Abi Whistance Archives - Page 5 of 6 -

June 28, 2018

BPREVIEW: P.E.T @ The Sunflower Lounge 01.07.18

Words by Ed King / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

On Sunday 1^st July, P.E.T headline at The Sunflower Lounge, with support from Miilkk, The Butter Aliens + Flares – as presented by Psych Productions.

Tickets are priced at £6 and available on the door or in advance through the bands performing, so click on any of the highlighted names in this BPREVIEW for the relevant links. Likewise, to visit the Facebook Event Page click here.

P.E.T have somewhat stormed onto the Birmingham music scene, only forming back in October last year yet already carving a place for themselves at the forefront of Birmingham’s punk rock fraternity. Full of raw energy and musical smarts, this Abi Whistance fronted four piece have supported acts from Rews to The Cosmics – delivering a powerful punk rock punch wherever they appear on the bill, driven by the ferocious energy of their ‘tiny but mighty’ lead singer. Not one of our descriptions, but one we love all the same.

But it’s the unity from this band in their entity that makes them so special; both on stage and off, P.E.T are a “real fucking rock band” – to steal a summation that was once yelled out by the Alabama 3 frontman to The Hungry Ghosts. Yep, we’re putting P.E.T in that camp – namely the one where all the bands who kick ass with integrity live. Plus, guitarist Molly McDonald’s dry humour – with some awesome to/fro with bassist Rosie Jones – is freakin’ hilarious. (P.E.T‘s drummer, Kris Szulecki, is also a bit of a legend, but too covered in cymbals to get much of a vocal input whilst performing. Catch him at the bar though…)

But it’s no secret at Birmingham Review we think P.E.T are all alterations of awesomeness, and if you want a bit more background for your bounce rate then check out our 2cents on P.E.T’s debut single, ‘Tommy’, which came out on Friday 4^th May. And if you haven’t seen P.E.T live yet, you can expect a high octane set with some delicious band banter; on stage is absolutely where they shine this band shines the brightest. In all seriousness, P.E.T are a bit of a ‘golden marker’ as my friend used to call it, and as ‘of the moment’ / ‘one to watch’ as you can respectably get on Birmingham’s gig circuit right now. If you have half a live music heart you should pay this band some well deserved attention.

Sliding into the first base of main support are Miilkk, the self professed ‘messy psych, punk, grunge band from Birmingham’ who have a less than discerning taste in cider. We’re not overly familiar with this local three piece at BRHQ, but Miilkk have come recommended to us by P.E.T and that’s usually a good enough witness statement for us. Although if you need a more autonomous introduction, I would like to present to the court Exhibit A and Exhibit B.

Next on the bill are The Butters Aliens, again with the whole hearted support from the night’s headline act. Spangly, jangly, bouncy, garage rock, The Butters Aliens have been on the Birmingham Review Hit List for a while now, and seeing as the current default setting is ‘HEATWAVE’ we thought it would be about the right time to check them out. In a tiny, packed out, sweat filled subterranean mosh pit. In for a penny…

Then there’s Flares, bringing some more indie rock flavour to the evening’s proceedings. Again, we’re not overly familiar with Flares but they did bash out a pretty impressive support set at the Rose Dive gig back in May. Plus, there are a couple of recordings from their recent session at Rain Studios that are certainly worth checking out. But, again (again) if it’s got the P.E.T seal of approval then we’re prepared to sacrifice a pint and a half of cider on the door charge to find out.

So there you have it, not a bad way to see out your weekend. And as mentioned before, tickets can be bought on the door or in advance from the bands themselves – so click on the highlighted links in this BPREVIEW or click here for the Facebook Event Page.

On Sunday 1^st July, P.E.T headline at The Sunflower Lounge with support from Miilkk, The Butters Aliens + Flares – as presented by Psych Productions. For direct event information, visit www.facebook.com/events/1068346046636931

For more on P.E.T, visit www.facebook.com/petbanduk

For more on Miilkk, visit www.facebook.com/MIILKKBand

For more on The Butters Alien, visit www.soundcloud.com/buttersaliens

For more on Flares, visit www.facebook.com/Flares

For more on Psych Productions, visit www.psychproductions.co.uk

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, including venue details and full event listings, visit www.thesunflowerlounge.com

May 4, 2018May 5, 2018

SINGLE: ‘Tommy’ – P.E.T 04.05.18

Words by Ed King

On Friday 4^th May, P.E.T unleash their debut single ‘Tommy’ – available for free, gratis, nada, NOTHING, through iTunes, Spotify and other online streaming platforms. Bless their altruistic socks… it’s like Christmas without the snow. So, like Christmas.

