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August 31, 2018August 31, 2018

Gomez – Bring It On 20th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18

Words by Sam Lambeth / Pics by Phil Drury

Cailin Russo is excited. “This is the best night of the tour,” she beams, her bleach blond locks flowing vivaciously in an imaginary Birmingham breeze. RUSSO and her band are an adorable bundle of energy, sweeping through the jet-fuelled punk of ‘House with A Pool’ and the ‘Something’-pilfering ballad ‘Lonely’. As opening acts go, RUSSO packs a sweet, but mighty, punch.

“You lot haven’t changed much,” grins Gomez’s premier blues howler Ben Ottewell to the Birmingham faithful. You can see from his smile that it’s meant in jest, and while the Southport experimentalists pretty much look the same – Ian Ball is still cherubic and childlike, Tom Gray is the mischievous mouthpiece, and Ottewell has the hirsute beard of a part-time wrestler – the audience has aged somewhat. But lest we forget it has been twenty years since their landmark debut record Bring It On surprised and stunned the British music landscape with its dusty Americana, hazy rockers and widescreen balladry.

When released, Bring It On beat a plethora of perfect albums to win the Mercury Music Prize. On reflection at the 02 Institute tonight, such an accolade proved entirely earned – opener ‘Get Miles’, where Ottewell is first able to unleash that mighty croak, is cloaked in atmospheric bleeps and surging riffs, while lead single ‘Whippin’ Piccadilly’ is a playful toe-tapper built around slide guitars and Gray’s box of keyboard tricks. The beauty of Bring It On is in its bold imagination and restless creativity – on a balmy Birmingham night, the five-piece take the crammed audience to the dim dive bars of Tennessee (a stunning, jaw-dropping ‘Tijuana Lady’), the open highways of California (the beefed-up, chiming colossus ‘Here Comes the Breeze’) and the bug-addled back porches of Texas (the country ballad ‘Free to Run’).

The band are good hosts, Gray permanently geeing the crowd up during the skewed pop of ’78 Stone Wobble’ and the compact crunch of ‘Get Myself Arrested’. As they breezily trade instruments, share harmonies and extend songs into fluid jams, the sheer talent of the five-piece comes into play, as does the cruel reminder that it is perhaps this talent, this restless creativity and fearlessness, that meant commercial appeal never quite beckoned.

Once Bring It On comes to a close, there is still time for some old school Gomez classics. The menacing, snarling ‘Shot Shot’ and the straight-ahead shuffle of ‘Silence’ show that even when Gomez began losing their experimental roots for something more conventional, they were still making music that was far from ordinary. The beautiful, tear-jerking ‘We Haven’t Turned Around’ brings the 02 Institute to a stunned silence and the closing ‘Revolutionary Kind’ hammers home that a world without Gomez is one that is far too bland.

Whether or not there will be new music remains to be seen, but Gomez’s long-awaited return to the stage is a bold reminder of their unbridled talents. A new album and renewed recognition? Bring it on.

RUSSO – supporting Gomez, Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Russo, visit www.russo.lnk.to/hwap

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Gomez, Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Gomez, visit www.gomeztheband.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.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 assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 24, 2018August 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: Gomez – Bring It On 20th Anniversary Tour @ O2 Institute 28.08.18

Words by Ed King

Gomez perform at the O2 Institute on Tuesday 28^th August, coming to Birmingham as part of their Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour with support from RUSSO – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours.

Doors are open at the O2 Institute from 7pm with the minimum age of entry 14yrs, although under 16s will need adult accompaniment. Tickets are priced at £34.50 (including all fees) for both seating and standing – for direct event information, including venue details and links to online ticket sales, click here.

Gomez released their debut album, Bring It On, back in the tail end of a dance music Vs Britpop dominated 90’s – as Paul Oakenfold was battling Blur across the Matthew Bannister banished airwaves of Radio One, five lads in Leeds played their first gig together. And as the student throng staggered around Hyde Park, a well placed sign (and a catchy surname) gave the fledgling ensemble a name.

