BPreviews Archives - Page 25 of 69 -

October 4, 2017October 6, 2017

BPREVIEW: Rews + The Hungry Ghosts + Ed Geater @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17

Words by Ed King / Live pics by Rob Hadley & Paul Reynolds

On Saturday 25^th November, Birmingham Review presents its winter showcase at the Actress & Bishop – a live gig, with Rews + The Hungry Ghosts as joint headliners, alongside Ed Geater in support.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £8 (advance) and £10 (on the door) plus the relevant booking fee if you buy through a ticket agent. Tickets can be bought via See Tickets, Eventbrite and Music Glue – click on the name/logo of each outlet for a direct link.

Tickets are also available through the individual artists’ websites: Rews, The Hungry Ghosts, Ed Geater. Or you can buy tickets direct from Birmingham Review – contact us on info@birminghamreview.net to arrange physical ticket sales (p&p may apply).

So that’s what, where and how much sorted. Now a little more on who… Birmingham Review is lucky enough to have covered a whole smorgasbord of music across 2017, from the lava lamp delights of The Mother’s Earth Experiment to the eclectic ensembles of the Post Paradise showcases at Centrala. But there are always those that stick in our ears for a little longer, or to quote one of our headliners: “Like a little Tequila worm that crawls in, gets drunk, and stays in there forever.”

To show how much we love what we love, we’ve invited a few of our new(ish) friends to come and play at what is, in effect, our (non-denominational) Christmas party. And we’re inviting you, for the mere price of a ticket, to come and see a few of the horses we’re backing in the New Year.

You know that friend that always goes on about having seen (INSERT NAME OF BIG BAND) when they played (INSERT NAME OF SMALL VENUE)… well this is your chance to do one better. Three better, in fact. Check out the below for a sneaky peak at the Pyramid Stage headliners of tomorrow. Or even better, come down to the Actress & Bishop on Saturday November 25th and seem then a bit more close and personal… well, up close at least.

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Rews

First spotted playing at The Flapper back in February, where I got to interview the two women who are increasingly being referred to a ‘the next Royal Blood’ and Damien got to cover the gig. Seldom do you get such a good first impression, both on stage and off.

Since then Rews have gone on to storm Glastonbury (one of Mark Radcliffe’s festival highlights), nudge their way onto various national radio stations, be the first UK band signed to Marshall Records and line up an album, the actually eagerly awaited Pyro – out in November. Just don’t tell them I used an adverb. Infectious, awesome and will kick the teeth out of our Christmas party.

‘Shine’ – Rews (taken from their forthcoming debut album, Pyro)

For more on Rews, visit www.rewsmusic.com

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The Hungry Ghosts

It’s no surprise that WE LOVE THE HUNGRY GHOSTS at Birmingham Review. And to prove it, we’ve covered them here, here, here, and of course here. I have even had to stop myself from writing about their gigs, as my sycophantic rhetoric is in danger of repeating itself. Plus, there’s no better metaphor than a Joe Joseph metaphor and I’m tired of being outdone (I should learn the guitar to balance things out).

But all their praise is deserved; to quote Larry Love from Alabama 3, whom ‘the ghosts’ supported back in 2015, “they’re a rock band. A real fucking rock band”. Which indeed, they are. The next 24 months could be the pivotal point for a band who, and I mean this, could well land somewhere between The Rolling Stones and The White Stripes in both sound and success. All aboard the Slaughterhouse Blues Express, next stop ‘Amerika’…

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.thehungryghosts.co.uk

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Ed Geater

I first saw Ed Geater at a showcase presented by Call Me Unique (who sadly couldn’t join us on stage, but has promised to make up for it at the bar) – but his name has been buzzing around the Birmingham circuit and beyond for a while. I have never met someone who didn’t enjoy an Ed Geater gig – seriously, if you’re out there get in touch we need to emboss you in bronze.

Master of the loop pedal, a seriously talent songwriter and an overall lovely fella, if some savvy subsidiary doesn’t snap him up soon we’ll eat all the hats. Check out Giles Logan’s great interview with Mr. Geater too, ahead of his headline show Hare & Hounds homecoming hoedown…. and breathe, that we covered back in March.

‘Symmetry’ – Ed Geater

For more on Ed Geater, visit www.edgeater.co.uk/

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Birmingham Review presents its winter showcase at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25^th November, with Rews, The Hungry Ghosts, Ed Geater. For tickets email info@birminghamreview.net, or click on the following outlets: See Tickets, Eventbrite, Music Glue

For more from the Actress & Bishop, including venue details and links to event, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

September 28, 2017

BPREVIEW: KRS-One @ Hawker Yard 01.10.19

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Sunday 1st October 2017, KRS-One and DJ Predetor Pr!me come to Hawker Yard in Birmingham – with main support from Trademark Blud, Tricksta, Maxi Zee and Omen. Also on the night will be sets from DJ Jam Fu, DJ 6’5, Dek One and DJ Silence.

