all plucked from the NEC crowds over the last 10 years. Then I wonder how many girls that are 5ft 4 inches and size 14 will have the same hopes to make it into the fashion world? The answer to this question may reflect an inequality that still exists in the fashion world, but I’ll let you be the judge.

With the average Clothes Show Live customer being a girl between 15 and 18, their immediate demographic is one greatly influenced by fashion and still forming their sense of self. Many could be looking for aspirational role models, and at The Clothes Show Live this year they may be confronted by images which to the young insecure mind could be dangerous.

Now I’m not suggesting that The Clothes Show Live should become some holistic moral fashion beacon, but I’d be curious to know which exhibitors featured this year foster a sense of self away from just the presumed external fashion ideal.

But one person on the 2015 programme I trust to guide this year’s wide eyed fashion Bambi’s through the ready to wear wilderness is Hilary Alexander OBE, in the Olympus Style Studio. She was once quoted as saying on a Russian fashion website:

“Every morning we all, regardless of wealth, will be faced with a choice – what to wear, and this idea should not lead anyone to horror.”

I think this year’s Clothes Show Live attendees are in safer hands with her – learning that whoever you are, everyone is entitled to love fashion.

I’m also waiting with baited breath to discover which designers will be at The Clothes Show Live ‘15 catering for sizes and shapes that might not fit in with the ‘traditional’ societal idea of beauty.

Recently there was the applauded launch into the big time of plus sized supermodel Ashley Graham. At the time I was a little erred by the hypocrisy that ultra skinny models are criticised but this overweight girl was widely celebrated; after all, neither end of the weight spectrum is a healthy place to be. But when I think of events such as The Clothes Show Live it makes me realise that every opportunity to push forward someone who is not the fashion ‘norm’, should be taken.

I hope that events such as this will one day feature models of both sexes, which accurately reflect the sizes and shapes that exist in the world outside the catwalk. Will it be this year, will it be next year; we’ll have to just wait and see. And when the fashion revolution does happen, I hope it’s a silent one – arriving without any press or fanfare, simply introducing a cross section of models as equals in the lineup.

Perhaps the old adage that ‘clothes maketh the man’ should be replaced with something like ‘clothes keep you warm, but it’s your skin that makes you unique’.

The Clothes Show Live ’15 comes to the NEC Birmingham from 4^th – 8^th December. For full programme details visit http://www.clothesshow.com/

Tickets for The Clothes Show Live ’15 are on sale now, available through Ticket Factory. For online tickets sales & info, visit https://www.theticketfactory.com/cslb/online/

For more from the Ticket Factory, visit https://www.theticketfactory.com/

November 14, 2015November 17, 2015

THE GALLERY: Protomartyr + Tigercub, The Hungry Ghosts, Youth Man, Ghosts of Dead Airplanes @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Words by Ed King / Pics from Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

Remember, remember the 6^th of November; Garage, Grunge & Punk Rock. Or thereabouts.

As the cheap smoke, sulphur and cremated hedgehogs of another Fireworks Night began to dissipate, The Rainbow Courtyard & Cellar played host the Birmingham date of Protomartyr’s UK tour, with a bevy of bands in support both upstairs and down.

Out across these green and pleasant lands, Protomartyr have traversed the pond to promote their third studio album – the widely well received The Agent Intellect.

Lining up a few of the great, good and just plain raucous, The Rainbow offered a bellyache of smorgasbord support with Tigercub, The Hungry Ghosts, Youth Man + Ghosts of Dead Airplanes.

Rob Hadley was there for Birmingham Review, squeezing the two floors of disdain, reverb and distortion into one extra full edition of THE GALLERY.

For a proper butchers, and with a short intro into each act on the bill, click on the relevant links below:

Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Formed in 2008, this Detroit Post Punk four piece are now three albums deep – with the release of The Active Intellect coming out via the Sub Pop born Hardly Art Records in October. Using the powerful protest of Punk to explore the dualism of mind/body is not the most obvious step forward, even for a band named after St Stephen.

But response to The Active Intellect has widely praised the album’s ‘brutal, urgent music’ steered by Joe Casey’s ‘Joycean grasp of detail and narrative’ – a front man clearly with something to say, and one not scared to look in before out. Backed by a band recruited to deliver three albums in fours years. Oh to be a fly on the wall of that tour bus once they hit Rotterdam.

For more on Protomartyr, visit http://www.protomartyrband.com

Tigercub – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Having recently supported home turf buddies Royal Blood across various UK dates, Tigercub stepped in as main support to Protomartyr’s Birmingham date. But not always the bridesmaid, this Brighton three piece are foot stamping out a few headline spots across November – sharing the bill, as at this gig, with Youth Man. Brash, bold, and more Tiger than Cub, they’ve got some pretty awesome t-shirts n’all.

For more from Tigerclub, visit https://soundcloud.com/tigercub

The Hungry Ghosts – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

A rapidly rising Birmingham Review favourite, nepotism be damned, The Hungry Ghosts are Garage Rock on a stick. Currently breaking in a new drummer, the Brimmie-ish four piece are getting tighter and tighter – each gig oozing the kind of confidence that makes you wet, jealous or wishing you’d learned to play the guitar instead of doing all that Acid. Bastards. But check them out – The Hungry Ghosts are all kinds of awesome.

For more from The Hungry Ghosts, visit http://thehungryghosts.co.uk/

Youth Man – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Results are still coming in, but Youth Man could be the loudest band in Birmingham. Last seen by Birmingham Review at the One Beat Festival in July, this Brummie three piece are a force of musical nature; there are Canadian geese with shell shock still wandering round Cannon Hill Park. As mentioned, Youth Man are currently out on the road with Tigercub – in case you have transport, disposable income and any hearing left.

For more from Youth Man, visit https://youthman.bandcamp.com/

Ghosts of Dead Airplanes – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Short, punchy and prone to random acts of aggressive surprise (think Randall from Scrubs) Ghost of Dead Airplanes have been riding the crest of their debut EP since Halloween. Released on DIY Records, with distribution from Cargo, the cunningly titled The Yellow EP (its yellow… with a teradactil) was set free into the land of the living on the eve of All Hallows Eve. You’re going to run either to it or from it, but it’ll probably chase you whichever way you go.

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For more from The Rainbow, visit http://www.therainbowvenues.co.uk/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/