Phil Wang emerges on stage at The Glee Club to the strains of ‘Kung Fu Fighting’, setting the scene for an evening where the influence of his East Asian heritage is never too far away.
During this 90 minute show, titled Kinabalu – named after the highest mountain in Malaysia, Phil Wang covers a multitude of topics, from Chinese New Year, to his aim to die a hero’s death, to his dislike of scary movies (which he dismisses as “a purely western privilege” as no one needs to watch scary movies in Syria). Wang‘s on-stage persona is of a 28-year-old man who is probably not quite as cool as he thinks he is. He may equate buying lube with being a true adult, but he’s buying it in Waitrose and he’s not happy about the high price.
The set is littered with brilliant gags (personal favourite: “You ever done a fart so bad you lose a bar on the Wi-Fi?”) but Wang is most compelling when he concentrates on serious issues. His heritage – he’s half Malaysian, half British – gives him a strong voice on subjects such as Brexit, colonialism, and racism. Wang may have lived in the UK for his entire adult life, but he maintains an outsider’s point of view: for example, he feels more comfortable being patriotic than his British-born friends because he knows what it’s like to live somewhere without the things we take for granted. In short, “You can drink your tap water!”
Wang’s section on Brexit may include some fairly straightforward quips (“I voted remain, as you can tell by my vocabulary”) but it comes through the filter of his childhood in Malaysia, which was part of the British Empire. He argues that globalisation, which brought his parents together and Wang to the UK, came about because of entities like the British Empire. Therefore, in his eyes it’s not a wholly negative period of history, for Malaysia at least. He suggests that the EU is “the first empire built by peace instead of war”, and he’s disappointed that the British public rejected it. It’s interesting stuff, and a take on Brexit (a subject that no comedian seems to be able to avoid at the moment) that is genuinely fresh on the stand up circuit.
Despite the show’s focus on Phil Wang as an entity – his family, his career, his relationships – you get surprisingly little sense of Wang the man. He still has his guard up, often referring to himself in the third person and continually punning on his own surname for a cheap laugh. The only part of the show where it feels like you see the authentic Phil Wang is when, after a section about his girlfriend, he admits that they split up a month ago but he hasn’t bothered to change his material. It’s a fleeting feeling however, as the newly-single Wang quickly turns it into a hammy call-out for groupies.
As a show, Kinabalu is a little too long and doesn’t have much of an overarching thrust – it really just peters out at the end. But when you have jokes as good as Phil Wang, it doesn’t matter too much. Although on his next tour I’m hoping for maybe fewer lube stories and more insightful political analysis.
On Thursday 22nd March, the rock powerhouse of Rews returns to Birmingham – closing off their England tour dates with a special headline gig at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath).
Support on the night comes from Tamworth’s garage rock two piece, You Dirty Blue, and Birmingham’s rising punk balloon, P.E.T
At the time of writing this gig has all but sold out, with literally only a handful of tickets left on sale. There are also waiting lists available, for returns and cancellations, through the registered ticket agents – but it’s changing by the hour, so click on the following links for Ticketmaster, Skiddle or See Tickets to get updates and info. And hopefully tickets.
You can also check in with one of the support bands, You Dirty Blue or PE.T, as well as us at Birmingham Review HQ who will be mopping up any local returns. We suggest you do it quickly though and with a few fingers crossed – swing over to the Birmingham Review Facebook event page for this gig, or email info@birminghamreview.net and we’ll can check down the backs of a few cyber sofas for you.
The term ‘rising balloon’ gets bandied about these days, and quite often by me. It’s exciting to see an artist in nascent and the tried/tested metaphor is often an appropriate badge of both recognition and applause. But I can’t use this term for Rews anymore, as their rising balloon got caught on the tail end of a NASA space shuttle and is now in confident orbit around the planet. Quite simply, and without allegory or hyperbole, Rews are set for huge things. HUGE. SO NOW I’M USING CAPITALS INSTEAD.
