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August 30, 2018August 30, 2018

BREVIEW: Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.18

Words by Cariss Auburn & Ed King / Pics by Callum Lees

On Saturday 18^th August, Project Soundlounge returned to Birmingham’s Town Hall for its 6^th annual event. With entry free all night, a line up including Jerry Williams, Lady Sanity, Population:7, Riscas, FABRIK, and Cariss Auburn took to the Town Hall stage from 5pm.

Showcasing some of The Midlands’ brightest bands and musical stars in the making, Project Soundlounge is a one day festival organised by a collective of 16 to 25 year olds – giving young people a chance to promote a live music event in one of the most prestigious venues in the city. Seriously, this is quite an incredible opportunity for our region’s fledgling creatives. When I started out I had Slipmatt in The Dance Factory…

Although, giving young promoters such a large venue to play with – albeit a beautiful cavern – may not be the most confidence inspiring first foray into the world of selling tickets. Even if they’re for free.Promoting live music is hard, promoting it in Birmingham is even harder, and getting over 1,000 people to give up their Saturday is no mean feat. Ask Live Nation. Or whoever promoted the last Ani DiFranco gig within these walls.

But Project Soundlounge presents a good local line up. Not box ticking-public funding good either, but actually good. As in, I’d-pay-money-to-see-that kind of good. As in, i’d give up my Saturady. So here, with the programme, Project Soundlounge is not a hollow gesture – or even worse, a patronising pat on the back for people who need something to stick on a CV. It’s a confident first step – one that would have a decent crack at a lower end three digit capacity. And whilst other initiatives are out there purporting the same ‘opportunity for young people’, I’ve seldom see any that come this close to such a firm foot forward for both the people playing on stage and those that put them there.

But, as I can hear tired yawns from too much sycophantic copy floating in (a noise I’d probably be making if I wasn’t the one writing it) who better to tell you what’s what than someone at the centre of it all.

Carris Auburn is a Wolverhampton based ‘singer-songwriter and self-taught producer’, whose debut Unphased EP is worth some serious attention – gathering accolades from Glastonbury’s emerging talent hawks to longstanding soul legend Alexander O’Neal.

Auburn has also been compiling a series of cover songs in and around Wolverhampton, with the last one filmed Wightwick Manor to celebrate the ‘100 years after the first set of women gained the right to vote in the UK’ – a project that fell a little outside of our editorial postcode, but check out what the Express & Star had to say about it by clicking here.

Closer to (our) home, Carris Auburn recently played a headline set at The Kitchen Garden Café in Kings Heath – a gig we sadly missed due to too much diary juggling, but one we kicked ourselves repeatedly for not making. So to throw some well deserved column inches her way, and save us some thinly spread Saturday, we asked her to write a ‘diary entry about her experience playing’ at Project Soundlounge, giving us ‘an honest account of the night, on stage and off’.

And to her credit, she agreed:

08:59 / It’s the day of Project Soundlounge! A festival held at Birmingham’s Town Hall organised entirely by 16-25 year olds. This year it’s all in aid of national charity Crisis and their campaign to end homelessness and I’m starting the day in panic mode because I’ve woken up an hour late.

11:00 / We’re somehow arriving at the Town Hall way before our load in time of 11:40am and it’s a good thing because I’ve managed to drive straight past the entrance.

11:15 / Take two and we’re in, being greeted by Lydia, our go to person for the day.

12:00 / Soundcheck – the venue looks as impressive as ever with screens reminding everyone to donate. It’s a bit slow getting everything set up but we manage to get a song in. I tell the band about the cover of ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ I decided to learn last night as a tribute to Aretha Franklin. They agree to join in like the masters of improv they are.

12:25 / I spot Lady Sanity in the kitchenette area backstage waiting to soundcheck. There’s only time for a quick hello before I head back to Wolves for a couple hours.

17:15 / I’m back at the Town Hall and the comedy of errors continues as we realise the track for my final song ‘Oil on Water’ is missing. Someone pops up asking me for a bio but I never see her again. The debate of what to do continues down to the wire but a shift around in the order of the set solves the issue.

