In this, the month of Gothmas; the evenings have drawn in, inviting all the beautiful creeps out into the darkness. Ahem, ok I mean me. I am out traversing the canalways of Brindley Place in Birmingham to get to the Utilita Arena tonight for the one and only, Gothfather of Shock Rock – Alice freakin’ Cooper.
The Meffs
Up first tonight are edgy Essex duo The Meffs, a rowdy powerhouse of shouty punk. ‘Stamp It Out’ and ‘Broken Britain, Broken Brains’ are belted out with force, but their whole style absolutely requires a front standing section of moshing teenagers… and instead we have seated VIP’s.
‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ gets a better audience participation level, as the crowd warms up and remembers their angsty youth origins, as it’s easy to get into. I also enjoy their cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’, but their real stand out moment is a very punk middle finger; “This is a Love Song to the British government, it’s called Clowns”.
It’s a short and sweet set, bookended by a promise that they’re coming back “sometime in January”, and I think I’ll be trying to catch up with them then – in hopefully a more fitting environment where I can do some thrashing around.
Strutting onto the stage in a sparkling diamanté pinstriped suit, lead singer Bobbie Gillespie with his signature sullen-faced swagger, surveys the crowd. The band kick off with ‘Love Insurrection’ but a couple of bars in, Gillespie motions everyone to stop. “Wait stop, we fucked that up. Start again… it happens.”
The second try, “Oh there we go, the right key this time” is a smooth transition into their unique blend of funky electronic rock. The gorgeous soaring melody of the trio of backing vocalists really comes alive in ‘Ready To Go Home’, but the overall vibe in the room is left slightly flat by the complete seating area in the front. Primal Scream are a band to boogie to, and every other time I’ve seen them has been at festivals with room to groove, which just… isn’t this. Despite the rock-block of the setup, when Gillespie says “30 years ago we released Screamadelica… I dont know if you guys and girls know it… the first song was called ‘Movin’ On Up’. So if you want to sing along please do” the collective sigh of relief around the audience was palpable – here’s a song we can all sing along to – and we do. ‘Country Girl’ is an exercise in weaving that evangelical deep south church sound into a Glaswegian ditty, but it has the hook I can’t deny. Gillespie yells “Ladies, Gentlemen, Creatures, Thats theys and thems… let me fuckin hear you!” before they plough into their final iconic song ‘Rocks’ to end the set.
Alice Cooper
Slicing through a giant newspaper sheet printed with ‘BANNED IN ENGLAND’, using a cutlass, and employing one of the most iconic resting-bitch-faces in the world? Peak Alice Cooper behaviour. After this most excellent entrance, Alice is front and centre in his signature top-hat and leather trousers garb – sporting three belts and a frilly shirt, launching straight into ‘Welcome To The Show’. I am glad we as a country, have stopped trying to actually ban Alice Cooper from performing here, extremely embarrassing (three times) for us. Not that we don’t have other things to be embarrassed about, mind.
From the off, it is clear that Alice’s voice and energy is still absolutely top notch – something I can’t say about most other performers who’ve been going as long. The man is 76 and he’s careening around the stage and now swinging a crutch above his head like it’s nothing. ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ features a quick change into a custom battle jacket (which I would dearly like to pilfer), followed by a confetti gun used to spray the crowd in sparkly faux money for ‘Billion Dollar Babies’.
Bombshell guitarist Nita Strauss is absolutely ripping it up, under the watchful awe-struck eye of Alice. One thing I will note is that there is space made on this stage for every single artist to take the spotlight, and Alice showers all of them with reverence. It’s a nice thing to see from an artist as singular as he is, on the face of it.
Throwing a black cane to a fan on the front row, in order to take up his giant yellow snake who seems completely unbothered by the huge crowd, and is instead trying to see what guitarist Ryan Roxie is doing. I couldn’t find out the name of this snake (if anyone knows, hit me up) but I would like to do a quick mention of some of Alice’s previous snake-pals because they’re too good not to share. So big ups to; Julius Squeezer, Cobra Winfrey and Count Strangula. During a musical reprieve Alice can be seen just chatting to the snake and pointing things out to it, and now I have a vision of him walking around Birmingham taking his snake on a tour of the sights.
‘Lost In America’ sees Alice in a flag-adorned leather jacket, and he plays at murdering actors playing photographers (I do feel slightly targeted…) with the opening bars of the anthemic ‘Hey Stoopid’. The green lighting pulsing across the crowd now reveals a much more lively atmosphere, as people are standing and dancing along.
Two giant sets of prop stairs are wheeled around to face the crowd, with Alice atop one, bathed in spotlights and smoke for ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’, followed by his rather rough treatment of a very Sia-esque mannequin during ‘Cold Ethyl’. I also love him for brandishing four bulbous yellow maracas, and I’m not sure if they really are an instrument that can be played seductively – but he’s managing it, in a Gomez Addams sort of way.
An enormous cheer ripples around the arena for the iconic notes of ‘Poison’, and Alice is now rocking a gorgeous burgundy brocade jacket and a riding crop – another amazing souvenir for a lucky front row fan later on. ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ will never fail to give me chills, but I am a child of the Wayne’s World generation I guess. The giant stumbling monster comes out to lurk behind the guitarists, and he has more than a slight resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne with those upturned palms and shambling gait. I don’t think it’s on purpose, but we are in Birmingham so who knows.
‘Black Widow’ features on screen clips of Vincent Price, and an incredible Nita solo, before Alice’s straitjacket scene for ‘Ballad of Dwight Fry’. Kneeling on the riser, in a perfect beam of white light but uplit in green, Alice looks delightfully unhinged whilst being ‘tasered’ by his on-stage goons. Now enter Alice’s actual wife Sheryl Cooper, in her Marie Antionette get-up, to take him to the guillotine and then dance with his disembodied head. Each time I have seen this bit, I have wanted the head to sing along, alas.
‘Elected’ uses one of the stair sets now covered in stars and stripes, as a pulpit for Alice’s presidential speech (and yes he is still in the straitjacket, a nice touch). There’s a barrage of red white and blue spotlighting, and streamers sprayed out into the front rows, before the stage goes dark. As the school-bell rings, the lights go up on a stage filled with smoke-bubbles and Alice in a white tailcoat and tophat, brandishing another cane. Giant balloons are pushed out into the crowd and when they’re batted back to the stage, he pops them with a blade to expose bursts of sparkling confetti within.
“Birmingham England… Alice Cooper finally speaks to you!” he laughs, and introduces all of the members of the band, who have been predictably phenomenal tonight, ending with “She’s deadly, she’s delicious, she’s my one and only… Sheryl Cooper! …and playing the part of Alice Cooper tonight… big lights on… ME!”
“It’s great to be back in Birmingham, and it’s almost Halloween… so from all of us – to all of you, may all of your nightmares be horrific, Goodnight!” Alice bows to the audience. I would see Alice Cooper on every night of this tour if I could, standing front and centre. There is something quite magical about this type of show, that I don’t think is going to be on the menu in 20 years, which is a bit sad. Immersion, theatre, a willingness to take life with a pinch of whimsy – alongside truly iconic music, taken as a tonic in an uncomfortable world.
In the immortal words of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, we truly are not worthy.
