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October 23, 2015November 17, 2015

BPREVIEW: Storms @ The Sunflower Lounge 24.10.15

Words by Ed King

On Saturday 24^th October, Storms come to The Sunflower Lounge – with support from Lois & the Love.

Gig doors open at 7:30pm with tickets charged at £7 – as presented by Birmingham Promoters, with the Birmingham Review legal team adding ‘a Metropolis Music and Friends Presentation by arrangement with X-ray.’ So now you know.

The Sunflower Lounge’s upstairs bar is free to enter and open during normal trading hours; for more direct info from the venue, click here

Not to be confused with the now defunct Norwegian Viking Folk Metal group, that old chestnut, the UK Storms are coming to Birmingham on a the tail end of their national ‘Undress’ tour. Cited as ‘a contemporary Blend of 90’s indie sensibilities with Seattle grunge undertones’, Storms sit well amongst a growing portfolio of somewhat retrospective rockers.

For those of us old enough to have seen Nirvana at The Hummingbird, or know how Billy Corgan used to sing, this may seem like a knee jerk trip down marketing’s memory lane. But, it seems, the Indie spirit lives on, even if it’s now on a Gap advert and major label roster.

Also cited as a band ‘who must be seen live to be fully appreciated’, which seems like sensible advice across the board, Storms‘ gig at The Sunflower Lounge will be a chance to make your mind up close and personal. And for those of us old enough to see Oasis playing at The Jug of Ale…

But if you need a bit more bone to chew on, or through, it’s been suggested you watch their latest single, ‘Shame’, performed live in session at SSR Manchester. Never one to fly in the face of public opinion… well, anyway, here’s a link that will allow you to do just that:

‘Shame’ – live in session / Storms

Storms come to The Sunflower Lounge on Saturday 24^th October, with support from Lois & the Love, as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig & online ticket sales, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/Events/storms/

For more on Storms, visit http://stormsband.com/

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

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

October 21, 2015November 17, 2015

BPREVIEW: Sons of Kemet @ Hare & Hounds 22.10.15

Words by Ed King

On Thursday 22^nd Oct, Sons of Kemet return to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) – as promoted by Jazzlines.

Doors open at 8:30pm – with tickets having sold out at the time of writing. For further information on access, please check with the venue or a legitimate ticket provider.

Led by Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, the London born Barbados raised musician & composer, Sons of Kemet were quickly heralded by the contemporary Jazz scene. Combining influences from across the globe, including ‘Caribbean folk and traditional African diasporan history’, the progressive four piece built a big reputation relatively quickly.

And with Oren Marshall on Tuba, alongside two drummers – Seb Roachford & Tom Skinner – the Sons of Kemet were first covered by Birmingham Review, again at the Hare & Hounds, back in June 2012. Read Robert Kornreich’s Birmingham Review here.

But a week is long time in politics, so three years and four months is an eon in local music programming; no doubt the veraciously received Sons of Kemet have a few new notes up their sleeves.

After all, you don’t get called ‘one of the most original ensembles in recent British Jazz’ (Jazzlines) for rehashing standards ever summer. At least, we hope.

But time will tell. And in the mean time have a stop, look & listen at the below:

Sons of Kemet – Beware + Inner Babylon compositions Shabaka Hutchings

Son of Kemet come to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) Thursday 22^nd October, as promoted by Jazzlines. For direct gig info, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/event/?eventID=10035223

For more on Sons of Kemet, visit http://sonsofkemet.com/

For more from Jazzlines, visit http://www.thsh.co.uk/jazzlines

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

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015

BPREVIEW: All Years Leaving Festival ’15 @ Hare & Hounds 23-4.10.15

Words by Ed King

This weekend sees the return of the two day band fest, All Years Leaving – as This is Tmrw programme another 48hr (kinda, sorta) lesson in ‘Things for Ears’.

Bands. Live music. Lots of it in a row.

All Years Leaving Festival comes back to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), running from 6pm on Friday 23^rd Oct and 4pm on Saturday 24^th.

Day tickets are priced at £15 (advance) and at/by the time of all the Early Bird and Weekend tickets had been snapped up, so this may be heading for a sell out – in a fiscal sense at least. For more direct info & links to online ticket sales, click here

So who’s on? A fair enough question. This veritable smorgasbord of Garage, Indie, Math, Alt, Kraut, Synth, Glitch and other genres I’m only 50% confident I’m using correctly, has been an excellent introduction to those ‘on the up’ and generally worth some attention.

