BPREVIEW: Killing Joke @ O2 Institute 31.10.15

Killing JokeWords by Olly MacNamee

Influential of so many bands since their formation back in 1978, such as The Foo Fighters, Metallica and Soundgarden, the mighty Killing Joke are back on the road – touring their latest studio album, Pylon.Main with web colour bcg - lr

Released on 23rd October, via Spinefarm UK (the Finnish born Universal Music Group subsidiary), Pylon is Killing Joke’s 16th studio album in a career spanning over 35 years – produced in the UK & Prague by Killing Joke and Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Smoke Faeries, Grave Pleasures).

Then on 31st October (and I couldn’t think of a better date) Killing Joke play the O2 Institute in Digbeth, with support from Asylums. Doors open at 6pm with tickets priced at £22.50 – as presented by Kilimanjaro Live. For direct gig info & online tickets, click here.

With a well documented history of employing shock tactics, startling stagecraft and thrilling theatrics to grab you by the throat and/or balls, I for one look forward to seeing what Killing Joke will have to offer on this unholiest of evenings.

I still remember my first infectious introduction to Killing Joke, watching them at the much-lamented Phoenix Festival back in the mid-90s. It was a Sunday afternoon at dusk, and Jaz Coleman & Co performed along with fire breathers, acrobats and other Cirque De Soleil types against a backdrop not too far removed from the fiery finale of The Whicker Man, the sun drowsily dropping in the west as fire and fake blood illuminated their demonic, dusky denouement.Pylon - Killing Joke

I can’t even remember who topped the festival bill that day, but I remember Killing Joke. And like a fat boy in Dunkin’ Donuts, I was hooked. Hopelessly. And albeit an experience of the band that had been held outdoors, I cannot believe for one minute that Killing Joke won’t have something up their sleeves come All Hallows’ Eve.

Listening to Pylon, it’s pleasing to hear that Killing Joke’s ferocity remains achingly clear; their sound is still one of rude riffs, tension and conflict – all held together with a more haunting Coleman on lead vocals. The third LP featuring the band’s original and still living members, starting with the recording/release of Absolute Dissent in 2008, Pylon stands as testimony to Killing Joke’s “Heavy and uncompromising, bleak dystopian lyrics,” as Martin ‘Youth’ Glover puts it.

PrintSomething that bodes well for the UK leg of their tour, as the tight, high production quality, and recognisable Killing Joke sound, struts and spits from each one of this 10 track album. Or fifteen if you buy ‘Deluxe’.

Their trick? Sounding as fresh and edgy as ever. Although, when all the UK has to offer the world’s musical currency is the likes of Sam Smith and Rita Ora..?

Their treat? Landing at the O2 Institute in Digbeth on the most heathen of evenings. While the Roman Empire and their Catholic Church may have hijacked all other pagan celebrations, dressing them up as Bible based bullsh*t, Halloween is still the night that lets the freaks come out and play.

‘Euphoria’ – Killing Joke (second release from Pylon – out now)

Killing Joke play at the O2 Institute on 31st October, with support from Asylums – as presented by Kilimanjaro Live. For direct gig info, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/listings/upcoming-events/21991/killing-joke/

For more on Killing Joke, 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

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BPREVIEW: Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin perform Dawn of the Dead score live – special screening @ Boxxed 29.10.15

Goblin_SQ-01Words by Ed King / Poster courtesy of Lunar Festival & The Electric Cinema

‘When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth…’ Birmingham Preview

On Thursday 29th October, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin will perform their brooding score to Dawn of the Dead live – during a special screening of George A. Romero’s zombie classic at Boxxed on Floodgate St.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets are priced at £20 (+booking fee). For direct event information, click here

A collaboration between Lunar Festival and The Electric Cinema, the Dawn of the Dead screening on Thurs 29th Oct is a rare (and possibly emotionally scaring) chance to see a cornerstone of celluloid horror in its full gory glory.

The follow up to Night of the Living Dead, and co-written by the Italian master of ‘giallo’ horror Dario Argento, Dawn of the Dead sees the zombie attack intensify to epidemic proportions – with both flesh and flesh eaters plotting their fights for survival in an abandoned (kinda, sorta) shopping mall.

Mainly well received after its 1978/9 releases, Dawn of the Dead is known for its gruesome body count and relentless gore – courtesy of Tom Savini, who would Lunar Festivalgo on to pave Jason’s streets with blood in the debut Friday the 13th film.

But there is a deeper social commentary that carries Dawn of the Dead above the splatter, with the seemingly sterile setting for the zombie army being chosen from “some kind of instinct, memory, what they used to do; this was an important place in their lives.” When free will is destroyed, and a blinkered society is only driven by craven lust and insatiable hunger, our only place of refuge will be the world of consumerism. Or to bring it into more immediate terms, when the gates of hell open most of us will run to the Bull Ring.

Largely accredited with supporting the zombie sequel’s success, the original Goblin soundtrack cemented itself in the conscious of a global film audience – bringing a brooding futility to the plight of the film’s rooftop stranded protagonists. Not to mention an edge of menace the world’s slowest predator, dead or undead.

