THE GALLERY: Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16

Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

Pics by Harry Mills

For the full Flickr of pics, click here

 

 

 

On Friday 29th January, Mayday Parade brought their Black Lines Tour to the O2 Institute in Digbeth – as presented by SJM Concerts.

Touring the UK & mainland Europe with their fifth album, the Tallahassee Pop/Rockers are supported on the road by The Maine, Have Mercy + Beautiful Bodies. Landing in Birmingham on the initial cusp of their midway point in the UK, Mayday Parade would play seven more dates on similar stages – before saying bon voyage to Britannia at the Pyramids Leisure Centre in Portsmouth.

Having dutifully stuck his hand in the air (and brought this gig to our attention in the first place), Harry Mills was at the O2 Institute to snap happy a Birmingham Review photoshoot for THE GALLERY. There’s a few selected below, one of each, but for the full Flickr of Pics click here or on the links above/below. Which you really should.

And apologies for missing Beautiful Bodies, but the queue was too long and time was too short… curse all that popularity; we’ll get you next time.

Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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The Maine – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

The Maine – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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Have Mercy – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

Have Mercy – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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For more on Mayday Parade, visit http://maydayparade.com/

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For more from the O2 Institute, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

For more events from SJM Concerts, visit http://www.gigsandtours.com/

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INTERVIEW / THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts

The Hungry Ghosts - supporting Alabama 3 @ The Oobleck 04.12.15 / By Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

Pics from Rob Hadley (Indie Images) & Harry Mills / Video by Ed Taylor (Digital Flow)

For the full Flickr of pics, click here

 

 

 

**The Hungry Ghosts play at The Sunflower Lounge on Wednesday 23rd December – with Amber Riot, Lizards + Cinema. Doors open at 7:30pm with tickets at £3 (advance), for direct gig info click here**

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Alabama 3 (Larry Love) @ The Oobleck 04.12.15 / By Rob Hadley (Indie Images)“They’re a Rock band, a real f*cking Rock band,” – Larry Love (Alabama 3)

The Hungry Ghosts have been on the Birmingham Review Radar (notebook with lists in it) since we caught them supporting Follakzoid at The Sunflower Lounge back in June. Raw, energetic and like being severed by polished steel; after a few short, sharp songs, we were in. And in the months that followed…

The Hungry Ghosts look like a Rock band, act like a Rock band, and sound like the bastard child of Swervedriver and a White/Morrison/Reed/Cohen hybrid mutant baby. When you watch The Hungry Ghosts (Joe Joseph) - supporting Alabama 3 @ The Oobleck 04.12.15 / By Harry Millsthem live you feel like smashing things with a smile on your face; Birmingham’s musical ovaries should be proud, and perhaps a little louder about this band.

And having only formed in the salad days of 2013, The Hungry Ghosts been dutifully grafting away on the (very respectable) support circuit for a while now – picking up praises such as these and a more few feet in the room at every appearance.

But now is time to record and release. With their debut single, ‘Love Songs’, already out in the world, The Hungry Ghosts are busily working on their fledgling EP – the appropriately titled, Blood Red Songs. This should be squeezed out early in the New Year, with a UK tour to promote it.

Birmingham Review caught up with Joe Joseph, Billy Ollis and Jodie Lawrence from The Hungry Ghosts – grabbing them for a quick interview just before their recent support slot with Alabama 3 at The Oobleck.

(N.B. the quote above comes from A3’s frontman/founder, Larry Love, who kept screaming it off stage throughout their set)

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The Hungry Ghosts talk to Birmingham Review @ The Oobleck

(Recorded & produced by Ed Taylor – Digital Flow)

And if A Talkie isn’t enough for you, Rob Hadley and Harry Mills covered The Hungry Ghosts gig for THE GALLERY – check out the links below to see each snapper at work:

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts – supporting Alabama 3 @ The Oobleck 04.12.15

The Hungry Ghosts - supporting Alabama 3 @ The Oobleck 04.12.15 / By Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

Rob Hadley (Indie Images) has been covering The Hungry Ghosts for a while, with a close connection to the band and stalwart declarations of support. Indeed, Team Hadley are the reason we know about them at Birmingham Review in the first place. And come rain, shine, sporadic venues across the midlands or a day’s squelch round a field, Rob Hadley will be wedged against a speaker stack taking pics of the four piece.

