OBITUARY Over the past few months, there have been a slew of top-drawer death metal concerts for fans of brutality to really gorge themselves upon, my musings on which can be found elsewhere on the site. This particular evening brought Birmingham one of the daddies of DM, none other than Florida’s Obituary, who in the summer of 1989 unleashed their debut album ‘Slowly We Rot’ upon the emerging DM scene. It won them instant acclaim, with its fetid-sounding Scott Burns production earning it a reputation as one the most ferocious releases of its time.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Owl City This could all have easily ended up massively confusing, most probably very off putting and more than likely end in a night to remember for all the wrong reasons.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ocean Colour Scene Sound-check done, Birmingham Live repairs to the Rainbow bar, sans punters, for a jolly good goss with Colour Scene frontman, Simon ‘Foxy’ Fowler. The tape recorder’s running, yes, we still do things analogue at BL to placate the typesetters, when in comes manager/dad, Chris Craddock asking for the set list. 'Set list? Christ I still don’t know half the words to the new songs,’ chirps Fowler...


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sunn O))) Despite the bill reading on paper like a misheard snippet of Black Country conversation, this colossal meeting of like-minded alchemists Sunn o))) and Om was quite possibly the hottest doom ticket in Birmingham for this year, and continues the time-honoured tradition of Capsule leading the way for top-drawer decibel abuse. The signs around the venue virtually imploring people to pop in earplugs gave as good an indication of what to expect as does the collective past exploits of the artists playing tonight.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Blakfish Tonight the Flapper plays host to a raucous threesome - we're denied the possibility of an awesome foursome due to first band, The James Cleaver Quintet filling their diesel car with petrol - there's no foreplay, instead its straight down to the hardcore action wth Outcry Collective.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Oxbow In the month leading up to the celebrations commemorating the 10th birthday of Brum promoters par excellence Capsule, numerous superlatives are likely to be thrown their way over the next few weeks, so mine shall remain under wraps for the time being. In the buildup to Decembers festivities we have possibly the quintessential Capsule lineup to enjoy – namely an internationally respected, cutting edge and challenging headliner, with the bill fleshed out by the best of the local underground


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ocean Colour Scene Birmingham's returning sons season continued on Sunday with a visit to the new 02 Academy from Ocean Colour Scene. Although now well passed their britpop heyday, I was hopeful of a night of top nostalgia and some excellent tunes from what have been one of the city's finest exports.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Testament Local band Mindless Torture kick-off this evenings proceedings of Thrash and Metal mayhem at the Wulfrun Hall. With barely anyone in the venue at the start of their set, aside from a smattering of people up front whom I can only presume are die-hard fans, I find myself barraged with a wall of noise from on-stage...


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Official Secrets Act A cold, wet, windy Friday night in Birmingham. On arrival upstairs at the Dragon Bar there are around 30 people waiting for tonight’s proceeding to start in a very cold Dragon Bar @ The Barfly. Thankfully that’s all about to change as locals boys Lady Rain take to the stage. It's that cold lead singer Ced keeps his scarf and jacket on - a wise move as even under the stage lighting it must be cold up there for the time being.


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Okkervil River Wolverhampton City Centre is heaving tonight. The car parks are full, the ring road is a mass of cars, all crawling to the Civic Centre. The cars stop outside the Civic Hall, drop the kids off and then disappear: posh-pretty pop boys The Feeling are playing the Civic and they are cashing in on the buzz that currently surrounds them.. a buzz created by an audience of school-children. I am not here to see The Feeling, but it is worthwhile keeping this picture in mind as it is in direct contrast to what is happening at the Civic's baby brother the Wulfrun and is also the reason I get to the venue late and miss the first support and most of the second support acts. Luckily there are four bands on tonight...


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Oasis Oldham trio, Twisted Wheel opened for Oasis with ‘She’s A Weapon’. Their sound is an interesting combination of 80s Sex Pistols type punk, Brit pop and tinny 50s style rock guitars and they clearly have a decent following. The not even half full NIA crowd listened respectfully and Twisted Wheel’s fans enjoyed their performance. They played a nice combination of fast and slow beats that draws upon their many influences giving a good varied set, however the lyrics are quite repetitive at times...


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
OneRepublic The night of the last date in a UK/European tour can only mean one thing for a top US band…a showstopping performance. But the radio-friendly quintet OneRepublic disappointed by dragging out their introduction to the stage of Birmingham’s Academy for far too long...


Read more and see more photos...
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,