Pages

Tuesday 31 December 2013

Review of 2013

Thank you to each and every one of you that has taken the time to look at my little blog since I started it in May. 

Each year for the past few years I have kept a record of the shows that I have been to and the number of individual band sets that I have seen each year.  As a close to the year I thought I would share with you the statistics for 2013.

This year I have attended 33 concerts, 2 one day festivals and 1 weekend festival.  This took me to 18 venues in 10 towns/cities.

All in all I have seen 145 individual band sets with the top three most seen bands being:





Lacey x 10










                                                                            Patent Pending x 7












Fearless Vampire Killers x 5








I have already got a few concerts planned for 2014 and will be bringing you the reviews as soon as the dates come around.  Until then, thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and I wish you and yours a very happy and safe 2014

The Lacey Christmas Show

The Lacey Christmas Show ft. Lacey, White Clouds and Gunfire, I'm A Model Baby and Hello Tomorrow
December 21st , 2013
Rock City Basement

Tonight is the last gig of the year and I have once again travelled down to Nottingham to see Lacey as they headline their Christmas show.

Kicking off tonight is a band by the name of Hello Tomorrow.  They are a very young pop punk band who try their best to get the crowd to join in with them.  Unfortunately a not too brilliant cover of Blink 182's 'Dammit' and a terrible, out of tune cover of Fountains of Wayne's, 'Stacey's Mom' fell as flat as the notes they were singing.


Next up were I'm A Model Baby, a quartet from Nottingham who although they were much livelier than the first band, also did not manage to get the crowd as involved as they should have done.  These guys were in tune though and had a great sound.  I'm A Model Baby will definitely be worth watching again in a few months to see how they have grown and progressed.


There was an obvious shift in the energy of the room when White Clouds and Gunfire took to the stage.  They are a female fronted band and although I don't usually like female fronted bands this one was good.  The five piece band from Peterborough had a great energy and finally got the audience participation that the other two bands had failed to get.

Vocalist Eveline may be petite but her vocals and personality definitely aren't.  

They have a fabulous sound and vibe to them and I will look forward to trying to catch them again next year.



What can I say about headliners Lacey that I have not said before.  It is obvious that they are making a big name for themselves on the local music scene as the audience had pretty much doubled in size by the time they took to the stage. 



Starting their set with a cheeky rendition of Wham's 'Last Christmas', the Nottingham four started things with a bang. 



Their set tonight was packed with old favourites such as 'Let It Go', 'Hometown', 'Contender' and 'Burning Out' as well as a sneak peek at three songs from the new album, which is to be released in 2014, including 'Reach Out', an amended version of 'Reset To Zero' and a beautiful ballad which is as yet untitled.



Lacey left the stage to shouts for an encore and eventually gave in bestowing the crowd with an early Christmas present by bringing back the fans favourite 'Lights Out', which they had officially retired at their EP launch in June at the Bodega. 

This is a beautiful song and it is easy to see why the fans love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WHsy0NyI3Y




This was a fantastic show to finish the year with and I look forward to seeing more of Lacey next year when they tour the UK in April with Patent Pending and People on Vacation.


Thursday 21 November 2013

A Hell of a Vacation!

People on Vacation
Liz's House and Manchester Academy
November 15th and 18th, 2013

There is a lot of talk in the press at the moment about super groups following the recent announcement of the McBusted tour, but a tour for one super group seems to have been overlooked....

People on Vacation comprises of Jaret Reddick from Bowling for Soup and Ryan Hamilton of Smile Smile and this week I have had the pleasure of seeing them twice under two totally different circumstances.  People on Vacation have hit the UK to play a six date tour consisting of three acoustic house parties in Great Yarmouth, Peterborough and Derby and then three dates with Blue October in Birmingham, Manchester and London.....  and I have been lucky enough to experience one of each!

On Friday we made the four hour journey and travelled down to Peterborough, where hostess Liz had opened her house to the fifty eager fans waiting for the Texas duo.  Unfortunately we missed the start of their set as we encountered very heavy traffic on the way down and I believe we missed 'Lonely Fish' and a rendition of 'Phineas and Ferb', but we did have the pleasure of hearing most of the set including 'It's Not Love', 'Where Do We Go', 'Lonely Chris' (a parody of 'Lonely Fish' dedicated to one of the fans in attendance) and Bowling for Soups latest single, 'Circle'.  

The whole set was an acoustic set and although it was a much smaller venue than they usually play, they sounded great!  The house had a through lounge/kitchen/conservatory and although it was full it was not uncomfortably full. 

