BReviews Archives - Page 18 of 36 -

September 28, 2017September 27, 2017

BREVIEW: Mayday Parade – A Lesson in Romantics 10th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 23.09.17

Words & by pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Whenever I’m asked to name my top five albums, Mayday Parade’s A Lesson in Romantics always manages to sneak itself onto the list. Whether it’s upbeat pop rock anthems such as ‘Black Cat’ or the drawling melancholy vocals of ‘Miserable At Best’, I’ve always had a soft spot for the album and would frequently listen to it when scoping out new bands became cumbersome. So when I heard that they would be playing a 10 year anniversary tour in celebration of its release, I felt compelled to attend.

First up at the O2 Institute were All Get Out – fronted by singer songwriter, Nathan Hussey. They opened strong, but soon bubbled down to a rather average performance. Musically you cannot fault them – tracks such as ‘Room to Talk’ were stellar and have crept their way onto my Spotify playlist. And their newest release, ‘Nobody Likes a Quitter’, is both half an hour of musical genius and something I cannot recommend enough. Sadly their support set just didn’t reflect this, but if you’re in a gig for the music and that only then these guys are for you.

I last saw With Confidence at this year’s Slam Dunk festival where they delivered a stellar show, and their support at the Mayday Parade gig is no exception. Hailing from Australia, the four piece owned the stage and easily won over the room with their opening song ‘Voldemort’ from their debut album Better Weather.

Their songs are short, loud and to the point – they came to play and that they did. Much of the crowd seemed to already be a fan, with individuals singing along word for word and flinging gifts on to the stage, one of which was a t-shirt consisting of numerous photos of guitarist Luke Rocket’s face. As a band gaining momentum fast, I’m excited to see what the future holds for the four of With Confidence.

Mayday Parade got off to a slightly shaky start, with front man Derek Sanders struggling slightly to keep up with the tempo of ‘Jamie All Over’. Nothing infuriates me more than someone singing offbeat, however the band soon enough redeemed themselves, following up with a flawless run through of each track on A Lesson in Romantics.

Songs like ‘Jersey’ and ‘When I Get Home, You’re So Dead’ were met with a cacophony of applause from the O2 Institute’s packed out main room. Soon enough, as Sanders sat down with a keyboard and belted out the hit song ‘Miserable At Best’, the crowd was reduced to a weeping mess (although with lyrics along the lines of ‘I can live without you but without you I’ll be miserable at best’ this came as no surprise).

Performing against a backdrop of the album artwork, and with the stage stripped back to its bare bones, Mayday Parade were free to let loose. It’s refreshing to watch a band with so much raw energy perform their songs as good as they did ten years ago.

And yet there was still room for surprises, as Sanders appeared onstage with an acoustic guitar and covered Something Corporate’s ‘Punk Rock Princess’ – a surprising choice that paid off well with the crowd. Following this was their song ‘Terrible Things’, which is the type of track you’d listen to on repeat while crying in your room as a teenager. I loved it.

Mayday Parade wrapped up the show with ‘Three Cheers for Five Years’ from their debut Tales Told By Dead Friends EP, ‘Kids in Love’ from their sophomore album Anywhere But Here, and ‘Oh Well, Oh Well’ from their third self-titled album. I was impressed at how well thought out the set was; album shows can be a tad predictable at times, so a set that included extra material without distracting from the main purpose of the gig was a plus.

Overall, Mayday Parade’s A Lesson in Romantics 10^th anniversary celebration show was everything I’d expected and more. Some albums simply never go out of style, and thank God this is one of them.

All Get Out – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 23.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more from All Get Out, visit www.allgetoutmusic.com

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With Confidence – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 23.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on With Confidence, visit www.withconfidenceband.com

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Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 23.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Mayday Parade, visit www.maydayparade.com

For more from O2 Institute, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

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

September 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Beyond The Tracks… Sunday @ Eastside Park 17.09.17

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Michelle Martin

Day three of any festival weekend is always a tough one for me. Day one I’m mad for it. Day two is a recover and then get back on it kind of day. Day three is usually spent sober, tired, and can be a very tough sell.

There’s also no pretending I’m not hungover. So, having made it down in time for breakfast a fruit based recovery drink is in order. The city centre feel quiet as Paul and I head on the now familiar journey to Eastside Park. And whilst it takes a little longer to get through the gates with our bags today, the queue isn’t vast.

