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November 3, 2017November 14, 2017

BREVIEW: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17

Words by Molly Forsyth / Pics Phil Drury

Beaten leather jackets, faded skinny jeans, slightly greying hair and classic rock band tees… a seasoned crowd of music fans are with me at the O2 Academy to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BMRC).

Formed in 1998, the San Francisco trio have anchored themselves as one of the Noughties’ most memorable rock bands, with a die-hard fanbase to boot. Traversing classic hard rock, blues, post punk and anything else from the grimier underbelly of rock, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are a band who are proud to stick to their guns. While their contemporaries favoured disco beats and New Romantic candour back in 2005, they couldn’t cut through BRMC’s distortion and bluster. This is probably why the band are still going strong and touring in support of their upcoming eighth studio album, Wrong Creatures.

With their history in mind, it makes perfect sense for the opening act to be Restavrant, a rare breed of a band borne from the Los Angeles scene by two blues fanatics hailing from the Deep South. Restavrant come to Birmingham trucker capped, plaid clad and ready to bring the Texan heat to the stage. From the first song, the energy borders on dangerous when drummer Tyler Whiteside’s makeshift cymbals splinter from his strikes. What follows is an intoxicating blend of DIY punk and old school blues, but far more earnest than you would come to expect from an LA scene of poseur rock.

The creativity of Restavrant shines brightest for their half hour in the spotlight. Self-taught and unrestricted by traditional rock band set-ups, neither band member sticks to the beaten path in their playing techniques. Guitarist, Troy Murrah, is incapable of playing in a traditional style for more than two minutes, attacking the fretboard from almost every angle physically possible and showing the diversity of 16-bar blues with every song. Whiteside’s unorthodox kit, complete with an electronic pad, a suitcase for a kick drum and various other scraps of metal as percussion, is a perfect example of how this band infuse their Southern roots into their craft.

There isn’t much room for any respite or reflection in this stormer of a set, but Restavrant aren’t pretending to strive for anything beyond purely guttural rock, nor would you want them to. In a genre currently suffering under the rise of hip-hop and a trend towards minimalism and softness, Restavrant show determination to bring rock n’ roll back to its former glory, even if only for half an hour.

What follows from the main act of the evening doesn’t really match the pace or excitement that Restavrant incite within the crowd. I’m not expecting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to have a full-throttle set for 90-plus minutes, but the 24-song set starts to drag from ‘Beat The Devil’s Tattoo’ onwards. I don’t want to suggest an experienced live band could sound amateurish, but it wouldn’t be unfair to suspect that tonight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are suffering from sound engineering problems. There’s no emphasis on any harsh or soft moments, or indeed barely any change in dynamic at all from song to song. The guitars start to bleed into a drone that is hard to distinguish, save a few recognisable riffs; the issue is so prevalent that I didn’t realise they were covering Tom Petty’s ‘It’s Good to Be King’ until around a minute into the track.

Sound issues aside, I get the feeling that BRMC are aware of their longevity and find comfort in it rather than a challenge. There is definite fan service being paid, with the hardcore faction of the crowd clearly enjoying every second. For anyone else with a slightly more casual appreciation however, it’s a tough set to sink into. As a band famed for their live abilities, tonight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club aren’t quite delivering what they are known for during a live show. They remain mostly static, crowd interaction is minimal, and any playfulness with songs they’ve been entertaining with for years is hard to come by.

Drummer, Leah Shapiro, holds the fort perfectly as the rhythmic core of the group but seems almost bored of her role, rarely breaking away from the studio versions even though she definitely has scope and ability to. The stark, primary-colour lighting and moody smoke effects are reminiscent of early Interpol shows done as a gimmick. All in all, the set is unfortunately nondescript.

Their two biggest singles to date – ‘Spread Your Love’ and ‘Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll’ – are unsurprisingly left till last. Frustratingly, it’s only now that the band come alive; a few plastic pint cups start to bounce off the crowd’s increasing undulation. Levon Been shows a little rowdiness and whips up the front row into a frenzy. After an hour of sleepwalking through their hits, all of a sudden it starts to resemble a rock show, albeit too late for me.

