BR Content Archives - Page 23 of 191 -

September 2, 2018September 2, 2018

BREVIEW: Paul Weller @ Genting Arena 24.08.18

Words & pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

You can spot Paul Weller fans from a mile off. Clad in Fred Perry polo shirts and jeans, and finished off with a Harrington jacket, the Genting Arena is teeming with them. It looks like everyone has stepped out of the 80s, back when The Jam were at the height of their career.

Since Weller first emerged as The Modfather back in the day, he has released a total of 26 albums with three different ensembles. His 14^th as a solo artist, True Meanings, is scheduled for release on 14^th September. As a musician who has been performing since before I was born, I decided to bring along the biggest Paul Weller expert I know – my dad, who has been listening to Weller since he was 15 and is brutally honest after a pint or two.

As a rescheduled show, having postponed the original March gig due to severe weather conditions – namely ‘the beast from the east’ – the Genting Arena isn’t as busy as I had anticipated; many fans have not been able to make it to the new date, and the new seating arrangements which have been put in place have got some that could angry and frustrated. We slowly weave our way through disgruntled men and women before settling in by the sound desk for the evening.

Paul Weller’s stage is surprisingly bare. Having shot my fair share of shows in the Genting Arena, I have become accustomed to bizarre stage set ups, with CO2 cannons, pyro, and just about every visual prop you can think of. He’s forgone all this for two simple black and white film screens each side of the stage to broadcast his performance. A brave move for someone in this day and age, however somehow it works. Weller’s audience aren’t here for the theatrics – they’ve been lifelong fans, many of them listening to his material since they were in their teens.

Kicking off his set with ‘White Sky’ from his 12^th album Saturns Pattern, we’re treated to a 29 song setlist which spans the entire of Weller’s career. While his newer material such as ‘Woo Sé Mama’ certainly gets people swaying, it’s not surprising that it’s material from his days in The Jam and The Style Council which garners the best reaction tonight; after people head for the bar during ‘Long Time’, they’re soon racing back in to dance along to ‘Man in a Corner Shop’.

It must be hard playing to a crowd who only seem to want to hear the classics, as many leave the arena to grab refreshments during Weller’s more recent songs. As an artist who has expressed numerous times his desire to move away from his Modfather days, I can only imagine his frustration at playing new material to a room who seem more interested in the contents of a ‘greatest hits’ compilation from The Jam. Every time a tech appears on stage clutching a telecaster guitar, the crowd begin to whoop excitedly, knowing they’re about to hear yet another 80’s throwback.

Despite this, Weller is in good spirits and glides effortlessly between instruments, dabbing with a grand piano during tracks like ‘You Do Something to Me’. His performance is top notch, which is impressive considering the different genres we are treated to throughout the night. From the Britpop style of ‘That’s Entertainment’ to the folk ballad ‘Wild Wood’, Weller and his backing band flit seamlessly between styles with ease.

He’s also the only artist I have ever witnessed to do not one, but two encores, although this confuses the crowd somewhat and results in a third of them leaving before he performs ‘Town Called Malice’. To my amusement, a gentleman in front of us begins to clap his crutches excitedly over his head while screaming along to the chorus. It’s a sight to behold.

Taking a bow along with his band to rapturous applause from the room, I’m excited to see what style we’ll be treated to when True Meanings is released in September. And whilst the album’s early releases and cited collaborations point towards his more folk focused songwriting, the beauty with Paul Weller’s music is that it truly could be anything.

For more on Paul Weller, visit www.paulweller.com

For more on Stone Foundation, visit www.stonefoundation.co.uk

For more on the Genting Arena, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

September 1, 2018September 1, 2018

INTERVIEW: The Taboo Club

Words by Sam Lambeth / Pics by Paul Reynolds

**On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next Birmingham Review live music showcase at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with support from Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise. Doors open upstairs at The Victoria from 7pm, with tickets price at £7 (adv) and £10 (otd) – as presented by Birmingham Review.

At the time of writing this event has a third sold out. To buy any of the remaining General Admission advance tickets click here, or to buy tickets direct from The Taboo Club click here. Join the Facebook Event Page by clicking here**

January 2018. If you happened to have frequented one of Birmingham’s more dimly-lit dive bars, you might have seen him there. A man with hair like a raven’s nest, dark and dishevelled, his waiflike physique squeezed into a squalid suit and his hands bulging violently out of his pockets. Josh Rochelle-Bates had a lot on his mind. He had spent several years as the bassist and main creative force behind mercurial Midland miserablists Semantics. Now an uncertain world lay ahead of him. Like OJ Simpson post-trial, he was alone, aloof, and alienated in a world that seemed foreign and unforgiving. The band had announced an indefinite hiatus, and Rochelle-Bates felt adrift as the adulation of the Second City gave way to silence.

