Brum Notes Magazine October 2012 by Brum Notes Magazine

October 2012

www.brumnotes.com music and lifestyle for the west midlands

free

MAKING WAVES WITH

ALT-J PLUS: BLOC PARTY PEACE DOG IS DEAD TOY DAKOTA BEATS BLACKLISTERS And more…

ALSO INSIDE THIS MONTH: Your guide to the OxjamBrum Takeover Festival 2012 / Celebrating 10 years of Supersonic Festival / Birmingham Comedy Festival returns to the city / Moseley Folk Festival in pictures / AND your complete guide to what’s on in October October 2012

Thurs 18th Oct • £17.50 adv

Fri 2nd Nov • £6 adv

Tues 6th Nov • £10 adv

Thurs 18th Oct • £22.50 adv

Next Big Thing Competition

Weds 7th Nov

Newton Faulkner Rick Astley 10.30pm doors, £4 adv special guests include:

Fri 28th Sept

James Buckley DJ Set Fri 12th Oct

Greg James DJ Set

Fri 19th Oct • £11.50 adv 6pm - 10pm

The Jim Jones Revue Sat 20th Oct

The Gaslight Anthem

6pm - 10pm

- Heat 1 ft. The Mighty Young + Grace The Skies + Lucid Uprising + Severed Ties + I Can Talk + Free Or Nearest Offer

Sat 3rd Nov • £13.50 adv

3oh!3

+ Lucius Brave + La Fontaines

Sat 20th Oct • £8 adv

Sat 3rd Nov • £13.50 adv

Subways Live

Ex-Senators (Chicago US)

Sat 29th Sept • £16 adv

Sun 21st Oct • £12.50 adv

Fri 19th Oct

Maverick Sabre + Ms Dynamite + Daley

Sat 29th Sept • £21.50 adv

Teedra Moses

Thurs 4th Oct • £10 adv

Vince Kidd

Fri 5th Oct • £10 adv 6pm - 10pm

The Skints + Tyler Mae Tues 9th Oct • £10 adv

Lower Than Atlantis + The Dangerous Summer + Don Broco + Gnarwolves

Weds 10th Oct • £22 adv 7pm - 10pm

Serj Tankian + Viza Thurs 11th Oct • £17.50 adv

Hot Chip + Disclosure

Thurs 11th Oct • £14 adv 10pm - 2am • over 18s only

Foreign Beggars

6.30pm - 11pm

7.30pm - 11pm

Reverend And The Makers + The Janice Graham Band + The Carpels

6.30pm - 10pm

Punch Brothers Sat 17th Nov Sun 18th Nov

Rizzle Kicks Weds 21st Nov • £18.50 adv

Europe

Tues 6th Nov • £18.50 adv

Fri 23rd Nov • £22.50 adv

Nightwish

6pm - 10pm

+ Pain

Levellers

Sun 30th Sept • £8 adv

Tues 23rd Oct • £10 adv

Sun 21st Oct • £12.50 adv

Gaz Coombes

Mon 22nd Oct • £15 adv

Labrinth + Dbanj

Tues 23rd Oct • £10 adv

Little Comets + General Fiasco Weds 24th Oct • £18.50 adv 6pm - 10pm

Bowling For Soup + The Dollyrots + Patent Pending

Weds 24th Oct • £8.50 adv 6pm - 10pm

Dog Is Dead Thurs 25th Oct • £17.50 adv

Space

Fri 26th Oct • £17.50 adv 6pm - 10pm

Twisted Wheel

Mon 1st Oct • £8 adv

Ryan O’Shaughnessy

The Ordeal

Descent from Hell Tour 2012 + Knock Out Kaine

Thurs 25th Oct • £12.50 adv

+ Sharks vs. Bears + Bodhi Tree + Thunder Lion + The Fluffs

+ Wolf

Jellybean Rebellion Weds 3rd Oct • £8 adv 6.30pm - 10pm

Ben Montague + Joe Karchud

Sat 6th Oct • £5 adv

Fri 26th Oct • £6 adv

Sun 7th Oct • £6 adv

+ The Sundowners

Sat 13th Oct • £18 adv / £50 VIP

Brum Notes presents... Dakota Beats + Paper Shapes

+ Dive Exit + The One Twos

We Are Knuckle Dragger Romans Antlered Man

performing the albums ‘No More Heroes’ and ‘Totem and Taboo’

Sat 27th Oct • £15 adv

Mon 15th Oct • £6 adv

6pm - 10pm

BarcaMusic and Dust on the Tracks present

Tues 2nd Oct • £5 adv

6pm - 10pm

Hugh Cornwell

Weds 7th Nov • £15 adv

+ Charlie Simpson + Dead Sara

Kites + Look, Stranger!

Ren Harvieu

Jack White

Twin Atlantic

The Enemy

Fri 12th Oct • £12 adv

Pulled Apart By Horses

The Villains & Vigilantes Tour

Evile

Sat 27th Oct • £11 adv

Euroblast Tour

ft. Jeff Loomis + Monuments + Vildhjarta + Stealing Axion

Sun 4th Nov • £8 adv

Metal Hammer Razor Tour

ft. Devil Sold His Soul + Heights + Heart Of A Coward + Steak Number Eight

Mon 5th Nov • £8 adv

Oh, Sleeper + Social Suicide

+ The Dead Betas

We Came From Wolves + A Plastic Rose

The Midnight Beast

Sun 28th Oct • £16 adv

Tues 16th Oct • £7 adv

Mon 15th Oct

+ Redlight King + Exit Ten

Mon 29th Oct • £20 adv

+ The Dead Lay Waiting + Obscure Pleasures + A Promise To Forget

Tues 30th Oct • £15 adv

Weds 17th Oct • FREE For tickets vist www.atomlive.co.uk

Weds 31st Oct

with The Piratones + The Enquiry + Magic Powers

Alt-J + Stealing Sheep

Sat 20th Oct • £5 adv

[spunge]

Weds 31st Oct • £3 fancy dress / £4 others **More on the Door**

+ Sugar Mama + Hooting Howling Owls + Claire Boswell + Jody Capper

Sun 18th Nov • £6 adv

6pm - 10pm

+ Feed The Rhino + Brotherhood Of The Lake

Propaganda Halloween Fancy Dress Party

Mon 22nd Oct • £6 adv

Mon 19th Nov • £8 adv

Sun 14th Oct • £17.50 adv

Bloc Party Mon 15th Oct • £14 adv

Impericon Never Say Die! Tour 2012 ft. We Came As Romans, Bless the Fall, Stick to Your Guns, For the Fallen Dreams, Obey The Brave, At The Skylines, The Browning, At Dawn We Rage

Weds 17th Oct • £13 adv

Gallows

Mindless Self Indulgence Shinedown

Heaven 17 The Luxury Gap Tour Tyler Hilton + Dion Roy 6.30pm - 10pm

10.30pm - 3.30am • over 18s only

Fearless Vampire Killers

Atom Live Tour

Snooty Bobs

ahab + The Hummingbirds

Tues 6th Nov • £18.50 adv

Claudia Brücken The Lost Are Found Tour

Weds 7th Nov • £12 adv 6pm - 10pm

Mike Peters of The Alarm Red Poppy Tour

Fri 9th Nov • £6 adv 6.30pm - 10pm

Maybeshewill + Gallops

Fri 16th Nov • £8.50 adv 6.30pm - 10pm

LA Shark

Juan Zelada

16-18 Horsefair, Bristol St, Birmingham, B1 1DB 2

Doors 7.00pm unless stated • Venue box office opening hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm, Sat 11am-4pm • No booking fee on cash transactions Notes Magazine ticketweb.co.uk • seetickets.com • gigantic.com •Brum ticketmaster.co.uk

presents

D OG

in association with Academy Events

presents

in association with Academy Events

DEAD

Plus special guests Plus special guests:

Dive Exit | City Lightz | The One Twos

titled-4 1

O2 ACADEMY2 BIRMINGHAM WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER DOORS: 6PM / CURFEW: 10PM / £8.50 ADV

O2 ACADEMY2 BIRMINGHAM FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER DOORS: 6PM / CURFEW: 10PM / £6 ADV

Buy tickets now from: o2academybirmingham.co.uk 0844 477 2000 (24hr)

facebook.com/dogisdead brumnotes.com | o2academybirmingham.co.uk

facebook.com/dakotabeatsband | facebook.com/papershapes facebook.com/DiveExit | facebook.com/TheOneTwos

21/08/2012 23:26

October 2012

CONTENTS

The Destroyers live at Moseley Folk Festival. See more on P34-35. Photo by Wayne Fox Photography. Brum Notes Magazine Unit 12 The Bond 180-182 Fazeley Street Digbeth Birmingham B5 5SE info@brumnotes.com 0121 224 7363 Advertising 0121 224 7363 advertising@brumnotes.com Distribution StickupMedia! 0121 224 7364 Editor: Chris Moriarty Contributors Words: David Vincent, Tom Pell, Amy Sumner, Jon Pritchard, Guy Hirst, Daron Billings, Kez Whelan, Ellie Crean, Richard Armitage, Nic Toms, Matt Saull, Tamara Roper Pictures: Wayne Fox Photography, Jack Spicer Adams Photography, Kate Hook, Andy Hughes Style editor: Jade Sukiya jade@brumnotes.com Design: Adam Williams, Andy Aitken Connect Twitter: @BrumNotesMag Facebook: www.facebook.com/ BrumNotesMagazine Online: www.brumnotes.com

Regulars News 6-7 Live Reviews 34-37 Style 38-39 Food & Drink 41 Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s On Guide 43-46 Music and Features Birmingham Comedy Festival 8-9 Comedy: Alexei Sayle 10 Clubbing: FACE 3rd Birthday 12 Blacklisters 15 10 years of Supersonic Festival 16-17 Dakota Beats 18-19 TOY 20 OxjamBrum: Scott Matthews 21 OxjamBrum Takeover Festival Guide 22-23 Bloc Party 26-27 Peace 28-29 Dog Is Dead 30-31 Alt-J 32-33 All content ÂŠ Brum Notes Magazine. Views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Brum Notes Magazine. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of content, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses claimed to have been incurred by any errors. Advertising terms and conditions available on request.

Brum Notes Magazine

October 2012

wallace & gromit creators to teach skills at flip festival The creators of Wallace and Gromit will head to Wolverhampton to give hands-on workshops in model making as part of a film festival next month. Annual animation festival FLIP runs from November 1 to 3, with organisers boosted by Grants for the Arts funding to help them deliver a series of interactive events throughout the festival. Events include a mass participation gif-making project which will see a temporary street art projection onto a landmark city centre building, free entry 2D artwork exhibitions across empty shop spaces and experimental animation film screenings. One of the highlights is expected to be the return of Aardman, the team behind clay animations including Wallace and Gromit, with experts giving a model-making workshop to children and young people in the Wulfrun Shopping Centre. For more information visit www.flipfestival.co.uk.

new student-friendly weekly club night heads to the q club

IN BRIEF

A brand new club night launches at one of Birmingham’s most historic venues this month. The iconic Q Club is once again opening its doors to revellers and will see brand new night Ritual taking over all five rooms every Saturday.

Handsworth will be a laughing stock when comedian Mark Steel performs a unique show for the BBC in this month. The radio funnyman returns for the fourth series of his award-winning BBC Radio 4 show Mark Steel’s in Town which sees him visiting six more UK towns. He will perform at The Drum in Aston on October 17 from 7.30pm with a bespoke show all about the nearby Handsworth area of the city, looking at what makes its residents distinctive, unique – and funny.

It promises studentfriendly drinks prices and a varied music policy taking in alternative, chart, indie rock, hip hop breaks and more, as well as karaoke, live music and spoken word from some of Birmingham’s best upcoming bands and artists. Resident DJs from across the city are also lined up to perform including Shaun Walsh (90s Night/Resurrection), Josh Mooney (Zombie Prom/Adam & Eve), Gemma Holz (Supersonic Vague/Panic!) and more for a veritable musical mash-up. Opening night is on October 6 with live performances from Cold Fields, Tom & Jimmy, Tim Fletcher, Adore and THIEVES. Entry is £3 advance or with a flyer before 11.30pm, £4 NUS, £5 on the door. Advance tickets are available at www.theticketsellers.co.uk.

weekend music festival returns to ikon gallery this autumn An autumnal festival of music will return to Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery next month. The Autumn Almanac returns for its second year with an exhibition and events exploring ‘the treasures of the human voice’. Guest curated by Sam Belinfante and Third Ear, this year’s Autumn Almanac features representations of the voice in film and performance, with contributions from artists including Turner Prize nominee Elizabeth Price, Venice Biennale Golden Lion winner Christian Marclay, Kurt Schwitters, Alvin Lucier, Yoko Ono, Birmingham Opera Company and Ex Cathedra. A number of talks and events complements the exhibition programme, with guests including Birmingham Opera Company’s dynamic director Graham Vick and Scottish film director Don Boyd. Autumn Almanac: The Voice and the Lens runs from November 8 to 11. Visit www.ikon-gallery.co.uk for full details and booking information. 6