17:45 / Showtime! We’re up on stage to kick off the night after being introduced by a slightly nervous announcer. It’s not the easiest at first with a small audience in a vast hall but everyone warms up and and has fun on the stage, the performance whizzing by. The Aretha Franklin tribute goes smoothly and I don’t even notice the lack of backing for ‘Oil on Water.’

18:40 / By the time everyone is packed up and we’ve thanked Lydia, I’ve missed most of Population:7’s performance. I catch the end after chatting to a couple members of the audience. The seven piece are a mix of rappers and singers with an incredible drummer, soulful harmonies and masses of charisma.

19:00 / Next up are synth grunge outfit FABRIK who the announcer hilariously introduces as Population:7 by accident. Such a powerful vocal from the lead singer. One avid fan is dancing alone and the resident videographer is straight in with the 360º shots.

20:40 – After a fun set of covers from Crisis worker Jeremiah it’s four piece indie band Riscas. Frontman, George Maycock, comments on the surreal nature of playing the Town Hall – relatable. They’re instantaneously sweating and it’s an energetic performance of catchy songs that wouldn’t be out of place at Glastonbury.

21:30 / The penultimate act is Birmingham rapper Lady Sanity and she comes out swinging, the relentless delivery of her lyrics a stark contrast to the chilled old school hip hop beat as she raps about striving for better days. Dubbed “energy crew,” a small group of people at the front of the hall shout her lyrics back at her.

22:15 / Jerry Williams and her band are on and not to be dramatic but she is wearing the greatest trousers I have ever seen. The high octane set is a journey of beachy rock songs and post-punk. We’re given some beautiful stripped back pieces – one solo song is an ode to an alcoholic’s promise to go sober if she wrote a song about him. A slick cover of Jamie T’s ‘If You Got the Money’ has a lot more people up on their feet and it’s a great end to the night.

22:35 / At this point the audience is largely made up of the organisers. I had thought it was a shame to see the event so sparsely attended and I encourage people that may read this now to donate what they can to Crisis. However, sat watching on my own, I felt the emptiness of the surrounding grandeur create this defiant pocket of live music energy and it was something I was truly proud to be a part of.

23:05 / I grab my things and walk out to my car, being reminded that it’s Saturday night by a passing hen do. I hope Project Soundlounge goes from strength to strength over the coming years, for the charities it helps and the young people it motivates.

Jerry Williams – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on Jerry Williams, visit www.facebook.com/Jerrywilliamsmusic

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Lady Sanity – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on Lady Sanity, visit www.ladysanity.com

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Riscas – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on Riscas, visit www.riscasofficial.com

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Jeremiah (from Crisis) – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on Crisis, visit www.riscasofficial.com

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FABRIK – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on FABRIK, visit www.fabriktheband.co.uk

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Population:7 – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.18 / Callum Lees

For more on Population:7, visit www.population7.com

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Carris Auburn – Project Soundlounge @ Town Hall 18.08.17 / Callum Lees

For more on Carris Auburn, visit www.carissauburnmusic.com

To know more about Crisis, with links for online donations to the charity, visit www.crisis.org.uk

For more on Project Soundlounge, visit www.facebook.com/ProjectSoundLounge

For more on the Town Hall and Symphony Hall, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thsh.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

June 29, 2018

BPREVIEW: Kings Heath Dining Club @ Highbury Hall 01.07.18

Words by Ed King / Pics by Wayne Fox – courtesy of Digbeth Dining Club

On Sunday 1^st July, Kings Heath Dining Club returns to Highbury Hall for another afternoon/evening of food, drink, music, events… and probably a bit more food. Clue’s in the title.

Situated on the grounds of this Grade 2 listed building, which was once the Birmingham home of Joseph Chamberlain, Kings Heath Dining Club will be open from 11am to 7pm. Tickets are £6 (adv) and £8 – available online through Skiddle, click here. To visit the Facebook Event Page, for direct event information and further links to tickets, click here.

