Escobar + The Joe Fox Band + Barnesy + The Abbots @ The Rainbow, Birmingham – 15th August 2008

I’m slightly ashamed to admit that this was my first gig at The Rainbow but it was a fine way to kick things off. The promoters here are promoting a good spread of local bands, have created a decent atmosphere and you can get a kebab at the back of the room – what more could you want?

First up were The Abbots, who didn’t particularly convert me to their cause but whose pub rock was competent enough not to deserve a complete shoeing. There was nothing you hadn’t heard several times already and songs like ‘Fire’ and ‘Outertowners’ sounded like exercises in cramming in as many cliches and obvious rhymes as possible. But for a first band on the bill they were fine.

Barnesy stood alone on stage with his guitar and, initially at least, had to make himself heard over the noise of the filling courtyard. It’d take a better hack that I to talk about Barnesy without drawing the obvious comparison with Alex Turner’s narrative style. He just about pulled it off though, thanks partly to some clear self-belief.

If The Abbots and Barnesy trod well-worn paths, it was hard to work out where The Joe Fox Band were going. That’s no bad thing, by the way. Their sleazy, garage sound made for a welcome change of pace and ‘Fever’ and ‘Mama Treat Me Bad’ stuck in the mind longer than any other songs I heard that night. Plus they handed out free CDRs.

Headlining the night were Escobar – occasional touring mates with The Enemy and rumoured to have attracted major label interest. They showed more comfort on the stage than the bands that preceded them, with a bit of cockiness too. They wear their influences on their sleeves with hints of The Who and The Jam blending with the heavier beats of Kasabian. Not ground-breaking stuff then, but carried with enough attitude and personality to keep things interesting.

Review – Chris Unitt
Photos – Lee Allen

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