SETLIST
Lock Me Up (Shortened)
Welcome to the Show
No More Mr. Nice Guy
I’m Eighteen
Under My Wheels
Bed of Nails
Billion Dollar Babies
Snakebite
Be My Lover
Lost in America
He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
Hey Stoopid
Drum Solo (Glen)
Welcome to My Nightmare
Cold Ethyl
Go to Hell
Poison
Feed My Frankenstein
The Black Widow (Vincent Price segment)
Guitar Solo (Nita)
Black Widow Jam (Full Band Solo)
Ballad of Dwight Fry
I Love the Dead (Opened with Killer snippet)
Elected
Encore:
School’s Out (With Another Brick in the Wall snippet & band introductions)
Taylor Swift – 19th August 2024, Eras Tour London, Wembley Stadium
Right. I’m going to be brutally honest with you here, and caveat this with a plea to Swifties not to rain fury down on me for being an imposter in their midst… but I am categorically not, a Swiftie. Yet here I am, dressed in a very loudly pink floaty skirt and heart shaped handbag, covered in hastily acquired bead bracelets, masquerading as one.
All things considered, I have a very eclectic musical taste which leans more towards rock and metal than anything else. That said, I do like a good pop song and have enjoyed many of TSwiz’s hits (I even own the Fearless album on CD, give me a gold star immediately). Believe it or not I am even wearing a Taylor tee, though in order to assert some kind of childish pushback it is one with her name made up in black-metal lettering, I couldn’t resist.
Having made it down the M1 and queued to get into the Wembley red carparking, we traipsed our way over to grab our tickets, following a trail of fans taking photos in front of all the Taylor themed backdrops dotted around the arena. Upon grabbing said tickets we discovered that we would be in the left stage standing area, and didn’t really realise what that meant at the time – more on that later.
The process of getting into the arena itself is really straightforward and easy, head to your colour coded entrance area, scan your ticket and push through the turnstile, quick bag search and get your wristbands (including a very cool light up one specific to the tour). After that the concourse is yours to inspect the merchandise shops (lots of small ones about instead of one massive one, really helps with the queue situation). As we were running a little late we headed down to our entrance and launched ourselves out onto a set of steps, and the absolutely breathtaking view of thousands upon thousands of people and one of the biggest stage set-ups I’ve ever seen in my life.
First support act Maisie Peters modifies her song ‘Lost The Breakup’ to include “er… I’m kinda busy like, I’m with Taylor tonight!” in a starry-sequinned white mini dress and stompy black boots. Having seen her earlier this year at Hyde Park, I knew to expect a good set and she did not disappoint – her lyrics are fun, she has a beautiful voice and her songs are ultimately singable. What’s not to love.
Tennessee punk-rock royalty Paramore are up next, representing the other side of the girlhood-coin with a barrage of loud and rowdy songs. Talking Heads cover ‘Burning Down The House’ is a consummate banger (I love the original too, to be fair…) but we are whipped into a frenzy by the epic anthem ‘Misery Business’. Hayley Williams, wearing a slinky black punk princess dress – even comes to visit us at the stage side and I kid you not, I could reach out and shake her hand we’re so close. I don’t though, because that would be super weird. It’s a cracker of a set, albeit short.
As Paramore’s amazing transparent orange drum-kit is forklifted from the stage, I am already in awe of the slickness of production that has gone into this. The stage is cleared in what seems like seconds, a *ahem* Swift turnaround if you will… we are suddenly staring at a countdown clock on the enormous stage screen, and the crowd erupts in the most deafening scream I have ever heard in my life. I’ve been to a lot of rock shows, but the pitch range is a lot lower – this is the force of 90k soprano shrieks entering my eardrums at speed.
The screaming only increases as the countdown finally ends and giant billowy silk-sheeted petals fan out from centre stage, on the backs of cat-walking dancers. They remind me of something you’d see on Pandora from James Cameron’s Avatar, but that’s probably not the kind of thing normal people talk about at a Taylor Swift concert is it. Anyway the nice leafy things make their way to the centre diamond of the runway and flop down on top of each other in a circle before popping up to reveal the queen herself, resplendent in a pink bedazzled bodysuit and matching boots.
Starting off with ‘Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince’, she is lifted skyward on a centre riser, making her visible to every eye in the audience which obviously, elicits yet another wild scream. Ending the first song with a strong power stance, Taylor shouts “Of all the wonderful sights you could come to London to see… I’m sure this view I’m seeing right now is absolutely the best one!”. Taylor then spends a little time pointing at various sections of the crowd to get them hyped up, before ‘holstering’ her gun-finger at her side with a wry smile. It is at this point that my sister and I both opt to jam loop earplugs in, I refuse to go deaf over teenage fanaticism.
Now wearing a pink sparkly double breasted suit jacket, she says “Wow, I can feel it immediately going to my head… the way you’re making me feel tonight… a sold out show for 92 thousand people… you’re making me feel like I’m The Man” leading into the namesake song, where she climbs an abstract office building set up on the stage. The dancers are incredible, I know there’s such a thing as stage clothing but anyone who can do that in a full suit gets my admiration.
“London what a delight, and an honour, and a privilege… London welcome to the Eras Tour!” yells the pop princess on this penultimate night of the European leg of Eras, now standing centre stage holding a pink acoustic guitar. She spends a minute thanking Maisie Peters, who she credits with amazing songwriting skills, and then Paramore, stating “We grew up together as teenagers, and now we got to travel Europe together”.
‘Lover’ features dancing couples overtaking the stage, including same-sex pairings – I will always applaud platforming inclusivity on a large scale, particularly with the state of the world at the moment. The song is gorgeous I have to admit, but the transition into ‘Fearless’ means I am finally at a part I really know and I’m… ready for it. You see what I did there right?
With an incredible downpour of firework rain from right across the top of the stage, Taylor reemerges in another bedazzled fringed bodysuit and a matching sparkly guitar, her signature red lipstick in stark contrast. “You wanna go back to high school with me?” is the herald into ‘You Belong With Me’, and then ‘Love Story’. I actually know all the words to these ones, I think I’m doing an excellent job of fitting in frankly.
Onto the next section with barely a pause, red balloons signal the beginning of Red with ‘22’ and Taylor wearing a t-shirt saying “This is not Taylor’s Version’, and the iconic black hat. I am reliably informed that every Swiftie has been awaiting the drop of ‘Rep TV’ which for quite a long time I thought was some kind of weird streaming service she was launching. No, they of course mean Taylor’s Version of Reputation – the re-recording of her earlier works to eclipse the contract-locked originals. Anyway, is this t-shirt she’s wearing an easter-egg of epic proportions for an announcement, or is she just trolling you all in the funniest way? Answers on an Eras postcard.
The iconic 22 hat is gifted to a rather small girl who is crying her eyes out and shouting “I love you so much” repeatedly, which is too cute not to shed a small tear at, but the bit I’m enjoying the most is all the giant cheerleading megaphones and the confetti cannons, it feels like a proper party now. The t-shirt is whipped off (thank you Chippendales for bringing velcro clothing to the people) to reveal a black and red ombre sparkle outfit for ‘Never Getting Back Together’. Apparently the enigmatic dancer known as Kam, says something different in the refrain each night, but tonight it is “Are you havin’ a laugh?” in a Cockney accent.
‘Trouble’ blows up with giant plumes of smoke erupting from the stage every time she hits the high notes, and Taylor stops for a breather to chat. “Are we enjoying the Red era London? This show is my favourite I’ve ever gotten to do… better crowds than I ever imagined I’d play for in my entire life. You have every song memorised, every lyric. This is a dream crowd”.
The black diamante encrusted matching trench coat and guitar is absolutely the number one thing I want to steal from the Eras closet, imagine how good I’d look swishing round Download festival in that thing. However, 10 minutes of ‘All Too Well’ is a little past my threshold, so we take a chance to go grab some water. Here I have to mention that there are free water points all along the barriers of the standing areas, with cups being constantly replenished. The standing areas as well, although sold out – are not overcrowded at all. You can comfortably move and stand without being on top of anyone, something I find seriously unusual and at the same time, fantastic about this show.
