Scratch below the surface of Birmingham’s drag scene and you’ll find events such as Valley of the Kings. This is open mic night, but not as we know it – as opposed to acoustic renditions of pop rock stalwarts, expect to see ‘gender adventurers’ cavorting across the stage and lip syncing to their songs of choice.
The ‘rules’ of the evening are fairly simple: message the VOTK Facebook Event Page to book a performance slot, decide on your character, turn up, and perform. Or just watch, if you’re an introvert like me. And for those moments of last minute bravery, the VOTK hosts are also offering a ‘newbie nursery’ for people who decide to perform on the night, where they can get to Quantum slightly earlier and request a song to perform once the audience arrives. Performers who pre-book are guaranteed free entry and a changing room (saving you an awkward Uber ride over) with Glittercreep Face & Body Art on hand throughout the night to cover any available skin with, you guessed it, copious amounts of glitter. Wonderful.
For the budding performer, this is a fun and embracing opportunity to dip your toe into Birmingham’s ever growing drag scene; VOTK is one of the few monthly ‘gender expanding’ events that Birmingham currently has to offer, and the open mic setup allows you to trial a character to your heart’s content. With more established personas such as Lucius Blac, Abel Valentine, Dean the Destroyer and (our team’s personal favorite) Johnny Gash performing, it’s clear that there are few boundaries to what’s good to go on stage. And whilst drag queens are a prominent fixture on Birmingham’s event calendar, it’s always refreshing to see a night this inclusive – where individuals of any gender, style, or ability are welcome to perform.
But as the VOTK Facebook Event Page says, this is ‘an exploratory dig into your inner drag demon. Excavate the hidden gems of your pseudo macho womb by miming along to your favorite song in front of fellow gender adventurers.’ Which although sounds slightly terrifying still fills me with excitement. From the safety of my seat, at least.
Valley of the Kings brings its next open mic night to the Quantum Exhibition Centre in Digbeth on Friday 29th June. For direct event information, visit the Facebook Event Page at www.facebook.com/events/1462982623847192/
It’s Thursday night and our three day summer is still going strong. Approaching The Sunflower Lounge, you can see it has already built up a sizeable crowd that spills onto the streets outside, all of whom are enjoying drinks and cigarettes before the show begins downstairs.The crowd is awash with Dr Martens, plaid shirts and corduroy, singing along to various snippets of whatever is playing inside – speakers blaring into the road, through windows open to accommodate the hot weather.
The basement, however, is quiet upon entry. But as Birmingham based ‘psych-soaked four-piece’ Brain Food take to the stage people begin to file through the doors, dutifully taking their spot in front of the stage. The room becomes busy, with it getting so packed near the back that at one point I look like the final member of the most mismatched family trio; my bag and shoulders squashed together between an older man and a younger girl. People greet each other between songs, half jumping on their friends in hugs and adoringly ruffling their hair with one hand whilst sipping their beer in the other. One audience member reenacts the most vicious ‘Charlie Brown’ dance move I’ve ever seen repeatedly throughout the set, whilst bobbing his head to the thick bass lines as they go.
A smooth “howdy” from lead singer Liam Mckeown reverberates through the room and does nothing to calm the raucous crowd. Their setlist – which includes ‘Mindwinder’, a new single yet to be released from their forthcoming EP ‘Get One On’ – is a pleasant haze of swirling chord combinations and fuzzy riffs from rhythm guitarist Jakob Cusp and bassist Wills Carrot, against the smooth swagger of Liam’s vocals and Connor Doyle’s percussion. Brain Food provided the perfect opener for the evening by kicking it off with enthusiasm and getting the crowd going in such a short space of time.
The second band of the night are The Hungry Ghosts, and people begin to swarm in throughout the first song after their toilet, drink and cigarette breaks. Having only seen ‘The Ghosts’ once before from the back of a busy crowd, only now was I able to appreciate the enticing appeal of the five-piece. Their sound is hard to pin-down, and as they play favourites such as the effortlessly cool ‘Amerika’, ‘Lazaro’ and ‘Hummingbird’, I realised the full rock and roll sounding guitars mixed with the distinctive vocals and controlled screams of frontman Joe Joseph can only really be summerised by their self-description of ‘slaughterhouse blues and trash country’.
I try many variations to describe this in my notes, crossing out each one in frustration as this description is the only one that seems apt for their unique sound, which manages to incorporate elements of rock, punk, blues and psychedelia into one performance. The Hungry Ghosts give an unpredictable yet tight set, presumably due to their confidence and familiarity with the stage; each member puts on a solid performance, showing what a well oiled machine The Hungry Ghosts are without ever coming off as too polished, flat or boring.