‘Tommy’ is the first release from P.E.T since they formed back in October 2017. It’s somewhat of a rubber stamp of authority too, from a band who quite simply mean business.

Described as ‘Birmingham’s rising punk balloon’, P.E.T are now firmly at the forefront of Birmingham’s live music scene – with an endearing on and off stage persona, as well as some ball kickingly good live shows in their shadow. Intelligent, ferocious, absurdly funny, with a set list that pulls people into the stage like Pinhead hurling around a bunch of fish hooks on Hensley chains, P.E.T have spent the past 6 months or so kicking audiences into touch across the city.

Birmingham Review was lucky to snag P.E.T to support Rews at the Hare & Hounds on 22^nd March, a mere week after they tore The Sunflower Lounge a new orifice whilst opening for The Cosmics. Throwing speaker stacks of energy at you no matter where or with whom they seem to play, P.E.T are a band who work hard, deliver on stage, and are experiencing a frighteningly promising (yet well deserved) nascent in the local music secen. And they’re just, frickin’, awesome to watch live.

But now they’re recording/releasing as well, striking two off the holy trinity of ‘ones to watch’. A strong festival season or a high-profile support tour, before you ask. So, what’s this ‘ere ‘Tommy’ ruckus all about then..?

As you’d expect, the track wastes little time declaring itself – opening with a brutally strong guitar riff and bassline, from Molly MacDonald and Rosie Jones respectively, that reminds me of bands from before these punk proteges were even conceived. Literally.

Kris Szulecki’s rolling punch drums then build up to an immediate crescendo and introduce a slight key change; ‘Tommy’ hooks you from the off, then nipple twists a small surprise to keep you interested. You get the feeling very quickly this is a winner.

Absurdly together, the production values shine immediately – laying a confident base to the ferocity of Abi Whistance’s piercing vocals. Then this is where another ‘golden marker’ (as my friend used to call them) appears. P.E.T aren’t just making noise, even if it’s well structured and delivered noise, they have something to say. And whilst ‘Tommy’ isn’t a dissertation of the nuances of shifting global trade and foreign policy, it is a sly attack. Inspired by the on-stage antics of another local punk band, who may or may not have more than cider in their system, ‘Tommy’ is a loving dig at the drug addled culture and purported bravado of exuberance.

Whistance is in your face, with the intelligence to get that close and away with it, preaching her lyrics on a background of tight musicianship. Being all church choir and tofu growing up I wouldn’t know precisely what they’re talking about, but the sense of urgency and intent on ‘Tommy’ is unassailable. I’d even be a little bit proud if it was focused at me.

The downside, for there is always a downside, is this recording is arguably too polished. There’s a slight but exciting lull, if that’s even the right word, at around the 1:45min mark where I began looking for TV sets to jettison and windows high enough to do the job properly. On stage you could imagine this actually happening, or a least a chair or two finding it’s wings. But on the recording you are left to smash screens in your mind. Which feels, for this band, like a bit of a loss of the overall P.E.T experience.

There is a solution though, in fact there are two coming up – P.E.T are playing at The Sunflower Lounge on Friday 4^th May, supporting Bad Girlfriend, and then headlining their own free party at Get the Fear on Saturday 12^th May. And if this is in anyway your cup of snakebite, I strongly suggest you go and check them out live.

But if you can’t, then ‘Tommy’ is not a bad place to start – a punk decadent calling card from a band caught in the rising light of a seriously bright horizon. Awesome stuff. Now where’s my packet of silver Rizlas and wrap of toffee apple gone…

On Friday 4^th May, P.E.T release their debut single ‘Tommy’ – available through iTunes, Spotify and other online streaming platforms. For more on P.E.T, including streaming links and gig listings, visit www.facebook.com/petbanduk

P.E.T are supporting Bad Girlfriend at The Sunflower Lounge on Friday 4^thMay. For direct event information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit https://bit.ly/2IaWHnP

P.E.T will also be headlining a gig at Get the Fear in Digbeth on 12^th May – with support from Dead Summers, Solsara + DJ Jacky P. For direct event information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit https://bit.ly/2JS3FeB

April 18, 2018

BREVIEW: Love from Stourbridge – The Wonder Stuff & Ned’s Atomic Dustbin @ O2 Academy 15.04.18

Words by Abi Whistance / Pics by Steven Cook

It’s 15^th April and the holy trinity of Stourbridge are steadily attracting the masses on a Sunday night, pulling nineties indie veterans out of their local legions and into the doors of the O2 Academy in Birmingham.

