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September 2, 2015September 2, 2015

ED’S PICK: Moseley Folk Festival ’15 @ Moseley Park 04-6.09.15

Words by Ed King / Pics courtesy of Moseley Folk Festival

As the Great British Summer splutters another late April shower or two, and secondary school looms for Sebastian and Miranda, the B13 Birkenstocks and picnic blankets dust themselves off for another Moseley Folk Festival (middle class + weather x outdoor music event = funny).

As always held in Moseley Park, this year’s Folk Festie runs from Friday 4^th to Sunday 6^th Sept – with (at the time of writing) tickets still available across the weekend.

Although sell outs are not uncommon here so don’t count on being able to just bowl up and buy on the door. For direct info, including online purchase points, click here

And what a beauty this year’s shindig has turned out to be, with some of the great and good from the lower rungs of the Folk ladder supporting a couple of your more inspired headline acts. Plus there’s a bit of a band-member-going-solo speckle to this year’s listings, which is always worth a punt. Unless it’s Damon Albarn, enough with Damon Albarn. Never Damon Albarn.

In the meantime, I’ve cherry picked a few feathers of Folk plumage for you to stick in your hat – should you not want to think too much about the three day lineup. All that reading, I mean…. who has the time.

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Friday 4^th Sept

Spiritualized
They’re the first night headliners, and blow me down with a yellow Vurt feather (Google it) it’s almost too good to be true – Spritiualized playing in Moseley Park. With no dog walking disapproval asking us to “show me your key please.” Amazing. Wonderful. If they don’t play ‘Electricity’ I might sacrifice a tree.

Born, if ever a word was to be used, from the ashes of Spacemen 3, Jason Peirce’s revolving door Trip-Rock ensemble have been a stalwart on the festival circuit since forming in 1990. The last time I saw Spritiualized was closing the main stage of Glastonbury in 1993 – prompting an unesccisarily twisted walk from one end of a field to the other, trying to keep hold of five people in a sea of thousands. All the time being told something about ‘…floating in space’. Youth, what a palava; Moseley Park sounds like a much safer bet. For more on Spiritualized at MFF, visit, http://www.moseleyfolk.co.uk/line-up/spiritualized/ or https://twitter.com/officialSpzd

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Saturday 5^th Sept

Abi Budgen
A couple of local(ish) luminaries for you on Saturday, starting with the exquisite eccentricity of Abi Budgen – bringing her ‘sometimes surreal and always groovy’ solo set to this year’s Moseley Folk Festival. When not hocking her snake oil ensemble, or performing with everyone’s Little Sister, Ms Budgen is a formidable force in off the wall Country Blues, and the best kazoo player this side of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Immense fun to watch, extreme and talented; what getting drunk on cider in the afternoon is all about. For more on Abi Budgen, visit http://www.abibudgen.co.uk

Stylusboy
As singer/songwriter as you’d expect to find on the Moseley Park bill this weekend, Stylusboy has been churning out ‘handmade Indie Folk’ on Polly Paulusma’s Wild Sound Recordings since 2013 – label mates to Nicky Schrire and Maz O’Connor. Supporting and akin to artists such as Newton Faulkner and Nizopli, Stylusboy released his debut album, Hospitality for Hope, in collaboration with Rachel Grisedale. And according to his website, ‘Stylusboy is currently writing his next collection of songs…’ No doubt some will make their way on stage this weekend. For more on Stylusboy, visit http://www.stylusboy.co.uk/

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Sunday 6^th Sept

Peacock Angel Band
The musical marriage of Sid Peacock and Ruth Angell, this is the six piece evolution of ‘several years as a duo’ from the eponymous artists. Also working together as part of Peacock’s Surge Orchestra, a 20 piece ensemble in which ‘out of the chaos comes moments of tranquility and beauty, sincere tenderness and deep melancholy,’ the Peacock Angell Band also brings a blend of genres and instruments alive on stage – ending in a mellifluous, accomplished and quite beautiful result. For more on Peacock Angell Band, visit http://www.peacockangell.com/peacock-angell-band-2

Bonfire Radicals
Well you got to have some more traditional Folk in there somewhere… Blending strands of Klezmer, Eastern European and Scottish Folk, this six piece can get a little raucous if you let them. Or if you don’t stop yourself and they see you. Either way, bags of slightly anarchic Folk fun – not a bad way to see out your Sunday. For more on Bonfire Radicals, visit http://thebonfireradicals.com/

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Moseley Folk Festival 2015 – official trailer

Moseley Folk Festival ‘15 will be held on Moseley Park, Birmingham, from 04-6^th September.

