Words by Ed King
To celebrate International Women’s Day, and to help keep the aims, objectives, and principles of this single day alive throughout the other 365 (…calm down, it’s a leap year) Birmingham Review is giving away a handful of tickets to see REWS + NOVACUB, [SKETCH] at the O2 Institute 3 on Saturday 21st March. Minimum age of entry to the gig is 14years+ with doors opening from 6pm.
But there is a snag… we’re only giving them to women.
And before anyone gets tangled in testosterone, we crunched the numbers and felt that after centuries of gender oppression a couple of free gig tickets are not going to rob any men of their rights. I wouldn’t worry about your perceived ‘manhood’. You’ll be OK.
So, yeah, back to the free stuff.
On Saturday 21st March, REWS come back to Birmingham – Shauna Tohill’s alt rock powerhouse are bringing The Phoenix Tour to the O2 Institute 3, with a renewed line up and some of their best new material to date. Don’t believe us, check out the link to ‘Monsters’ below.
Joining REWS as tour support will be NOVACUB, a four piece indie/pop fledgling – fronted and founded by Louise Bartle, who is also the drummer for Bloc Party. You know, just ‘cos there are still some hours in the day when she isn’t working (Birmingham Review also snagged a quick Q&A with Louise Bartle ahead of the O2 Institute show, click here to read… whole lotta fun).
And the show would not be complete without a hat tip to Birmingham’s own tartan clad rock/punksters, [SKETCH]. But being all men, even being lovely humans who respect and value all people… we’re still crazy excited to have them at the gig though. For more gig info and links to online tickets, for any gender, click here to visit the Facebook event page**.
Sufficed to say, we have landed an awesome line up with two female fronted bands who are fully committed to music and ferociously inspiring to anyone (especially if you share gender identity) who might want to get up on stage themselves one day. Or even if you just respect the hell out of a cracking live gig.
So, we want to celebrate and share this by giving away a few freebies to the show.
TICKET GIVEAWAY: If you are female or identify as female, all you have to do is share this post via whatever social media you prefer – then send an email to info@birminghamreview.net with your name and the name of your guest, putting ‘Free Tickets Please’ in the subject box. Then we’ll send you FREE TICKETS TO SEE REWS + NOVACUB, [SKETCH] AT THE O2 INSTITUTE ON SAY 21ST MARCH. First come first served. Couldn’t be simpler.
But if you still need a little nudge, here’s a sneaky peak of what’s coming to the O2 Institute 3 on Saturday 21st March. Enjoy.
‘Monsters’ – REWS
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‘Wait Up’ – NOVACUB
Ed’s note…
I’m all for debate. I encourage people with all opinions to engage in conversation, because I believe it’s how we create change. Healthy, non-oppressive change – where everyone is on board and the differences we want to make stand a chance of lasting.
But there are some arguments that test this. So, whilst we on the whole ‘but what about the blokes thing…’ if you genuinely feel that there is a disparagement in days such as International Women’s Day, I want to run through a couple of facts and figures that might get you thinking.
Then we can start talking:
- It took until 1928 (and World War One) for women over the age of 21 to be allowed to vote in the UK
- Up to the 1970’s, and with absurdly slow reform, women were not allowed to buy property in their own right – needing the signature of their husband or father
- The same went for credit cards
- Until 1991, a man could rape his wife and be legally exempt from prosecution
- Until 1992, a man could physically assault his wife and be legally exempt from prosecution
- Until 1999, there was no statutory right for maternity leave – with UK Employment law forcing many women out of their jobs if they became pregnant
- In 2020, the UK’s gender pay gap UK stands between 15-25% – meaning on average women spend two months a year working for ‘free’, in comparison to their male counterparts
REWS perform at the O2 Institute 3 on Saturday 21st March, with support from NOVACUB and [SKETCH] – as promoted by Metropolis Music and Birmingham Review. For more gig info and links to online ticket sales, click here to visit the Facebook event page.
Or for a direct link to online ticket sales, visit www.reviewpublishing.net/product/rews-novacub-sketch-o2-institute-21-03-20
**£1 from all tickets sold through Review Publishing will get donated to the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, challenging sexual violence in our music scene – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play. For more on NOT NORMAL NOT OK, visit www.notnormalnotok.com
For more on REWS, visit www.rewsmusic.com
For more on Novacub, visit www.wearenovacub.com
For more on [SKETCH], visit www.sketchband.com
For more on the O2 Institute, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham/
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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.
To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.
If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.