Additionally, frontman Joe Joseph seems to possess a magnetism only present in a very small percentage of performers; he knows exactly what he is doing as he commands the small stage of The Sunflower Lounge. From his precise movements and calculated mannerisms, to his addressing of the audience as “brothers and sisters”, Joseph draws you into the performance and really helps solidify the bands overall image and presentation.
The Hungry Ghosts exhibit a theatrical and artistic nature that encompasses everything they do; from their stylised ‘Amerika’ video, to their carefully designed merch of stickers, t-shirts and badges which are set up in a battered suitcase to the left of the stage. This naturally extends to their performance and does make them mesmerising to watch, it makes you want to take note of what is being performed and it boats an indescribable allure. These factors, combined with the fact I had to cut out many notes to make this a somewhat readable size, are what made The Hungry Ghosts, for me, the highlight of the evening.
After The Hungry Ghosts, people stream in and out of the basement and rotate between the bar, smoking area and toilets upstairs, meaning the crowd has dwindled in numbers slightly. But when Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ fills the room, the remaining audience members eagerly chorus the opening guitar whilst throwing their heads forward to the rhythm. The track is cut short for Captain Süün’s arrival to the stage, as they introduce themselves with a chaotic medley guitars and feedback before diving straight into their set.
Two songs in and lead vocalist Dan Brown asks into the crowd if they can borrow one of The Hungry Ghost’s guitars as there is a problem with Harri Newman’s, the band’s lead guitarist. A couple of minutes later and Billy OIllis swerves through the crowd and props his guitar on the speaker. A tense couple of seconds follow as Newman fiddles with the straps and dials on the body; you can tell there is an impending verse he needs to complete, and with what seems like barely a second to spare he nails it by launching into the riff with a satisfying vengeance.
Small but dedicated pits form from the second song onwards, growing when the four-piece play their EP’s title track ‘Beach Burrito’. Captain Süün sound completely on form, with their live performance lifting the sound of the more subdued, relaxed recording on the EP. The energy displayed by the four-piece and voraciousness of the guitars gives a wild and unexpected layer to their entire set, which the crowd pick up on as pits continue throughout the show.
This culminates in the last song, with the front section of the room throwing themselves into one another as red lights and mind-bending guitars fill the venue – a crowd member goes flying across the floor and people scramble to help them up instantaneously before carrying on in earnest. Not a soul is deterred from giving it their all as people fly into the speakers lining the front of the stage, and frontman Dan Brown has to prop his foot on one to ensure it doesn’t continue its journey across the floor.
Even from my position on the stairs the joy is infectious, and I can hear the shouts of enthusiasm and laughter from the crowd below. The previous two bands look on from the crowd, moving along with the beat whilst some are even part of the pit, whilst Brain Food’s lead singer, Liam Mckeown, unabashedly dances on the stairs.
The crowd are a real highlight of the Captain Süün gig tonight, with the headline set definitely the most interactive and responsive they’ve been all evening. And when time is finally called on the evening, people snake out with sweat soaked faces and huge grins and make their way to the bar upstairs – riding the high of Captain Süün for at least a little while longer.
Captain Süün @ The Sunflower Lounge 24.05.18 / Phil Drury
Bristolian garage psych band, Captain Süün, have worked tirelessly since their formation in 2016 – playing numerous shows over the past couple of years, alongside truly creative artists from across the UK such as The Wytches, Cegvera and Yo No Se.
Having signed to Stolen Body Records after ‘a raucous set at Bristol Psych Fest’s’ in 2017 the band are now releasing their Beach Burrito EP, with The Sunflower Lounge gig the first of three dates to support the launch. Captain Süün’s official release show for their Beach Burrito EP is being held on Friday 25th May at The Trap in their hometown, where The Hungry Ghosts will once again be joining them on stage.
And the future is seemingly bright for the four-piece beyond the UK too, as Captain Süün embark on a European tour next month to promote their Beach Burrito EP – before returning to their hometown in July to once again play at Bristol’s Psych Fest, alongside Night Beats and the French trio Dusty Mush.
Second on the bill are self-professed ‘slaughterhouse blues’ five-piece, The Hungry Ghosts, bringing the main support of the night. The last time The Hungry Ghosts joined Captain Süün in Birmingham was when the two bands completed the line up for Table Scraps’ Autonomy album release party at the Hare & Hounds back in March, as presented by This Is Tmrw.