Doors at Hawker Yard open at 6pm. Early bird tickets are priced at £12.50, with standard release tickets priced at £15 – as presented by Mostly Jazz and Break Mission. For direct event info and links to online ticket sales, click here.

With a career spanning over three decades, Lawrence ‘Kris’ Parker, better known to the world as KRS-One, will be bringing his current six date tour of the UK to a close when he comes to Hawker Yard on Sunday 1st October.

Having kicked off at The Jazz Cafe in London on 23^rd Sept, KRS-One will be moving out to mainland Europe for several dates across October, before returning to the UK for a final showcase/lecture at The Moustache Bar in London as part of Black History Month.

Since his last visit to Birmingham at the O2 Institute last year, KRS-One released his latest album, The World Is MIND, in May 2017 – out through R.A.M.P. Agency. Parker‘s 13^th solo album (19 including those released under Boogie Down Productions) The World Is MIND marks a career in hip hop spanning over 35 years, one that began in earnest with the release of Criminal Minded in 1987.

Pushing on with Boogie Down Productions after the fatal shooting of Scott La Rock, before going solo in the early 90s, KRS-One is often cited as one of the more influential figures in the hip hop scene. Evolving his style, moving away from the more hardcore and gangster rap, incorporating elements of Jamaican dancehall, KRS-One has also been politically active and community focused since the late 80’s.

Following the death of DJ Scott La Rock (who had been mediating between a local gang and the third member of Boogie Down Productions, D Nice) KRS-One formed the Stop the Violence Movement in 1989, aiming to challenge the aggression and internal feuds within the hip hop community.

On Sunday 1^st October, KRS-One and DJ Predetor Pr!me will be headlining a night of hip hop and breaks at Hawker Yard – hosted by Mostly Jazz and break dance crew, Break Mission.

The night will start from 6pm, where resident DJs of Feel the Vibe (a monthly event at Hawker Yard) in association with Break Mission will warm up the event, before support acts Maxi Zee, Trademark Blud, Tricksta and Omen hit the stage. For direct gig info and link to online ticket sales, click here.

‘Show Respect’ / KRS-One

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KRS-One @ Hawker Yard 01.10.17 (official trailer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPKLe2rS3Rk

For more on KRS-One, visit www.krs-one.com

For more on Hawker Yard, including full event listings, visit www.hawkeryard.com

For more on Mostly Jazz, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.mostlyjazz.co.uk

For more on Break Mission, visit www.breakmission.org

September 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Absurdly Fabulous: The Improvised Episode @ mac 29.09.17

Words by Charlotte Heap

Foghorn Unscripted, Birmingham’s own improvised comedy group, present another feature length show – Absurdly Fabulous: The Improvised Episode, performed for one night only at mac’s Hexagon Theatre on Friday 29^th September.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets priced at £8 (£6 concessions). For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Billed as ‘the episode they never made’, the mac audience can expect a re-imagining of beloved 90s satirical sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (Ab Fab to its friends). Foghorn Unscripted, a group of local ‘improv’ comedians and professional actors established in 2011, bases all of its performances on audience suggestion and their own imaginations. Given the raucous nature of the source material, fans should no doubt prepare themselves for some silliness (and presumably, more audience participation than usual).

It’s difficult, however, to imagine where Foghorn Unscripted may take the already established personas like Eddie and Patsy. Such familiar and favourite characters can be tricky to emulate, especially while bringing new laughs, and theatre productions such as this can depend as much on the audience’s appetite for absurdity as the actors’ talent.

Having run for more than 20 years, first aired in 1992 (as well as a recent feature-length film released in 2016) Absolutely Fabulous’s catchphrases and jokes will need a fresh approach from Foghorn Unscripted.

Like the TV programme, Absurdly Fabulous: The Improvised Episode promises to bring ‘debauchery, fashion and celebrity’. With a running time of 105 minutes, there’ll need to be some clever and surprising comedy to keep the audience on side. And for this lifelong Ab Fab fan, it’s fingers crossed that Foghorn Unscripted’s homage to Jennifer Saunders’ writing will be fittingly funny.

Forghorn Unscripted present Absurdly Fabulous: The Improvised Episode – performed in mac’s Hexagon Theatre on Friday 29^th September. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Foghorn Unscripted, visit www.foghornunscripted.com

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

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Saturday 30th September 2017, New Found Glory come to the O2 Academy in Birmingham as part of their extensive, international 20 Years of Pop Punk tour. Support for New Found Glory comes from Eastbourne pop-punk band, ROAM.