Having enjoyed previous success writing scores for Dario Argento, Goblin’s dark accompaniment to Dawn of the Dead would, however, mark the end of the band’s somewhat stellar soundtrack The Electric Cinemacareer. Although Goblin’s Dawn of the Dead score would leave a bloody mark on the cinema wall arguably comparable to that of Bernard Herrmann; a success that would bolster a generation of audio/visual nightmares from John Carpenter to Ennio Morricone, the latter having also cut his bloody cloth with Dario Argento.

Part of the original triptych, Claudio Simonetti founded Goblin along with Massimo Morante and Fabio Pignatelli during the release of their debut soundtrack for Argento’s 1975 film, Profondo Rosso.

Ditching their less gruesome moniker, Cherry Five, to clarify simultaneous releases between the two groups, Goblin was to be the ensemble’s biggest commercial success – selling over a million Boxxedcopies of the Profondo Rosso soundtrack worldwide.

Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin is led by the Goblin founding member and musicians from his 1999 formed heavy metal group, Daemonia. Known for covering Goblin scores, alongside writing and performing their own original material, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin had previously cancelled their 2014 tour of Dawn of the Dead performances.

Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin did perform on the opening day of the 2015 Lunar Festival, in June earlier this year.

And if you need a little more rotting meat on the bone, here’s our Graham with a quick reminder – introducing ‘the most intensely shocking motion picture for all time’:

On Thursday 29th October, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin will perform their score to Dawn of the Dead live, during a special screening of the zombie horror classic. For further details, visit http://www.theelectric.co.uk/programme.php?film=1255

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/

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BPREVIEW: The Black Tambourines @ The Sunflower Lounge 25.10.15

The Black Tambourines @ The Sunflower Lounge 25.10.15Words by Ed King / Pic courtesy of Killer Wave

On Sunday (yes, The Lord’s day) 25th October, The Black Tambourines come to The Sunflower Lounge – with support from The Red Cords + The Terror Watts. And that’s a whole lotta prefix.Birmingham Preview

Gig doors open at 8pm, with tickets priced at £5 (advance) – as presented by Killer Wave & PNKSLM. The Sunflower Lounge’s upstairs bar will be open as per usual (free/normal trading hours) with a satisfying range of hearty post-brunch munch and peculiar fruit ciders. Blackberry… kinda works though.

So. I have to admit, this is not the usual BPREVIEW. Firstly it’s two days late. No huge surprise there, but after working (not a euphemism) like a fool/dog I slept for significant double figures and missed two, yes two, of my own deadlines. Ah… to be an editor. And to sleep, perchance to dream…

The Black Tambourines are a four piece Garage Rock outfit from Falmouth. They released their five track Chica EP in 2007 and their self titled debut album in 2013 – both on the Bristol/London Indie, Art is Hard Records. Prior to that were the self released Happy Birthday and Hombre EPs – still available through The Black Tambourines’ Bandcamp page.

Their eleven track sophomore, Freedom, came out in September this year via Easy Action. As DIY as you’d want from Garage Rock, and as disturbingly/perfectly addictive/raw as you’d be able to comfortably snuggle up to – Freedom is a solid second album. Plus the initial singles, ‘No Action’ and ‘She Don’t Mind’, picked up steam and platitudes in some positive places. Life for The Black Tambourines, and sales, may be rosier this time around.

Garage Rock was something I put down with my youth, along with petty theft, Valentine’s Day and guilty masturbation. But seeing as it was my birthday this week I thought I’d get a bit nostalgic (keep your mind on the music people) and when Killer Wave suggested we cover, pre & post gig, The Black Tambourines I thought ‘good timing’.

The Sunflower LoungeI also thought I should get someone other than me to actually write BREVIEW; if you’ve ever seen me drunk on a Sunday you’ll understand why. So our freshest face, aka Emily, has dutifully stepped into the fray. Although she’s working over the weekend and covering two gigs in a row for us, so ‘fresh’ may not be the ‘f’ word she had in mind when I asked her.

So, again. Why the pre amble? What happened to the facts & figures approach I usually ask for with a BPREVIEW? ‘Keep it open people, this is not an opinion piece’. Well, quite simply, I listen to The Black Tambourines’ second album, Freedom. I will be typing an album review after I’m done here.

Sufficed to say if you have some free time on Sunday 25th October (or the ability to prioritise) and a spare five pound note, it might not be a bad idea to saunter along to The Sunflower Lounge.

I’m now off pen said album review, have a 10pm breakfast, open that bottle of rum (a boy’s gotta sleep) and stick my head out of a window. Enjoy.

The Black Tambourines come to The Sunflower Lounge on Sunday 25th October, with support from The Red Cords + The Terror Watts – as presented by Killer Wave & PNKSLM. For direct gig details visit https://www.facebook.com/events/427296080793442/

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

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

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

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

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BPREVIEW: Storms @ The Sunflower Lounge 24.10.15

Storms - Undress UK tour 2015 / www.stormsband.comWords by Ed King

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

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’, The-Sunflower-Lounge---blackStorms 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…Birmingham Promoters

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 24th 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/

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BPREVIEW: Sons of Kemet @ Hare & Hounds 22.10.15

SONSOFKEMET_070515_341

Words by Ed King

On Thursday 22nd 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.Birm_Prev-logo-MAIN - lr

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 22nd 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/