birminghampromoters Archives -

August 3, 2017

BPREVIEW: Ideal Club @ Actress & Bishop 04.08.15

Presented by Birmingham Promoters, Ideal Club are headlining the Actress & Bishop on the 4^th of August – supported by Mallavora, The Hole in the Head Gang, and The Kingcrawlers.

The night is scheduled to start at 19:30 and tickets are priced at £6.00, excluding bookings fees etc. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

This is an evening set to hammer your ears. In a good way. And believe me, trying to find a way to describe a good way to have your ears hammered is no easy feat.

The first act are The Kingcrawlers, a solid rock band reminding me of Thin Lizzy and Saxon era classic rock/NWOBHM, followed by The Hole in the Head Gang (one of the only bands I’ve seen in a long time using Myspace) who will be bringing a slightly psychedelic edge to things. The penultimate set will be by Mallavora who are described by Birmingham Promoters as ‘a home-made mix of heavy music, light vocals and accessible lyrics’ which to me sums up their mix of ‘Arctic Monkey’ vocals, Muse guitar and heavy hitting rhythm section very well.

Our headliners for the evening are, of course, Ideal Club and if you haven’t seen them before you might be forgiven for wondering what they’re all about. The name and the striking, brightly coloured pop-art style logos put me in mind of a dance artist or maybe an electronica band. Something to go raving to. And to be fair, not having a website or a list of influences on their Facebook page doesn’t particularly help.

Have no fear lovers of guitar music and hard rock, Ideal Club are not what they may first appear.

If you were to look at a roster containing The Black Keys, The Vines and Royal Blood, Ideal Club would fit in there very well. Putting a bit of funk into punk and wrapping it in an anthemic uplifting package seems to be their mission and I think they do it pretty damn well.

Originally forming in 2015 Ideal Club have, until recently, been a four-piece. This year for reasons as yet unknown, they are performing as a three-piece comprising; Dan Beckett on vocals and guitar, Lee Cartmell on bass and David James on drums. The hunt for a lead/second guitarist goes on but happily seems to have had no impact on their busy schedule other than to offer a ‘limited edition’ run of reduced line-up performances for fans to talk about.

Ideal Club started strong in 2015, announcing they would have their first show only three months after their appearance online. And that was at the O2 Institute so hardly an unknown venue. Sadly, the headline band were unwell and the show never happened but, even so, it then took until the 20^th of May 2016 before they got their first headline show at The Flapper and Firkin.

Equally, they were first in the studio in October 2015 and announcing their first song release, ‘Are You Listening?’, on the 9^thbut it has taken until the 24^th of February this year for their first official EP to be released. Also called Are You Listening? and containing the song of the same title (presumably re-recorded).

I think it would be fair to say that while Ideal Club do all the right things, they don’t move very fast. That said, I’m told (again and again) that patience is a virtue and while it’s not one I’ve ever had, good things may come to those who wait. We’ve been waiting for Ideal Club to get to this point; it could well be the Actress & Bishop crowd are in for a treat on Friday 4th August.

‘Breathe’ – Ideal Club

Ideal Club play at the Actress & Bishop on Friday 4^th August, with support from Mallavora, The Hole in the Head Gang, and The Kingcrawlers – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Ideal Club, visit www.soundcloud.com/idealclub

For more on Mallavora, visit www.soundcloud.com/mallavoraofficial

For more on The Hole in The Head Gang, visit www.myspace.com/theholeintheheadgang

For more on The Kingcrawlers, visit www.soundcloud.com/the-kingcrawlers

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For more from the Actress & Bishop, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop

For more from the Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: MeMe Detroit @ Actress & Bishop 28.07.17

Words by Damien Russell

On Friday 28^th July, MeMe Detroit is hosting and headlining at the Actress & Bishop – releasing her new single, ‘How She Runs’. Detroit is joined by Coventry rockers Vamoosery, the mysterious and ‘brutally delicate… entity’ The Holy Men, alongside Worcestershire based singer/songwriter Chloe Mogg.

Brought to us jointly by SoulRock Central Records (MeMe Detroit’s own imprint) and Birmingham Promoters the doors are set to open at 19:30 – the advance ticket price is £6 plus booking fee. For direct event information and online ticket sales, click here.

Bringing in elements of rock and the more accessible areas of grunge, running them through a radio-friendly pop filter and firing that mix straight into your ears, are MeMe Detroit and her band – Lewis Smith (Bass) and Barney Such (Drums). If you haven’t heard MeMe Detroit before she has an intriguing fusion of influences ranging from Radiohead, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters on the heavy side to Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and even Tina Turner on the lighter pop side.

