THE GALLERY: Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

 

 

 

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

As I drive onto Lower Trinity Street to park my car I see a red, double-decker tour bus with a trailer right outside Mama Roux’s. At first I thought a band due to play in the main room of the O2 Institute had parked outside the wrong venue; it’s normally vans and cars I see parked on this street, not tour buses fit for major rock stars.

Currents – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewBut of course, it makes sense. Tonight’s headline act, Miss May I, are traveling across the UK and Europe on their We Are Stronger Than Before tour with American bands, Fit For A King and Currents, along with Void of Vision from Australia. It’s only right such a metalcore smorgasbord should be in a big, comfortable tour bus together.

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewI arrive just in time to see Currents, who hail from Connecticut, open the night. This is their first international tour, which also means their first time in Birmingham. Usually, not many people arrive at a gig early enough to watch the opening acts but Currents really give it their all on the stage in front of the first few that watch them. First impressions count after all.

I shoot the first three songs of Currents’ set, then take advantage of a rare opportunity to sit in a booth upstairs at Mama Roux’s, reviewing the images I’ve taken.

As the next band set up the stage, I scan the room from the balcony, looking for interesting perspectives to shoot from. The room isn’t filling up with too many more people,Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review so it appears this night won’t be the busiest – great for me making my way to and from the front of the stage, perhaps not so great for those on it.

I head to the floor to shoot Void of Vision, another band performing for the first time in Birmingham, although going by their solid set and engagement with the crowd you wouldn’t believe that. Donning a baseball cap and oversized t-shirt, frontman Jack Bergin paces the stage, encouraging the audience to start circle pits and wave their arms in the air.

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewFrom seeing a few people wearing their t-shirts, and a few comments I overhear, I sense that the main support act, Fit for a King, are the band a lot of people are really looking forward to. Their presence on stage has more people heading towards the front, giving me relatively little space to shoot from, but keeping us all in a nice and understanding crowd.

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewIt’s only fair that I extend that courtesy too, by keeping my stance as low as possible, and by keeping my time at the front of the stage short so the ticket paying public can make use of the space. After all, fans have shelled out over £12 a ticket to experience a great night of metalcore, not the back of a photographer’s head. I spend the rest of Fit for a King’s set on the fringes of the room, enjoying watching the majority of people sing along to their songs word for word. I just know that Fit for a King are a band that really means something to these fans.

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewThe atmosphere starts to feel a bit deflated by the time Ohio’s Miss May I grace the stage. It could be that people are slightly drained from the excitement of Fit for a King, but Miss May I don’t quite get the reception that I would have expected for a headline act.

They open their set with a few singles from their latest album, Shadows Inside, but it isn’t until they play more familiar numbers like ‘Hey Mister’ that the crowd really starts to give the band their full energy. Perhaps four full hours of metalcore can get a little too much in the end, but overall I’m sure it was an enjoyable night for the fans. 

 

 

 

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review
Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Miss May I, visit www.missmayimusic.com

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Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham ReviewFit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Fit for a King – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Fit for a King, visit www.fitforakingband.com

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Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Void of Vision – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Void of Vision, visit www.voidofvision.com

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Currents – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Currents – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Currents – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Currents – supporting Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Currents, visit www.currentsofficial.com

For more on Mama Roux’s, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk

BPREVIEW: Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18

Miss May I @ Mama Roux’s 24.01.18

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Wednesday 24th January, Miss May I arrive at Mama Roux’s in Birmingham as part of their We Are Stronger Than Before UK tour.

The concert is presented by Surprise You’re Dead! Music with tickets priced at £12 (adv) plus booking fee. Doors open at Mama Roux’s from 7pm. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Support acts for Miss May I in Birmingham, and the rest of the UK tour, include Texan metalcore band Fit for a King, Void of Vision from Australia, and Currents from Connecticut, USA.

Having previously supported Bullet for My Valentine and Killswitch Engage in 2013 and 2014, respectively, at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, Miss May I embark on their first headline tour of the UK in six years.

Miss May I originally formed in 2007 in Troy, Ohio. Almost a year after their formation, they signed to punk and metal label, Rise Records, and released their debut album Apologies for the Weak. The band would go on to release four more albums under Rise Records until they released their sixth and latest album, Shadows Inside, through SharpTone Records in 2017.

Throughout their 10 year career, Miss May I have managed to retain their original line up of Levi Benton on vocals, BJ Stead on lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist Justin Aufdemkampe, drummer Jerod Boyd, and Ryan Neff on bass. Although Neff briefly left Miss May I between 2007 – 2009, when he joined Cincinnati rockers Rose Funeral, and was replaced by Josh Gillespie during his absence.

As their upcoming UK tour is titled from the opening lyrics of Miss May I’s single ‘Lost In The Grey’, from their latest Shadows Inside album, it would be safe to assume that their setlist will heavily feature a lot of new tracks, as well as a few favourites from previous albums.

But whatever the main setlist, with a packed support lineup consisting of Fit for a King, Void of Vision, and Currents, metalcore fans of Birmingham should have enough to keep them occupied when Miss May I headline at Mama Roux’s on Wednesday 24th January.

‘Shadows Inside’ – Miss May I

For more on Miss May I, visit www.missmayimusic.com

For more on Fit for a King, visit www.fitforakingband.com 

For more on Void of Vision, visit www.voidofvision.com

For more on Currents, visit www.currentsofficial.com

For more on Mama Roux’s, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk