hare&hounds Archives - Page 2 of 4 -

February 15, 2017February 15, 2017

BPREVIEW: Hidden Charms + The Bay Rays, The Lizards @ Hare & Hounds 16.02.17

Words by Ed King / Pic by Lee Vincent Grubb

On Thursday 16^th February, Hidden Charms perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) with support from The Bay Rays + The Lizards.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced at £7 plus a booking fee – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

One of the ever impressive Delta Sonic signings, Hidden Charms are psychedelic prog rock ‘who deliver propulsive, urgent rock n’ roll’ through their self described ‘prowling guitar riffs,’ ‘thundering tribal drums’ and ‘gritty dual vocals.’ It’s pretty awesome stuff too, if a whiskey stained 70’s hangover is your mixed bag of indie and rock.

Hidden Charms released their four track Harder From Here EP earlier this year, opening with the audio monster that is ‘I Just Wanna Be Left Alone’, and have been on the road since the pointy end of January. Enjoying a near as damn sell out tour, not a bad achievement following the first payday after New Year, Hidden Charms will be on the Hare & Hounds‘ stage for the last-but-one-but-one date on their 12 date UK tour.

Support has been (and will be again) from The Bay Rays, with The Lizards joining in for the Birmingham pit stop.

‘I Just Wanna Be Left Alone’ – Hidden Charms

Hidden Charms perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) on Thursday 16^th February, with support from The Bay Rays + The Lizzards. For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

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For more on Hidden Charms, visit www.hidden-charms.com

For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

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

January 22, 2017January 24, 2017

BREVIEW: The Blue Aeroplanes @ Hare & Hounds 19.01.17

Words by Steve Crawford / Pics by Denise Wilson

Thursday 19^th January saw the return of The Blue Aeroplanes to a sold-out Hare & Hounds, promoting their 14^th studio album Welcome, Stranger! Last seen at this venue in December 2013 it appears to be the exact same line-up tonight. Famous for their ever-changing crew (47, including today’s line up) is this period of stability something of a record for the band?

The roar of aircraft engines fill the room and the stage lights go into search-light mode as all seven members of The Blue Aeroplanes take to the stage. Head aeroplane, Gerard Langley, in check suit and ever present wayfarer shades, clutches a folder of full of lyrics giving him the air of a cool college tutor. (In keeping with the hero-teacher role, and as way of introducing a couple of songs, he later gives a mini-lecture on the superstition associated with walking under ladders and pose a philosophical conundrum on the existence, or non-existence, of the future.)

‘Dead Tree! Dead Tree!’ from Welcome, Stranger! opens the set, followed by ‘Yr Own World’ from the 1991 album Beatsongs. “So far 50-50″, declares Gerard Langley, “but this is not a nostalgia exercise” he warns, alluding to the fact that over half the set will be comprised of new material with all ten tracks from Welcome, Stranger! being played tonight. Or possibly referring to the rumour that this album is something of a departure for the band sound wise? In a recent interview with Marc Riley, Langley said Welcome, Stranger! is “less of the leftfield, arty, poetry stuff and more of the riff-y, chorus-y stuff’.

This ‘riff-y, chorus-y stuff’ is evident in the songs ‘Looking for the X’s On A Map’ and ‘Here Is The Heart of All Wild Things’ – the latter including a My Bloody Valentine ‘You Made Me Realise’ extended aural assault section, as guitars and drums repeatedly pound away in the closing minutes. ‘Skin’ sees guitarist Bec Jevons adeptly fronting the band, taking on lead vocals whilst still rocking out foot on monitor style with her Fender Stratocaster. Played live this proves to be an absolute tank buster of a song.

So not an exercise in nostalgia. But tonight isn’t just about the new stuff and there’s room for some more much-loved old familiars. ‘What It Is‘, slows things down and the crowd sway along. Gerard Langley is relieved of vocal duties for two numbers as first guitarist, Gerard Starkie, and then bassist, Chris Sharp, take on ‘Missy Lane’ and ‘Fun’ respectively. But it’s two of the big hitters from Swagger, ‘…And Stones’ and ‘Jacket Hangs’ (playing cards thrown into the crowd in unison with the opening lines), that are met with the biggest cheers of the night; pockets of the audience are dancing, throwing their arms around and generally swanning about.

Talking of dancing… it’s about time The Blue Aeroplanes’ long-standing dancer, Wojtek Dmochowski, was mentioned. He seems to have decided that middle-age isn’t for him; it’s just not his thing. In constant motion (and a sweat drenched red ‘#keepcorbyn’ t-shirt) he bends, leaps, weaves and free dances his way around fellow band members, pushing himself off the walls, eventually ending up in the audience for a dance along. Earlier Langley had joked that Wojtek Dmochowski was only here to flog his new fitness DVD.

