The Asylum

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018

ED’S PICK: March ‘18

Words by Ed King

**Due to the severe weather conditions, some March editorial may be delayed. It has nothing to do with 1) hangovers, 2) gigs on a Sunday that cause hangovers, 3) each episode of The Deuce being 1hr long. It’s the snow… it’s all about the snow**

The BIG NEWS this month is that Rews are coming back to Birmingham, finishing of their England tour with a special gig at the Hare & Hounds on Thursday 22^nd March – joined by an awesome local line up, Tamworth’s garage rock two piece You Dirty Blue and Birmingham’s rising balloon punksters P.E.T.

Still out smashing holes in radio playlists and the right kind of ear drums across the country, Rews are back on the road (do they ever stop!?!?) with their debut album Pyro – a rock pop stonker which we thoroughly suggest you check out. Read my Birmingham Review of the ten track beast here, or cut out the middle person and just get yourself a copy. You can bill me if you’re unhappy.

But Rews are a step up live. And don’t just take my word for it, ask any of the following: Hew Edwards, Mark Radcliffe, John Kennedy, Scott Mills, Alice Levine, Dev, Greg James, Scott Mills, Clara Amfo, Adele Roberts… (and that’s just the beeb). Or anyone who’s seen them play. Or Google. It’s not a difficult cross reference.

Of course, the best way to know for absolute certainty is to come and see Rews at the Hare & Hounds on 22^nd March – for direct gig info and links to online ticket sales, click here. Or to can hop over to the Facebook event page for updates, info and links aplenty – click here.

WARNING – CONTAINS CIVIC PRIDE: Rews have bolted Birmingham onto their England tour dates because their last gig in the city was such a stormer – Birmingham loves Rews, and it seems there’s a little mutual flutter there too. So, come down to the Hare on 22^nd March, enjoy an awesome gig from Rews, You Dirty Blue and P.E.T, and stand on for your local live music scene. BRUMMIES UNITE.

And breathe…. There are other gigs this month, some pretty high profile shows too. In the land of five figure crowds, the Genting Arena hosts All Time Low (15^th Mar) and the resplendent resurfacing of Paloma Faith (21^st Mar). Whilst at Arena Birmingham we see some of America’s A-Lists rock with Fall Out Boy (27^th Mar) and 30 Seconds to Mars (29^th Mar). So, that’ll keep you busy. And a little broke.

N.B. Paul Weller was scheduled to play at the Genting Arena on 2nd March, but due to the school run slaying beast from the east (erm, the snow) this gig has been postponed. When we know more…

Editors play an ‘intimate’ gig at the Town Hall (4^th Mar) to showcase their new album, Violence. Whilst across town Hookworms headline at the Hare & Hounds (4^th Mar), and across the road Amit Dittani introduces his debut solo album, Santiago, at the Kitchen Garden Café (4^th Mar).

Elsewhere in the city, Ezio return to Birmingham but this time at the Kitchen Garden Cafe (7^th Mar), Astroid Boys tour their debut album, Broke, at The Asylum (1th Mar), Feeder take us on a retrospective love in at the O2 Academy (14^th Mar), Joan Baez celebrates the end of a near 60 year live career as her Fare Thee Well Tour comes to the Symphony Hall (14^th Mar), The Stranglers come to the O2 Academy (17^th Mar), ‘First Lady of Celtic Music’ and Clannad family member Moya Brennan plays at the Glee Club (20^th Mar), whilst Rae Morris brings a sneak peak of her sophomore album, Someone Out There, to the O2 Institute (21^st Mar). Phew… can anyone lend me a tenner?

And so exciting it gets it’s own paragraph, electronic music pioneers, Plaid, bring their AV tour to the Hare & Hounds on 10^th March. A pivotal piece in the EDM jigsaw, Plaid come back to Birmingham after their sell out gig in the city last year – if this show doesn’t pack out then there’s something inherently wrong with the world, so we would suggest getting your Warp loving wriggle on and buying a ticket or two quick smart. For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here or on the relevant hyper link.

A little later in the month the same promoters, Scratch Club, are putting on a breaks, beats and hip hop free bash at One Trick Pony with Dr Syntax (The Mouse Outfit, Foreign Beggars) & Pete Cannon, joined by Birmingham’s own DMC champion Mr Switch (30^thMar). For free..!?!? Now that’s a good bloomin’ Friday.

Film is stomping is size 10s across the city too, a cheeky month before Flatpack #12, with a healthy collage of celluloid (well, probably digital now) coming to screens in a variety of Birmingham venues. Ruben Östlund’s takes a well-penned stab at the pretensions of class and art with The Square – on general UK release from 16^th March, before coming to The Electric (23^rd Mar) and mac (30^th Mar). Whilst mac programme a centennial celebration of Ingmar Burgman with The Seventh Seal (16^th Mar), The Touch (17^th Mar) and Persona (18^th Mar).

