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Tonight is an early start by most gig standards, the first band, Triggerfinger, take to the stage at 7.10 and having never heard of them before, impress. A three piece who remind me of Screaming Blue Messiahs, they play hard and fast and despite being suited and booted certainly crank out some powerful stuff. |
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Waiting in the day and recording at night, Christina Perri is the unlikely star to entertain the temple at the HMV institute tonight. The Philadelphian singer-songwriter shot to fame in 2010 with piano ballad “Jar Of Hearts.” Once used on “So You Think You Can Dance” it saw more than 100 000 downloads in just 2 weeks. |
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I never thought my first gig of 2012 would be a death metal show but I’m always open to new music so it was off to the Birmingham Academy to see The Black Dahlia Murder supported by Skeletonwitch and Fleshgod Apocalypse. |
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Blundering yet ever more confused in to the second decade of the third millennium we can, at least, allow ourselves a moment or two of sage reflection. |
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The O2 is sold out for local boys, The Wonder Stuff tonight, here to perform their album “Never Loved Elvis” on the 20th Anniversary of its release (well June 2011 would be..) on the Polydor label. But first up are The Levellers in support mode. The show is almost a re-run of the March 26th gig, except the bands swap the headline. In truth, the show is practically a double headline… the term “support” is meaningless for this gig. |
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Tonight, out in a bitterly cold Birmingham, we should be in for a festive treat. In the lovely HMV Institute with a band who refuses to go away and have created their very own special independent path - Marillion as part of their handful of UK dates for their Christmas Tour 2011. |
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Another full venue marks the popularity of 29 year old Elliot Greaves, the rapper who couldn’t rap from Fulham was back with two sell out national tours and an arena tour next year. |
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Take yourselves back to '92, when life, just maybe, was a little more carefree. We have all grown up since then, as part of life's journey - as have these guys - tonight in a rather chilly Christmassy Birmingham, we're here to tune into Evan Dando and The Lemonheads, playing 'It's A Shame About Ray' in its entirety. Plus lots more. |
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It was nostalgia that brought me here tonight and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that. A chance to see Ocean Colour Scene play their 1996 album ‘Moseley Shoals’ could not be missed and I hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed. Having spent my teens in the Brit Pop era, I wondered whether tonight would live up to my memory of this local band, having never seen them play live before. |
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“Read all about it” Stephen Manderson is back like he never left. Promoting his highly successful album “At Your Inconvenience” after massive chart filler “Alive Til Im Dead” the professor was back and in his prime. Chart topping English rappers are no longer the rarity they once were. But Professor Green has got the talent and the commercial success to contend in the grime scene. |
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It seems that synth legend Gary Numan has become very popular again in recent years and 2011 is no exception. With the release of ‘Dead Son Rising’ the album has received the best reviews for any of his previous albums. |
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The NIA is possibly one of the worse venues to drive to, and given the pre-Christmas traffic slightly worse than normal. The nearby multi-story car-park is also inadequate for the size of the venue, but having located a space the charges are also custom made for punter rip-off. |