So, listing it roll call style… click on each name for more direct information.

Friday 23^rd Oct / The Wytches, Speedy Ortiz, Chastity Belt, Kagoule, The Mighty Young, Mutes, Yr Friends, Hoopla Blue + DJ sets from Killer Wave, PNKSLM, DIY

Saturday 24^th Oct / East India Youth, MONEY, Spring King, KINS, Free School, Chartreuse, Dorcha, Tom Peel, The Bank Accounts, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam + DJ sets from Victories at Sea, Our Friends Eclectic.

N.B. At 2pm on the Saturday there will be a talk from East India Youth’s manager, Andy Inglis – giving his own ‘honest and uncompromising exploration of tour management’ and some insight into international territories. Tickets are £10, or £20 with entrance to the full Saturday schedule thrown in. For more info on the Andy Inglis lecture, visit http://bit.ly/alecturewithandyinglis

And breathe… But whatever piques your dirty little interest from the lists above, This is Tmrw are pretty reliable with their bookings so anyone on the bill would be worth a stop, look & listen. You might not like them, you might love them, you might steal the bass player’s kidney and the lead singer’s boyfriend, but for 1xbrown + 1xblue it’s not too much of a hardship to stick around and find out.

And for a little more on This is Tmrw, read Birmingham Review’s interview with Messers Hopkins & Beck, click here

But if you just can’t think about thinking, or have crippling repetitive strain injury from too much… Minecraft, here’s Ed’s Pick from each day to get you started. Enjoy. Or not. But go along and find out.

Friday 23^rd October / Speedy Ortiz

The bast*rd/brainchild of guitar/vocalist Sadie Dupuis, Speedy Ortiz delivers the raw self expression of a threatened Liz Phair, with the cloying drawl of Kristin Hersh drowning in a bathtub of opiates and Tequila. And I like it. If I was younger, from the other Northampton, and still pretending to skateboard, this would probably be on my Walkman. iPod. Choose your era.

But 2 ½ albums in and Speedy Ortiz are well worth some time, with All Years Leaving Festival ’15 being a good window to catch them on their autumn European tour. It is quite staggering who you can find on the Hare & Hounds‘ stage these days…

For more on Speedy Ortiz, visit http://www.speedyortiz.com/

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Saturday 24^th October / East India Youth

The headline act for a reason. He’s f*cking awesome. And if you’ve been to any festival this summer you probably know what I’m talking about.

Now on XL Recordings, East India Youth has been basking in the well deserved glory of his sophomore album, Culture of Volume – a ten track dream that was (possibly literally) written to stick on your headphones and wonder around to.

Plus it’s the kind of mélange that fits well into the All Years Leaving programme; constant, challenging, build ups, breaks, beats & guitars. Worth the ticket price on his own.

For more on East India Youth, visit http://eastindiayouth.co.uk/

All Years Leaving Festival returns to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) on Fri 23^rd & Sat 24^th October, with each day costing £15 (advance). Weekend tickets are now sold out.

For more on All Year’s Leaving Festival ’15, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/447561108782831/

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

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

October 19, 2015

THE GALLERY: Delamere + The Hungry Ghosts, Plastic Factory, Chasing Deer @ The Sunflower Lounge 14.10.15

Words by Ed King / Pics from Rob Hadley (Indie Images) & Michelle Martin (Visual Voice Media)

On Weds 14^th October the Stoke-born-Manchester-raised-Indie-Electronica, Delamere, came to The Sunflower Lounge – with support from The Hungry Ghosts, Plastic Factory, Chasing Deer.

Birmingham Review sent a couple of snappers along for THE GALLERY – with shots from Rob Hadley here and Michelle Martin here. Or have a look a little further down and click on the relevant images/links.

On the second date of their UK tour, Delamare will be on the road until 14^th November – wrapping up their 9 date autumn excursion at Bodega in Nottingham. There’s also a sneaky pre-Christmas date at The Barfly in Camden on 2^nd Dec; for direct tour details, click here

Delamere have been gathering some speed over the summer, with a pretty consistent festival diary and the release of their debut EP, Bright Young Things, – as always, through the Manchester Independent Scruff of the Neck Records. And having ‘spent previous two years honing their sound’, there is a definite fullness to the Delamere today.