Speak Now’s ‘Enchanted’ might be a standalone, but it does feature a delightful Cinderella-esque ballgown, before being swapped out for it’s antithesis aesthetic – a one legged black jumpsuit covered in red snakes, to match the writhing snakes on screen. Red and white lights adorn our pulsing wristbands to welcome Reputation to the chat with ‘Are You Ready For It’. I think I like this Taylor best in terms of aesthetics, she’s in her zero fucks era, her clapback era, I love that for her – but especially with the caged Barbie dancers in ‘Look What You Made Me Do’.
Eventually the snake on screen slithers into a firefly lit, serene woodland, signalling the beginning of the Folklore/Evermore portion of the night, featuring a giant swamp shack set-up and some really weird trees that have grown directly from the stage. Apparently this is known as ‘The Folklore Cabin’ but as this is my least favourite album you’ll forgive me for not being up to date on the history. Taylor is kind enough to fill me in anyway though, “The folklore cabin is the imaginary cabin I pretended I lived in while I was writing this album, during the pandemic… confused and isolated… but I still wanted to connect with people”. Explaining that, during this album she deviated from autobiographical songs to write about characters as the narrator, she flits through the light, airy songs to arrive at the moss-covered piano for Evermore. Unfortunately a technical issue slightly tarnishes the mood “Um ok, this is in the wrong key… how do I get into here?” Taylor asks a techie who comes out to fix the problem, inadvertently showing us all that the grand piano is in fact merely a house in which an electronic keyboard sits. Slight chink in the armour there, but she recovers quickly.
We however are starting to feel the halfway mark of being on our feet, and take a trip to the barrier for a sit-down during the slow stuff. Another huge kudos to the arena staff here as we were repeatedly asked if we were ok, and handed water whilst we were sitting down. You can even see most of what’s going on from there thanks to the enormous screens.
No respite from the fan-screams though, even Taylor takes a few minutes to stand in awe of the constant wall of noise after she finishes; “That might have been the loudest sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life”. ‘August’ has all the Folklore girls swooning and swaying (they’re all dressed as elven forest maidens – some of whom have fallen backwards through a bush, but in a cute way).
The sun has finally gone down on Wembley and the light up wristbands are really coming into play. The dark blue forest backdrop and blue tinged soft lights of the bands for ‘Willow’ are so beautiful. On stage sparkly dementors are swishing some glowing orange balls about, and appear to be summoning something, but I personally am watching a pair in the crowd next to us who have done the absolute genius cosplay of bringing a yellow balloon each, and using their phones to light them up and join in. Bravo niche-Swifties, good work.
Back to the party stuff with 1989, Taylor hits the stage in a sparkly miniskirt and top for ‘Style’, ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Shake It Off’ while the wristband lights flash orange and blue to match her split outfit.
‘Bad blood’ is accompanied by huge bursts of fire from pyro cannons around the stage and on top of the lighting rigs, before we swap over to newest release The Tortured Poet’s Department. Taylor is resplendent in a white dress and microphone with black sparkly gloves, the floor is decorated with projections of stained glass windows, and ‘Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me’ is sung with wild abandon by every single voice around us. She zooms around on a silver robot platform during ‘Down Bad’, laments and swoons on a giant bed set with typewriters and then throws on a white military dress jacket to march the stage for ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’.
Ending lying on stage with the remnants of a burned white flag, the theatre of this show is unmatched. After being posed on a broken heart couch by two tailcoated helpers, she is made to move like a marionette and re-dressed in a silver ringmaster set to absolutely crush ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ – the wormiest earworm of all her new material. I won’t lie, a lot of the most recent album feels quite samey to me overall, but this is a total hit.
Next up, purple lighting and another outfit swap for the much anticipated secret songs section, which turn out to be a ‘Long Live’ and ‘Change’ mashup, then ‘The Archer’ mixed with ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’. I’m really out of my depth here, but it’s clearly important because everyone in my vicinity is hugging and crying, while she plays on a floral painted piano.
We’re two and a half hours in at this point and I’m not sure how she has anything left in her. She’s barely had a 30 second breather between playing, singing, dancing, talking and costume changing – and she’s got to do this all again tomorrow. In answer to my disbelief, she takes a running jump into a stage pit, and then projections of her swimming down the length of the runway pull her towards crashing waves on the screen, amidst the soft deep blue of our sea of wristbands around the arena.
At this point, some very weird paper mâché looking clouds atop rolling ladders are wheeled out, for the start of final section Midnights, with ‘Lavender Haze’. Of course she has an outfit for this – a giant furry lavender coat, that looks like she skinned a muppet to get it. ‘Anti-Hero’ featuring the weirdest line “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby” if you hear it that way (and I do, every time) but is probably the most audience-sung-song so far. Dancers with umbrellas hide Taylor for a costume change into a sparkly star and moon bodysuit, and chairs are placed on the centre risers for a very saucy burlesque routine during ‘Vigilante Shit’.
Our wristbands flash all different colours during ‘Bejeweled’ and the girl in front of us who has hand sewn giant jewels all over her top, responds by turning the rainbow lights on inside her mesh skirt. 10/10 no notes. Enduring the endless screaming once again, Taylor comes up for air “I cannot believe a crowd exists this loud… but also that you did this on a Monday night!”.
Closing out with ‘Karma’, in yet another pink sparkly jacket, this time with fringing – is deservedly the anthem of the night. I cannot believe she’s made it to the end of this still looking as absolutely magical as she does. Either her makeup artist is a real life wizard, or she is actually the ethereal being she portrays, because I look like a toad who has been zapped back to life and propped upright against the barrier. It even rained tonight and her hair still looks good, TELL ME YOUR SECRETS TAYLOR.
There’s fireworks, there’s confetti, there’s screaming, there’s crying, there’s hugging and dancing. It’s a truly celebratory ending to a mammoth night of entertainment, one that I can scarcely believe has been upheld by a single artist.
So what were my main takeaways from tonight you ask? Well, firstly… someone has to spend presumably aeons sticking tiny rhinestones to every single thing Taylor Swift owns, from guitars to boots to trenchcoats and mic stands. This is fabulous, I’m so down with that part.
Next, Swifties have a seemingly endless reservoir of tears, and will cry at almost anything – including but not limited to, if you give them a bracelet that matches their outfit, or if Taylor looks their way at any point in the night. I now understand the real need for the water refill stations everywhere.
Following that train of thought, the Eras tour is one of the safest and best run events I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to a LOT). The attention to detail and thought about logistics has been second to none, but more than that – all of the staff members have been genuinely fantastic, helpful and nice. I wish it wasn’t unusual in live music, but it is.
After the show I found out that Taylor Lautner (and I think his partner… Taylor Lautner… who are all friends with… Taylor) was hanging out in the VIP section, alongside TSwiz’s very own parents, and that I could have sidled up there as it was next to our section. Damn it. Where have I been Loca?! Anyway, as we head out of the arena after collecting some confetti to put with our tickets… I sense my sister, who is with me (also a phony-fan), is already on the turn towards Swiftdom – she has given two security guards bracelets, marvelled over the police dogs who have bracelets all the way up their leads, and bought us both tshirts.
So finally, to close this ridiculously long review (which really is an ode to a ridiculously long show) my thoughts boil down to this. Taylor Swift has an incredible voice, clever songwriting, and the ability to back-to-back intense 3 hour shows, in which she never stops. I might not be the kind of Swiftie that can sing all the lyrics, nor the kind who knows the ex-boyfriend lore, or even the kind who talks show tactics on the forums. BUT. When she inevitably comes back around, you can count on me to be there with silly bracelets on singing the same 5 songs I know, at the top of my voice. So long, London!