Bargain hunters and vintage clothing fans will be able to rummage through suitcases for hidden gems at a special event in Selly Oak next month. The Suitcase Rummage and Vintage Fair will take place at Selly Oak Methodist Church on November 17 from 11am to 2pm, with DJs, refreshments and the chance to haggle or swap goods on the day. Tables and suitcase spaces are still available for those looking to sell items at the event, priced at £15 per table and £5 per suitcase. Call 07753 251145 to book. Entry for shoppers is 50p. Reggae-fused punk icons Ruts DC return to Birmingham this month as part of a comeback tour nearly 30 years after they first split. Ruts DC were formed in 1981 from the rhythm section and guitarist of The Ruts, following the death of The Ruts frontman Malcolm Owen in 1980. They will perform at the Hare & Hounds on October 6, the first date of their comeback tour, with co-founder Dave Ruffy saying he was particularly looking forward to returning to Birmingham. “Things I like about Birmingham are the Christmas Market, the unpretentious people, the curries, Top Banana vintage store in Kings Heath and my lovely friends I have there.” Brum Notes Magazine

vintage ‘department store’ to launch in digbeth this month A ‘vintage department store’ will launch in the heart of Birmingham’s creative quarter this month, offering shoppers the chance to browse goods from more than 20 independent traders under one roof. Mr Birds Emporium, named after Bird’s Custard inventor Sir Frederick Alfred Bird, will launch in Digbeth’s Custard Factory on October 13 with traders for the 10 permanent pitches all now confirmed. The concept store will also host temporary stalls as well as a weekly vintage fair on Saturdays, all of which will showcase an eclectic mix of independent fashion designers, young Birmingham graduates and arts and crafts talent. The emporium is being launched by Urban Village owner Frankie Johns and Sutton Coldfield Vintage Fairs organiser Sabina Gran (pictured below). They will be joined by new retailers including fashion graduate Sarah Warner, founder of Bits & Bows, Trunk Junkies Vintage, a quirky vintage brand that prides itself on its cherrypicked items, Vote Vintage, an eccentric vintage brand that sells ‘quirkier the better’ clothing, alongside ‘dope handpicked vintage’ from Sneeky Fox Apparel, ‘vintage inspired streetwear’ Roxy Valetta, ‘eclectic boutique’ Uptodated and more. The emporium will be open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10.30pm to 5.30pm, launching on October 13. A special Student Lock-In evening will also take place from 6pm to 8pm on October 24, with DJs, discounts and drinks. Visit www.mrbirdsemporium.co.uk.

support slots at the civic hall up for grabs in band contest Black Country rockers The Lines will host their own battle of the bands contest to choose a support act for their show at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall later this year. The concert on December 15 will be the band’s biggest headline appearance to date and they are giving one local and unsigned band the chance to open up the night at the 3,000-capacity venue. To enter, bands and fans need to head over to The Lines Facebook page at www.facebook/thelines and then post recommendations or links through comments on the page. The 10 bands with the most mentions or ‘likes’ will then go through to a live final at Walkabout in Wolverhampton on October 12. Lead singer Alex Ohm said: “We want to give a young band the chance to play a legendary venue that has hosted some of the best bands over the years. We understand how hard it is to get platforms like this to showcase your music and would love to give somebody that opportunity.” Visit www.facebook/thelines.

NON PROFIT MUSIC REHEARSAL ROOM FLOODGATE STREET MUSIC COMPANY October 2012

£5

REHEARSALS

ALSO FREE TO REFUGEES & ASYLUM

£45 PER WEEK LOCKUP

SIMON EVANS As a writer and comedian, Simon Evans leads a very different life to his father. But his thoughts about how he’s perceived by his own offspring has inspired his new one-man show, Friendly Fire, which heads to Birmingham Comedy Festival this month. David Vincent finds out more. “I suppose one of the things I was thinking about was my son who looks to me to set a good example, the right way to behave, and the feelings I have about being a bit inadequate in presenting a fully rounded character,” he confesses. “Much of what I do is abstract - I sit around on a computer all day, I look at the internet, and then I go out. My father, and his generation, were different he had a tool shed, he could grow vegetables, and I can’t do any of that. “I’ve been looking at good role models for my son, father figures, from modern and past times [and] I was looking at professional footballers and asking if they make discerning models. “The only thing true [about football] is the fans - the players, the managers, the finance, it all seems so ephemeral. If you don’t support a side, it seems so arbitrary from the outside, there’s nothing there! I grew up without a side and I’m quite baffled by it all ... there’s nothing to do with locality, although that seems quite tribal.” In his search for suitable heroes, Simon recalls several historical greats. “One I iconise in the show is Ernest Shackleton,” he says of the early 20th century adventurer whose Antarctic exploits gripped 8

a nation. “He and the explorers in that era endured extraordinary hardship. That old fashioned stiff-upper-lip is a nice counterpoint to that attention-grabbing, over dramatised journeys people make onto X Factor. There’s too much melodrama. These men, like Shackleton, just used to knuckle down and get on with it. “The Olympics are a good example of good sportsmanship - that’s been tremendous and gripping. They train hard and push themselves to the limit, which doesn’t contrast well with professional footballers, who seem to be pushing what you can get away with. If you just run around a track in circles, you are pushing your capabilities ... but just yanking someone’s shirt? That’s not professional.” Surprisingly, Simon’s negative view of today’s multi-million pound strikers has so far gone unchallenged. He chuckles playfully, “No-one has had a go at me just yet ... but I am quite looking forward to it.” Cutting his teeth on the mid-90s comedy circuit, Simon moved into writing, collaborating with such acts as Jimmy Carr, Sean Lock and Dara O’Briain. His long-standing professional relationship with Lee Mack who spotted him starting out - led to TV sports quiz They Think It’s All Over and

gag-heavy sitcom Not Going Out - which is about to enter its sixth season. “We’ve written all the scripts, done the read throughs, seen what has worked, then made some changes and cut everything down to size,” he says. “They’re going to be filming this autumn so I’d think it’d probably be on in the spring, but I’m not sure.” He is remaining tight-lipped on storylines, however, for the most part at least. “They have announced already that Tim Vine is not appearing, so his character has been quietly removed without an inescapable fate, so it’s more about Lee and Lucy’s relationship. Daisy remains a prominent character, but there are new characters who will be appearing in different episodes. Other than that, I can’t say much more...” Having already followed the familiar route from live comedy to radio and then TV over the last 15 years, Simon’s discovering there are far more new opportunities for today’s comics – hence his present UK tour, only his second - and he’s hoping to grab a few quiz and panel show slots to add to his already considerable CV. “Like most comedians, I like to have a number of arrows in my quiver.” Simon Evans is live at The Glee Club on October 9 as part of Birmingham Comedy Festival. Brum Notes Magazine

ABANDOMAN Opening for multi-platinum selling multi award winning singer Ed Sheeran on his recent UK tour, improv’ comedy rap act Abandoman initially wondered if he might have to abandon the gigs. Thankfully he’s persevered and brings his brand of musical comedy to Brum, he tells David Vincent. finds out. “Day one of the [Ed Sheeran] tour was in Aberdeen and was nerve wracking,” recalls Rob Broderick, aka Abandoman. “Music audiences are very different to comedy audiences. There’s lots of screaming for starters ... lots of screaming.” Thankfully though, there were only a couple of upsets, despite the screams. “Ed’s audiences were a little bit younger than the comedy audiences we’d been playing to, so when we asked things like ‘what job do you have?’, those that did actually have jobs were waiters or worked in bars, so we had to drop the songs about jobs. And we couldn’t ask them about their childhood dreams because they hadn’t left, or were only just leaving, their childhood. So we replaced that gap with a giant Connect Four game, which was great fun.” It was only when the tour reached London that audiences seemed antagonistic though only briefly. “We did hear that ‘What the f*ck?’ once, at Brixton,” Rob says. “We came out and I said, ‘How ya doing? We’re an Irish hip hop group...!’ I didn’t hear it, but there was this ‘booo...’ But once the songs started, it was great.”

October 2012

It should be stressed that Abandoman is not your average musical comedy act. Combining stand up improv skills with quick-fire rhymes, Rob uses audience input to weave his material on the fly. “I push the audience to give me a ridiculous answer,” he says, enjoying the unique nightly challenge. “If they say something [bland] I ask them to give me something really ridiculous, I want to be pushed, for it to be silly so I stay fresh.” While it’s Abandoman who is currently gaining the acclaim, Rob also has a separate career as a stand-up comedian. “The two happened completely separately,” he says of his music and comedy careers. “I was very much into hip hop at 13, then at 15-16 I discovered this incredible world of stand-up comedy. You inherit a lot of your influences, so I grew up with Billy Connolly, Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Hicks a little bit. I got really into it and discovered The International [in Dublin] and I saw people like Dara O’Briain and Des Bishop there.” Of his initial infatuation with rap, he says he was both mystified and entranced. “I was in awe. I didn’t know what ‘chronic’ meant or what a ‘homeboy’ was! A lot of what I heard was on the radio, Atlantic 252, and I

thought, ‘this is just amazing storytelling, they have these verbal skills’ ... that storytelling is what it’s about. “And if you listen to Kanye West, he drops ridiculously good punchlines,” he adds. “I started doing stand-up in 2005. I was freestyling separately in 2007-2008, but was primarily doing-stand up, but that went nowhere, so during open mic nights I started sneaking in freestyling, and two years later I’d stopped the stand-up and was just chatting with the crowd, and freestyling.” Though it’s a pretty slick act, Abandoman is still developing, with new show Party In The Key Of C Major adding the concept of a narrative framework - in this case, Rob’s lifestory - into which improvised rhymes are dropped. “I watch people do stuff written down and that’s such a different skill set, I’m used to interaction, I’m used to crowds - it’s a different skill set to do something that lasts a bit longer. Freestyle is where I’m most comfortable – permanent freaks me out.” Abandoman is live at The Glee Club on October 7 as part of Birmingham Comedy Festival. The festival runs from October 5 to 14 at venues across the city. Visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk 9

alexei sayle

Comedy

One of the pioneers of alternative comedy, Alexei Sayle makes a long-awaited return to the stand-up stage this autumn after a 16-year break, with a series of gigs at intimate venues across the country. He tells David Vincent why he’s more surprised than anyone to be back.

It’s been a while since Alexei Sayle strayed into the world of stand-up. A founding father of ‘Alternative Comedy’, he was the original MC at the legendary London Comedy Store where, along with such luminaries as Ben Elton, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmonson, and French & Saunders, he changed the direction British comedy during the Thatcherite 1980s. From live appearances, he made the move to TV with The Comic Strip Presents and The Young Ones, quickly graduating to his own series (Stuff) and pop stardom (Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?). Popping up alongside Indiana Jones and Doctor Who signalled a flirtation with celebrity status, while his move away from stand-up has been counter-balanced by an increasingly successful writing career — both as a newspaper columnist and author. But now after a lengthy 16-year break, he’s back on stage in comedy-mode, and if that’s a surprise to his audience, it’s an even bigger surprise to the man himself. “I never thought I would, I s’pose I couldn’t see a way,” confesses the now 60-year-old, before referring to his bolshy comedy character, famed for ill-fitting clothing and tilted hat. “I had this idea fixed in my mind of how I used to do it with the tight suit, and that was not an option.” It was Stuart Lee who re-lit the stand up spark, and showing Alexei the way by tempting him back on stage as part of the one-off Royal Festival Hall event At Last! The 1981 Show, a 2011 celebration of 80s alt-comedy 10

and entertainment featuring Nigel Planer, The Oblivion Boys, The Frank Chickens and others. “I performed in a completely different way,” says Alexei, who was MC for the occasion. “When people describe dying, of walking into a bright light, that sense of serenity, that’s what I felt, walking into the light, on stage. I felt this wave of appreciation. And it went down much better than it did before.” Supping a cuppa in his London home, he talks about his forthcoming dates as a tentative return, stressing it’s “work in progress” prior — if things go well — to a slightly larger tour next year. “So I’m getting back into it gradually,” he says, chuckling. “It’s like slipping back into alcoholism. You have just one drink. Then the next day, a couple more. And by the end of the week you’re in a coma in a container in Istanbul.” The onslaught of his old Comedy Storeborne stage persona has been replaced by one shaped by many years of more intimate, less confrontational literary recitations. “It grew out of doing book readings. The personality I have now [on stage] is fairly close to the real me. I was doing book readings of my memoirs — Stalin Ate My Homework — and did really well ... it’s all connected,” he says, adding, “I did think about adapting my memoirs, but it just didn’t work. But I do talk about my mother.”

Alongside the tour, there’s also a new volume of short-stories currently taking shape (due 2013), and, of course, his weekly motoring column for the Saturday Telegraph. “I’ve always been a car fan. I used to write for Car Magazine, then the Independent, in the motor supplement. I was an occasional presenter on Top Gear in the really, really, really bad days, when it was always shit. My parents were Communists, and my dad worked on the trains so we had free rail travel, so I never learnt to drive until I was 30. I was always fascinated.” As he discusses his Citroen C6, a trip to the Paris Motorshow, new models by Ferrari and Porsche, his enthusiasm for motoring is genuine, though the subversive, political thread that has been a constant throughout his career does sneak through. “The Telegraph people are great ... although their readers hate me,” he says. “I always go on about being Left Wing. ‘Why is this Commie writing for our paper? He’s shit!’ “One of the last [articles] I did was about my mum, who was a lollipop lady. All that ‘... turned the key in the Ferrari ignition...’, I don’t do that. I can do it. But I don’t.” He gives a little chuckle: “It’s like Picasso ... he could draw ... but he’d rather not.” Alexei Sayle is live at The Public, West Bromwich, on October 17. He also performs at the Wulfrun, Wolverhampon, on October 24 and The Glee Club, Birmingham, on November 11. Brum Notes Magazine

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SUPPORTED BY

...and much more.

For full festival listings see: www.bhamcomfest.co.uk Facebook: BhamComFest Twitter: @BhamComFest

October 2012

Clubbing

FACE: three years old and counting... The Rainbow’s weekly club night FACE hits the ripe old age of three-years-old this month and will be celebrating in true style with a world class warehouse rave. We caught up with co-founder Elliot Croft about where it all started.

FACE will be three years to the good in October, what does it feel like being three-years-old?

Your birthday showcase leaves no stone unturned - what was your thoughts leading up to the booking of the line-up?

It feels great! When we first started FACE we really never knew how long it was going to be around... so to celebrate our third birthday is pretty special. It has flown if I’m honest, here’s to another three years!

