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March 31, 2018

THE GALLERY: Fall Out Boy @ Arena Birmingham 27.03.18

I’ve always wanted to see Fall Out Boy. Ever since I smuggled my brother’s album collection from his room and listened to them on my paint splattered stereo, I’d been determined to catch the band live and in action.

Due to Arena Birmingham’s new security procedures, getting into the venue took longer than usual. So, I unfortunately missed the first support slot – MAX. However, I arrived in time to catch Against the Current – and what a set it was.

Bursting on stage to their single ‘Wasteland’, singer Chrissy Constanza weaved her way across the platform belting out track after track of pure, unaltered pop rock. Songs from their debut album In Our Bones, such as ‘Blood Like Gasoline’, went down a storm with the Arena crowd, as did their closing track ‘Gravity’. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Against the Current head out on their own UK headline tour – they’ll have gained enough fans from this run with Fall Out Boy to do so, that’s for certain.

Fall Out Boy are no strangers to theatrics and this show was no exception to that rule. As the house lights went down, and the stage lit up with a video of crashing waves and a timer, the room erupted into a cacophony of participation as fans counted down with the clock. Opening with their track ‘Phoenix’, I was expecting drama – however, as countless pyro flares went off (and I felt my skin burn from the heat) I realised I may have underestimated just how much effort the band would have put into production.

You name it, they had it. Pyrotechnics, smoke grenades, strobes, even two levitating stages by the sound desks clad in LED screens – if you haven’t heard of Fall Out Boy before, I urge you to see them play not just for the music, but for the experience. It’s rare these days for a band to put together such a strenuous, precise set, and to pull it off with seemingly effortless ease that I cannot even begin to comprehend how.

Bounding up and down the central walkway, singer Patrick Stump and bass guitarist Pete Wentz seemed to possess endless energy throughout the set – sprinting up and down continuously, only stopping to haul themselves onto the two levitating stages at the end. For all of those who had queued to hug the barriers down at the front, this must have been incredibly frustrating – however for the fans cooped up in the balconies, it was a real treat. If you can’t get to Fall Out Boy, rest assured they’ll bring their show to you.

Still riding high on their own phoenix from the flames, and a cemented return to form with MANIA – their third album since the ‘decompression’ – their set list was as varied as ever too. Newer material such as ‘Young and a Menace’, played by Stump on a grand piano, nestled in next to fan favourites such as ‘Dance Dance’ across a 23-song set that was sure to please everyone in the Arena crowd.

There was even an array of challenging and (no doubt intentionally) incendiary video screen clips – from babies swearing during ‘I Don’t Care’ to footage of Princess Diana’s life and untimely death during ‘Champion’. You could almost feel the Daily Mail journalists sharpen their Parker pens at the latter.

But as for the four lads from Illinois, on stage and at the centre of it all, Fall Out Boy pulled together a set that was both provocative and thoroughly enjoyable. And for me, bucket list – tick.

Fall Out Boy @ Arena Birmingham 27.03.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Fall Out Boy, visit www.falloutboy.com

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Against the Current – supporting Fall Out Boy @ Arena Birmingham 27.03.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Against the Current, visit www.atcofficial.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on Arena Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

March 26, 2018

BPREVIEW: Fall Out Boy @ Arena Birmingham 27.03.18

Words by Ed King

On Tuesday 27^th March, Fall Out Boy perform at Arena Birmingham, with support from MAX and Against the Current.

Doors open to Arena Birmingham at 6pm, with Max on stage at 6pm and Against the Current at 7:45pm. Fall Out Boy will be performing from 9pm, with the show scheduled to finish by 10:30pm.

Tickets are priced at £32.50 / £42.50 depending on positioning within the arena, plus booking and fulfillment fees – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours.

For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Fall Out Boy are back on the road with their MAN I A Tour, kicking off a series of 11 European dates at Arena Birmingham. After finishing their UK dates at London’s O2 Arena on 31^st March, with stops in Cardiff (28^th Mar) and Manchester (29^th Mar) in between, Fall Out Boy will go on to play a series of gigs in France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, China, Singapore and Japan, before returning to the US for a series of dates on home soil.

Fall Out Boy will be back in Blighty for two gigs the Reading and Leeds Festivals this summer, should you miss the European leg of their world wide tour and not be able to afford an Uber to Asia or North America. Mind you, knowing Festival Republic the hole in your pocket might end up just as uncomfortable. For full details of all Fall Out Boy shows, click here.

Stalwarts of the new wave pop/punk scene, Fall Out Boy smashed a small hole into the scene with their 2003 album, Take This to Your Grave. Signed by the then relatively small Fueled by Ramen (and subsequently swallowed up by the then relatively monolithic Island Records) Fall Out Boy put some strong feet forward with their twelve track debut. And whilst it may not have been an immediate commercial success, Take This to Your Grave would cement itself into the mindset of the burgeoning pop/punk culture – receiving plaudits and high chart placements in the mainstream media listicles that would try and surmise the genre many years later. But love it, loathe it, own it, or lost it, fifteen years since its release Take This to Your Grave is widely respected as a defining moment in the pop/punk scene.

