Author: birminghamreview

Words by Helen Knott / Pics by Wayne Fox Photography

Smart phones, prescription drugs, the Internet… What do they all have in common? Well, whilst in Dawn of the Dead George Romero was concerned with the zombifying effect of 70’s shopping malls and television, perhaps these are our modern day equivalents. A zombie satire about smart phones? It could work.

For tonight we’re sticking with the original. Boxxed, a suitably spooky Digbeth warehouse, is the venue for a rare screening of 1970’s classic Dawn of the Dead, with the soundtrack played live by Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin.

Goblin were tasked to write the soundtrack by legendary Italian horror director Dario Argento, one of the film’s producers. Romero only ended up using three of Goblin’s tracks in his English language version but Argento’s European cut utilised the whole score. That’s what we hear tonight, as we follow a TV reporter, her traffic pilot boyfriend and two SWAT cops as they deal with the aftermath of a zombie outbreak by holing up in a shopping mall.

The event is a co-production between Lunar Festival and The Electric Cinema, so unsurprisingly the music and film are given equal billing, with screen and stage set up in parallel. When the band starts, however, the music is very much at the forefront of the mix – making it difficult for those of us who don’t know the film that well to follow parts of the dialogue. Subtitles would have been helpful.

Still, having the music live not only showcases the talents of the band but also serves to guide the audience through the film’s narrative. So each time that the stabbing synths of the recurring main theme ‘Zombi’ kick in, you know some serious shit is about to go down. And like all the best soundtrack music the score beautifully sets the mood. The slow metal riffs on the film’s opening number, ‘L’alba dei morti viventi’, are reminiscent of Black Sabbath – with haunted house synth passages slowly moving up in pitch, conveying just the right eerietension.

It’s easy to see why, even thirty years later, Goblin’s mix of prog, metal and electro is considered so influential. The film has retained its power too. Although these days perhaps the most disturbing thing about it isn’t the Day-Glo gore but the way that the film cleverly blurs the line between human and zombie, both driven by their need to shop and kill.

In fact, the only remnant of humanity that seems to remain for the undead is this urge for retail… “Some kind of instinct. Memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.”

It’s unsettling stuff. I may even give Grand Central a miss for a couple of weeks.

For more on Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, https://www.facebook.com/Goblin-Claudio-Simonettis-608532229212354/

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For more from Lunar Festival, visit http://lunarfestival.co.uk/

For more from The Electric Cinema, visit https://www.theelectric.co.uk/

For more on Boxxed, visit http://www.boxxed.co.uk/

Words by Olly MacNamee / Pics by Kal Ahmed

There’s late, fashionably late, and then there’s just downright late. And, I am sad to say, I was the latter for Killing Joke, as I walked into a set in full swing. For that I have to apologise as this review will need to reflect that tardiness on my part. No grabbing useful quotes and notes from Twitter or Facebook for me. Just the cold, hard, facts.

Still, as I walked into the back of a packed house at the O2 Institute in Digbeth the crowd was clearly enthralled; enchanted by the iconic black-haired and black-eyed Jaz Coleman, alongside his troop of merry men (from the original line-up) Youth, Geordie and Ferguson.

The atmosphere soaked into my pours instantaneously, like osmosis, and it wasn’t long before I found myself lost in their set – arriving just in time for Killing Joke’s grinding track ‘Dawn of The Hive’ from their new album, Pylon. ‘Dawn of The Hive’ grows in strength and demands an audience to get behind it, as heads rocked back and forth in hypnotic rhythm. This was followed quickly by ‘Panopticon’, another new, powerful, guitar soaked track, and a welcome addition to their long list of great set pieces.

Pylon is an album with the potential for producing classic Killing Joke songs when looked back upon in years to come; any new band would be proud if this was their debut album. But it isn’t, Pylon is Killing Joke’s 16^th studio LP. It’s a great album and a great showcase for what the band still have to offer the world of music today; a tonic to the slow, droopy mainstream vanilla Pop that seems to be flavour of the month at the moment.

It is a sad state of affairs that a band that has been around as long as Killing Joke are still one of the more relevant rebellious voices on the contemporary music landscape. It’s like the children of the Punk Rock generation rebelled against their parents by becoming insipid, apolitical and simpering. What have we done people?

Like other bands with a long career behind them, Killing Joke rightfully delivered a set that included greatest hits – but one clearly (and cleverly) built around their new, fresh-feeling new album. Many bands in the same situation as Killing Joke will usually play one or two new tracks; Killing Joke peppered their unrelenting set with them to great effect. Maybe it’s because they know how good their new offering is.

The balance – from the 40 minutes I was fortunate enough to witness – was thoughtfully put together; it was a gig that did not shy away from embracing new fans of their music, while playing to their die-hard disciples too. I feel envious of anyone new to Killing Joke, knowing how many treasures there are to uncover from their 15 previous albums.