Check out Rob Hadley’s shots from their Alabama 3 support gig – click here or on the image to your left

 

The Hungry Ghosts - supporting Alabama 3 @ The Oobleck 04.12.15 / By Harry MillsTearing down the M6 at speeds usually reserved for a guilty Hamilton (…give it a while) Harry Mills popped his Birmingham Review cherry shooting The Hungry Ghosts for us – grabbing some extra gig shots from this big day out at The Oobleck. A Sunday baptism of blood red fire. But we’re probably stapling Harry to one of The Hungry Ghosts across 2016, so there should be less last minute travelling when we cover them in the New Year. We’re all heart and service station coffee.

In the meantime, have a look at Harry operating under his own free will – click here or on the image to your left

**The Hungry Ghosts play at The Sunflower Lounge on Wednesday 23rd December – with Amber Riot, Lizards + Cinema. Doors open at 7:30pm with tickets at £3 (advance), for direct gig info visit http://thesunflowerlounge.com/event/cinema-the-hungry-ghosts-lizards-amber-riot/**

For more from The Hungry Ghosts, visit http://thehungryghosts.co.uk/

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

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THE GALLERY: Boat to Row (album launch) @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15

Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15 / By Joëlle O'Toole

Words by Ed King / Pics by Joëlle O’Toole

On Friday 20th Nov, Boat to Row came to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) to launch their debut album, If I Found You Here. Somewhat established round these here parts, Boat to Row stopped off at t’Hare for a special home town show, as promoted by This Is Tmrw, before the obligitaory London showcase and a gig up in Nottingham

Released via local label/promoters, Nocturne Records – the city purveyors of storytelling and Folk (from Midnight Bonfies to Katherine Priddy), the If I Found You Here launch night was supported by Dancing Years and Declan McKenna – alongside DJs from Goodnight Lenin.

Joëlle O’Toole was at the Hare & Hounds for a Birmingham Review, grabbing some of life’s ever fleeting moments to stick in THE GALLERY.

For the full Flickr of pics, click here

Declan McKenna - supporting Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15 / By Joëlle O'Toole Declan McKenna – supporting Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15

Blah blah, young, blah blah, talented. Ignore the obvious rhetoric; Declan McKenna is well worth a stop, look & listen regardless – penning some feisty Folk (© Birmingham Review) with some bitter sweet lyrics and the occasional Ska staccato to move it all along. I suppose you could say he’s a bit like Jake Bugg without the skiffle addiction. And, you know, good. Plus those kindly folk on Worthy Farm have given him some walking around money, so there’s probably more to come from Mr McKenna before the next festival season.

For more on Declan McKenna, visit http://declanmckenna.bandcamp.com/

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Dancing Years - supporting Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15 / By Joëlle O'Toole Dancing Years – supporting Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15

With a name that reminds me of a Reeves & Mortimer sketch, but a sound that’s much more laudable, Dancing Years are getting ready for their debut release EP next Feb. Great vocals, strong melodies; do not be put off by the tweed-jumper/Geography-teacher-on-weekends moniker, this quintet from Leeds are a pretty spectacular thing. They’re getting some solid support from Auntie at the moment too; Dancing Years could have a promising new year ahead of them.

For more on Dancing Years, visit http://www.dancingyears.com/

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Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15 / By Joëlle O'Toole Boat to Row @ Hare & Hounds 20.11.15

The band of the hour, and a pretty well loved/established/supported local ensemble – the release of their debut LP, If I Found You Here, is another step along Boat to Row’s already confident path. A group of musician’s musicians, quite clearly friends, and writers of some Folk sturdy enough to support even the most cynical of hearts (mine) Boat to Row are one of the city’s musical feathers. As in cap..? Anyway… just check out the album and you’ll see what I mean.

For more on Boat to Row, visit http://boattorow.com/

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For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listings & online ticket sales, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/

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

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THE GALLERY: Protomartyr + Tigercub, The Hungry Ghosts, Youth Man, Ghosts of Dead Airplanes @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15 / By Rob Hadley (Indie Images)Words by Ed King / Pics from Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

Remember, remember the 6th of November; Garage, Grunge & Punk Rock. Or thereabouts.