Well basically there are three very distinctively different vibes at our regular FACE weekly Saturdays, the house and techno in the courtyard and the more bass-orientated music in the cellar and the party vibes in the bar. For our birthday we’ve tried to get the house and techno sounds transferred to the Warehouse and Garden with the line-up we’ve planned, with Tanzmann and Squillace looking after the Warehouse and Joy Orbison and Scuba in the Garden, then of course the party vibes in the inner room of the Warehouse.

What was your initial inspiration when starting? Initially Lee McDonald approached me to start up FACE with Scott [Bleepz]. They had being running another night on a Saturday at The Rainbow called Fused it ran into a few issues with the name which is another story, haha, but also a change in direction was needed for it to work. So with a different name and vibe, the three of us started up FACE. Since spending the summer in Ibiza back in 2009 I was really eager to get back to the UK and start my own night up and when I had the call off Lee to get involved I was buzzing, I’ve always loved The Rainbow since my first trip to an early Below many years ago. We’ve always wanted FACE to be a great social night, with a different vibes in each of the three rooms, with only one room ever being really underground and serious, the other two rooms purely party vibes. We tried and tested a few different things when we first started out and we learnt from some mistakes and I think now we have the perfect formula for what we want our night to be about and have a great team behind it. What have been your highlights? For me personally there has been to many to mention. But particularly our first Birthday was pretty special with Jamie Jones, purely on the fact that we had made it to our first big milestone, which now is such a hard thing to do with a weekly clubnight. Other highlights have been hosting parties this year at both Snowbombing in Austria with Heidi and Soul Clap and also our pool party at Hideout Festival in Croatia with Subb-an, Adam Shelton and Simon Baker together with myself, Scott and our other resident Bunny. Our last NYE party with Maceo Plex, Tanzmann and Dyed Soundorom was amazing with us witnessing our first “sit down” at FACE. 12

For all the new arrivals in Birmingham at the start of a new term, why should thy come and check out FACE? Well there really is something for everyone. The younger crowd that we get at FACE literally love all of the three rooms and wander quite freely around most of the night. We pride ourselves on bringing the best artists/DJs from around the globe to Brum on a weekly basis with a crowd that is all smiles. Noone else does that really in the city weekly so if they want to have it right off in probably the best venue in Birmingham then they definitely should come check us out. Can you tell us more about the future of FACE and what else you have in store? The way that this country is at the minute with its economy, we’d like to see us still being here weekly! But we will still keep pushing boundaries and always trying to keep things fresh. We have talked in depth about taking FACE to Ibiza and also touring the UK and beyond, so maybe that could be on the horizon for us. But of course we will always make sure its done right and never neglecting our humble home in Brum. Face 3rd Birthday Warehouse Rave, featuring Matthias Tanzmann, Joy Orbison and more takes place at The Rainbow Warehouse, Digbeth, on October 13.

Brum Notes Magazine

October 2012

Brum Notes Magazine

Top of the list

After unleashing their ear-melting debut album BLKLSTRS to widespread acclaim, Leeds noise rock outfit Blacklisters have continued to deliver their devastating live sets across the country. They make a welcome return to Birmingham this month for some Halloween scaremongering. Frontman Billy Mason-Wood tells us what’s in store.

Have you been pleased with the reaction to your debut album so far? Yeah man, I think all the reviews were positive, there might have been one bad one. So maybe we’re alright. It’s only a maybe though. Does it still feel like a new album to you guys?

You’re becoming regulars in Birmingham, do you always enjoy gigging here?

I got given a bouncy ball. You can’t ask for too much more in life.

Yeah, always, I think it shares a lot in common with Leeds. Real strong music scene, lots of people in it together. Also with all the other towns/cities that are around it I think that helps keep the scene varied. It’s always good to us and long may that continue.

It’s a Halloween show you’ll be playing, what’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen?

Favourite thing about Birmingham?

I have a picture of Paul McCartney I carry with me at all times. It’s like a shrunken head or one of those gargoyles to help keep evil away. It’s pretty fucked up and I can barely look at it for more than a couple of seconds

Steve from Shapes’ beautiful face, I could stare at it for the rest of my life and never need to look at anything again.

Any particular party pieces planned for the night?

You’re last stop was Off The Cuff Festival at The Flapper, how was that for you, suitably sweaty and messy?

None yet, but I guess we should dress up. Maybe we’ll all come as Gary Glitter or Townsend. You know, one of the greats?

Yeah it was a good one, it’s a great festival, we have played it a couple of times now and have always had a great time, plus I got to see Them Wolves, who for me are one of the best bands around at the moment, and

What about Halloween-themed drinks on the rider?

October 2012

I think we’d be happy with bad lager served in babies’ skulls

No, we recorded it a year before it was released so all of the songs and all of it feels old. New songs on the horizon though so if you’re a bit bored you won’t have to wait too long. Hopefully by the time we come to The Flapper we’ll have a couple added to the set but we can’t promise these things. There’s lots of rude words on it, what would your parents say? My mum’s always saying: “You f*cking c*nts! Stop talking all the f*cked up sh*t. Who the f*ck do you think you are? F*cking Alanis F*cking Morrisette?” But that’s mums for you isn’t it?

Blacklisters are live at The Flapper, Birmingham, for the Birmingham Promoters and It’s Just Noise Halloween Party on October 31.

Ten years of Super– sonic Monotonix

Digbeth’s Custard Factory will be transformed into an avant-garde utopia once more this month when groundbreaking music and art festival Supersonic returns for its 10th anniversary instalment. Since its origins as a single-day event in 2003, Supersonic has blossomed into the full-on three-day extravaganza it’s known as today, and festival organisers Capsule have several surprises up their collective sleeves to celebrate the event’s milestone year. Kez Whelan caught up with Capsule co-founder and director Lisa Meyer to talk about the Supersonic Festival’s past, present and future…

How did the idea for Supersonic originate?

Lichens

Jenny [Capsule co-founder Jenny Moore] and I first off have pretty eclectic taste musically and are also passionate about championing contemporary culture, particularly work that you might describe as sitting on the outskirts and presenting that to a wider audience. We have also been keen on programming work that is more than just a gig but somehow embodies the idea of a community and brings people together. Essentially we are fans and the festival is produced from that as a starting point.

When you started the festival back in 2003, did you have any idea that it would still be going strong and boasting such fantastic line-ups a decade later? It’s been a massive learning curve over the last 10 years and we are constantly pushing ourselves to find news ways to develop the festival. I don’t think we would have ever started the festival if we knew what it would become, that would have been far too scary! It’s amazing to have the opportunity to not only work with artists that you massively admire but with a team of people who make the festival happen, that for us is the greatest achievement. Oh, and that we’ve created something so unique that people get on trains and planes to make the journey to the festival — that’s pretty remarkable. Have there been many changes in the way the festival is organised over the years? Indeed there has, in the beginning we did everything from booking the artists, to stage managing to cooking veggie chilli, now we have an amazing team who help us deliver the festival as well as an army of 90+ volunteers. Brum Notes Magazine

How do you think Supersonic has affected Birmingham’s local music scene? I’m not sure it’s affected the Birmingham scene, rather we hope that we can showcase some of the amazing talent from Birmingham to a wider audience via the festival, we can use it as a platform to expose artists to press and a travelling audience. Obviously all the bands on the bill are 100 per cent Capsule approved, but which ones are you particularly looking forward to this year? Obviously I’m biased and am pretty excited about all of our line-up but some of the key highlights this year include a special collaboration of the unique and unpredictable guitar pairing of the iconic Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and free-noise guitarist Bill Nace. Together, they are known as BODY/ HEAD. The Oxbow Orchestra, expect strings, woodwinds, brass, operatic backing vocals and classically contained renderings of the Oxbow songbook. A screening of Jeremy Deller’s ‘The Bruce Lacey Experience’. A large-scale installation combining sound art, video art and kinetic sculpture, the Vinyl Rally; an immersive participatory

play-set playing off vinyl fetishism, video arcade mystique and the machismo of motor sports in a video game played within a real world setting! We’re also delighted to be bringing psychedelic rock band Goat to the UK for the first time. In addition we have a few surprises in store to help mark our 10th year celebrations. And what have you been some of your main highlights from the past 10 years of the fest? Well we started out as a one-day event not really knowing what we were doing, and now 10 years later the festival has grown with a worldwide reputation so that is really exciting for us. There have been so many amazing performances but LCD Sound System, followed by Coil performing over the pool at the Custard Factory in our first year was quite an achievement. Monotonix played a pretty amazing set causing an absolute frenzy of sweat and Speedos. Also hosting early performances by artists that then go on to really build their reputation and audience always feels like an achievement for us and that we have in some small way helped them on their journey. In other ways, having our audience travel from all over the globe

is equally satisfying — knowing that they are making the journey as they won’t experience this kind of event anywhere else in the world. Are there any bands that have yet to play that the festival that you’ve been itching to book? Black Sabbath — I know, an obvious choice but you can dream... Finally, what does the future hold for Supersonic Festival? Having reached 10 years is a good opportunity to re-imagine what the festival might be like in the future and what format it might take, even reconsidering the location. So lots for us to think about to prepare ourselves for the next decade of Supersonic memorable moments

DJ Scotch Egg Glatze

Supersonic Festival will take place in Birmingham’s Custard Factory from October 19 to October 21. Weekends tickets are £80, day tickets are £20 for Friday and £35 for Saturday or Sunday. Tickets are available from Polar Bear Records in Kings Heath or online through www.theticketsellers.co.uk. Visit www.supersonicfestival.com for more details. October 2012

MARCHING TO THEIR OWN BEAT Black Country indie outfit Dakota Beats are a band who like to do things on their own terms. And with a fiercely loyal following to show for it, who can argue? As they prepare for one of their biggest headline gigs so far, this month’s Brum Notes Presents show at the O2 Academy 2, Jon Pritchard meets a band ready to explore their dark side. “Our last EP, The Tides Will Turn, was based solely around heartache and lost love,” explains Dakota Beats frontman Dan Harris.

Photo by Andy Hughes

Ahhhh, can you feel it? Songs about heartache and lost love. Always there for you when you need them, like a warm blanket in front of an open fire in winter. But don’t get too comfortable just yet, because Dakota Beats aren’t the average band that statement may suggest. Oh no. They’re doing something different with their latest set of songs. Something as far away from cuddling up by the fire as possible. That’s right, the band, line-up completed by James and Tom Amphlett on guitars, Mark Grigg on drums and Richard Campbell on bass, have thought outside the box when it comes to recording their new tracks. Having teamed up with producer Ryan Pinson for the tracks, the band chose to record the new material in old attic rooms they stumbled upon at the Newhampton Arts Centre in 18

Wolverhampton, a venue which has proved a popular haunt for some of their most exciting gigs so far, but who would have thought having a nosey about upstairs would inspire a whole new atmosphere to their music? “We enjoy working with our producer Ryan Pinson and between us we came up with an idea of making some almost live recordings in a big, atmospheric room to try and recreate our live sound and produce something with tons of ambience and energy,” Dan continues.

us experimenting in public. The tracks will be available to download though; we always think it’s important to put our music out there. “The last two EPs we have done had no real plans beforehand, when the songs are ready and sounding right we might put them on an EP but then again we might not. It’s what feels right for us and if the songs would work together well as EP and not just a bunch of songs.”

“We found that the Newhampton had some old attic rooms perfect for the job so we started recording from there. We have such a tight relationship with Ryan now; he’s like our sixth member. He inspires us to make the music we do and I’d like to think we do the same for him.

While other bands have spent the summer jumping on the festival bandwagon to appeal to as many new fans as possible, Dakota Beats have done the exact opposite. Locked in a secret underground bunker (ok, maybe it’s not secret, or underground, but it does have a bunker feel), the band have been working with Ryan to mould their new sound and explore their latest batch of songs.

“We have no real plans for these tracks to be released as an EP; in many ways this is

And the boys from the Black Country have found their perfect way to start their 2013, Brum Notes Magazine

albeit a little early, with the help of the latest Brum Notes Presents night. Dan excitedly tells us: “We have locked ourselves away in the studio getting ready for the winter. We just can’t wait to unleash what we’ve been working on and what better place to do that than B-Town! 2013 is a big year for us so it’s been important to get everything right but it all starts in Birmingham on October 26. “The Brum Notes show is the start of a huge year for us as we move ourselves from Wolves to Birmingham. We have a huge show planned and are expecting a big crowd. We recognise that Birmingham is making big noises at the moment and although we will always be a Black Country band we’re happy to show Brum what we’re all about, and we’re confident they will like what they see and hear. I’d like to think you’ll see us a lot more in the Second City but we’ll always show our love back home.” Fans of Dakota Beats will have witnessed a mammoth change in the band’s sound over the past two years. These new songs, set to be unveiled to the expectant public for the first time this month, are once again a step

October 2012

in a different direction.

in the right direction.

Nothing’s Wrong, Nothing’s Right, Dive Into The Deep End and another as yet untitled new song show the heavier side to the band.

“The new tracks are definitely heavier,” insists Dan, “we have been called an indie pop band in the past but we are certainly maturing into a more indie rock sound. That’s what we want to be, it doesn’t mean we’re going to grow our hair and start wearing oversized tie dye t-shirts, it just means we’re changing, as musicians, as people, and as a band.

“We recognise that Birmingham is making big noises at the moment and although we will always be a Black Country band we’re happy to show Brum what we’re all about, and we’re confident they will like what they see and hear.” For anyone who has followed the band since their inception, this can only be a good thing. If the band can reproduce the form that saw them write rabble-rousing guitars and thundering, painful lyrics, such as those on Sir Frank James and The Tides, then this new era for them can only be a significant step

“When you listen to our songs they’re always accessible and easier to remember and that won’t change but maybe now we’ll be able to tap into our dark side a bit more.” So, it seems they are not as cosy as warm blankets in front of the fire after all. Sure they’re writing about heartbreak and lost love, but it’s not Adele. Their songs are cold and hard and walk the streets of the Black Country on the weekend, looking for love in pubs and on dancefloors. But no one likes to stop in any more anyway. Brum Notes presents Dakota Beats live, with Dive Exit, City Lightz and The One Twos at the O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, on October 26.

