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Sunday 27 October 2013

J.D.Roots Picks of 2013

Toy, Young British Artists, The Delaplains and The Mysterians
Manchester Ritz
October 25th, 2013



Tonight's gig took us to the Ritz venue in Manchester to an event hosted by J. D. Roots which showcases their picks of 2013's upcoming local bands.  All four of the bands on the bill were from Manchester and I hadn't heard of any of them until tonight.
 




The whole event was hosted by Jack Daniels and you even received a token for a complimentary drink of JD on entry to the venue.





The first band up tonight were the Mysterians who are a five piece band from Manchester.  I usually don't enjoy female fronted bands as I find many female singers very screechy and high pitched but this lady had a lower tone and was really good. 

The Mysterians had a reggae/ska feel and their upbeat melodies had you tapping along with them.  The song that caught my attention was a song called 'Mr Famous' which had a really bouncy melody and great lyrics.



Next up were The Delaplains who again were another five piece band.  These guys were reminiscent of band such as Oasis and although there wasn't much movement on the stage they played a great set.  Stand out songs included 'Helena' and 'Gypsy Blood'. 


 
Young British Artists were third on the bill and from the look of them I thought we were going to get another ska set, however that was not the case.  The music they played leaned more towards alternative rock, but unfortunately I can't tell you what any of the songs were called as I couldn't make out a single word the lead vocalist said either while he was speaking or singing.  I was really disappointed with this group as the melodies held promise of good lyrics but any lyrics were lost.



Headlining tonight were Toy.  These guys were a little different to anything I had ever seen before, as before they took to the stage they filled it with smoke and so all you saw during the performance were silhouettes against a vibrant light show.

Their set was very different too as most of the songs had good strong lyrics to them but the lyrics were short lived and every song had major instrumental sections.  Stand out songs from Toy were 'Join The Dots' and 'Dead And Gone'.
 
My only criticism of this band was the keyboards were a little too shrill and loud in places and took away the impact of the great guitar lines.




All in all a good night and a I have found a couple of bands that I will be watching out for again in the future.


Thursday 24 October 2013

Bowling For Soup - The Band You Can Wave Goodbye To!

Bowling for Soup Farewell UK Tour with Patent Pending
Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham
October 12th, 13th, 18th and 19th, 2013

For the last few October's we have made sure we have seen Bowling for Soup during their UK October tour, however following  the tour announcement in April we realised that our October's will never be the same again.  This year Bowling for Soup announced that this will be their last ever full length UK October tour, so instead of going to one date we decided to wave them off in style by attending four out of the fifteen.

To ease the pain a little, in June,  Bowling for Soup announced that they would only be bringing one support band with them to allow them to do a longer set.  Luckily the support band they brought with them was Patent Pending.  So we knew that this tour would be extra special.

Rather than review all four shows individually I decided I would review them as a whole but as they crammed so much in this could be a long one.


At the start of each show those members of the audience that had been lucky enough to purchase the VIP ticket option were allowed early entry to the venue, which gave them VIP access to an exclusive acoustic show by Jaret and Erik (2 songs), a copy of the tour poster which is signed by all four members of the band, first pick off the merch stand and the opportunity to meet and have your photograph taken with all four members of the band.  Last night's acoustic set in Birmingham consisted of 'Turbulence' and their new single 'Circle'.


Patent Pending are a five piece pop punk band from Long Island New York consisting of Joe on vocals, Anthony on drums, Marc and Rob on guitar and vocals and Corey on bass and vocals. Patent Pending have been together for 12 years but only made their UK debut last year when they accompanied Bowling for Soup and The Dollyrots on the One Big Happy Tour.





Starting with 'Shake Weight & Moving Crates', Patent Pending burst onto the stage and immediately had the crowd bouncing and joining in.  Joe even had the whole crowd 'jerking off imaginary d****' at the part of the song where he refers to the shake weights.










With the ice well and truly broken they launched into 'Anti Everything' which saw them dancing boy band style during the slower parts of the song and saw guitarist Marc Kantor performing his guitar solo from the venues balcony.