But there are brief moments of magic from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tonight. ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’, ‘Stop’ and ‘666 Conducer’ are able to break through the onset ennui. Peter Heyes’ solo take on ‘Devil’s Waitin’’ is also impressive.

I leave the O2 Academy with no less respect for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club but a little deflated, having been pumped up with high expectations. I will make sure I give Wrong Creatures a listen upon its release, and my lingering hope is that the next time BRMC make a live outing the quality of the performance matches the undeniable quality of their back-catalogue.

Restavrant – supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17 / Phil Drury – Birmingham Review

For more on Restavrant, visit www.restavrant.bandcamp.com

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17 / Phil Drury – Birmingham Review

For more on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, visit www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

October 18, 2017October 17, 2017

BPREVIEW: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17

Words by Ed King / Pic by Tessa Angus

On Saturday 28^th October, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ride through Birmingham – coming to the O2 Academy as part of their nine date UK tour (plus one in Dublin).

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £28.65 (including booking fee) – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig info, including venue details and online tickets sales, click here.

Responsible for one of the best debut albums ever… yep, I went there… Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been tearing up the asphalt on both sides of the pond (and beyond) since 1998. Some call them ‘shoegaze’, some all them ‘grunge’, some call them ‘garage rock’, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have a distinctive twisted metal sound that they can comfortable call their own. ‘Fucking awesome’ is where I personally land, but with well over 200,000 words in the English language I’m sure you can come up with a more erudite description. Or you could just listen.

Globetrotting with a new album in the wings, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are coming to Birmingham to push their impending new album – Wrong Creatures, which will, apparently, possibly, be with us just after Christmas.

But having waited half a decade since their last LP, the 12 track monster that is Specter at the Feast, a few months here or there won’t bite down too hard. At least I’ll have something to spend those iTunes vouchers on, that will no doubt appear in some relative’s Hallmark hug this December (…other online music downloads are available).

Having recorded and released on their own imprint since 2008 (starting with the download only The Effects of 333) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been able to reinvent and reiterate all the cogs in their machine, drifting from the Native American rhythms of ‘Beat the Devil’s Tattoo’, passing through the dark rock heart of ‘War Machine’ and ‘Teenage Disease’, to stand still at the morbid curiosity of ‘Fire Walker’. Awesome. Relentless. Lots of other words; 24rs spent ploughing through this band’s back catalogue would not be a day wasted. Even if you’re wasted.

Now there’s another album in the offing too, and whilst we don’t know much about Wrong Creatures here’s a little taste of what’s to come… and yeah, that’ll do. The rest we’ll get to see/hear coming off stage at the O2 Academy on Say 28th October.

‘Little Thing Gone Wild’ – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

For more on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, visit www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017

BREVIEW: An American Werewolf in London @ Dudley Castle 05.08.17

Words by Molly Forsyth

Reclining in my camping chair, I look across to my right at one of the ruinous baileys of Dudley Castle. A full moon sits ominously to the side, peering neatly over a grey cloud. Poetic, I think, for such a night as this.

I sit at Dudley Castle with hundreds of others (999 more, according to the ticket sales – Ed) for a screening of the 1981 cult classic film, comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London, hosted by Flatplack.

The open-air cinema event has the crowd abuzz; hives of Black Country folk swarm the bars and food stands, symbols of the occult are beamed on the walls, and the blow-up screen beams the iconic face of the ravenous lycanthrope that gave many people nightmares over 35 years ago.

The event opens with the much-lauded 2011 short film Howl, telling the tale of a young mother in denial of her daughter’s feral tendencies, from rampantly drinking water out of the toilet bowl to feeding from the pet dog amongst her puppies. Conflicted by her duties as a parent, the mother eventually accepts her daughter’s truth as a creature of the night, choosing to let her live freely as a werewolf rather than repress her.

Howl refrains from invoking plain-faced terror and instead explores the quietly-ignored horror of social denigration of those who are different, all through the eyes of a loved one. Natalie Bettelheim and Sharon Michaeli’s seven-minute feature is an able demonstration of how less is more, creating suspense, pathos and ultimately catharsis for its subject with a limited monochromatic palette and simplistic, hand-drawn animations.