CHILD’S PLAY TOY have produced one of the most talked about debuts of the year with their effortlessly cool blend of psychedelia and krautrock. Synth player Alejandra Diez tells Chris Moriarty how it all came about so naturally. Toy are busy. Very busy. They’ve just emerged from the BBC 6Music studios following an astounding live session for Lauren Laverne, but there is little time to rest, each member is now being passed around for various interview duties. This is, of course, what happens when you release a debut album which has seemingly captured the imagination of music fans and critics across the board. “It was really good,” says Alejandra Diez, after their brief lunchtime set on 6Music. “It was really nice and we just did two songs and we were able to do Kopter which is one of the long ones so it’s quite good we got to play a nine-minute song quite like that on radio, but yeah it was a lot of fun, really good.” And it seems the fun is only just beginning for the Spanish-born synth player and her London-based bandmates, with the acclaim that has greeted their eponymous debut album making them a band very much in demand act as they prepare for their biggest headline tour to date. “To be honest we’ve been really excited,” continues Alejandra, “it was quite nice working just before we streamed the album because obviously we didn’t know what the reviews would be like, it’s quite strange having people talk about your work, but yeah it’s been really good.” For many, it may seem as though Toy have pretty much emerged from nowhere. Formed just a couple of years ago by a 20

group of friends made up partly of three former members of ill-fated indie hype act Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong — a band to which Toy bear little resemblance in terms of sound, or indeed quality. “Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong was never their band,” insists Alejandra, reflecting on the involvement of Toy members vocalist Tom Dougall, guitarist Dom O’Dair and bassist Maxim Barron in the set-up, “it was Joe Lean’s band but none of them had any control over the songs or the sound, this is the first time that we’re doing something together that we want to do. “We’d known each other for years, I met them a couple of months after I moved to England and we all moved to London at the same and spent lots of time together, but they were in the other band, although we knew we all wanted to do something together and after that band ended we started playing together.” Group writing sessions at Alejandra and Dom’s home quickly gave them a body of work to develop and propelled them into the studio. And it seems the end result has all come about very naturally. “It feels unreal that it’s actually ours [the album], everything has happened really quickly. We recorded it in May over a 10-day period and we were really keen on releasing it as quick as possible but the fact that it’s just been a few months rather than a year, which seems to be the average now for bands to be able to

release the album, the fact that it’s out is a pretty amazing feeling to be honest, like we’ve actually done something. “It was great, we did it with a friend of ours [producer] Dan Carey (Bat for Lashes, Mystery Jets, The Kills) who we’ve known for a lot of years so it was a lot of fun. It was all recorded live and we tracked all the songs in like four days and then it was literally just a couple of overdubs and everything was really quick — and we managed to squeeze a couple of parties in the middle. It was really good and great fun. “We wanted to start recording as soon as we had a bunch of songs to choose between. We didn’t actually have a masterplan behind the sound, it was just what came out when we started playing. “We really wanted to do it live and it seems to have worked out well, we just wanted to get a bit of the live energy on the record and it seems to have worked. I still think that there are things that come out live that you can’t get on the record but hopefully there are things on the record you can’t quite get live as well so hopefully people can hear both sides of it.”

Toy are live at the HMV Institute on October 20. Their self-titled debut album is out now on Heavenly Recordings. Brum Notes Magazine

Lone Wolf

He may not be a wild man of rock, but Scott Matthews is a musician who lets his music do the talking. Tamara Roper speaks to the Ivor Novello-winning Midlander ahead of his headline appearance at this month’s OxjamBrum Takeover Festival. Scott Matthews is, by his own admission, one of those “surefire boring people”. He remains living near his family in Wolverhampton and likes nothing more than coming home to his missus and a film after a playing a gig. Not words you’d expect from the musician behind an Ivor Novello-winning song and three successful albums. Despite a wealth of success and a success career touring the globe, he admits he is humbled to be performing at this years OxjamBrum Takeover Festival, which returns to venues across Birmingham on October 13. “I’m privileged to be able to give back,” he says. “It’s refreshing and hits home what it’s all about.” While national press may be jumping on something of a Birmingham bandwagon right now, Matthews is proud to be a West Midlands hero but admits it is has always been easy for him or other artists with the area having had something of a stigma attached to it in the past. “I experienced it with some people; the accent would come out and I’d feel myself being looked down on,” admits Matthews. But music is as good an avenue as any to rise above preconceptions, and for Matthews, he is adamant that “as long as people are listening and discovering”, music still has the chance to make the connection it always has with fans, despite the changes in the industry and decline of record stores and independent venues. October 2012

“It’s easy to lose sight of your purpose, but the support is often overwhelming,” he continues. “If one of my songs reaches out to someone driving down the motorway at 3am, even if it’s just one line, it brings back to me the reason why I do this”.

not follow at all, while inspired by Sigur Ros, Matthews wants to bring in a “strong undercurrent of other-wordliness”. New sounds to be experimented with and a clearer, more positive mind set has seen Scott realise where his strengths lie and if you’ll excuse the pun, play to them.

Despite what he calls the “decline of the music industry”, Scott has no intention of packing in what he’s been doing professionally since 2006. His first album, Passing Stranger, included the track Elusive which went on to win a prestigious Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically, beating the likes of Arctic Monkeys among others. Two more studio albums followed and Scott insists there is plenty more to come, with big plans having been laid out for potentially two new albums next year, with the next expected as early as March. “I’m trying to make music that has more of an emotional connection. I lost my way on the second record,” he admits, “tried to follow trends that weren’t really me.”

His headline set at OxjamBrum is to be followed by a single date at Birmingham’s Town Hall December 1, where he hopes to debut tracks from his new album(s). Instead of choosing a support band, he will instead play the equivalent of two sets: one, acoustic and solo, the other with his band, showcasing the heavier side of his repertoire. For there is a lot more to Scott Matthews than you might expect. A relative veteran compared to many chart stars these days, after six years and three albums, he is happy to compare himself to a “fine wine,” ageing and improving with every album. Only time will tell if this will ring true of course, but by the sound of things, he is certainly confident.

As a result, he has been experimenting with newer, potentially more unexpected sounds. “I dug out my brother’s old synth from the 80s, it’s huge, very Kraftwerk-y. The sounds are actually much more textured than you’d imagine.” He’s also admits to having toyed with the idea of releasing an album of bass guitar-driven music, though DnB is a genre he claims to

Scott Matthews plays the OxjamBrum Takeover Festival 2012 on Saturday, October 13. He is also live at the Town Hall, Birmingham, on December 1. Wristbands for the OxjamBrum Takeover Festival are £10 from www.oxjambrum.org.uk. Turn over the page for a guide to the venues and artists making up this year’s festival. 21

OxjamBrum Takeover Festival 2pm - 2am, October 13, 2012

Words by Matt Saull, Nic Toms Design by Oscar French, Alex Blanchard and Matt Saull

Charity/music bonanza OxjamBrum Takeover returns to Birmingham this month, so we’ve got the lowdown on what’s on and where to find it. This one-day multi-venue festival is back for its fourth year and will feature performances from over 40 artists including singersongwriters, DJs, bands, MCs and more.

The Yardbird

Symphony Hall Cafe Bar

Spread across seven venues in the city centre, one wristband (£10 adv) will allow you access to everything on offer including music, spoken word, workshops, industry panel discussions, a walking tour and pop-up gigs. The OxjamBrum Takeover Festival 2012 celebrates the creative talent that Birmingham produces — particularly from the independent music community — whilst raising funds for Oxfam’s vital work around the world.

Frederick

The day will start at 2pm with a parade through the city centre led by samba collective Oya Batucada, then the festival will launch its new ‘pay what you can’ daytime programme with music and events suitable for all the family. From 6pm wristband holders can bar hop through the city centre sampling everything Brum has to offer from indie to electro, hip hop to rock and folk to funk. This special souvenir guide previews the line-up at each of the seven venues and provides a handy map for the day. We will also be live tweeting using the hashtag #oxjambrum2012.

For more details, including the full line-up and ticket information, go to the OxjamBrum website at www.oxjambrum.org.uk 22

Brum Notes Magazine

Frederick 3pm onwards

Symphony Hall Cafe Bar 3pm onwards

Did you ever hear that Birmingham’s better than Venice? Well OxjamBrum are proving this down at Gas St Basin by taking over Frederick for the day. This classy canal barge has a fully-stocked bar and a host of treats during the festival. There’s a song writing workshop with Dan Whitehouse, storytelling with Paul Murphy and an industry panel discussion. Also, watch out on Twitter for the rumours of secret guests appearing there over the course of the day.

Celebrating its 21st birthday in 2012, the iconic Symphony Hall will open its doors to the OxjamBrum team for an afternoon of great singer-songwriters. The talented Dan Whitehouse will headline the space, and Cannon Street, the sisters who caused such a stir at this year’s Moseley Folk Festival, bring their sweet harmonies to the cosy cafe. Others performing include Kezia Sioul, The Scribers and a one-off from the Jazzlines Summer School Ensemble.

The Yardbird 3pm-2am It’s hard to look past Ivor Novello-winning singer-songwriter Scott Matthews when looking at the Yardbird line-up, but to do so is to your advantage. The Bluebeat Arkestra’s eclectic dance-hall sound is one to listen out for — especially considering this is one of eight gigs in their mammoth national Oxjam marathon, including four in one day — but Genius Collective, XOVA and Is I Cinema give the line-up real quality in depth. Also watch out for Secret Walls’ live graffiti outside the venue earlier in the day.

Cafe Blend

Café Blend 3pm-9pm Island Bar

The Victoria

Sunflower Lounge

Sunflower Lounge 3pm-2am

The Victoria 3pm-2am

Long-time bastion of the Birmingham local music scene, the Sunflower Lounge is hosting some of the more established artists on the line-up. Spoken-word legend Polarbear makes a welcome return home to Birmingham to headline the venue, while earlier performances come from local stars such as Johnny Normal and the ever-entertaining Tom Peel. Electro champion Jake Bullitt will then take over for the late night party, with the venue open all night.

Downstairs will play host to music industry discussions and talkshops, while upstairs of the old theatre pub will be truly kicking off in the evening, with Ghosts of Dead Airplanes dovetailing with Giant Elf Fist and Miles Perhower on a line-up bristling with indie-rock power. From 11pm, the venue gets taken over by promoters Brum Town and Eat Good. Highlights will include open mics, some of the city’s best MCs and the best hip hop battles this side of Flava Flav’s clock.

October 2012

Festivals are difficult, right? We once missed Blur by having a nap... Don’t regret it. If the hustle and bustle of the festival gets too much then a chill-out at Café Blend might be in order. Relax with a tea, coffee or a coffee martini while poet Leanne Stoddart comperes a heady mix of singer songwriters, spoken word artists and a performance by Brum’s very own ukulele collective Moselele. James Summerfield wraps up the programme here with full band.

Island Bar 5pm-2am Here OxjamBrum will host some of the day’s more experimental musical treats alongside local promoters This is Tmrw. Sick Boys Club will be kicking off Island’s line-up with their self-described ‘music for the apocalypse’. Moving through to new boys VOWS, Anushka, a new project from Annie Palmer (Tantrums, Little Palm), Killing Fields of Ontario, dirty rock ‘n’ rollers Horrorshow and Brum stalwarts IO. If that ain’t enough Sam Redmore (Freestyle) will be spinning records downstairs. 23

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Orbital Tour 2012 plus support PLUS GUESTS

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Thursday 1st November

HARAKIRI WORLD TOUR 2012 PLUS GUESTS

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BACK ON THE BLOC Bloc Party are back with a bang after a self-imposed three year hiatus, with a top three album already in the bag and a sell-out tour ahead. David Vincent finds out why the break has done them a world of good.