Next on the set list was the crowd pleaser 'Psycho in Love' which requires maximum audience participation as this song not only has the audience waving their pirate hooks in the air (hooked index fingers) but it was host to the first ever Olympic crowd swimming championships.  

For those unfamiliar with this 'sport' (which I'm guessing is most people), this is the part of the show where Joe and Corey split the crowd in half, run up the middle of the audience and crowd swim (surf) to see  who can return to the stage the fastest.  As at the end of last night's show the score stood at 7-2 to Corey, with four shows left to play. 

It didn't help that the crowd dropped Joe during the Liverpool show meaning that he effectively drowned.  Joe decked out in arm bands (or swimmy floats, as he called them) and swimming goggles whilst crowd surfing really is a sight not to be missed.

  


Follow this with new songs 'Let Go' and 'Classic You' which features Bowling for Soup's Jaret Reddick and 'Hey Mario', which saw Joe and the audience jumping for coins Super Mario style and you know you have a recipe for success. 


Throw in a rendition of 'Soft Kitty' and the theme tune to 'The Big Bang Theory' and you have the perfect set for maximum audience participation.


Allowing their serious side to show for just a little while, they slow things down with the powerful 'One Less Heart to Break', a song written following the suicide of a close friend of the band.  

Before singing this song Joe explains to the audience how a note left by their friend was not enough of an explanation of why he felt had to take his own life and how that affected those he had left behind.  

For the guys in Patent Pending this is a very big deal.  Patent Pending openly support the 'To Write Love On Her Arms' charity which is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope & finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, & suicide Their latest pledge campaign for their new album 'Brighter' even stated that 5% of all money raised would be donated to this charity.  Although written about such a serious subject 'One Less Heart To Break' is a song you can't help but love and Joe's speech at the end of the song is guaranteed to give you goose bumps, or in many cases for the Second Family (Patent Pending's fanbase), reduce you to tears.


Closing their set with Douchebag, Patent Pending leave the audience fired up and ready for round two with Bowling for soup.

 
It is clear to see why the UK has embraced Patent Pending in the way that they have, as all of their songs are completely relatable and the five guys in the band really are the nicest, humblest and most genuine guys you will ever meet.  Roll on April when they return to the UK!




Bowling for Soup hail from the great state of Texas and consist of Jaret on vocals and guitar, Erik on bass and vocals , Chris on guitar and vocals  and Gary on drums.  They have been together as a band for 19 and a half years and I guarantee that even if you have never heard of their band you will know at least one of their songs.

I will not be commenting on every song that they played during their set as Bowling for Soup played a massive 30  songs from across their entire career.

As soon as you hear the chant at the beginning of 'Here Comes Bowling For Soup' you know your night is about to get 100% better. 

Bowling for Soup shows are all ages shows and there are many young kids in the audience so when you mix a few fart jokes and on stage banter about topics that include sex and the topic of 'sticky socks', the parents in the audience are going to be guaranteed some pretty awkward questions on the car ride home, as Jaret quite happily points out with his announcement of "You're welcome!"

A perfect example of this, is the song 'My Wena'.  In Birmingham Jaret announced to the audience that it is a song about puppies, however at the Liverpool show, were there weren't as many kids, he was honest and said it was about his penis.  This song is definitely worth a listen and then you can make your own mind on the subject matter!

For the last few years Bowling for Soup have had their very own on stage bar so that their tour buddies can hang out with them and join in throughout the show, which queues the songs 'Let's Go To The Pub' and 'Hooray For Beer'.  Both of these songs are high energy, fun songs that really get you in the spirit of the whole show, as the majority of the show feels like you are hanging out in the pub with your friends listening to their banter while they play a few songs along the way.

Rob from Patent Pending makes a couple of guest appearances during the BFS set playing the guitar and at one point even takes Gary's place at the drum kit.  While during 'Ohio' Patent Pending hi-jack the song and finish it off while BFS go and drink their beers.


Front man Jaret Reddick has his finger in so many pies I'm unsure how he manages to keep up with himself.  Not only are they one of the greatest pop punk bands in the world but Jaret is also the voice of Chuck E Cheese,(a cartoon mouse which advertises a large American pizza restaurant chain).  

This is not Bowling for Soups only cartoon experience as they wrote and recorded the theme song to the hit cartoon show 'Phineas and Ferb', and no Bowling for Soup concert would be complete without the a rendition of that song.  The theme to Phineas and Ferb is the request you hear shouted for the most!



Accompanying them on the tour is Ryan Hamilton the other half of Jaret's 'other' band People on Vacation who played an acoustic show at the Union Chapel at the start of the tour.  

Each night Ryan has joined BFS on stage to play 'Prettiest Girl In The World' from their album 'The Summer And The Fall'.  However even such a lovely song could not be taken completely seriously, as during the Manchester show Ryan sang the song without his pants and during the Liverpool show he performed the song in a flowery dress following a dare from Chris Burney.  

I have also been told that on one night he performed it in his pyjamas!  I have also seen photographs on Facebook and the internet showing him proposing to his girlfriend Holly during the final show.




Always original, BFS are the only band I have ever seen that provide you with a 'musically enhanced photo opportunity' during 'Punk Rock 101'.  This means that they stop playing 'Punk Rock 101', grab a beer and take their position in both the centre and at either side of the stage and pose so you can get a group photo of the band.





Other songs included in tonight's set included 'Almost', 'The Bitch Song', 'Really Cool Dance Song', 'No Hablo Ingles', 'Emily', 'High School Never Ends', 'Girl All The Bad Guys Want', 'Stacey's Mom', 'The Last Rock Show',  'Shut Up And Smile', 'I Don't Wanna Rock', 'Ohio', 'Suckerpunch', 'My Hometown', 'Friends O Mine', 'When We Die', 'Turbulence', 'Critically Distained', 'Since We Broke Up', 'Envy', and 'Right About Now'.

Ending the set with their current single 'Circle', a cover of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, a softer and more serious song, BFS leave the stage to huge encore shouts from the crowd.







Returning to the stage for their encore they start with a song about New Zealand, called 'Belgium' (of course!), which any fan will know sneaked its way onto 5  of their studio albums in some version or another.  Follow this with a punk cover of Britney Spears ' ... Baby One More Time', which has the audience which ranges between 2,500 to 4,000 depending on the venue, singing along. 

Finishing with '1985' the four Texans leave the stage to thunderous applause and chants. 




Unfortunately there were a couple of incidents that did cast a shadow over the shows.  During the Manchester show BFS encountered some difficulties with their sound but these were soon rectified and didn't detract too much from the music.  

However, the show at Rock City in Nottingham was badly organised as there were only two security personnel manning the doors and they only had one entrance open instead of using the whole front of the building meaning that many members of the audience didn't gain entry to the venue until well after Bowling for Soup had taken to the stage.  I was very disappointed to have missed the whole of Patent Pending's set and only just made it inside for the start of Bowling for Soup.




These problems aside, I had an amazing time with these two bands.  No two shows are ever the same and it's clear to see that October will never be the same again.




 Anthony of Patent Pending (Left) and Corey of Patent Pending (above)





Joe, Rob and Corey of Patent Pending (below left) and Rob (below right)


 Marc (above left) and Joe (above right)


Patent Pending in action (right)
Jaret and Erik of Bowling for Soup (above left)

Bowling for Soup in action (above right)

Erik of Bowling for Soup (left)
 Ryan joins Bowling for Soup (above)  and Chris from Bowling for Soup (left)


 Jaret of Bowling for Soup (right)



Sunday 20 October 2013

The First and Lacey

The First and Lacey
Rock City, Nottingham
October 12th, 2013

I know I have reviewed shows by Lacey on previous blog posts, but after seeing them again tonight, I cannot resist another review.  Tonight I have travelled to Rock City in Nottingham (a good two and a half hour journey from my home) so that I can see them for the 9th time this year.