And every inch of it is deserved. Not only have Rews mastered the addictive rock formula on record but they are phenomenal live. PHENOMENAL. So phenomenal, in fact, that after seeing Rews at The Flapper in February 2017 we booked them to headline the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase at the Actress & Bishop the following November – a venue now probably fundraising for a new roof, after Rews tore the old one clean off and scattered it across the city. We’re biased, but it was a stonker of a gig. Which seems to be de rigueur for Rews as their relentless touring and festival sets have won them a huge fanbase in a relatively short space of time. And again, every inch of it is deserved.
Rews’ debut album, Pyro, is a stellar debut too – being one of the first artists signed to Marshall Records and doing the iconic rock brand nothing but proud. And if you haven’t already got yourself a copy of then 1) shame on you, 2) shame on you again, 3) get thee to an online retailer before we fetch the wooden spoon and naughty step. You can read our Birmingham Review of Pyro here.
The reciprocal feather in the cap of this gig is that Rews added Birmingham onto their spring tour dates because of the all-round awesomeness of their last gig in the city. So, this is down to you. Yes, you. The live music endorsing public and punters of Birmingham, you did this. It’s not too often that Birmingham sits as one of the cherries on a national tour circuit, but for Rews we are. Or were. And shall be again. So, with a single (tough and manly) tear in one eye and civic pride in my belly, I salute you all. VIVE LE BIRMINGHAM LIVE MUSIC SCENE.
But it’s not all Rews, Rews, Rews… as much as that would suffice, you’re getting two more bands for your musical buck on 22nd March. Lucky sods, the lot of you.
First up is the Tamworth based garage rock two piece, You Dirty Blue. Well established on the local live circuit, Birmingham Review happened across You Dirty Blue at Centrala back in July 2017 – as they joined a pretty stellar line up at The Hungry Ghost’s ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ single launch.
Although sandwiched by the great and good, You Dirty Blue were one of the stand out acts from the evening – with the gloriously raw yet proficient edges that any true DIY artist needs to make their mark. We became hooked. And a few months later we got to sink our teeth in a little deeper, as You Dirty Blue released their ‘monstrous debut’ EP, Tough Crowd, just before Christmas. In short, we gave it a resounding thumbs up… with a cheeky middle finger thrown in for good measure. But again you can always read our Birmingham Review of Tough Crowd for yourself, just click here. Pah… independent thought is for suckers.
Second support for the night comes from P.E.T – ‘Birmingham’s rising punk balloon’… for want of a better expression. But that they are; P.E.T are the new kids on the Brummie block and have already racked up a few decent support gigs and industry endorsements since forming in late 2017.
In your face, feisty, not shy of screaming into the microphone, P.E.T are the essence of post-punk punk. But they’ve got the smarts to go with it – citing an impressive list of influences that many older (self-declared) aficionados wouldn’t have in their cultural cache. Go ahead, test it, ask P.E.T“…do you know a band called The Slits?” and see what happens.
Plus, they’ve got all the raw bolshiness that you can get from a band who just love playing and performing – you ‘aint going to see P.E.T on a stage and forget about them in a hurry, especially if your standing at the front. But we think they’re mostly harmless. At least, no one’s been injured yet. Not visibly. Keep an eye out for P.E.T though, we sense curious times ahead.
And as a picture paints a thousand words, and there’s nearly that above us already, we though we’d end with a few moving image reminders of Rews. Too tough to pick one song, so we’ve gone for two – one recorded, one live. Viddy below my droogs and we’ll see you at the Hare & Hounds on 22nd March:
‘Your Tears’ – Rews
‘Can You Feel It?’ – Rews (live at Hawley Arms for Camden Rocks)
Rews perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) on Thursday 22nd March, with support from You Dirty Blue and P.E.T – as presented by Metropolis Music and Birmingham Review. For direct event information and online ticket sales, visit http://bit.ly/2FL53hm
On Wednesday 21st March, Paloma Faith performs at the Genting Arena – with support from the Liverpool based jazz and soul artist, XamVolo.
Doors open at the Genting Arena from 5pm (Forum) and 6pm (Arena), with XamVolo performing at 7:30pm followed by Paloma Faith’s headline set at 8:30pm. Tickets are priced at £40.45 / £51.75 depending on your position within the arena, as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours.