After Jaret and Ryan finished their set they joined in the party with the rest of us, chatting and chilling out with everyone who wanted to talk to them.  They also posed for photographs, including posing on the sofa with a young child who had wanted to meet them but had fallen asleep.  Jaret posed as though he had passed out on the sofa and Ryan as though he was about to beat him up.  Luckily the child in question woke up before the end of the party and actually got to meet his idols but I would love to have seen his face the next day when he saw the pictures his parents had staged with Jaret and Ryan.

The party was a great night and it is clear to see why all three of the house parties sold out.  I would not hesitate to attend another house party event. (Thank you Liz for being a great hostess!)



Going to the other end of the spectrum are the three shows supporting Blue October which saw Jaret and Ryan play a full band set with the accompaniment of Rob Lane (Teenage Casket Company) on bass and Michael Richards (Session Drummer) on drums. 


Starting the night with 'Back To Being Friends' and finishing with 'Where Do We Go', we were treated to a similar set to the house party but with all the punch of a full rock set.  Singing songs such as 'I Get You', 'Because Of The Sun', and their latest single 'Lonely Fish', they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gijqq8f3UEA



Included in the set was the song 'Prettiest Girl' from the album 'The Summer And Fall', which Ryan had been singing each night during the  last UK Bowling for Soup tour, which had been an elaborate plan to propose to girlfriend Holly on the last night of tour.

Between songs we were treated to plenty of banter from Jaret and Ryan.  Whether it's Ryan comparing himself to Erik Chandler (of Bowling for Soup) or Ryan sharing that Jaret tweets while he poops, these guys make you feel as though you are hanging with the cool kids and really make you feel part of the People on Vacation family.


Until tonight I had only ever heard People on Vacation play an acoustic set but hearing them with full band has made me love them even more.  Whether they play acoustic sets or with the full band I will definitely be seeing these guys the next time they are in the UK.


Unfortunately I couldn't say the same for Blue October, as although they were good they were not my cup of tea and we left the set half way through, which turned out to be a good thing as we were able to  chat with Jaret, Ryan, Rob, Michael and Holly, which turned the night from a great night to a fantastic night.































(People On Vacation will be back in the UK for a ten date tour in April 2014, along with Patent Pending and Lacey)


Sunday 27 October 2013

J.D.Roots Picks of 2013

Toy, Young British Artists, The Delaplains and The Mysterians
Manchester Ritz
October 25th, 2013



Tonight's gig took us to the Ritz venue in Manchester to an event hosted by J. D. Roots which showcases their picks of 2013's upcoming local bands.  All four of the bands on the bill were from Manchester and I hadn't heard of any of them until tonight.
 




The whole event was hosted by Jack Daniels and you even received a token for a complimentary drink of JD on entry to the venue.





The first band up tonight were the Mysterians who are a five piece band from Manchester.  I usually don't enjoy female fronted bands as I find many female singers very screechy and high pitched but this lady had a lower tone and was really good. 

The Mysterians had a reggae/ska feel and their upbeat melodies had you tapping along with them.  The song that caught my attention was a song called 'Mr Famous' which had a really bouncy melody and great lyrics.



Next up were The Delaplains who again were another five piece band.  These guys were reminiscent of band such as Oasis and although there wasn't much movement on the stage they played a great set.  Stand out songs included 'Helena' and 'Gypsy Blood'. 


 
Young British Artists were third on the bill and from the look of them I thought we were going to get another ska set, however that was not the case.  The music they played leaned more towards alternative rock, but unfortunately I can't tell you what any of the songs were called as I couldn't make out a single word the lead vocalist said either while he was speaking or singing.  I was really disappointed with this group as the melodies held promise of good lyrics but any lyrics were lost.



Headlining tonight were Toy.  These guys were a little different to anything I had ever seen before, as before they took to the stage they filled it with smoke and so all you saw during the performance were silhouettes against a vibrant light show.

Their set was very different too as most of the songs had good strong lyrics to them but the lyrics were short lived and every song had major instrumental sections.  Stand out songs from Toy were 'Join The Dots' and 'Dead And Gone'.
 
My only criticism of this band was the keyboards were a little too shrill and loud in places and took away the impact of the great guitar lines.




All in all a good night and a I have found a couple of bands that I will be watching out for again in the future.


Thursday 24 October 2013

Bowling For Soup - The Band You Can Wave Goodbye To!

Bowling for Soup Farewell UK Tour with Patent Pending
Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham
October 12th, 13th, 18th and 19th, 2013

For the last few October's we have made sure we have seen Bowling for Soup during their UK October tour, however following  the tour announcement in April we realised that our October's will never be the same again.  This year Bowling for Soup announced that this will be their last ever full length UK October tour, so instead of going to one date we decided to wave them off in style by attending four out of the fifteen.