But Gerard Langley has some fine stage moves himself: dodge, step aside, swing, take cover manoeuvres that look a lot more manageable than a ‘full Wojtek’. The rest of The Blue Aeroplanes engage in semi-choreographed mayhem as they joust, thrust, charge and entangle each other with guitar cables and, like Dmochowski, eventually spill out into the audience during one of the encores.

The first of which (we get two tonight) includes a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ and ‘Poetland, the last song played from Welcome Stranger! The second encore begins with a lone Bec Jevons on stage, starting up the riff for traditional set closer: Tom Verlaine’s ‘Breaking in My Heart’. Soon joined by the rest of The Blue Aeroplanes, plus support act – Leicester’s Michael Vickers, more cavorting ensues from both tonight’s musicians and audience.

As the final few bars are thrashed out, Gerard Langley collects his notes, walks to the side of the stage, and causally puts on his jacket. Lecture over.

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For more on The Blue Aeroplanes, visit www.theblueaeroplanes.com

For more from the Hare & Hounds, including full events listings and online tickets sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

December 24, 2016

THE GALLERY: Dorcha + Chartreuse, Delta Autumn @ Hare & Hounds 22.12.16

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

On Thursday 22^nd December, Dorcha performed at the Hare & Hounds with Chartreuse + Delta Autumn as support.

Headlining the This Is Tmrw Christmas shindig, Dorcha were also releasing their new ISM EP – with hard press copies available for the first time. Dorcha had previously released a limited digital run at their Centrala party in mid November.

Lurking head and shoulders above the rest, if such as thing is logistically possible, was Jay Dyer – taking notes for a BREVIEW in between the occasional Winterval Shandy. To, be, continued after Christmas.

But to get something out before THE BIG DAY, and to save you too much of that troublesome reading lark, here’s some pics of all the acts on the Xmas bill from Rob Hadley. For the Full Flicker of Pics, click here or on featured links.

Now go wrap some pressies; Back to the Future’s on soon.

Happy holidays all x

Delta Autumn – supporting Dorcha @ Hare & Hounds 22.12.16

For more on Delta Autumn, visit www.deltaautumnmusic.com

Chartreuse – supporting Dorcha @ Hare & Hounds 22.12.16

For more on Chartreuse, visit www.facebook.com/chartreuseband

Dorcha @ Hare & Hounds 22.12.16

For more on Dorcha, visit www.facebook.com/Dorchauk

For more from This Is Tmrw, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.thisistmrw.co.uk

For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

December 21, 2016

BPREVIEW: Dorcha + Chartreuse, Delta Autumn @ Hare & Hounds 22.12.16

Words by Ed King

On Thursday 22^nd December, Dorcha perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) with Chartreuse + Delta Autumn as support.

Doors open at 7:30pm. Tickets are priced at £7 (advance) and £10 (otd) with ‘all proceeds from this show will now go towards helping those affected by the Aleppo crisis.’ For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

This Is Tmrw will be also throwing some DJs into the Christmas pudding, as it’s their party and they’ll play if they want to, with a ‘Special Guest’ also curiously billed to appear… Could it be Father Christmas?

No. He doesn’t exist. And how scary is a fat cosplayer, drunk on Sherry, creeping into your children’s bedroom at three in the morning..? Someone get Paul Dacre on the phone.

The obligatory Santa/Sexual Predator jokes aside; this looks like a good celebration whatever your appropriated religious predilection. Dorcha have (kind sorta) released a new EP recently, ISM, making some limited edition copies available at their Centrala party in mid November.

Being (INSERT PLAYFUL SELF DEPRECIATION) we never made it to Minerva Works and have been quietly self harming ever since. But now, dear hearts, bring out the short sleeves ‘cos Dorcha will be selling CDs at the Hare. It’s like Christmas.

Supporting Dorcha are the ever wonderful and sublime, Chartreuse. Named after mountains, monks or some really poky liquor, this Birmingham four piece are but wee nippers in the broader scheme of things – but bugger me with a salad tosser, they’re already amongst the cream of Birmingham crop. Like a chunk of 4D fell into Lou Reed’s overnight bag, got covered in Absinthe and glitter, before being sprinkled around Bobby Gillespie’s hotel room at 6am… It’s fair to say we like them. But see what you think – we rely too much on metaphors anyway.

Also supporting are Delta Autumn. Honestly, we don’t know much about this band. Except that it wasn’t always a band. But self described as ‘smashing hip hop, glitch, pop, rock, jazz and electro acoustic compositional techniques together to create a sound that sits somewhere between James Blake, Flying Lotus and Thundercat’ they sound worth a stop, look, listen. And This Is Tmrw are not often wrong.

