Boat to Row, GOD DAMN, Baby Godzilla. Live at Left For Dead, RSD

It was 9 in the morning, the weather was cold and the queue outside Left For Dead was long. Boat To Row provided a lovely morning soundtrack to the queuing and anticipation. Stripped down to a three piece, playing banjo, guitar, violin and a strange sort of standing up accordion. Their music was beautifully mellow, more in the style of 60's/70's folkies such as Tir Na Nog, Vashti Bunyan or Nick Drake, than their mumfordish contemporaries.  Hearing them gave me flashbacks of the Lunar Festival, and visions of sunny days spent living in an old gypsy caravan. I spoke to them afterwards and they are all nice, softly spoken, polite people.  A nice start to the morning.  6.4/10

At 12 GOD DAMN  took to the stage. This was a little awkward as usually God Damn gigs send a crowd into a frenzy of head-banging and moshing, but today the sober crowd decided to chill out and stay still for fear of drowning. Loads of people were taking photographs and as usual GOD DAMN's set was blisteringly heavy, and deafeningly loud, a short half hour set of newbies and oldies. The Shoe Prints in the Dust single stood out as being a highlight, but at a GOD DAMN gig the songs all just sort of blend together, Thom Edwards makes more noise than 4 guitarists, using an array of pedals to create more and more noise. There came a point where I was unable to tell whether it was the guitar or my ears making the constant whirring noise. Thom Edwards thanked the band's friend Bjork for paying for the album* (Vultures, out in June), Left For Dead, and Birmingham for being the bands spiritual home. He left the guitar on the amps, pressed a few buttons on the pedal board and left our ears all ringing. 8/10

Baby Godzilla are absolutely insane live. In fact they don't really seem to understand or care what a stage set up is. They were constantly jumping over the pool straight into the audience and planking their mic stands wherever they wanted, whether that be right in the middle of the crowd, by a few children watching the show, on amps, on tables, in a local shop or on top of fellow nutter, Connor Hemming. They did acrobatics, swinging upside down from the metal bars above the stage and even climbing a bunch of stairs and jumping on top of the Oobleck. As for the music it is hard to pin Baby Godzilla down. Not really a metal band like God Damn, but not a straight forward punk band either. It wasn't a great environment for a mosh, and you can't headbang to their music as their songs are incredibly erratic, constantly changing rhythm and only lasting two minutes or so long. All the audience could do was stare in disbelief. Few bands engage the audience in the same way as BG, getting straight into the crowd from the first note and sharing mics with them. I've also never seen a band with such blatant disregard for health and safety, leaving wires all over the place, dangling in the water, taking their guitars into the pool with them, I worry that one of them may be seriously hurt in a toaster in a bath incident. Baby Godzilla are playing Slam Dunk festival soon. They will make everyone else on the bill seem a bit naff.

8/10
*just a joke of course, but they're on her label so he's not wrong

Links:
 www.boattorow.bandcamp.com
 http://goddamntheband.com/
 www.babygodzilla.bandcamp.com

(separate photo blogs of each band will follow, you can click on each one to make it bigger)

Nils Bech, One Year. Album Review.

The Cover depicts a young man standing in front of a blurred woodland scene. His face is covered in blue paint and his light hair and weary eyes counter his young appearance. Nils Bech is a Norwegian performance artist, who mixes his music with dance and performance art, and despite being a Norwegian who wears face paint does not burn churches*. The album comes along with a full size poster/calendar. It is obvious that One Year is a concept album. Throughout Nils plays a mysterious character, he sings in a pleasant soft voice yet there is a darker undertone to the lyrics and music. He sings tenderly of his crimes of passion and sexual jealousy. The first  set of songs, are about reconciling a relationship, "my behaviour has been strange, am I pushing you away with how I behave?" while on 'Shame' he sing's "when you read about me in the paper did you feel ashamed of me?  we never get to know what he has done.
It's hard to listen to 'One Year' without feeling like you've only got half of the  package. Each copy should come with a troupe of dancers to interpret the songs. This is all before we get to the music, which is varied and complex as the story itself.  The nearest UK equivalent would probably be James Blake or Years and Years. He uses minimalist electronica as a base on which he sings, adds drums and even orchestras into the mix. Some tracks on the album are just mental jazz instrumentals. It's hard to pin point or box Nils Bech's music, but it is pop music at it's most sophisticated. Minimalist yet complex, clean sounding but with traces of darkness. 'One Year' is a strange record, but it marks Nils Bech as a true auteur, who alongside Ariel Pink, Dean Blunt and Connan Moccasin is one of the few music has left.

7.2/10

*That jokes not in bad taste right?

Alex Moir, Live at the Sunflower Lounge (3/4/15) +EP Review.

George Gadd

Lauren Pryke

As I had missed Emma Thomas. George Gadd was the first act I saw. An Acoustic singer/songwriter yet at times, he seemed more like a comedian, telling jokes in-between the false starts, technical difficulties and frequent heckles of 'GEORGE LADD!' He asked the audience to come closer to the stage, because he didn't like the "fuck you horseshoe" (my new Favourite phrase) between him and us. Coming all the way from Nottingham to perform, he was in a cheery mood which is just as well as his folk songs are about the trials of growing up, and seem to reflect his travelling, yet are hopeful in tone despite the subject matter. Next up was Lauren Pryke, who seemed a tad nervous and shy. The Sunflower Lounge was beginning to pack out, yet sadly her delicate, finger picked acoustic songs were slightly drowned out by the DJ set happening upstairs. Despite this her mix of originals and re-imagined covers of pop-punk songs by the likes of Blink 182, went down well with a slowly packing out Sunflower Lounge.
georgegadd.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/laurenmariepryke


Alex Moir 

Last time I saw Alex Moir play live it was at Talk!, as part of a free KILLR PUNX Acoustic night, (bit of an Oxymoron that one) which was so dead that even the head-liners (Modern Minds) didn't show up. Right from the start things looked better for this freebie gig. It was the launch night for Alex Moir's Debut 'The Numbers Game' EP. But more significantly the first gig he'd ever played with his new band. Alex Moir's music has a much fuller sound with his new band, who add rhythm into the mix in an almost jazzy, laid back sort of way. I feel he needs a name for them, maybe Alex Moir and The Sunflower's after where their first gig together was, No? Yet it's Alex's band and he's the star. I feel that given time he could be a new folk hero for a generation of kids who love folk but hate banjos. His voice has a Mumford-ish growl mixed with a punk rock snarl. His songs are catchy tunes that you can sing along to every word of even if you're only hearing them for the first time. Such as Havana with it's chorus of 'Thats life! oooohh-WoooaAAAAAHHOOO' He even threw in a cover of Peace's Wraith and made it totally his own. Easily the best gig I've ever been to (that I didn't have to pay for).

B-Town Rating: 7.2/10


The Numbers Game EP
Alex Moir bore little resemblance to the guy on the cover of his EP, when I pointed this out, all he said was 'Good'. Ironically the music on it bore little resemblance to the music I heard at the show.  The tracks have had a bit a studio makeover, which makes them feel dated and over produced. Yet this hasn't ruined the quality of the songs, which sound great no matter how much keyboard's you throw on them. The title track was produced by Alex himself and the stripped back approach he has used works a lot better.


alexmoirofficial.com

ALLUSONDRUGS, Live at The Flapper (21/3/15)

ALLUSONDRUGS take to the stage with little fuss. No big intro, they just plough straight into the first song. The first note has only just been played and already two of the band members have fallen over. It is amazing how this band are able to play coherently while almost constantly losing balance. The amount of energy the band put in is incredible and after seeing them play to only a handful of punters last year, I was really happy to see them play to a packed out flapper. The rise in popularity is partly down to the release of their self titled Ep, and singles such as 'Am I Weird?' which ensured that the crowd could sing along to amazing songs, like Nervous, and Cherry Pie (not a cover version), with the bands singer, Jason.
Jason is a great front-man, friendly, cheeky and a great guy. He is the only band member whose face can be seen under his hair, and his personality made him the star presence of the show. Whether that be sticking his hands down his pants, mock blowing the bands guitarist, screaming like a mad man, or lifting his shirt above his head like he'd just scored a goal. He's never less than entertaining. He even saw me and my T-shirt, and pointed out that, they have a tee total bass player, yet they still put his face on a T-shirt with a joint in his mouth.
Happily all this tomfoolery is backed up by great songs, they're only at the EP stage, yet 'Nervous' deserves to be a hit. By the end of the show, my mate Jason 'Pink Violence' came on stage roared some death metal growls, then jumped off stage. leaving the band to desecrate their drum kit, fall over each other and leave guitars on their amps.Which is probably why Jason's back was bleeding afterwards...

B-Town rating, 8.4/10

FootNote: I spoke to the bassist afterwards and asked him if he really is teetotal, yeah he said, apart from the booze. I then said it was amazing how the band are able to play while constantly losing balance, he laughed.

Romans + Press To Meco, Live at the Flapper (21/3/15)

Romans

While The Kaleidoscopes were hazy and noisy, and Mutt were quirky and punky. Romans came across as much more of a straight forward rock band, 5 blokes who claim to be from Birmingham, but admitted that they say that because it's cooler than where they're really from.  Romans had more of a Kerrang! vibe than the NME feel of the last two bands. Much cleaner in tone but still with massive riffs, I can imagine hearing Romans on the radio, (Kerrang! radio in particular). They sound a tad like Don Broco or Mallory Knox, but err, a bit better. From a photography point of view, the band's Bassist was the main attraction, dressed all in white in contrast to the rest of the bands all in in black, with long hair and an NWA sleeveless top, he looked very much the rock star. Throughout the show he was at the front of the stage (and at one point right in the audience), head-banging and constantly leaning on the edge of the stage. Him and the bands much more no-nonsense singer make a perfect contradiction. They are not without a sense of humour either, as their singer warned us to not make eye contact with the merch guy.  The man with the tattoos and beard who would make us by a t-shirt if we made eye contact with him. Though those were cool T-shirts for a £5   (I'm glad I didn't get one,  I needed that £5 to get in to Uprawr later that night). Anyway if you search Romans and Mary on Youtube and click on the first link  you will find a video of a woman called Mary talking about Roman history. The one you want is a few vids down. Jokes aside, It wouldn't surprise me at all if I see Romans go onto more success from this point on.

