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February 16, 2016

THE GALLERY: Gabrielle Aplin @ O2 Institute 14.02.16

Words by Ed King / Pics by Harry Mills

On Sunday 14^th February, Gabrielle Aplin brought her Light Up the Dark UK Tour to the O2 Institute, with support from Hannah Grace + Lewis Watson – as presented by Birmingham Promoters.

Harry Mills was there to shoot a Birmingham Review for THE GALLERY. To check out the Full Flickr of Pics, click here or on the relevant links.

Gabrielle Aplin rose to the surface off the back of her YouTube audience. But having learnt her way around a label whilst studying at Bath College, contributing to their in- house BA1 Records, Aplin swiftly set up her own imprint – Never Fade Records, releasing her five track debut Acoustic EP in 2010.

Since then Gabrielle Aplin has released all her material through Never Fade, alongside a (still current) deal with Parlophone from 2013 onwards. Never Fade now also represents a wider roster of artists, including Bite the Buffalo, Saint Raymond (who further signed to Asylum) and Hannah Grace.

So the girl’s got talent, tenacity and her own label; Gabrielle Aplin is an arguably healthier benchmark for the X Factor generation. She’s also now two albums into her career, having crossed the musical River Styx with Light Up the Dark in September 2015. And her sound seems to be confidently evolving – with the ballad based six string laments of her debut LP, English Rain, being given a comfortable back seat to her sophomore’s punchier, full band approach.

And it is that album/approach which Ms Aplin brought to a Birmingham stage, namely the O2 Institute, on 14^th February. And whilst it was only Ed King, tip toes, warm Red Stripe and a rollerball pen giving Gabrielle Aplin’s last gig in the city a Birmingham Review, this time around we’ve gone all-out-images.

Check out Harry Mill’s Birmingham Review of Gabrielle Aplin @ O2 Institute 14.02.16 – as featured in THE GALLERY. There are some sample shots from the gig below, but for the Full Flickr of Pics click here or on the relevant links.

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Gabrielle Aplin @ O2 Institute 14.02.16 / By Harry Mills – Birmingham Review

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Lewis Watson – supporting Gabrielle Aplin @ O2 Institute 14.02.16 / By Harry Mills – Birmingham Review

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Hannah Grace – supporting Gabrielle Aplin @ O2 Institute 14.02.16 / By Harry Mills – Birmingham Review

For more on Gabrielle Aplin, visit http://gabrielleaplin.co.uk/

For more on Never Fade Records, visit http://neverfaderecords.com/

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For more from the O2 Institute, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

For more form Birmingham Promoters, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016

THE GALLERY: Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16

Pics by Harry Mills

On Friday 29^th January, Mayday Parade brought their Black Lines Tour to the O2 Institute in Digbeth – as presented by SJM Concerts.

Touring the UK & mainland Europe with their fifth album, the Tallahassee Pop/Rockers are supported on the road by The Maine, Have Mercy + Beautiful Bodies. Landing in Birmingham on the initial cusp of their midway point in the UK, Mayday Parade would play seven more dates on similar stages – before saying bon voyage to Britannia at the Pyramids Leisure Centre in Portsmouth.

Having dutifully stuck his hand in the air (and brought this gig to our attention in the first place), Harry Mills was at the O2 Institute to snap happy a Birmingham Review photoshoot for THE GALLERY. There’s a few selected below, one of each, but for the full Flickr of Pics click here or on the links above/below. Which you really should.

And apologies for missing Beautiful Bodies, but the queue was too long and time was too short… curse all that popularity; we’ll get you next time.

Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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The Maine – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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Have Mercy – supporting Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16 / By Harry Mills

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For more on Mayday Parade, visit http://maydayparade.com/

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For more from the O2 Institute, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

For more events from SJM Concerts, visit http://www.gigsandtours.com/

January 29, 2016

BPREVIEW: Sun Club @ Sunflower Lounge 30.01.16

Words by Ed King / Pic by Shervin Lainez

On Saturday 30^th January, Sun Club will be performing at The Sunflower Lounge, with support from Callum Pickard & the Third Look.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced at £6 – as promoted by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info & online ticket sales, click here.

Out n’about promoting their first full length LP, the curiously titled The Dongo Durango, Sun Club play at The Sunflower Lounge on their first of six UK dates – ending up at (the even more curiously titled) Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar in Brighton. What could possibly go wrong..?