Pretty soon after that fateful night at the Hyde Park Social Club, Gomez had signed to Hut Records – a Virgin owned subsidiary that was set up to champion the burgeoning indie scene. And pretty soon after that Bring It On was out of the studio, on the shelves (oh yes, handheld purchases in them days), and burrowing its way into the shortlist for the Mercury Music Award. A self produced mix of growling vocals, stripped back indie swagger, words rhyming with Mexico, and short and curly grabbing melodies, Bring It On was a masterful debut – eventually beating some pretty tough competition for the aforementioned trophy.

And whilst Gomez’s sophomore album, Liquid Skin, was arguably as lauded – and the band’s following five albums showed confidence, exploration and range – it is perhaps this 12 track introduction that gets more hairs on certain necks still standing up on end. Mention to anyone over 30 you’ve “got some friends in my BMW…” and chances are they’ll know what to say.

It is also the reason Gomez are back on the road – playing nine dates across the UK and Republic of Ireland as part of their Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour, which kicked off across North America in June.

And for those (lucky-life-still-ahead-of-them-bast*rds) who are too young to remember flicking through HMV racks on a Saturday afternoon…

’Get Myself Arrested’ – Gomez

Gomez come to the O2 Institute with their Bring It On 20^th Anniversary Tour on Tuesday 28^th August, with support from RUSSO – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours. For direct event information and links to online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Gomez, visit www.gomeztheband.com

For more on RUSSO, visit www.russo.lnk.to/hwap

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs & Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on the O2 Institute, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

________

NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

March 23, 2018March 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: 30 Seconds to Mars @ Arena Birmingham 29.03.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

On Thursday 29^thMarch, Thirty Seconds to Mars will be performing at Arena Birmingham as part of their Monolith Tour.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets priced from £37.60 (plus booking fee) as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

It has now been close to 20 years since we were introduced to Thirty Seconds to Mars, with their self titled debut album shooting them into the top end of the alternative music scene. Two decades later, the band are still rooted in rock but have evolved a sound that takes inspiration from a range of musical styles.

However, it was during 2005 that the Los Angles based three piece paved their way into commercial mainstream with the release of their sophomore album, A Beautiful Lie – containing singles such as ‘The Kill’, ‘Attack’ and the titular ‘A Beautiful Lie’. Moving away from the progressive and ‘space rock’ of their debut, A Beautiful Lie brought the band into a more personal context – as front man, Jared Leto, told the American broadcaster, USA Network, “on the first record I created a world, then hid behind it. With A Beautiful Lie, it was time to take a more personal and less cerebral approach.”

With a growing fan base, firmly rooted in the band’s music alone, Thirty Seconds to Mars would release of further two albums over the following decade – This Is War (2009) followed by Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013). They would also win a cavalcade of awards, including a Guinness World Record for the longest concert tour by a rock band (just over 300 shows to be precise).

Then in November 2015, Thirty Seconds to Mars announced they were working on their fifth studio album – set for release in April 2018. So far two tracks have been released from America, with the album’s explosive and cinematic lead single, ‘Walk on Water’, hitting No1 on both the UK Rock and Metal and US Rock Airplay Billboard charts.

The supporting Monolith Tour was announced in October 2017, kicking off in Switzerland and coming over to the UK for five dates, starting with a show in Cardiff on 23^rd March and ending at Arena Birmingham on 29^th March – before heading back across the channel for shows in Portugal, Spain and a string of festival appearances.

‘Walk on Water’ – 30 Seconds to Mars

30 Seconds to Mars perform at Arena Birmingham on Thursday 29^th March, as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.arenabham.co.uk/whats-on/thirty-seconds-to-mars

For more on 30 Seconds to Mars, visit www.thirtysecondstomars.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on Arena Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

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