Rock Archives - Page 9 of 9 -

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 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

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