The tour is presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours with tickets priced at £25.30, inclusive of booking fee. Doors open at O2 Academy from 7pm. For direct event info and online tickets from Gigs and Tours, click here.

A self explanatory, yet hard to believe, title for their tour, New Found Glory kick off the UK leg of their global 20 Years of Pop Punk Tour in Glasgow on 27th Sept, arriving at the O2 Academy in Birmingham on Saturday 30th September – just one year after playing at last year’s Slam Dunk festival at the Genting Arena.

New Found Glory formed as a quintet in 1997, in Coral Springs, Florida. They signed their first record deal with Drive Thru Records and released From The Screen To Your Stereo in March 2000 – an EP consisting of covers from movie soundtracks, including Bryan Adams’ ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You)’.

Alongside the likes of Blink 182 and Sum 41, New Found Glory cemented their place as one of the leading pop punk bands in the early 2000s with songs such as ‘Hit or Miss’, even finding their way into the American Pie soundtracks.

2014, however, saw one of their long standing members, Steve Klein, leave the band due to creative differences. The band were due to replace Klein but opted to carry on as quartet, consisting of vocalist (and Quentin Tarantino lookalike) Jordan Pundik, lead guitarist and former Shai Hulud vocalist Chad Gilbert, bassist Ian Grushka, and drummer Cyrus Bolooki.

Having released their ninth studio album, Makes Me Sick, earlier this year on Hopeless Records, New Found Glory will have plenty of material (20 years worth, in fact) to keep both their longstanding and new fans in Birmingham celebrating their long career as a pop punk band.

‘Sound of Two Voices’ – New Found Glory

For more on New Found Glory, visit www.newfoundglory.com

For more on ROAM, visit www.roamuk.bandcamp.com

For more from O2 Academy, Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham/academybirmingham

For more from SJM Concerts/Gig and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017

BPREVIEW: I Knew You @ Birmingham REP 29.9 – 7.10.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield

Running from Friday 29^th September until 7^th October, the REP’s smaller stage, The Door, will host I Knew You – a new play from Birmingham-born writer and performer, Steve Camden (aka Polarbear).

Doors open for an evening performance at 8pm each night – apart from Tues 3rd Oct (7pm), Thurs 5th Oct (2:30pm), Sat 7th Oct (2:30pm). Ticket are priced at £10, with group, family, disabled and school rates available through the REP box office. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

I Knew You receives its premiere at the Birmingham REP before moving on to a tour of fifteen libraries, community halls and small cafes. This is Camden’s second play, following on from his success at The Door in 2015 with his coming of age tale Back Down.

Prior to debuting Back Down to critical acclaim, Steve Camden was a respected UK based spoken word artist, regularly performing his work under the name Polarbear since 2007. Camden has even written and published three novels – Tape, It’s About Love, and Nobody Real – as well as writing Mouth Open, Story Jump Out which is currently on its third international tour. I Knew You is part of Birmingham REP’s New and Nurtured programme which features six plays by local writers.

With some home-grown talent as the play’s lead actress – Lorna Laidlaw, who previously starred in daytime T.V. soap/drama, Doctors – I Knew You tells the story of nearly-retired single mum, Angela, whose fixed routine of ready-meals and looking after her cats is suddenly interrupted by a chance encounter with ‘her Patrick’, an erstwhile partner who had previously walked out on her and their son, Nathan. Patrick bears news that forces Angela to consider introducing him to Nathan, who up until this point has had no idea who his father is.

Now himself a parent – a stay at home dad struggling to cope with parenthood – with the arrival of Patrick, Nathan comes face to face with his own identity as a father and son. As past and present collide, I Knew You portends to re-examine what it means to be a parent and the importance of having those early role models.

Camden says of his latest play:

‘Everything I write is about family, whether blood or chosen. The dynamics between those people closest to each other are the ones that fascinate me. I am very interested in what the passage of time does to perceptions and opinions. How the lens through which we view what happens changes over time and what that means for us when we are forced to address it.

I Knew You was born out of me thinking about that in relation to parenthood, duty and absence. What happens to the space that remains when a person leaves? What do we make them into in order to function? What do we make ourselves? And what happens if they come back?’

With this kind of thought-process, I Knew You could be an astute and nuanced refection on the relationship between a parent and their child, and the absence thereof. Birmingham get’s the first chance to find out, at the REP between Friday 29^th September until 7^th October.

I Knew You – a play by Steven Camden

I Knew You runs at the Birmingham REP from Friday 29^th September until 7^th October. For direct event info, including venue details and online bookings, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/i-knew-you

For more from the Birmingham REP, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

For more on Steven Camden (aka Polarbear), visit www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/polarbear