The Hungry Ghosts’ completely identifiable sound combines contemporary rock and blues, against an alternative country and western background – no small feat, but one done to captivating effect. Drawing from an array of genres and inspirations The Hungry Ghosts deliver a truly distinctive body of work, which makes for not only a dynamic live performance but a hypnotic one too. But after the release of their double A-side, ‘Lazaro/Amerkia’, back in July 2017 – through Brum based record label Setting Son Records – the band have been busy playing shows across the UK, and of course in Birmingham.
Brain Food we’re a little less clued up on, but have been instructed on good authority that the ‘progressive psychedelia’ Birmingham based four piece ‘should be taken as part of a balanced diet, and is made using one part Liam Mckeown (Vox, Lead Guitar), one part Jakob Cusp (Rhythm Guitar), one part Wills Carrot (Bass), and one part Connor Doyle (Drums).’ Sounds promising, and possibly good for your digestion, but one we’ll have to get back to you about after having seen them on stage.
Meanwhile, back in the West Country…
‘Beach Burritio’ – Captain Süün
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ut0vvLc-uE
Captain Süün perform at The Sunflower Lounge on Thursday 24th May, with support from The Hungry Ghosts and Brain Food – as presented by Red Dawn Events. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.thesunflowerlounge.com/event/captain-suun-the-hungry-ghosts
Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) comes to the NEC in Birmingham on 28th May. For a direct event information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/slam-dunk-festival
As one of the most anticipated dates in the UK pop punk calendar, it’s safe to say Slam Dunk Festival are taking no prisoners with this year’s line up. With a bevy of bands and artists descending upon the NEC in just under a week’s time, I took it upon myself to comb through the roster and select a number that I personally love.
Holding Absence / Rock Sound Breakout Stage
Birmingham favourites, Holding Absence, are set to make their Slam Dunk debut this year on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. Having recently announced the departure of guitarist Feisal El-Khazragi, it will be one of their first performances without him in their line up. But with Holding Absence recently nominated for Best British Breakthrough Band at the 2018 Heavy Metal Awards, plus playing a string of dates supporting Being as an Ocean across Europe in June, they’re certainly not letting El-Khazragi’s departure slow them down.
Represented by Sharptone Records – who bought us the likes of Don Broco, Miss May I and We Came As Romans – the Cardiff based band also recently toured and released a co-EP with Loathe titled This Is As One, which earned them numerous positive reviews from critics for tracks such as ‘Saint Cecilia’.
Holding Absence perform at 3:30pm on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. For more on Holding Absence, visit www.holdingabsence.com
‘Saint Cecilia’ – Holding Absence
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PVRIS / Jägermeister Main Stage
Having recently performed at Coachella, PVRIS will be returning to Birmingham hot off the heels of the American leg of their All We Know of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell tour – promoting their latest album of the same name.
Lynn Gunn’s dreamy vocals, combined with the band’s heavy rock influences, have earned them a dedicated fanbase and won them Rock Sound’s Artist of the Year Award back in 2017. Here’s hoping PVRIS also perform some tracks from their debut album, White Noise, with songs such as ‘St. Patrick’ and ‘My House’ being on my personal wish list.
PVRIS perform at 8:15 pm on the Jägermeister Main Stage. For more on PVRIS, visit www.pvris.com
‘Anyone Else’ – PVRIS
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Taking Back Sunday / Monster Energy Main Stage
Returning to Slam Dunk for the 3rd time, Taking Back Sunday were in the first wave of bands to be confirmed to at perform this year’s festival.
Having released their 7th album, Tidal Waves, in September 2016, and parting ways with their original guitarist Eddie Rayes last month, it will be interesting to see if we get to hear any new material from the group. Although I’m hoping to hear classic tracks such as ‘You’re So Last Summer’ and ‘MakeDamnSure’ as well as songs such as ‘You Can’t Look Back’ from their latest album live.
Taking Back Sunday perform at 8:05pm on the Monster Energy Main Stage. For more on Taking Back Sunday, visit www.takingbacksunday.com
‘You’re So Last Summer’ – Taking Back Sunday
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Astroid Boys / Impericon Stage
The Impericon stage will be hosting hardcore grime band Astroid Boys, who have always delivered impressive shows in Birmingham. Growing steadily since their formation back in 2012, they were bought to my attention after being featured in BBC Radio 4’s documentary Operation Grime, which tailed them on a tour across the UK.