For more about the Moseley Folk Festival, including full line up and programme details, online tickets & directions, visit http://www.moseleyfolk.co.uk/

September 1, 2015August 31, 2015

BPREVIEW: International Comic Expo @ The Studio (Cannon St) 05.09.15

Words by Olly MacNamee

This weekend, the International Comic Expo (ICE) comes to The Studio on Cannon St in Birmingham City Centre – with the main programme running on Saturday 5^th Sept, from 10am (early bird) or 11am (general) to 5:30pm.

Tickets are priced at £12 (adult) and £6 (child/student). Children under 13 and carers have free admission.

Extra ‘bolt on’ events are being held across Sunday 6^th September, charged accordingly. For direct event details, click here

Shane Chesbey’s ICE returns with a line up of comics’ brave and the bold that reads like an honour roll working in the industry today, on both sides of the pond. A veritable Justice League of comic book creators.

Alongside Birmingham based creators such as writer Ian Edginton (2000AD), artists Phil Winslade (2000AD, DC Comics, Marvel) and returning Brummie, Rachael Stott (Planet of The Apes/Star Trek) will sit alongside the UK’s first ever comic book laureate and Watchmen/The Secret Service: Kingsman co-creator, Dave Gibbons.

There will also be the quintessential writer and artist team of Judge Dredd, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra respectively, as well as Charlie Adlard – the artist behind the hugely successful The Walking Dead comics. I can imagine the queues for sketches there… bring a packed lunch.

Flying in from the states, like the Man of Steel himself, comes definitive Iron Man artist Bob Layton, as well as uber-inker, Joe Rubinstein – who has lent his inking skills to most artists worth talking about during his decade-spanning career.

And, like any good convention, below the surface lies a great deal more. The newly formed independent comic book company, Aftershock Comics (backed by no less than former Facebook senior executive, Michael Richter) are on the lookout for new UK talent – and why not, given that some of the best comics to come out of America in the past 30 years are from British brains).

Plus the aforementioned Dave Gibbons, Charlie Adlard and company will be giving talks on their careers as part of the ICE sister event, Comics Uncovered – held at the same venue on Sunday 6^th Sept. Aimed at those keen to make the break into the industry, or those already working within it, Comics Uncovered will run a separate programme of seminars, portfolio reviews, networking events and workshops. For further details on Comics Uncovered, click here

However, ICE on Saturday 5^th September will still give every knowing nerd (and I include myself in that category, proudly) a chance to get to meet the creators behind the characters, to talk to the architects of fanboy fantasies, and to get a few sketches & signatures onto your prized comic collection.

Maybe even a zombie portrait from the master of the Undead, Charlie Adlard… if the queues aren’t a mile long, see you in there.

International Comic Expo (ICE) comes to The Studio, on Cannon St in Birmingham City Centre, on Saturday 5^th Sept – with extra ticketed events running at the same venue on Sunday 6^th Sept.

For more details on the International Comic Expo (ICE), visit https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/

For more venue details, visit http://www.studiovenues.co.uk/conference-venues/birmingham/birmingham-conference-venue.htm

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015

BREVIEW: Peace @ Institute 27/08/15

Words by Ed King / Pics from Michelle Martin

There are a lot of reasons not to be in this room.

Mainly that Peace’s ‘intimate homecoming’, on their way to the sticky stages of Reading & Leeds, sold out in a sneeze – with tickets becoming harder to grab hold of than a greased up Jimmy Hoffa.