Fundamentally a celebration of street food, King Heath Dining Club will bring an array of traders to the B13 based Highbury Hall this weekend – currently advertising Original Patty Men, Low N Slow, Bournville Waffle Company, Cake Doctor, Leave it to Esmie, Buddha Belly, Homeboys, Chef Shack, Manila Munchies and The Middle Feast.

There will also be live music from The Original Players, The Equators, and Aphrodite Strings – alongside Digbeth Arts Markets, comedy, wellness therapies, and retro gaming from Dead Pixels. And whilst you can only eat and drink as much as you your wallet will allow, all the day’s entertainment is included in the ticket price, with no age restrictions.

Held in collaboration with the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath Dining Club is the suburban split from the Digbeth based mothership – usually taking place on York Road, outside the venue that partners their Kings Heath events. Holding their first event at Highbury Hall back in April this year, Sunday 1st July marks the start of three further street food summer showcases at the Highbury Park based mansion.

How things change; it seems a long time ago that Digbeth Dining Club’s founder, Jack Brabant, gave up filming raves from across the globe to bring street food to the back streets of Birmingham – a culture of cuisine he had seen mushroom (pun intended) in London and further afield. Six years, in fact. But believe it or not, all this pop-up, avant garde, street/festival food malarkey started in our city from pretty much one box of bright sparks. And now the inferno is so rampant it’s hard to imagine Birmingham without it. Like Motorways or the Internet. Ah the youth of today, I remember when this were all Toys R Us and Woolworths…

Partnering with the Hare & Hounds seems like a shrewd move into the suburbs too, with the prolific entertainment venue having done more to shape the cultural cache of Kings Heath than a million plant pots or local councillors.

And with a bevy of tried and tested foodies coming to Highbury Hall, it’s difficult to see where this could go wrong. Just don’t look up, I guess. Although Sunday 1^st July is set to be the hottest day of an already pretty scorching week, so I’d only worry about the weather is you’re made of ice cream.

All that’s left to do is cherry pick (again, pun intended) a menu to put to the taste test, and after some grueling investigative journalism (eating) we’ve gone for The Middle Feast – the Lucy Rhodes run Persian pop up that has some of the best Kebabs, shawarmas, mezze, and flatbread that you can get your mits on this side of the Mediterranean.

And on Sunday 1^st July, The Middle Feast will be presenting a new dish: Persian Spiced Buttermilk Fried Chicken, which comes with fries, slaw and harrisa mayo. Also available from The Middle Feast will be Cooked Whole Cauliflower Shawarma, Diced Lamb Kebab with Charcoal Hummus – plus a range of salads, smoked yogurt, sweet pickled radish, gluten free and vegan options.

And whilst we couldn’t 100% confirm it, if you see the Halloumi Fries on the menu then we strongly suggest grabbing some before they sell out. In fact, get us some whilst you’re there too.

Kings Heath Dining Club comes to Highbury Hall on Sunday 1^st July. For direct event information, and links to online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/events/775347119336101

For more from Digbeth Dining Club, including further event listings, visit www.digbethdiningclub.com

For more on the Hare & Hounds, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

For more on Highbury Hall, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/highbury_hall

January 17, 2018January 17, 2018

BREVIEW: Playback @ mac – running until 24.01.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Ed King

Stepping into Playback almost feels like the beginning of a Black Mirror episode; the silence is palpable in the dimly-lit space, as people sit before screens, each person plugged into the monitors, staring intently ahead.

The calm and quiet is a welcome distraction from the packed lower floor of mac, where people are continuously swarming around the open space; weirdly enough, even though the double doors to Playback are open, it feels like a safe haven, isolated from the rest of the arts centre.

The set-up is functional, yet quite captivating; minimalist structures are set up throughout the room that encase a screen to select films, a monitor to watch and a couple of pairs of headphones below. This could be quite a passive experience, one where you stumble in, take a quick look and exit to explore the rest of the gallery, yet each person who enters is memorised and instantly takes a seat in one of the stalls to begin.

A real highlight of the exhibition is the complete flexibility it offers. The interface is so simplistic you can easy browse comedy, drama, music, dance, drama or animation with the touch of a button. The idea that Playback brings the films to the audience, as opposed to the other way round, is an interesting format and is a smart way of getting the endevours of budding creatives out there.