To ease the pain a little, in June,  Bowling for Soup announced that they would only be bringing one support band with them to allow them to do a longer set.  Luckily the support band they brought with them was Patent Pending.  So we knew that this tour would be extra special.

Rather than review all four shows individually I decided I would review them as a whole but as they crammed so much in this could be a long one.


At the start of each show those members of the audience that had been lucky enough to purchase the VIP ticket option were allowed early entry to the venue, which gave them VIP access to an exclusive acoustic show by Jaret and Erik (2 songs), a copy of the tour poster which is signed by all four members of the band, first pick off the merch stand and the opportunity to meet and have your photograph taken with all four members of the band.  Last night's acoustic set in Birmingham consisted of 'Turbulence' and their new single 'Circle'.


Patent Pending are a five piece pop punk band from Long Island New York consisting of Joe on vocals, Anthony on drums, Marc and Rob on guitar and vocals and Corey on bass and vocals. Patent Pending have been together for 12 years but only made their UK debut last year when they accompanied Bowling for Soup and The Dollyrots on the One Big Happy Tour.





Starting with 'Shake Weight & Moving Crates', Patent Pending burst onto the stage and immediately had the crowd bouncing and joining in.  Joe even had the whole crowd 'jerking off imaginary d****' at the part of the song where he refers to the shake weights.










With the ice well and truly broken they launched into 'Anti Everything' which saw them dancing boy band style during the slower parts of the song and saw guitarist Marc Kantor performing his guitar solo from the venues balcony.




Next on the set list was the crowd pleaser 'Psycho in Love' which requires maximum audience participation as this song not only has the audience waving their pirate hooks in the air (hooked index fingers) but it was host to the first ever Olympic crowd swimming championships.  

For those unfamiliar with this 'sport' (which I'm guessing is most people), this is the part of the show where Joe and Corey split the crowd in half, run up the middle of the audience and crowd swim (surf) to see  who can return to the stage the fastest.  As at the end of last night's show the score stood at 7-2 to Corey, with four shows left to play. 

It didn't help that the crowd dropped Joe during the Liverpool show meaning that he effectively drowned.  Joe decked out in arm bands (or swimmy floats, as he called them) and swimming goggles whilst crowd surfing really is a sight not to be missed.

  


Follow this with new songs 'Let Go' and 'Classic You' which features Bowling for Soup's Jaret Reddick and 'Hey Mario', which saw Joe and the audience jumping for coins Super Mario style and you know you have a recipe for success. 


Throw in a rendition of 'Soft Kitty' and the theme tune to 'The Big Bang Theory' and you have the perfect set for maximum audience participation.


Allowing their serious side to show for just a little while, they slow things down with the powerful 'One Less Heart to Break', a song written following the suicide of a close friend of the band.  

Before singing this song Joe explains to the audience how a note left by their friend was not enough of an explanation of why he felt had to take his own life and how that affected those he had left behind.  

For the guys in Patent Pending this is a very big deal.  Patent Pending openly support the 'To Write Love On Her Arms' charity which is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope & finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, & suicide Their latest pledge campaign for their new album 'Brighter' even stated that 5% of all money raised would be donated to this charity.  Although written about such a serious subject 'One Less Heart To Break' is a song you can't help but love and Joe's speech at the end of the song is guaranteed to give you goose bumps, or in many cases for the Second Family (Patent Pending's fanbase), reduce you to tears.


Closing their set with Douchebag, Patent Pending leave the audience fired up and ready for round two with Bowling for soup.

 
It is clear to see why the UK has embraced Patent Pending in the way that they have, as all of their songs are completely relatable and the five guys in the band really are the nicest, humblest and most genuine guys you will ever meet.  Roll on April when they return to the UK!




Bowling for Soup hail from the great state of Texas and consist of Jaret on vocals and guitar, Erik on bass and vocals , Chris on guitar and vocals  and Gary on drums.  They have been together as a band for 19 and a half years and I guarantee that even if you have never heard of their band you will know at least one of their songs.

I will not be commenting on every song that they played during their set as Bowling for Soup played a massive 30  songs from across their entire career.

As soon as you hear the chant at the beginning of 'Here Comes Bowling For Soup' you know your night is about to get 100% better. 

Bowling for Soup shows are all ages shows and there are many young kids in the audience so when you mix a few fart jokes and on stage banter about topics that include sex and the topic of 'sticky socks', the parents in the audience are going to be guaranteed some pretty awkward questions on the car ride home, as Jaret quite happily points out with his announcement of "You're welcome!"