That being so, it’s a pleasant surprise to see a fair-sized crowd already watching Nadine Shah as she performs a mix of new and classic material; she is good naturedly takes requests and works well with the audience, as well as putting on an expressive performance. Shah is an artist who knows how and when to bring her political agenda into her art, mentioning it, tastefully, toward the end but in a manner that leaves little room for confusion on what her point may be. Nadine Shah and her band put on a good show, and the few times where the saxophone and guitar clash – making the instrumentation a little muddy – can certainly be forgiven.

The next band on are Dorcha, on the second stage. Unfortunately they are absolutely not what my brain needs at the time of day they are on. They play well together, but the sound is high pitched and quite intense, and while I did on-site describe them as the sound I would expect a band to make when falling slowly down a hill, this was largely an expression of how they made my hangover feel rather than a statement on them as a group.

Not one to be driven to drink on a final festival day, I nevertheless relent and get a recovery cocktail – clutching it tightly in my hand, I head back to the stage as Peter Hook & The Light start their set. Peter Hook, being a previous Joy Division member, has brought with him a little slice of the 80’s. No bad thing in my opinion. But I must admit, I’d had never expected to see two bass guitars playing complimentary melodies and with different effects. And yet the result is definitely a positive one.

Peter Hook himself has a great, powerful stage presence. He jokes about being from up north and waiting for his son (being the other bass player, Jack Bates) to get ready. At 61, and with 41 years in the industry (possibly more), Hook puts on an excellent show. The band play a mix of New Order and Joy Division numbers and end with, you guessed it, Love Will Tear Us Apart; a classic, but one that didn’t excessively stand out in an all-round high-quality set.

With little change-over time, Hoopla Blue take to the second stage. I can see straight away that these guys are what I would expect from the term ‘shoegaze’ – although perhaps ‘stargaze’ would be more fitting and would work well with their ethereal, spacey sound. Hoopla Blue have some great songs with ‘Rotten Sodden Loot’ arguably the best of the day.

I must admit that seeing them in a live setting doesn’t work as well for me; having listened to their recorded material, I prefer the records. Not to disparage a good set too heavily, but some bands are just more effective in a studio setting; fact that Hoopla Blue come across as slightly shy, alongside the limits imposed by live sound, make me feel that their recorded sound wins out.

That being the case, I take the executive decision that standing for most of the weekend has made my knees hurt, so I retreat to an area of open space and take a seat where I can still see the stage. I’ve had a message from a friend telling me to be sure to check out both Slowdive and The Jesus & Mary Chain; knowing Slowdive are on next, I prepare to either stay put or make a move to the front.

Staying put it is. Slowdive are continuing what I’m beginning to think might be the theme for the rest of the day: ethereal, slightly psychedelic, rock. They provide a good soundtrack to sitting in the sun sipping an iced drink, and have the kind of trippy visual effects on stage that I was expecting from Friday night – with the video screen working wonders for their live show. It may be unfair to make comparisons, but in some ways Slowdive put me in mind of a The-Wall-era Pink Floyd. No bad thing; music to relax to, a great soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon.

While Slowdive’s ‘When the Sun Hits’ does indeed bring out the sun, the closing of their set seems to encourage the lovely rainbow over the stage to become the considerably less lovely rain. Blackash take to the second stage under a slightly gloomy mix of cloud, rain and sun, all paying Beyond The Tracks a visit in around five minute cycles. Not to worry, Blackash are here to brighten your day regardless.

The first thing that springs to mind is Assassin’s Creed, as the band are all dressed in partial face coverings and hoods. I was expecting this to some degree, but the image still makes an impact and it’s hard to know how to take them. None too seriously as it turns out; Blackash are a band here for a good time and here to make you have a good time too. They suffer a little with the sound and the vocals are both lacking volume and a little of their trademark distortion.

Nevertheless, they are up-tempo (which I am infinitely glad of at this stage in the day) and good fun – with an appropriate response from the crowd, who, I think, were a little uncertain to begin with. They seem to warm to this surreal bunch and there’s a good bit of dancing and nodding along before Blackash’s set is through. Another band I would definitely see again.

As Blackash finish, Paul and I get chatting to two lovely people who were enjoying the set as much as we were. They heartily recommend Wild Beasts, the next band on the main stage, and furnish us with glow sticks that would probably have been better fitted to Friday night, but will also work perfectly well with Sunday’s space-rock.

I’ve been forced to admit that I’ve not heard of Wild Beasts, but as they come onstage they kick into their set this thought gets pushed aside as they’re good; very good, in fact. Slightly dance oriented, they’re more artsy than Blackash but have a similar head nodding, foot tapping effect on the Sunday crowd. Exhibiting excellent musicianship, each band member seems to play at least two different instruments (excluding the poor drummer who is stuck where he is).

Wild Beasts also have two lead vocalists – both very different, both very good. From all Beyond The Tracks’ Sunday line up, Wild Beasts have the highest number of catchy songs so and ‘Wanderlust’, ‘Alpha Female’ and ‘Get My Bang’ are stuck in my head for quite some time afterwards. They have quite a few songs about… well, as Ben Little says, “Fucking”, and that gives them even more of a dual image.

Funky but ethereal, artsy but obvious, sensitive but direct; it’s the sort of thing that appeals to me, in that my opinion of it can change dependent on my mood. As Wild Beasts’ set progresses, the good run of weather comes to an end and the rain comes down. A good few people retreat to the shelter of the beer tent but I just put my coat on and wait it out. No way am I missing this set for a bit of water.

With the rain slowing but still coming down, it’s time to commit to my no-drinking Sunday. I go and grab a coffee to warm my cold hands and move over to the second stage as Victories At Sea are announced.

And move offstage again.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Technical difficulties. Whether the weather is to blame or not is a matter for the event staff alone to determine, but between the rain and the delays Victories At Sea start their set with some ground to make up. And it’s hard to be sure what else is to blame, but to my ear the sound is still terrible. It does get better as their set progresses but not enough to save it for me. (After the effect, I’ve done some research and again Victories At Sea recorded music sounds nothing like the stage show I watched. So I attribute it to water logged or faulty equipment, but bad luck all round)

After this minor downer, and having been given somewhat conflicting opinions of The Jesus & Mary Chain, I keep my fingers crossed for the next hour. As they take to the stage and their set starts, I’m once again pleasantly surprised. The uber-80’s sound I was told to expect fails to materialise and it turns out that The Jesus & Mary Chain are a good up-tempo Country-influenced band. Admittedly, they’re not as entertaining as they could be on stage, and their music isn’t entirely my sort of thing, but they’re solid enough for a Sunday with a 16-song set that is quite varied.

When they’re in the throes of a song, the sound is good and the balance of instruments works well, but for some reason William Reid won’t stop playing between songs making the set seem a little unprofessional. In some ways Jim Reid’s voice sounds a little strained too, but it doesn’t slow him down any and it was always their style in a way anyway.

They kick their Beyond The Tracks set off with the slightly new romantic/punk-esque ‘Amputation’, with the rest of the follows that somewhat heavily guitar led feeling. In comparison to the stargaze space rock mood of much of the day, The Jesus & Mary Chain seem more grounded and more traditional rock oriented.

Their set does unfortunately feel a little long, so when the last strains of the curiously titled ‘I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll’ fade away, I head away from the stage and find somewhere to sit down. I can hear Josefin Ohrn + The Liberation starting up on the second stage, but they sadly take a backseat to my desire for pizza as I follow Lazlo’s hierarchy and get food.

The main stage is now a hive of activity, as what look like industrial extract fans are set up and drum kits, pianos, keyboards, and other musical items are brought out; it all looks very exciting. As my hunger is sated and my interest is piqued, Editors begin, striking out with ‘Cold’, ‘Sugar’ and then ‘The Racing Rats’. It’s easy for me to see why they were chosen to headline; the setting they’ve brought is excellent, making maximum use of the stage and the available lighting.

Their performance is musically excellent too, as you would expect from a band of 15 years pedigree, but also very visual with Tom Smith throwing his all into it. It’s a set to rival Saturday night’s Maxïmo Park experience and with the light show to go with it; I’m hard pressed to decide which I think is best. I decide to just love them both equally, and by the time Editors’ set is halfway through and ‘An End Has a Start begins, I’m having a too much of a good care either way. Smith has a warm vocal tone and the 80’s leaning that he is known for, alongside their synthesiser driven backline, ties the day together well.

Editors finish their main set 14 songs in with ‘Marching Orders’ and I can’t imagine what they could possibly do to top it. One cliched pause for applause later and they’re back out, smashing into ‘Open Your Arms’, ‘Bullets’, ‘Munich’ and finally ‘Papillion’ – arguably their most 80’s oriented track. It’s a fantastic encore and an excellent end to the day; Editors come across as the culmination of everything we’ve seen and heard throughout Sunday at Beyond The Tracks and what perfect headliners it makes them.

Slightly sad that it’s all over, but with one eye on work tomorrow morning, the walk to the train station is a swirling mix of emotions. The journey back to Wolverhampton is spent comparing highs and lows, reliving the highlights one more time, and making plans for the next event from this fledgling festival.