Veterans like my own dad, and it didn’t take much more than an invite for him to pull out his Adidas Gazelles and a wad of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin CD’s for the car journey there – and back.

Of course, there are the younger admirers of the West Midlands indie heavyweights like myself, but Love from Stourbridge is ninety-nine percent over forty with a sprinkling of those barely legal that they’ve hauled along with them. Not to bash the nostalgia train though; tonight is the final lap of their grand tour of the UK, ending where things kicked off thirty years ago.

First of the gang is Pop Will Eat Itself’s very own Graham Crabb with his eclectic DJ set, hopping from The Prodigy to Arctic Monkeys at a pace that requires rapid auditory adjustment. But hey, leave the kid alone. “Let’s fucking have it!” he shouts over a questionable dubstep tune, one hand punching the air to the fast-paced rhythm and the other firmly planted on his headphones. Crabb’s having the time of his life, and although no heads are turning away from the direction of the bar it’s pretty clear that he probably won’t notice.

Thrashing like a six-foot fish out of water, Jonn Penney flings himself onto the stage accompanied by the rest of the cohort as they begin their set – 100% Ned’s Atomic Dustbin style. With no signs of age other than the loss of Penney’s mane (rest in peace, you’ll be sorely missed) Ned’s storm through tunes like ‘Suave and Suffocated’ and ‘Until You Find Out’ leaving barely any time for this crowd to rise for air.

Like a Pogo stick on a shed load of coke (if such a thing were possible) eyes can’t help but to follow Penney as he goes up and down, up and down… and then up and down again. “So, here’s the prediction, you get an affliction” he belts, dangling his lanky torso over the audience and finishing fan favourite ‘Walking Through Syrup’ with a menacing smirk spread across his face. “You’re all very old, to remind you all of that.” He smiles even wider, but despite a middle-aged crowd this clearly isn’t a softly-gently warm up, this is a powerhouse.

There’s not much time to gather yourself when ‘Terminally Groovy’ isn’t far behind, anticipation generating before the line we’ve all been dying to hear since we got here. “So, come on…” is all it takes to set us off, a thumping bassline carrying the crowd right through till the very end.

Six minutes of dancing, shouting and cavorting is all we have left of Ned’s for tonight. An encore consisting of iconic tracks ‘Kill Your Television’ and ‘Selfish’ is deemed necessary to rejuvenate an exhausted crowd, somehow breathing life back into those gasping for air and gagging for another beer and a fag before the final power chord rings out.

Hard to beat? Sure. Impossible to beat? Not according to The Wonder Stuff on a Sunday night. Frontman Miles Hunt is on top form, and the rest of the gang follow suit with the addition of violinist Erica Nockalls as a rather attention-grabbing counterpart. An interesting addition at that, with tunes like ‘Red Berry Joy Town’ and ‘Don’t You Ever’ getting the barnyard treatment thanks to her country-esque style.

It doesn’t take long before beers are flying, shirts are removed and tossed above heads, and Hunt has something to say about it. “Are you the guy who didn’t get the selfie in the pub earlier? Bit pissed off are we?” he jeers at the crowd, but essentially just prodding the bear who’ll more than likely just chuck another beer and a middle finger your way, sorry Miles.

Blasting through the next handful of hits, The Stuffies manage to cram ‘Circlesquare’, ‘The Size of a Cow’ and ‘Cartoon Boyfriend’ into about nine minutes and thirty seconds; an impressive achievement and potentially a new record time for them, well done lads and lass.

Social media paves the way for a much-anticipated poll result regarding the next track. Will it be ‘Radio Ass Kiss’ or ‘It’s Yer Money I’m After Baby’? Trick question, the answer is both. The result of the poll did mean that it should have only been the latter, but this wasn’t what The Stuffies wanted and, after all, they’re clearly the ones in charge here.

After a solid eighteen track set, a conclusion in the form of ‘Unbearable’ seems inevitable for the majority, but the rest are happy following up with ‘Ten Trenches Deep’ to say adieu. It’s been as wild of a night as possible for a Sunday, reminiscent of most of the crowd’s teenage years back in 1988 when Ned’s were still normal and the Eight-Legged Groove Machine was still grooving without the responsibility of a mortgage.

For more on The Wonder Stuff, visit www.thewonderstuff.co.uk

For more on Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, visit www.nedsatomicdustbin.com

For more on Pop Will Eat Itself, visit www.popwilleatitself.net/pwei

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

April 12, 2018April 11, 2018

BPREVIEW: Love from Stourbridge – The Wonder Stuff & Ned’s Atomic Dustbin @ O2 Academy 14/15.04.18

Words by Ed King

On Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th April, the Love from Stourbridge Tour comes to the O2 Academy Birmingham – with The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin both playing live, alongside a DJ set from Graham Crabb of Pop Will Eat Itself.