Miles away from Birmingham, fellow Semantics stalwart Rob Lilley was feeling similarly sombre. Despite the occasional accusation that Semantics were nothing but ‘Interpoor’, they had a brooding beauty and glacial gracefulness that separated them from the Harborne herd. For Rochelle-Bates and Lilley, they knew they’d return to music, and one word stuck in their heads.

“Collaboration,” says Rochelle-Bates in the July afternoon sun, sipping a bold glass of claret in a Paris eatery. “I think for once I actually suspended expectation and let myself be open to a much wider spectrum of ideas, emotions and ways of articulating them. My hope was to find people who were passionate about creating and expressing themselves, and would be open to working in a collaborative environment.”

As Rochelle-Bates tilts his chair in self-satisfaction, expensive plonk in one hand and a forkful of French fancy in the other, you realise Paris is the perfect place to personify his new band’s sound. They are The Taboo Club, a phenomenal five-piece that are the musical manifestation of buzzing neon signs, decadent derails down depraved alleys, and a sharp eye for smart fashion. Their recent single, ‘Strangers’, exudes gratuitous sax and senseless violins (well, more of the former), brass bursting out of the hi-fi over muscular guitar gristle, Rochelle-Bates’ creamy bass licks and Lilley’s warped howl.

Yes, Lilley is the one who has enjoyed perhaps the biggest transformation. In Semantics, he was quiet, charismatic and concerned. Now he’s gradually turning into a real frontman, coquettishly waving his tambourine and tantalisingly twitching his hedonistic hips. For him, joining The Taboo Club was a revelation. “I immediately wanted to be a part of it,” he says. “The creative freedom and experimentation was one of the first things that stood out to me. I love the fact that it’s enabled me to pull from a wide array of influences, but everyone’s suggestions remain on the table – that’s an enticing draw for any artist.”

Enough about Semantics now. That chapter is closed. The Taboo Club is open for business and the five band members couldn’t be happier. With his tousled and slightly untamed mane, flamboyant shirts and overall quiet demeanour, guitarist Jack Ingaglia is the James May of the gang. “We have a shared goal of creative freedom, but I don’t think we’ve always been on the same page – that’s what makes writing exciting,” he says. “We all pull in slightly different directions.” For ‘Strangers’, Ingaglia’s role was more textural. “There are some jagged guitar chords tucked away in there, which come from my love of funk and soul,” he says. “I also did a lot of guitar doodling in the verses.”

‘Strangers’ has enjoyed considerable success, but The Taboo Club are fast becoming known for their overall aesthetic, which seems to be that of a gang of gangly male models enjoying a snifter of scotch after a long day of posing. “I certainly think it’s accurate based on what we have allowed people to see so far,” nods drummer Aiden Price, slayer of snare and sharp of cheekbone. “The music is, of course, our top priority but we want to give people the complete package – great songs, distinct image and personality. The lot.”

There are many exciting things around the corner. The next single, ‘Bible John’, will be released in the autumn, with the band once again using the services of a certain Ryan Pinson for production (“He has such a good ear and an innate attention to detail,” gushes the band’s multi-instrumentalist Ben Oerton). ‘Bible John’, according to Oerton, is the soundtrack to a “Quentin Tarantino film about a serial killer,” which feels like a very accurate description.

Also coming soon is the band’s big showcase gig at The Victoria in Birmingham, taking place on the 29^th of September. As always, Rochelle-Bates-Kennedy-Onassis advises us to expect the unexpected. “We wanted to do something unique, different and immersive instead of just a headline show,” he reveals. “Expect for it to be really strange.”

Strange it will be, but no doubt like everything The Taboo Club has offered its loyal members so far, it’ll be unforgettable, debauched, and damn right delightful.

On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next live music showcase with Birmingham Review at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise in support. For more information visit the Facebook Event Page by clicking here – or click on See Tickets the logo for a direct link to online sales.

For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 31, 2018

ALBUM: Joy As An Act Of Resistance – IDLES 31.08.18

Words by Emily Doyle / Pic by Lindsay Melbourne

I first encountered IDLES at All Years Leaving 2017. They headlined the Sunday night. I have vivid memories of Table Scrap’s Tim Mobbs, who was photographing the show, scrambling over the makeshift crowd barrier in a bid to save his camera from the chaos that erupted as soon as they began playing. A few songs in and I was hooked. These guys weren’t just some Bristolians with that one song about Mary Berry.

The elegantly titled Joy As An Act Of Resistance is IDL ES’ second full length release, out from 31^st August on Partisan Records. It opens with the imposing ‘Colossus’, a five-and-a-half minute statement of intent to rival Refused’s ‘New Noise’. Sighing guitars underscore Joe Talbot’s drawl. The track reaches a dissonant crescendo, before unleashing a blast of the shout-along agit-punk that IDLES fans have been waiting for.