Fall Out Boy would go on to release a further three albums, before juggling band members, negative press attention, blotter acid, and the ill fated 2008 release of Folie à Deux would push them into a break up. Or hiatus. Or decompression. But whatever the word, the bursting bubble kept Fall Out Boy collectively off a stage and out of a studio for the next few years – finally stepping back into the limelight with their fifth studio album, Save Rock and Roll, in 2012.

Described by Rolling Stone magazine as a ‘rather stunning renaissance’, Fall Out Boy managed to pull themselves back from the cultural abyss with Save Rock and Roll – paving the way for a renewed touring schedule and their second ‘comeback’ album, American Beauty/American Psycho, released on 16^th January 2015.

Nearly three years to the day later, and Fall Out Boy released MAN I A – the band’s seventh studio album, with a extensive worldwide tour to promote it kicking off in September 2017. Hitting the No1 spots in both the US and Japan, reflecting two of Fall Out Boy’s strongest fan bases, MAN I A would also reach top ten chart positions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Finland and the UK – with the album’s latest (and somewhat cathartic) single, ‘Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)’, released in January 2018.

Fall Out Boy start the UK leg of their MAN I A Tour at Arena Birmingham on Tuesday 27^th March, with support from Max and Against the Current.

‘Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)’ – Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy perform at Arena Birmingham on Tuesday 27^th March, with support from Max and Against the Current – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.arenabham.co.uk/whats-on/fall-out-boy

For more on Fall Out Boy, visit www.falloutboy.com

For more on Max, visit www.maxhellskitchen.com

For more on Against the Current, visit www.atcofficial.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on Arena Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

March 3, 2018March 2, 2018

THE GALLERY: Morrissey @ Genting Arena 27.02.18

Words & pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

I never truly clicked with Morrissey’s music, I’ll admit – as a youngster, my dad was much fonder of playing me bands such as The Clash and The Jam as opposed to the man in question.

However, I can remember my best friend in sixth form playing me a handful of tracks from Viva Hate and they’ve been imprinted in the far corners of my brain ever since. So, when the opportunity arose to catch Morrissey at the Genting Arena, performing tracks from his latest album Low in High School, I knew I had go. Back to school it was. Plus, it’s not often you get to see musicians of this standing so up close.

And up close it was. Making my way through the sea of blue jeans and quiffed hair, I picked up my pass and waited to be escorted through to the photo pit. Swarms of fans, who all somehow looked identical, were buzzing into the arena. But not to catch a support act; a video was being played on stage showing highlights from Morrissey’s career.

I’ve taken lots of photos of artists over the years – from shows in tiny rundown venues, to sold out arena concerts with thousands of people. But standing at the front of Morrisey’s near Genting Arena crowd, I don’t think I’ve ever shot a show where an audience has been this absorbed and entranced by a performer.

So, as the curtain drops and Morrissey glides on stage, I am expecting his near 15,000 strong fans to go hysterical. But instead, it’s a subdued sense of wonder that encompasses the room for the following hour or so. Yes, some scream and shout as he wanders over to them, clutching their hands while singing Elvis Presley’s ‘You’ll Be Gone’ – but the majority stand still and stare in blatant wonder. As someone who is used to crowd surfers and mosh pits, it’s a bit bloody odd. But it’s odd in the best way. Tonight is true appreciation.

Morrissey’s setlist reflects the man himself too – uncompromising; a complete mixed bag of covers, newer releases, and some of his earliest work. The show itself is as blatantly political, with a video screen at the back showing brutal animal cruelty during ‘The Bullfighter Dies’ which causes even the hardest of men in the room to wince.

A tribute to the likes of Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne and David Pegg is played during ‘Munich Air Disaster 1958’, while clips of police brutality are aired for ‘Who Will Protect Us from The Police?’ Each track is interspersed with a picture of Morrissey deep in thought, a cigarette poised between his fingers.

Yes, for me some parts of the evening drag slightly. Morrissey’s newest work doesn’t send the room into stupor quite like ‘I Started Something I Can’t Finish’, and there’s something slightly nauseating watching him sing ‘When You Open Your Legs’.

However, tonight’s show at the Genting Arena is, overall, a success. It’s annoyingly impressive. Morrissey makes the stage his own in a way that few ex-front man ever can, with a five figure crowd united in ardent appreciation. And whomever your musical idols may be, from whatever era, that’s something not many will ever achieve.

Morrissey @ Genting Arena 27.02.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Morrissey, visit www.morrisseyofficial.com

For more from the Genting Arena, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

February 21, 2018February 21, 2018

BPREVIEW: Morrissey @ Genting Arena 27.02.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Morrissey will be performing at the Genting Arena on the 27^thFebruary, as part of his first full UK tour since 2015 – giving Birmingham fans the opportunity to hear tracks from his latest album, Low in High School.

Doors open from 6pm, with tickets priced from £40.50 – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Low in High School is Morrissey’s eleventh studio album, and crept its way into the UK charts back when it was released last November. In typical Morrissey fashion, however, it wasn’t the music that received the most attention but the album’s cover art. True, if you want to be noticed then by all means emblazon your latest album with a photo of a child holding a sign exclaiming to axe the monarchy. And an axe. Anyone else might think twice about the consequences of being so outspoken. Not Morrissey.

