&U&I at The Flapper 16/12/2011

With the biting cold outside turning the canal towpath to an icy death-trap, where better to be than deep in the bowels of The Flapper for Off the Cuff’s Xmas Party? Boasting four of the best local acts on one bill for a very festive £4, it was hard not to miss this one. Interestingly, I’ve seen more bands in The Flapper this year than any other venue. I dread to think how many hours I’ve spent stood in that gig room, but I’m trying not to think about it too much for fear I will go and work it out using some form of elaborate spreadsheet...

First up is Birmingham 4-piece Conquistadors, whose blend of angular guitars and chaotic alt rock song structures (which I like to call “The Birmingham Sound”) is the perfect opener to this evening’s show. Having seen Conks a number of times over the past couple of years, I’m impressed at how they keep their sound different and fresh each time. Their set seemed all to brief to me, but they did treat those who turned up early to a very interesting interpretation of Paul McCartney’s Christmas classic ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’, which whilst a little scrappy around the edges was bursting with Christmas cheer and enthusiasm. Here’s wishing the best for Conquistadors for 2012 – they deserve it.

Despite having come across the name countless times before, I’d never actually seen or heard The Cape of Good Hope before. Despite this, I went in with high hopes and I am pleased to report I wasn’t disappointed. Rarely would I say the focal point of a band is their drummer, however this is certainly the case with The Cape The band boasts two drummers, both of whom drive the band along and tease, nay, force you to move your feet. Funky post-hardcore in the vein of Dartz!? Something like that. One blast of 'I Saw Something Dead Floating' or 'I'm A Little Bit Evil' and you'll know what I mean. Highly recommended, and a band I hope to catch live again soon.

Shapes

Next on we have Shapes. One of Birmingham’s more popular exports, I’ve always had trouble getting into them. Considering their pedigree (tours with Glassjaw, releases on Big Scary Monsters), you'd think I'd be totally down with it, but the problem I find with Shapes is that their music lacks real hooks – nothing really pulls me in. I haven’t heard their début LP yet (‘Monotony Chic,’ released earlier this year), but maybe I just haven’t had that eureka moment and until then I won’t get it! In Shapes defence, you can't fault their musicianship – they can play, and can play hard - it's just not for me.

&U&I

&U&I take the crown for being my most seen band of 2011, and also one of my favourite live acts of the year. The band’s impressive work ethic resulted in a cracking debut record – Light Bearer – and tonight, despite a few technical hitches,  the songs from that record really shine. 'Belly Full of Fire...' sounds particularly fine this evening. The band appear in quite a reflective mood, dedicating older material from  last year's EP to fans who have been there from the start, and I can't think of a better time to do so. These three guys have slogged it out since the untimely demise of Blakfish, and have come back far stronger than many would have imagined. A Christmas show wouldn't be a Christmas show without some crazy Crimbo guitar antics, and atop the bassist from Shapes’ shoulders Thom gives Brian May a run for his money by soloing out  'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'. ‘Chancer’s Paradise’ brings the night to a climatic conclusion, but not before seguing into ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.’ If it means that there are more shows like this then I'll have no choice than to agree.

Shapes + Grown Ups at the Flapper 23/05/2010

Despite it being an extremely warm Sunday evening there is still a reasonable turn-out for tonight's show in the warm underbelly of the Flapper. Turning up slightly later than anticipated (it was an early kick-off) I manage to catch half of Bronze Medals' set. I don't know if they were having an off-night or if the sound just wasn't doing them justice, but tonight they didn't seem as full of vim as they had last time I caught them at the Adam & Eve. Perhaps the heat had taken it out of them? That said, they stand head and shoulders above a lot of local bands for their ingenuity, surmised in set-closer 'I Lost the Map', which has become one of my favourite tracks of the year thus far.

Next to the stage were City Hero. Whilst they weren't necessarily a bad band, I can't say that the Birmingham three-piece left me wanting more. There were brief moments where interesting riffs came into the fore, reminiscent of old-school Deftones. However where progress was made on the heaviness front, the band cancelled themselves out by lapsing into a, well, cliche and cheesy rock sound that does absolutely nothing for me. I know some people like Nickelback, and there is a place for that gravelly-throated alt-rock, but that place is not in my record collection.

Into It. Over It. acted as a solid counter-balance to the acts proceeding him, and to Grown Ups who would follow. His acoustic discourses on subjects as diverse as friends, love, and American Football went down brilliantly, and his chirpy sense of humour was almost as good as his music. Favourite comment of mine was his thoughts on how Britain doesn't understand the term "bummed' which he uses often, and has had people on the tour mistake his feeling sad as reference to anal sex, which I'm sure is not always a good thing when you're thousands of miles from home. My only regret is that I didn't pick up his 52-track double album, recorded over the course of a year (1 track a week, folks), as he was a lovely guy. I complimented his brilliant humour and he said it was due to watching a lot of British sitcoms with his parents when growing up. It was very pleasing to find a Yank who gets English comedy, so Evan Weiss, I salute you.

The main pull for tonight has to be Chicago's Grown Ups. Recently signed to Big Scary Monsters, and with debut More Songs currently gracing my stereo, I knew that these boys would be an absolute riot. They remind me a lot of Hot Water Music, with their infectious pop-punk hooks skittering along in reckles abandon, with the songs usually cumilating into a fantastical conclusion almost as soon as they've started. The only negative I found this evening was that it did seem a bit too loud, meaning that the vocals were often obscured by the guitars which is a real shame as it was the combination of the vocals and the guitar hooks that originally drew my attention. I was also a little sad about how short their set was - but then their record only clocks in at just over 30 minutes. I really hope these guys come back soon as they are a fantastic, summery punk-rock outfit who deserve your attention. Why not go download their first EP, Songs, over on If You Make It - you won't regret it.

Last up tonight are local boys Shapes who I've written about before on these pages. It's pretty much text book this evening, and despite the crowd becoming decidedly smaller (it's a Sunday night after all) the band plough through their set of juggernaut riffs and unexpected time changes like the prog-metal supremeos they've grown into. A couple of new songs were thrown in for good measure this evening, including one which sounded like it may have been called something to do with AC/DC, but my ears may have tricked me. Closing with live favourite 'You Butcher!' Shapes brought to an end a diverse evening of music. Whilst they are always a great act to watch, for me this evening was all about Grown Ups, who were brilliant and are well worth your investigation.

Tubelord at the Hare & Hounds 05/11/2009

Maybe it's because it's a Thursday. Maybe it's because it's raining. Or maybe it's because it's Bonfire Night. Somewhere out there a Guy is on fire. And maybe a towerblock too, as I saw a few fire engines surrounding one on the way into Kings Heath. Either way, by 8:30 there's still only about 30 people tops in the second, smaller room upstairs in the Hare. There is another gig on in the room next door, but that seems quiet too. What's wrong with people, £5 for an awesome line up? Words fail me sometimes.
First up this evening are 3 lovely boys from Birmingham who go by the name of Shapes. Not so long ago they released their second EP on Big Scary Monsters, which gives the uninitiated an idea of what they've got in store. They seem somewhat amused by the fact they have never played at the Hare, and despite the lacklustre turn out they play with as much energy as they can muster, but not before asking everyone to stand up and move from the comfy sofas that line the room. "It is a gig after all!" guitarist Steve Bachelor reminds the crowd. This evening the band tend to favour their newer material over the old, which is a shame as their first EP was immense. However, they still treat the amassed with their slabs of spastic prog-metal, launching from the stage into the front row with reckless abandon. Closing with 'You Butcher', I can't help but feel a little let down as they were nowhere near as exciting as they were on my last encounter with them, though I must commend their manners, for they thanked everyone for chosing the gig instead of a bonfire. Bless.

Now, something tells me either Tall Ships are new to this game, or maybe they are just having a touch of really bad luck (I think it may be the latter option): guitar strings break during the first song, keyboard in another, several moments where everything seems (to paraphrase the Shapes song) to be more out of tune than everything else... yet simultaneous to this there are moments of clarity where Tall Ships shine, showing themselves to be a magnificantly forward-thinking and creative outfit (albeit, their choice of clothing may leave a lot to be desired). It's an odd set-up with two facing keyboards in the middle and an assortment of pedals underneath. There are also bits of drum in places other than at the drum kit. It's hard to explain, look on their myspace and you will get a better idea of what's going on. Anyway, the great thing about Tall Ships is that all their songs are built out of loops ie. play a bit of guitar, loop it, play some more over the top and so on. It will be interesting to hear how this translates on record, as tonight some of what they were doing was simply lost in the live setting. Their last song was my favourite simply on the merit of how messed up it was. There was instruments being swapped like wives, a dirty distorted keyboard loop, and the bassist climbed up the PA system to hit a cymbal. They were also joined by Joseph and Sean from Tubelord who helped make even more of a racket and brought their set to a close. I clapped a lot.

Finally Tubelord take to the stage and those in attendance finally act like it's a rock show, getting on their feet and moving forward in the general direction of the stage. The Kingston three-piece work their way through tracks from debut Our First American Friends, and it's upon hearing these tracks live you realise how fun and creative a band they are. I personally felt a little let down by their album, as it didn't for me capture them as acurately as their live show - which sometimes wanders in to the raw and rough around the edges. Yet, it is the live Tubelord which really captivates me. There is something of old Biffy in Joe's guitar riffs, whilst his lyrics remind me of Reuben, somewhat cryptic in places but always anthemic. The subtle use of glockenspiel on a couple of tracks draws the band in another direction, a much more chilled an laid back one, whilst these slower songs are easily balanced out by their bouncy emo-pop in tracks like 'I am Azerrad' and 'Night of the Pencils', the latter of which they sing "three is the magic number" over the final chorus, to much amusement and big smiles. Towards the end of the set Joe decided to read some poetry, and asked everyone to sit down on the floor. Which, strangely, everyone did. There was something a bit surreal about a room of people at a gig sitting on the floor whilst listening to a poetry recital, but at the same time it's touches like this that make Tubelord so special. I did whip out my camera at this point to take a photo but got a little embarresed when Joe pointed at me and told everyone to check out the art student (I wish). And almost as soon as it had begun, it was over, as the gang smash their way through the last song regardless of having broken several strings. And as I stepped out onto Kings Heath High Street with the smell of fireworks in the air, there was no way I could consider that tonight, despite low numbers, anyone had been short-changed.