Next is a more in-your-face spectacle, the full version of Michael Jackson’s music video masterpiece, Thriller. Thriller is director John Landis’ other most famous work aside from American Werewolf in London, and proves to be just as entertaining as it was in 1983. It strikes me upon viewing how rare it is to see such a complete conceit as Thriller in modern day pop culture.

From the wry inclusion of horror film icon Vincent Price, to the iconic dance of the zombie troupes as they descend upon Jackson’s helpless cinema date, every detail is accounted for in the full 14-minute run. While music videos are used more as a marketing ploy these days, Thriller remains a work of art in its own right and deserves its legend status judging by the audience members up on their feet.

Before An American Werewolf in London’s opening shots of the moors roll out on screen, an introductory video from John Landis himself plays for the crowd. In an unexpected treat, Landis jokes about the zoo setting for tonight, and warns the crowd to stick to the roads in a sly nod to the fates of David Hessler and Jack Goodman on their Yorkshire trip.

As American Werewolf in London is screened, the audience screech and wail their way through the 90-minute romp. There’s laughter at rotting corpses confronting the tortured David in the middle of a moral crisis at an adult cinema, and some fright as he makes his graphic transformation into the titular wolf and stalks his pray through the deserted Tube and Regent’s Park.

The communal element to tonight’s fun plays on my mind. For many sitting with me within the castle remains tonight, this screening is a moment of sweet nostalgia. We all share the experiences of sneaking into the forested grounds at night, looking over the houses of Dudley and getting our kicks from ghastly and grim folklore born from the castle with over a millennium of history to its name. Indeed, An American Werewolf in London is a film from some of our youths that compounds the chills and scares we indulged in recklessly, which makes tonight all the more valuable to this town.

All in all, tonight is a resounding success. Following their screening of Bride of Frankenstein last year, Flatpack have put on another fun event that is part of Dudley’s commitment to bringing its nightlife and entertainment offering back to its former glory.

My only critique is that this needs to be done more often. With Hallowe’en around the corner, there are opportunities here for Dudley to make the most of its medieval history with more creative events such as these, and I sincerely hope they do so.

For more from Flatpack, including their Assemble screenings and ongoing projects outside of the festival, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk

For more from Dudley Castle, visit www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/dudley-castle

March 8, 2016

BPREVIEW: Howl feat. Casey Bailey, Heather Wastie, Sean Colletti @ The Dark Horse 10.02.16

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 9^th March, Howl returns for Round II at The Dark Horse in Moseley – presenting spoken word & performed poetry/prose from Casey Bailey, Heather Wastie, Sean Colletti + various open mics slots to be announced on the day.

Howl is a Sansho event, co-promoted & presented by Leon Priestnall. Doors open at 7:30pm with entry charged at £3 – for direct event info, click here.

Starting off their new monthly run at The Dark Horse in Feb this year, after having been previously fed & watered at The Sun at the Station for one turn round the sun, Howl began in pretty fine fettle. A full room, some cracking open mic spots (including a gherkin/felt tip pen/the frivolity of youth analogy… oh yes) and three different but solid headline slots – Howl once again avoided the uncomfortable self-congratulation that this genre can survive on. Genuine, funny, intelligent, endearing. Give it red hair and a piano, and I’ll walk it down the aisle.

March’s line up at Howl looks similarly eclectic, with three more headline performers who come from very different sides of the ring. For more info on each have a look at the Written Word below:

Casey Bailey / A Birmingham poet. A Birmingham rapper. Casey Bailey has a standalone, calm approach – writing and performing material about the more visceral end of the human endevour. He also teaches rap and poetry in workshops and classrooms, using his craft as a vehicle of expression for those who so badly need to express. Check out Casey Bailey delivering his personal ode to our city, performing ‘Dear Birmingham’ – click here. For more on Casey Bailey, visit http://baileysrapandpoetry.com/

Heather Wastie / Worcestershire’s Poet Laureate across 2015/16, Heather Wastie performs as a ‘poet, singer/songwriter, keyboard/accordion player, actor, humourist and facilitator.’ She promotes too, running/comparing the monthly Mouth and Music night at The Boars Head in Kidderminster – where Howl host, Leon Priestnall, performed last October. Also a published poet & oral historian, Heather Wastie has compiled four poetry collections – with her last, Weaving Yarns, regaling ‘a unique infectious cocktail of assorted snippets and stories about the carpet industry’ in Kidderminster. For more on Heather Wastie, visit http://www.wastiesspace.co.uk/

