Mar 12

Frightened Rabbit & Airship @ Birmingham Academy 2, 12th March 2010

Frightened Rabbit The fact that Frightened Rabbit are an indie band from Scotland instantly means they have a lot to live up to. The country that gave the world deep fried mars bars and bagpipes has made up for this tenfold by producing some of the most important indie bands of all time. From the 80’s to the present day through The Jesus & Mary Chain, Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, Idlewild to name just a few, it’s a rich musical history that the five piece from Selkirk have to follow.


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Mar 08

Peter Andre @ Symphony Hall Birmingham, 8th March 2010

Peter Andre For those of you haven’t been living in a anti-mainstream cave for the last few years, Peter Andre needs little introduction. I want to clear one thing up from the start, nobody went to this gig to be in awe of Mr Andre’s musical wizardry, despite the desire to be regarded as a respected R&B artist.


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Mar 07

Obituary + Persefone + Furnaze + Warlord UK @ Birmingham Academy 2, 7th March 2010

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.


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Mar 06

Mumford & Sons + Fanfarlo + Andrew Davie @ Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, 6th March 2010

Mumford & Sons I heard an Interview with Mumford & Sons on the radio the day before embarking on their headline UK tour. There were two comments that struck a chord with me whilst listening; Neither Marcus, Winston, Ben or Ted came across as having a single serious bone in their bodies. Banter and honest joviality were the order of the day. The second related to the forth-coming tour. The name of one particular stop was singled out as being one they were really looking forward to playing as “the city has a lot of heart”. That city was Wolverhampton.


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Mar 06

Nick Harper @ The Hare & Hounds, 6th March 2010

Nick Harper Salutations such as, ‘John Betjeman with a guitar...intense virtuosity,’ are not to be dismissed lightly and so first things first I put it to the sound engineer that a set list would come in handy. ‘Too right!’ He replies, sanguinely, ‘Have you got one?’ So, songs referenced are sometimes by context more than title. Welcome to a Nick Harper gig.


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Mar 05

The XX @ Birmingham Academy 2, 5th March 2010

The XX The XX have been much hyped over the past 12-18 months by all the music press and tonight Academy 2 is ram packed with only a few spaces left before the exit door at the rear of this large room. The other reason is their beautifully crafted CD having done well in the charts thanks to songs like “Crystalised”,”VCR” and “Heart Skipped a Beat”.


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Mar 04

Stephen Lynch @ Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, 4th March 2010

Stephen Lynch Political correctness is basically a term for minimising social offense. Thankfully, there’s none here tonight. Stephen Lynch, the King of YouTube musical comedy is in town to sing the kind of songs you laugh at in private, maybe in the pub, but never in polite society. Think of him as the Marilyn Manson of melodic humour. If it’s there to be poked as a subject for human shock value in song form, then it’s fair game, and nobody does it better than Lynch.


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Mar 03

Courtney Pine CBE + Omar Puente @Town Hall, Birmingham, 3rd March 2010

Courtney Pine Jazz is not my usual cup of tea. I’m more of a rock and metal fan, but having been introduced to Courtney Pine in the mid-90s, it would have been rude not to see him in the amazing setting of Birmingham Town Hall.


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Mar 02

Heaven 17 @ The Assembly, Leamington Spa, 2nd March 2010

"No-one was supposed to turn up for this one!"


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Feb 22

Owl City + The Elements @ Birmingham Academy, 22nd February 2010

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.


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Feb 20

Jim Moray with Nick Cooke + Cole Stacey with Terry Stacey @ Red Lion Folk Club, Kings Heath, 20th February 2010

Jim Moray with Nick Cooke It's been a few years since I heard Jim Moray live so I'm really looking forward to this evening. Jim Moray, of course, is the singer who burst on to the folk scene back in 2003 with his debut album, Sweet England winning the BBC2 Horizon award for most prestigious album of the year and winning him the accolade of best newcomer.


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Feb 19

Europe @ Birmingham Academy, 19th February 2010

Europe After a month that has so far given me the brutal likes of Decapitated, Black Dahlia Murder and Morgue Orgy, as well as an unforgettably transcendental Mastodon performance, it was time for a brief respite. I headed to the Academy for a welcome relief after a fortnight of aural abuse for an evening spent in the company of Swedish hard rock titans Europe.


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