Since my last review Lacey have officially released their EP 'Outlaws', which came out on the 13th September, and has received some fantastic reviews. (EP available here: http://laceyofficialuk.bigcartel.com/products)


Unfortunately, tonight's set was only about 20 minutes long.  Kicking off with a new song, 'Reach Out', they showed the crowd gathered in the basement of Rock City why they are making such a name for themselves.

Tonight's set was made up of all four tracks from the EP (Hometown, Burning Out, Contender and Let It Go) and another new song, 'Reset To Zero', which I instantly fell in love with.  

Lacey had the crowd in the palm of their hands, and their easy to listen to rock and catchy choruses had the crowd singing along.


Looking around the large crowd that had gathered in the basement bar I saw a lot of smiling faces and also a couple of well known faces as I spotted both Jaret Reddick and Erik Chandler from Bowling for Soup who had come down to watch them following their own performance in the main hall. 

It's no wonder Gigwise have included Lacey in their who is going to be huge in 2014 article.       (http://www.gigwise.com/photos/84930/21/early-tips-for-2014-whos-going-to-be-huge-next-year )

Lacey never fail to impress and tonight's flawless performance can only have helped get them one step closer to where they want to be.



Also playing tonight are The First, a five piece rock band from Cambridgeshire, consisting of Benny, Tim, Rob, Adam and Ben.

Playing songs from their two albums 'Swimming With Sharks' and their new album 'Take Courage', which was released on the 23rd September, they played a very energetic show.

Including songs such as 'Kicks', 'Love.Regret.Forgive.Forever' and 'There's No Place Like Home', their songs had very catchy choruses and some great guitar lines.  These guys had great stage presence and you couldn't help but bob along with them.

Their new single 'William' is out now.  http://www.vevo.com/watch/the-first/william/UK2D51300125


The First are another band that I think we will be seeing a lot more in the future.  Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/thefirstuk

Thursday 17 October 2013

Madina Lake Farewell Tour

Madina Lake Farewell Tour featuring the Fearless Vampire Killers
Liverpool O2 Academy
October 5th, 2013

Starting the night were local bands Buckle Tongue and Pavilions.  Both bands had a good energy and catchy tunes and could do well if they persevere.  Both bands played sets which show cased their own material and both bands put on  a very good show.

Since last year's Download Festival Fearless Vampire Killers have exploded in popularity and it is not until you see one of their shows that you will understand why.  Fearless Vampire Killers comprise of Kier Kemp, Laurence Beveridge, Drew Woolnough, Cyrus Barrone (real name Shane Sumner) and Luke Illingworth.  Their songs centre around five characters from the fictional world of Grandomina but although written as concept album which tells a story the listener can easily relate to the lyrics of each song and apply them to the struggles that they face in their own lives.

Fearless Vampire Killers took the stage to the theme tune from 'Gremlins' and kicked off tonight's show with my personal favourite 'Bow Ties On Dead Guys', with Kier taking the lead.  Although their unique look and style set this band apart from most other rock bands their stage arrangement is also original, as the lead vocals are shared by both Kier and Laurence, with Kier singing the first half of the set and Laurence the second, while the other takes role as guitarist.   Both men have strong voices and stage presence as well as excellent guitar playing skills.


Other songs played during their set tonight included 'Bite Down On My Winchester',' Cold We Burn, Darling', 'Headlung', and their new song which is being released for Halloween called 'All Hallows Evil' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkgw6eHkj_I).  They even threw in a cheeky cover version of Phil Collins 'Easy Lover'.

Finishing with 'At War With The Thirst', the Fearless Vampire Killers left the stage leaving the hyped-up crowd wanting more.  Fearless Vampire Killers throw their heart and soul into every performance they do, filling the set with energy, enthusiasm, catchy choruses and killer riffs....  Oh and the odd bit of eyeliner and talc! 


Tonight's headliners Madina Lake were playing Liverpool for the first and last time tonight as the current UK tour is the very last one for the band who have decided to call time and finish on their own terms. 