Doors open at the O2 Academy from 7pm, with tickets priced at £34.25 – as presented by Academy Events. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Back in the hey days of the late 80’s and early 90s – when Indie meant independent, the NME was still credible, and a singles chart position meant you’d actually sold some records (that were actual records), Britain’s alternative music scene was a pretty awesome place. And whilst Seattle was spewing out Cobain and Cornell (R.I.P. gents xx) slap bang in the middle of it all on this side of the pond was The Midlands, with The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin packing out shows at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre, The Hummingbird, and other 3k capacity venues before they became a haven for jungle and knife crime.

Both hailing from Stourbridge, a place God apparently created one wet Tuesday afternoon, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and The Wonder Stuff ran somewhat parallel to each other – with the former getting their ‘big break’ as the support band on the latter’s tours in 1989 and 1990. And aside from having the best name/t-shirts in music at the time (and possibly for some years afterwards, we’re open to suggestions here) Ned’s Atomic Dustbin are the edgier of the two, with notorious mosh pits, ferocious live shows, and overt murderous intent towards the nation’s goggle-boxes.

The Wonder Stuff, on the other hand, were the top rung of the Indie ladder back in ‘the day’ with consistent chart success, an international fanbase, and headline slots at leading UK music festivals – releasing four albums in five years, until the band’s split in 1994, with three of those LPs breaking the Top 5 in the official UK Album Charts. Their debut, Eight Legged Groove Machine, reached No.18. The Wonder Stuff may not be as angst ridden as Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (may I present Exhibit A, ‘Dizzy’, your honour) but they achieved phenomenal success and stayed rock and roll to the core, even when sharing the mic with Vic Reeves. They dressed a little better than Ned’s back then too.

But the best thing about these two bands is that if you stumble over their music today – regardless of age or naivety/cynicism – it still stands up, nearly 30 years after the first people upturned these Stourbridge stones. But I guess that’s what the Love from Stourbridge Tour is all about, dragging out the old fans for a night of nostalgia whilst gaining new fans by just being solid musicians performing on stage.

And whist there is new/newish material out there on-shelf and on iTunes, it wouldn’t be a bad show if we just sat in the least expensive part of the room and smashed a few Samsung flat screens… don’t worry, the reference points are below.

‘Welcome to the Cheap Seats’ – The Wonder Stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCMCvzPEsFc

________________

‘Kill Your Television’ – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin

On Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th, the Love from Stourbridge Tour comes to the O2 Academy Birmingham – with The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit https://bit.ly/2IMaduJ

For more on The Wonder Stuff, visit www.thewonderstuff.co.uk

For more on Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, visit www.nedsatomicdustbin.com

For more on Pop Will Eat Itself, visit www.popwilleatitself.net

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

March 30, 2018March 30, 2018

THE GALLERY: Rews @ Hare & Hounds 22.03.18

Words by Ed King / Pics by Aatish Ramchurn & Eleanor Sutcliffe

“…can anyone take my ticket?”

A man stands in the doorway at the Hare & Hounds, gesticulating like a proud Neville Chamberlain. OK, bad example. But it’s 7:30pm, the venue has just opened, and there’s a queue forming behind him. As gigs on a school night go this is looking promising.

And so it should be, the once ‘rising balloon’ now ‘rock powerhouse’ of Rews have returned to the city – bolting a Birmingham gig onto the end of their UK spring tour, before finishing their run with dates in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Plus, they’ve sold out. On a Thursday. Something that’s a shiny badge of honour for bands that play in the second city, and one that is unassailable Rews deserve.

Since releasing their debut album, Pyro, back in November 2017, the Marshall signed two piece have been relentless in their performances and promotion – with their penultimate single, ‘Your Tears’, recently receiving a week of A-List airplay on Radio One. Rews are on the march, and it’s working. This is a band that you only have to see play once to become hooked. And from most of the DJs on Auntie’s No1 station to the room full of people coming tonight, there’s many who’d agree.

The Hare 2 continues to fill up, with the venue’s narrow stairs looking like a bathroom queue at a house party. Roddy Woomble is playing in Hare 1, launching the promo campaign of this year’s Mosley Folk Festival, and it’s a busy night all round in Kings Heath. The buzz in the air is both cliché and palpable, with a healthy half room turnout by the time Rews’ first support band, P.E.T, swagger on stage – dripping head to toe in punk paraphernalia and attitude.

“Take your hands off me, I’M NOT YOUR P.E.T”, declares front woman, Abi Whistance, screaming into the mic and over the crowd – who have edged closer to the stage to find out where this ‘tiny but mighty’ noise is coming from.

P.E.T are relatively fresh faces on the Birmingham live circuit, having formed as the leaves fell in 2017. But already they’re already picking up a wealth of support and steam, with their unrelenting thrash punk and dead pan humour – stabbing the ribcages of the establishment with ‘Eton Mess’, to cutting off those wandering hands with their eponymous opening track. It’s raw, unashamed, and musically solid. This is a band who could get somewhere, or take us all down in the most colourful of ways whilst trying. But I’d watch out for P.E.T… tonight’s ‘rising balloon’ baton has been firmly handed over.

The rolling cymbal crashes and rough vocals of You Dirty Blue are on stage next, washing the room with waves of psychedelic and garage rock. I’m reticent to call it ‘blues rock’ again, as the man to my left is currently reading the BPREVIEW for tonight’s gig, smirking, shaking his head like a straight laced Will Self, and muttering “…this is not blues”. He might even be right, in his lexicon and record collection at least, but it seems no one really cares as the Tamworth two piece kick out tracks from their Tough Crowd EP and beyond.

Walls of sound are built and knocked to the ground, riffs get scatter gunned, as Leon James’ rough but endearing vocals lead us through a Velvet Underground tinged Purple Haze with some Seattle seeded two fingers up. You Dirty Blue’s final track, of both tonight’s set and their Tough Crowd EP – ‘Gallow Dancer’, punches a particular hole in the room, with a melodic hook and chorus I dedicate to the smart phone wielding ‘man to my left’. It’s like drowning in a lava lamp whilst John Peel and Bruce Pavitt play you ‘some really cool shit’. And if you have any room on the inside of your forearm left, carve You Dirty Blue as a musical reminder. Awesome stuff.

Some set changes ensue and fervent mummering begins, as Rews get ready for their headline set – the eager beaver Thursday night crowd pushing itself towards the front of the stage. Awesome to see such enthusiasm, but not easy when you’re juggling drum kits on a busy stage. Lights down, lights up, mummering stops, and like the opening scene in Back to the Future (minus the clock, coffee or dog food) we are poised – somewhere a plectrum glints…

Immediate and personable, Rews (aka Shauna Tohill and Collette Williams) beam their appreciation to the crowd and across the room – launching into the staple of tracks from their debut album. ‘Let it Roll’ bounces off stage declaring the rock intentions of tonight’s set, reeling in an already health and safety defying audience with invisible fish hooks. No one here gets out alive, or at least until the end of the set, as the great and good from Pyro and beyond (…album two?) get a rigorous shake. Or even ‘Shake Shake’, but not until a little later.

There’s a real joy in watching Rews perform, and not just because their already tight performance seems even more polished this time around. It’s the sheer energy and enjoyment you get sweeping off stage. Rews are in Birmingham at the end of a long and arduous tour (…think snow, lots of snow) but tonight could be the first time they’ve stepped on stage after a month in the sun and several nights of interrupted sleep. The banter is great as well, with the closeness between the two musicians making the whole room feel part of something special.

Then comes ‘the moment’. Rews had alluded to adding a “sort of an electro acoustic rendition of one of our older songs” into the set, after their gig in Leeds a few nights before. And as Williams leaves her stool to join Tohill at the front of the stage, this is what we’re about to get – soft steel strings and a tapped out percussion deliver a stripped back version of ‘Everything’, one of Rews’ older tracks that is getting a post Pyro make-over. It’s beautiful. My job is to find words but often I can’t, and this just works. Rews work. Add your own hyperbole.

Crammed into the edges of the merch stand, I let the rest of the set wash through me. I think I scribble the words ‘triumphant’ and ‘step up’ into my notebook, but any serious reportage is done for the day. Thankfully there’s a load of pics to help you piece this night together (see below) if you weren’t there to witness it first hand – with the full Flickr of pics from Aatish Ramchurn here, and from Eleanor Sutcliffe here.

And it you didn’t make it to the Hare and Hounds on 22^nd March, or if you’ve not seen this continuously impressive rock duo before, I strongly suggest checking Rews out for yourself. If you haven’t got a copy of Pyro, start there. But if you ever see them on a bill poster, in whatever corner of the globe you call home, then put your hands in your pocket and buy a ticket. It’s hard to imagine you’ll feel short changed. And next time Rews come back to Birmingham, you might want to move a little quickly whilst you’re at it.

Rews @ Hare & Hounds 22.03.18 / Aatish Ramchurn & Eleanor Sutcliffe