As we found out in our recent interview with the festival organiser, John Fell, Beyond the Tracks may not be back in 2018 – but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for it in 2019. In the meantime I guess it’s back to normality.

Dorcha – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Dorcha, visit www.dorcha.co.uk

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Peter Hook & The Light – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Peter Hook & The Light, visit www.peterhook.get-ctrl.com

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Hoopla Blue – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

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

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Slowdive – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Slowdive, visit www.slowdiveofficial.com

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Wild Beasts – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Wild Beasts, visit www.wild-beasts.co.uk

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The Jesus & Mary Chain – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on The Jesus & Mary Chain, visit www.thejesusandmarychain.uk.com

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Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation, visit www.josefinohrnandtheliberation.bandcamp.com

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Editors – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 17.09.17 / Michelle Martin

For more on Editors, visit www.editorsofficial.com

For more on Beyond The Tracks, visit www.beyondthetracks.org

September 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Beyond The Tracks… Saturday @ Eastside Park 16.09.17

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Morning has broken. Seemingly over my head. The choices of the night before, prompted by the engaging festival feel and the desire to get all dance-y, now seem like a catalogue of errors. The chance of getting breakfast slips away; I am forced to embrace the fact that lunch and a recovery pint are the only way forward.

And so, being in a pub already, this is what we do. Down the stairs, to the bar, a sandwich and a couple of pints of something light. Back to my usual self again. Ish. Thank goodness we didn’t try to do the ‘4am finishing’ after party or today may have been lost.

The Old Crown feels further away from the Beyond The Tracks festival site today, as Paul and I wend our way through the town. We make it through the entrance process to find Carl Barât and the Jackals both looking and sounding cool. They’re a good choice for the festival daytime being slightly rocky, slightly punky, and slightly indie; a good balance of appeal across the audience.

They’re energetic but not so energetic it puts my shuffling state to shame, and while no one song stands out the set overall is good. Something in their deportment keeps screaming ‘LONDON’ at me, but I would be hard pressed to say exactly what.

After this solid introduction to Beyond The Tracks’ Saturday programme, the festival’s second stage hosts Sandinistas from South Wales. Sporting a bass made more of tape than wood, an approachable charm, and punk rock to knock your socks off they’re a total change of atmosphere. Upbeat and fun, with some excellent banter from lead singer/guitarist, Dan Hagerty, Sandinistas do a great job of entertaining; Beyond The Tracks is the first time I’ve seen this band but I would be keen to catch them again.

Following Sandinistas, local lads The Twang take to the main stage. The Twang are a band I’ve heard a lot about but never seen before so, while I have an idea what to expect, I’m not too surprised to find my initial idea was totally wrong. It can happen. Musically reminiscent of The Streets in some ways, The Twang bring an urban edge to the day which, while not entirely my cup of hot beverage, does mix things up nicely.

The real star of the show is Phil Etheridge, having a laugh with the audience and swigging from a can of Red Stripe. Etheridge makes full use of the stage, which I like, and while I can’t help feeling his voice isn’t as strong as it could be, with the band covering the music and Etheridge covering the performance The Twang deliver and engaging and enjoyable set.

A quick trip to the bar is in order while The Americas finish setting up; as they get started I’m reminded why I was looking forward to seeing them. Although I’m slightly surprised they’re on the second stage as I would have expected their ‘American road trip’ styled rock to be ideal main stage material.

Somebody has to take the smaller stage though and with a solid, easily accessible sound The Americas make it their own. Still reminding me of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in some ways, they continue the trend of bands either winning me over musically or by performance, but not both; it’s unfortunate, but with each of them being tied to an instrument the performance is a little static.

I think it’s fair to say at this point that, while I try not to be biased, with three such different days it’s incredibly difficult not to have a preference in some way. So, I give up and admit to myself that this, the middle day, is almost certainly going to be my favourite of the Beyond The Tracks triptych. That confessed, I have an open mind towards The Coral while also half expecting them to follow the day’s pattern and wow me with their performance over their music.

They don’t. The Coral are pretty static visually but musically their back-catalogue shines; ‘In the Morning’, as you may expect, goes down exceptionally well. The crowd is building up now and with more people comes more applause, more appreciation and more singing along. I was never massively into The Coral when they first hit the charts and found their sound to be confusing, somehow both new and old at the same time. Something about that always put me off a little bit but seeing them live, but they win me over at Beyond The Tracks and I plan to delve a little deeper when safely offsite.