Switching from new sounds to an oldie-but-goody, Killing Joke bellowed out their much loved, anthem ‘Love Like Blood’ from their 1985 album, No Way Out But Forward Go – dripping with 80’s sounds and nostalgia, acting as a call out to the crowd to get the party started if they hadn’t done so already. Jaz stood there, like a walking talking Ralph Steadman cartoon come to life, all angles and attitude wrapped up in a boiler suit.

When looking back at their output, it would appear that Killing Joke have only got more industrial, more unremitting in old age. There’s no mellowing, and the echoing, haunting voice of Coleman is unmistakable over the loaded licks provided by Geordie on lead guitar and Youth on bass. All held together with the powerful pounding of Ferguson’s drumming at the black heart of it all.

‘Asteroid’, from their eponymous 2003 album, followed before Killing Joke closed their set with ‘Pssyche’, another classic. Their three (belting) track encore, returned the band to their ample back catalogue – serving up a very early 1979 track, ‘Turn to Red’, followed by ‘War Dance’ and finishing with ‘Pandemonium’, another well worn, well known song from the ’94 album of the same name from.

Killing Joke are a band that many people may not have heard of, but in a career that has seem them always skating around the peripheries, I think those people would be surprised by how familiar their music sounds and feels. And how influential they were. But for many present at this Halloween gig, Killing Joke are a band that have been – and still are, I think – the soundtrack of many middle-aged people’s lives.

And what a soundtrack to have. Long live Killing Joke.

For more on Killing Joke, including online sales of Pylon and their back catalogue, visit http://www.killingjoke.com/

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For more from the O2 Institute, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

For more from Kilimanjaro Live, visit http://www.kilimanjarolive.co.uk/ or http://myticket.co.uk/ for tickets sales

Words by Emily Talbot / Pics by Ed King

Sunday 25^th October night saw The Black Tambourines play at The Sunflower Lounge, joined by The Terror Watts and The Red Cords; a loud, energetic and varied show which attracted a buzzing crowd.

The Terror Watts, a local band, put on a good performance. Their Grunge Punk vibe and lead singer’s unusual, yet tuneful, voice gave the band had a strong sound that suited them well.

It could even be said that they knew it suited them well, and therefore were reluctant to vary their music; as all the songs kind of blurred into one, they had less of an effect.  The Terror Watts clearly have talent, between the lead’s voice and the band’s heavier instrumentals they have a lot of potential.

Next up, The Red Cords – a support band from Falmouth (The Black Tambourines‘ home turf) who’s set was upbeat and infectious.  The multiplicity of voices on stage, alongside strong, fast and lively guitar rhythms, brought out a Surf Rock vibe.

The only fault I found with their performance was that it took them a while to get into their set; it wasn’t until the third or fourth song that they seemed to really be enjoying themselves (they looked pretty awkward and nervous up until that point) which was a shame because it was well played.

Finally The Black Tambourines, tonight’s headliners, came onto the stage with a lot of confidence. And rightly so. I found myself getting far more into this set than I had expected, with the band showing an inescapable, raw energy playing live.

Watching them together, playing and sharing on stage jokes, was enjoyable too; it’s good for an audience when the people on stage are so comfortable with one another. Although at one point the lead singer, Sam Stacpoole, did rubbish Birmingham… but he apologised soon after, so I’ll let him off.

The Black Tambourines executed their set well, with a wide variety of sounds and genres throughout; having been together for four years you can see their sounds have changed over the years, as they’ve matured and progressed.

Their catchy rhythms, alongside skewed and distorted guitar riffs, led by Stacpoole’s indie vocals left an original and alternative sound. Playing songs from their new album, which was well received, The Black Tambourines’ set showed how the last four years (since their self titled debut) have created a heavier but cleaner edge to the band.

Their first three songs in particular, ‘I Wanna Stay Away’, ‘Punk Simon’, and ‘She Don’t Mind’, made for a strong opening to their performance. The Black Tambourines then mixed in some older songs, such as ‘27-25 Blues’ and ‘Bad Days’, which worked well alongside the newer stuff, showing a history of consistently strong music. The band’s encore was equally as lively and brilliant (I stayed for the whole song despite desperately needing to run off to catch the train).

And it’s fair to say since coming home, I’ve listened and re-listened to The Black Tambourines, which is a rare thing for me. But due to their variety, from ragged Garage Rock to skewed riffs and melodic Indie, they’re a band that are easy to listen to. Continuously.

For more on The Black Tambourines, visit http://theblacktambourines.bandcamp.com/

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, visit http://thesunflowerlounge.com/

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For more from Killer Wave, visit https://www.facebook.com/kllrwv?fref=ts

For more from PNKSLM, visit http://www.pnkslm.com/