Joy As An Act Of Resistance flirts with hardcore and post punk in equal measure, but at its core is an album of protest music. Guttural backing vocals are woven throughout – the radio-friendly pro-immigration anthem ‘Danny Nedelko’ has two word chorus that’s made for a 2am Snobs crowd to chant along to. It’s shamelessly catchy. But throughout the record, guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan are there with a double attack of grinding fuzz and shrill stabs to stop the listener getting too comfortable.

It’s Talbot’s lyrics that take centre stage most of the time. Whether it’s personal or political (and more often than not, it’s both) his trademark wit is ever present. Talbot loves to create characters – in the acerbic ‘Never Fight a Man With a Perm’, he describes an unfortunate acquaintance as, “not a man but a gland… one big neck with sausage hands” and a “Topshop tyrant, even your haircut’s violent; you look like you’re from Love Island.” The face of modern masculinity is a fixation for Talbot – in ‘Colossus’ he sings, “I am my father’s son, his shadow weighs a tonne”, while IDLES’ recent single, ‘Samaritans’, dissects the pressures on young men today before dissolving into a chorus of “I kissed a boy and I liked it.”

IDLES rose to prominence singing that, “the best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich”, and their socialist battle cry shows no signs of going quiet – as Talbot articulates in Joy As An Act Of Resistance’s jaunty ‘I’m Scum’, “this snowflake’s an avalanche.”

The record isn’t all angry chanting. IDLES offer up an unhinged rendition of Solomon Burke’s 1961 soul hit ‘Cry To Me’, which nestles strangely comfortably amongst their tales of bravado and Brexit. There’s also space for Talbot to be characteristically raw. IDLES debut album, Brutalism, dealt with the death of his mother. Her portrait featured on the artwork, and a very limited run of the records had her ashes encased in the vinyl itself. On its release, Talbot admitted that, “people are a bit freaked out that this was a person. People are terrified of that physical link with death.” Since Brutalism, Talbot and his partner also lost their daughter, Agatha. In ‘June’, Talbot sings, “a stillborn, still born, I am a father” over a dirge of crackling synths.

Joy As An Act Of Resistance is poised to cement IDLES as one of the UK’s great punk bands. There’s a seventy date world tour on the horizon too, coming to the O2 Institute in Birmingham on 26^th October, and their fanclub on Facebook numbers over seven thousand and counting. Said fanclub call themselves the AF Gang, mostly talking music, mental health, and the poems of Dylan Thomas. IDLES’ influence is spreading, and it can only be a good thing.

‘Samaritans’ – IDLES

IDLES release Joy As An Act Of Resistance on 31^st August, out through Partisan Records. For more on IDLES, including links to online sales, visit www.idlesband.com

IDLES play the O2 Institute in Birmingham on 26^th October. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham/events/1149321/idles-tickets

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018

BPREVIEW: Rews @ The Flapper 17.11.18

Words by Ed King

On Saturday 17^th November, Rews will be performing at The Flapper – rounding off their selected UK tour at Birmingham’s iconic live music venue.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £10 (+bf) – available from Friday 31^st August. For direct event information, including full tour details and links to online ticket sales, click here.

There are certain press release that raise a smile at Birmingham Review. True, lots of them have the words ‘free’ and ‘bar’ in them, but the one that landed on our desk a few days ago was even better than bourbon for gratis. If such a thing were possible (it is, just).

Rews are coming back to Birmingham, playing at The Flapper on Saturday 17^th November. And with only 38 days after this gig until The Big Day we feel the expression ‘Christmas come early’ is entirely justified.

If you don’t know who Rews are… a sharp intake of breath… they’re a high octane ‘rock powerhouse’ that have drawn comparisons to Royal Blood (but with better melodies). Made up of Shanua Tohill (guitar vocals) and Collette Williams (percussion, vocals) Rews were the first UK signing on Marshall Records – coming out punching from the legendary rock brand’s corner with their debut album, Pyro, in November 2017.

A string of singles, tours, and festival appearances followed Rews’ extremely confident debut, gathering some well deserved attention from the rock focused media and then pretty much every pundit with a brain at the BBC (including Mark Radcliffe, who cited Rews as one of his highlights from Glastonbury 2017). To read our Birmingham Review of Pyro, click here.

One eight planet dance later and Rews are back in Birmingham, rounding off a five date UK tour at The Flapper – the venue where Birmingham Review first saw them back in February ’17. And it is live that you really want to experience this band, with a ferocious energy and endearing candour flooding off stage every time we’ve shared a room them – click here to read our Birmingham Review of Rews at The Flapper, at the Actress & Bishop, and at the Hare & Hounds.