Sean Colletti / Born and raised in California (not the one near Quinton), Sean Colletti came to the UK to read Creative Writing at Birmingham University (BA) and the Universtity of East Anglia (MA). Choosing the lesser of two evils, Colletti returned to Birmingham for his PhD and to write his first novel – whilst performing ‘his first love’ at poetry events across the city. And if we’ve found the right Sean Colletti on Twitter, he also enjoys sci-fi, whiskey and losing at poker… sounds like a Friday night in to me. For more on Sean Colletti, visit https://www.facebook.com/sean.colletti

Howl feat. Casey Bailey, Heather Wastie, Sean Colletti returns to The Dark Horse on Wednesday 9^th March. For direct event info, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/842848142527054/

For more from The Dark Horse, visit http://www.darkhorsemoseley.co.uk/

February 8, 2016

BPREVIEW: Howl feat. Joe Cook, Lydia Scarlett, Afrah Yafai @ The Dark Horse 10.02.16

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 10^th February, Howl opens at The Dark Horse in Moseley – presenting spoken word & performed poetry/prose from Joe Cook, Lydia Scarlett, Afrah Yafai + open mics slots to be announced on the day. Doors open at 7:30pm with entry charged at £3 – for direct event info, click here.

Howl is a Sansho event, co-promoted & presented by Leon Priestnall.

Beginning at the Sun at the Station at the beginning of 2015, Howl has carved a solid little curve into the back of Birmingham’s spoken word and performed poetry/pose scene. Named after the Ginsberg poem, which has been both heralded and contested as a poem written for performance, Howl (the event…) had a solid first year at the Kings Heath watering hole.

Previously run for free but well worth some money (it’s now three English Pound Sterling to get through the door), Howl is the familiar set up of more established writers/performers alongside the potential gems and car crashes of an open mic roster. Curated and presented by local poet Leon Priestnall, the night is now moving over to The Dark Horse in Moseley, taking over the second Wednesday of each month at the B13 venue.

Birmingham Review attended Howl at The Sun at the Station undercover and saw a markedly more balanced night than other events of the same ilk. But that may have been the cider. It can always be the cider. Still, it lodged in our ‘good night out’ cerebral cache, that terrifying abyss, and we’re hoping there will be more of the same at it’s new Moseley home. Here’s a little intro to who’s on in Round One at The Dark Horse:

Joe Cook / Seemingly all things to all men, ‘Joe Cook is a spoken word Artist, lyricist, musician and political activist based in Birmingham.’ Sounds exhausting. But the boy can certainly deliver, and has been the front end of many worthwhile endevours in Birmingham – honing many of his wily ways through Beatfreaks and Apple & Snakes. Witty, insightful and confident… let’s just hope he’s a terrible dancer. For a bit more on Joe Cook (and Howl), visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sd_6KhL6U

Lydia Scarlett / A singer, storyteller and ‘quirky songstress’, Lydia Scarlett has just released her debut album – the appropriately titled, Just Lydia. Out from October 2015, on the potentially inappropriately titled Paddywack Records (unless it’s a reference to cow ligaments?), the 12 track (kind of, sort of) debut is a versatile mix of acoustic and Folk, with narrative firmly at the front. For more on Lydia Scarlett, visit http://www.lydiascarlett.com/

Afrah Yafai / The dark horse at The Dark Horse, to us anyway, we don’t know much about Afrah Yafai – and our customary Google search didn’t do much to help. But in the words of Howl’s own Facebook page: ‘Afrah’s performances are sincere and her writing will have you clicking for days.’ Sounds good, apart from the last three words. I may bring my HAPPY TO BE HERE CYMBALS.

Howl feat. Joe Cook, Lydia Scarlett, Afrah Yafai comes to The Dark Horse on Wednesday 10^th February, launching the event’s new a monthly run at the Moseley venue. For direct event info, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1723728741196063/

For more from The Dark Horse, visit http://www.darkhorsemoseley.co.uk/