Paloma Faith is out on tour with her fourth studio album, The Architect – coming to the Genting Arena to play one of her final England based shows, before heading out for two dates in Ireland and two dates in Australia. Paloma Faith has further UK dates planned for June, July and August, including the inevitable appearances across the festival season. For direct information on all the Paloma Faith shows announced for 2018, click here.
The Architect was released in November 2017, entering the UK charts at No1. No small achievement. Mind you, Paloma Faith’s previous three albums all hit the double platinum markers in the UK albums charts. So no small achievement times three, times 600k, and counting. And to think Epic Records wanted to wait a while…
Championed by Radio 2, Paloma Faith was invited to headline one of a series of special concerts from the broadcaster as part of The Architect’s introduction in last year. And despite a somewhat overzealous smoke machine, the show introduced a breadth of new content to Faith’s already fervent fanbase.
Inspired by the call to arms of common concerns and compassion that Marvin Gaye presented with What’s Going On, Paloma Faith’s fourth album moved away from the tropes of relationships, heartbreak, love and loss – exploring a more socio-political landscape and the issues we all face within it.
The album’s opening track, ‘Evolution’, features a soliloquy from Samuel L Jackson about the dichotomy of masculinity, with writer and political/social activist Owen Jones offering a reminder of the basic human rights much of society had to fight for (and our responsibilities to honour those who fought for them) in ‘Politics of Hope’.
But love is always at the heart, and even if it embraces socio-political thoughts, ambitions and endeavour, The Architect is not an outright political record. It’s a human record.
Plus, a Paloma Faith show is just that, a show. And the arena tour that’s supporting her latest LP is set to be packed with all the soul and spectacle the world has come to expect from this unique artist and performer.
‘Til I’m Done’ Paloma Faith (live session)
Paloma Faith performs at the Genting Arena on Wednesday 21st March, with support from XamVolo – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/paloma-faith
On Monday 12th March, Hunger Moon release their debut single ‘Oh Friend’ – wasting precious little time for a band that only formed at the tail end of last year, ‘deep in the heart of Birmingham’s warehouse and creative quarter’.
But who need independent thought or travel? Sit back, make yourself a cup of tea, look wistfully at rain, and let Birmingham Review do all the cognitive reasoning. Ssshhhh, there there… We’ll tell you.
But first a bit of background… Hunger Moon are the newly formed two piece from vocalist Natalie Jenkins and multi instrumentalist James Atwood, with a sound that draws immediate comparisons to London Grammar and Daughter. Their debut single, ‘Oh Friend’, had Ryan Pinson working behind the glass – with the skeleton written and rehearsed in Digbeth, and the skin produced at RML Studios in Wolverhampton. So, there’s a pretty solid start.
In the words of Hunger Moon, ‘Oh Friend is an ode to companionship, which has been the single constant within the lives of the duo over the past year throughout changes, some for better and others for worse’ and you get an immediate sense of longing, loss, or both.
Mournful yet comforting, ‘Oh Friend’ opens with an echoed guitar riff that is the linchpin to the Daughter comparison. Then after about 15 seconds, Jenkins’ vocals power though with the titular lyrics and ushering in the London Grammar comparison. This low cloud rolls across the horizon, with some ‘soft piano nuances and subtle electronics’ nudging their way in towards the end of Minute #1, before the instrumentation steps back leaving Jenkins’ vocals to introduce the first crescendo towards the end of Minute #2. A silent thunderclap… and downpour, with the emotional ebb and flow continuing in layers until the end of this nearly 5min single.
There is a beautiful proficiency to ‘Oh Friend’, with a confident subtly propelling an addictive melody. It’s not an easy sound to deliver well, and Hunger Moon have taken some bold steps down a road that is full of homage and potholes. But superbly handled by Ryan Pinson, the delicate strength that this genre requires is given its appropriate balance here. Plus, it could have been easily clipped to make it more radio (length) friendly but in fact saves the best minute for last.