Astroid Boys‘ music is not for the faint hearted – expect brutal lyrics addressing issues such as racism, mashed with hardcore and grime influences to create a sound you probably have never heard before… but will just as probably want to listen to again.
Astroid Boys perform at 2:20 pm on the Impericon Stage. For more on Astroid Boys, visit www.astroid-boys.com
‘Foreigners’ – Astroid Boys
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As It Is / Signature Brew Stage
Announcing the August release of their latest album, The Great Depression, only a few days ago, Brighton based As It Is will be headlining the Signature Brew stage this year.
A band who’ve amassed a dedicated fan base with tracks such as ‘Dial Tones’ and ‘Hey Rachel’, their material is catchy, easy to listen to and fun – however it’s unfair to assume they lack a more serious side. Their latest release, ‘The Wounded World’, delves into a much darker side of their ever-expanding noise, having been cited by the band as a ‘new era’ of their music which expands on ‘the societal romanticisation of depression’ and ‘the disrepair of present-day human connection’.
As ever with this band, though, As It Is approach their subject with the respect and sensitivity it warrants – referencing their new material as a means for them to work to create a positive change for mental health.
The Key Club Acoustic Stage is hosting a stellar line up of bands and artists, including Birmingham’s Luke Rainsford – combining upbeat guitar with gut wrenching vocals, making music that is hard hitting but a real treat to listen to.
Having toured the UK extensively since the release of I Feel At Home With You in February 2017, and having recently released his latest EP, I Just Don’t Deserve To Be Loved, in April 2018, Rainsford’s music deals with difficult issues such as loss, bereavement, low self esteem and mental health. Good, honest stuff.
Luke Rainsford performs at 4:15 pm on The Key Club Acoustic Stage. For more on Luke Rainsford, visit www.lukerainsford.bandcamp.com
‘Home Safe’ – Luke Rainsford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltnvyxgWovs
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Stand Atlantic / Rock Sound Breakout Stage
Australian trio, Stand Atlantic, will also be making their Slam Dunk debut this year, having recently toured with other performers such as ROAM and Knuckle Puck. With their latest EP, Sidewinder, reaching an impressive #10 on Rock Sound’s Top 50 Albums of 2017, and having been cited by Kerrang! as one of the hottest bands of 2018, Stand Atlantic are proving they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Claiming influences from Blink-182 to The 1975, they’re certainly considered a mixed bag musically too – but in the best possible way. Trust me. Go and listen to ‘Coffee at Midnight’. You can thank me later.
Stand Atlantic perform at 6:00 pm on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. For more on Stand Atlantic, visit www.facebook.com/StandAtlantic
‘Coffee at Midnight’ – Stand Atlantic
Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) comes to the NEC in Birmingham on 28th May. For direct information on Slam Dunk Festival 2018, including details on all the events happening across the UK, visit www.slamdunkmusic.com
Opulence promised a brand new performance night with Mother’s Meeting and the people have turned out for it. Drag fans fill the basement of Bar Jester, staring expectantly at the mural of nude men that decorates the back of the stage.
Dahliah Rivers welcomes the crowd. She wears a gold floor length art deco style dress, and fiery red hair tumbles down her shoulders.
Jenna Davinci is first to perform. She begins lip syncing to Hi Fashion’s ‘Amazing’, which is interrupted by Meryl Streep’s iconic ‘Cerulean’ monologue from The Devil Wears Prada. By the time Davinci is gesticulating along to Milk’s ‘Touch the Fashion’, a clear theme has emerged. Despite all this, she looks perfectly at home in horizontal stripes.
Jay Andre bounces on stage to the opening bars of Grimes’ electro-pop anthem ‘Kill V. Maim’ to the delight of the crowd. Her fishnet bodysuit is trimmed with a fringe of plastic spikes; they rustle as she dances, bristling like cheerleader pom poms. Andre‘s routine is excitable and high energy – a fitting tribute to Grimes herself.
Nora Virus wears a chintz bodysuit with a face hood, complete with a red collar and matching fishnet tights. Her melding of twee florals and skintight fetishwear results in a look that can only be described as Cath Clubkidston. Virus razzle-dazzles the audience with a routine to Victoria Wood’s ‘The Ballad of Barry and Freda’. During the week, Virus puzzled her online followers by asking around for a sturdy tea trolley. It all makes sense when, as Wood’s vocals surge over the PA, Virus comes careening across the stage on one:
“This folly, is jolly,
Bend me over backwards on me hostess trolley.
Let’s do it, let’s do it tonight!”
I caught up with Virus after the show and asked what had inspired her inaugural Mother’s Meeting performance.
“When we came up with the name, my first thoughts were of 1950’s housewives at a Tupperware party, enjoying afternoon tea. I’m a huge Victoria Wood fan, she’s an absolute legend, and I stumbled across ‘The Ballad of Barry and Freda’, which I hadn’t heard for years! I couldn’t stop laughing and instantly knew I wanted to perform this. The whole idea just seemed fucked up. I’d be lip syncing to something your mom and dad would be laughing at back in the day, but dressed like something they’d have nightmares about.”
Closing the opening set of the night, Charity Kase makes her first appearance. In the advent of Ru Paul’s Drag Race the term ‘sickening’ has been thrown around to describe some drag looks. But in this instance it seems justified: Kase wears a floor length nun’s habit, but her face is a mess of grimy bandages.
Followers of her work will have been expecting an element of horror tonight, but no one can have been ready for this. Makeup obscures her mouth and eyes, so they appear as gaping holes. To the sounds of ‘Stay’ by Shakespeare’s Sister she tears off her costume, revealing an inverted cross chained to her chest. Kase looms over the shrouded cadaver she wheeled on stage with her, and with a flash of red light tears into it with a sickle. When she steps back, she is holding a blood drenched appendage aloft. No prizes for guessing what appendage that might be…
After a much needed interval, hostess Dahliah Rivers treats the crowd to a glittering routine ‘Raise the Roof’ from Andrew Lippa’s 1997 musical The Wild Party. It seems a fitting choice to kick off the second set, and Rivers luxuriates in the glamour of it.
Elliott Barnicle emerges from the DJ booth to do a number. He struts across the stage in his trademark silver leotard to the sugar-sweet pop of Little Mix’s ‘Hair’. The performance continues on a theme, with snippets of Brooke Candy’s ‘Don’t Touch My Hair Hoe’, Alaska Thunderfuck’s ‘This Is My Hair’, and Willow Smith’s ‘Whip My Hair’. The last of these sees Barnicle, who is as usual sporting his boyish haircut, produce a handful of blonde extensions and whirl them around.
No mother’s meeting would be complete without an appearance from Birmingham’s own drag matriarch, Yshee Black. Although it’s a Saturday night, Black has graced us with her Sunday best for a gospel inspired number. She sets off her blue suit-dress with a matching eye shadow. Her rousing performance is the perfect penultimate act of the night.
Returning to close the show, Charity Kase wears a pink satin nightgown and carries a Nestle Dairy Box aloft. The top half of her face is a disconcerting mask. Shanks & Bigfoot’s ‘Sweet Like Chocolate’ begins to play. She saunters through the crowd towards the stage, flipping her Barbie-blonde ringlets in the faces of audience members. She offers the box of chocolates around before stuffing them into her mouth by the handful.
Throughout the lip sync, Kase goes on to consume multiple bars of Galaxy. The majority of these are produced from the depths of her frilly white underwear, and spat out again at the audience. She manages not to miss a beat of the song. When the track finishes she is sprawled on the stage, covered in melted chocolate. The next morning I find a lump of partially chewed fudge on my shoe.
The Mother’s Meeting crowd file out onto the Queensway. In true maternal fashion, Nora Virus is diligently checking that all the audience are either part of her flock heading to the The Nightingale or are getting home safely. Later, I get her thoughts on Charity Kase.
“Charity blew me away. Both performances were so well thought out. I’m always here for the strange and unusual! I’m a queer kid in both meanings of the word and she is right up my alley…”
Opulence have pulled it off tonight. I ask Virus what’s next for the group.
“Opulence are a real diverse bunch of queens. We have theatre queens, comedy queens, deathdrop bitches, the lot. You want variety, we got it honey! No two Mother’s Meetings will ever be the same. We plan to showcase the best of U.K drag in Birmingham, as well as other styles of performance. You just wait to see who we have for Mother’s Meeting part two.”
For the budding performer, this is a fun and embracing opportunity to dip your toe into Birmingham’s ever growing drag scene; VOTK is one of the few monthly ‘gender expanding’ events that Birmingham currently has to offer, and the open mic setup allows you to trial a character to your heart’s content. With more established personas such as Lucius Blac, Abel Valentine, Dean the Destroyer and (our team’s personal favorite) Johnny Gash performing, it’s clear that there are few boundaries to what’s good to go on stage. And whilst drag queens are a prominent fixture on Birmingham’s event calendar, it’s always refreshing to see a night this inclusive – where individuals of any gender, style, or ability are welcome to perform.
For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit 