It’s pit-stop time, following The Coral, and while I hate to miss any of Table Scraps’ performance having seen them earlier in the year I know they’ll do a top job. I do wonder if it’s the wrong day for them though, and to my mind they would possibly have been a better fit for Sunday. The good and bad thing with festivals, in equal measure, is that there’s always so much going on that you can’t catch everything. Plus at some point there must be a welfare break, and right now the Persian Kitchen is calling. And then the bar.

Sadly then, the last number is all I catch of Table Scraps’ set, but the crowd seem to be fully on board and I’m sure they’ve hit it as hard as they usually do.

This of course means that Maxïmo Park are about to start on the main stage. Having reviewed their latest album, Risk to Exist, earlier in the year and not being too impressed with it, I’m not holding much hope for their live set. If I’m honest, I’m almost biding my time until Ocean Colour Scene.

What a mistake. As soon as they start I can see and hear that Maxïmo Park mean business. The sound is spot on and they look cool; proper ‘rock-star’ cool. By the end of the first song, Maxïmo Park win me over and I’ve move as close as I can get to the stage.

Paul Smith, in particular, is excellent – climbing on the monitors, striding across the stage and generally coming across like a caged tiger. The band start with ‘What Did We Do To You To Deserve This?’ and power through to ‘Our Velocity’ and beyond. My biggest surprise of the day and a band I would heartily recommend seeing live.

At this point the crowd is super dense, so there’s not much chance of getting too close to Superfood on the second stage, but they sound decent from where I can get to (which you may have guessed is the bar). Musically they make a good follow on to Maxïmo Park and while the second stage doesn’t quite offer the same opportunity for a ‘big show’, Superfood maintain both the atmosphere and the crowd set by their predecessors.

In fact, with Ocean Colour Scene ever closer to coming on stage the crowd is swelling more than ever. And although the announcement of a reduced-price Sunday ticket for Saturday ticket holders gets a mixed reaction, the crowd is clearly buzzing with anticipation for the Saturday night headliners.

They sound great too. All the concerns I had about another situation like The Twang are instantly put to bed; Simon Fowler hasn’t lost any vocal clarity or power over the years, and Steve Craddock is as dexterous on the fretboard as he ever was. More so, perhaps, as he makes everything seem effortless.

In fact they all do, yet somehow that doesn’t come across well. It’s the same situation that has occurred throughout the day; musically Ocean Colour Scene are just as good live as on the records, they’re just not very visual.

They don’t seem to have brought much in the way of staging or lighting, with the band members almost fixed to their spots onstage. Ocean Colour Scene have also chosen quite a downbeat set for a headline act, starting with ‘Profit In Peace’ which in my mind is more of an anthemic closer than an opener.

That said, Ocean Colour Scene deliver all the back catalogue bucket list hits and the crowd singing along to ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ is a beautiful thing. Clearly Birmingham still has a great soft spot for this once Moseley mob, and while the atmosphere on stage could be better the atmosphere in the audience is something to behold.

As the last echoes of the amplifiers fade away, Beyond The Tracks’ Saturday crowd begins to move slowly back towards the city centre. I find it hard to imagine anyone not having had a good time today – passing happy face after happy face as we head back to our temporary nest at The Old Crown. Two down, one more to go.

Jaws – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Jaws, visit www.jawsjawsjaws.co.uk

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Sugarthief – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Sugarthief, visit www.soundcloud.com/sugarthiefuk

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Carl Barât and the Jackals – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Carl Barât and the Jackals, visit www.carlbaratandthejackals.com

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Sandinistas – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Sandinistas, visit www.sandinistas-uk.myshopify.com

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The Twang – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Twang, visit www.thetwang.co.uk

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The Americas – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Americas, visit www.soundcloud.com/theamericasyeah

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The Coral – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Coral, visit www.thecoral.co.uk

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Table Scraps – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Table Scraps, visit www.table-scraps.bandcamp.com

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Maxïmo Park – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Maxïmo Park, visit www.maximopark.com

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Superfood – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Superfood, visit www.superfoodjunk.com

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Ocean Colour Scene – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Ocean Colour Scene, visit www.oceancolourscene.com

For more on Beyond The Tracks, visit www.beyondthetracks.org

September 22, 2017September 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Beyond The Tracks… Friday @ Eastside Park 15.09.17

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Denise Wilson

The plan is simple: meet my friend, get to The Old Crown – the pub we’re staying in, check-in, pick up the tickets left behind the bar for us, head to Eastside Park, enjoy the event.

However, plagued with overdue work the preparations to get to Beyond The Tracks are not going well. What should have been leisurely packing and hearty breakfasting has instead become telephone calls and frantic typing but, nevertheless, through more luck than judgment, at the absolute cut-off of 11:30 I’m closing my flat door behind me with a few mismatched items of clothing and a toothbrush stuffed into a hold-all and I’m on my way.

Step 1: to meet Paul Gallear in Wolverhampton centre, and with timing to a ‘T’ we hop onto a train at Wolverhampton Station. The trip into Birmingham is a good one and we arrive at New Street Station with spirits high. Birmingham is surprisingly busy for that sort of time of day on a Friday and I wonder casually if many more people milling about are here for the festival.

I’m mindful of that John Fell said, in our recent interview, that about 40% of the people with tickets for the Friday are from outside the area; it does seem like too much of a coincidence to discount. We head across town to The Old Crown and check in to find that our tickets are yet to arrive. The decision is made; a warm-up pint is in order.

Our tickets are being brought by Birmingham Review’s editor, Ed King, and our anachronistic EDM expert. Sadly, we are set to experience Beyond The Track’s dance music throwback without him, as Ed is booked at another event. But with a pint prepared for his arrival, we vow to try our best to convince him to join us… Several hours and several drinks later, no avail. Ed is immovable on the subject and despite our best efforts we say our farewells, part ways, and Paul and I head on to the festival.

At this point it’s only fair to address my experience and enjoyment of dance music. Little on both counts, I’m sorry to say. I was too young for the 80’s and 90’s rave scene and coming from Wolverhampton, there was little of that sort of thing around. That being said, I’m always open to a new experience and if the atmosphere is right, it could be great.

So, somewhat delayed but still looking forward to what lies ahead, we find ourselves at the transformed Eastside Park. The site itself is set up as I had imagined; tall solid fencing surrounds the arena with the main entrance on the city side. The entrance is predictably flanked by security and there is the usual ticket collection, ticket inspection, with body/bag search 3-tier entrance system that we’re all largely used to these days. Not as heavy on security as I was expecting given the political climate these days, I must admit, but to my knowledge the event is entirely trouble free all weekend so all’s well etc, etc.

In no time at all we’re in and at the bar. Leftfield are in full swing and with the day still being quite bright it does seem a little incongruous listening to the sort of music usually hear at around 3am. Being the Leftism album performance tour, the music is more chilled out than what dance music can bring to a greenfield site, but with the festival ‘vibe’ still in full force. The field is full, not shoulder to shoulder but comfortably so, and with everyone seemingly very good natured about getting around.

Leftfield’s performance is interspersed with live vocals and songs like ‘Inspection (Check One)’ stand out from the set as having that extra edge because of it. The sky is grey and a bit drizzly but still fairly light, so while the lighting is far from lost the live vocal performances bring a welcome depth to the stage show.

The crowd are warm and receptive but if I’m honest, both they and Leftfield themselves are a little more subdued than I am hoping for. I know that the plaster ceiling of the Brixton Academy was always going to be safe at this distance, but somehow I still find myself wanting a little more. A little more bounce, a little more volume, a little more energy from the audience. I’m not sure which. But something. That said, Leftfield close their set to solid applause and pave the way for Sister Bliss to begin on the second stage.

The second stage is borrowed directly from Moseley Folk Festival, as, I’m reliably informed, are the bar and the catering stands. Not having been to Moseley Folk it’s not something that bothers me, but not giving this new festival more of its own identity seems a bit of a shame, if a forgiveable one given that it’s Beyond The Tracks’ first year.

With the crowd affording us little chance of getting close enough to see Sister Bliss in action, it becomes cocktail time, and as the strains of ‘Insomnia’ float over the field (one of my favourite Faithless songs) I can’t help but smile. I wasn’t sure if Sister Bliss would play it but I’m glad she has. Not the full song, of course, but enough.

Happily hydrated, centre of the arena and far enough back to see the full main stage in all its glory, the night feels like it’s picking up and I watch the crew building the tower of scaffold that is to be Orbital’s lighting rig and stage for the Friday night headline performance.

Orbital, brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, take to the stage with trademark specs fully kitted out with headlights and kick straight in with ‘Lush 3’ which to me is a bit of an unusually mellow choice but gives them a long build into their performance. Plus while Sister Bliss has perhaps raised the bar slightly with regards to tempo and dynamic, she is the odd one out and Orbital and Leftfield are both bringing similar performances in many ways.

If I’m honest, I don’t feel their set ever builds much beyond that initial entrance and as track number two, ‘Impact (The Earth Is Burning)’ starts, again it’s more subdued than I was expecting. Somehow I thought there would be 8,000-10,000 people all jumping up and down and going mad but it’s far from the reality. The Hartnolls have some of the old ways still going strong, and I can see their heads bob and their hands raise through the lighting, but whether I’m a few drinks short of where I need to be I don’t know, the set just seems a bit flat.