But things got better and better as we scrolled down the aforementioned press release, because there’s a new single on the table too – ‘Can You Feel It?’ will be released by Rews on 21^st September, through Marshall Records. An absolute blinder, this is has been one of our favourite tracks from Rews since we first heard it, with the soon to be set free single getting added production value from Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me the Horizon, Don Broco, Lower Than Atlantis).

We’ve had a sneak peak of the new ‘Can You Feel It?’ too and it’s PROPER AWESOME. Seriously, just wait – as soon as we can share something we will. But in the interim you can keep yourself happy/distracted with the last two singles to come from Rews – check out ‘Your Tears’ and ‘Shine’ below.

Here’s a message from Shauna Tohill about the soon to be released ‘Can You Feel It?’ too:

“Can You Feel it? is a song that takes a positive spin on hurt feelings. It encourages the listener to ‘let it out’, ‘dance’, ’sing’ and not be afraid to explore how they feel in order to better themselves & learn to love again. It was inspired and written during a period of heartbreak and describes the stages of grief that we endure.”

‘Your Tears’ – Rews

‘Shine’ – Rews

Rews come to The Flapper in Birmingham on Saturday 17^th November – as presented by Metropolis Music/Live Nation, in association with Birmingham Review. For direct gig information, including full tour details and links to online ticket sales, click here.

‘Can You Feel it?’ will be released by Rews on 21^st September through Marshall Records. For more on Rews, visit www.rewsmusic.com

For more from Metropolis Music, visit www.metropolismusic.com

For more on The Flapper, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.theflapper.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018

Gomez – Bring It On 20th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18

Words by Sam Lambeth / Pics by Phil Drury

Cailin Russo is excited. “This is the best night of the tour,” she beams, her bleach blond locks flowing vivaciously in an imaginary Birmingham breeze. RUSSO and her band are an adorable bundle of energy, sweeping through the jet-fuelled punk of ‘House with A Pool’ and the ‘Something’-pilfering ballad ‘Lonely’. As opening acts go, RUSSO packs a sweet, but mighty, punch.

“You lot haven’t changed much,” grins Gomez’s premier blues howler Ben Ottewell to the Birmingham faithful. You can see from his smile that it’s meant in jest, and while the Southport experimentalists pretty much look the same – Ian Ball is still cherubic and childlike, Tom Gray is the mischievous mouthpiece, and Ottewell has the hirsute beard of a part-time wrestler – the audience has aged somewhat. But lest we forget it has been twenty years since their landmark debut record Bring It On surprised and stunned the British music landscape with its dusty Americana, hazy rockers and widescreen balladry.

When released, Bring It On beat a plethora of perfect albums to win the Mercury Music Prize. On reflection at the 02 Institute tonight, such an accolade proved entirely earned – opener ‘Get Miles’, where Ottewell is first able to unleash that mighty croak, is cloaked in atmospheric bleeps and surging riffs, while lead single ‘Whippin’ Piccadilly’ is a playful toe-tapper built around slide guitars and Gray’s box of keyboard tricks. The beauty of Bring It On is in its bold imagination and restless creativity – on a balmy Birmingham night, the five-piece take the crammed audience to the dim dive bars of Tennessee (a stunning, jaw-dropping ‘Tijuana Lady’), the open highways of California (the beefed-up, chiming colossus ‘Here Comes the Breeze’) and the bug-addled back porches of Texas (the country ballad ‘Free to Run’).

The band are good hosts, Gray permanently geeing the crowd up during the skewed pop of ’78 Stone Wobble’ and the compact crunch of ‘Get Myself Arrested’. As they breezily trade instruments, share harmonies and extend songs into fluid jams, the sheer talent of the five-piece comes into play, as does the cruel reminder that it is perhaps this talent, this restless creativity and fearlessness, that meant commercial appeal never quite beckoned.

Once Bring It On comes to a close, there is still time for some old school Gomez classics. The menacing, snarling ‘Shot Shot’ and the straight-ahead shuffle of ‘Silence’ show that even when Gomez began losing their experimental roots for something more conventional, they were still making music that was far from ordinary. The beautiful, tear-jerking ‘We Haven’t Turned Around’ brings the 02 Institute to a stunned silence and the closing ‘Revolutionary Kind’ hammers home that a world without Gomez is one that is far too bland.

Whether or not there will be new music remains to be seen, but Gomez’s long-awaited return to the stage is a bold reminder of their unbridled talents. A new album and renewed recognition? Bring it on.

RUSSO – supporting Gomez, Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Russo, visit www.russo.lnk.to/hwap

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Gomez, Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Gomez, visit www.gomeztheband.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on the O2 Institute, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.