The Mockingbird hosts a Wes Anderson Marathon (18^th Mar) featuring The Royal Tenenbaums at 12noon, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou at 2:30pm, Fantastic Mr Fox at 5:00pm and The Grand Budapest Hotel at 6:45pm. Bit of a welcome refresher course before Anderson’s latest (and animated) feature, Isle of Dogs, is out on general release from 30^th March – with two preview screenings at The Electric (25^th Mar) if you wanted to jump the gun a little.

The Mockingbird are also showing the eponymous biopic about the notorious fashion designer, Westwood, throughout the month. But we recommend you wait until 26^th March, so you can jump straight into Here to be Heard: The Story of The Slits – another biopic, but this time about an altogether more altogether slice of formative female punk.

On the city’s smaller silver screens this March, Neighbourhood present a series of comedy shorts at Artefact in Stirchley (21^st Mar) – with a pay as you feel fundraiser for SIFA Fireside, a Birmingham based organisation who support ‘those experiencing homelessness or who are vulnerably-housed.’ A great charity that deserves our cash and consideration; look outside, now pay what you feel.

Elsewhere, The Victoria welcomes the rescheduled Birmingham Horror Group: Mini-Movie Marathon (25^th Mar) which is also fundraising – this time ‘with proceeds from ticket sales going to the medical charity Diabetes UK’. Whilst the Kitchen Garden Café screen the Arnie body count craziness and all round awesome… Predator (20^th Mar) – which we are more than a little happy about. I’m off to buy a dog eared cigar, dog eared dog tags, and practice the film’s profound script such as, “if it bleeds we can kill it”. Powerful stuff Arn, Kierkegaard?

Treading the boards this month, Joe Black starts the UK run of his new show, Touch of Evil: A Celebration of Villainy in Song, with two nights at The Old Joint Stock (09-10^th Mar). The Birmingham REP stages fingersmiths’ rewrite of John Godber’s Up’n’Under (12-14^th Mar) – a play about pride and adversity (and rugby, to be fair) which has been adapted for all audiences ‘with a cast of Deaf and hearing actors using British Sign Language and spoken English’.

Overlapping a little bit, REP also present The Kite Runner (13-24^th Mar) performed in venue’s main theatre, coming to Birmingham after ‘an outstanding’ run in the West End. Then back in the ‘burbs, The Wardrobe Ensemble present their tale 90’s nostalgia and the Blair honeymoon – Education, Education, Education – at mac (20^th Mar).

On the more glamourous side of town, Alyssa Edwards’ The Secret Is Out Tour saunters over to the Glee Club (7^th Mar), before BCU’s Burlesque society present Dare to Desire at the Bierkeller (15^th Mar) and Scarlett Daggers brings The Gilded Merkin burlesque show back to the Glee Club (18^th Mar). Not far behind is Ben DeLaCreme, with her ‘terminally delightful’ show coming to the Glee Club (29^th Mar) – a day before Klub Kids present The Twisted Circus in all its glitz and glory at the O2 Academy (30^th Mar).

Comedy has a pretty decent crack of the whip in March too, kicking off with Russell Brand’s Re:Birth at Symphony Hall (8^th Mar) before the Glee Club takes the reigns until April, with Phil Wang (11^th Mar), John Robbins (21^st Mar) and Tiff Stevenson (23^rd Mar).

Outside of all that, if you’ve got any dry socks or shekles left, there’s A Notorious Odyssey at The Electric (24^th Mar) – as Birmingham’s 35 piece a cappella choir, notorious, take us on ‘a musical voyage where no audience has gone before’ performing ‘tunes from sc-fi films and TV, to music inspired by space and the future.’

Across town and the space-time continuum, Rupi Kaur presents an evening of performance poetry the Town Hall (24^th Mar) including work from her recently released second collection, The Sun and Her Flowers. Then just shy of a week later, Richard P Rogers rounds off the month with his Frank Cook and the Birmingham Scene exhibition at mac’s Community Gallery (30^th Mar) – a study of the titular Ladywood artist, as he worked his way from the north Birmingham back to backs to art school in London in the late 1960’s.

Right then, a fair amount happening in March – I’m off to do some diary/bank statement cross referencing. And maybe drink a glass of wine, or two. What day is it again…?

For more on any of the events listed here, click on the highlighted hyperlinks. Ed King is Editor-in-Chief of Review Publishing, which issues both the Birmingham Review and Birmingham Preview.