Then there’s the fact that we never ran a BPREVIEW for this gig (a professional discourtesy I blame on the aforementioned sneeze), with the last times we’ve covered Peace (Fri 13^th Dec ‘13 @ O2 Academy / Sat 27^th Apr ’13 @ O2 Academy) inciting curiously… erm, passionate responses from their… erm, passionate followers.

Then there’s the mixed bag public domain pan bashing that Happy People received after its release in Feb, including a see-saw supportive slap from the hand that once fed them. A lesser publication might have stayed at home.

But thanks to the holy trinity of a hard working PR agency, promoter and Institute barman (you know who you are) I am indeed standing at the back of the Temple on a soggy Thursday night; notebook & pen, cider & shot.

“All I wanna do is get high…” declares The Drive’s front man; a rambunctiously fun four piece from Manchester (well worth a stop/look/listen) and Peace’s non-local support band tonight. I write their name in my notebook, circle it, and shudder at the naivety of my own self destruction – scanning the fresher faces in a venue whose dark corners I know only too well. “COME ON BIRMINGHAM, LET’S GET FU*KING MENTAL…” Honestly, that’s an end not as fun as it sounds at the start.

Leaving their lead guitar feeding back, nice, The Drive exit stage left; a precocious surge rushes from the front of the room (stage) to the back (bar), charging with fists clenching five pound notes and ID. The Temple is dedicated and full tonight; no one wants to skip a beat. And who can blame them.

I didn’t catch the initial Peace train, not being a regular at the Adam & Eve or Sunflower Lounge, but when the bubble finally burst (the abbreviation that dare not speak its name) we were still left with an extraordinary debut album, a precarious spotlight and the fight for appropriated civic pride. Each subsequent Birmingham Peace gig has been an event in itself.

Sadly the first time I saw Peace live, at their first ‘homecoming’ gig at the O2 Academy in Apr ’13, I was left underwhelmed. They seemed tired, wired, and strangely monosyllabic for such prodigal sons. But I don’t think they were playing, that night, for a new audience.

SCREAMS.

Red and yellow sweeps, interspersed with a blanket strobe, march us into ‘I’m a Girl’ – thrashing with twisted metal verses to its anthemic call to arms chorus. We have most certainly begun. The crowd actually erupts; a horizon of sharp fingers point upwards. The four people on stage drive into their set like they’re jumping from a train. A group of people at the bar start to claw and hug each other, as if they’d been either electrocuted or lost. What the f*ck just happened?

Then, like angry glass, the staccato riffs and pneumatic cymbals of ‘Bloodshake’ cuts through the room; if the last three minutes were fevered, the next three are a clear and present danger.

“Thanks very much,” yells a seemingly calm Harry Koisser, “how you all doing?” As rhetorical questions go, even this has some front. ‘Lost on Me’ then struts off stage and into a choir of lyrical appreciation, one so violently autonomous it drowns out the band – only giving them their song back for the chorus. By this point Douglas Castle is double bent into a guitar solo whilst the crowd jump so high I can no longer see the stage.

Following the album tracklist sandwich, ‘Perfect Skin’ small ‘p’ pops its way across the room, before ‘Gen Strange’ lands as the penultimate Happy People proffering of the main set. There have been a range of responses to Happy People in the press, where the seemingly ingrained need to slag off a second album has been both the frame and focus, but watching these tracks live, tonight, is unassailable; they capital ‘R’ Rock.

Then back to the halcyon days when all you shat on stick was golden. And as for ‘Follow Baby’, a proud early line in the sand, this is no more than deserved – before the creative blood stain on the sheets (to me) that is ‘Lovesick’ slithers into the set; the loveless spawn of The Monkees and the B52s. And from the same minds that made ‘Float Forever’…

Then, as if hearing my disgruntled prayer, cleverly disguised as a turned back and “pint of cider, and a shot of Bourbon please”, the second brightest moment (again, to me…) on In Love prangs its way around the room. ‘Wraith’ gets delivered and responded to with almost pantomime precision, before the 6min+ ‘World Pleasure’ closes the main set with a ferocious wall of sound. Superb.

And no one in the room, at this purported curtain call, is making any pretence of leaving.

Ed’s note… ‘1998’ and ‘Someday’ were the encores, respectively. I’d stopped writing by this point; but I remember thinking, as the Positiva dance track got practically dragged out of them by the crowd, I get this choice of cover now… five minutes in, it’s The Who.

For more on Peace, visit http://www.peaceforeverever.co.uk/

For more on The Drive, visit https://soundcloud.com/thedrivemusic-1

For more from the Institute, including full listings and online ticket purchase, visit http://theinstitutebirmingham.com/

August 26, 2015August 26, 2015

BREVIEW: Digbeth Dining Club 3rd Birthday @ Spot*light, 21/08/15

Words by Helen Knott / Pics from Ed King

In recent years there have been a number of newspaper and web articles hyping up Birmingham’s food scene. The story stays pretty consistent: the city has four Michelin-starred restaurants (that’s four more than Leeds, Liverpool and arch-nemesis Manchester), is home to the Balti Triangle and Cadbury, and has apprently ‘established a strong reputation’ for street food.

And it’s this street food scene that we’ve gathered here to enjoy today, as Digbeth Dining Club (DDC) celebrates its third birthday. If you’ve never been to DDC before the idea is pretty simple; every Friday night, founders Jack Brabant and James Swinburne invite food traders to pitch up in the courtyard of Spot*light – one of the Rainbow Venues. On a normal week there are six different stalls, all tucked away under a railway arch down a Digbeth side street. A few times a year they also host larger events featuring DJ sets and live performances.

Tonight is DCC‘s third birthday; one of these larger events. There are more than twice as many stalls as usual and the road has been closed off to create a bigger space. The traders offer an array of different cuisines: Thai, Mexican, Greek… pies, pizza, pancakes… barbequed, baked, braised… and despite all that choice, all I’ve really got my heart set on is a burger. It takes a bit of time to find them, but eventually we end up at The Meat Shack, who, it seems, make burgers so popular that they don’t need to bother with branding. They know that us discerning burger fanatics will sniff them out, sign or no sign.

This being DDC, the burgers on offer are pretty far removed from those run of the mill burger vans you encounter on roadsides. I end up with a 100% Hereford beef burger, on locally sourced brioche bread, accompanied by a locally produced slice of cheese. And it’s pretty tasty. The beef is juicy and smoky, the bread is soft and moist, the cheese is smooth and creamy and the relish cuts through everything with a refreshing sharpness. Be prepared for the grease though. This is a burger so greasy that standing next to the stall doesn’t steam my friend’s glasses up, it greases them up. Lovely.

But pleasant as the burger was, I’m not convinced that it was worth the ridiculously long wait. Yes, queues are a nice opportunity to chat to strangers, catch up on a bit of iPhone admin, plot how to take over the world; but a half hour wait for a burger is way too long. I actually don’t care about watching it get cooked in front of my eyes – I see enough of that sort of thing cooking my own dinner every night. Unless the cooking process is particularly theatrical, (and I’m talking naked flames and go go dancers) I just want the food to be ready for me to eat as quickly as possible.

Queuing is a regular bugbear for me at DDC. You queue to get in, queue for food, for drinks, for the toilet… even making your way through the packed crowd involves a certain type of pseudo queuing. If queuing were an Olympic sport it could find its home here, such is the variety and volume of queuing opportunities on offer. But I know, it’s a Friday night, I need to relax and go with the flow. And if relaxing and going with the flow needs to happen while stood in a queue, well so be it.

After the burger I duck outside the bustle for a quick chat with DDC’s Jack. He’s a friendly chap, rightfully proud of his hard work over the past few years. He explains that DDC currently works with around 40 traders, who have to go through “rigorous tests” to be added to the books. He explains, “It’s not just about the food, it’s about the personality, the social media and how they sell themselves as traders as well. We always look for people who have the complete package.” In return, the traders have access to some healthy crowds and benefit from being associated with DDC, which Jack describes as a “badge of honour”.

