The Gallery Archives - Page 7 of 12 -

May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

THE GALLERY: Maxïmo Park @ O2 Institute 05.05.17

I do love a good cup of tea. Fruity, spicy or a simple Earl Grey. I enjoy tea like I enjoy music, always open to trying new things.

Admittedly, I know little about Maximo Park. From releasing the debut LP twelve years ago on Warp Records, the Mercury nominated A Certain Trigger, to their latest Risk to Exist LP, the band appeared to have slipped through my music collection. And now I know the reason. As I stand in a sold out main arena at the O2 Institute, with fans and adulation all around me, the most interesting thing in the room is the man in the hat, centre stage. Him, and one audience member who was dancing like a T-Rex.

But as much as I enjoyed Paul Smith’s energetic performance, even his stage presence couldn’t make up for the music. Opening strong with ‘What Did We Do to Deserve This?’ – the second single from Risk to Exist, things fell flat pretty quickly for me after that.

Covering a deluge of work from their twelve year portfolio there were the inevitable ebbs and flows, with ‘Our Velocity’ and ‘Girls Who Play Guitars’ – the opening two tracks from the Our Earthly Pleasures sophomore LP – bringing some ear catching open guitars and much stronger vocals to the stage, more so than I found in their recent work. The rest of the set, which I was free to enjoy sans camera after track No#3, felt forgettable. Perhaps I came to this party too late.

But clearly the O2 Institute audience were having a fantastic time, all dancing and singing along, so I guess the opinion of one doesn’t really matter. Maybe that was why I was distracted by a man in the audience attempting to recreate a scene from Jurassic Park – Maxïmo Park’s blend of anarchic stage strutting and political laced indie rock was definitely his flavor. Although I think I’ll pass on this cup of tea next time around.

Check out a selection of Michelle’s shots from Maxïmo Park from the O2 Institute gig in THE GALLERY below. To see the Full Flickr of Pics, click here or on the relevant links.

Maxïmo Park @ O2 Institute 05.05.17 / Michelle Martin – Birmingham Review

Risk to Exist by Maxïmo Park is out on general release from 21st April, via Cooking Vinyl. For more on Maxïmo Park, visit www.maximopark.com

For more from the O2 Institute, including full venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

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

April 27, 2017April 30, 2017

THE GALLERY: Counteract’s 7th Birthday @ The Sunflower Lounge 22.04.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

‘We’re going to need a bigger boat…’

You got that right. On Saturday 22^nd, Counteract celebrated its seven years around the sun with a smorgasbord of bands at The Sunflower Lounge, playing to a packed out room with no extra wiggle in sight.

Stacking the bill were The Mother’s Earth Experiment, The Hungry Ghosts, The Dream Collective and special guests, Jaws – sneaking in as a surprise headline appearance. Rob Hadley was there to shoot an extended photo feature for THE GALLERY, whilst Ed King caught up with Counteract founder, editor-in-chief and overall Captain Ahab, Richard Franks, earlier in the day. See a selection of Rob’s shots below and watch out for Ed’s interview with Richard Franks, online in May.

A celebration of The Midland’s music scene, Counteract’s 7^th birthday was an homage to the great, good, long, short and curlies of today’s regional live circuit. Coming back to blow out the candles with a publication that backed them from the beginning, Jaws were on ferocious form – sending a sea of bodies bouncing ever closer to The Sunflower’s ceiling. Some crowd surfers may have even made it.

The Mother’s Earth Experiment gave a blistering set of multi-percussion-precision-psych-rock (‘dem boys play tight) bathed in what can only be described as ‘death by lava lamp’, whilst The Hungry Ghosts played their first Birmingham gig with their new line up (and a few new songs) – cramming two extra bags of blood and bone onto The Sunflower’s already relatively cozy stage. The Dream Collective were fixed at the bow though – opening the birthday shenanigans with a pretty inter‘stellar’ live set. Right, now where’s that life preserver…

Check out a cherry picked buffet of Rob Hadley’s pics below, or click on the relevant links to see the Full Flickr of Pics. There’s some on our Instagram page too. Enjoy. We did. Happy birthday Counteract; rock on to a cake with eight candles.

Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7^th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7^th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on The Mother’s Earth Experiment, visit www.themothersearthexperiment.bandcamp.com

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The Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7^th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.the-hungry-ghosts.bandcamp.com

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The Dream Collective @ Counteract’s 7^th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on The Dream Collective, visit www.soundcloud.com/the_dream_collective

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For more on Counteract, visit www.counteract.co

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, visit www.thesunflowerlounge.com

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017

THE GALLERY: You Me At Six @ O2 Academy (B’ham) 10.04.17

Words & pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

From the queues of fans snaking around the O2 Academy in all directions, it’s clear to see that You Me At Six still have a dedicated fan base. Groups of youngsters, decked in band hoodies and Vans trainers, sit on the ground eating takeaway pizzas that have been delivered to the queue. I get chatting with a group of girls who have been queuing since 12:30pm – an impressive feat, considering that doors weren’t scheduled to open until 7pm.

Security work as quickly as they can to usher everyone inside, and it isn’t long before people are jostling for space in the 3000 capacity venue. I’m interested to see how the night’s first band, Black Foxxes, stand up to the packed crowd; they had played The Rainbow a few months beforehand, so this was a definite leap for the Exeter based trio.

Although seemingly cramped at the front of the stage due to You Me At Six’s piles of gear behind them, Black Foxxes still managed to open strong despite a number of technical mishaps – in all my life I’ve never seen a guitar tech work as quick as theirs did to repair Mark Holley’s broken string.

It was refreshing to see a band who had truly started out small and worked their way to the top with such fierce determination as these guys, and it simply shone through their music. Black Foxxes’ depressive rock flirted expertly with soulful melodies, descending at times to tones so inexplicably raw I felt they could be carving out their own genre.

Next were Tonight Alive – one of the few mainstream alternative rock bands to be female fronted. Jenna McDougal is seen as a rebelling goddess by much of the band’s female fanbase, and played on this by cavorting across the stage in a pair of white angel wings. The hit and miss sound was made up for by the band’s theatrics, while the lighting was simple superb. Although I’m not a huge fan of the Tonight Alive’s latest releases, they went down just as well with the crowd as their older heavier material.

When You Me At Six took to the stage, I was scared the crowd barrier may snap from the thousands of people who surged forward. Kicking off with their latest single, ‘Night People’, the band went on to deliver one of the most astounding sets I think I’ve ever seen.

Cycling through some of their better known hits such as ‘Underdog’ and ‘Save It For The Bedroom’, with some of their newer material thrown in, it was clear to see that these boys won’t be slowing down any time soon.

Plus if you’re a true lover of good sound then it’s worth seeing You Me At Six play live just to listen to their technician’s mix – as true to the albums as you could possibly get. Complimented by an incredibly designed light show, it made for an impressive looking and sounding production.

Josh Franceschi interacted with the sold out O2 Academy crowd on a truly intimate level, preaching the band’s beliefs of equality and love for all. And finishing with the track ‘Room to Breathe’, from their No1 album Cavalier Youth, it’s clear to see that You Me At Six are still working hard – paving their way on the alternative rock scene.

Check out some of Eleanor Sutcliffe’s pics from You Me At Six, Tonight Alive and Black Foxxes at the O2 Academy (B’ham) below, or click the relevant links for the Full Flickr of Pics.

You Me At Six @ O2 Academy (B’ham) 10.04.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Brmingham Review

For more on You Me at Six, visit www.youmeatsix.co.uk

Tonight Alive – supporting You Me At Six @ O2 Academy (B’ham) 10.04.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Tonight Alive, visit www.tonightaliveofficial.com

Black Foxxes – supporting You Me At Six @ O2 Academy (B’ham) 10.04.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Black Foxxes, visit www.blackfoxxes.com
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For more from the O2 Academy (B’ham), including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

For more from Kilimanjaro Live, visit www.kilimanjarolive.co.uk

March 20, 2017

THE GALLERY: Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation @ Hare & Hounds 07.03.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

On Tuesday 7^th March, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation came to the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) – as presented by This Is Tmrw.