January 31, 2018

THE GALLERY: The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

The only time I’ve been to The Asylum is on a Saturday night, at around one in the morning, blindly making my way around the downstairs room and the smoking area.

A Wednesday night is quite a different experience. As I make my way upstairs to The Asylum 2 it feels like a completely different place – merch tables are lined up in the corridor and people stand chatting by the bar or sitting on the seats around the side, while a dedicated group stand in front of the stage solidly for the entire evening.

Cited as one of British rock’s best new bands by Rocksound, Birmingham boys Beaumont open the evening. They play tracks from their debut Nothing EP such as ‘Cheap Side’ and ‘E-Street’, which they dedicate to William Shakespeare who penned the silent character and inspiration behind their name. They also perform newer songs ‘Hurler’ and ‘Art School’ – a song they introduce with the line, “this one is about burning down a school”.

Spencer Edmonds’ emotive lyricism, combined with guitars and drumming that match it beat for beat, makes for a crowd-pleasing set. Beaumont’s performance is interesting to watch, as you are able to hear a range of influences in each song, sometimes giving off a Mallory Knox and Young Guns vibe and at other times reminiscent of Lower than Atlantis (which makes sense as their new EP was produced by Lower than Atlantis producer John Mitchell). They leave the audience by thanking them for paying attention, before launching into their last song of the night ‘Boys and Girls’ – a mix of heavy guitars and an insanely catchy chorus that gets the audience head banging.

Better Days take to the stage next, and even before vocalist Graeme Costello finishes the sentence “we’re from Newcastle” the crowd is cheering and jumping at his command. Better Days are a real highlight of the evening. Costello has distinct vocals that work well with the atypical pop-punk sound of the quintet and that translate perfectly into a live setting. The band build a solid connection with the crowd, asking them to “show us your dance moves” before playing ‘Without You’ from their Spilt EP.

Unsurprisingly, when the opening notes to ‘This House’ sound through the venue, people are already singing the opening lines. It sounds a bit like Neck Deep, but revised through Better Days’ effortless, unique execution and approach to song construction that draws influences from pop-punk with an emo undertone. The set is cut short, but nevertheless ends on a high, due to the charismatic camaraderie Better Days have managed to create.

Alternative rockers, Lacey, provide the night’s main support, immediately launching into ‘Change the Story’ from their 2015 album Under the Brightest Lights. The crowd is radiating excitement and it’s easy to see why; the way the vocals mix together and are supported by strong hooks make for a catchy catalogue of songs with an anthemic quality.

Again, their relationship with the audience makes them enjoyable to watch – it’s been a while since I’ve been to show with such a high level of audience interaction and I’d forgotten how much richer it can make the experience. As Lacey explain something to the effect of “we’re running on 75% capacity, but are 100% awesome, 82% drunk and will reach full capacity by the end” and that guitarist Josh will pick up the bar tab, the atmosphere is only progressively positive from there.

So, when vocalist Graz asks who is excited for The Bottom Line the cheering increases tenfold. Another highlight begins when they say, “this next song is a cover and we liked it so much we put it on a CD for you”, referring to their 2016 release ‘Dammit’ – their take on the classic Blink 182 song, which is perfectly executed in a slowed down version of the original. Lacey play their newest release, ‘Answers’, which gets a positive reception, but nothing compared to the reaction of the crowd when they end on ‘Tonight’ which is still echoing through my head over a day later.

Upstairs at The Asylum gets progressively more hyped as The Bottom Line’s time draws near. When the lights go down and a red light creeps across the stage, the crowds’ cheering increases as the foursome enter from the back of the room with their guitars. Vocalist, Callum Amies, greets the room with a cool “Hello Birmingham” before continuing, “here’s the deal – I can’t sing and you can…I woke up this morning and couldn’t even speak.” Not that you can tell that his voice is suffering, as their performance is tight, with exact precision across the guitars, drums and vocals.

Before the vocals start, the crowd is jumping high at the first reverb of the guitar, and at the command of the band they split down the middle, creating gang-vocals – a trademark of many of their songs. Nearly each track is intertwined with audience participation, such as getting the crowd to crouch down on the floor during ‘Record Player’ – something of a popular trope in the alternative scene, but one that never gets old as you see members of the crowd laughing and clutching their friends for balance. The crowd is made to squeeze in tight as they sing the chorus, and as Amies balances preciously on the barriers hands shoot up to support him.

The penultimate song, ‘I Still Hate’, you boasts a ridiculously catchy chorus and signature pop-punk riffs that go down extremely well with the crowd. The Bottom Line end with ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ – it would almost be rude not to as they’d covered ‘Smash Mouth’ mid set – both tracks a nod to the influences that are prevalent throughout their music. You get the feeling The Bottom Line could be playing to a venue of a ten thousand or ten, and their performance wouldn’t falter; there would be the same level of interaction, energy and passion, as they utilise the space and crowd to such a great extent. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen the phrase ‘in the palm of their hand’ in effect so intently. The audience is entranced.