Jack seems to have a knack for picking quality food too; a number of stalls, including Fybin & Loin and The Vegan Grindhouse, have recently started residencies with local venues, while others, such as Original Patty Men, have gone on to win national awards. For Jack DDC is not just about quality of the food, however, but also the feeling of togetherness that sharing food can create: “You can mingle with people of different age ranges and backgrounds. Birmingham is such a multicultural city, but you can come here and have something that represents your background. Everyone is welcome.”

Jack has more partnerships, with people such as the Hare & Hounds and Birmingham City University, in the pipeline – hopefully sseeing DDC pop up in other spots around the city. He’s even looking further afield, at the possibility of setting up similar events in other cities. Most importantly, Jack wants to do “more of this, where people can just embrace a good time and have a good evening out”.

I certainly did have a good evening, and as I wander home I think perhaps those articles about Birmingham’s food scene aren’t just hype after all. Maybe our food scene is ‘one of the best in the country’. Maybe people like Jack are ‘leading the way’. And hey, if not, well at least we’re getting some pretty good burgers out of it.

For more on Digbeth Dining Club, visit http://www.digbethdiningclub.co.uk/

For more from Spot*light, visit http://www.therainbowvenues.co.uk/venue/spotlight/

August 15, 2015August 15, 2015

THE GALLERY: Goodnight Lenin + Hoopla Blue, Chartreuse @ Hare & Hounds 06.08.15

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

On Thursday 6^th August, Goodnight Lenin played at the Hare & Hounds – with live support from Hoopla Blue & Chartreuse, alongside the DJs from Killer Wave.

Heralded as a ‘return to their favourite Birmingham venue,’ Goodnight Lenin were sandwiched between a couple of festival dates – squeezing out of the mustard & lettuce to slide onto the Kings Heath stage again. And as with any This Is Tmrw event, the support line up was pretty well placed too; all in all, not bad for a Darwin.

Rob Hadley was there for a Birmingham Review, happy slapping some snaps for THE GALLERY. Links & intros below:

Goodnight Lenin

‘Twas the winter of 2014, when Messrs Fell, Conway, McCreedy, Sherlock & Berry released their debut LP to the world – In the Fullness of Time. Now, with another harvest soon approaching (and extra hands working the fields this year) will the fruits of labour bring forth another album from the ‘West Coast Americana… with an old school attitude to music.’ Probably, maybe, hope so, we reckon its gonna be rockier; here’s some visual distraction in the meantime.

For more from Goodnight Lenin, visit http://www.goodnightlenin.com/

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Hoopla Blue

Knock Knock. Who’s there? 4AD, psychedelic Surf Rock, brown sugar chic, smooth vocals, awesome bass lines, hat tips to early Pumpkins & Swervedriver, and a large pestle & mortar. You’d better come in then. One of the more (INSERT COMPLIMENT) bands in Birmingham, Hoopla Blue are absolutely worth some time in the sun. Watc
h out for ‘the Blue’ coming back to the Hare & Hounds – supporting Outfit on 10^th Sept ’15.

For more on Hoopla Blue, visit https://soundcloud.com/hoopla-blue

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Chartreuse

Sultry, sublime, Shoegaze; Chartreuse are picking up some well deserved accolades (and alliteration) since forming in 2014. Fronted by confident yet ethereal vocals, and backed by a languid blanket of dreamlike loveliness, Chartreuse are the b*stard love child of Mazzy Starr and the more early morning side of The Velvet Underground. Also appearing at the All Years Leaving festival in late October – bring a comfy cushion along and check ‘em out.

For more on Chartreuse, visit https://soundcloud.com/chartreuse-uk

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This is Tmrw are arguably one of the more tenacious promoters in the city; battling through the Lacoste shirts of a musically moribund Solihull, to rest between the more welcoming walls of the Hare & Hounds – all the way, promoting bands that may have side stepped Birmingham altogether.

And like, loathe or simply don’t know who they are putting on, if you see a name in capitals on a Lewes Herriot flyer it’s probably worth some attention.

So, with a finger on Google and thumb on Spotify…

Ought @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 3^rd

Outfit @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 10^th

Girlpool @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 11^th

Pins @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 22^nd

Surfer Blood @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 24^th

Kid Wave @ Hare & Hounds / Sept 30^th

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

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