Brighter Tour 2014

Patent Pending , The Suburban Legends and The Hype Theory

Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds

October 13th, 16th,17th,18th and 22nd, 2014

It's that time of the year again when Patent Pending pay their bi-annual visit to the UK, only this time around they are not just being content with the UK, they are finishing the tour with four debut dates across Germany. 

The UK part of the  tour took them to 14 cities from Glasgow to Southampton and even with a change of venue due to the closure of the Cockpit in Leeds, the tour pretty much sold out every night.

I would have loved to have attended every night of the tour but this time I could only get to Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds because of work commitments.

Starting each night were Essex band The Hype Theory.  I had seen these guys before at Nottingham's McMillan Fest earlier in the year when they performed an acoustic set.

Made up of Katie on vocals, Sean and Tom on guitar, Jack on bass and Josh on drums, they  pumped out some powerful music. 

Their set included songs such as 'If You're Going Down (I'm Going With You)', 'Satellite', 'Reverie' and 'War Cry'.

Finishing their set with 'Heartsick'  they launched beach balls into the audience and had the crowd singing along.

I have expressed my dislike for female fronted bands before as I find they are usually too high pitched and screechy but I have to admit that Katie sings at a lower more pleasing pitch. However, although they grew on me over the course of the tour, they didn't grow on me enough for me to become a diehard fan.

The next band on the bill changed each night so depending which venue you were at you could be  expecting anyone from Mumford and Sons to Whitesnake!  However, this was just a ploy to throw the audience off the scent of the 'real' band making their appearance during this 10 minute slot!

In July this year Patent Pending released an EP and mockumentary under the name 'Mario and the Brick Breakers'.  After drawing inspiration from the single 'Hey Mario' which is featured on their 2013 album 'Brighter', they came up with the concept of giving Mario a back story.  The mockumentary shows how Mario and his brother Luigi formed a band, met his Princess Peach and how the pressure of fame led to his addiction to mushrooms and the demise of his band.  The accompanying EP is the sound track to the mockumentary.  (Check it out for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAWabuN6L_0)

The ten minute set saw the Patent Pending guys dressed and fully in character of their respective characters from the movie (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi and Donkey Kong).  The set consisted of two of the songs from the EP.  The set always started with 'My Princess Peach' and finished with 'Boom Boom Pass the Mushroom'. 

It seems that Mario and the Brick Breakers are every bit as popular and successful as their creators Patent Pending and it wouldn't surprise me if we see more performances from these guys at future shows.

Next up were the Suburban Legends.  I last saw these guys supporting Bowling for Soup on the 2011 'Fishing for Woos Tour', and absolutely loved them, so I was eager to see them again.

The Suburban Legends hail from Orange County California and have numerous members, however on this tour they were represented by Vince Walker, Brian Klemm, Brian Lee Robertson, Chris  Graue, Brad Polidori and Edward Larsen.

It is very difficult to describe the Suburban Legends to someone who hasn't seen them as they are a ska band, very much like Madness or Reel Big Fish, but faster and more chaotic!  Over the shows that we saw, the Suburban Legends treated us to 'Arigato', 'Whoa' and 'High Fives' from their original material as well as cover versions of Disney classics such as 'Just Can't Wait to Be King', 'You've Got  A Friend In Me', 'Kiss The Girl' and 'Under The Sea'.

Each night, charismatic guitarist Brian Klemm also treated us to a rendition of Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline'.

Add synchronised dancing, stage diving and jazz hands to the mix and you have a recipe for fun!  The Suburban Legends have an energy and enthusiasm that completely absorbs you and you can't help but get engrossed in their performance. 

Anyone who is a regular visitor to this blog will know that I have seen and reviewed Patent Pending previously and have always had great things to say about this band.  This tour has been no different!

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the VIP session a couple of times on this tour, which take place before the show.  These sessions include a photograph with the band, a signed poster, an exclusive acoustic set and the chance to hang out with the guys before the show starts, and unlike some bands the VIP ticket is not extortionate.

Like the main show, the acoustic session varied every night as the often took requests to decide what they would play.  In Sheffield we were treated to the acoustic version of 'Psycho In Love', while we all danced in a circle 'Italian wedding style', around a couple who had got engaged at one of the shows on the Spring Break Tour.  Other songs included were 'Let Go', 'Brighter' and 'Therefore I Party'.

The full band set also included the above songs as well as other favourites such as 'All Star Hipster', 'Classic You', 'We're Freaking Out (Map To Tahiti)', 'Dance Till We Die' and 'Little Miss Impossible'.

As always Joe did a solo performance of 'Spin Me Around',  the song he wrote for his wife Dana.

It wouldn't be a Patent Pending show without a cover song, or two! This tour we have been treated to a Patent Pending take on the Friends theme tune by The Rembrandts, 'Every time We Touch' by Cascada and an alternative punk version of 'Build Me Up Buttercup', originally by the Foundations.

The boys also have an amazing rapport and the onstage banter flows easily between songs. Whether it is Joe three cardinal rules; 'Stay hydrated, team work and safety first' before he leaps onto the audience to 'crowd swim' his way back to the stage or the 'how our generation will dance when they are old' demonstration from the Birmingham show which  saw Joe, Rob and Marc using the mic stands as walking sticks while twerking!

As much as Patent Pending like to perform they don't hog all of the limelight and are happy to share it with the Second Family.  During the shows that I attended they had Karl on stage to sing in Manchester, Brad playing guitar with them in Birmingham and they invited harpist Sacha along to finish out the tour and play every night with them as they loved her rendition of Brighter at the Glasgow show.

When Brad played on stage with them at the Birmingham show there was a little role swapping going on as Rob took to the drums, Anthony the vocals and Joe jumped into the pit and bounced and partied with the crowd. 

Patent Pending sure know how to rock hard and it was proved during that last show in Leeds  when the whipped the crowd into such a frenzy that the ceiling was dripping and the crowd bounced so hard that they left a hole in the floor of the Key Club!

I have now seen Patent Pending perform 24 times since I first encountered them in October 2012 and I can honestly say that I have never seen the same set twice!  They have so many songs in their back catalogue that they can play a different show every night and alter their banter and set list to suit the audience and always leave the crowd wanting more! 

Patent Pending still take my breath away and get better every time I see them.  Their sets fly by in a whirlwind of crowd swimming, jazz hands and bouncing! 

I have got to know the guys over the past couple of years and I can honestly say that I have never met a band that care about their fans in the way that Patent Pending do.  Even though their popularity has grown and quadrupled since they first set foot in the UK two years ago, they still make the time to spend with their second family.  It's no wonder these guys have a group of diehard fans who go to every date of the tour whether they are in the UK or abroad.

You only had to look around at any of the shows to see that the Second Family community has grown immensely over the last two years and I am proud to be a part of that family.  Roll on the 2015 tour!