On the road med album nummer två, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation were leaving phosphorescent trails though Birmingham as they finished a UK tour promoting their latest album, Mirage. Always good to catch the tail end of a rainbow.

And whilst our ‘man in Havana’ was struck down by a particularly virulent strain of man flu, Rob Hadley was there to capture the kaleidoscope show for THE GALLERY. But if a picture paints a thousand words… fate may have dodged an editorial bullet that night.

For as the self described ‘alchemical sky gazing’ ensemble proudly declare with their sophomore LP, Mirage ‘sees the band sculpting sprawling, hypnotic jams into elegant nocturnal serenades with such serendipity that their actual creation remains a little hazy even to themselves.’ Well that’s good to know. Where’s my thesaurus..?

Big thanks to This Is Tmrw for bringing more of the weirdly wonderful to Birmingham. Check out a cherry picked basket of Rob Hadley’s pics in THE GALLERY below, or click on the relevant links to see the Full Fickr of Pics.

Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation @ Hare & Hounds 07.03.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation, visit www.josefinohrn.squarespace.com

For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

For more from This Is Tmrw, visit www.thisistmrw.co.uk

March 15, 2017March 14, 2017

THE GALLERY: The Pigeon Detectives @ O2 Institute 08.03.17

Words & pics by Michelle Martin

It’s cold. It must be dropping near to 6 degrees and there’s a group sitting outside the O2 Institute at 5.30pm, wearing The Pigeon Detectives t-shirts and playing The Name Game on their mobiles. Too cold for my liking, I dive into The Kerryman next door and stumble upon more Pigeon fans with the same idea as myself.

Making it back to the O2 Institute for the first support band, Autopilot, the room slowly fills almost to capacity. Initial screams die down after a few minutes of clumsy shuffling about on stage trying to fix the sound; one man impatiently shouts from the back after an awkward start to the evening.

Once Autopilot start playing, the first half of their short set is forgettable and lacklustre but picks up with more lively music for the final two songs. Lead singer, Jack Schofield, keeps the enthusiasm alive though with his energetic stage presence, bouncing around without a care in the world.

To my right, The Pigeon Detective’s Matt Bowman is watching Autopilot alongside members of Franklin – tonight’s second support act. To my left, fans are busy seeking his attention, whilst other members of The Pigeon Detectives are dotted around the sound desk sipping on beers.

Franklin come onstage with a straight in your face attitude, lighting up the room with a colourful and passionate thirty minute set (my first dance of the evening commences three tracks in). Alex Frankl and Barney Trent absolutely go for it, bringing the sets slow departure with ‘Care for You’.

When The Pigeon Detectives land on stage, they open with ‘Enemy Lines’ from their latest album Broken Glances. They follow this up with the popular ‘Emergency’, and so begins an onslaught of bottles, cups and alcohol flying six feet in the air. Up next is ‘What Can I Say’ but thankfully there’s a photo pit I can dive into and out of the way. Up goes another bottle, and another (I think Matt Bowman has an entire case hiding behind Jimmi Naylor’s drum kit).

The Pigeon Detectives continue with a slew of hits from Broken Glances, alongside selected tracks from their earlier records. Notable standouts from the show are ‘Lose Control’, ‘I Don’t Mind’ and ‘Better Not Look My Way’. I admit, in my previous review of Broken Glances I didn’t enjoy ‘Lose Control’, however in a live setting it complements the other tracks nicely.

Although some songs still feel out of place in tonight’s set, especially ‘Wolves’ – which is a mature new sound, however clearly stands out. But that doesn’t appear to deter the audience from enjoying themselves, giving them time to recover from their opening 20 minutes of madness before Franklin got on stage.

I seek shelter to the stage of the side, away from the rainfall of water and alcohol; both my camera and I are soaked with a new fragrance combination of cider and lager.

I soon retreat to the balcony of the now sweat filled room, as those bottles are still flying all over the place. As The Pigeon Detectives finish off their evening with ‘I’m Not Sorry’, all that’s left is to buy a few drinks and join in with the chaos on the main floor.

The Pigeon Detectives @ O2 Institute 08.03.17 / Michelle Martin – Birmingham Review