The Twang, Barney Rubble 27th May
This evening Radio one's Zane Lowe gave the first listen to The Twangs up coming single 'Barney Rubble' which will be the first single to be released from their follow up album 'Jewellery Quarter'.
Last week the Brummy lads played a series of warm up gigs testing out their new material and today their free release 'Another Bus' was named NME's track to download this week with all this in mind people should be expecting 'Barney Rubble' to be an impressive re-introduction The Twang.
'Barney Rubble' is charming with an exceptional beginning which is bound to be a Radio one favourite this summer. Like all 'Twang songs the lyrics aren't particularly complex however they're unbelievably catchy with simple lines ('All I really want is you...') which are completely adorable. Guitarist, Stu and drummer Matty continue to impress by producing a captivating rhythm that is repeated throughout the song helping to make it a candidate for summer success when played at festivals.
After hearing this teaser 'Jewellery Quarter' is bound to be equally as brilliant and after their tester gigs in the past week should see them have a memorable festival season and as Zane Lowe said "The band from Birmingham are back."
27/05/2009
22/05/2009
The Twang: The Big Peg 21st May
The Twang: The Big Peg 21st May
Forget every bad word you have heard about The Twang!
Opening with 'Either Way' which got them into the top 10, the majority of the crowd began to dance while others took photos of the guys in this tiny venue. Singer, Phil Etheridge after it seemed a little confused due to a setlist change which has happened every night this week while they experiment with new tracks. The Twang had made the decision to test the new tracks out on these dedicated fans attending yet also played the popular songs which had won these fans over anyway. 'Push Away the Ghosts' and 'Wide Awake' reminded me of a Twang which were plastered over NME in the previous year however they seem more mature than those guys which the NME portrayed as arses.
All in all they have demolished all the bad things I had ever heard about them and replaced them with the fact that they are amazing performers with awesome music, new and old and have the ability to develop their sound into something which sounds as good if not slightly better than that of debut album 'Love It When I Feel Like This'. Live, things are raw, things are done on impulse and this helps to create one of a kind shows which I'm sure the fans love. The Twang breaks the mould and if the new live tracks they teased the crowd with last night as anything to go by then 'Jewellery Quarter' should be amazing.
Forget every bad word you have heard about The Twang!
***
Speaking to graffiti artist and the producer of The Twang's new album art work (which will be released in the summer), Temper about The Twang before the set I was eagerly anticipating an impressive performance. Speaking about the show in Dudley on the Tuesday, Temper told me about how amazing the new album tracks sounded live and how generally people responded well to hearing them. Temper was also quite complimentary about the guys, mentioning how they're all really nice guys, what you see is what you get, Phil being a front man on and off stage. After talking about them I was keen to see if Temper was right.
Opening with 'Either Way' which got them into the top 10, the majority of the crowd began to dance while others took photos of the guys in this tiny venue. Singer, Phil Etheridge after it seemed a little confused due to a setlist change which has happened every night this week while they experiment with new tracks. The Twang had made the decision to test the new tracks out on these dedicated fans attending yet also played the popular songs which had won these fans over anyway. 'Push Away the Ghosts' and 'Wide Awake' reminded me of a Twang which were plastered over NME in the previous year however they seem more mature than those guys which the NME portrayed as arses.
The new tracks went down well with by the final chorus' many fans had just picked up the words and were singing along. The final song before the encore was the most recent release from The Twang, 'Another Bus' which was available for free download on The Sun's website. Temper had told me that 'Another bus' didn't seem too popular on Tuesday however on Thursday they crowd were singing from the outset and seemed to enjoy it. I believe it's a brilliant new one from The Twang with the guitar from Stu being amazing to listen to. Another new track which seemed to go down well was 'Barney Rubble' which is set to be the next single for the guys and is going to be released around the same time as their new album 'Jewellery Quarter'.
'For all you naughty fuckers' Phil announced before 'The Neighbour' began which led to one of the most amazing audience responses I had seen so far in the set, with the crowd singing back over Phil and Saunders. By the last song The Twang wanted people to go crazy. Phil requested that 'the next time people go out in Birmingham to leave their camera phones at home' after that the crowd were dancing hard to 'Cloudy Room'.
The guys afterwards were a little worried that it wasn't as good as they had expected it to be yet that was in comparison to the previous night when they playing in Shrewsbury. Every member of The Twang are genuinely nice blokes, very much what you see is what you get except Saunders. On stage he seems to be another man, generating crowd response by dancing around.All in all they have demolished all the bad things I had ever heard about them and replaced them with the fact that they are amazing performers with awesome music, new and old and have the ability to develop their sound into something which sounds as good if not slightly better than that of debut album 'Love It When I Feel Like This'. Live, things are raw, things are done on impulse and this helps to create one of a kind shows which I'm sure the fans love. The Twang breaks the mould and if the new live tracks they teased the crowd with last night as anything to go by then 'Jewellery Quarter' should be amazing.
General Fiasco Little Civic 20th May 2009
General Fiasco Little Civic 20th May 2009
It's true to say that General Fiasco made the best of a bad situation when they performed at Wolverhampton's Little Civic. ''Superfans'' stood in the front row trying to make conversation throughout the gig and at one point were told to keep down while they continued with the set, which was fast paced and brilliant despite them being a little drunk when playing. Every song I had heard before seeing them was in everyway better when performed live, as they did just that, performed; they had electric presence and involved the slightly minuscule crowd. All the songs were delivered quickly, creating quite a raw sound which converted many people to fans that night. The drums were possibly the loudest I have ever heard, with the playing being immaculate and the bass guitar being the most attractive one I've ever seen. The best track in their set was 'Ever so shy', maybe that's a bias opinion as I believe it to be the best recorded track, however it got many people dancing and seemed to generate the best response I'd seen in their set up to that point.
There is only two criticisms from that gig: the fans and support bands. The support in all was a little odd, with Mr Cricket being first on. Mr Cricket seemed to have few fans, possibly due to their 'weird' sound which was quite frankly poor. Next was Paradoxic who have catchy songs which grow on you throughout the set, however the lead singer I found rude as he arsed around throughout the set of the following support band, The Marquee and headline act General Fiasco. The Marquee demonstrated an impressive performance and seemed to enjoy their set although none of them stayed around very long to watch the band they had come to support which, to me, doesn't seem particularly fair.
I think General Fiasco will be ones to watch for later this year and early next year as they are an amazing live act. Given another opportunity, I would pay more that £6 to see them, and would see them again without a doubt. During the summer, get to a festival and see these guys!
It's true to say that General Fiasco made the best of a bad situation when they performed at Wolverhampton's Little Civic. ''Superfans'' stood in the front row trying to make conversation throughout the gig and at one point were told to keep down while they continued with the set, which was fast paced and brilliant despite them being a little drunk when playing. Every song I had heard before seeing them was in everyway better when performed live, as they did just that, performed; they had electric presence and involved the slightly minuscule crowd. All the songs were delivered quickly, creating quite a raw sound which converted many people to fans that night. The drums were possibly the loudest I have ever heard, with the playing being immaculate and the bass guitar being the most attractive one I've ever seen. The best track in their set was 'Ever so shy', maybe that's a bias opinion as I believe it to be the best recorded track, however it got many people dancing and seemed to generate the best response I'd seen in their set up to that point.
There is only two criticisms from that gig: the fans and support bands. The support in all was a little odd, with Mr Cricket being first on. Mr Cricket seemed to have few fans, possibly due to their 'weird' sound which was quite frankly poor. Next was Paradoxic who have catchy songs which grow on you throughout the set, however the lead singer I found rude as he arsed around throughout the set of the following support band, The Marquee and headline act General Fiasco. The Marquee demonstrated an impressive performance and seemed to enjoy their set although none of them stayed around very long to watch the band they had come to support which, to me, doesn't seem particularly fair.
I think General Fiasco will be ones to watch for later this year and early next year as they are an amazing live act. Given another opportunity, I would pay more that £6 to see them, and would see them again without a doubt. During the summer, get to a festival and see these guys!
11/05/2009
The Maccabees Birmingham 10th May 09
The Maccabees Birmingham 10th May 09
The Maccabees, having recently released their second album "Wall Of Arms" embarked on a tour of the UK, stopping off at Birmingham O2 academy2. Having seen them before, and at a larger venue I anticipated a lively audience for the five-piece from Brighton however, this wasn't the case.
Beginning their set with new track 'No Kind Words' generated a lively response for those more dedicated fans near the front unlike those nearer the back, who resigned to a simple nodding of the head for the majority of the songs off the new album. On playing older, better known songs like 'First Love', 'Mary' and 'Toothpaste Kisses' (which was played acoustically) the crowd resonse was impressive, with the voices of youths from around the midlands almost drowning out The Maccabees. Also ' Maccabees played B-side to their most recent single 'Love You Better' which although good, didn't seem to have much of the audiences' approval with many people seeming a bit bored during the song. This is the second band however that I've seen in recent weeks who have decided to play a B-side as part of their set.
Only 45 minutes into the set, Orlando announced that they were playing their final song, before a break, having still not played single from the first album, 'About Your Dress'. With it being a personal favourite, I was quite disappointed that they chose not to play it, along with many other songs from their first album. Finishing their set off with the new single 'Love You Better' which seemed to generate a more exciting response from the crowd, similar to that of the older songs.
The performance was exceptional, and the audience response to the well loved tracks of their debut album 'Colour It In' was amazing, however I don't think many people had heard the new album yet therefore weren't so excitable. The Maccabees were also lacking any merchandise, the only things people would be taking home were the flyers left on a table next to a pretty vacant mailing list.
The Maccabees, having recently released their second album "Wall Of Arms" embarked on a tour of the UK, stopping off at Birmingham O2 academy2. Having seen them before, and at a larger venue I anticipated a lively audience for the five-piece from Brighton however, this wasn't the case.
Beginning their set with new track 'No Kind Words' generated a lively response for those more dedicated fans near the front unlike those nearer the back, who resigned to a simple nodding of the head for the majority of the songs off the new album. On playing older, better known songs like 'First Love', 'Mary' and 'Toothpaste Kisses' (which was played acoustically) the crowd resonse was impressive, with the voices of youths from around the midlands almost drowning out The Maccabees. Also ' Maccabees played B-side to their most recent single 'Love You Better' which although good, didn't seem to have much of the audiences' approval with many people seeming a bit bored during the song. This is the second band however that I've seen in recent weeks who have decided to play a B-side as part of their set.
Only 45 minutes into the set, Orlando announced that they were playing their final song, before a break, having still not played single from the first album, 'About Your Dress'. With it being a personal favourite, I was quite disappointed that they chose not to play it, along with many other songs from their first album. Finishing their set off with the new single 'Love You Better' which seemed to generate a more exciting response from the crowd, similar to that of the older songs.
The performance was exceptional, and the audience response to the well loved tracks of their debut album 'Colour It In' was amazing, however I don't think many people had heard the new album yet therefore weren't so excitable. The Maccabees were also lacking any merchandise, the only things people would be taking home were the flyers left on a table next to a pretty vacant mailing list.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