But if you want a sneaky peak there’s a few tracks on Delta Autumn’s website for you to scroll through, including the oddly frenetic ‘Citrus Quotes’ with Juice Aleem – always a good name to see on a track listing.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Dorcha / ISM EP Launch party @ Centrala 17.11.16

On Thursday 22^nd December, Dorcha perform at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) with support from Chartreuse + Delta Autumn. For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

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For more on Dorcha, visit www.facebook.com/Dorchauk

For more on Chartreuse, visit www.facebook.com/chartreuseband

For more on Delta Autumn, visit www.deltaautumnmusic.com

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For more artwork from Lewes Herriot, visit www.lewesherriot.carbonmade.com

For more from This Is Tmrw, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thisistmrw.co.uk

For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

September 19, 2016

BREVIEW: John J Presley + Table Scraps, The Hungry Ghosts @ Hare & Hounds 14.09.16

Words by Jay Dyer / Pic by Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

Wednesdays are not exactly prime nights for live music. Venues generally struggle to attract punters to their doors, punters whom have most likely hit the hump of the working week and long for the weekend. Surprisingly, however, as I arrive at the sun drenched Hare & Hounds I’m happy to see many people out to delve into some mid-week indulgence.

Entertainment for this evening comes in three forms: John J. Presley, Table Scraps and The Hungry Ghosts – which, from an initial perspective, looks like a bit of a mismatch. I head back up the winding stairs and into the Hare‘s smaller Venue 2. The room has been cut in half by a looming black curtain, I guess in order to condense the crowd, but alas we all huddle at the back – leaving enough space for a decent sized family car between ourselves and the stage.

The Hungry Ghosts take to the stage in their now customary fashion, seemingly appearing out of thin air. The band emerge without much fanfare, except front man Joe Joseph who looks like he got off his ship in Whitby and travelled down to Birmingham via a cowboy convention.

As the set commences, their impact become apparent. The marriage of the booming rhythm section and the screaming guitars is something to behold. It seems The Hungry Ghosts have spent a lot of time in the rehearsal room since the last time I saw them, ensuring they dial in their sound precisely on the brink of annihilation. The quiet to loud dynamics are wonderfully maintained with each movement proving both intricate and deadly. Then there is the swagger. During parts of the set they are touching on Nick Cave levels of swagger. ‘Super King King’ is a perfect example, with the strutting riff echoing around the room.

As Joe Joseph peruses the stage and beyond, the bass line creates a head bobbing, lip turning, effortlessly sexy beat. The Hungry Ghosts describe their sound as ‘slaughterhouse blues’. I agree. Just when you think you’re safe, you are riding the waves of chaos into impending doom. I love it. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Next up on stage tonight are Table Scraps. The three piece bring a fast paced brand of punk rock which has understandably rewarded them with much respect and admiration within the Birmingham ‘scene’.

They started out life as a two-piece, but have since added a bass player which makes all the difference. Table Scraps’ sound is light and thick in all the right places and they really know how to write a catchy hook. Whether it is the gloomy, sludge filled ‘Bad Feeling’, or the thumping ‘Motorcycle’, the band know how to knock you about and leave you begging for more.

Guitarist, Scott Abbott, is seriously good; combining complex guitar lines with singing duties is no easy feat, yet he pulls it off with enough instinct to make it seem effortless. The crowd respond with a bit more energy than they did with The Hungry Ghosts, moving into the no-man’s land in front of the stage and having a few knocks about.

Table Scraps’ sound is forged through the intense driving bass lines and pounding drums battling the high end guitar lines and the accompanying gruff vocals. It takes you on a journey through the best parts of punk rock and reassures you that it’s just a heap of fun.

The room reaches its capacity for this evening and the headline act appears on stage to a cheer from the crowd; enter John J. Presley, flanked by his backing musicians. Their focus, the heavy musical influences of the southern states of the U.S. and the forming of blues escapism; tonight’s set is dripping in conventional blues guitar styles and played with such a tender touch that it must be admired.

However, as the performance goes on things start to grind on me; songs begin to merge, sounding identical to the one preceding it. There is very little change or movement in the music, which ultimately leads to myself and some of the other crowd members becoming restless.

And whilst I am a complete advocate for poetic versatility making a prominent return to song lyrics, John J. Presley is going in the wrong direction. His lyrics feel overly conceited, so much so that I can mouth the next line with such ease it’s unbelievable.

I enjoy listening to blues, and understand it has the problem of being restrictive upon experimentation. But unfortunately I find tonight’s set derivative of everything I have heard before; it is not breaking any ground, at all, seeming to settle and stagnate as the set wears on.

Back on the positives though, I do admire John J. Presley voice – it’s wonderfully thick and raspy, which is great for his own style. Also the music is technically played, precisely, and with a level of ability few people possess. I am just saddened to find myself sat at the back of the venue by the end of the set.

For more on John J Presley, visit www.johnjpresley.com

For more on Table Scraps, visit www.facebook.com/tablescrapshq

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.facebook.com/the.hungry.ghosts

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For more from the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk