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December 3, 2017December 3, 2017

THE GALLERY: Rews + The Hungry Ghosts + Ed Geater at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

On Saturday 25th November, Birmingham Review presented its Winter Showcase at the Actress & Bishop – a sold out live gig with Rews, The Hungry Ghosts and Ed Geater. It’s taken me more than a week to recover.

I’ve sat down to write a review of the night several times too, but how do you write a report about your own gig..? You can’t, well I can’t. But luckily our friends at Counteract can, so for Charlotte Niblett’s two cents on the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase click here – with some cracking pics from Paul Reynolds thrown in for good measure. And I have been kicking myself that in all the copy I’ve written about Ed Geater I never came up with ‘triple threat’… good work Charlotte, love that one.

Also, I kinda/sorta don’t have to write anything as the solider of Birmingham Review (or Rob Hadley as he is know in the wider world) was front row and centre for the entire evening with a camera in his hands. And if a picture paints a thousand words then there’s around 84k without you fluttering an eyelash or me hitting a key. Any more would just be rude.

There are some cherry picked pics below, but I would CAPITAL LETTER SUGGEST you check out the full Flickr of Rob’s pics by clicking on this hyperlink or the suitably subtle prompts littering this report.

But now you’ve got me typing away… the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase wasn’t only a chance to book three acts that are all amongst the most exciting on the national gig circuit today, it was an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is. Birmingham Review covers many corners of the city’s cultural landscape, but music is where we began and will always be an intrinsic part of our content.

Rews, The Hungry Ghosts and Ed Geater all have a real “chance at whatever metaphor you use for success”, and we’ve said so with words and pics several times before. But on Saturday 25^th November Birmingham Review got to be part of that progression, even if only for one night. But what an incredible night it was.

Ed Geater opened up to an already busy room, playing the tried and tested from his portfolio such a ‘Symmetry’ and ‘Don’t Think’ alongside a quick toe dip into some newer waters. Layering beat boxing over acoustic six string melodies, with the occasional breakbeat to keep you quite literally on toes, Geater kicked off the Winter Showcase with poise and aplomb. The Hungry Ghosts swaggered on stage for the second set, oozing with gin and mischief, and served up a fine platter of slaughterhouse blues with ‘Amerika’, ‘Lazaro’ and a slightly tweaked ‘Super King King’. Raw, raucous, and now with a cemented new line up, there is just so much to love about this band.

Then it was Rews… half way through their UK tour to promote Pyro, the duo’s corker of a debut album, and straight into a gut punching rock explosion with ‘Let It Roll’. On fire throughout the entire set, featuring album tracks including ‘Your Tears’, ‘Miss You in the Dark’ and ‘Death Yawn’ alongside the ferocious ‘Can You Feel It?’ (one of my personal favourites live), Rews quite simply nailed it – Shauna Tohill’s fearless front stage lead as Colette Williams powers through with vocals and percussion, it’s awesome stuff. Birmingham will never be quite the same again.

The other significant win at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase was the crowd. There’s a lot of talk about ‘supporting the local music scene’ but unless you drag yourself out of the house, stick a smile on your chops, and get involved when musicians and singers are bearing their souls on stage… then talk is all that it will ever be. At the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase 175 people did all of the things I’ve just listed. And it felt phenomenal. To everyone who was upstairs at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25^th November, I both salute and thank you.

The Birmingham Review Winter Showcase was also my swansong, as I now hand the reigns over to Helen Knott – who is taking over as Birmingham Review editor, and Damien Russell – who is coming in as Birmingham Preview editor.

I will be moving over to editor-in-chief (sounds more glamorous than it is) and focusing on the books and periodicals set for release under Review Publishing. Look out for our first titles which will be on shelf by the end of 2017: Snapshots of Mumbai – a coffee table book about the Indian megacity, and the Birmingham Music Review 2017 anthology.

We’re recruiting too, so if you know your way around a QWERTY keyboard or a DSLR please email charlotte@birminghamreview.net

Meanwhile, back at the Actress & Bishop…

Rews at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on Rews, visit www.rewsmusic.com

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The Hungry Ghosts at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.thehungryghosts.co.uk

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Ed Geater at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

For more on Ed Geater, visit www.edgeater.co.uk

For more from the Actress & Bishop, including venue details and links to event, visit www.theactressandbishop.co.uk

WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED – Birmingham Review is looking for new contributors. Anyone wanting to get involved, please email a short introduction to charlotte@birminghamreview.net

November 24, 2017

LAST FEW TICKETS: Rews + The Hungry Ghosts + Ed Geater @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17

Words by Ed King

IT’S CHRISSSSSSSMAAASSSSSS…

Well, kind of, bit of an obligatory catcall in Birmingham right now. But love it or loathe it (and as inescapable as the people crushing death trap that is the German Market) it’s ‘that time of year’ again.