Which is exactly why his fan base is so loyal. There’s no hiding behind a false persona with this man – what you see is, blatantly, what you get. It’s something that’s carried him through the years from when he fronted the Smiths right up to the blossoming of his solo career. Morrissey‘s fiercely outspoken attitude and carefully crafted aesthetic of a social recluse resonates with fans across the world.

Granted, Morrissey‘s solo career has also been a bit of a roller-coaster. Solo albums such as his debut Viva Hate and the 1994 release Vauxhall and I received unanimous acclaim from even the most hardened critics, while others such as Kill Uncle were described by the musician himself as being saturated with ‘session musician embalming fluid’ and subsequently fell at the very first hurdle.

But endorsed by some of music’s most loyal fans, it’s never a dull moment when you see this man on stage. The live shows themselves can create a touch of controversy here and there with Morrissey‘s personal and political thoughts coming off stage in more than just lyrics, and I’m intrigued to see what he brings to the Genting Arena. A strong portfolio of new tracks and fan favourites, no doubt. But, I mean, anything could happen. It’s Morrissey.

‘Spent the Day in Bed’ – Morrissey (from his latest album, Low in High School)

Morrissey performs at the Genting Arena on Tuesday 27^th February, as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/morrissey

For more on Morrissey, visit www.morrisseyofficial.com

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

For more from the Genting Arena, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

January 21, 2018

THE GALLERY: The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

Tuesday evening. My car headlights stop working on my drive home, and the surprise flakes falling late at night are sticking to the ground. I’m hoping that on Wednesday I don’t wake up to eight inches of snow, and I can find a garage to fit me in to fix my headlights. Thankfully, both of my wishes are granted, and I have no problem making my way to see The Bronx live in Birmingham.

Knowing that the night has sold out, I arrive early to Digbeth’s most quaintly-decorated venue, Mama Roux’s. Standing by the stage in a virtually empty room, I watch it gradually fill up, with those arriving the earliest heading straight upstairs to the balcony to get the best view.

Until this point, I was unaware of who the support act was going to be, or if there even was a support act. I’d only seen this gig promoted by Surprise You’re Dead! Music, as The Bronx playing their latest album, The Bronx V, ‘in its entirety’. I found it a little hard to believe that The Bronx would be playing two and a half hour sets up and down the country.

Not that I doubt that they could. They’ve been touring as both The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx for 15 years, even playing as both bands on the same night. It was just a gut feeling that there had to be someone supporting them throughout this club venue tour.

As it turns out, Ming City Rockers, from Immingham, are supporting The Bronx on their UK album showcase gigs. The East Lincolnshire rockers capture the attention of the audience with their fast-paced, punk rock and roll sound, reminiscent of The Buzzcocks and MC5.

Although there’s no restriction on the amount of photos I can take of bands at Mama Roux’s, I decide to impose the three song rule on myself, just so I can enjoy the rest of Ming City Rocker’s short, but powerful set, along with the rest of the audience. If you like your bands fast, loud, and slightly obnoxious (I mean that in a good way), their album, Lemon, would be worth checking out.

As Ming City Rockers leave the stage, I feel naturally drawn into the dispersion of the room, until this thought suddenly dawned on me: ‘This floor will be packed with people nearer the time The Bronx are on, do I really want to move away from the stage?’

I position myself to the left, until I’m wedged between stage speakers and the rest of the front row. I’m aware I’m not going to be in this position for too long but I have a decent place to start shooting from before things get less than ideal.

With the instruments set up, and beers settled by each amplifier, The Bronx are warmly welcomed by the Birmingham crowd. Frontman, Matt Caughthran, edges closer to the audience, greeting them as if meeting an old friend, before the band explodes into The Bronx V from start to finish. With where I’m positioned, I take advantage of getting shots in the limited time Matt Caughthran spends on stage – he seems more comfortable out in the middle of the crowd.

I’d gone into this gig presuming that my biggest challenge would be trying to get focused pictures in the middle of a frantic mosh pit, with an onslaught of stage divers and a poorly-lit environment.

However, it was something else entirely. Whenever Matt Caughthran was down in the room, from where I was perched on the slightly poked out corner of a speaker to give me a higher vantage point, I found myself in a Where’s Wally? situation, as I was having trouble differentiating which out of the many bald, tattooed men present was The Bronx’s frontman. Following the trail of the microphone cable into the crowd didn’t help me find him either, as he’s quite short. There were times I’m sure I was focusing on the wrong person.

After playing their fifth, eponymous release from their record label, White Drugs, The Bronx ventured into more familiar territory, with fan favourites such as ‘White Guilt’, ‘Knifeman’, and set closer ‘History’s Stranglers’.

I know us concert photographers tend to prefer to shoot in the comfort of photo pits, away from people knocking our elbows in minimal space. But I have to admit, shooting a vibrant punk show in a packed out, intimate venue with poor lighting, not only provides a fun, yet frustrating challenge. It also gives you images that document the soul of punk rock in Birmingham.

The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review