Orbital’s main set ends with ‘Belfast’ and I expect that to be all for the evening, but to my surprise there’s an encore scheduled in. I think the Leftism experience has thrown me; while an album based set is unlikely to squeeze out an encore, I have assumed that all dance music acts play a fixed set and that’s all. Not so. Not tonight anyway. Orbital have two more tracks on their agenda, finishing with ‘Where Is It Going?’ to a warm appreciation from Beyond The Tracks‘ Friday night crowd.

A very apt track to finish on too, as Paul (Gallear, not Hartnoll) and I are decide that where it’s going now is back to The Old Crown. We’re largely dance-music’d out for the day and a nice warm sit down and a drink is in order.

I remain conflicted on the walk back ‘home’, and Paul and I have a fair old discussion about the EDM evening. A discussion that extends into several G&Ts and some Belgian Beer. In the end, I remain unconverted to dance music and electronica for now. But as the saying goes, tomorrow is another day…

Jagwar Ma – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 15.09.17 / Denise Wilson

For more on Jagwa Mar, visit www.jagwarma.com

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Leftfield – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 15.09.17 / Denise Wilson

For more on Leftfield, visit www.leftfieldsplash.com

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Sister Bliss – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 15.09.17 / Denise Wilson

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Orbital – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 15.09.17 / Denise Wilson

For more on Orbital, visit www.orbitalofficial.com

For more on Beyond The Tracks, visit www.beyondthetracks.org

September 20, 2017

BREVIEW: Portrait of the Artist: Käthe Kollwitz @ Ikon Gallery – exhibiting until 26.11.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield

Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) has always been recognised as an artist but her status and place in art history, until recently, has been overshadowed by her male counterparts – Otto Dix, Max Klinger, George Grosz, to name but a few. Subsequently, Kollwitz’ work has been lumped into the canon of German Expressionism and has often been ignored due to her empathetic depiction of working life; instead of being the artistic stereotype with lofty ambitions she became a conduit to the suffering of the people she depicted, herself becoming invisible in the process.

Ikon Gallery’s current exhibition, Portrait of an Artist – presented in collaboration with the British Museum, puts Kollwitz’ prints centre stage and marks the 150^th anniversary of her birth. Many themes are explored: the crushing weight of human suffering, the question of agency and creativity in a male dominated world, the role of industrialisation in the plight of the working man and woman, revolution, personal loss, and death.

These themes are not obvious at first; on entering I was greeted with a series of self-portraits spanning a forty-year period which, on their own, don’t lend themselves easily to interpretation. The prints are presented without comment; the accompanying text refers only to the medium of each print, eschewing lengthy biographical and symbolic interpretation. This allowed me to walk through the exhibition making connections as I went along.

Aesthetically, Kollwitz’ earlier self-portraits are excellent examples of her skill and draughtsmanship; these lithographs are incredibly detailed and the mark-making creates a sense of intimacy. However, as Kollwitz got older her technical ability became a little looser and her style changed from intricate lines to bold strokes that depicted the curvature of her older body. The latter depictions are particularly animalistic, with sunken eyes and a hollow face made up of several parts that don’t quite form a whole. These self-portraits from the 1920s and 1930s are barely recognizable – her face is worn down and the thick black lines create a sense of gloom. This technical and emotional change is somewhat baffling until you enter the second room.

Social and political protest is captured by Kollwitz in many small vignettes from her two series A Weaver’s Revolt (1897) and Peasants’ War (1908). Portrait of an Artist includes one lithograph and two etchings from the weaver’s series. These pieces were inspired by Gerhert Hauptmann’s play The Weavers (1892) which told the story of a failed revolt by Silesian weavers against mechanisation in 1844. Kollwitz may be referencing the literary world but her images have a universal truth about them that can be understood today.

Highlights from this section of the exhibition are The Carmagnole (1901) and Riot or Storming the Gate (1903-1897). These two prints stylistically reference images and iconography from the French Revolution most notably in The Carmagnole which depicts women dancing around a guillotine like a maypole. Indeed, the composition references a scene in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and the title of the piece is taken from the French Revolutionary song, ‘Die Carmagnole’. Here, Kollwitz captures the revolutionary spirit of the German people who happily worship the guillotine.

While many works depict moments of insurrection, there is never much to be happy about; even during revolt, faces appear tired, distorted, resigned. The aftermath of one such outbreak is depicted in the woodcut Memorial to Karl Leibnecht (1920), where haggard mourners surround the dead Leibnecht. The large block of white around Leibnecht’s dead head creates the impression of an orb like halo (alluding to depictions of Christ). He, along with Rosa Luxemburg and others, was tortured and murdered by the proto-Nazi Freikorps following the 1919 Spartacist uprising (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands / KPD) in Berlin. Kollwitz herself was never a member of the KPD, and was in fact asked to create this piece by Leibknecht’s family. But looking at the work itself together with the other prints it can be interpreted as mourning not just Leibnecht the man, but the hope for a different future briefly glimpsed in the Free German Socialist Republic he had proclaimed.

From many wounds you bleed, o People (1896) continues the allusions to the Crucifixion by juxtaposing social commentary and religious symbolism. The image is very small and could almost be a preparatory print for a larger triptych or religious altarpiece.

The tripartite composition has two crucified figures of women to the left and right whilst in the middle section shows a body being stabbed by man with sword. The central figure is lying on bed of thorns, who when analysed alongside the title could represent the ‘people’ of Germany. It has been argued that the two women on either side reference Michelangelo’s Slaves, though Kollwitz expresses anguish as female rather than male. The religious symbolism is most striking in this image and suggestive that death is inevitable for the ‘people’ who struggle against social injustice.

Portrait of the Artist: Käthe Kollwitz also proposes to look at her role ‘as an empathetic and suffering mother.’ A large wall in the second room is dedicated to Woman with a Dead Child (1903) which has often been analysed regarding the death of her son Peter in 1914. A dead child’s head sticks out from the hulking arms of a hunched crossed legged figure. The triangular composition and muscular frame is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Pietà – a marble sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the crucified Jesus. Four different versions hang alongside each other showcasing the creative process and the varying crescendo of emotions that erupt when losing a loved one.

However, for me, Raped (1907-08) stands out above the images of Woman with a Dead Child; this startling and visually unsettling work captures the empathy and social duty that runs throughout Kollwitz’ work. A woman lies tangled in an overgrown garden, her body contorted, her head and neck thrust back into the soil whilst her legs are bonded to the roots of the plants. She is forever bound by the memory of the rape. Unusually Kollwitz has chosen not to show the act of rape or the attacker, but instead the aftermath. The stillness of the scene makes the brutality of the rape more affecting. What I did not recognise at first but became clearer on my second and third viewing, is the young girl overlooking the scene from behind the shrubbery.

Kollwitz is often said to have been concerned with the ‘suffering mother’, but the suffering depicted – while the subject is often a mother – appears more universal. It is violation of not only the mother but the daughter that makes the image all the more chilling.

Like Raped, Kollwitz’ Death and Woman (1910) captures the artist’s preoccupation with the universality of suffering; Death twists itself round a woman’s naked body whilst a small child tugs at her breasts. The dynamic proximity of the three figures mirror that of the three stages of a human life, and the way the woman’s cheek touches Death’s forehead is as if she is greeting it like an old friend. The ecstatic face of the woman contrasts with her stiffly contorted body, implying that life is a cruel tightrope between pleasure and strife.

While Kollwitz depicts a world of downtrodden subjects, loss, and stillborn revolutionary moments, it is never apparent that to struggle on is foolish. How does one continue in a world without hope? Inspiration (1904-05) portrays a masculine figure hunched over a weary woman wearing a shawl. The larger muscular character is drawing into the ground using a scythe, their hands and arms becoming one as if being guided by him. This image can be read in two ways: firstly, the woman is Kollwitz the artist, hollow-faced and guided by inspiration. Secondly, the female figure represents the working people of Germany who continue to toil because the masculine rulers of society force them to. Here, Kollwitz could be arguing that while suffering is inevitable, it is also inescapable that she must continue to be creative in the face of anguish.

Portrait of an Artist: Käthe Kollwitz is a fantastic exhibition that not only showcases her as an artist – who had a brilliant sense of mastery and skill – but as someone who thought that printmaking was her egalitarian duty to expose the merciless and arbitrary cruelty of the poorer sections of German society. Yet in a way there is hope, because the pain that Kollwitz and others felt lives on through both her work and further exhibitions like this.

Portrait of the Artist: Käthe Kollwitz is exhibiting at Ikon Gallery until 26th November. For more on Portrait of the Artist: Käthe Kollwitz, visit www.ikon-gallery.org/event/kathe-kollwitz

For more on Käthe Kollowitz, visit www.kaethe-kollwitz.de/en

For more on the British Museum, visit www.britishmuseum.org

For more from Ikon Gallery, visit www.ikon-gallery.org