And to kick Winterval in the proverbial sack (of presents… shame on you) on Saturday 25th November, Birmingham Review presents its Winter Showcase at the Actress & Bishop – a live gig with Rews, The Hungry Ghosts and Ed Geater.

Doors open at 8pm, music starts at 8:30pm, with tickets priced at £8 (advance) and £10 (on the door) plus booking fee. Tickets can still be bought via See Tickets until 12noon on Sat 25^th November – for online sales, visit www.seetickets.com/event/rews-the-hungry-ghosts-ed-geater/actress-and-bishop

**LAST FEW ADVANCE TICKETS REMAINING** You might well get in on the door (it might well cost you an extra two quid) and we might well jettison a table or two, but there are less advance tickets than can be counted on two hands. So hop, skip and jump people.

And in case you need a little nudge, here’s a speed dating introduction to each act we’ve got performing at the Birmingham Review Winter Showcase – with some useful links to boot. See you, and them, at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25th Nov.

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Rews

Rews and their infection ‘earworms’ crawled into our subconscious back in Feb, after a stellar gig at the Flapper. To read Damien Russell’s BREVIEW of the gig, click here – to read Ed King’s INTERVIEW with Rews just before they got on stage, click here. And it seems we weren’t the only ones to go a little batshit over Rews, as everyone from a Glastonbury baked Mark Radcliffe to a Huw Stephens have been championing the duo.

Rews have recently released their debut album too – the somewhat awesome Pyro. To read Ed King’s ALBUM review of Pyro, click here. And if you’re more audio than visual (or a little from Column A and a little from Column B), the check out Rews’ official video to ‘Your Tears’ – the lead single from Pyro.

‘Your Tears’ – Rews (taken from their forthcoming debut album, Pyro)

For more on Rews, visit www.rewsmusic.com

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The Hungry Ghosts

The Ghosts, The Ghosts, The Ghosts… Where to begin? If this band aren’t destroying the main stage at some greenfield site in the next few years then there is something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the universe. The kings and queen of slaughterhouse blues, ferocious and phenomenal on stage (and often off, for part of the set at least) The Hungry Ghosts are one of the most exciting bands playing in the Midlands today. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

But seeing (and hearing) is believing, so get yourself to the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25th Nov and bear witness to this first hand. Meanwhile, amongst the coyotes and shadows of an unforgiving prairie…

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.thehungryghosts.co.uk

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Ed Geater

I felt more than a little sheepish asking Ed Geater to play the ‘support’ slot at our Winter Showcase, but he graciously didn’t flinch and said yes. So we poker faced it and casually sent him a Booking Confirmation. Playing it cool…

Beatboxer, singer songwriter, possibly Birmingham’s best collaborator, and a proper, PROPER performer – Ed Geater is a unique gem that this city should be proud to call one of their own. The Birmingham Review Winter Showcase will be Ed Geater‘s last gig for ‘a while’, as he’s hibernating to concentrate on some new material (… fe, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an album) and we are uber excite to get this man on a stage we’re promoting. Playing first, make sure you get there for doors open at 8pm – you do not want to miss a minute of Ed Geater.

‘Don’t Think’ – Ed Geater

For more on Ed Geater, visit www.edgeater.co.uk

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Birmingham Review presents its Winter Showcase at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25^th November with Rews, The Hungry Ghosts and Ed Geater.

Advance tickets are priced at £8 (+bf) and can still be bought via See Tickets until 12noon on Sat 25^th – for online sales, click here.

For more from the Actress & Bishop, including venue details and links to event, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop

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

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

For more on Mutes, visit www.mutesuk.bandcamp.com

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Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Denise Wilson – Birmingham Review

For more on Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, visit www.sunshinefrisbeelaserbeam.bandcamp.com

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Downtown Boys @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Denise Wilson – Birmingham Review

For more on Downtown Boys, visit www.downtownboys.bandcamp.com

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Diet Cig @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Denise Wilson – Birmingham Review

For more on Diet Cig, visit www.dietcig.bandcamp.com

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Repeat of Last Week @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Denise Wilson – Birmingham Review

For more on Repeat of Last Week, visit www.soundcloud.com/repeatoflastweek

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

For more on Priests, visit www.666priests666.com

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

For more on TRAAMS, visit www.soundcloud.com/traams

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

For more on Idles, visit www.idlesband.com

For more on All Years Leaving Festival, visit www.facebook.com/allyearsleaving

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, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

November 1, 2017

BREVIEW: All Years Leaving @ Hare & Hounds 21.10.17

Words by Emily Doyle / Pics by Cameron Goodyer

Presented by This Is Tmrw, All Years Leaving is entering its fifth year – returning to it’s Hare & Hounds birthplace as a bona fide institution of the local live scene. I’m ashamed at this point to admit I’ve never been before, but the line-up for 2017 is too good to miss. I’m there for doors on the Saturday, unsure what to expect.

People are already milling in the Stables. Terror Watts are having a pre-set Guinness outside. Upon entering the main room, the smoke clears and animations by Johnny Foreigner’s own Lewes Herriot are visible; a giant with flaming fists looks down on the proceedings from projector screens hung around the venue.

Terror Watts kick off proceedings to a healthy crowd. They deliver a pitch perfect set of fan-favourites. The stupidly catchy ‘Time Bomb’ is an ear worm if ever there was one – good luck shaking that from your head for the rest of the weekend. They close the set with newest single, ‘Tough Guy’, released this summer on PNKSLM. It’s a perfect slice of sunshine-y slacker rock.

The room is already a real who’s-who of the Birmingham music scene. Steve Hadley of Setting Son Records is ferrying gear up and down the stairs; He sports an ‘I Am A Hungry Ghost’ badge like a proud dad. Tim Mobbs of Table Scraps is snapping away as the event photographer. I step outside to take a call from Birmingham Review’s absentee editor, Ed King, who is checking I got there okay, remembered to take an exercise book, pencil case, packed lunch and the like. While on the phone I look down from the balcony onto the smoking area to see James Brown of Mutes, immaculately made up, sheltering from the drizzle and nursing a pint of Blue Moon.

Back upstairs, Her’s slowly fade in an uptempo drum loop. The Liverpudlian two-piece look at home on a stage. Bassist, Audun Laading, bops round wearing a floaty cardigan and high-hanging Rickenbacker. Fragile, sighing vocals float above lush interwoven guitars. The assembled crowd sways. The jaunty ‘Speed Racer’, complete with sequenced hand claps, snaps the room out of its dream pop reverie for a brief moment. Guitarist Steven Fitzpatrick speaks up:

“Has everyone got a good strong beer? No? That’s good, we don’t wanna be supporting beer all the time. I like Vimto.” A pause as Laading configures the next drum loop. “This one’s a slow sexy one for all the lovers in the room – and all the straight edge people.”

They launch into ‘Cool With You’, the six minute centrepiece of their 2017 Heist or Hit release, Songs of Her’s. Half way through it lapses into a bossa nova jam. Her’s closes their set on their swooning shoe-gaze waltz, ‘What Once Was’. I speak to Josh Frost of Mutes afterwards and he suggests that Her’s would have made a good roadhouse band in the new series of Twin Peaks.

Downstairs, the Stables are cosy and filled with the smell of pulled pork. The crowd floods down to watch Miles Cocker. It’s at this point I’m thankful of the lack of set time clashes – the line up is solid, and there’s not one act you’d be willing to miss.

Cocker usually supplies bass for notorious sex punks Youth Man. Today he shows his softer side, strumming on a beat up white Stratocaster. Heartfelt lyrics like, “maybe she’ll grind my bones to make her bread / or shoot an apple straight off my head” are quickly offset as Cocker comments, “yeah, you can get pretty poetic about diarrhoea”.

Back in the main room, Swampmeat Family Band are turning up the heat. A cover of the Rolling Stone’s ‘Down Home Girl’ slots neatly into the set alongside their own tracks. Classic rock ’n’ roll moves paired with numbers like, ‘Brand New Cadillac’ and ‘I’m a Fucker, Not a Fighter’ make them the perfect party band. And party they shall, as Danny C takes pleasure in announcing. “We’re back here on the 21st for a Christmas party with the Hungry Ghosts!” Fellow Hungry Ghost, Jay Dyer, is with me – we exchange excited glances and head to the bar. I run into a rather jet-lagged Bryony Williams. She fills me in on her set at The Sunflower Lounge supporting Denai Moore, and her recent adventures in New Orleans, both of which sound surreal.

West Yorkshire trio The Orielles saunter on to stage for some mellow indie pop. They sip beer from plastic bottles. They play their new single, ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’, which offsets a pleasingly sloppy riff against lilting drums. At this point my gig-going partner in crime and All Years Leaving veteran, Jo Chustecki, shows up. She is just in time to hear them close the set with the much awaited, ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’. The ominous bass gets the crowd moving.

I realise it’s been hours since breakfast. Jay and I head out to the chip shop over the road for sustenance, and make it back just in time for PINS.

Since first hearing their track ‘Aggrophobe’, I’ve been looking for a chance to see PINS live. They waste no time filling the room with the driving bass of ‘Hot Slick’. Bassist, Anna Donigan, begins to pogo and the others follow suit. The strutting ‘Heart Is a Machine’ starts up and vocalist, Faith Vern, grasps the mic with both hands and wails at the crowd. Kyoko Swan delivers pounding synths.

New single ‘Serve the Rich’ is anthemic, and Vern takes the opportunity to let the crowd know that, “we told everyone that this single is sold out, but we have a few copies to sell after the set. Come find us later”. A savvy move indeed and one that causes much deliberation at the merch stand later (I am unable to choose a record and on Donigan’s sound advice end up going away with a T-shirt). At the end of their set it dawns on me that they didn’t even play ‘Aggrophobe’. As great as it is, PINS are certainly no one-hit-wonders.

Back in the Stables, The Bank Accounts are popping open a magnum of prosecco. They entrust it to a friend of the band who is here on her own, and tell her to go make friends. She hands it around the crowd as they sing: “I just bought an Amazon Alexa. I don’t need it, but it’s just nice to have someone to turn the lights off for you”.

I am standing with Jo, Jay and James Brown. We all take a swig of prosecco, except for James, who is passed over for some reason. He wistfully watches the bottle drift away. Jo comments that she feels as though she’s just wandered into a rural pub, perhaps in Cornwall, and doesn’t know what’s going on.

The Bank Accounts proceed to play a tongue in cheek interpretation of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ before producing a bottle of spiced rum. They are excellent hosts. They play a song about having rum and frontman, Benjamin P D Kane, wanders into the crowd to offer it around. He is immediately accosted by local artist and writer Priscilla Baker, who envelops him in a bear hug. James gets his hands on the bottle of rum and drinks his fill.

Hurrying back up the stairs we are greeted by the growling bass of The Wytches, The dirge of ‘Who Rides’ builds to a crescendo as the room fills up. The band are solemn on stage. Doom laden riffs like ‘Ghost House’ and ‘Throned’ cement The Wytches as a much heavier band than they were in 2014 when Annabel Dream Reader was released, and the stuttering ‘C-Side’ is the star of the set.

As they’re packing down, I lean over the monitor to inspect bassist Daniel Rumsey’s pedalboard. In doing so I catch the eye of a similar die-hard fan, who narrows his eyes at me. I compliment him on his Black Angels shirt and ask if he was at their gig at the Institute last month. “Yeah”, he replies. “We met at the merch stand for A Place To Bury Strangers. You tried to convince me to shell out £200 for a Death By Audio pedal.” I maintain that this would have been a sound investment.

Sitting at the top of Saturday’s line up are Macclesfield alt-rockers Spring King. After a long day of drinking and dancing, the crowd were ready. As soon as they begin to play, the area in front of the stage is a churning mass of bodies. Their 2016 album Tell Me If You Like To is composed of wall-to-wall live winners, and they roll them out one after another without pausing for breath. Before long the crowd are up on stage dancing around the band, and Spring King revel in it. Drummer, Tarek Musa, hands a stick to someone so they can bash away at his kit.

Multiple circle pits later and it’s all over for Saturday at All Years Leaving. The audience members dissolve into the night, those with the prized black wristbands ready to do it all again tomorrow. PINS are outside chatting to Bryony Williams, smoking and planning their journey to Melkweg, Amsterdam. In a discerning booking, they will be opening for The Breeders.

Terror Watts @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on Terror Watts, visit www.theterrorwatts.bandcamp.com

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Her’s @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on Her’s, visit www.thatbandofhers.com

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Swampmeat Family Band @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on Swampmeat Family Band, visit www.swampmeatfamilyband.wixsite.com/swampfb

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The Orielles @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on The Orielles, visit www.soundcloud.com/theorielles

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The Wytches @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on The Wytches, visit www.thewytches.com

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Spring King @ All Year Leaving 21.10.17 / Cameron Goodyer – Birmingham Review

For more on Spring King, visit www.springkingband.com

For more on All Years Leaving Festival 2017, including online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/allyearsleaving

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, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

October 4, 2017October 6, 2017

BPREVIEW: Rews + The Hungry Ghosts + Ed Geater @ Actress & Bishop 25.11.17

Words by Ed King / Live pics by Rob Hadley & Paul Reynolds

On Saturday 25^th November, Birmingham Review presents its winter showcase at the Actress & Bishop – a live gig, with Rews + The Hungry Ghosts as joint headliners, alongside Ed Geater in support.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £8 (advance) and £10 (on the door) plus the relevant booking fee if you buy through a ticket agent. Tickets can be bought via See Tickets, Eventbrite and Music Glue – click on the name/logo of each outlet for a direct link.

