Birmingham Preview Archives

January 25, 2018January 25, 2018

BPREVIEW: The Death Show @ REP 26-27.01.18

Words by Ed King / Pics by Graeme Braidwood

Running from 26^th to 27^th January, Outer Circle Arts presents The Death Show – performed at Birmingham REP in The Door theatre space.

Tickets are priced at £14, with each evening performance scheduled for 8pm. There is a further matinee performance of The Death Show at 2:30pm on Saturday 27^th January, with a 30min panel discussion held after the performance with members of BrumYODO – ‘a community collective aiming to encourage open and honest conversations about death and dying.’

For direct event info on The Death Show at REP – including full programme times, venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Created by Birmingham based ‘thanatophobes’ (Google it) and independent theatre makers, Lucy Nicholls and Antonia Beck, The Death Show ‘is a darkly comic journey of discovery and contemplation, exploring our universal relationships with death and dying’.

An original new production tackling the oldest subject known to humanity (…perhaps the second oldest, after sex) the creative duo spent time at local hospices – talking to both patients and practitioners, shadowing undertakers and training with celebrants. Coming ‘face to face’ with the subject of death, Nicholls and Beck then penned The Death Show – a stage play, written for two protagonists as they encourage an audience ‘to celebrate their own mortality. To laugh, cry, stick two fingers up at the grim reaper and discover why talking about death is ultimately life affirming.’

For a man who thinks about death all, the, freaking, time, this is a welcome addition to a conversation that is seldom had, yet seldom more important to have. After all, in the words of another curly haired obnoxious drunk, ‘no one here gets out alive’. And a bit of constructive criticism of how society can hide, especially from the inevitable, is rarely a bad thing.

However my fear (other than the Christian right controlling the afterlife) is that we get distracted by funerals. Death and the ceremony of remembering the dead are, to me, separate issues – both ones that need confidently addressing in modern times, but separate none the less. Telling people I want to be buried under a plum tree will not save my soul.

In 2018 – the year of whatever lord or secular crutch you so choose to cling to – we live in an age of tacit denial, sure, but also with the most advanced resources and references in recorded history. With the World Wide Web, never before has the human species been able to share stories and information with such a wide and easy reach.

Studies have been conducted across the globe into cardiac arrest, near death experiences and the transition of ‘alive’ to ‘dead’ – as we currently call the two states of being. Indeed, Dr Sam Parnia was the lead author on the AWARE study at the University of Southampton, which ran from 2008 to 2014 and ‘examined the broad range of mental experiences in relation to death’ from over 2000 patients in the UK, US and Austria. Every British tabloid has published stories on near death experiences, scientifically researched or otherwise, so every British tabloid reader is aware of the discussion. There’s even a Wikipedia entry on the ‘Afterlife’.

But art can so often be a healthier catalyst to conversation, especially when we try to address/understand the darker fringes or ‘taboo’ subjects of the human endevour. It allows us to take a more detached delve into frightening waters, with the hope of finding answers and perhaps even solace. And as questions go, it doesn’t get more visceral than ‘what happens when you die?’

How long was that panel discussion again…?

The Death Show

The Death Show runs at the Birmingham REP (The Door) from 26^th to 27^th January – as presented by Outer Circle Arts. For direct event info, including full programme times, venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-death-show

For more on The Death Show, visit www.thedeathshow.co.uk

For more from the Birmingham REP, including full production listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

For more on Outer Circle Arts, visit www.outercirclearts.co.uk

For more from BrumYODO, visit www.brumyodo.org.uk

January 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

The Bottom Line perform at The Asylum 2 on Wednesday 24^th January, coming straight from their supporting slot on Waterparks’ sold out tour.

Promoted by Surprise You’re Dead! Music, doors to The Asylum 2 open at 6pm with the gig accessible to ages 14+. Standard tickets start from £10 on The Asylum website, and £11 (adv) on SeeTickets – for direct gig info and links to online ticket sales, click here.