Born and raised in a Baltimore basement or two, Sun Club are the happy amalgamation of brothers Shane & Devlin McCord with neighbor Mikey Powers, plus friends Kory Johnson and Adam Shane. Cutting their teeth on the colloquial circuit, for the first two years Sun Club ‘mostly played friends’ parties and toured people’s basements’ before moving into established venues. But the five piece have finished taking their ‘baby steps’, having now supported acts such as FIDLAR and Fat White Family, as well as being invited onto the Sweetlife Festival bill in May 2015.

But with the release of Sun Club’s debut LP, ‘the focus is just making music that you feel strongly about, and about releasing it’; The Dongo Durango (…a well endowed city in North West Mexico? Colorado?) is glorious eleven track endevour of unashamed psychedelic Surf Rock. OK, ten tracks – the title song is a 15sec request to check out someone’s birthday suit. And Sun Club come from Baltimore, so perhaps it’s not Surf Rock.

For that matter I’m not sure you can use the term ‘psychedelic’ post 1977. But it is fun, lots of fun; DIY drum echoes, punchy melodies, washed out guitar riffs, with Mikey Powers’s vocals foot stomping a polite Punk march over the top. And like drop kicking a My Little Pony, once you start it’s a little hard to stop.

In fact, whilst we’re on the subject of fighting with neon haired plastic toys…

‘Tropicoller Lease’ by Sun Club

Sun Club perform at The Sunflower Lounge on Saturday 30^th January, with support from Callum Pickard & the Third Look. For direct gig info & online ticket sales, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/Events/sun-club-2/

N.B. All ‘quotes in italics’ are taken from an interview with Mikey Powers for www.baltimoremagazine.net – to read Lydia Woolever’s article in full, click here or on the highlighted quotes above.

For more on Sun Club, visit http://www.sunclubband.com/

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, visit http://thesunflowerlounge.com/

For more from Birmingham Promoters, including online ticket sales, visit http://birminghampromoters.com/

January 28, 2016

BPREVIEW: Mayday Parade @ O2 Institute 29.01.16

Words by Ed King

On Friday 29^th January, Mayday Parade perform at the O2 Institute in Digbeth – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £16 (advance). For direct gig info & online ticket sales, click here.

Back in the UK & mainland Europe as part of their Black Lines Tour, Mayday Parade are on the global road promoting their new album of the same name. Released in October 2015, Black Lines was produced by Mike Sapone at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, upstate New York.

Available now through Fearless Records, Black Lines is the fifth studio album to come from the Florida based band – with all their LPs being released through Bob Becker’s home grown Punk/Rock imprint.

Formed in 2005, Mayday Parade released their debut EP, Tales Told by Dead Friends, in June 2006. Initially self releasing the six track debut, Mayday Parade built a strong following from their brash distorted guitar riffs, rolling drums and energetic Pop/Punk – reportedly selling their debut EP in the thousands (or even tens of thousands, according to some sources) to festival goers across North America, following the Warped Tour in 2006.

Signing to Fearless Records in August 2006, and re-issuing their Tales Told by Dead Friends EP in November the same year, Mayday Parade would start working on their debut album whilst on the road with their debut EP.

Changing front man from their original singer, Jason Lancaster, to Derek Saunders in March 2007, it wouldn’t be until July 2007 that A Lesson in Romantics was eventually released – featuring lead vocals from both front men, with Lancaster also credited for ‘guitar on all songs.’ Derek Saunders has remained Mayday Parade’s lead singer and front man across the bands decade long active career.

Released in July 2015, ‘Keep in Mind, Transmogrification is a New Technology’ was the lead single from Black Lines. Mayday Parade further released ‘Letting Go’ as the follow up single, in October the same year – have a stop, look, listen, below:

‘Letting Go’ by Mayday Parade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsbdHOuv0X0

Mayday Parade perform at the O2 Institute on Friday 29^th January, as presented by SJM Concerts. For direct gig info & online tickets, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/listings/upcoming-events/24741/mayday-parade-3/

For more on Mayday Parade, visit http://maydayparade.com/

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For more from the O2 Institute, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

For more events from SJM Concerts, visit http://www.gigsandtours.com/