In an interview in May 2015 with Counteract, Detroit herself explains that “one problem I’ve been having is falling in-between indie and rock. I’m not heavy as rock, but heavier than indie. Live people have said we sound quite grungey, and there definitely is a grunge influence, there’s a new genre I suppose, grunge indie, it’s kind of poppy too maybe grindie?! Grop!? Grindie-grop, haha.”

But this isn’t just a straight up Meme Detroit gig, it’s more than that. It’s the launch party for her new single, ‘How She Runs’, and even coming from a band fitting the description ‘different’ this new release is something else.

Managing to give off an impression of being simultaneously driving and mellow, ‘How She Runs’ was a commission by up and coming director Steven Murphy who asked specifically for a song with an ‘eighties feel’ to be added to the soundtrack of his new feature film My Saviour. As someone whose Facebook page states is ‘an indie/grunge wave of sultry sublimity’, I can’t help but think that capturing that ‘eighties feel’ must have been a challenge.

‘How She Runs’ has already received significant media coverage, and is a bit of a radio darling in particular with BBC Introducing, Brum Radio, SRB Radio and even Valley FM in Australia.

And it’s not just radio popularity. MeMe Detroit’s recent pre-release Pledgemusic campaign received 129% of its initial target. To say this record is hotly anticipated may not be overstating things. And why would it not be? Kicking off 2017 with a Bowie tribute night at The Night Owl and following that with sets at Dares Bar and The Roadhouse, MeMe Detroit has hardly had a quiet year even if the new single has been a fair time in the making.

The first announcement ‘How She Runs’ was in the pipeline was on the 27^th January, but it wasn’t until the 12^th March before the first day of recording took place. Then add another month, taking us to April 17^th, for the official release date. We’re now a further three months on, and while that does seem like a long wait to me in these times of digital recording there seems to have been little slowing of support both online and at Detroit’s live shows.

So, how will this new 80’s element fit in with the pop, rock and grunge influences that have driven MeMe Detroit this far? Get yourself down to the Actress & Bishop on the 28^th July to find out. Or check out the official video below:

‘How She Runs’ – MeMe Detroit

MeMe Detroit launches her new single, ‘How She Runs’, at the Actress & Bishop on Friday 28th July with support from Vamoosery, The Holy Men, Chloe Mogg – as presented by SoulRock Central Records and Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here or on the Birmingham Promoter’s logo below.

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For more on MeMe Detroit, visit www.memedetroit.com

For more on Vamoosery, visit www.soundcloud.com/vamoosery

For more on Chloe Mogg, visit www.chloemogg.wixsite.com/chloemoggmusic

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For more from the Actress & Bishop, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop

For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

July 13, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Brothers of the Moment @ The Flapper 15.07.17

Words by Damien Russell

**This gig has been moved from the Actress & Bishop (14^th July) to The Flapper (15^th July) – original tickets are still valid**

On Saturday 15^th July, Brothers of the Moment are bring their brand of alternative rock to The Flapper – with support from post-hardcore rock band Now We Run, plus Wolverhampton’s punk rockers Mistrusted.

Doors open at 19:30 with tickets priced at £6.00 plus booking fee – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online tickets sales, click here.

Brothers of the Moment are a band I struggle to categorise; they have a timeless guitar driven sound that seems to mix grunge, classic rock, classic metal and more modern alternative rock/metal sounds. Their listed influences include Linkin’ Park, Black Stone Cherry, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Nirvana and Mastodon and I can hear elements of all of these bands in the melting pot, with a side order of Rise Against and Alice in Chains to boot.

Formed of two brothers (Adam/Ryan Liggins) and two friends (Ryan Merrett/Jordan Allen) in 2014, Brothers of the Moment are still making their mark on the music scene but it’s fair to say they haven’t exactly hung around waiting. Under their original name, The Divine, their first Facebook post back in July 2015 was to promote the release of their first single, appropriately named ‘We’re Here’. A quick name change followed and along with it their debut at the Star and Garter’s Garterfest in Stafford

Following this swift start 2016 saw the band perform their first headline show in April at the O2 Academy 3, make it to the semi-finals of the Unreal Festival battle of the bands, and appear on Wolverhampton’s WCR FM in June – returning to the station in July, that time for an interview.

