alternative rock Archives

February 13, 2018February 12, 2018

BPREVIEW: Don Broco @ O2 Academy 15.02.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

On Thursday 15^th of February, Don Broco will be performing at O2 Academy Birmingham with support coming from Japan’s ambiguous animal headed rockers Man with a Mission, and Brighton’s brightest dark stars Yonaka.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced from £22.50 (plus booking fee) – as presented by Kilimanjaro Live. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Don Broco have stolen the spotlight recently, and for good reason. Since the release of their debut album, Priorities, in 2012, they’ve been steadily climbing up the ranks of the alternative rock scene. The further release of their sophomore album in 2015, Automatic, secured them tours with You Me At Six and 5 Seconds Of Summer, plus a signing to Sharptone Records who house metalcore bands such as Attila and We Came As Romans.

However, it’s their latest album that’s been causing waves in the scene at the minute – Technology has been hailed by Rock Sound as ‘a monster of a modern rock record’. Don Broco’s aesthetic and style has morphed over the years, and it seems only for the better.

They’ve come a long way from the days of their debut and older material, that’s for sure – Google ‘Thug Workout’ from their Big Fat Smile EP and you’ll see exactly what I mean. But having seen these guys for the first time in Cardiff Student Union in 2015, it was always clear they were destined for bigger stages.

The last time this band swung through Birmingham was at Slam Dunk 2017, where they delivered a stellar show to a packed out Genting Arena. And with Technology currently on repeat in every alternative bar and club I visit, Birmingham seems to be primed for the return of Don Broco in 2018.

‘Come Out to LA’ – Don Broco

Don Broco perform at the O2 Academy Birmingham on Thursday 15^th February, with support from Man with a Mission and Yonaka. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham/don-broco

For more on Don Broco, visit www.donbroco.com

For more on Man with a Mission, visit www.mwamjapan.info

For more on Yonaka, visit www.weareyonaka.com

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

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

October 9, 2017October 8, 2017

THE GALLERY: New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

The thing with the days now getting shorter is that the moment it starts turning dark, you feel like you’re running late.

At least, that’s how I felt as I was making my way to the O2 Academy – heading out to see long-time pop punk band, New Found Glory, as they arrive in Birmingham for their 20 Years of Pop Punk tour. Turns out I wasn’t late at all, but rather ten minutes early.

Each date of New Found Glory’s UK 20 Years of Pop Punk tour features tracks from two of their nine albums, plus songs from their new album, Makes Me Sick.

Birmingham’s set list would include tracks from Sticks and Stones and the self titled New Found Glory, albums which contained the more popular songs that propelled them to fame in the early 2000s.

Opening the night is Eastbourne’s five-piece, ROAM – the only support act. Soon to be releasing their second album on Hopeless Records, Great Height & Nosedives, ROAM grace the stage with an energetic set of heavy, pop punk anthems, at times encouraging circle pits. Judging from the people singing at the front ROAM have been built quite a fanbase in Birmingham and, after this set, have probably gained some new ones.

On to New Found Glory, who began their career as a quintet until guitarist Steve Klein left the band in 2014. The stage darkens, and the ‘Happy Anniversary’ melody from an episode of The Flintstones plays before they storm onto the stage, opening with ‘Understatement’.

I’m fairly certain that from the start there were four photographers in the photo pit. But that number appears to have doubled about one minute later, as if we have multiplied like Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty. All of us are scrambling across the photo pit as Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka and Chad Gilbert pace across the stage, showing no signs of ever slowing down.

As well as having to watch myself not bumping into other photographers, security has to look after the flurry of oncoming crowd surfers. I guess the ‘No Crowdsurfing’ sign, usually seen in both the O2 Institute and O2 Academy, is being ignored for tonight. Needless to say, this was probably the most intense photo pit experiences I’ve had (or so I thought before KRS-One).

Although the 20 Years of Pop Punk wasn’t a sell out show tonight there is still a decent turn out, with voices from the front to the back of the room singing along in pop punk unity to ’My Friends Over You’ at the end of the set. But New Found Glory’s night in Birmingham didn’t end at the O2 Academy, as they made a brief appearance at Subside, in Digbeth, to play DJ set and take photos with some of their fans.

New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

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ROAM – supporting New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Saturday 30th September 2017, New Found Glory come to the O2 Academy in Birmingham as part of their extensive, international 20 Years of Pop Punk tour. Support for New Found Glory comes from Eastbourne pop-punk band, ROAM.

The tour is presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours with tickets priced at £25.30, inclusive of booking fee. Doors open at O2 Academy from 7pm. For direct event info and online tickets from Gigs and Tours, click here.

A self explanatory, yet hard to believe, title for their tour, New Found Glory kick off the UK leg of their global 20 Years of Pop Punk Tour in Glasgow on 27th Sept, arriving at the O2 Academy in Birmingham on Saturday 30th September – just one year after playing at last year’s Slam Dunk festival at the Genting Arena.

New Found Glory formed as a quintet in 1997, in Coral Springs, Florida. They signed their first record deal with Drive Thru Records and released From The Screen To Your Stereo in March 2000 – an EP consisting of covers from movie soundtracks, including Bryan Adams’ ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You)’.

Alongside the likes of Blink 182 and Sum 41, New Found Glory cemented their place as one of the leading pop punk bands in the early 2000s with songs such as ‘Hit or Miss’, even finding their way into the American Pie soundtracks.

2014, however, saw one of their long standing members, Steve Klein, leave the band due to creative differences. The band were due to replace Klein but opted to carry on as quartet, consisting of vocalist (and Quentin Tarantino lookalike) Jordan Pundik, lead guitarist and former Shai Hulud vocalist Chad Gilbert, bassist Ian Grushka, and drummer Cyrus Bolooki.

Having released their ninth studio album, Makes Me Sick, earlier this year on Hopeless Records, New Found Glory will have plenty of material (20 years worth, in fact) to keep both their longstanding and new fans in Birmingham celebrating their long career as a pop punk band.

‘Sound of Two Voices’ – New Found Glory

For more on New Found Glory, visit www.newfoundglory.com

For more on ROAM, visit www.roamuk.bandcamp.com

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

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