Since their incarnation in 2005 the Chicago quartet consisting of brothers Nathan and Matthew Leone, Mateo Camarg and Dan Torelli have seen their share of ups and downs.

In June 2010 Matthew was badly injured after stepping to the aid of a woman who was being beaten by her husband.  He spent five days in a coma and suffered a fractured skull and broken jaw.  However to see him on stage tonight you would never have thought he had suffered such severe injuries.

Madina Lake had the crowd in the palm of their hands clapping and bouncing throughout the entire show.  Nathan performed 95% of the show  either at the front barrier or on the large speakers at either side of the stage.  He encouraged the crowd to crowd surf and to come up to the stage to meet them and happily high fived them when they did.


Playing songs such as 'Here I stand', 'One last Kiss', 'House of Cards', 'Hey Superstar' and 'Welcome to Oblivion' they gave a great performance and looked as though they thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. 

It is sad to think that this is the last time that Madina Lake will tour the UK as they gave such an amazing performance.  Fans can only hope that somewhere down the line they will miss touring or that they will still consider playing the UK festivals such as Download so that the UK does not lose them completely.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Black Spiders

Black Spiders, Hawk Eyes and Baby Godzilla
Club Academy, Manchester
October 4th, 2013

Club Academy is located in the basement of the Manchester Student Union building on Oxford Road.  It is a small dark room deep in the depths of the old stone building and when you have a big crowd in there I have literally seen the sweat drip from the ceiling.  It is in this dark sweaty room that I have discovered some amazing bands including tonight's headliners.

Kicking off the night is Baby Godzilla, a quartet from Nottingham.  Baby Godzilla are loud, brash and very in your face, but there is something very likable about them.  For a start they are a security guards worst nightmare as singer Matt Reynolds and guitarist Jonny Hall spend 95% of the show in the pit, moshing alongside the unsuspecting crowd. Tonight even the drummer, Tom Marsh, joined them in the pit taking one of his drums with him!  Whether they are jumping around or hanging upside down from the pipes on the ceiling they put on one hell of a performance.  If you like your music heavy with a capital H check them out!

Hawk Eyes turned the chaos down a notch but kept the rock at full belt!  The quartet from Leeds played songs from their upcoming EP 'That's What This Is' .  Although they still have a heavy vibe to them their songs had clearer lyrics and some great guitar riffs.

 
Even though they borrowed their drummer from Ginger (of The Wildhearts) with only two days to rehearse they played a flawless set and I would not hesitate to see them again.

Headlining tonight were a band I first saw in this very basement in September 2009 when they supported The Wildhearts.  I remember watching them that night and being totally blown away by the five long haired, bearded guys from Sheffield.  The band comprises of Pete 'Spider' Spiby, Andy 'Ozzy' Lister, Mark 'Dark Shark' Thomas, 'Tiger' Si Atkinson and Adam 'The Fox ' Irwin, and although they look intimidating, the three of them that I have been lucky enough to meet were really nice guys.

Tonight the Black Spiders played a full set of face melting rock playing songs from their previous albums 'No Goats In The Omen',  'Sons Of The North' and their new album 'This Savage Land'.  Songs  Included 'Stay Down',' Just Like A Woman',  'Kiss Tried To Kill Me', 'Balls', 'Stick It To The Man', 'Teenage Knife Gang' and 'Trouble'.


Whether you buy the foam middle finger or use your own you can guarantee that even the most lady like of women will be joining in when asked to raise a finger and join in the Black Spider salute shouting 'F#@k you Black Spiders!' towards the men on the stage.

In their usual style, the Black Spiders saved the best until last singing both of my favourite songs in the encore.  Coming back on stage they played 'St Peter' and then finished off with a bang with 'What Good's A Rock With Out A Roll', which viewers of Scuzz TV will recognise as the theme tune to the Lowdown.



I have now seen the Black Spiders on numerous occasions and they never fail to disappoint me.  Their energy and showmanship always make me want to come back for more.  Check them out on you tube http://www.youtube.com/user/blackspidersuk