It’s 11am and Gordon Moakes is ensconced in a Washington DC hotel room between shows, contemplating Bloc Party’s return to touring after a three year break. “It’s been good,” says the bass player, quietly though confidently. “We’ve been playing festivals all summer, which is a nice way to warm up, a nice way to get good at playing together again. We’ve had to deal with a few sound issues with some rooms, but we’ve played the 9:30 Club in [Washington] DC, which is one of the best clubs in the States … and to play rooms like that and for it to go well has been great.” The reason for the chat is the recent arrival of fourth studio album Four, a collection few predicted, as well as the accompanying tour, ticket sales for which have served as a reminder as to how much Bloc Party have been missed. While there was no public meltdown after 2009’s Intimacy, there 26

was clearly a Bloc parting. Frontman Kele Okereke relocated to New York, started writing short stories (with a book evidently due next year), and recorded his solo debut, the punchy Boxer. Drummer Matt Tong also relocated to NYC, and guitarist Russell Lissack threw his weight behind Ash and electronic rock duo Pin Me Down. Meanwhile, Gordon was busy as part of Young Legionnaires with Paul Mullen of The Automatic and La Roux’s William Bowerman. The Party looked like it might be almost over. But here we are in 2012, with all four members back in the studio and back on stage, and it seems rumours of their impending demise were greatly exaggerated — it’s just the planned rest, a chance to re-charge those batteries and review where things were at, took a little longer than they initially mapped out. However, the time away has given the foursome a newfound energy that has seen them go back to their roots and

rediscover Bloc Party. Critics have labelled Four the best since their debut, the product of a hungry band with something to prove, but whatever your opinion, the long-player is certainly not a record BP circa 2009 would — or could — have made. “That’s definitely true,” Gordon reckons, “there would have been no impetus if it wasn’t for the break. Then, we only had two options: one was to take a break, and the other one was to head towards a brick wall. Individually, we felt we couldn’t keep going. But we were smart enough to realise that the best thing to do was to leave it alone for a while, to park it. “Leaving it and coming back to it at a later date means you get a perspective, otherwise it would have taken over our lives. Leaving it has created space in our lives and — without meaning to sound too slushy — created space in our hearts,” he chuckles. Brum Notes Magazine

“We remembered what we’d achieved together, we had a renewed sense of purpose, and this record is a direct result of that.”

banging on the door, without anyone reminding us of things we have to do, places we have to go to, all that ‘industry’ side. We’ve remembered what the band meant to us … we’ve gone back to the basics … So there is that sense of the band picking up and playing without the pressure of business getting in the way.” So, does it feel like a, dare we say it, comeback? “Comeback? From what?” Gordon laughs, adding, “from not doing it? “When we did sit down, and talked, that first time [after the break], it did feel really emotional. We remembered what we’d achieved together, we had a renewed sense of purpose, and this record is a direct result of that.” For Gordon, the best example of that feeling in action is new track Team A, “…because it was one of these awesome moments when you realise you’re doing something unique, that only that combination of people can do. Russell was playing with effects pedals, and we were playing along to that, and these strange shaped melodies came out of it. I felt that really represented us … we were firing on all cylinders.” The album was pieced together in NYC with the band keen to (re)capture the energy of a cohesive live unit. “We initially did want to get away from all the haunts we knew as a band,” Gordon explains on the decision to head to NYC. “As we finished touring previously, there was a feeling of the machinery of the band grinding onwards. This time we’ve reconnected as four of us, we’ve remembered how we used to do things in pokey rehearsal rooms somewhere in London … without management October 2012

“We had been in the studio but there was a natural break from touring. But now we’ve played a few festivals and shows it feels like we’ve never been away, it feels like we’ve been doing it all the time. At the beginning of this run we were conscious about the break, that three years is a long time in rock these days. We felt that wave of anticipation and warmth from fans. As we tour around, we are aware it’s three years since we last played there, but we feel that anticipation and that warmth every time we’ve played.” Previous albums Silent Alarm and Intimacy were followed by full remix collections featuring retooled takes by such knob-twiddlers as Gold Panda, Filthy Dukes, Armand Van Helden, Mogwai and Erol Alkan. But don’t expect Four to get the same treatment. “There’s not the same impetus to repurpose this time. In terms of a remix record, this record is not about that … although there may be the odd remix. The point of this record is that it’s a band playing together, it’s not about layers to be unpicked, the songs work as they are.” Bloc Party are live at the O2 Academy, Birmingham, on October 15. Latest album Four is out now.

PLAYING THE FIELD OR RULING THE SIDE— LINES? With Bloc Party back on the road, where does that leave all those solo and side projects, such as Gordon’s Young Legionnaires? “I’ve kind of got my hands tied a little with what I’m doing now,” Gordon laughs. “The schedule doesn’t really allow a two-week Young Legionnaires tour, if something like that came up, right now. I don’t know how long we’ll be touring, but it will be into next year, but we [Young Legionnaires] will get together again. Though the focus for me now is Bloc Party, for next year and probably the year after that.” He pauses, clearly reflecting on his stint as a Young Legionnaire: “I definitely feel that there are bits of me I can exercise in that band that I can’t exercise anywhere else. It’s nice to have avenues for other ideas and sounds ... and playing huge guitars at volume...” 27

Taste sensations It’s been quite an eventful few months since we last caught up with hotly-tipped Brummie hopefuls Peace, inking a record deal with Columbia, releasing debut EP Delicious to five star reviews and critical acclaim and generally being hailed as the pioneers of the so-called ‘B-Town scene’ by the national music press. We caught up with frontman Harry Koisser about life in the fast lane as they prepare for their biggest tour yet.

So, things have moved pretty fast since we last spoke to you. How did it feel to pen the deal with Columbia? Well we’d never had a record deal and I didn’t know anyone who had signed a record deal before so it was all totally new. It felt cool. I think I was the last person to sign with Mike Smith’s pen he’s signed every band with. It stopped working at the end of my signature and then Sam had to use a Biro. It was cool though. What’s the strangest thing that’s happened since you got signed? I think the strangest thing that happened was the night we signed. They took us to the NME awards and unspeakable things happened. Other than that I met the drummer from Fall Out Boy at a party but then I talked to him and then I wasn’t sure if it was the drummer from Fall Out Boy so maybe it wasn’t? I can’t really remember. There’s a 40 per cent chance it was the drummer from Fall Out Boy. 28

Any stalker fans yet? I don’t think so. There’s some people who really, really like us but we’re cool with that. So, a 5* review in The Fly, 9/10 in NME, …er interviews in Brum Notes Magazine, could you have dreamed of such a positive response to the EP? We thought it was a good EP because we liked it. We hadn’t really thought about reviews though. I’m glad people like it. If someone really hated it, it’d hurt my feelings. You seem to have conquered Google too, as your site (peaceforeverever.co.uk) comes up second when you search for ‘peace’, narrowly pipped by the Wikipedia definition of ‘peace’ itself. Is it hard to resist Googling yourselves and what’s the strangest thing you’ve read about your own band? I try real hard to not read about ourselves online. Our manager said to me before we put our first single out to not read anything

online because it can drive you crazy and the internet is basically witch magic. That’s cool about Google, I didn’t know that. I read somewhere that [bassist] Sam was dating Jed from Spector but as far as I’m aware that’s 50/50. Does it add any pressure or do you enjoy the expectation? I don’t really think about the future. Or the present. I tend to just replay the years 2004 — 2006 in my head, when I’m not watching Friends or sleeping. You had some nice guerrilla marketing efforts stapled to the bins at Beacons Festival; what’s the best thing you’ve done so far to get people along to your shows? Oh yeah, that was because we weren’t in the programme. We used to put posters up in every city we played in with a picture of my friend Hessy, the peace symbol, the venue name and the word ‘TONIGHT’. I think I told Brum Notes Magazine

people Cat Deeley was coming to one of our shows once as well. Deeley’s a babe. How has the summer of festivals been for you, any highlights? Latitude was a good day. Me and Cavan from Swim Deep got next level wasted and ended up on a boat on a lake with some children. I don’t know how or when but we found pictures the next day. The night was a bit gothic though. You must be looking forward to the October tour, how are you getting used to life on the road, all still getting on or are you discovering all of each other’s most annoying habits? We’re all really excited. We’ve constantly been playing live since we started really so it feels weird that we’ve had the last few months off. I haven’t noticed anything new. I knew everyone’s annoying habits before we started touring. I’m a fantastic judge of character. So, ‘B-Town’, are you sick of hearing that phrase yet or are you proud that your band is being so closely associated with heading up this fine city’s exciting music scene?

October 2012

I still stand by that ‘B-Town’ came from a hashtag I used on Twitter but others say it was Cavan from Swim Deep. The uncertainty and injustice behind its origin is frustrating for everyone but otherwise it’s cool that Radio 1 presenters have a word to say. Birmingham is exciting isn’t it? I’ve always said. Does the new national perception of Birmingham’s music scene seem quite strange to you guys? Not really. I don’t really see it as just a music scene though. It’s all like.. pals? I didn’t really start hanging around Digbeth until 2010 and I was in London a lot at the time too and I constantly told people how fun Birmingham was. I don’t know. The last few years were like constant pre drinks and everyone had a real laugh or whatever. It’s just weird/ cool that there’s like national attention? Who knows… And who else from Birmingham do you recommend everyone checks out? Any hidden gems? There’s a new band. It’s too soon to name names but It’s a close friend of mine who recorded some of our first demos and Swim Deep’s first demos. He’s starting a band with

another good friend of mine. They’re in the middle of recording demos but they’re both incredible songwriters and I’ve never been this excited about a band that I haven’t been in before. JAWS and Wide Eyed are definitely worth checking out. And for all those new students who’ve just moved here what are your top three tips for making the most of life in Brum? 1) Drink K Cider in Digbeth and go to The Rainbow. Especially on a Saturday because when that finishes you can go to the Adam & Eve & they won’t make you leave until Monday morning. 2) Be careful of the drinks in Snobs, I don’t know what it is but there is SOMETHING in the drinks that makes you go daffy. No one wants to be the guy who headbutts their BFF and tries to snog their own cousin. At least not in the same night. 3) Search for the one they call Terence P Wade. If you find him your will learn what it is to live, love and laugh. Real Talk. Peace are live at The Rainbow on October 31. Debut EP Delicious is out now on Columbia.

It’s a dog’s life Don’t say we didn’t tell you. Last year’s Viva Brother warm-up act and subsequent Brum Notes cover stars Dog Is Dead have finally recorded an album. And, guess what? It’s good. It’s really, bloody good. Tom Pell finds out what went into All Our Favourite Stories.

Five years of writing and growing up together has yielded much change. Twisted are the youthful tales of summer nights out on the lash, now tainted with words of regret and lessons learned. We caught up with frontman Rob Milton, to check everyone was alright. First track, Get Low starts so jarringly that the departure from DID’s usual joy hits you like a swig of MD 20/20. Aggressive drums and quizzical bass tease until frontman Milton arrives on scene with the pearler, “A fear of the dark is a walk in the park when you’re wasted.” Bang. Now we’ve started. The sound is brave new ground, with even hints of big hitters like Kasabian in parts. But unmistakably, this is Dog Is Dead. “I guess it’s that other side of growing up; the more miserable things,” explains Rob. “The record is all about the natural highs of growing up, but you always get the dark comedowns too. There is a lot of relief in it, and I think it’s a really interesting one to start the record with. People by now think of us, melodically a least, as this crazy, happy summer band, so it straight away throws a spanner in the works opening with Get Low.” The evolving sound was tweaked with the release of summer single Two Devils, seen 30

later on the record. A darker tone and a more detailed lyrical emphasis allowed Milton to stand out as a leader, rather than sit amongst the wall of sound harmonies that had been heard before. Though, fear not as, “…we haven’t ditched them by any means! But it is more of my unique experiences. It’s very much me telling my stories with the other guys coming in, rather than that original wall of sound. We wanted to be more dynamic, and we wanted to write great songs.” TV montage producers will delight in the euphoric chorus of Teenage Daughter, a song similar to Two Devils in structure but ending with a challenging mixed vocal where Milton seems to borrow Matt Bellamy’s megaphone from Muse’s take on Feeling Good. Time after time on the record a knack for melody is shown, if not from the vocal, then from a witty bass fill, subtle summer keyboards or Paul Roberts’ ever-jangly Rickenbacker. Starting subtly, new single Talk Through The Night is harmless fayre, but it’s far from wet. Glorified pop with an indie stamp, ticking all the right boxes and making all the right noises in all the right places. Bigger venues await such anthemic tunes, and a brave band is one which writes songs unbefitting of the tiny clubs they will first play their way around.

“I feel it’s a real friends’ song,” continues the frontman. “A really geeky, least coolest song in the world, song. But one that has its own merit, and hopefully someone can have a barbecue to it before it starts raining.” The previous single heavyweights sit in the middle of the record. Two Devils, like Tyson — moody, coiled and finally all arms swinging — shows off Milton’s range as he glides up an octave half way through. Euphoric chorus number 426? Check. David Haye would be Hands Down. Brilliant, but due to its glossy appeal, finds its home in the most bizarre places on your tellybox. Point in case, last year’s Barcelona vs Real Madrid highlights. “I’ll say to people from school, ‘Oh, we played Glastonbury’ and they’re like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ Or I’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re going on tour, or we’ve made this album..’ and still it’s, ‘Yeah, yeah…’ still looking at me like a douchebag, but then we’re on the FOOTBALL, and suddenly we’ve made it!” he laughs. Finally, 2011’s Glockenspiel Song is Ali. It may be old, but it’s still the greatest. It’s been trimmed down and had its edges rounded, but Trev’s sax solo remains. If you listen to one song today, make it this. Brum Notes Magazine

To tick all the ‘album staple’ boxes, you have to have a good ender. It has to be slow, acoustic if you can manage it, and understatedly epic. The boys follow the formula with Any Movement, an emotional waltz through a broken relationship, knowing there’s life ahead. It’s 80s as hell, with an outro very reminiscent of Brand New’s youthful farewell Soco Amaretto Lime.

Six months ago a tour was about to start, alongside hopes and dreams of playing “a few festivals”. It’s safe to say the boys found home. Their headline tour bled into a summer compromising no less than 25 festival appearances, and now almost straight into a second tour starting October 23.

With our DID flags waving proudly in the air, Brum Notes will co-promote the 02 Academy gig in Birmingham on the 24th. Ooh, get us. Last time was a memorable first trip to Birmingham for the group, and the lucky few that where there enjoyed a short and sweet set concluding with actual real life band crowd surfing, whilst still playing. Like in the films, and all that.

“It wasn’t a conscious 80’s move, but we are big fans of bands from that era, like The Cure, The Police and stuff. It’s nice to make some noises we hadn’t made before, and use string machines, electronic drums and all that. It means way more to me, having something that sounds a little oddball but is still mine, than having a huge pop hit.”

“It’s very much me telling my stories with the other guys coming in, rather than that original wall of sound. We wanted to be more dynamic, and we wanted to write great songs.”

“That was our first Birmingham show! Oh, it was a ridiculous night. It had a lot to live up to as the first dates before that had been randomly brilliant, and we had no idea what to expect. I remember, there were people who had masks on with our faces on! I remember singing, quite solemnly, into my own face, at one point. Staring into my own eyes and really going for it,” he chuckles. “So, yeah. We absolutely can’t wait to come back...”

“It was a big thing to go on that 30-day tour, with so little rest days. To see people at the shows was just unreal. And since then, having such an incredible festival season, we’ve just caught the fever. But with this tour it’s going to be so much more fun, because, with the record, people will actually know the lyrics and the songs. It should be something really, really special.”

Masks at the ready, a fever is coming.

Think Out Of This World by The Cure or I Know It’s Over by The Smiths. It’s about a broken relationship, but sonically, it’s almost a goodbye. A nod in the direction of girls lost and scars gained. The end of an era. Not unlike Whatever People Say I am, That Is What I Am Not, where Arctic Monkeys left behind a part of themselves, you wonder what direction future DID releases will go. Hopefully they won’t just hit the real world, ‘cause no one likes an album full of council tax, Tesco clubcards and an illegitimate pregnancy. October 2012

Dog Is Dead are live at the O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, on October 24, presented by Brum Notes and Academy Events. Debut album All Our Favourite Stories is out on October 8 on Atlantic.

Having made one of the most exciting records of the year, Alt-J have been installed as one of the favourites to pick up this year’s Mercury Prize. But as they prepare to head out on their biggest tour to date, it is exciting the fans rather than impressing the judges that keeps them motivated, as David Vincent finds out.

One of 2012’s most acclaimed debuts, newcomers Alt-J’s An Awesome Wave is an album of almost alarming maturity. Featuring introspective, brooding instrumental passages, folky a cappella and clipped math rock, it’s the kind of long-player you’d expect two or even three records into a career, certainly not from a band who seem to have appeared out of nowhere. But of course, behind the ‘where did they come from?’ headlines is the story of years of hard graft. “It’s extremely nice to have those kind of compliments, being told your music has a sound that’s mature,” says Gus Unger-Hamilton. “And I guess it has been maturing as we started on the record three years ago, doing demos for Matilda and Breezeblocks — and they ended up on the album. We didn’t make the album quickly, Matilda and Breezeblocks gave us confidence, they received a good response from people that heard them and that made us think about writing songs like that, that we like.” One of An Awesome Wave’s surprising strengths is its ability to sound coherent despite the variety. “There are elements of our sound in everything we do – Joe’s voice, Tom’s dry, cymballess drumming, Gwil’s picked guitar and the close vocal harmonies from me and Joe. Those four elements are always there. I think people like all of our songs, so we’re not so worried about a style, we don’t think of variety in terms of it being a strength or a weakness, but we 32

Brum Notes Magazine

LOVE TRIANGLE do think it’s a positive thing, to have a broad sound.” One comparison that keeps cropping up in reviews (alongside mentions of Antony and the Johnsons, Wild Beasts and trip hop) is that of Radiohead. “With the Radiohead comparisons, it’s very flattering, but we don’t take them too seriously,” smiles Gus. “I mean they’ve had, what is it, eight albums, and we’ve only done one! Do they mean Pablo Honey or Kid A? They are so diverse… but theirs is a career we’d like to have. Twenty years… that’s something we’d like to aspire to, that kind of career, that longevity and to still be so diverse and so current.” Though keyboard player Gus, guitarist/bassist Gwil Sainsbury, guitarist Joe Newman and drummer Thom Green released their debut single, Bloodflood / Tessellate, just 12 months ago, they’d been playing together since 2007. Having met at Leeds University, Joe and Gwil’s GarageBand demos spawned Daljit Dhaliwal, then Films, before they rested on the Alt-J moniker (actually the delta/triangle character created when you hold down ‘alt’ and ‘j’ on a Mac) in the summer of 2011. While they’d perfected their music away from the spotlight, in Leeds then Cambridge, the quartet initially lacked a live presence until tour dates with Ghostpoet showed them how to not just sound like a band, but act like one to. “He’s a fun guy to hang out with, a great guy,” Gus reports. “He taught us a lot about working crowds. Up until then we hadn’t played October 2012

much and I guess and we’d be standing on stage quaking in our boots… just looking at our boots. “But he’s incredible at working a crowd. We learnt so much, although it’s hard to articulate. Just shouting ‘are you having a good time?’ generally helps,” Gus laughs. “But just moving on stage, dancing, freeing your mind, moving…”

“That’s extremely flattering,” declares Gus, who was in the US when the nominations were announced. “That could change things, but we’re not thinking too much about winning a Mercury or waiting for that to see what happens. I do hope it won’t change things – heaven forbid if we win, as we’re happy where we are, the level that we’re at, this level of, I don’t know… acclaim?”

Adding to that live confidence has been a run of festival and foreign appearances, including Belgium where they find themselves as a bona fide chart act.

Acclaim it is, but it’s not those gushing broadsheet and blog reviews that really excite Alt-J, but the compliments from casual listeners and fans that really get them buzzing.

“Without meaning to generalise, there’s not a big home grown music scene there… although they do have a home grown scene. I think The xx went to number one there. But I’m not sure why they like us. We have played there and they seem to love their music.”

“The stuff we love to hear is that someone is listening to us on the train or while driving or while they’re doing their revision. That makes us feel very real because that’s what I would have done – listening to music while revising for an exam or on the train into London. So to get a tweet about something like that, from a real person doing a real thing is genuinely so exciting, it makes it so real.”

America is another territory which has embraced the band with gusto. “They seem to have taken to us well. We played 200-capacity venues and they were sold out, which is a good sign. I think they’re our second or third biggest fan territory on Soundcloud, so we are getting a nice fan-base there. The album dropped on September 18, I think, so we’re quite hopeful. Our label seem very positive about it.”

Alt-J are live at the O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, on October 31. Debut album An Awesome Wave is out now.

Of course, here in Blighty, the top 20 debut LP An Awesome Wave has made it onto the Mercury Prize list, alongside releases from Plan B, Richard Hawley, Django Django and Michael Kiwanuka. 33

live MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL Moseley Park, Moseley 31/08/12-02/09/12

Friday Now in its seventh year, MoFo’s become a firm festival favourite and day one once again dished up a delightfully eclectic bill with Beth Jeans Houghton and her Hooves of Destiny showcasing her endearing brand of northern kookiness and poperatic warbling. One of the best things to come out of Newcastle since Byker Grove. Over in the Bohemian Jukebox tent Ben Calvert married the laconic wit and wisdom of Morrissey with the gentle charm of Nick Drake whilst back on the main stage Guillemots overcame a few niggling sound issues to cement Fyfe’s reputation as one of the best British romantic songwriters around right now. The headline act got one of the oddest introductions of the festival with compere Janice Long dragging her son on stage. Poor bloke. There was a link though. Echo and the Bunnymen’s lead singer Ian McCulloch used to babysit Long Jr back in the day. How rock n roll, eh? Wonder if he sang him to sleep? It’s no secret that McCulloch would’ve loved to have been Jim Morrison (minus all the bloating and drowning in a bathtub bit you’d imagine) and opening number Rescue bore all the hallmarks of the lizard king himself. An impressive start, things just got better with meaty versions of Seven Seas, Bring On The Dancing Horses, The Killing Moon and Middle Eastern-tinged 34

Echo & the Bunnymen

indie anthem The Cutter. Janice Long led the chant for an encore with the admission, “I was like a pig in SH*T!” and an acoustic take on Walk On The Wild Side and full band version of Lips Like Sugar were the just rewards. Saturday Local hero Mickey Greaney’s clearly been through the mill a bit but happily he seems to have come through it all with the battle scars needed to produce some stunningly compelling songs, like set highlight The Last Word which scaled the heights Jeff Buckley reached shortly before his illadvised dip in the Mississippi. Last year Cannon Street (sisters Nadi

and Rukaiyah Qazi) were working as stewards at the festival. This year they were playing it. Deservedly so. Delicious sibling harmonies and deceptively simple but instantly loveable songs. Goodnight Lenin have been busy boys this year, playing a whole bunch of festivals and recording their debut album with legendary producer John Wood (the knob twiddler behind Nick Drake’s albums). It’s not out until next year so you’ll have to wait to hear the results, for now we still have fine performances like this to enjoy. Poignant lyrics, great playing and the feel of a band really on the cusp of that big break. On the surface Julian Cope seems like a bit of whacko but he really is a...well...floored

Guillemots

Brum Notes Magazine

Ceilidh with The Long Notes Beth Jeans Houghton

genius. Take set opener, a delightful ditty entitled I’m Living In The Room They Found Saddam In, not the most obvious song title in the world but in Cope’s hands it sounds like a pop hit. Nothing from Teardrop Explodes sadly, nor a World Shut Your Mouth, but we did get Autogeddon Blues, Double Vegetation, Sunspots and Robert Mitchum along with a wonderfully wibbly analogue synth backed Pristine. Back up at the Boho tent Red Shoes played a beautiful set of original tunes including one specially written for the great Dave Swarbrick called Sunday Afternoon (they’re recording it with him soon for their new album). A moving muse on the fragility of life, it’s right up there with Roy Harper’s When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, speaking of which... Harper’s a legend but perhaps not the most obvious choice for a Saturday night headliner though and his own words, “Most of you will be bored out of your brains by the time I’m finished,” proved prophetic with a number of the audience sloping off before the end. If you stayed, your patience was well rewarded though with One Man Rock and Roll Band giving him chance to show

Goodnight Lenin

October 2012

off his guitar skills and When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease truly tugging at the heart strings. Sunday From Emily Portman’s Stick Stock, a nightmarish track about being baked into a pie by your stepmother, through to Spiro’s soundtrack for rural England, day three was the folkiest of the lot. For the casual folk fan the day still provided plenty of variety though kicking off with the health and safety-baiting Kawa Circus, a travelling troupe from Rajasthan that climaxed with a bloke spinning around on his bollocks on top of a 20ft bamboo pole. After The Long Notes soundtracked the now traditional MoFo hay-down (basically an excuse to chuck straw all over each other thinly disguised as a ceilidh) local hero Simon Fowler (yes, him from Ocean Colour Scene) unveiled his new Merrymouth project. Blink Of An Eye was the sort of track John Lewis would pay gazillions to use in one of their TV ads and naturally there was time to revisit some old OCS favourites too, including a movingly stripped-to-the-bone version of The Circle. From something old to something new. At just 17-years-old Katherine Priddy’s already been shortlisted for the 2012 PRS Songwriting & Composition Award and played the O2 Arena. With a look as ethereal as her twisted fairytale songs she put on a bewitching performance. Next up, Wooden Horse delivered another of the standout sets of the weekend with some fine testifyin’ blues before penultimate act, Village Well, a three-piece with a line-up that makes the UN look unrepresentative. There’s an Iraqi Kurd, a

Chilean and an Indian who, together, produced a truly unique mash up of gypsy jazz, folk, tabla and possibly some genres not yet discovered by scientists. Awesome. Ask the average person in the street to sing a folk song the chances are that they’ll stick one finger in their ear and come out with “Aaalllllllllllllll around my hat”. It’s arguably THE definitive folk song, audio shorthand for the entire genre. Given this, the song’s most famous interpreters, Steeleye Span, were the perfect band to close MoFo. Plucking tracks from some of their classic albums (notably Now We Are Six) the Span rocked the folk out of the place. She may be a pensioner but Maddy Prior’s voice remains as powerful as ever and the whole band were as tight as a milkmaid’s grip. Unsurprisingly they saved the big guns for the end with a hearty All Around My Hat. The climax was a truly hair raising Gaudete though. “This is risky,” admitted Prior before the band pulled off a note-perfect rendition of Alan Partridge’s favourite track. What a voice. A truly beautiful end to yet another beautiful MoFo. Daron Billings Photos by Wayne Fox Photography

Steeleye Span

Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath 31/08/12

In a plan as cunning as any in Blackadder, tonight’s affair has been branded the official afterparty of the Moseley Folk Festival happening just down the road in, you guessed it, Moseley. So when those festival goers turn up all folked out and ready to party, the entire venue is heaving. Not literally — it ain’t Glasto. Against a backdrop of visuals entirely fitting for a party of this kind, opener Arc Vel presents his mesh of DJ set vs live performance and firm Hare favourites Victories at Sea lift the lid on some new material (plus the stellar old faves), doing far more than merely warming up the crowd. They in fact own it. Which means that by the time Troumaca do take to the stage, no one needs any encouraging whatsoever in joining lead singer Sam Baylis and throwing some mighty fine shapes indeed. Troumaca sound real good tonight, and they look good too. They’re completely in control of a room packed to the rafters with admiring onlookers and their confidence in themselves shines through. The biggest cheer is reserved for old favourite Fire which sounds damn near explosive in a room this packed and only serves to prove that right now Troumaca are just as exciting as all that hype. So maybe you can believe it after all. Amy Sumner

Allo Darlin’ Subside, Birmingham 03/09/12

Subside is an odd choice for a gig which is as far away from metal as it comes, and seeing the venue before 5am without unsticking your feet from the floor with each step adds to its slight peculiarity. Support act Ace Bushy Striptease’s deliverance of their brand of shambolic indie pop though (led by the memorising Eve Phillips), proves that the decision was legit. And the fact that some band members play underneath the stairs and others off the stage is entirely fitting with the DIY ethos of this eve. Allo Darlin’ seem assured in their performance, which is made up of a collection of songs off both debut album and new record Europe, plus the odd cover. The gig is part of the band’s English tour which sees the Australian-Brit combo playing up and down the nation, introducing songs from the new record to old fans and new listeners alike. And if Birmingham’s crowd is anything to go by, then they go down very well indeed. Allo Darlin’ are a fun band, but there’s more 36

to them than mere frippery, they are light hearted and sincere in equal measure and they are always completely engaging. Which just goes to show that no matter where you stick ‘em, if a band’s got something to give then you’re in for a sterling affair. Amy Sumner