Much of the work being displayed covers scenarios so far removed from the viewer that you’re able to gain a sobering, eye-opening insight. For example, Courtney Grigg’s 18, a POV documentary that explores Courtney’s journey through homelessness when she was eighteen. Or Rediat Abayneh’s 25 Days of My Life, which is dedicated to those ‘who lost their lives in search of better’ and charts her brief stay in the infamous refugee camp ‘The Jungle’ prior to her journey to England from Calais. These pieces draw you in immediately by conveying such emotion in a short time frame. I felt myself unintentionally breathing a small sigh of relief and gratitude when I read in the description below that despite the circumstances depicted in their work, they are now studying towards their chosen career, or are exploring another walk of life and have made it out of sombre situations.

I can say with complete honesty, there was not one single short I viewed that I didn’t appreciate in some way. Each work was enlightening and completely unique. In mainstream film I often feel like what I’m watching is just regurgitated with a different cast, location or a slight differentiation of a basic scenario. The sheer individuality of each piece presented at Playback took me by surprise; alongside thought-pieces and documentaries charting real life experiences, the exhibition was brimming with off-the-wall, abstract and bizarre concepts, which was so refreshing and showed the passion of hungry young filmmakers.

I felt this was especially reflected in Battle by Darnell Smart, which relied on mostly a non-verbal performance, mixed with sound effects to create distortion of the main character Deshawn. The minimalist setting and almost sterile visual at the end combined for a really effecting piece. Additionally, Bliss by Billy Floyd stuck in my memory long afterwards. No dialogue was needed, as the piece was carried by minimal sound effects and intense, non-verbal performances that used the same setting for each shot, just varying the content. Battle and Bliss left me genuinely excited for the work that future filmmakers will produce as the execution of these ideas was something I hadn’t witnessed before and really, this is what Playback is all about.

It would be near impossible to comment on all the content, with over 145 short films, ranging from 90 seconds to three minutes a piece, on show. If you do have the opportunity, give yourself a full day and head down to mac and see, or rather experience, for yourself – Playback is free to enter and in the arts centre’s First Floor Gallery until Wednesday 24 January 2018. I’m sure each individual will discover something different from the next and connect with the pieces in a completely unique way. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards drama, but the flexibility of Playback exposed me to a world of other possibilities; content that I would never have previously considered due to admittedly, my own ignorance or dismissal of genres that don’t seem instantly appealing.

I felt a particular highlight was the animation section and I’m so glad I allowed myself to be led by the exhibition, as there were some excellent pieces in there. Specifically, My Familiar by Leah Morris, an animation that blends live action scenes with animation to explore ‘the comforts of non-verbal communication’ in the face of isolation and loneliness. The piece is set against a minimalist, yet effecting score, and uses no verbal narrative within its series of vignettes, which works to astounding effect. So much so that halfway through I looked down to find myself with little marks imprinted into my palm where I’d be gripping the chord of the headphones, completely engrossed.

Or Meet Cute, another short that splices live action with animation and blurs the line of creation, production, fiction and reality – a fun and interesting piece by Chris Consentino. Adrift was also a highlight, a short sci-fi that ‘blends lo-fi animation, indie folk and quirky live action’ by Will Crerar, an aspiring screenwriter and director from Newcastle. The drama explores decision making through the protagonist, a teenage boy trapped in space, who is at the crossroads of change but hesitant to move forward. The setting and minimal, spoken-narrative deliver a point that is reflective of wider society in an extremely clever way.

After two hours of selecting films I was completely captivated by the exhibition’s documentaries and dramas and found the comedy section to be a welcome break, one that pulled me outside my head for a while. Some highlights were Contactless that deals with a scenario not as far removed from the future as it should be, set against the backdrop of Birmingham with a whacky, upbeat soundtrack that allows the comedic overtone to shine through but also elevates the distress and seriousness of the political message. The variation in styles was a joy to experience throughout all the genres, but in particular, in shorts such as Chops which is a beautifully stylised laugh-out-loud piece by Jac Clinch, and Slice by Hari Ramakrishnan, a dark satire exploring the graduate experience with great visuals and perfectly delivered narrative by Marie Hamilton, paired with an eerily perfect performance by Dorothy Collins.