Established in 2011, The Bottom Line have made waves across the scene since releasing their debut album Role Models? in the same year – from supporting pop-punk powerhouses Bowling for Soup and Simple Plan, to an eventful 2017 that saw the band play over 60 shows on a tour spanning the USA, Canada and Europe.

2018 sees the London based four-piece embarking on their biggest UK headline tour to date, coming to The Asylum in Birmingham at the midway point of six dates from Glasgow to London. Also this year, The Bottom Line are co-headlining the Saturday of Pop Punk Pile Up 2018 – sharing the top bill status with bands such as Room 94 and The King Blues over the course of the April weekender.

The Bottom Line’s aim ‘to make jumpy music and remind people that not everything sucks’ is reflected in their array of singles including ‘Cancel Christmas’ and ‘Insecure’, as well as their I Still Hate You EP, released in January 2018. Also worth checking out is the band’s Covered in Punk! album that includes covers of Wheatus, Weezer, Andrew W.K and Taylor Swift (accompanied by a hilarious parody on their Youtube channel) – available to download for free, along with their complete discography, on The Bottom Line’s Bandcamp page.

Known for their energetic live performances, interaction with fans and their self-proclaimed statement to ‘keep pop punk fun’, The Bottom Line have carved their place in the modern day pop-punk scene, with a nostalgic old school sound and vibe and songs that wouldn’t seem out of place alongside an early 2000’s pop-punk playlist – their video for ‘Record Player’ baring similarity to (or possibly paying homage) Sum 41’s ‘In Too Deep’ video.

Accompanying The Bottom Line on their UK tour are Newcastle based pop-punk four-piece Better Days, who take components of early 2000’s pop punk and intertwine them with newer takes and an emo undertone; Graeme Costello’s unique vocals overlap the band’s engrossing hooks and emotive lyrics.

Better Days have had an insanely packed past couple of years since forming – from releasing their debut single ‘This House’ in their conception year, to playing alongside bands such as Seaway, WSTR and Less Than Jake, as well as appearing at Slam Dunk festival, all since 2015.

Also on The Asylum bill are the Nottingham based alternative rock band Lacey, whose back-catalogue is compiled of catchy songs with sing-along choruses, incorporating elements of rock, pop-rock and post-emo. Lacey released their debut album, Under the Brightest Lights, back in 2015 – demonstrating their capabilities as a polished, compelling four-piece on the British rock scene.

With Lacey‘s follow up 5 track I Don’t Owe the World a Thing EP released in February 2016 – alongside their latest single, ‘Answers’, released in May 2017 – it wouldn’t be a bad idea to catch any of these bands in the smaller venues whilst you still can.

‘I Still Hate You’ – The Bottom Line

For more on The Bottom Line, visit www.thebottomlineuk.com

For more on Better Days, visit www.soundcloud.com/betterdaysband

For more on Lacey, visit www.laceyofficialuk.com

For more from The Asylum, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.theasylumvenue.co.uk

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk

January 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Wednesday 24th January, Miss May I arrive at Mama Roux’s in Birmingham as part of their We Are Stronger Than Before UK tour.

The concert is presented by Surprise You’re Dead! Music with tickets priced at £12 (adv) plus booking fee. Doors open at Mama Roux’s from 7pm. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Support acts for Miss May I in Birmingham, and the rest of the UK tour, include Texan metalcore band Fit for a King, Void of Vision from Australia, and Currents from Connecticut, USA.

Having previously supported Bullet for My Valentine and Killswitch Engage in 2013 and 2014, respectively, at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, Miss May I embark on their first headline tour of the UK in six years.

Miss May I originally formed in 2007 in Troy, Ohio. Almost a year after their formation, they signed to punk and metal label, Rise Records, and released their debut album Apologies for the Weak. The band would go on to release four more albums under Rise Records until they released their sixth and latest album, Shadows Inside, through SharpTone Records in 2017.