The Bourgeois Four The Station, Kings Heath 07/09/12

You know when aging rockstars get tired of lounging around LA, cheating on their trophy wives with a procession of ever younger women, in between visits to the plastic surgeon to have a new septum fitted and embarking on another comeback tour just for something different to do? Well it was nothing like that. The Bourgeois Four’s reunification gig, a one-off charity fundraiser for Dylan Adams’ World Challenge, had the feel of a family get together. I almost felt like I was intruding on something personal. Something I’m more than experienced in. Following an eclectic virtuoso performance from Loopy Tom McNair, and a sweetsounding acoustic trio with no official name, The Bourgeoisie rolled on stage later than planned, with the old menace bubbling close to the surface, singer Tristan Morrisey striking poses and guitarist Andy Roberts furiously lurching about like a young Peter Hook. The years may have passed since their last performance but they’ve retained their visceral edge and with no agenda beyond this one gig they displayed an impressive ease that belied the fact that four and a half years stood between today and their last gig. Spitting out their punky, sharp-edged tunes made you wonder what it could be like if the return was made permanent. The Bourgeois Four could easily hold their own amongst the current breed of bands around Birmingham. But as they said themselves, don’t call it a comeback. Jeff Stuka

niceties by Metempsychosis in the corner. Plus there’s some visuals up on stage which make you feel nice when you look at them, and that’s always good. GB&FF play a lot of new material tonight and it goes down really well not least because it’s presented by a frontman wearing a bird mask and some fairy lights. When he ventures out into the audience (and indeed when he lies down on the floor) the crowd is completely onside with this unique brand of house which could only really have been improved by turning it all up a bit. All in all, this is definitely a band to watch and they’re only gonna get better as they gain more experience. So go get that EP when it’s out and keep ‘em on the radar, because they’ve got some awesome tunes but they’ve also got some right good props and that’s kind of half of it. Amy Sumner

FU MANCHU 02 Academy 2, Birmingham 17/09/12

In front of a fully impregnated venue, Fu Manchu take their stance and immediately conjure intimidating guttural drones and unhallowed feedback. With unearthly resonance and menacing volume the band are

Photo by Jack Spicer Adams Photography

Troumaca + Victories at Sea

Greg Bird & Flamingo Flame Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath 14/09/12

It’s the morn...er...night after the night before. Yesterday, Greg Bird and his Flamingo Flame cordoned off with gaffa tape a corner of Urban Outfitters and prepared to launch their new EP Black Tableaux to Birmingham’s finest amidst the new arrivals. It was good, and tonight is better. There’s some neat DJ sets courtesy of Golden Trash and New York Noise and if you’ve got a spare fiver lying around, you can go get your face covered in sparkles and other

Greg Bird & Flamingo Flame

Brum Notes Magazine

transformed into an irrepressible sonic force. As the extended crescendo blares, these Californian kings elevate their already deafening instruments and frontman Scott Hill lunges forward into their opening track Evil Eye, propelling this full-album performance of The Action is Go into orbit. Impressively, Hill’s vocals have remained fresh and as potent as his doped riffage and profoundly stoned grooves that thunder from the bowels of his Fender Jaguar. The guitar’s mammoth tone almost rivals the depths of Brad Davis’s bass, giving extra girth to those low monster riffs, especially on tracks like Anodizer, Unknown World and Hogwash, all of which sound uncanny to the 1997 landmark release. With blistering proficiency, lead player Bob Balch executes his radically cool solos, adding some turbulence into the band’s unyielding vortex of sound. Consumed, the audience is split into those paralysed in awe and those thrashing their heads back and forth. However, all audience members stand wide eyed and drooling at Saturn III as its instrumental wizardry takes them captive. Making Mongoose their first encore and King of the Road their second, they shift to fifth gear one last time to accelerate exceedingly hard. Neither vigour nor originality has been lost from either band or The Action is

Go within the last 15 years, thus proving evermore that all good music is truly timeless. Guy Hirst

Emily Ewing Sun on the Hill, Birmingham 19/09/12

Emily Ewing is fast becoming a staple of the Birmingham music scene and is a treat for anyone who stumbles across her throughout local venues. Her simplistic,understated approach draws you in and she effortlessly creates a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Performing at the Sun on the Hill, her powerful, soaring vocals are complimented by melancholy piano and lyrics make for a beautiful live performance with ballad Fight or Flight being the best example of this along with the frank Let It Go. She also performs a refreshing take on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Under the Bridge showing some diversity which we can only hope to see more of in the future. Ellie Crean

OM The Rainbow Warehouse, Birmingham 25/09/12

For seven years OM have been stealthily evolving their particular brand of cerebral

doom. Expanding the drum and bass guitar line up to include keyboards and strings has pushed their earth-moving drone riffs towards a more meditative sound that uses space to amplify intensity. In 2012 OM sound like the rhythm section of Black Sabbath after a breakdown and a gap year in India. As the band take the stage a ritual drone pulses. The drums lollop and vocalist Al Cisneros chants over meandering eastern scales. The bass is clean and insistent, a gentle throb beneath richly textured drones, capturing a hazy ambience of eastern soundscapes that then explode into the pounding riffs of old. The majority of the set comes from their latest album Advaitic Songs, but the performance is more about atmospherics than anything else. OM only really play one song and there is a sense that every performance is the chance to refine and perfect its performance. Their music is designed to awe the listener whilst the lyrics work as mantra, with rhythm emphasised over melody. Still, it is still the bass that really leaves its mark. The ever swelling power of notes, droning, meandering, tightening and loosening as the band careen towards a point unknown. Richard Armitage

FRIDAY 07 DECEMBER

BIRMINGHAM LG ARENA 0844 3388 000 • BUY TICKETS AT MUMFORDANDSONS.COM •

TICKETMASTER.CO.UK October 2012

Jaws 37

STYLE

RIVER ISLAND £18.00 GREEN EYES BOUTIQUE £179.00

MISS SELFRIDGE £75.00

TOPSHOP £65.00 OASIS £18.00

TOPSHOP £34.00

AUTUMN TRENDS ZARA £39.99 TOPSHOP £140.00

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Brum Notes Magazine

KARAN, 21, SALES ASSISTANT Karan is wearing a vintage aztec print blouse from COW, acid-wash jeans from Urban Outfitters and pumps from Topshop. Her favourite shop in Birmingham is urban Outfitters. Her style icon is Kanya West.

ELAINE, 31, SELF EMPLOYED Elaine is wearing a Diesel all-in-one jumper and Underground creepers from Office. Both her coat and her hat are from Urban Outfitters. Diesel is her favourite shop in Birmingham. Elaine’s stye icon is Iris Apfel.

CHARLOTTE, 17, STUDENT Charlotte is actually wearing her school uniform. Her top is from a charity shop, the sheepskin collared jacket is from H&M and the rest is all from Urban Outfitters. Her favourite retailer in Birmingham is COW and style icon is Jessie J.

ON THE STREET photos Kate Hook

SETH, 24, SALES ASSISTANT Seth’s cap is from New Era and the rest, included his shoes, are all from Topman. His favourite retailer in Birmingham is Selfridges and Marilyn Manson is his style icon.

October 2012

ADAM, 28, IT ASSISTANT Adam’s printed jumper and slim jeans are both from Topman and his loafer shoes are vintage. His favourite shop in Birmingham is Cow and he tells us his style icon is Ryan Gosling.

ABBY, 16, STUDENT Abby is wearing an outfit entirely made up of Topshop items, apart from her shoes which are from New Look. It’s no surprise but her favourite shop is Topshop and her style icon is Rihanna.

presents

in association with Academy Events

Friday 12th October

ST. PATRICKS SOCIAL CLUB LEAMINGTON SPA, WITH THE TITANICS' Friday 19th October

THE YARDBIRD Friday 9th November

THE STATION, KINGS HEATH WITH RYLAND AND THE BIRD Friday 14th December

THE YARDBIRD www.theatlanticplayers.com

Plus very special guests

O2 ACADEMY2 BIRMINGHAM FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER DOORS: 6PM / CURFEW: 10PM / ÂŁ7 ADV Buy tickets now from: o2academybirmingham.co.uk 0844 477 2000 (24hr) boattorow.com brumnotes.com o2academybirmingham.co.uk Brum Notes Magazine

FOOD + DRINK DRINK of the month: genever As the modern drinker’s tipple of choice moves from the clean, tasteless vodkas to the more intricate gin division let’s hark back to the origins of this fine spirit. Jenever/ genever/ genievre translates as juniper and is the pre-cursor to modern London Dry Gin. Discovered during the 1100s when juniper’s medicinal benefits were discovered, the invention of genever is accredited to Sylvius de Bouve, a Dutch chemist and alchemist during the 16th century. As well as the ageing process, the main difference between London Dry Gin and genever is the alcohol base used. Traditionally a spirit distilled from malt wine was used rather than a neutral grain spirit which is used now. This is likely due to the more rudimentary distilling techniques which were not as advanced as they are now – with juniper and other botanicals used to mask the harsh flavour from distilled malt wine. Yet it is the malt wine base which gives the genever its earth flavour, similar to reposado tequila or cachaca. In Holland genever is traditionally served frozen as a chaser to a malty beer. This is called a ‘kopstootje’, or head-butt, indicative of the no-hands approach of drinking the spirit before being washed down with the beer. However it works really well in cocktails too and here at the Jekyll & Hyde we have opted to flavour-match genever with pear, redcurrant or cherry to give it added interest. In our new menu we have paired Bols Genever with maraschino and almond to add a nutty rich sweetness, balanced it with lemon juice and lengthened with soda for a refreshing twist on a Collins. We have also paired it with rhubarb for a sweet tartness, Benedictine for a herbal complexity, nutmeg syrup to add intensity and then a whole egg for texture. The Jekyll & Hyde is a bar and specialist gin parlour based in Steelhouse Lane in Birmingham city centre. For more information visit www.thejekyllandhyde.co.uk or call 0121 236 0345.

Recipe: God (Dam)

Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Ingredients: 25ml Bols Genever 20ml Orgeat (almond syrup) 12.5ml Maraschino 25ml Lemon juice 1 spoon or Opies cherries syrup Topped with soda

Ingredients: 20ml Genever 20ml broitet rhubarb liqueur 30ml Benedictine 5 ml homemade nutmeg syrup 1 whole egg

Directions: Place all the ingredients in a tall, iced glass and stir vigorously, garnish with a lemon wedge and a cherry.

October 2012

Directions: Add all the ingredients into a boston tin and shake well, then fine strain into a glass.

Brum Notes Magazine

WHAT’S ON

KEY TO LISTINGS: M = LIVE MUSIC CN = CLUB NIGHT C = COMEDY

BIRMINGHAM: O2 Academy, Horsefair, Bristol St B1, 0844 4772000; HMV Institute, High St, Digbeth B5, 0844 2485037; NIA, King Edwards Rd B1, 0121 7804141; LG Arena, NEC, Solihull B40, 0121 7804141; The Flapper, Kingston Row B1, 0121 2362421; The Victoria, John Bright St B1, 0121 6339439; Hare & Hounds, High St, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4442081; The Actress & Bishop, Ludgate Hill B3, 0121 2367426; The Sunflower Lounge, Smallbrook Queensway B5, 0121 6327656; Symphony Hall, Broad St B1, 0121 7803333; Town Hall, Victoria Sq B3, 0121 7803333; Kitchen Garden Cafe, York Road, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4434725; Alexandra Theatre, Station St B1, 0844 8472302; Bull’s Head, St Marys Row, Moseley B13, 0121 2567777; Island Bar, Suffolk St B1, 0121 6325296; The Jam House, St Pauls Sq B3, 0121 2003030; The Asylum, Hampton St, Hockley B19, 0121 2331109; The Rainbow, High St, Digbeth B12, 0121 7728174; Adam & Eve, Bradford St, Digbeth B12, 0121 6931500; The Rose Villa Tavern, Warstone Lane, B18, 0121 2367910; The Yardbird, Paradise Place B3, 0121 2122524; The Glee Club, The Arcadian, Hurst St B5, 0871 4720400; MAC, Cannon Hill Park B12, 0121 4463232; Nightingale, Kent St B5, 0121 6221718; Scruffy Murphys, The Priory Queensway B4, 0121 2362035; The Wagon & Horses, Adderley St, Digbeth B9, 0121 7721403; Highlight, Broad St B1, 08700 111 960; The Ballroom, Dale End B4, 0121 320 2820; Lab11, Trent St B5, lab11.co.uk; The Moseley Arms, Ravenhurst St B12, 0121 7668467; Air, Heath Mill Lane B9, 0121 7666646; WOLVERHAMPTON: Civic Hall/Wulfrun Hall, North St WV1, 0870 320 7000; The Slade Rooms, Broad St WV1, 0870 320 7000; Robin 2, Mount Pleasant, Bilston WV14, 01902 401211; WEST BROMWICH: The Public, New St B70, 0121 5337161; COVENTRY: Kasbah, Primrose Hill St, CV1, 024 76554473; Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, CV4, 024 7652 4524 M M M M M

Monday, Oct 1 Ryan O’Shaughnessy Straight Lines

M O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

The Rainbow

Birmingham

W.A.S.P.

Wulfrun

Wolverhampton

Tuesday, Oct 2 Nickelback

NIA

Birmingham Birmingham

We Are The Ocean

Al Murray

The End @ The Ballroom The Temple @ HMV Institute Alexandra Theatre

Wednesday, Oct 3 Ben Montague

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Andrius Mamontovas Sebastien Tree

The Temple @ HMV Institute The Yardbird

Carina Round

Hare & Hounds

Wintersleep

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Leftfoot & Le Lieu Present Jacques Greene Marcus Brigstocke

Bull’s Head

Moseley

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Mark Watson

Town Hall

Birmingham

M M M M M CN C C M M M M M M M

Dead Skeletons

Birmingham

C C

info@ brumnotes.com All details correct at time of going to press. Check with venues before setting out.