It is enjoyable to witness the range of influences that each band draws from tonight, and this is reflected in the audience who are mostly clothed in band merchandise from Bowling for Soup to All Time Low. It reinforces the richness of the genre and sub-genres spanning from generalised alternative rock, to pop-punk to emo elements.

I can’t help but focus on crowds when going to events such as this and I feel it can say a lot about the bands on stage. Seeing The Asylum audience grouping together, dancing amongst their friends and throwing their hands in the air to every beat reinforces the importance of music to a predominantly younger audience. These are defining years in music, where knowledge and tastes are built by attending gigs. It is something special to witness.

The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on The Bottom Line, visit www.thebottomlineuk.com

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Lacey – supporting The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Lacey, visit www.laceyofficialuk.com

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Better Days – supporting The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Better Days, visit www.soundcloud.com/betterdaysband

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Beaumont – supporting The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Beaumont, visit www.facebook.com/beaumontband

For more from The Asylum, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.theasylumvenue.co.uk

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

January 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: The Bottom Line @ The Asylum (2) 24.01.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

The Bottom Line perform at The Asylum 2 on Wednesday 24^th January, coming straight from their supporting slot on Waterparks’ sold out tour.

Promoted by Surprise You’re Dead! Music, doors to The Asylum 2 open at 6pm with the gig accessible to ages 14+. Standard tickets start from £10 on The Asylum website, and £11 (adv) on SeeTickets – for direct gig info and links to online ticket sales, click here.

Established in 2011, The Bottom Line have made waves across the scene since releasing their debut album Role Models? in the same year – from supporting pop-punk powerhouses Bowling for Soup and Simple Plan, to an eventful 2017 that saw the band play over 60 shows on a tour spanning the USA, Canada and Europe.

2018 sees the London based four-piece embarking on their biggest UK headline tour to date, coming to The Asylum in Birmingham at the midway point of six dates from Glasgow to London. Also this year, The Bottom Line are co-headlining the Saturday of Pop Punk Pile Up 2018 – sharing the top bill status with bands such as Room 94 and The King Blues over the course of the April weekender.

The Bottom Line’s aim ‘to make jumpy music and remind people that not everything sucks’ is reflected in their array of singles including ‘Cancel Christmas’ and ‘Insecure’, as well as their I Still Hate You EP, released in January 2018. Also worth checking out is the band’s Covered in Punk! album that includes covers of Wheatus, Weezer, Andrew W.K and Taylor Swift (accompanied by a hilarious parody on their Youtube channel) – available to download for free, along with their complete discography, on The Bottom Line’s Bandcamp page.

Known for their energetic live performances, interaction with fans and their self-proclaimed statement to ‘keep pop punk fun’, The Bottom Line have carved their place in the modern day pop-punk scene, with a nostalgic old school sound and vibe and songs that wouldn’t seem out of place alongside an early 2000’s pop-punk playlist – their video for ‘Record Player’ baring similarity to (or possibly paying homage) Sum 41’s ‘In Too Deep’ video.

Accompanying The Bottom Line on their UK tour are Newcastle based pop-punk four-piece Better Days, who take components of early 2000’s pop punk and intertwine them with newer takes and an emo undertone; Graeme Costello’s unique vocals overlap the band’s engrossing hooks and emotive lyrics.

Better Days have had an insanely packed past couple of years since forming – from releasing their debut single ‘This House’ in their conception year, to playing alongside bands such as Seaway, WSTR and Less Than Jake, as well as appearing at Slam Dunk festival, all since 2015.

Also on The Asylum bill are the Nottingham based alternative rock band Lacey, whose back-catalogue is compiled of catchy songs with sing-along choruses, incorporating elements of rock, pop-rock and post-emo. Lacey released their debut album, Under the Brightest Lights, back in 2015 – demonstrating their capabilities as a polished, compelling four-piece on the British rock scene.

With Lacey‘s follow up 5 track I Don’t Owe the World a Thing EP released in February 2016 – alongside their latest single, ‘Answers’, released in May 2017 – it wouldn’t be a bad idea to catch any of these bands in the smaller venues whilst you still can.

‘I Still Hate You’ – The Bottom Line

For more on The Bottom Line, visit www.thebottomlineuk.com

For more on Better Days, visit www.soundcloud.com/betterdaysband

For more on Lacey, visit www.laceyofficialuk.com

For more from The Asylum, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.theasylumvenue.co.uk

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