A perfect example of this, is the song 'My Wena'.  In Birmingham Jaret announced to the audience that it is a song about puppies, however at the Liverpool show, were there weren't as many kids, he was honest and said it was about his penis.  This song is definitely worth a listen and then you can make your own mind on the subject matter!

For the last few years Bowling for Soup have had their very own on stage bar so that their tour buddies can hang out with them and join in throughout the show, which queues the songs 'Let's Go To The Pub' and 'Hooray For Beer'.  Both of these songs are high energy, fun songs that really get you in the spirit of the whole show, as the majority of the show feels like you are hanging out in the pub with your friends listening to their banter while they play a few songs along the way.

Rob from Patent Pending makes a couple of guest appearances during the BFS set playing the guitar and at one point even takes Gary's place at the drum kit.  While during 'Ohio' Patent Pending hi-jack the song and finish it off while BFS go and drink their beers.


Front man Jaret Reddick has his finger in so many pies I'm unsure how he manages to keep up with himself.  Not only are they one of the greatest pop punk bands in the world but Jaret is also the voice of Chuck E Cheese,(a cartoon mouse which advertises a large American pizza restaurant chain).  

This is not Bowling for Soups only cartoon experience as they wrote and recorded the theme song to the hit cartoon show 'Phineas and Ferb', and no Bowling for Soup concert would be complete without the a rendition of that song.  The theme to Phineas and Ferb is the request you hear shouted for the most!



Accompanying them on the tour is Ryan Hamilton the other half of Jaret's 'other' band People on Vacation who played an acoustic show at the Union Chapel at the start of the tour.  

Each night Ryan has joined BFS on stage to play 'Prettiest Girl In The World' from their album 'The Summer And The Fall'.  However even such a lovely song could not be taken completely seriously, as during the Manchester show Ryan sang the song without his pants and during the Liverpool show he performed the song in a flowery dress following a dare from Chris Burney.  

I have also been told that on one night he performed it in his pyjamas!  I have also seen photographs on Facebook and the internet showing him proposing to his girlfriend Holly during the final show.




Always original, BFS are the only band I have ever seen that provide you with a 'musically enhanced photo opportunity' during 'Punk Rock 101'.  This means that they stop playing 'Punk Rock 101', grab a beer and take their position in both the centre and at either side of the stage and pose so you can get a group photo of the band.





Other songs included in tonight's set included 'Almost', 'The Bitch Song', 'Really Cool Dance Song', 'No Hablo Ingles', 'Emily', 'High School Never Ends', 'Girl All The Bad Guys Want', 'Stacey's Mom', 'The Last Rock Show',  'Shut Up And Smile', 'I Don't Wanna Rock', 'Ohio', 'Suckerpunch', 'My Hometown', 'Friends O Mine', 'When We Die', 'Turbulence', 'Critically Distained', 'Since We Broke Up', 'Envy', and 'Right About Now'.

Ending the set with their current single 'Circle', a cover of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, a softer and more serious song, BFS leave the stage to huge encore shouts from the crowd.







Returning to the stage for their encore they start with a song about New Zealand, called 'Belgium' (of course!), which any fan will know sneaked its way onto 5  of their studio albums in some version or another.  Follow this with a punk cover of Britney Spears ' ... Baby One More Time', which has the audience which ranges between 2,500 to 4,000 depending on the venue, singing along. 

Finishing with '1985' the four Texans leave the stage to thunderous applause and chants. 




Unfortunately there were a couple of incidents that did cast a shadow over the shows.  During the Manchester show BFS encountered some difficulties with their sound but these were soon rectified and didn't detract too much from the music.  

However, the show at Rock City in Nottingham was badly organised as there were only two security personnel manning the doors and they only had one entrance open instead of using the whole front of the building meaning that many members of the audience didn't gain entry to the venue until well after Bowling for Soup had taken to the stage.  I was very disappointed to have missed the whole of Patent Pending's set and only just made it inside for the start of Bowling for Soup.




These problems aside, I had an amazing time with these two bands.  No two shows are ever the same and it's clear to see that October will never be the same again.




 Anthony of Patent Pending (Left) and Corey of Patent Pending (above)





Joe, Rob and Corey of Patent Pending (below left) and Rob (below right)


 Marc (above left) and Joe (above right)


Patent Pending in action (right)
Jaret and Erik of Bowling for Soup (above left)

Bowling for Soup in action (above right)

Erik of Bowling for Soup (left)
 Ryan joins Bowling for Soup (above)  and Chris from Bowling for Soup (left)


 Jaret of Bowling for Soup (right)