Traditional Song Session Axewound

The Kitchen Garden Cafe The Slade Rooms

Kings Heath

Movement

Club PST

Birmingham

Soundkitchen present Coppe Andrew O’Neill

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Jesus Christ Superstar Danny Bhoy

NIA

Birmingham

Symphony Hall

Birmingham

Sean Collins

The Glee Club

Birmingham Birmingham

Wolverhampton

Friday, Oct 5 Funeral Suits

Birmingham

Framed

Birmingham

The Rimes

Kings Heath

M CN CN CN CN

My Grey Horse

Sunflower Lounge The Actress & Bishop The End @ The Ballroom Bull’s Head

Supersonic Vague

Gatecrasher

Birmingham

Remedy

Jekyll & Hyde

Birmingham

Propaganda

O2 Academy

Birmingham

The Source present Peshay Freestyle

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Kill For a Seat Comedy Club Jesus Christ Superstar Francesca Martinez

Mac

Birmingham

NIA

Birmingham

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Sean Collins

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Ort

Balsall Heath

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Krar Collective

Mac

Birmingham

Vince Kidd

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Pretentious Class

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Tonight Alive

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

4FT Fingers

The End @ The Ballroom The Glee Club

Birmingham

October 2012

C C

Birmingham

Thursday, Oct 4 Fun.

Ruarri Joseph

M CN CN

Want your gig or club night listed in our monthly guide? Send details to:

Birmingham

CN C C C C M M

Saturday, Oct 6 Adam Piggot & Jayne Freeman Kites

Birmingham Birmingham Moseley

Barnesy

The Lieutenants

M M CN CN CN CN CN CN CN CN CN CN C M

M M M C C C C M M C M

Tonight Alive + Lost Alone + Blitz Kids Ruts DC

Sunflower Lounge The Actress & Bishop The Asylum

Birmingham

Laughing Cows

Birmingham

C C

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Birmingham

Knife Party + Feed Me Ritual

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Q Club

Birmingham

Loose Joints

Rose Villa Tavern

Birmingham

SOS

Subway City

Birmingham

i Luv Hip Hop

Suki10c

Birmingham

MC Triggas Birthday

The Ballroom

Birmingham

Machine

The End @ The Ballroom The Rainbow

Birmingham

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

FACE presents Illusion Sumo Sound System Prospec Present Dub Phizix Sean Collins Sunday, Oct 7 Villains & Vigilantes Tour Features Antlered Man, Romans & We Are Knuckle Dragger Big Joe Pleasure

Bull’s Head The Glee Club O2 Academy

Birmingham

Moseley Birmingham Birmingham

The Actress & Bishop The Yardbird

Birmingham

Peter Case & Michael Weston King Birmingham Comedy Festival presents Paul Savage Barbara Nice

The Kitchen Garden Cafe Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Mac

Birmingham

Abandoman

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Lee Hurst

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Young Runaways

Monday, Oct 8 Flux Pavilion Shonen Knife Jonny & The Baptists Tuesday, Oct 9 Slash

Birmingham

Kings Heath

HMV Institute Birmingham The Glee Club

Birmingham

The Kitchen Garden Cafe

Kings Heath

Birmingham

M M M

Lower Than Atlantis

National Indoor Arena O2 Academy 2

We Are Augustines

The Ballroom

Birmingham

Erica Mou

Kings Heath

Marina & the Diamonds Simon Evans

The Kitchen Garden Cafe Wulfrun The Glee Club

Birmingham

C M M M M CN

Wednesday, Oct 10 Serj Tankian

Birmingham Birmingham

Wolverhampton

O2 Academy

Birmingham Birmingham

Karine Polwart

The Library @ HMV Institute Artrix

Michelle Shocked

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Hump!

Gatecrasher

Birmingham

Mayday Parade

Bromsgrove

M M M M M M M CN C C M M M M

Kings Heath

The Quadrantines

The Kitchen Garden Cafe Ort

Seann Walsh

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Thursday, Oct 11 Hot Chip

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Foreign Beggars

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Nina Nesbitt

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Al Lewis

The Glee Club

Birmingham

John Cale

Birmingham

BIGkids

The Library @ HMV Institute The Rainbow

Baghdaddies

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Fantastic Damage: Ghostface Halloween Party Short and Swede

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Ort

Balsall Heath

Birmingham

Tom Stade

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Friday, Oct 12 Lianne La Havas

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Ren Harvieu

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Sugar Razors

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Subtotal

The Actress & Bishop The Rainbow

Birmingham

M M

The Dark Lights

M M M CN CN CN

My Autumn Empire

The Temple @ HMV Institute Hare & Hounds

Sick Boys Club

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Field Music

The Slade Rooms

Wolverhampton

Lucha Libre

Bodega

Birmingham

Supersonic Vague

Gatecrasher

Birmingham

Opening Party

Birmingham

CN CN CN CN

Remedy

Gibb St Warehouse Jekyll & Hyde

Propaganda

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Benga

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Osmosis

Birmingham

Futureboogie Special Freestyle

The Wagon & Horses Hare & Hounds Bull’s Head

Moseley

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Ort

Balsall Heath

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Only the Good

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Open to Fire

Birmingham

CN C M M M M

The Parlotones

Tom Stade Saturday, Oct 13 The Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern Hugh Cornwell

Birmingham

Kings Heath

Birmingham

Kings Heath

The Nightingales

M M CN

Ian Parker

The Actress & Bishop The Wagon & Horses Artrix

The Brute Chorus

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Renaissance 20th Anniversary Pt 2 Ritual

Gibb St Warehouse Q Club

Birmingham

Juqebox

Rose Villa Tavern

Birmingham

SOS

Subway City

Birmingham

FACE 3rd Birthday

The Rainbow Warehouse

Birmingham

CN CN CN CN

Birmingham Bromsgrove

Birmingham

Brum Notes Magazine

CN CN CN C M M

High Fidelity Club

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Hot Club De Swing Gypsy Circus Special Hott Wax Club

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Tom Stade

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Sunday, Oct 14 Turbowolf

HMV Institute

Birmingham Birmingham

Hazel O’Connor

M M M M

Tall Ships

The Actress & Bishop The End @ The Ballroom The Other Room @ The Ballroom The Rainbow

George Ezra

The Yardbird

Birmingham

Frutaloka

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Bohemian Jukebox Sunday Social Jo Caulfield

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Freddie Farrell

The Kitchen Garden Cafe The Glee Club

Kings Heath

C C C M M M M M M M M M M M M CN C C M M M

Dragster The Birthday Suit

Jo Enright

Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham

Birmingham

Monday, Oct 15 Bloc Party

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Michael Chapman

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Tuesday, Oct 16 Kathryn Williams

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Mama Rosin

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

We Were Promised Jetpacks Wednesday, Oct 17 Bastille

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Trivium

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Benjamin Francis Leftwich Gallows

Irish Centre

Birmingham

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Nina Nesbitt

The Ballroom

Dirty Goods Jodi Ann Bickley Presents Speak Up Hump!

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Empire in Exile

Birmingham

Prayers

M M M M M M

John Paul Villafrati

The Actress & Bishop The End @ The Ballroom The Glee Club

Palma Violets

The Rainbow

Birmingham

The Searchers

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Echo Lake

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Smoove & Turrell

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Jake Bullit + Eat Y’self Pretty Remedy

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Jekyll & Hyde

Birmingham

Neoteric Launch Party Propaganda

Lab11

Birmingham

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Red Bull Culture Clash We Love DnB

The Ballroom

Birmingham

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Freestyle

Bull’s Head

Moseley

CN CN CN CN CN CN C M M M M M M M

Birmingham Birmingham

Jarred Christmas

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Saturday, Oct 20 Supersonic Festival

Custard Factory

Birmingham

Down

HMV Institute

Birmingham

TOY

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Soweto Kinch Trio

Mac

Birmingham

The Gaslight Anthem Snooty Bobs

O2 Academy

Birmingham

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Lady Fortune

Birmingham

Broken Witt Rebels

The Musgraves

Birmingham

TOY

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

RDF

Gatecrasher

Birmingham

Eglo Live Band

Chris Ramsey

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Ritual

Q Club

Birmingham

Alexei Sayle

The Public

West Bromwich

M CN CN CN CN CN

Juqebox

Rose Villa Tavern

Birmingham

SOS

Subway City

Birmingham

FACE

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Brothel VI

Birmingham

Second City Present Andy Riley & Jem Atkins Barnstormers

The Rainbow Warehouse Bull’s Head

Thursday, Oct 18 Newton Faulkner

O2 Academy

Birmingham

SevenDaze

O2 Academy 3

Birmingham

Limehouse Lizzy

The End @ The Ballroom The Rainbow

Birmingham

Kid British

M C C

Fossil Collective

The Rainbow Warehouse Hare & Hounds

Lenny Henry

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Hardeep Singh Kohli Jarred Christmas

Mac

Birmingham

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Ray Peacock

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Friday, Oct 19 Supersonic Festival

Custard Factory

Birmingham

M M

The Jim Jones Revue The Karma Suits

Sunflower Lounge The Actress & Bishop The Other Room @ The Ballroom The Temple @ HMV Institute The Wagon & Horses Hare & Hounds

M M

C C

Liars

October 2012

Birmingham

C C

Kings Heath

M M M M M

Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Kings Heath

Moseley

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Jarred Christmas

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Sunday, Oct 21 Supersonic Festival

Custard Factory

Birmingham

Reverend & The Makers Gaz Coombes

O2 Academy

Birmingham

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Derek Holt & Friends Delilah

The Actress & Bishop The Library @ HMV Institute

Birmingham Birmingham

M M M M M M C M M M M C M M M M M M C C M M M M M M M CN C C M M M C M M M M M M M CN 46

Birmingham

Blue Nation

The Temple @ HMV Institute The Yardbird

Holy Mountain

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

I Like Trains

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Random Canyon Growlers Tenacious D

The Kitchen Garden Cafe Civic Hall

Kings Heath

The Boy With Tape On His Face Monday, Oct 22 Howler

The Glee Club

Birmingham

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Labrinth

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Tim Burgess

The Glee Club

Birmingham

The Twilight Sad

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Mark Thomas

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Matt Cardle

Birmingham

Wolverhampton

CN CN C

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Little Comets

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

The Actress & Bishop Hare & Hounds

Birmingham

Liquid Sessions Eclectricity Halloween Special Ritual

HMV Institute

Birmingham

Q Club

Birmingham

Juqebox

Rose Villa Tavern

Birmingham

SOS

Subway City

Birmingham

Fancy Dress Halloween Party Hip Hop Supa Heros Vs Supa Villains Fancy Dress Party Jam Hott Halloween Special Bridget Christie

The Flapper

Birmingham

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Artrix

Bromsgrove

John Fothergill

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Sunday, Oct 28 Blueswamp Southern Ed Sheeran

The Actress & Bishop The Ballroom

Birmingham

Jack Savoretti

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Lewis Watson

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Velvet Riot

The Yardbird

Birmingham

Martyn Joseph

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

Mary Coughlan

Artrix

Bromsgrove

Monday, Oct 29 Ed Sheeran

The Ballroom

Birmingham

Tuesday, Oct 30 Dry The River

HMV Institute

Birmingham Birmingham

Brother & Bones

The Actress & Bishop The Flapper

Tom McRae

The Glee Club

Birmingham

Strangle Kojak

Birmingham

Japandroids

The Other Room @ The Ballroom Hare & Hounds

Wednesday, Oct 31 Alt-J

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Blacklisters

The Flapper

Birmingham

Peace

The Rainbow

Birmingham

Propaganda Halloween Party Sean Hughes

O2 Academy

Birmingham

The Glee Club

Birmingham

The Library @ HMV Institute The Rainbow

Birmingham

Hare & Hounds

Kings Heath

The Kitchen Garden Cafe Bull’s Head

Kings Heath

Alexei Sayle

Wulfrun

Wolverhampton

Thursday, Oct 25 Sam Sallon

Ort

Balsall Heath Birmingham

Slim Chance

The End @ The Ballroom Hare & Hounds

John Fothergill

The Glee Club

Birmingham

The Ghosts

Kings Heath

Friday, Oct 26 Lucy Rose

HMV Institute

Birmingham

The Enemy

O2 Academy

Birmingham

Dakota Beats

O2 Academy 2

Birmingham

Framed

Birmingham

Paper Aeroplanes

The Actress & Bishop The End @ The Ballroom The Glee Club

Chris Tye

Bull’s Head

Moseley

Lucha Libre

Bodega

Birmingham

Blue Nation

Birmingham Birmingham

Birmingham

CN CN

The Glee Club

Bromsgrove

Birmingham

Misha B

Dean Friedman

Mac

Birmingham

Eddi Reader

Birmingham

Moseley

The Wagon & Horses Club PST

Birmingham

The Rainbow Garden Artrix

The Glee Club

Inner Terrestrials

O2 Academy 2

Bondax

John Fothergill

The Flapper

Moseley

Birmingham

Towns

Bromsgrove

Birmingham

The Rainbow Warehouse Bull’s Head

Ed Sheeran

Birmingham

My Darling Clementine The Magnolia Sisters B Town And Beyond

Birmingham

M M M

Artrix

Rolo Tomassi

The Ballroom

Clockwork Orange

Piff the Magic Dragon Wednesday, Oct 24 Dog Is Dead

Joe Lycett

Kings Heath

Birmingham

Subculture Halloween Special The Friday Night Project Freestyle

Kings Heath

Hare & Hounds

Birmingham

Rose Villa Tavern

Sunflower Lounge The Actress & Bishop The Ballroom

The Kitchen Garden Cafe The Glee Club

This Town Needs Guns Dean Friedman

Kings Heath

O2 Academy

Discographic

CN CN CN CN

Life in Film

Propaganda

Saturday, Oct 27 Wizz Jones + John Renbourn Reptile Youth

Tuesday, Oct 23 Sparks Summer

CN CN CN

CN C C M M M M M M C M M M M M M M M M M CN C

Granny Takes A Trip

Birmingham Birmingham

Birmingham

Kings Heath

Brum Notes Magazine

October 2012

Brum Notes Magazine