As debuts go, ‘Oh Friend’ is solid introduction, managing to find a new corner of the electro/pop shadows to lurk in. The melody is rife too, which bodes well for an album of material to wrap around it – an LP we sincerely hope is on its way. But if we were to find one piece of constructive criticism, as is our job, it would be that the strength of Jenkins’ vocals can sometimes be a little, a small touch on the desk perhaps, too much in the lead. And to jump back to the two previous comparisons, one of these bands falls into this trap too, whist the other nails it perfectly on its perfect nail shaped head.
So, this is a little par for the course for the genre, kinda sorta. And having a strong asset in your box of musical tricks is one of those better problems to have. But for the first foray for Hunger Moon, ‘Oh Friend’ is cracking introduction from a band we have a sneaking suspicion have a lot more to offer over the next twelve months.
‘Oh Friend’ – Hunger Moon
Hunger Moon release their debut single, ‘Oh Friend’, on Monday 12th March – available through all major music platforms.
On 18th March, The Gilded Merkin returns to The Glee Club Birmingham for another night of burlesque and cabaret. According to BBC’s John Hess, it will be “a hugely generous dollop of magical sophisticated glamour” – what better way to spend your Sunday evening?
As usual, The Gilded Merkin is programmed and hosted by Scarlett Daggers – a fiery redhead with ten years experience on the UK burlesque circuit. Scarlett Daggers’ rockabilly flair also makes her a favourite at car shows and tattoo conventions up and down the country, and saw her perform at the F1 Grand Prix Silverstone.
Taking a break from his role as resident host for Tres Tres cabaret in Stafford and La De Da Cabaret in Derby, comedian and vocalist Stage Door Johnny will be joining the line-up at The Gilded Merkin. Known for his wit, charm, and love of musical theatre, Stage Door Johnny promises to have the audience “eating from the palm of his hand – sometimes literally…”
Also on the bill is international artist Miss Betsy Rose, who was ranked the UK’s number one burlesque performer of 2016 by 21st Century Burlesque Magazine. Miss Betsy Rose’s classic look and professional dance background embody the spirit of early burlesque, and have seen her appear in French Vogue, ID, Harpers Bazaar and Italian Playboy.
Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer will also be at The Gilded Merkin, combining jump-up, rap and banjolele to create an art form he’s labeled as ‘chap hop’. His electro-swing tracks have garnered a huge YouTube following and landed Mr.B live sessions with BBC Radio’s Rob Da Bank, Nick Grimshaw, Steve Lamacq and Shaun Keaveny, to name but a few.
Also performing is Lolo Brow, a green haired Londoner who describes herself a neo-burlesque performer, drag queen and lizard lady. Named the Burlesque Awards Performer of the Year 2016, Lolo Brow combines her circus skills and total lack of respect for stage/audience boundaries to shock and delight.
Last but certainly not least is Dave the Bear, who appears online under the username ‘bighairygrowler’; his various acts are said to involve, glitter, latex, mirror balls and his alter ego ‘Maria Beary’. Dave the Bear has previously appeared in all his hirsute glory on the cover of Playbear magazine, as well as showing off his comedy chops on 8 out of 10 Cats and The Xtra Factor.
If there’s not something in The Gilded Merkin‘s showcase of burlesque and cabaret that grabs your attention this Sunday, I don’t know what to say to you… Try church?
The Gilded Merkin presents a showcase of burlesque and cabaret at The Glee Club on Sunday 18th March – presented by Scarlett Daggers. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk/performer/gilded-merkin-birmingham
Wang’s section on Brexit may include some fairly straightforward quips (“I voted remain, as you can tell by my vocabulary”) but it comes through the filter of his childhood in Malaysia, which was part of the British Empire. He argues that globalisation, which brought his parents together and Wang to the UK, came about because of entities like the British Empire. Therefore, in his eyes it’s not a wholly negative period of history, for Malaysia at least. He suggests that the EU is “the first empire built by peace instead of war”, and he’s disappointed that the British public rejected it. It’s interesting stuff, and a take on Brexit (a subject that no comedian seems to be able to avoid at the moment) that is genuinely fresh on the stand up circuit.
