BRMB Live 2010 @ Birmingham LG Arena, 27th November 2010

With a packed LG Arena and the piercing sound of teenage girls it can only be the return of BRMB Live. This year the line up is a complete array of acts, all with one thing in common, the chart hungry pop they release.

But with such a varied bill on offer its no surprise the crowd were just that, from young teenage girls to ogle at the likes of The Wanted and McFly to couples and the older generation there to see the more run of the mill acts such as The Script and James Blunt.
First up was Mark Ronson but being on first probably wasn’t the best slot for Ronson. The arena wasn’t quite full and the predominately teenaged audience just didn’t seem to get into it. Although by the last song Bang Bang Bang he had warmed up the crowd enough to finish on a high.

After each act the anticipation was almost too much to bear (for the teeny bobbers anyway) waiting to find out if it’s the act they came to see up next. With the announcement Mcfly as the second act on stage the screams could have lifted the room off. With a medley to start and finishing on the newest single Shine a Light they certainly didn’t disappoint. Its fair to say they put on a show actually playing instruments and bouncing around the stage using every minute of the short time they had to impress the teenage mob and by the end they got a scream that would rival the one they got when they came on stage!

Other acts achieving a similar reaction from the kids were, Shayne Ward and to me the relatively unknown The Wanted. They obviously know how to get their fans in the palm of their hands with enough waves and air kisses someone with the strongest stomach would be hard pushed not to feel a bit queasy. They put in a solid performance judging by the crowd’s reaction, if you like that sort of thing, but to the older ones in the audience, me included, the thought was more like on to the next one.

For me there were a couple of highlights of the evening in the form of Tinchy Stryder and Example. The pop mixed with grime and garage elements of Tinchy Stryder was a hit with the mixed crowd and was a welcome change of pace from some of the dreary love songs. With Examples final song Kickstarts, he did just that as the whole Arena joined in the love and jumped simultaneously for this electro pop favourite after a couple of yawn worthy acts.

Olly Murs got a rousing reception and seemed to appeal to a wide variety of the audience, as did fellow X Factor contestant Joe McElderry. Both have only been around for less than a year but both weren’t short of admiration. Murs with his band in toe put on a good performance sliding round the stage combined with his signature swooning dance moves to accompany his laid back uplifting songs.

In comparison James Blunt was somewhat of a strange choice to slot in this line up and it didn’t receive anywhere near the level of ear puncturing screams of many of the others. Slowing down the pace of the night and starting with a song not many knew meant this was an opportunity to grab a drink from the bar or pop to the loo. “That’s one you all probably won’t know,” he said, as if he could see this was the reaction. But with that he sang the soppy ballad, Your Beautiful, which is undoubtedly his most famous song and allowed for a sing-a-long.

Another act not to raise the roof was The Hoosiers, who just fell flat much like front man Irwin Sparkes’entrance on stage. As he ran energetically on stage, just as he got to the mic stand, he slipped on the shiny glitter strewn stage and landed comically centre spot for all to see. Their songs, straight from the pop handbook didn’t inspire the crowd to move either and its fair to say after his slip up at the beginning it was never going to be a good night for them.

It wasn’t an all male line up with ex-X Factor contestants Alexandra Burke and Diana Vickers making appearances. It’s fair to say there performances couldn’t have been different from a very staged and wooden performance from Burke to Vickers who couldn’t contain her leg kicks and air grabs. Alexandra opened with her new cringe worthy, heard it all before, ballad The Silence whereas Diana opened with her number one single and most well known song Once. The contrast in performance on stage was clear to see and this was reflected in the response from the fans that where only there to enjoy the up-tempo numbers.

The penultimate act came in the form of immaculately turned out sparkly dressed girl band The Saturdays. The over powering backing track and synchronised dance routines couldn’t have summed up the night more, but they seemed to enjoy themselves anyway, having a giggle and jokes not even said loud enough for anyone to notice them. This didn’t matter to this audience and they got what they paid for with this act.

To see the night to a close was The Script and from everyone on the line-up they were definitely the right act to have this privilege. They ticked all the boxes for many in the audience and it was obvious of their mass appeal when the whole arena united in song at most of their tracks. None more so than the final song of the night, The Man Who Cant Be Moved. It was also clear that the band was taken aback by the adulation received from the crowd and this was written all over charismatic front man Danny O’Donoghues face. “Hearing you all sing the words is the best feeling. Every hair on the back of my neck is standing up,” he said, in response.

BRMB Live 2010 was full of the cheesiest pop this year had to offer and most of it wasn’t for me but that’s not to say it wasn’t a great night for those who had bought the tickets, and with a few highlights, mainly being The Script closing the show, BRMB Live will be an event to go for years to come.

Review – Ross Metcalfe
Photos – Steve Gerrard

About Author