The final highlight was All That Is by Camille Summers Valli and Wessie Du Toit, a beautifully shot drama-documentary that intimately explores ‘love and its role in the lives of five individuals’, through snapshots in a stunning sepia quality. As the short eloquently states “any experience is good, to talk about it is better” – which I feel encompasses the whole event perfectly.

There were 145 narratives for the audience to explore in Playback and each has taken a personal experience, feeling, emotion or thought and turned it into a work of art. Most of the work can be found through the Random Acts website, but actually attending the exhibition adds so much more to the experience, as you’re able to fully submerge yourself amongst the work in the peaceful atmosphere that the mac has created.

Events such as Playback are vital in the medium of film, creating exposure for young creative, as well as giving them a platform and voice to address current issues and situations. We just need to be ready to listen.

Playback – running at mac until 24.01.18

Playback runs at mac until 24^th January, held in the arts centre’s First Floor Gallery. Entry is free with no age restrictions. For more on Playback at mac, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/exhibition/playback

To view a list of all the Playback dates across the UK, visit www.ica.art/ica-off-site/touring-exhibitions/playback/about-playback-touring-exhibition-association-random-acts

For more from mac, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

January 7, 2018January 6, 2018

BPREVIEW: Playback @ mac 07-24.01.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

It often feels like there is a momentary hush over the city as we pick ourselves up off 2017’s floor and stumble into 2018. We could spend this transitional time recovering from the short-lived break, however mac is offering an alternative – welcoming in the New Year with Playback, ‘an interactive exhibition showcasing over 200 short films made by young artist filmmakers from across the country’.

Playback runs in mac’s First Floor Gallery from 7^th to 24^th January, open 11am-5pm from Tuesdays to Sundays. Admission to Playback is free. For direct info, including venue details and the wider facilities available at mac, click here.

Playback is a joint initiative funded by Arts Council England and the exhibition’s creator, Random Acts – a Channel 4 spawned endevour which launched in March 2017 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Playback aims to shine a spotlight on new work by providing support, funding and exhibition opportunities to ‘young artist filmmakers from across the country’. With some of these ‘remarkable and award-winning shorts’ being made within ‘in and around Birmingham’, Playback promises visitors ‘the chance to see the people, places and creativity of your city onscreen.’

The exhibition allows you to explore the bodies of work at your own pace, using interactive touch screens, and features genres including spoken word, comedy and drama. As mac’s website states, the films being exhibited at Playback ‘span a range of art forms and topics – from krumping and parkour dance shorts, to an animated tale of teenage love that unearths our desire to be as cool as the zines we read.’

Birmingham’s prominence continues to grow around the many aspects of film, with the city seeing an influx of location shooting on its streets as well as increasing ties to organisations such as the British Film Institute and Marv Films. Added to this, the number of ways to access film in Birmingham has grown significantly within the past few years, with cinemas such as The Electric, The Mockingbird and Everyman supporting independent, current and cult productions through their programmes. Events such as the Flatpack Film Festival and the Birmingham Film Festival have become annual platforms for filmmakers, often bolstered by a rolling calendar of events to celebrate and support initiative new works, such as those programmed by Flatpack: Assemble.

Playback has the potential to fit nicely between these established city operators, by providing support to independent artists with the ‘festival feel’ offered by the variety and quantity of pieces exhibited. It could be that Playback’s ‘USP’ is that it allows a more open and customer driven experience as you are free to examine whatever you choose, whenever you choose.

As well as its exhibition at mac’s First Floor Gallery this January, Playback is being toured throughout England in ‘major galleries, libraries and multi-arts venues’ – culminating with the Playback Festival 2018, to be held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts from 21^st to 25^th March ‘18.

Additionally, there are multiple Playback events to be held at mac Birmingham throughout January – including animation, film making workshops, and a live spoken word event.