Image credit: TAS Rights Management
SETLIST
Intro
(The Alchemy/Fearless/End Game/Speak Now/gold rush/TTPD/evermore/Red/Lavender Haze/Lover/Bejeweled)
Lover
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince (shortened)
Cruel Summer (extended outro)
The Man (spoken intro)
You Need to Calm Down (shortened)
Lover (spoken intro; extended outro)
Fearless
Fearless (shortened)
You Belong With Me
Love Story
Red
Red – Intro (contains elements of “State of Grace”, “Holy Ground” and “Red”)
22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Kam Saunders: “you having a laugh?!”)
I Knew You Were Trouble (shortened)
All Too Well (10 Minute Version; spoken intro)
Speak Now
Speak Now – Intro (contains elements of “Castles Crumbling”)
Enchanted (shortened)
Reputation
…Ready for It?
Delicate
Don’t Blame Me (shortened)
Look What You Made Me Do (extended outro)
Folklore / Evermore
cardigan (shortened)
betty (spoken intro; shortened)
champagne problems
august
illicit affairs (shortened)
my tears ricochet
marjorie (shortened)
willow (extended)
1989
Style (shortened)
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams (shortened)
Bad Blood (shortened)
The Tortured Poets Department
Female Rage: The Musical (contains elements of “MBOBHFT”, “WAOLOM”, “loml”, “So Long, London” and “BDILH”)
But Daddy I Love Him / So High School
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? (shortened)
Down Bad (shortened; with “Fortnight” outro)
Fortnight
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived (shortened)
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (extended intro)
Surprise Songs
Long Live / Change (spoken intro; mashup on guitar; tour debut for “Change”)
The Archer / You’re on Your Own, Kid (mashup on piano)
2024 seems be the year of the giant arena tours, with the likes of Foo Fighters, Bring Me The Horizon and Taylor Swift busting out the big guns all around the UK, you’d be forgiven for thinking a mock-rock band of humble origins wouldn’t be a huge scene this year. JB would tell us to never underestimate the power of rock, and with over fifteen thousand piling into the Birmingham Resorts World Arena tonight – a completely sellout show – it’s clearly going to be a wild one.
We take a quick gander at the merchandise offerings, but are unsettled to find t-shirts peaking at £50 (ouch) and the cheapest being £35 – half of what a standing ticket cost tonight, which is diabolically expensive when you consider two non-purchases of a tee could get you another ticket to a huge tour show. I do rate their alternative merch choices like tabi/sandal socks, bags of branded plectrums, and crocs charms – they’re much more in the realm of affordability and are something different than yet another black band tee. Here’s my heartfelt plea to bands to push smaller merch offerings that are at the £5-£20 mark, we all wanna participate but… cozzie livs innit.
VIP Nation patrons however, were also able to pick up a Jack Black curated fan gift with their priority seating tickets, comprising of a very fun Tenacious D pizza box, red apron, tea-towel and lanyard – all branded with the Spicy Meatball artwork.
Dave Hill
As the arena begins to fill, we are treated to the very weird but funny musical/comedy stylings of support act Dave Hill. Dressed in a Slipknot-esque boilersuit which is covered in whimsical floral and animal patches, he races onto the stage pretending to… well, fuck shit up, I suppose. He proceeds to play three or four chords on his axe between mumbling, kicking and moshing. I am bemused, but also amused. At one point he even grabs a pair of nunchucks and cavorts wildly about the stage.
Finally he settles down slightly, and jokes “Great to be back here in Birmingham… The Paris of the Midlands. I’ve not been back here in ten years! For legal reasons…” before taking requests, for what turns out to be the first 5 seconds of any song yelled out. Yes, it was Freebird.
What follows is a very strange rant about Poundland – “Poundland, we sell everything but dignity” and then some pick-up lines that “will only work in Birmingham”. Dave smiles slightly, betraying his persona “Are you the west midland metro making stops between Birmingham and Wolverhampton? If you are I’d like to ride you all the way free of charge”. I don’t really know what I make of it all to be honest, he’s definitely not a traditional opener, but he gets the laughs and is actually a more than decent guitartist. Oh and I will always appreciate someone who exits the stage on a BMX for no discernable reason whatsoever.
The stage lights dim to the mightiest roar from the packed arena, as the choral opening music from Tenacious D’s ‘The Pick of Destiny’ movie, sets the scene.
Strutting calmly on stage the duo, Kyle Gass and Jack Black revel in the full force thunder of the crowd. Taking their places in front of two red devil-hand mic stands they steal a quick nod to each other before launching into story-setting memoir song Kickapoo. Despite knowing the words myself, I don’t think I was really prepared for how much of tonight would feel like a Rocky Horror singalong – EVERYONE and their rockin’ mother was giving it a ruddy good go.
With his signature wry smile, Jack laughs “So Birmingham… Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin. There must be something in the water here, Rock. Rock is in the water. This might be the rock capital of the world” before sweeping his sweaty hair out of his face and catching a helpful fan’s scrunchie from the crowd, to tie it up.
Low Hangin’ Fruit and Rize of the Fenix come with a side of “Any of you seen our film ‘Pick of Destiny’? NOT AT THE CINEMA YOU DIDN’T” referencing the flop that almost scuppered the band, and requesting pyrotechnics which never materialised. “When we planned this tour, we had to rock a bit harder, be a bit spicier, we had to have pyro!” they yell as a very underwhelming single flame spurts from the stage.
Wonderboy rolls on to arguably the most anticipated song of the night, whose opening chords draw a huge cheer from the fans. A huge inflatable Satan at the back of the stage heralds the iconic
Tribute, and at one point the band are almost drowned out by everyone singing. Coming up from their bows, both adopt a slight stagger, joking “We’re getting too old for this shit.” before Jack snaps a quick high kick and a toe touch jump and shouts “Nope, still got it” to tremendous applause.
Next up is Video Games, followed by The Metal – in which a very Iron-Maiden-esque stage walker robot (that looks a bit like one of the goblin suits from Labyrinth with David Bowie) stomps his way across the stage to dance, rock, and at one point pretend to slam Jack doggy style. Then, as a treat “I need a palette cleanser… Sax-a-Boom please!” Jack shouts, and the now infamous children’s toy is ferried to the stage.
The Sax-a-Boom solo is summarily upstaged when KG brings out a ‘Max-a-Boom’, a giant version which plays funnily enough like a real sax, and the iconic Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty solo. Miffed, Jack calls for a Max-a-Boom removal, “Oh my fucking god, that’s Dana! She’s best roadie in the business right there” and a nice segue into Roadie, with the pronouns thoughtfully changed to ‘she’ throughout the song.
There’s a fun little skit of a silent argument “Hey Kyle can we talk by the drums, no mics please?” and KG pretending to quit, which lines up the lament Dude (I Totally Miss You) and the whole arena using their phone torch lights to join in. Kyle returns, there’s a joyful screened video of the pair leaping through the waves on a beach, and we get a rendition of Chris Issak’s Wicked Game before we come to another iconic D song. “KG… I think there’s something wrong with our electric guitar player… I think he’s possessed… BY SATAN”.Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown) is everything you want from Tenacious D, kinda camp, slightly ridiculous, and heaps of fun. We even get a double recorder solo from KG – which in the UK is everyone’s starter instrument at school, and every parent’s worst nightmare.
A traditional band intro/solo section is absolutely gratuitous but in keeping with their classic metal pastiche, they thank the sound crew and the lighting crew (who also get to do a lighting solo, love that) before Jack Black takes his own solo starting with the opening of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs. 10/10 very topical and locational, absolutely every voice in this place is joining in.
After a brief encore, Good Times Bad Times (a Led Zeppelin cover) is chased up by the excellent Master Exploder. “We don’t often perform this one because it’s too hard to perform live. This is The Spicy Meatball Tour though… are you ready KG?”… “Hahahaha I’m not ready, it’s too hard!” they joke. There’s a moment where Jack finally produces the Pick of Destiny and holds it aloft “God that would have been a good time for pyro. I even cued it up! BIFFY PYRO TO THE STAGE NOW”. It is a very kitschy skit with a bumbling pyro guy and a big red button, but it’s part of the charm and comedy. The Spicy Meatball Song (to the tune of Indiana Jones) is very funny, but we close with Fuck Her Gently and the entire crowd singing along again. Finally, we get the big stage fireworks and flame cannons, and the band triumphantly leave the stage with their arms in the air. Biffy Pyro is left alone, grinning smugly.
It’s hard to categorise Tenacious D, because ultimately they are a comedy show – and all the skits drive the narrative of the night, but I think it’s really important to note that underneath all of that, they’re just damn good songwriters and musicians. Tonight was a blast, a well deserved sell-out tour.
Scuttling into the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, we arrive into a deep softly illuminated world of chirping crickets and the trills of minibeasts, and take our seats facing… the giant egg. The circus has finally come back to town, in the form of Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Ovo’.
Before the show starts I got the lowdown on some of the incredible things that have to go on behind the scenes to make it work. The mammoth effort involved in the costume department cannot go un-written – their touring vehicles house six washing machines and three dryers, to cope with the sixty loads of washing that were required for tonight’s performances, and they have an entire in-house tailoring team on hand for quick fixes as well.
The cast and crew comprise of a whopping 100 people of 25 different nationalities, 52 artists, and 23 huge semi-trucks to cart everything around in. The stage is fantastic, and the herculean effort it must take to organise and do this type of show is absolutely phenomenal.
The show opens with our host/ringmaster the Scarab Beetle ‘Master Flipo’, dressed in a very comic book Joker-esque ensemble, and his friend The Ladybird witnessing the arrival of ‘The Foreigner’ (who I can’t help but see more as a Covid-19 spike protein than a bluebottle fly – but that’s the trauma speaking) who is carrying a giant egg on his back. Immediately all of the characters are endearing and interesting, but the star is definitely Coccinella (Ladybird) – portrayed by the wonderful Neiva Nascimento. Clad in a cute latex outfit she totters around the stage chirruping and making complete sense, with almost no actual dialogue at all. In fact that is the part I find most charming about all of this, we get a complete theatrical story conveyed almost exclusively visually. It’s powerful stuff.
The skit where the insects steal the egg and The Foreigner sadly calls out “Ovoooo” are very funny, but when the Red Ants take to the stage on the vertical parallel bars I am immediately overcome with wonder, exactly as I was, seeing circus skills for the first time as a child. Spinning and jumping between the poles, or sliding down them at death defying speeds and then freezing into impossible human-flag shapes is what circus is all about – the suspension of your innate belief in how gravity works.
Next up, the Gracious Dragonfly gives an absolutely beautiful hand-balancing performance atop a vibrant green spiral that is reminiscent of plant-stamens, or coiled corkscrew rushes on the surface of a lake. The clever costuming of iridescent wings spanning the length of the artist’s legs, allows for some stunning shapes as he deftly moves from one delicate position to another.
During stage setting and the continuing escapades of The Foreigner, Coccinelle, and Master Flipo – the back wall of the stage, covered in wall climbing rocks, is subtly used as an outlook for sly Spiders. The three of them take turns to scale and pose themselves as portraits across the background before The Black Spider takes to the stage for an aerial hoop performance, one of the most breathtaking parts of the show.
The sleek red and black suit, coupled with the stark ghostly face-paint of The Black Spider invites you to view him as something otherworldly, and he certainly lives up to the idea as he soars across the smoke-covered stage on his hoop-web. Unbelievable feats of strength and flexibility are bolstered by his powerfully emotive dance elements, all undeniably spider-like in feeling.
The high-flying Beetles navigating the three Korean-frame stations set high in the rafters, bring the first half of the show to an end with a sizzle. There’s nothing like looking around a crowd while aerial performers are on, and seeing every mouth agape, young and old alike. The frames are stacked with muscular Beetles banging chalk between their hands, before swinging the lithe flying Beetles through the air to one another. The tricks are incredible, tucks and spins – even one that flew a complete circle around the centre post, look inches away from death, but this is a party of replete professionals and the set is perfect. Touching down onto the trampoline net to finish, they garner the biggest cheer of the night so far.
After the Intermission, we see White Spider drop down to centre stage to show us some of her stunning contortion techniques, bending gracefully into inconceivable positions. The Red and Black spiders join her for some partner balancing, and then she takes to a very unique piece of equipment which allows her to spin and contort whilst balanced on… well… her mouth. There is a small part of me that was initially revulsed, but I think that’s because I know the damage I would inflict upon myself were I ever to drunkenly try this. The sheer strength of mouth and neck muscles it must require is frankly mindblowing.
Following this, we are treated to another classic circus skill – Firefly, with his diablo. Now, I expect that most of you reading this, and the majority of the people in the audience, have probably had a go with a diablo once in your life. Maybe at a kids party, a summer event, or a school fair. So you know how bloody hard work it is to even keep one of those things balanced never mind actually spinning. Firefly wowed us with one, then two, then three, then four diablos bouncing off the same string. While he turned. While he shot them up in between the lighting rigs high above the stage. I think he may have been a lot of people’s unexpected favourite of the night, and that diablo sales on Amazon probably rose immediately following the show.
As in a proper circus environment, a little audience participation to fill a gap can be fun, and the two people brought on stage to play unwitting romantic interests for The Foreigner and Coccinelle, were very good sports about it. However, what came next was a true highlight of the night – a crackle textured bug, attached via her hair to a ceiling rope and pulled skyward like a marionette. This whole scene was gorgeous, from the music and the lighting, to her elegant and nimble body positions as she swept and spun across the stage.
The final big act of the night was down to the bright green Crickets, displaying wall-climbing and trampoline skills across the backdrop of the stage. Two giant concealed trampolines provided the power for the artists to run up the wall and land on top, before pelting themselves back down for tucks and tricks, even jumping over one another in a waterfall presentation, but also taking the time to perform and show their cheeky side (literally, they shook their bums at the audience at one point). The air-track between the two trampolines also provided a runway of layouts, twists and double back tucks that came in waves towards the audience, a plethora of skills shown in quick succession.
Sadly the time is over far too soon, but a happy ending with The Foreigner winning the hand of the Ladybird (and kissing quite a lot) and the return of his ‘Ovo’, to the stunning vocals of Bossa N’Ovo – The Cockroach. As she sang, the cast emerged to rapturous applause and made their farewells after an incredible night. As the stage darkened one last time, Ladybird is left alone to witness, the cracking of the Ovo…
Ending on a comedic cliffhanger really seals the tone of this brilliant show. It was funny and beautiful in equal measure, turning adults into awe-struck children seems to be the modus operandi of Cirque, and we loved every second of it.
Starting the year off with a few warm-up gigs to get into the festival spirit, SFG took a trip to Nottingham for the Enter Shikari tour last month. The show was incredible (read our review here) but today we’re focusing on something a little different.
It would be an understatement to say that social media has changed the way we interact with artists and their music; the immersive experience of multi-angled viewpoints, re-living events through the eyes (phones) of thousands of others and even from the band themselves. Enter Shikari for example frequently share backstage snippets of them walking onstage or hanging out in the city that they’re playing in.
The hundred-degree view we’re able to access now as fans, is so normalised that it’s probably quite hard to do something unexpected and new. So you can imagine my delight when I spotted during this gig, that the fun was being captured by drone cameras, racing around above our heads. As I crept up into the bleachers to take some still photos, I noticed drone pilot JR in his VR headset, working hard to avoid crowd surfers and flying shoes with his speedy little drone zooming around the arena.
After the show I had the pleasure of catching up with the Dirty Dishes Productions crew, to get a little insight into what they do, and post-event – JR has kindly answered some questions for us, below.
Tell me about yourself and your company, what do you do?
I’m JR, an FPV Drone Pilot and founder of Dirty Dishes Productions. We’re an aerial production company that believes in defying boundaries, whether it’s capturing footage indoors over crowds, zipping through tight spaces, or even filming underwater – all within the commercial drone world’s rules, of course. From film and TV to sports, live events, and groundbreaking live concerts like Enter Shikari in Nottingham, we aim to put a drone anywhere it can capture the unseen.
How do the drones work/what is it like to pilot them?
Our specialty lies in racing drones equipped with a 4K camera for capturing footage and an FPV camera that feeds directly into my goggles. This setup, resembling a VR headset, immerses me into the drone’s perspective for piloting. It’s a thrilling experience, similar to being in the cockpit, requiring acute awareness and precision, especially since we always operate within sight and in compliance with a drone spotter for safety and legality.
We met while you were covering the Enter Shikari gig in Nottingham, what was your favourite filming moment there?
Nottingham was a landmark event for us, marking the first time drones flew inside the arena for a concert. My favorite moment was the sense of accomplishment post-show, having successfully captured every element of the production, from the lasers and lighting to the pyrotechnics and confetti, in ways never seen before.
Were there any difficult moments to film?
Navigating through confetti showers presented a unique challenge, risking blocked vision and potential collisions. We meticulously assess air quality before flights, especially when lasers are involved, to safeguard against damaging the drone’s cameras.
Do you have any plans for future live music events?
Our experiences with UK Afrobeats band NSG touring with them across venues across Europe, Mike Skinner at Ally Pally and Enter Shikari at Nottingham and Wembley have set a new benchmark for what’s possible in live event filming. The exhilaration of performing live, especially with the innovative step of broadcasting directly from my goggles to the big screens at Wembley, keeps us hungry for more. We’re eager to extend our pioneering FPV drone services to more music tours, continually seeking to elevate the live event experience.
Do you have a bucket-list/wish-list event you’d like to cover?
The dream is to cover the full spectrum of musical genres, adapting our flight style to the unique atmosphere of each concert, from high-energy rock and roll to the serene tones of a Celine Dion performance. Every artist and show offers a new canvas for our creativity.
Where can we see your work?
Our adventures and achievements are documented across all major social platforms, from Instagram and TikTok to LinkedIn, under @JR_DDP and @dirtydishes.tv. We’re passionate about sharing our journey and continuing to push the limits of FPV filming. My YouTube channel @JR DDP also has longer behind the scenes / vlogs showing how we do these operations.
I’m looking forward to potentially featuring in the Summer Festival Guide and sharing our story far and wide! I’ve also attached a video of the big screens at Wembley for you where people could watch the action live.
Having since seen some of the footage shared on Enter Shikari’s own social media, there is such an intimate and interesting quality to the type of footage that drone cameras can capture – something that seems to have been previously reserved for other types of events, for example sports.
Though there are clearly huge challenges with filming music events, as JR points out above, being able to delve into what I see as the personality of gigs – showing the crowd as individuals not just as an undulating swarm, is a move in the direction of the contemporary connection we experience in social media.
Yes we’ve always had flat-on filming of shows, dollies and on-stage cameras to get up close and personal with bands, but the un-intrusive drone footage brings a new element of ‘looking-behind-the-curtain’ that I am absolutely fascinated by. Not having an extra person running around the stage to get the shots also means that the stage show itself remains unblemished, something that seems really important in the type of cinematic show that Enter Shikari put on. I suppose though, the main thing I enjoy about Dirty Dishes’ work at this event is that watching it back – I am transported there immediately, to how it actually felt to be at that gig.
All of us photographers, videographers, writers, artists, musicians alike – we are all just trying to find new ways to capture moments in time, and I think the new horizon of drone videography in music is going to be really interesting to watch.
Back in 2008 at The Roundhouse in Camden on a Saturday afternoon at Artrocker’s all ages club was the first time that I witnessed the amazing indie rock band Bombay Bicycle Club. I always remember it being a great show and have seen the band grow over the years with becoming more successful in the music industry. They were also the first band that I got to photograph for Artrocker Magazine so they have a special place in my life.
As part of their UK tour they stopped off at Cambridge Corn Exchange on a Saturday night for a sold out show. When attending the show it was great to find refuge from the rain and to see everyone eagerly awaiting for the music. Throughout the night was DJ Chux playing music to entertain the crowd between bands.
Supporting act was Lime Garden who are an indie rock band from Brighton, consisting of members Chloe Howard, Leila Deeley, Tippi Morgan and Annabel Whittle. The band were stood across the front of the stage and performed a selection of songs. Their debut album ‘One More Thing’ is out on the 24th February across all platforms. They are also doing a UK tour in February/March.
The stage was decorated with colourful streamers (like the old ones you hang in doors to stop the flies coming in), balloons and big 3D lights saying ‘MY BIG DAY’.
When Bombay Bicycle Club hit the stage the members entered the stage and frontman Jack came out holding two confetti cannons which he shot out over the audience. First up was ‘Just a Little More Time’ which really got the crowd going. The four members were joined with other musicians playing saxophone, trumpets etc. They were also joined by Olive Jones who was vocalist for songs such as ‘Tekken 2’ and a cover of Selena Gomez’s ‘Lose You To Love You’.
Throughout the evening the band played songs from the new album and back catalogue and also ‘Fantasneeze’ which is a song from their upcoming EP.
Later in the performance the band disappeared leaving Jack to do a solo acoustic version of ‘Dust On The Ground’. The band finish with ‘Shuffle’ which is a fan favourite. Then there is an encore which they come back on stage to finish with two more songs including their most loved song ‘Always Like This’.
Its clear to see that the band love playing music and have really nailed their live sets. It will be great to hopefully see the band again in the near future and look forward to hearing their new EP.
2024 is emo resurrection year, you can’t convince me otherwise. With a sold out BMTH tour last month, the sneaky reappearance of the skinny jean, and the Download festival line-up stacked with pop-punk, you can sign me up for a summer of giant fringes and sideways stud belts thanks. Tonight we are in Nottingham at the Motorpoint arena to delve further into the early noughties nostalgia with the iconic Enter Shikari.
Up first on the bill is firecracker Noahfinnce, blasting some garage-band style punk rock into our earholes and yelling “Rishi Sunak can suck my sweaty balls” to the unanimous approval of the crowd… obviously. It’s an infectiously fun set, the hooks are catchy enough to sing along and I’m always going to love an anti-tory rhetoric to be honest.
Laughing, Noah claims “Ok now I’m gonna be the big sweary transgender the Conservatives think I am” before ripping into his ‘Impression of Green Day’. Closing with ‘Life’s A Bit’ is proper punk rock simplicity. The lack of over-production brings me back to teenage gig trips to the local dive, and by the end I’m singing along “moral of the story, I’m a bit of a dickhead”, so I hope to see Noah on some future festival stages.
Up next, Cali rock/politipunk band Fever 333 come no holds barred, with opener “Burn It” ringing in our ears from the off. Despite this being the newest iteration of the band after an all-change in members except for lead singer Jason Aalon Butler last year, they sound crispy clean and like they have come to war.
Guitarist Brandon Davis and bassist April Kae are a force to be reckoned with, heavy riffs and oh so much bouncing around. Drummer Thomas Pridgen’s beats are hard hitting and provide Butler the perfect backdrop to his insatiable need to move, and jump. Lyrics depicting inequality, capitalism and anti-fascism are screamed across an arena of nodding heads, and there’s something really comforting about the fact that there are still bands out there doing this.
Activism and music have always gone hand in hand, but Fever 333 are out there unabashedly pushing forward with a flavour reminiscent of Rage Against The Machine and Napalm Death. Above all else, they are undeniably entertaining – how can you not jump around when every member of the band is going absolutely beserk?
Under their Black Panther backdrop, yelling “Free Palestine”, they perform in white boiler-suits covered in black patches, which I now dub ‘Battle-Scrubs’ with the number 333 appearing repeatedly. 333 represents the band’s three core principles of Community, Charity and Change – immediately apparent in their commentary on misogyny in the music world, as Butler calls out “I want to make one thing clear, women should feel safe, respected and honoured in this venue tonight” before dedicating ‘One of Us’ to their “Queen”April.
For my choice ‘$wing’ goes so hard the entire crowd was bouncing, and if you’re a Ferris Beuller fan the lyrics are incredibly accessible, it’s going straight on my playlists. ‘Ready Rock’ sees Butler leap into the crowd only to be lifted by the feet above the throng of grasping hands. The mic is fed by a line of techs across the sea of bodies so he can complete the song before spin-jumping into the fray. Miraculously he makes it back to the stage to apologise for stepping on someone’s bonce “I’m sorry, if you go to the merch stand and prove a nine and a half converse stepped on your head, you can get an item for free” he jokes, before thanking everyone for making them feel welcome and shouting out “POC Punks, WE SEE YOU!”. I think I’ve found my new binge listening band in Fever 333, this is action music.
As the lights dim once more, there is a palpable electric energy of anticipation in the room. For many attending tonight, this is a long-lived relationship with a band that has spanned 2 decades of the UK rock scene, and I notice a fair number of kids along for the ride with their thirty-something parents as well. Taking to the stage, lit by a single spotlight, lead vocalist Rou Reynolds begins his spoken word soliloquy of ‘System’ like a professor at a lectern, before the lights come up and Enter Shikari absolutely rip into the electronic power of ‘Meltdown’ under screens of scrolling matrix-style code.
There’s something to be said about the sheer performance factor of this band, being able to smoothly direct the flow and energy of the crowd in this way is actually not too common a talent, but they are masters of it. Seamlessly blending techno, dub and trance into metal and punk rock is not the easiest task either, but it gives Shikari an undeniably unique sound that has a cross-genre appeal that I am absolutely enamoured by. With their politically charged lyrics and open defiance of the status quo, it isn’t hard to see why they chose their touring partners in Fever 333 and Noahfinnce – it’s one of the best curated line-ups I’ve seen in a while.
Screaming “Shall we test out this sound system?” Rou bounces enthusiastically into ‘Anaesthetist’. After a little jazz trumpet interlude, Rou gushes “You know what, I am so fucking grateful to be alive on this stage… I wanna dance with you” before pillar beam lights from the front of the stage pierce the darkness to represent prison bars for ‘Jailbreak’. This time the entire crowd is undulating like the sea and hordes of crowd-surfers take the opportunity to glide over the barrier into the waiting arms of the twenty-strong security team.
Rou then scales a ladder alongside one of the two light towers flanking the stage, only to perch on the edge of it, in the beam of a soft spotlight. Like something out of a movie he reaches his hand into the tower and it is displayed on the screen as a dip into a body of water. Yeah, at this point we kinda know what’s coming as he turns his back towards the ‘water’ but it doesn’t make it any less fun, the circus of him tumbling backwards into the tower and showing up swimming on the screen ignites all those little fires of childhood magic awe.
After his stunt he reappears eating a banana, and the band take a mini break to discuss the useful nutritional properties of said banana, before the hard hitting dubstep intro ‘Sssnakepit’. Laughing “Fucking hell I love this venue! I love Rock City don’t get me wrong, but this is so good” Rou comments on the circle pits which have been swirling all night. As if to up the ante yet again, the band are joined by Jason from Fever 333 for ‘Losing My Grip’ and they both run riot along the gangway slopes to drummer Rob Rolfe.
Returning atop the other stage tower, Rou sits for a couple of chilled solo songs with his guitar ‘The Pressure’s On’ and ‘Juggernauts’ before heading into the second part of the show, held on a mini platform in the middle of the arena. It’s the kind of production I expect of giant bands at festivals not arena tours, but I absolutely love that they’re as focused on the atmosphere and feel of the show as they are the music.
While the band run through ‘Gap In The Fence’ Rou takes to the crowd seating area for ‘The Sights’ where he makes his very best attempt to make it around the stands. “They told me I couldn’t get round the venue in one song and they were right” he laughs as he makes it to the three quarter mark, but still makes sure to fist bump everyone he can reach on his way back round to the stage.
‘It Hurts’ into ‘The Dreamers Hotel’ is joyfully bright, another side of Shikari’s multi-faceted musical personality, along with a side of heavy confetti across the crowd, delaying the progress of the little video drones we’ve seen all around the arena tonight from Dirty Dishes Productions – I can’t wait to see that footage though.
For the real encore ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ sees Rou being held back by the pants at the crowds edge, and bassist Chris Batten straight up launching himself into the crowd on his back, still playing. “Christ on a Caribbean cruise” Rou breathlessly says when they make it back out, but he obviously has more to give as he goes hardstyle dancing his way into ‘A Kiss For The Whole World’ to finish up.
Leaving us with “Thank you so fucking much for having us, we’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time” and thanking the security in the pit for keeping everyone safe tonight, is another testament to the ethos and values of Enter Shikari that are alive and present in their music. The sheer number of crowd-surfers over the barrier tonight tells you the impact this band have on a visceral level, the production and the choreography were all almost cinematically brilliant too, but the discourse of the evening, the music – that’s what stays with you.
Roll on Download festival, because the bar is suddenly very high for everyone else.
After a reschedule of an October 2023 tour Circa Waves finally kicked off their Underplay UK tour where they played at intimate venues across the country. One of the nights was at legendary Bedford Esquires which is host to hundreds of bands each year showcasing some of the hottest upcoming bands. Circa Waves were supported by rock band Cusp. For each show on the tour the band included a foodbank in which you could donate items too. The show was sold out and was a great night.
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Scuttling down the dark back streets of Leicester city on a Sunday night would normally mean you’re up to something dodgy, and as we sidle up to the queue of distinctly eclectic looking folk bathed under the faint green glow of a neon sign, it occurs to me that this is exactly the sort of reputation the ‘alternatives’ always had – dodgy. Luckily our band of choice tonight, made their mark singing about precisely this sort of thing, so we’re in good hands.
As we slip past the giant sage green tour bus, jammed like a conga eel down a tiny alleyway, and head into The Soundhouse venue, we are greeted by friendly faces and an absolutely tiny room. Now, I must note two things here. Firstly that I adore gigs in small venues. There is an intimate and special quality that definitely dies in larger places. Secondly, I have no idea how we’re all going to fit in here, nor the band on the miniscule stage.
As it turns out, I need not have worried – the tattooed skinheads, stoners and hipsters have all filed in just fine and there’s a decent amount of dancing room. I do slightly fear for the health of the two very on brand dirtbags at the front, who have come in full ‘Loser’ movie regalia of parkas and furry trapper hats. Exemplary dedication to the cause.
A small merch stand is selling the very last of their tour tshirts, signed posters and such. There are quite a few items that have sold out, presumably due to the fact that we have ended up being the very last date on this tour due to Brendan B Brown’s illness causing the cancellation of the previous show. I’d also like to highlight how brilliant it is that they and The Soundhouse worked together to get this night stuck on the end instead of just faintly promising “they’d be back at some point” – we are truly grateful, and it’s a sellout show for a second time.
Up first is the perfectly awkward purveyor of (as he puts it) Nerdcore Rap, MC Frontalot. Ascending (and by ascending I mean taking one slightly elevated step) the stage wearing a very convincing Dwight Schrute outfit, and a head-torch he yells “I’m a nerdcore rapper, from San Fransisco to Knife Crime Island” and laments that this is the 47th and final time he’ll have done this show on this tour.
Instantly taken with his self-deprecating rhymes, we giggle our way through the likes of ‘First World Problem’ and ‘Power User’ – “I’m in a sadomasochistic relationship with my desktop computer” he says, deadpan. The beats are distinctly 90’s in feel, and I guess the intersection of rap and rock was a lot lower in the UK than it was in the US, so the crowd is unfortunately kind of flat, which is a shame as Frontalot is actually really fun.
There’s a definite Flight of The Conchords style familiarity about him, which I obviously enjoy, and joking about being dressed like a sixth grade English teacher has us in stitches, mainly because my plus one for this gig tonight actually *is* a high school English teacher. Finally the ‘Tut Tut’ song requires a bit of crowd participation and at this point everyone seems to decide it’s ok to join in and have a bit of a boogie, which obviously serves to rocket the temperature of the room. Anyway, MC Frontalot – I salute you, that was a kickass set, and I shall join your Nerdcore rap movement by subscribing to you on Spotify later.
As Wheatus sneak onto the stage to start setting up, a commotion in the middle of the room is brewing. It seems that a lady has passed out and they’re trying to get her to the fire doors for some air. As Brendan B. Brown calls for security to come over and help before they start, I joke “Well, you’ve got them passing out before you’ve even played a note” and he replies “Ha, well… it’s not my first choice”.
Once the situation has been appropriately handled, the gap in the crowd closes and all eyes turn to the now very cramped stage. Brendan is sporting a rather excellent semi-acoustic guitar whose sound holes are shaped like the Wheatus stylized ‘W’, and yells out a quick hi to the crowd before asking what we want to hear. Now, I knew that for the rest of the tour they’d been taking requests, but I simply wasn’t ready for how far they would go – this night, we had an entirely crowd-curated set list. Mixing hits with B-sides, never before heard-live tracks and the band working their asses off to keep a 63 song repertoire live in their heads, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen at a gig.
Starting out strong with ‘Pretty Girl’ and then my yelled suggestion ‘Leroy’, I am already absolutely delighted to be here tonight, Brendan’s voice sounds fantastic despite the recent illness, until he has to stop for a short cough-break after ‘Semolina’. “That’s the sound of pneumonia… it’s not Covid, I tested negative five times! This is just regular sick. See they love that!” he laughs as the crowd cheers.
Swigging from a paper coffee cup he quips “I’m actually completely drink and drug free, so when I get the chance to have medicine and 4 shots of espresso, I take it, woo! But yeah don’t do drugs, especially don’t do cocaine it fucks up your nose then you can’t sing the girl part to teenage dirtbag.”
Flowing into ‘Truffles’ with an extensive solo on the end, it’s more like we’re earwigging on a jam session than at a gig, I can’t rave enough about how collaborative and interesting it feels to not just be played *at*. “That was some lead singer gratuitous bullshit there… I decided I’m not a good guitarist halfway through.. was it OK? You don’t have to cheer you know” Brendan says, underestimating a UK crowd who immediately 180 to giggled booing instead. “Oh bollocks” he replies in a British accent.
‘F.B.S.M’ comes with a side story about how this forgotten song was rebuilt due to Neil (in the crowd)’s shitty flip phone recording at a previous gig, which of course galvanizes the record-everything crowd to hold their phones aloft for ‘Temporary Song’. It’s irritating in a small room, and they’ve memorised all 63 of these songs already my guy, put your phone down and enjoy the music.
Perhaps in karmic response, suddenly the stage goes dark as the lighting desk goes kaput and a very frantic fiddling begins to try and fix it. ‘Tipsy’ is played in a blueish twilight (totally useless for the iphone videographer crew, ha), but apparently Saviour tech ‘Archie’ manages to harrass a new board in place before ‘Hump’em n’Dump’Em’ which then morphs into some sort of disco rave situation. Following this, a full crowd karaoke ensues for their hit cover of Erasure’s ‘A Little Respect’, which is weirdly poignant on this Remembrance Sunday, amid the news of Gaza – “We can make love not war”.
When someone yells out ‘Punk Ass Bitch’ I expect to be singing my head off, but they instead play their alternate lyrics version written for Jackie Chan’s Adventures, called ‘Chan’s The Man’. It’s cute, and again something unique… but I am damn well singing the OG lyrics over the top.
‘Marigold Girl’ is a bit of an emo dirge, but you know – so am I, so I liked it. “This song is about a Zombie apocalypse. This is my dead people song. This is a tour first, we haven’t done this yet in the 46 other shows we’ve played, it’s the only one we haven’t played so we’re gonna complete it”. Up next, ‘Sunshine’ is the absolute antithesis of the previous song and it sounds every bit as excellent as teenage me thought it might, back in 2000, listening on a silver CD walkman.
‘Wannabe Gangstar’ has everyone singing along again, into ‘Whole Amoeba’ and when someone yells out “PLAY THE LEICESTER SONG” the band quickly whip up a few bars of funk and call it ours. ‘London Sun’ and ‘Lemonade’, are two of my favourites that aren’t from their debut album and for a final show set of a long tour, plagued by illness and extensions – I am surprised and awed that the band continue to sound this good.
Someone calls out ‘Mr. Brown’ – another great debut album track, and then it’s time for *the song*, ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. Rocking a safari style bucket hat, Bendan says “So, Dirtbag… back in the charts… I don’t know how you did that but it’s down to you, thank you so much. Anyway, we know it’s your song now, not ours. Here we go”, and then it is a deafening crescendo of crowd singing through to the ‘girl part’ which hits the kind of sound barrier that makes neighborhood cats scarper and brain fluid fizz. “You wanna hear me do it?” BBB asks to a chorus of agreement, and thankfully most people understand the brief and let him actually sing the section before ending on a full house high. Oh, but not before we get some inserted bars from the returning MC Frontalot. I love it.
At almost 11pm a few people prematurely head for the doors, but the chants of “one more song” ring out and we get to hear ‘People’. “Thanks for supporting my illness these last few shows, your love is felt. Oh, yes we’ll definitely be back don’t worry” Brendan enthuses. “This song is about how it’s better to have more diverse people, and less of the same people” brings about cheers and clapping, and sadly, the end of an epic set.
This version of the band, although almost entirely changed from the original line-up, have an energy and connectivity that flows so organically that it truly feels as if you’re being swept by the tide of them. I can’t rave enough about how special and interesting this one-of-a-kind show was. Yeah, I know we were number 47 on the roster but, if you weren’t at this one, you’ll never see it again – and that, is the power of live music and a band who are brave enough to let their fans run the show.