But Brothers of the Moment didn’t stop there and at the start of 2017 the band were featured on Made in Birmingham TV with a live performance and interview. They released their next major music video ‘Forever from Heaven’ shortly after, and now, after dutifully filling their time with more live performances, Brothers of the Moment are bringing their energy to The Flapper.

Musically, Brothers of the Moment are an accessible brand of hard rock/metal, bringing a heavy sound that isn’t too aggressive or overbearing. Their songs have a solid structure and the guitar work is the stuff earworms are made of.

Listening to their recordings I find myself satisfied by the catchy, upbeat nature of the songs but also curious to know what their live performance brings. While the recordings are good (and I have found myself humming bits of ‘Forever from Heaven’ throughout the day) I get the feeling Brothers of the Moment are holding something back; not quite giving us their all. Not uncommon under the pressures of recording and the sterile studio environment; I’m hoping they save that little bit extra for their live shows. I guess Birmingham will find out at The Flapper on Saturday.

‘Forever from Heaven’ – Brothers of the Moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwI0VpyK5cM&feature=youtu.be

Brothers of the Moment play at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 15^th July, with support from Now We Run + Mistrusted – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Brothers of the Moment, click here.

For more on Now We Run, click here.

For more on Mistrusted, click here.

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For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

For more from The Flapper, visit www.theflapper.co.uk

July 4, 2017July 27, 2017

BREVIEW: Miranda Lee Richards @ Ort Café 28.06.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Denise Wilson

On Wednesday 28th June, Miranda Lee Richards played at the Ort Café in Balsall Heath – with support from My Autumn Empire and Ryan Sparrow.

Traversing the Atlantic to tour our tiny isle, Richards is on the UK road promoting Existential Beast – the fourth LP in her portfolio and the second released via Invisible Hands Music, the UK based home of Tangerine Dream, Hugh Cornwell and now Miranda Lee.

Ort is a good home too, one of our favourites. Just big enough to feel the safety of numbers; just small enough for an estate agent’s ‘…intimate’ up sell. Plus you’ll probably run into the band or artist that you’ve gone there to see, which whilst being an absurd obligation-by-proxy for the performer is useful when dragging a crowd off the sofa and into the suburbs.

I arrive at Ort in time to catch Ryan Sparrow “…just get on with it”, a local singer/songwriter and the first support act tonight. Lap guitar with slap tap percussion, confident, controlled; I only catch one song (indeed, the last) but pencil his name on ‘the list’. Watch out Mr Sparrow, we’re coming for you…

My Autumn Empire is the night’s second support act – the solo persona of ‘dream-pop experimentalists epic45’, or Ben as he’s called for short. Benjamin Thomas Holton is probably the safest/sanest middle ground, but my mind will now forever think of him as the bastard child of Neil Young and Message to Bears; sonorous vocals and jangly guitars, loops and peddles a plenty. Now what would our estate agent say… ‘atmospheric’.

“I’ll be playing from my last two records…” introduces Miranda Lee Richards, taking her place in front of the Ort crowd with seasoned confidence; intimate is not always a plus point, especially when there’s four of you in a corner.

Opening with ‘Toyko’s Dancing’ – a melodic message of hope or dystopia (I could never quite work out which) from her 2016 LP, Echoes of the Dreamtime – Richards’ voice lifts itself beautifully across the room. Her two guitar backing band (which makes three including her own) build a solid wall of Americana with country undertones, whist Sammy Smith picks up some equally beautiful harmonies. One track in; all is well.

‘On the Outside of Heaven’ picks up the pace next, with a lower range and tougher guitar punching out one of my favourite tracks from Richards’ more recent album. Then we’re straight into the “modern psychedelic trip” of ‘Lucid I Did Dream’ – another strong album track from Existential Beast, with a pretty superlative solo guitar from Randy Billings. Then back to Echoes… for ‘Colours So Fine’, more mellifluous vocals, guitar solos and melodies that boarder the addictive.

The most beautiful thing at play tonight is proficiency; Miranda Lee Richards and her band have absolute control over what their sound is, what it’s going to become and what they need to do to deliver it – even knowing “how many guitarist does it take to tune a twelve string?” (the correct answer beginning with, are we in Portugal?)

And Richards’ last two albums, released within eighteen months of each other, have shown a rounded development – two confident strides from a musician who you felt never wanted to run the majors’ race in the first place. Lyrically we’re heading more towards poetry than prose, which you could argue either way, but the overall feels immensely believable. An intelligent songwriter.

However tonight’s set feels a touch like it’s suffering, which could be from the rigors road but could also be a tired dedication to a pitch perfect performance. There is a request to the sound desk in between each song, with an air of irritation at things most stages will have to contest with. Ha, what a criticism – stop being so good you meticulous creative. But as an audience member in a small room I want to be brought in, not just allowed.

The rest of the set moves from the country confessions of ‘Blood on My Hands’, through the “medieval folk… a template for a story” of ‘Oh Raven’, to the title and neighbor album tracks of Existential Beast – aspects of ‘Autumn Sun’ reminding me so much of ‘Thirteen’ I’ve been singing the Elliot Smith song all week. Well the second verse anyway.

Our encore begins with ‘Ashes and Seeds’ – the confident opening track to Existential Beast, and closes with a track I couldn’t cite retrospectively. Although I wish it had been ‘Golden Gate’.

But the walls warm up, the room stretches out, and after being reminded to “stay for a drink afterwards” half the room falls into the relaxed punch drunk camaraderie of a successful Christmas, albeit one spent at someone else’s house. Not a bad outcome for a 10,000 mile round trip; now’s where’s the corkscrew in this kitchen…

‘Lucid I Would Dream’ – Miranda Lee Richards

For more on Miranda Lee Richards, visit www.mirandaleerichards.com

For more from My Autumn Empire, visit www.myautumnempire.co.uk

For more from Ryan Sparrow, visit www.ryansparrowmusic.co.uk

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For more from Ort Cafe, including a full events programme and online ticket sales, visit www.ortcafe.co.uk

For more for Birmingham Promoters, visit http://www.birminghampromoters.com/

June 26, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Miranda Lee Richards @ Ort Café 28.06.17

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 28^th June, Miranda Lee Richards performs an ‘acoustic trio’ set at Ort Café, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced at £6 (advance) – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

‘Richards sang in school choir, but didn’t consider playing music professionally until a chance meeting with Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who taught her how to play Mazzy Star songs on guitar.’

OK, so I’ll just stop there. And the award for Best Line in a Press Release goes to….

But a hybrid of ruthless American rock and the opiate haze of Hope Sandoval is not a bad summary, albeit somewhat esoteric. The more tangible outcomes of this encounter (queue lazy writer Beauty and the Beast references) are four studio albums and a bunch of EPs, with Miranda Lee Richards’ latest long player, Existential Beast, released via Invisible Hands Music in June this year.

Initially signing to Virgin Records, Miranda Lee Richards released her debut album, The Hearafter, in 2001. Having been a vocalist with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a model in Paris, and reached the Top 5 in Japan with her single ‘The Long Goodbye’, you’d think this would be an A&R wet dream. But the partnership with the major was not to last and ‘following a non self-imposed hiatus after parting ways with Virgin’ (Best Supporting Line in a Press Release goes to…) Richards signed with the Terry McBride brainchild, Nettwerk – releasing her Early November EP in 2008. Delivering a darker sound to the lighter Americana of her debut, Richards would stay with Nettwerk to further release her sophomore LP, Light of X, in 2009.

We’d have to wait over six years for more new material, but in January 2016 Miranda Lee Richards released her eight track Echoes of the Dreamtime through Invisible Hands Music. Her first release on the UK based independent, this was followed up just over a year later with Richards’ fourth studio album – Existential Beast.

“It is a political album to the core,” explains Richards, “examining the issues of our time, but with an intent of tackling these difficult and sometimes taboo subjects in a poetic and heartfelt manner. The title is also a mash-up of terms, referencing the existential crisis that has in turn arisen. In essence, we are all still working with animal urges of fear, competition, survival, sexuality, which are deep-seated and manifesting in varying ways and degrees for different individuals, depending on where one is at.”

“A more endearing outlook may be to see this as an assignment working with the inner child, who at times can behave like a wild beast. But like it or not, these tendencies have been revealed, within our leaders, our countries, and ourselves; it is indeed a pivotal and transformational time and there is much work to be done.”

‘Lucid I Would Dream’ – Miranda Lee Richards

Miranda Lee Richards performs at Ort Café on Wednesday 28^th June, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, click here.

For more on Miranda Lee Richards, visit www.mirandaleerichards.com

For more from My Autumn Empire, visit www.myautumnempire.co.uk

For mroe from Ryan Sparrow, visit www.ryansparrowmusic.co.uk

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For more from Ort Cafe, including a full events programme and online ticket sales, visit www.ortcafe.co.uk

For more for Birmingham Promoters, visit www.birminghampromoters.com