Throughout their 10 year career, Miss May I have managed to retain their original line up of Levi Benton on vocals, BJ Stead on lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist Justin Aufdemkampe, drummer Jerod Boyd, and Ryan Neff on bass. Although Neff briefly left Miss May I between 2007 – 2009, when he joined Cincinnati rockers Rose Funeral, and was replaced by Josh Gillespie during his absence.

As their upcoming UK tour is titled from the opening lyrics of Miss May I’s single ‘Lost In The Grey’, from their latest Shadows Inside album, it would be safe to assume that their setlist will heavily feature a lot of new tracks, as well as a few favourites from previous albums.

But whatever the main setlist, with a packed support lineup consisting of Fit for a King, Void of Vision, and Currents, metalcore fans of Birmingham should have enough to keep them occupied when Miss May I headline at Mama Roux’s on Wednesday 24th January.

‘Shadows Inside’ – Miss May I

For more on Miss May I, visit www.missmayimusic.com

For more on Fit for a King, visit www.fitforakingband.com

For more on Void of Vision, visit www.voidofvision.com

For more on Currents, visit www.currentsofficial.com

For more on Mama Roux’s, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk

January 21, 2018

THE GALLERY: The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

Tuesday evening. My car headlights stop working on my drive home, and the surprise flakes falling late at night are sticking to the ground. I’m hoping that on Wednesday I don’t wake up to eight inches of snow, and I can find a garage to fit me in to fix my headlights. Thankfully, both of my wishes are granted, and I have no problem making my way to see The Bronx live in Birmingham.

Knowing that the night has sold out, I arrive early to Digbeth’s most quaintly-decorated venue, Mama Roux’s. Standing by the stage in a virtually empty room, I watch it gradually fill up, with those arriving the earliest heading straight upstairs to the balcony to get the best view.

Until this point, I was unaware of who the support act was going to be, or if there even was a support act. I’d only seen this gig promoted by Surprise You’re Dead! Music, as The Bronx playing their latest album, The Bronx V, ‘in its entirety’. I found it a little hard to believe that The Bronx would be playing two and a half hour sets up and down the country.

Not that I doubt that they could. They’ve been touring as both The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx for 15 years, even playing as both bands on the same night. It was just a gut feeling that there had to be someone supporting them throughout this club venue tour.

As it turns out, Ming City Rockers, from Immingham, are supporting The Bronx on their UK album showcase gigs. The East Lincolnshire rockers capture the attention of the audience with their fast-paced, punk rock and roll sound, reminiscent of The Buzzcocks and MC5.

Although there’s no restriction on the amount of photos I can take of bands at Mama Roux’s, I decide to impose the three song rule on myself, just so I can enjoy the rest of Ming City Rocker’s short, but powerful set, along with the rest of the audience. If you like your bands fast, loud, and slightly obnoxious (I mean that in a good way), their album, Lemon, would be worth checking out.

As Ming City Rockers leave the stage, I feel naturally drawn into the dispersion of the room, until this thought suddenly dawned on me: ‘This floor will be packed with people nearer the time The Bronx are on, do I really want to move away from the stage?’

I position myself to the left, until I’m wedged between stage speakers and the rest of the front row. I’m aware I’m not going to be in this position for too long but I have a decent place to start shooting from before things get less than ideal.

With the instruments set up, and beers settled by each amplifier, The Bronx are warmly welcomed by the Birmingham crowd. Frontman, Matt Caughthran, edges closer to the audience, greeting them as if meeting an old friend, before the band explodes into The Bronx V from start to finish. With where I’m positioned, I take advantage of getting shots in the limited time Matt Caughthran spends on stage – he seems more comfortable out in the middle of the crowd.

I’d gone into this gig presuming that my biggest challenge would be trying to get focused pictures in the middle of a frantic mosh pit, with an onslaught of stage divers and a poorly-lit environment.

However, it was something else entirely. Whenever Matt Caughthran was down in the room, from where I was perched on the slightly poked out corner of a speaker to give me a higher vantage point, I found myself in a Where’s Wally? situation, as I was having trouble differentiating which out of the many bald, tattooed men present was The Bronx’s frontman. Following the trail of the microphone cable into the crowd didn’t help me find him either, as he’s quite short. There were times I’m sure I was focusing on the wrong person.