Tickets are also available through the individual artists’ websites: Rews, The Hungry Ghosts, Ed Geater. Or you can buy tickets direct from Birmingham Review – contact us on info@birminghamreview.net to arrange physical ticket sales (p&p may apply).

So that’s what, where and how much sorted. Now a little more on who… Birmingham Review is lucky enough to have covered a whole smorgasbord of music across 2017, from the lava lamp delights of The Mother’s Earth Experiment to the eclectic ensembles of the Post Paradise showcases at Centrala. But there are always those that stick in our ears for a little longer, or to quote one of our headliners: “Like a little Tequila worm that crawls in, gets drunk, and stays in there forever.”

To show how much we love what we love, we’ve invited a few of our new(ish) friends to come and play at what is, in effect, our (non-denominational) Christmas party. And we’re inviting you, for the mere price of a ticket, to come and see a few of the horses we’re backing in the New Year.

You know that friend that always goes on about having seen (INSERT NAME OF BIG BAND) when they played (INSERT NAME OF SMALL VENUE)… well this is your chance to do one better. Three better, in fact. Check out the below for a sneaky peak at the Pyramid Stage headliners of tomorrow. Or even better, come down to the Actress & Bishop on Saturday November 25th and seem then a bit more close and personal… well, up close at least.

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Rews

First spotted playing at The Flapper back in February, where I got to interview the two women who are increasingly being referred to a ‘the next Royal Blood’ and Damien got to cover the gig. Seldom do you get such a good first impression, both on stage and off.

Since then Rews have gone on to storm Glastonbury (one of Mark Radcliffe’s festival highlights), nudge their way onto various national radio stations, be the first UK band signed to Marshall Records and line up an album, the actually eagerly awaited Pyro – out in November. Just don’t tell them I used an adverb. Infectious, awesome and will kick the teeth out of our Christmas party.

‘Shine’ – Rews (taken from their forthcoming debut album, Pyro)

For more on Rews, visit www.rewsmusic.com

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The Hungry Ghosts

It’s no surprise that WE LOVE THE HUNGRY GHOSTS at Birmingham Review. And to prove it, we’ve covered them here, here, here, and of course here. I have even had to stop myself from writing about their gigs, as my sycophantic rhetoric is in danger of repeating itself. Plus, there’s no better metaphor than a Joe Joseph metaphor and I’m tired of being outdone (I should learn the guitar to balance things out).

But all their praise is deserved; to quote Larry Love from Alabama 3, whom ‘the ghosts’ supported back in 2015, “they’re a rock band. A real fucking rock band”. Which indeed, they are. The next 24 months could be the pivotal point for a band who, and I mean this, could well land somewhere between The Rolling Stones and The White Stripes in both sound and success. All aboard the Slaughterhouse Blues Express, next stop ‘Amerika’…

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.thehungryghosts.co.uk

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Ed Geater

I first saw Ed Geater at a showcase presented by Call Me Unique (who sadly couldn’t join us on stage, but has promised to make up for it at the bar) – but his name has been buzzing around the Birmingham circuit and beyond for a while. I have never met someone who didn’t enjoy an Ed Geater gig – seriously, if you’re out there get in touch we need to emboss you in bronze.

Master of the loop pedal, a seriously talent songwriter and an overall lovely fella, if some savvy subsidiary doesn’t snap him up soon we’ll eat all the hats. Check out Giles Logan’s great interview with Mr. Geater too, ahead of his headline show Hare & Hounds homecoming hoedown…. and breathe, that we covered back in March.

‘Symmetry’ – Ed Geater

For more on Ed Geater, visit www.edgeater.co.uk/

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Birmingham Review presents its winter showcase at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 25^th November, with Rews, The Hungry Ghosts, Ed Geater. For tickets email info@birminghamreview.net, or click on the following outlets: See Tickets, Eventbrite, Music Glue

For more from the Actress & Bishop, including venue details and links to event, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com