Playback – coming to mac’s First Floor Gallery 04-24.01.18

For more on Playback at mac, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/exhibition/playback

To view a list of all the Playback dates across the UK, visit www.ica.art/ica-off-site/touring-exhibitions/playback/about-playback-touring-exhibition-association-random-acts

For more from mac, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

November 1, 2017

BREVIEW: All Years Leaving @ Hare & Hounds 22.10.17

Words by Emily Doyle / Pics by Denise Wilson

On Sunday afternoon, I get off my shift at work and straight on the number 50 bus. I’m necking coffee and a sandwich to power up for day two of All Years Leaving at the Hare & Hounds.

I’m disappointed to get there minutes late for Mutes’ set in the Stables. The boys are still packing down, and there is a gaggle assembled to ogle their pedal boards. I’m assured that the set was “atmospheric and moody”, and I fear I missed out.

There’s no time to worry about that though, as Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam are just getting started in the Main Room. On entering, the bass hits you square in the chest. It’s sure to shake off a few hangovers this morning. Their pop-punk energy certainly garners some appreciative head nods from the already large crowd.

“This song is one of two Halloween songs we’re doing this year.” ‘Halloween 6 (He’s Still Gonna Get You)’ is heavy, angular, and accompanied by swirling red lighting. Is this what can be expected from Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam’s Halloween Party with Table Scraps at the Dark Horse on Friday? Time will tell. They follow it up with ‘Too Far From Real’, a song about, “being a real shitty dad. Not my dad! But like how I would be if I were a dad”. Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam have delivered a triumphant set on home turf. The bar is already out of Red Stripe.

Downtown Boys are next, hailing from Providence, Rhode Island (“the smallest state!”). Vocalist, Victoria Ruiz, is clad in a flower crown and dungarees, and has a stage presence that manages to be both primal and authorative. The cutting riff of ‘It Can’t Wait’, supplied by Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, perfectly underlines Ruiz’s sincere delivery. ‘Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas)’ is buzzing with hardcore punk energy. The set ends with ‘A Wall’, the contemporaneous opener to Downtown Boys’ 2017 LP Cost Of Living. I catch Ruiz in the Stables later, where I pester her to sign my newly purchased copy of that LP. She is charming and signs it ‘XOXO 4 ever chulas – Victoria’.

My gig-going accomplice, Jo Chustecki, arrives, excited to watch Diet Cig. Guitarist Alex Luciano briefs the crowd: “Our shows are safe spaces. Be kind to each other.”

Their playful ode to teenage romance, ‘Sixteen’, sees Luciano pirouetting across the stage. She leans into the mic and asks, “ready?” – before Noah Bowman kicks in with the drums. This is sugary pop-punk at its finest – not one song outstays its welcome. Luciano is a high-kicking Care Bear. “We’ve been on tour for seven weeks and I’m sick of eating Cheetos from the gas station. But, being here in a room full of punk-ass festival people reminds us why we love it.”

Luciano performs the second drum kit dive of the day (Downtown Boys beat her to it) and it’s not even dark yet. She preaches the true meaning of punk, “Inclusivity for everyone and troubleshooting with your friends because your shit is always broken”, and climbs atop a speaker to kick Bowman’s cymbals while she belts out ‘Scene Sick’ from their 2015 EP Over Easy.

Luciano introduces the newer ‘Apricots’, telling the crowd, “this one’s tender if you have your crush and want to kiss them now”. Closing the set, ‘Barf Day’ is dedicated to “the feeling when you had your favourite food for lunch and you can’t get it out of your head”. For Diet Cig, that favourite food is apparently Toby Carvery.

Repeat of Last Week are downstairs filling the Stables with melodic, interlaced guitars backed with cajón beats. Apparently this was supposed to be an acoustic set, but it got out of hand. I sit outside and listen while eating the packed lunch I brought. It’s a welcome respite from the chaos upstairs, and a recharge is necessary before what’s to come.

The Main Room is the fullest it’s been so far, when Priests take the stage. Vocalist, Katie Alice Greer, is centre stage in a ballet costume and white combat boots. The shambolic bass of 2014’s ‘Doctor’ is the perfect counterpoint to her snarling vocal delivery. In ‘Suck’, Greer achieves a banshee woop to rival Patti Smith.

Daniele Daniele makes the drums shiver beneath the dissonant guitar. Greer is now thrusting at the crowd as her tutu sways back and fourth. They close the set on the stuttering, atonal post-punk freak out ‘And Breeding’. Priests are touring partners with Downtown Boys, and it’s hard to imagine a more perfect pairing.

TRAAMS frontman, Stu Hopkins, urges the crowd to move forward and fill the dreaded semi-circle before they begin their set. Fellow Hungry Ghost Jay Dyer turns to me ominously, still exhausted from yesterday, and declares “It’s either bed or pit. I choose pit.” He disappears into the fray.

Squeals of feedback mark the beginning of TRAAMS’ set, only to stop abruptly so Hopkins can switch out guitars. They kick back in with renewed vigour, all flailing guitar and percussive bass. After the chaos of Priests, TRAAMS’ brand of krautrock is precise and meditative, thanks in part to their driving rhythm section.

Hopkins pauses to wish the crowd a happy Sunday. He says little else. The sinewy alt rock of tracks like ‘A House on Fire’ and ‘Costner’ says it all. Hopkin’s freeform lead guitar balances their spartan performance style perfectly.

After TRAAMS are over, a woman behind me in the toilet queue overhears the other patrons raving about their set, and tells me she regrets her decision to sit in the bar downstairs eating pizza. She’s here for Idles and hasn’t seen any of the other bands this weekend, because she “didn’t know they’d be so good”. I have a feeling she is still going to get her money’s worth.

Idles are the most anticipated band of the weekend. The Main Room is packed before the stage, and there is a jostle for room at the front. They march on and carry out line checks, and are greeted with a jarring chorus of Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. Welcome to Birmingham, Idles. Rattling drums and a single note on bass herald the start of their set with brand new track, ‘Colossus’. Frontman, Joe Talbot, growls into the mic about the building noise: “I am my father’s son, His shadow weighs a ton”.

The room erupts. Bodies surge forward. Table Scraps bassist, Tim Mobbs, can be seen thinking better of his decision to bring his camera into the pit and scrambling over the barrier. Without a break, the driving bass of ‘Mother’ cuts above the cheering. Talbot, who wrote the album Brutalism while grieving for his mother, gives a visceral performance. He spews raw emotion into the microphone. The masses scream along to the refrain, asserting that “the best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich”. The first stage invader of the night takes out the mic stand with a clumsy dive. Hands scramble to pass it back. Fan favourites and brand new tracks sit side-by-side in the unrelenting set.

Idles have the frenzied audience in the palm of their hand. ‘Alcohol’ devolves into primal screams before Talbot announces that, “this next one’s called ‘White Privilege. If you don’t like it, go listen to the fucking 1975”. Guitarist Mark Bowen climbs onto Talbot’s back and proudly strums away. The familiar riff of ‘Well Done’ cuts through the room and the crowd are delirious.

By this point there is an almost constant stream of stage divers, both band members and punters, making their way across the room. In a bold move, they close the set with a brand new song. Relentless, rapid fire drums and thrashing guitar ensure the electric ‘Rottweiler’ is an immediate hit at All Years Leaving. Idles are the white hot punk cherry on top of an unbelievable festival.

Stumbling out into the cold, I see Tim Mobbs and Table Scraps’ drummer Poppy Twist embracing Talbot. I approach him and mumble something about how good their set was. He notices my brand new PINS shirt with approval before disappearing upstairs somewhere. Josh Frost of Mutes and Jay Dyer emerge, covered in glitter that seems to have spread around the audience during the headline set. We try to gather ourselves, shivering in the October cold, before heading home.

All Years Leaving is a testament to what This Is Tmrw are capable of. AYL 2018 can’t come soon enough.

Matters @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Denise Wilson – Birmingham Review

For more on Matters, visit www.soundcloud.com/mattersband