As the cheap smoke, sulphur and cremated hedgehogs of another Fireworks Night began to dissipate, The Rainbow Courtyard & Cellar played host the Birmingham date of Protomartyr’s UK tour, with a bevy of bands in support both upstairs and down.

Out across these green and pleasant lands, Protomartyr have traversed the pond to promote their third studio album – the widely well received The Agent Intellect.

Lining up a few of the great, good and just plain raucous, The Rainbow offered a bellyache of smorgasbord support with Tigercub, The Hungry Ghosts, Youth Man + Ghosts of Dead Airplanes.

Rob Hadley was there for Birmingham Review, squeezing the two floors of disdain, reverb and distortion into one extra full edition of THE GALLERY.

For a proper butchers, and with a short intro into each act on the bill, click on the relevant links below:

protomartyr-(15-of-11)Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Formed in 2008, this Detroit Post Punk four piece are now three albums deep – with the release of The Active Intellect coming out via the Sub Pop born Hardly Art Records in October. Using the powerful protest of Punk to explore the dualism of mind/body is not the most obvious step forward, even for a band named after St Stephen.

But response to The Active Intellect has widely praised the album’s ‘brutal, urgent music’ steered by Joe Casey’s ‘Joycean grasp of detail and narrative’ – a front man clearly with something to say, and one not scared to look in before out. Backed by a band recruited to deliver three albums in fours years. Oh to be a fly on the wall of that tour bus once they hit Rotterdam.

For more on Protomartyr, visit http://www.protomartyrband.com

For the full Flickr of pics, click here

tigerclub-(6-of-1)Tigercub – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Having recently supported home turf buddies Royal Blood across various UK dates, Tigercub stepped in as main support to Protomartyr’s Birmingham date. But not always the bridesmaid, this Brighton three piece are foot stamping out a few headline spots across November – sharing the bill, as at this gig, with Youth Man. Brash, bold, and more Tiger than Cub, they’ve got some pretty awesome t-shirts n’all.

For more from Tigerclub, visit https://soundcloud.com/tigercub

 

THG-rainbowc-(26-of-1)The Hungry Ghosts – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

A rapidly rising Birmingham Review favourite, nepotism be damned, The Hungry Ghosts are Garage Rock on a stick. Currently breaking in a new drummer, the Brimmie-ish four piece are getting tighter and tighter – each gig oozing the kind of confidence that makes you wet, jealous or wishing you’d learned to play the guitar instead of doing all that Acid. Bastards. But check them out – The Hungry Ghosts are all kinds of awesome.

For more from The Hungry Ghosts, visit http://thehungryghosts.co.uk/

 

youthman-(13-of-3)Youth Man – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Results are still coming in, but Youth Man could be the loudest band in Birmingham. Last seen by Birmingham Review at the One Beat Festival in July, this Brummie three piece are a force of musical nature; there are Canadian geese with shell shock still wandering round Cannon Hill Park. As mentioned, Youth Man are currently out on the road with Tigercub – in case you have transport, disposable income and any hearing left.

For more from Youth Man, visit https://youthman.bandcamp.com/

 

ghostsofdeadairplanes-(7-of-8)Ghosts of Dead Airplanes – supporting Protomartyr @ The Rainbow 06.11.15

Short, punchy and prone to random acts of aggressive surprise (think Randall from Scrubs) Ghost of Dead Airplanes have been riding the crest of their debut EP since Halloween. Released on DIY Records, with distribution from Cargo, the cunningly titled The Yellow EP (its yellow… with a teradactil) was set free into the land of the living on the eve of All Hallows Eve. You’re going to run either to it or from it, but it’ll probably chase you whichever way you go.

For more from Ghosts of Dead Airplanes, visit https://www.facebook.com/GhostsOfDeadAirplanes/

For more from Rob Hadley (Indie Images) visit https://www.facebook.com/photosbyindieimages

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For more from The Rainbow, visit http://www.therainbowvenues.co.uk/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/

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