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The grey hair brigade and the middle-aged men in striped scarves were much in evidence as we arrived at Birmingham’s newly refurbished Town Hall for what was our eagerly awaited first live encounter with the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB). Don’t let this put you off if you are the right side of fifty though; ukulele playing is about to take off as the new craze and the oldies are leading the way |
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Hexes start off the night in the cozy academy 2 venue, the British four piece kick it off with an overall explosive sound which is heavily influenced by bands like the Gallows and Alexisonfire... |
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Inside Cardiff's humungous Millennium Stadium you could be forgiven for thinking you'd entered the set of the new War Of The Worlds movie, albeit with 70,000 extras. An immense other-worldly structure rises up several storeys high in the centre of the stadium, with insect-like legs and a blinding array of flashing multi-coloured lights. Look down towards it's feet and four relatively tiny creatures attempt to draw your attention back towards earth level. These creatures go by the names Adam, Larry, Bono and The Edge. |
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White Rose Movement shot to the forefront of indie scene back in 2006 upon the release of their debut album, Kick. Since then, it’s all gone a little bit quiet. |
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Tonight's concert kicks off the second English Originals Festival, described by the Town Hall as 'a celebration of music and artists that are uniquely English in character, all with a strong sense of place, identity, time and tradition'. There's a mixture of paid gigs and free events and it looks like it will be a good weekend. |
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Ahhh nearly the weekend, which means the week's already on its downward slope to Friday and things can sometimes get a bit sleepy. Fortunately I have the perfect antidote - Fight Like Apes at the Barfly, with a set of supporting bands who were, to say the very least, a little bit good... |
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Once again, the time has come for the Academy to be subjected to what is arguably the loudest tour of the year; this time led by metal titans, Lamb Of God. First up though are California’s Five Finger Death Punch... |
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The eagerly awaited Envy On The Coast don’t quite deliver for many of the crowd tonight, although this may not be entirely their fault. As much more of an alternative rock band than a screamo outfit, they don’t fit into the bill particularly well, still they are entertaining as they throw out ‘Suckerpunch’ and the upbeat, ‘Sugar Skulls’. |
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This year's widely anticipated V Festival came aggressively straight for us. With her guns blazing, she blew away anyone who was lucky enough to get in to the 60,000 capacity arena. The success of the weekend truly rested on one act and their extraordinary ability to put on the most intense and simply awesome performance you may of ever witnessed. |