Not that their earlier singles, ‘Headstrong’ (Aug ’14) and ‘Do You Want Me?’ (Mar ’14), were lacking in substance; there is, perhaps, a touch more maturity across the new lyrics and production, with a braver big room sound to back up the moxie. ‘Tis no bad thing neither – a little more Rock/Pop, perhaps, but a hiatus well spent if they want a firmer crack at the whip.

Delamere have also rerecorded & released their track ‘Heart’, which came out on 9^th Oct, as ‘one last dose of shimmering Summer sun’ before they get on the road and prep for their debut album.

So first have a listen…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezCeVs0Gs0w

And now have a look…

Delamere + The Hungry Ghosts, Plastic Factory, Chasing Deer @ The Sunflower Lounge 14.10.15 – THE GALLERY by Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

For more from Rob Hadley (Indie Images), visit https://www.facebook.com/photosbyindieimages

Delamere + The Hungry Ghosts, Plastic Factory @ The Sunflower Lounge 14.10.15 – THE GALLERY by Michelle Martin (Visual Voice Media)

For more from Michelle Martin (Visual Voice Media), visit http://www.visualvoicemedia.co.uk/

For more on Delamere, visit http://delameremusic.com/

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

October 14, 2015October 14, 2015

BPREVIEW: 8 Bit Lounge Vs Canvas @ Hare & Hounds 15.10.15

Words by Olly MacNamee & Ed King

With the recent closure of The Bull’s Head in Moseley, I had wondered whether the freestyling, fun-lovin’ Canvas night would find a new home.

And it did, hopping onto the No. 50 and free-wheeling it down the road to the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath – their first event there being a tag team promotion with 8 Bit Lounge, held on Thurs 15^th October. For direct event info click here

8 Bit Lounge, the established local purveyors of ‘retro, futuristic and experimental gaming’, have been bringing their Atariesque ideas to the Hare & Hounds for some time now.

In their own words, you can expect ‘a selection of retro games consoles, with both classic games and fun recent titles’ played on N64, SNES, Megadrive, Gamecube, Playstations 1 & 2, Sega Dreamcasts, Acorn Electron (running the original Elite), networked PCs (running Doom and Quake) or even a cassette loaded Commodore 64. Ah, Elite… teaching a generation of children how to deal firs, firearms and narcotics.

Canvas, which was raised and nurtured at The Bull’s Head, is a night that promised (and delivered) cool tunes and kicking beats courtesy of Canvas Brain Trust and Posh One – alongside live scribblings from a regular hardcore of Birmingham street artists, such as Liskbot, Setdebella and ThatBlokeWilson.

But following the closure of the old Moseley watering hole, the whole Canvas family is moving lock, stock and spray cans to a bigger venue at the Hare & Hounds – teaming up with 8 Bit Lounge on Thurs 15^th October.

Alongside 8 Bit Lounge’s reputable journey down the digital memory lane, to the salad days before Mario had his Kart, the Canvas H&H debut will present their heady mix of music and live art, seeing two talented local lads drawing on the night from 8pm ‘till last bell.

In the left corner, we have Dan Griffin Hayes – a madcap, satirical street artist who has also battled in, and won, Birmingham’s lamented Secret Wars. In the right corner, we have Craig Earp – one of The Big Hoot’s Hootie artists and a mad-crazy, ultra-detailed, nightmare inducing extraordinaire.

And everywhere else, there probably a few gold coins and mushrooms to jump on and… ‘BRIILLLIINNGG’ – alongside the H&H’s extended array of ales and lagers for the more discernable (and for the not so discernable, there’s Addlestones Cider on tap).

8 Bit Lounge Vs Canvas comes to the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath on Thurs 15^th October – entry is free, with the event starting from 8pm. For direct info, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.skiddletickets.com/event.php?id=12545213

For more on Dan Griffin Hayes, visit http://dangriffinhayes.com/

For more on Craig Earp, visit http://www.craigearp.uk.com/

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For more on 8 Bit Lounge, visit http://8bitlounge.co.uk/

For more on Canvas, visit https://www.facebook.com/Canvasartandmusic

For more from the Hare & Hounds, including further event listings, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/