B-Town Rating 6.8/10

www.facebook.com/romansonline


Press to Meco

The only band on the bill who were not from the Midlands (other than head-liners ALLUSONDRUGS) were penultimate band Press to Meco. Who had travelled all the way from Cryodon with ALLUSONDRUGS and on this night were playing their last date of the tour with them. The two bands have formed a friendship (ALLUSONDRUGS bassist wore their shirt on stage and Press To Meco thanked them for being such a great tour-mates). Press to Meco are a unique band in the sense that they have no clear singer or front man. There are only three members, on bass, guitar and drums, yet each of them share vocal duties. They are all great singers. Yet all have voices that stand apart from each other, even the drummer sounds  great as a singer. In fact it was their drummer who did the majority of the singing, yet the vocal harmonies between the three of them were stunning. Press to Meco are also great musicians, their music is very melodic yet very technical, like a less angry At the drive in. Between them they can make quite a noise despite being a trio. The three of them put loads of energy into their set, and made sure there was a cool upbeat vibe. It was refreshing seeing a band so free of ego.

B-Town Rating 7.2/10


http://www.presstomeco.com

Kaleidoscopes + MUTT. Live at the Flapper (21/03/15)

The Kaleidoscopes

First I'd like to apologise to Ste alan.  When I first saw the Kaleidoscopes back in 2013 claimed he was a teenager, turns out he wasn't.  I was wrong there.  Last Saturday was the 3rd time that I had seen the Kaleidoscopes and each time I've seen them they've got better. If they sounded like teens the first time round. they now sound much more like men. Ste is a laid back front-man, his voice generally hidden amongst the lazy hazy, yet very-very noisy shoegazy sound of his band. Yet at times they break out of the slower songs and he proves himself to be a pretty good shredder. While the Bass player adds a funkier sound to the bands music that shoegaze doesn't usually have. The band exude slacker charm and have a rather dry, self depreciating sense of humour. Some of the songs are pretty heavy, yet while all of the songs are loud, others are strangely relaxing. Such as the new single Glitter, which the band were encouraging people to nab free singles of from the merch table, (mine doesn't play). Glitter (which you can hear on the link below) is a good example of the bands music. It's shoegazy noise is strangely relaxing, and reminds me a little bit of Yuck.
While some of the Birmingham bands have appeared and consequently dissipated on a cloud of hype, The Kaleidoscopes have grown, and matured over time.

B-Town Rating 6/10

https://www.facebook.com/KaleidoscopesKaleidoscopes

MUTT

MUTT are a punk(ish) rock band from Birmingham, who's music is raw, scrappy and described by the band as 'Melodic Grunge'. What separates MUTT From being just another (albeit still very good) rock n roll band is their singer, Lottie Spencer. By a good foot or so the tallest person in the Flapper that night, she stood out with her long bright red hair and quirky dress. She has an amazing voice, a loud belting voice that has a hint of punk rock snarl, which reminded me of Sleater-Kinney or X-Ray Spex. Lottie has an amazing presence on stage. Kooky and seemingly friendly yet her screaming, rolling around on the floor, and wrapping herself in her own microphone gave me some idea of what it might look like if Zooey Dechanel decided to actually be crazy for a day.  Bad comparisons and similes aside I really enjoyed seeing MUTT, they reminded me of the also incredibly underrated 'Evans The Death' (who I shall write about soon).  Mutt have got a cool attitude, cool songs and are really just a great rock n roll band.

http://mutttheband.bandcamp.com/

B-Town Rating 8/10

I have a new blog!

Hi guys! So as the title has told you, I now have a new blog, it's actually been out there for a week or two, but it think it is now ready to tell you about.

Check it out: https://instagram.com/birminghamstreetart/

Instead of selfies and pictures of what I am eating. It is a celebration of Birmingham's diverse street art scene. A scene with has attracted people from all over the world to take part, such as Setdebellza,  from Spain for example. So far there are loads more pictures I want to take than those that are on there, it all depends on how much spare time I have and where I am when I have that spare time.  Yet I hope that this can become a definitive source of pictures of the amazing artworks to be found in Birmingham, and a way of preserving them before they are inevitably painted over. I also don't just want to show the murals, but also the paste jobs and stickers, or the more subtle jobs such as Liskbot, who's art is hidden in street corners and alleys. The first few pictures are of  artworks in my own collection, but from shops in Digbeth (I'm not too happy with the pictures I got of those). I try not to bother too much with filters, as I believe that using filters to edit photograph's is lazy and a bit daft. Please like what you like and share so others can enjoy.