After playing their fifth, eponymous release from their record label, White Drugs, The Bronx ventured into more familiar territory, with fan favourites such as ‘White Guilt’, ‘Knifeman’, and set closer ‘History’s Stranglers’.

I know us concert photographers tend to prefer to shoot in the comfort of photo pits, away from people knocking our elbows in minimal space. But I have to admit, shooting a vibrant punk show in a packed out, intimate venue with poor lighting, not only provides a fun, yet frustrating challenge. It also gives you images that document the soul of punk rock in Birmingham.

The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on The Bronx, visit www.thebronxxx.com

_________

Ming City Rockers – supporting The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Ming City Rockers, visit www.mingcityrockers.co.uk

For more on Mama Roux’s, Birmingham, including full events listings, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk

January 21, 2018January 20, 2018

BREVIEW: Andy Zaltzman @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 19.01.17

Words by Helen Knott

Andy Zaltzman is perhaps best known for his political podcast The Bugle, which he originally presented with Brummie comedian John Oliver, before Oliver (as Zaltzman jokes, “the notorious Birmingham traitor”) moved to America to present the satirical talkshow Last Week Tonight on HBO.

Indeed tonight’s show, Satirist for Hire, has the air of an off-the-cuff, topical podcast. There’s no co-presenter, so instead Zaltzman bounces off the audience with the show based on our suggestions of topics that we would like to be satirised. It’s a clever way of creating a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, with the crowd in the packed and stuffy Glee Club studio space – comfortable enough to join Zaltzman in the spotlight, as they make suggestions and talk about their interests.

This does mean that Zaltzman isn’t always the one with the funniest lines, however. The biggest laugh of the night comes when Zaltzman, tongue in cheek of course, asks the audience if there is any way at all that America is better than Britain. Someone shouts out, “America has John Oliver”. Ouch. But Zaltzman is a humble and generous enough performer to not let this faze him – hecklers are gently chided, rather than brutally put down.

It’s also almost inevitable that, when the premise is that the jokes are based on issues suggested by the audience, the resulting show is going to be patchy and disjointed. No matter how good a comedian is, there are always going to be some subjects that they just don’t know enough about. Tonight is a real mixed bag, with suggestions including Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, “standards of driving in Birmingham”, The Ashes, “graduation and despair” (Zaltzman quips, “my favourite Mike Leigh film”) and “the oeuvre of 80s hair metal band Kiss”.

Some of these subjects work better than others. Zaltzman‘s section on Brexit, where he examines some of the reasons people voted the way that they did (“let’s not forget that there were fuckwits on both sides of this”) is really funny. Less successful are attempts to tell jokes about Kiss and Star Wars – two things Zaltzman admits to having little interest in. Jokes about sport, including cricket, football and even snooker, are strong, though sometimes a little niche. After a gag about French nuclear testing gets a lukewarm response, Zaltzman jokes, “this gig’s got everything”.

Zaltzman himself admits that the show is “a bit up and down, not sure I’ve been on the top of my game”. If a comedian is delivering basically the same scripted set for every show, having an off-night isn’t going to have such a big impact as it does in a freer format, like this one. Having said that, not even the pre-prepared sections of the evening completely hit home. Zaltzman ends the set with a twenty-minute section about Trump; the idea is that if he can turn Trump into a cricket fan he will naturally become a better person, as all cricket fans are good people. It’s certainly a novel way of addressing Trump comedically, but it’s much too long and the final punchline just isn’t funny enough.

In essence, this sketch sums up the whole gig. It’s a fun evening, but the show would have benefit from a tighter structure and some sharper gags. Zaltzman’s likeable comedy persona isn’t quite enough to hold things together, resulting in a gig that has its moments, but never reaches the heights of the very best satirical comedy.

Andy Zaltzman – Satirist for Hire

For more on Andy Zaltzman, visit www.andyzaltzman.co.uk

For more from The Glee Club venues, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk