Talulah Blue

As seen on Britain’s Got Talent, the rising burlesque sensation Talulah Blue, from Leicester, proves to Amanda Holden and the whole of the United Kingdom that she is much more than just a ‘nice bum’.

Exposed to dancing from a young age Talulah Blue fell into the organisation of various Burlesque shows, showcasing talents such as Anna Fur Laxis. Although the shows were successful, Talulah’s observation of Burlesque performers quickly grew into the ‘want’ to perform herself; however nerves kept this inevitable star from putting her stiletto mark on the world of Burlesque for a further three years. As soon as she hit the stage in late 2010 Talulah’s passion flared, her dances radiated elegance and poise making her an instant success.

As a designer, the costuming portion of Burlesque is Talulah’s first priority, the art form presents an opportunity for performers to express their creative abilities, an aspect Talulah finds crucial to being a successful performer, she said: “Looking the part hides a lot of other flaws when dancing”.

Miss Blue recently appeared on the hit UK show Britain’s Got Talent, where she performed her now legendary white fan dance in front of the judges and the nation, American judge and former Baywatch star, David Hasselhoff, said: “This is why I left America. You certainly have talent! I found that very charming, very sexy and very entertaining”. The graceful fan dance reflected the classic side of burlesque proving the art is more than just ‘glorified stripping’.

As well as a reputable dancer, Talulah is also an established business woman, creating and selling various hand crafted burlesque themed items and accessories, such as pasties and feather fans, executed with delicate detailing. Items are sold on her own website (www.talulahblue.com) that she herself regularly updates with new items and performance details.

Talulah Blue will be performing at the Dragstalgia event at Santa Pod Raceway in Wellingborough taking place on July 16^th-July 17^th. The event, in association with Milkcow Magazine, will feature drag racing, classic cars, live music and Burlesque. Talulah will be performing on the Saturday evening along with other performers such as Aurora Toxique and Emmanuelle Claire. Tickets start at £14 advance.

For more information and tickets for Dragstalgia visit the event’s page on the Santa Pod Raceway website www.santapod.co.uk.

There is no sign of Miss Blue slowing down until she has conquered the burlesque scene. This British star will soon charm the world round to the intoxicating effects of the art, creating a storm wherever she goes.

To book Talulah Blue as a performer visit her website at http://www.talulahblue.com/ or visit her Facebook page.

Words By Gemma Harling
Photograph by Mohawk Visuals (Paul Needham)

Exam break

I apologise to those who read my blog for the lack of updates, I was revising and doing my exams, now they are over it is all gravy and to tide you over here is an article about Talulah Blue the burlesque dancer seen on Britain's Got Talent this year.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Yashin, LYU and We're Not Worthy at Lock 42 in Leicester, 17th March



Ronnie White, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus lead


The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus made the Lock 42 crowd ‘Stand up’ and take notice on 17^th March, during their shared UK headline tour with Yashin.

The first support of the evening were the pop-punk Leicester based band We’re Not Worthy. The issue of technology adjustments often arises with support bands, usually the first; the vocals tend to be drowned out by the overly loud instrumentals. We’re Not Worthy’s starting performance suffered as a result of this, although their talent and enthusiasm was immediately apparent. As the band’s set progressed they were able to play their great easycore tracks with confidence and passion. We’re Not Worthy are not signed to a record label as of yet, however judging by their performance on their home turf they will go far with their musical careers.

Next to take to the stage were LYU. The alternative rock band from Birmingham were not phased by the small size of the venue, their exhilaration was as massive as their raw instrumentals which were accompanied by the talented vocal performance of LYU frontman, Tom Hill. The fresh lively tracks performed by LYU warmed the Lock 42, occasionally inspiring spurts of dancing within the audience despite the band being fairly unknown. The band were truly able to prepare the crowd for the frenzy that would occur when the next band and the first of the two headliners, Yashin, took to the stage.

Yashin, the screamo alternative rock band from Glasgow were undoubtedly the heaviest band of the evening and the most energetic. Pumped up on adrenaline the six-piece band found it hard to be contained by the tiny Lock 42 stage, both vocalists often standing on the speakers dominating over the Leicester crowd. The heavy screamo vocals performed by Kevin Miles were complemented by softer pop punk vocals from Harry Radford, giving the band a fresh lively sound. The strong instrumentals inspired the braver audience members to create a mosh pit which dominated most of the venue’s floor, some truly mental rockers sporting bloody noses when leaving the pit. Although Yahsin were generally heavier than the other bands on the line-up the crowd took to their sound with great exhilaration, hyped up and ready for the final offering of the night.

The American rock band, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were highly anticipated by the crowd, most of the audience being at the gig predominantly for the Florida rockers. It had been a while since the band toured in the UK, however their absence only made the fans more loyal and eager to hear them blast out some amazing tracks. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were mellower compared to the band that played before, motivating the crowd members to dance and jump rather than thrash and mosh. Lead vocalist, Ronnie Winter, took a casual stance whilst singing, simply enjoying performing at the gig on St Patrick’s Day. The music played by the other band members was incredible, but did not over power the vocals. Whether it was the small venue or their general attitude, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus seemed to lack the energy Yashin had displayed earlier that evening. Despite this their performance did not fail to impress the fans who sang along to every lyric, eyes glazed with adoration of the band they had missed. The most popular track of the evening was the ballad ‘Your Guardian Angel’, the majority of the audience united to harmoniously sing the song with Ronnie, one girl sitting on someone’s shoulders, in a festival style manner, to get a better look during the track. The band finished their set with the track ‘The Grim Goodbye’.

On the whole the music itself was outstanding, the instruments were played with technical accuracy and talent, however the gig suffered slightly by the lack of energy portrayed by some of the bands. The crowd did not let this stop them from appreciating The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’s, Yashin’s, and the supports’ performances, leaving them wanting more.

Yashin Vocalists

Glamour of the Kill- Leicester 24/02/2011

Photo By Gemma Harling

Glamour of the Kill, Shadows Chasing Ghosts and Forever Living Dead at the Sumo in Leicester.

The venue may not have been big but Glamour of the Kill did not let the four walls of the Sumo in Leicester, on the 24^th February, stop them from causing havoc amongst their fans.

There was a late start to the gig which left many antsy and eager for the first support band, Forever Living Dead, to come on. The usually four piece band apologised to the Sumo audience for the absence of a member who had left the band fairly recently, causing the remaining members to rethink and rework their tracks. Despite this Forever Living Dead were able to start the evening on a high. The enthusiastic music the band projected helped warm a static audience, although they did not receive the reception they perhaps deserved due to the time the crowd had to wait. The Leicestershire based alternative rock band impressed with their instrumental control and sound, however it would have benefitted from some technical tweaking as the lyrics were lost amongst the over powering amplifier. The band’s performance at the Sumo was amazing under the circumstances, however being on home turf they could not disappoint their local fans by cancelling. When the Forever Living Dead have replaced the missing member or refigure their songs appropriately to fit the remaining trio, their performance will be lifted to another level as they already have the potential to impress rock lovers.

The second and announced, ‘official’ support of the Glamour of the Kill’s UK tour were Shadows Chasing Ghosts. The screamo/ rock band from London were not shy about making noise. The small size of the venue did not hinder their passion for being loud and at times insane. Frontman Trey Tremain got up close and personal with many fans almost swinging at them from the metal roof beams. Although the lyrics were lost among the volume of scream vocals, the band projected energy all around the dingy Sumo basement. The floodlights highlighted the faces of the audience; brightening the room and making the crowd come alive. Moshing started during Shadows Chasing Ghosts’ set which, in such a confined space, was violent and mental. The band encouraged the audience to get involved by clapping to the beat and head-banging to the heavy instrumentals, truly fulfilling their duty as a support band to warm up the room ready for the headliners. Technically the music was astounding, the guitar riffs and solos from Matt Jones and Damien Cummins were sharp and electric, accompanied by the strong drum beats from Danny Coy and the depth of bass played by Danny Green. Shadows Chasing Ghosts were well received by the Leicester audience, most of the crowd were out of breath by the end of their set, but ready for more.

The headliners, Glamour of the Kill, came on stage for their ‘The Summoning tour’, to a chorus of screams from the Leicester crowd. The rock-pop/metal band from York take on the appearance of a stereotypical heavier band, tattoo clad and clothed in black; however the band’s sound was ‘softer’ than what was expected, after their support choice was fairly heavy. Glamour of the Kill combined the perfect amount of lyrical singing and screaming in order for the crowd to join in. Vocalist, Davey Richmond, remained strong throughout the entire set, voicing the band’s lyrics clearly and with enthusiasm whilst also controlling the bass guitar. All band members contribute to the vocals at some point during the set, giving a sense of chemistry and equality amongst them, unlike some bands where the frontman hogs the spotlight, this sense of isolation was not present between Glamour of the Kill. Lead guitarist Mike Kingswood shredded incredible guitar solos which were only amplified by riffs of other guitarist Chris Gomerson, and beats from drummer Ben Thomson all three adding the intense, superb music to the band’s tracks. The audience were extremely active for Glamour of the Kill, jumping, thrashing, moshing, head-banging and singing at every opportunity, the long wait they had seemed insignificant now the band were on stage.

The relatively short set list of eleven songs seemed popular with the audience, their fans’ passion to move being relentless until the end. The benefit of a smaller venue is that the crowd get a true sense of a band from a close perspective, which is what they received from Glamour of the Kill. The songs all had a sound more upbeat than their names, they played tracks such as ‘A Hope in Hell’, ‘Lost Souls’ and ‘Rise from your Grave’, morbidly titled yet surprisingly buoyant. Ending the set with a more optimistic track, ‘Feeling Alive’ which applied to every crowd member after this adrenaline fuelled performance.

Glamour of the Kill have a sound that belongs in bigger venue and judging by their set in Leicester it may not be long in the future before they dominate a larger stage.
 

Photo By Gemma Harling



Photo By Gemma Harling



Kerrang Relentless Tour- Birmingham O2 Academy

Photo By: Gemma Harling

‘The Young & The Hopeless’ gathered in Birmingham for the Kerrang Relentless Tour 2011 to see the amazing line-up this year’s tour had to offer.

‘Girls and Boys’ crammed into the O2 Academy in Birmingham on the 17^th February for the annual Kerrang Relentless tour featuring pop punk titans Good Charlotte, alongside Four Year Strong, Framing Hanley and The Wonder Years.

First to take to the stage was the late addition to the line-up, The Wonder Years. The pop punk band from Philadelphia did not feature on the tickets for the gig; however this did not affect their attitude or performance. As soon as the house lights went down the band were ready to wake the restless audience, pumping tracks that, although unknown to most of the crowd, caused movement on the O2 Academy floor. The band ended their set grateful for the audience’s response to them and generally enthusiastic to have performed as part of an amazing line-up.

Next the Nashville rock band, Framing Hanley, strolled onto the stage to the accompaniment of high pitched screeching. Tattooed frontman Kenneth Nixon has become a popular favourite with the female fans, most of his vocals being inaudible above screams; those that could be heard were powerful. The majority of the set seemed rushed due to the long line-up, the band pushed song after song, making the most of the short time they had. Despite the hastiness the band performed songs from both of their albums creating maximum reception from mainly the female audience, yet the male proportion also seemed to enjoy the set. The instrumentals of the band were at their peak, intense guitar playing, particularly the chilling riff at the beginning of the Lil Wayne cover ‘Lollipop’, accompanied by strong drumming for their entire performance.

Third band of the night was Four Year Strong, yet another American band who took control of the Birmingham audience. The band turned out to be extremely popular with the crowd sparking surges of energy, causing the heavier rock fans to mosh and crowd surf. Although they too are described as a pop punk band, Four Year Strong performed tracks which were a lot heavier than the usual songs in the genre. The band definitely packed a punch both lyrically and musically, leaving the crowd hot and ready for more.

Lastly the colossal pop-punk-rock band from Maryland, Good Charlotte, stormed the stage. The unofficial ‘headliners’ of the tour have gathered a massive fan-base over their nearly 15 years of performing, the majority of the rock fans inside of the Academy had announced that they were there to see Good Charlotte, and received more than the show they were expecting. The ‘Introduction to Cardiology’ announced the arrival of Good Charlotte onto the Birmingham stage before driving straight into ‘The Anthem’; fans surged forward at a chance to get on the barrier to be closer to the American rockers.  The band performed tracks from all five of their albums, including the most recent addition, Cardiology, which was released late last year. The music from Benji, Paul, Dean and Billy reflected the true pop-punk sound the band are known for. Joel’s vocals remaining strong throughout the night, blasting old and new tracks stirring the audience to a frenzy of pushing, moshing and crowd surface, to the point where the O2 Academy barrier was feeling the full force of the Good Charlotte fans. ‘Keep your hands off my girl’, ‘The River’ and the new ‘Sex on the Radio’ were just some songs the band played as part of their impressive set. 

It was clear to the crowd that the band considered their audience interaction as important as their musical performance. The Madden twins charming all of the girls in the room with claims of seeing many attractive women in Birmingham, only hyping the female audience members up to submit the same energy as the male members.  All the time joking and laughing, looking genuinely thrilled to be playing their music to Good Charlotte veterans and first timers. It is often a rare thing to see a band with as much energy as Good Charlotte had as late on in the tour as the Birmingham date was. Although the majority of the spotlight was on Benji and Joel, the band have amazing chemistry and love for old pop-punk values similar to bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. Instead of going off for an encore Good Charlotte took requests of older songs before ending the night with ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’.

Those who did not come to see Good Charlotte left loving them. The charisma Good Charlotte possesses is something that a lot of new bands lack; they have not forgotten that the fans are as important as the music they play, the albums they put out and merchandise they sell.

The Kerrang Relentless Tour 2011 had a line-up which got the blood pumping and the sweat dripping of every crowd member, setting a bench mark for the 2012 tour.

Photo By: Gemma Harling

Photo By: Gemma Harling

My Chemical Romance- Birmingham LG Arena

The 'Young and Loaded' Killjoys gathered in Birmingham to see My Chemical Romance detonate the LG Arena on the 13th February

Die-hard fans queued for hours in the cold and wet weather conditions for a chance at being on the barrier at the second date of My Chemical Romance’s British leg of the tour.

After giving their UK fans three taster dates late last year, My Chemical Romance returned for their World Contamination tour, causing a riot at the LG Arena in Birmingham.

The first support of the evening were the Derby rock trio, Lostalone. The band score big when American bands tour the United Kingdom, having supported both Paramore and 30 Seconds to Mars in the past. Being the first support most of the audience remained frozen in their place as they were still adjusting to getting into the arena. Despite this, the band did not lack in their performance. The music was ‘technically’ amazing, the riffs and solos performed by lead singer Steven Battelle were astounding, blasting through the speaker with a remarkable effect; Battelle’s guitar playing was backed up and enhanced by bass guitarist Alan Williamson, and drummer Mark Gibson. The trio’s chemistry was reflected through their incredible instrumentals. Lyrically, Lostalone’s songs all had a similar sound and as a result it was hard to differentiate between them. Regardless of this Lostalone projected enthusiasm into the arena, setting the crowd up for the second support.

The second, and more mental, support were The Blackout. The insane post-hard core/hard rock band from Merthyr, Wales, did not hesitate to give a shot of energy straight into the veins of every single My Chemical Romance fan seated or standing.  They started their set by singing/screaming their ‘Best in Town’ track ‘STFUppercut’; this high energy song seemed to get the crowd’s blood pumping as pushing and moshing started on the arena floor, shortly followed by Sean Smith leaping from the barrier into a sea of hands, frantically trying to grab any part of the Welsh singer.  Gavin Butler performed the softer rock lyrics with Sean Smith screaming, or singing into a special effects microphone, as heard in their new single ‘Higher and Higher’, which was played for, and participated in by, the Birmingham audience. The single is from the band’s up-coming album ‘Hope’ which will be released in April. The Blackout’s sound, though heavier than Lostalone’s inspired movement and dancing in a lethargic audience. The combination of Sean’s humour, during the set he shot himself in the head and fell flat on his back on stage, Gavin’s powerful vocals and the rest of the band’s musical talents made The Blackout a perfect support band, providing the crowd with a taste of what they were going to receive from My Chemical Romance.

Suspense was kept behind a black curtain; eager fans starting chants of ‘M-C-R’ as images of the band were projected onto the two large screens either side of the stage. When the moment of ‘Look Alive Sunshine…’ arrived, a riot of mainly female audience members erupted, each one screeching pushing forward in a desperate need to get to the barrier. After the Dr Death Defying introduction the curtain fell to the floor revealing the band’s silhouettes seen amongst an array of colourful lighting. Once criticized for being too dark, My Chemical Romance proved that those days of obscurity were far behind them.

Front man Gerard Way, sporting his Killjoy red hair colour, gave an inspirational vocal performance. He mixed the soft ballad notes of slow songs such as ‘Cancer’ with the heavier rock tracks such as ‘Vampires will never hurt you’. Gerard flirtatiously played with the predominantly female audience by emphasizing thrusting dance moves, licking his hand, blowing kisses and acting slightly risqué during the questionable noises in the Danger Days track ‘DESTROYA’; all of these actions being gratefully received by a mass of screaming females.

The band’s bassist Mikey Way failed to break a smile during the set, taking a broody stance for the whole of the show. Guitarist Frank Iero seemed to be back to his usual on-stage antics, jamming with a passion and appreciation for his art and talent. Ray Toro was able to shred insane guitar solos without moving an inch, however his facial expression of a fixed smile conveyed his joy at being back doing what he is passionate about after the large break the band took between albums. New drummer Michael 

Pedicone has yet to be invited into the bond that is My Chemical Romance, in spite of this he proved to the fans that he could blow them all away with his drumming of old and new My Chemical Romance tracks.

The amalgamation of tracks from all four albums appealed to all phases of My Chemical Romance fans, from the old to the newer, every audience member loved each second of the New Jersey rockers’ massive twenty-one song set, including the encore.



With hints of a festival appearance this year, My Chemical Romance will definitely back to contaminate the UK once again, and by the reception from the Birmingham audience, the UK are eager to receive another dose of My Chemical Romance. 





Photo of Ray By: Gemma Harling







 

















Photographs of Gerard and Mikey Way by Andy Watson
© 2011 by Drw-Images

Andy Watson's Website: http://drw-images.co.uk/





Have you had 'That Sunday Feeling' on a saturday? Rock City in Nottingham did on 15th January 2011.

Joe from That Sunday Feeling

That Sunday Feeling, Go-X, Paint This Town, Hey! Alaska and A Far Cry From Innocence.

Sticky underfoot with the stench of the stale beer and body odour already hanging in the claustrophobic air of the infamous Rock City ‘Basement’, the generous sized audience were prepared for a full night of what the five British rock bands were willing to give.

‘A Far Cry From Innocence’ successfully damaged the hearing of many teens with their insanely loud ‘screamo’ lyrics and heavy instrumentals, which were unable to be contained inside of the basement walls. Although at times the music itself was great the mic was a little too loud for the capacity of the crowd and the size of the venue, making most of the actual ‘lyrics’ inaudible. With such a short time on stage it is hard for a band to showcase their music and band personality at the same time, although ‘A Far Cry From Innocence’ were extremely lively and partially engaged with the audience, there were obvious big time fans or friends in the crowd causing the band to divert their attentions more towards them.  This aside the crowd gave an enthusiastic reception to the borderline metal band, and the size of the venue did not deter the true rockers from forming a mosh pit in the centre of the room lasting until the band’s final song. Technical modifications would have made A Far Cry From Innocence’s set more enjoyable; however they were able to fill the venue with energy and readied the audience for the rest of the acts.

The second band, ’Hey! Alaska’, had played Rock City previously when they supported Madina Lake, the alternative rock band from Chicago. The transition from Main Stage to the basement must have been an uncomfortable adjustment; however ‘Hey! Alaska’, the pop punk band from Middlesbrough, seemed to manage to not let the size of the stage bring their spirits down.  The heavy growling ‘screamo’ dial being slightly turned down from the last band, ‘Hey! Alaska’ mixed the melodic pop punk vocals from guitar/vocalist Jamie with the ‘screamo’ from lead singer Luke. Right from the start ‘Hey! Alaska’ were dominating the stage, throwing picks and jumping to the barrier whilst blasting some massive tracks, echoing off the basement walls. The instrumentals mainly reflected the true pop-punk sound with the occasional hints of harder rock and almost soft metal at times. ‘Hey! Alaska’ truly managed to separate themselves from just being one of the five other groups that night, acting as if it were an arena tour they were headlining’ giving their best and the audience appreciated it.

Third on the massive running order of the basement antics was ‘Paint this Town’, the band, who looked surprisingly young to be already performing at Rock City, presented the crowd with even a less heavy more pop-punk sound. The growling was now obsolete. Proving to be more upbeat than the first two bands, ‘Paint This Town’ had caused the moshers to freeze and the jumping to start, catching the attentions of the less heavy music inclined to uncover their ears. The band had not travelled far being based in Nottingham, making Rock City almost their home ground. Their passion was apparent from the minute they set up; they were obviously ready to headline their own tour but seemed equally as happy to be sharing the spotlight with the other bands. ‘Paint This Town’ performed a cover of ‘Poker Face’ that Lady Gaga would be envious of. The band are definitely a great listen and an unsigned band to watch out for. By the end of the set their efforts were visible through the sweat they had worked up whilst playing. Promising to come back to Nottingham again in March ‘Paint This Town’ will undoubtedly have some reoccurring audience members.


The first thing most of the crowd would have noticed about the next band, ‘Go-X’, is that the lead singer must be insane. As soon as he took to the stage he claimed he would pay for the mic stand if he broke it during the set, and then he went out of his way to break it, perhaps this was his ‘music persona’. It was almost as if the music stirred something inside of him to become a destructive hyperactive individual, accompanied by the well played music from the slightly more sane members of the band. Very audience wary lead singer, Josh, frequently jumped to the barrier to get ‘up close and personal’ with the fans, which they seemed to enjoy. The crowd fed off Josh’s energy only to be hyped up more by the band’s music. The mixed genre sound reflected pop-punk on caffeine, the adrenaline injected tracks were spurted out faster than a child on coffee, even though the lyrics were blurred at that speed the overall sound of the band was something that is not heard often and may even be new to some ears. ‘Go-X’ undeniably have the presence and personality to survive as a band. Josh even introduced himself to barrier dwellers after their set, making the band come across as approachable which always scores points with the fans.

Josh from Go-X

Last but not least, the ‘headliners’ of this tour, although they shared the same amount of time on stage as the other bands. ‘That Sunday Feeling’ are the modern definition of a pop-punk band, their energetic beats and riffs had everyone jumping, dancing and, those who were familiar with them, singing along.  Technical difficulties affected this band more than the other, with one member attempting to use a wireless amp connector which failed to work. Confidence is something that the band, especially the lead singer was not lacking, there was definitely an air of self-love that was apparent when the band got into their set, and perhaps this enabled the band to perform at their best. This aside they performed very well, not losing the appetite to perform even when looking a little worn out. The music was fantastic, and the crowd was even treated to a mini drum solo. The solos were lacking in the whole of the evening which made a drum solo from ‘That Sunday Feeling’ refreshing. The band were extremely popular, fans shoving one another to get to the barrier when the lead was stood there. They let their fans down at the end of the night by not coming back for an encore song even though the crowd was excitedly chanting ‘T-S-F’. Due to the venue’s ‘HeyHeyHey’ club night there was a curfew which meant if the bands were to sell their merchandise to fans an encore had to be sacrificed. Generally the crowd were not dissatisfied by the band’s performance and would most likely; judging by the screams, see the band perform again in the near future.

All of the bands performed at their best, perhaps trying to shine through the massive line-up of five bands. The timing for each to showcase their band was perhaps too short and rushed. Despite this the music was electric, some band members were eccentric and there was the occasional guitar riff or refreshing drum solo which really lit-up the dull Rock City basement.

Jack from A Far Cry From Innocence

Luke from Hey! Alaska



Andy from Paint This Town



30 Seconds to Mars at NIA Birmingham 1st December 2010

Weather Forecast: Heavy snow with chances of a ‘Hurricane’

The US rockers 30 Seconds to Mars cause a storm at the Birmingham NIA, 1^st December 2010.

The band has had a mammoth year with two world tours, a Download festival performance, winning a MTV EMA award for Best Rock Band and a MTV VMA award for Best Rock Video.  Nothing could have stopped 30 Seconds to Mars in their attempt to make 2010 year of the Echelon, and the biggest year of their musical career. Was it just one step too far?

First band of the evening was a trio from California, Funeral Party. The indie/ rock band were not originally on the bill to support 30 Seconds to Mars; therefore a surprise to most of the audience. Funeral Party had a similar sound to 30 Seconds to Mars but lacked in on-stage personality affecting the reception they received from the still spectators. Being an unknown and unexpected addition to the line-up, the band did not receive the positive response they were hoping for.

The next band was the announced support which, by the greeting they received, was very popular with the Birmingham crowd. Enter Shikari (ΣΠΤΣR SHΦΚΔRΦ), post-Hardcore rock ravers from St Albans took the NIA stage, strobe lighting and techno beats at the ready. Stirring mosh-pits as they played tracks such as, ‘Sorry You’re Not a Winner’ and their newest single, ‘Destabilise’.  Vocalist, Roughton 'Rou' Reynolds, climbed up the lighting stand at the side of the stage and ran around like a man possessed as the band truly warmed the crowd which, he himself claimed, was their job.  Enter Shikari played earlier this year at the Reading and Leeds festivals managing to fill the NME tents; therefore they were certainly able to play before an arena sized crowd, keeping their charisma whilst performing. With adrenaline pumping through their veins, the audience was now ready for 30 Seconds to Mars.

After the long interval the ‘cult’ were ready for their leaders to arrive on stage. Intense drumming could be heard from behind the white curtain complemented by flashing lights darting around the hidden stage. This wait seemed to drag on longer than needed; the anticipation in the arena was already high without this added delay. Finally the curtain was pulled down, revealing an electric blue haired Jared Leto to the hungry crowd. ‘Escape’ opened the set followed by ‘Night of the Hunter’ two tracks off their most recent album ‘This is War’. Those who had not seen the band tour earlier this year would perhaps not have noticed that Jared’s vocals were slightly off when it came to the next song, ‘A Beautiful Lie’, the title track of their second album. It was clear, however, to those who had seen them previously, that a year of none stop touring has affected Leto’s voice; the normally hair-raising notes were not being reached. It also seemed that the audience were asked to do the bulk of the singing, giving Leto time to recover. Jared’s voice had either been temporarily damaged by illness or touring fatigue, nevertheless he turned up and performed to his fans which some lead singers would not have done.

For what he lacked, that night, in vocal ability he made up for in onstage personality; acting as a true leader, commanding the seated to stand and the standing to go crazy. As part of Jared’s get fit scheme he made the entire audience jump to every song, adding in the occasional pumping of fists to work the arms.

The drumming from Shannon Leto was as impressive as it always has been; his passion visible through his art. Shannon was able to give the ordered audience something to jump to.  Tomo Miličević gave a great performance on lead guitar, sometimes joined by Jared to produce the classic and new riffs of 30 Seconds to Mars.

Later in the set Jared took to the stage solo, playing some of the older 30 Seconds to Mars tunes acoustically, ‘Echelon’ and ‘Capricorn (A Brand New Name)’ both tracks from their self-titled album.  He then went off on a tangent playing Lady GaGa’s ‘Bad Romance’ acoustically, encouraging all to join in with the cover; Jared achieved inspiring vocal diversity when singing this chart hit.

A patchy ‘The Fantasy’ ended the set before the encore;  Leto stopping many times to tell the crowd to go crazy, whilst sounding slightly out of breath when performing the track. At the end he stood center stage under a spotlight, acting as a volume switch to the audience’s screams. Raising his arms made them louder and lowering his arms made them quieter. Leto then had fun with this power rapidly waving his arms up and down, screams distorted as he exited the stage.

The band returned to perform two songs for their encore, the first was ‘Hurricane’, before which Jared mentioned the banning of the highly controversial new video for the song, comparing it to the news which shows explicit scenes every day. The last song of the evening was the popular ‘Kings and Queens’. Jared invited several members of the audience to join the band onstage to create the unity the song reflects.

Although this gig seemed like a puddle reflection of the tour earlier this year, the band did well with creating an exceptional atmosphere. The lighting effects used added to the dramatic appearance of the set, which also included a giant model of their triangle ‘This is War’ symbol.  Nothing has changed Leto’s charisma and audience interaction; however a break for the band is well overdue.

Words By: Gemma Harling  Photographs by: The NIA Birmingham

Photos available from the NIA Birmingham's Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/niabirmingham

The NIA Birmingham Official page:
http://www.thenia.co.uk/

EXPLICIT CONTENT: The content of this article may be offensive to some and unsuitable for those under the age of 18. View at your own discretion

Lucy Longlegs as scary clown



_{Red Light Burlesque Present Freakshow Follies}


Declared to be a night of bizarre acts ranging from the weird to the unbelievable; Red Light Burlesque at The Firebug, Leicester, hyped up its last show of the year to be a spectacular Goregasmic climax. Not recommended for the weak hearted.

Paramore at the LG Arena Birmingham 16th November

No ‘Pressure’ for Paramore at the LG Arena

They claim to be in the business of misery, but there was nothing but hyped up electricity at the LG Arena 16^th November when American super stars Paramore dropped in.
The audience at a Paramore gig seem to have a million times more drive than any other crowd; the seated blocks doing a Mexican wave to burn excess energy, while Paramore set their stage behind a black curtain. The occasional ‘We love you Hayley!’ being shouted from all directions and sporadic upsurge of screams for no reason. It was obvious that it was going to be one hell of a night.

No mathematician, scientist or genius could figure out or explain the choice of supports. Their sounds were completely different from Paramore’s and each other’s. The first support was Fun, an American indie-pop band based in New York. They were slow to provoke anything from the crowd they were so desperately prodding with their unknown tunes; however there was only so long people could sit/stand still without surrendering to their lively attitude and charming charisma. The lead singer, Nate Ruess, had a vocal pitch worthy of a west end star, pulling off an impressive cover of Queen’s ‘Radio GaGa’. All in all they did well to raise the attention of the crowd after a slow-moving start, even though they didn’t fit into the same genre as Paramore.

The next support would have been more random if it wasn’t for his and Hayley’s number 1 collaboration recently. Stage name B.O.B, the alternative, R’n’B, hip-hop artist also known to some as Bobby Ray. Entering the stage with his entourage including two backing dancers and harmonists, it was hard to concentrate on this circus amount of performers. B.O.B mixed some slightly less familiar tracks with the massively popular ‘Magic’, ‘Nothin’ on you’ and the fan favourite ‘Airplanes’. Miss Hayley Williams, sporting yet another vibrant hair colour, pink, different from the orange we are familiar with, graced the stage with her presence for this duet which sent the fans wild.

More pumped than ever the crowd screeched the three syllables ‘Pa’ ‘Ra’ ‘More’ until the tension was at its peak; then as if my magic, the curtain dropped revealing the band.  The set had an interesting layout with screens at the back, a festival size screen at the side and light-bulbs hanging in an ‘Ignorance’ video style, which was their opening song.

A ‘tickled pink’ Hayley Williams claims the crowd as Paramore’s when comparing their upcoming set to the Reading and Leeds festival. Saying: ‘You belong to us’ which to a room full of obsessed fans seems like the best thing ever. Basically because the attention wasn’t spilt between several bands, as it is at a festival, it was going to be a more focused epic rock-out with Paramore.

The band mixed the moods by playing fast tracks, getting the blood pumping, and then slowing it down with a mini acoustic session. Playing ‘Where the Lines Overlap and ‘Misguided Ghosts’ among others; Hayley borrowing a fan’s tambourine to accompany her gentle vocals and the soft instrumentals.

In interviews the band claims that it was nearly the end of them after their massive album ‘Riot!’ the other band members apparently getting sick of being in Hayley’s shadow or that is what some have suggested. This is why in the middle of the set for no real purpose, with a fan crowd like this, they introduced each other; vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, drummer Zac Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis and tour guitarist, tambourine player and keyboardist John Howard.
They played classics from their first album ‘All We Know is Falling’, their popular ‘Riot!’ album and the newest piece to the collection ‘Brand New Eyes’. Hayley becoming a pink blur as she ran round the stage, jumping manically and head banging in the fashion she is known for. The other band members took a more static position, hardly moving throughout the entire set. The audience literally buzzing, some attempted mosh pits but Paramore is not the gig for such brutality.

Ending the official set with ‘The Only Exception’, everyone raising their lighters or mobiles to create an artificial starry night which turned out to be visually remarkable.

Those that have been to gigs before knew that Paramore would not leave it like that and of course they didn’t, running back to complete the night with the ‘Brand New Eyes’ single ‘Brick by boring Brick’. Finishing with what many would consider their ultimate single, ‘Misery Business’. Hayley called out to the audience for help to sing the epic track, picking the ‘Tambourine guy’ accompanied by a girl from the barrier. Each looked genuinely amazed to be picked and be in front of a full audience. Explosions of orange confetti drowned the front of the arena as the band said their final farewells.

Energy fed the adrenaline junkies from Tennessee, USA, to put on an incredible show which for some fans was their first, but probably not last, Paramore gig.

Photos and words by: Gemma Harling

Linkin Park Birmingham LG Arena 9th November

Not ‘Forgotten’ but ‘One Step Closer’

Take over at the LG Arena as nu-metal giants Linkin Park storm in for their world tour following the release of their new album ‘A Thousand Suns’.

After the release of their new album ‘A Thousand Suns’ Linkin Park were faced with mixed reviews. People claiming they were desperately trying to create a new genre or that it didn’t sound like them. Making everyone nervous about their tour; many were afraid they wouldn’t play material from their old incredible nu-metal albums as the songs wouldn’t mesh with the new.  Linkin Park also had the added pressure of having won the 2010 EMA award for ‘Best Live Band’; their reputation was hanging on this tour.

The support act for Linkin Park was ‘Does it offend you, yeah?’, an electro, rock, punk, dance band from Reading. Judging by the crowd they were not ‘well received’, to be polite. Their set consisted of what they dared call ‘Punk’, an insult to legends of punk such as ‘The Sex Pistols’, which translated to the audience as nothing other than noise. They had screeching that replicated a train’s brakes on a cold day, lyrics which were inaudible and just caused discomfort when listening. The stage was very dimly lit with strobe lighting blinding the audience, adding the effect of a night club not a world tour for a monster band like Linkin Park. ‘Does it Offend you, yeah?’ failed to provoke a small mosh pit, even from boredom, it seemed as if the audience were asleep where they stood/ sat. From their set it is obvious that they belonged in a ‘rave’ at a club and not in an arena.

After this sluggish start Linkin Park could not have come sooner. As the arena darkened the eerie voice heard on ‘The Requiem’ echoed from the sound system running straight into a video with the start of ‘Wretches and Kings’; a wave of screams followed as members of the band came on one by one.  Chester Bennington knocked out track after track, hardly coming up for air.  Everyone soaking up the energy the band was continuously throwing at them; the audience had definitely recovered from the fatigue the support had caused.

The band shot down the rumours that they wouldn’t play their older material, mixing tracks from their three older albums, ‘Hybrid theory’, ‘Meteora’ and ‘Minutes to midnight’ with the new. ‘Faint’ and ‘Numb’ being just two of the songs that got the crowd going. To break up the endless reeling out of songs, Chester asked the audience if anyone could play the guitar to the tracks on ‘Hybrid Theory’. Many screamed and raised hands with probably only half telling the truth, one being the lucky Christopher who joined the band on stage to play ‘Crawling’. All of Linkin Park welcomed Christopher on stage as if he were one of their own; funnily he was wearing the same shoes as Mike Shinoda. Christopher was the ultimate fan, who got a once in a lifetime opportunity and didn’t disappoint with his performance.

They finished for a 20 minute interval before coming back to do the ‘encore’ which was long enough to be a second half. Stresses of performing showed when Chester got some of the words wrong to ‘Leave out all the rest’ even though he had the lyrics printed out and stuck on the stage beneath him.  This aside the whole band gave an electric performance that did not fail to impress. Some could complain that the hour and a half set was too short for the price of the ticket (£44.50), nevertheless the decibels of screams in that arena proved that everyone had an epic time.
Words and Photographs: Gemma Harling



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Avenged Sevenfold/ Stone Sour Birmingham NIA 28th October

No Sour Notes From These Bands

Birmingham NIA was invaded Thursday 28^th October by two of the soft metal greats of this century; causing moshing mayhem amongst their fans.

BRUISES and circle pits were inevitable when Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour announced their joint headline tour. It was promised to be brutal night fuelled by adrenaline, kept alive by face melting rock. And it was.

The crowd were given a taster of the pandemonium to come when the support band ‘Hell Yeah’ took to the stage. The self-confessed alcoholic heavy metal rockers blasted their tunes whilst drinking and encouraging the crowd to do the same. Though they set the tone, nothing could compare to the next bands performance.

Avenged Sevenfold were the second band to grace the stage; a curtain covered the set before the much anticipated drop, revealing the elaborate, somewhat creepy, setting of fire podiums and an oversized gate. M. Shadows opened the set with a massive roar of ‘Nightmare’ which the crowd eagerly joined in with. The atmosphere of the NIA was immediately cranked up to maximum as the Californian metal band set the stage alight with tracks from new and old albums. Smoke drifted over the stage, reminiscent of an eerie graveyard making their set look similar to the artwork of their newest album ‘Nightmare’.

Tragedy hit the band last December when they lost their drummer and dear friend, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Emotions were high as M. Shadows stopped to say a few words of respect for Jimmy, accompanied by a chanting crowd who harmoniously shouted the drummers name ‘Jimmy’ as a farewell to the much beloved band member.

The band were joined by the former ‘Dream Theater’ drummer Mike Portnoy, a musician The Rev respected. Mike was given a warm welcome by the fans of Avenged, who knew that he wasn’t there to take the place of The Rev, but was there to help the rest of the band continue to rock with Jimmy in their memories. Overall he gave an amazing performance, full of character and passion.

Synyster Gates and  Zacky Vengeance shredded the much loved riffs and solos of ‘Beast and the Harlot’ and ‘Buried Alive’ with Johnny Christ on bass, brewing up a storm of a circle pit, usually seen in the festival size arenas. The band even awarded the crowd for this epic pit, the choice of the last song; which, after much screaming, was ‘Bat Country’.

Avenged gave a Pyrotechnic blasting, face melting, ear bursting and presumably bone breaking performance;  and  it was clear by the enormity of the crowd that this was a gig long overdue.

The stage was once again covered while the last band ‘Stone Sour’ set up for what would be the crescendo of the night. Though Corey Taylor’s other band ‘Slipknot’ is more widely known it did not stop the fans from pouring in, by the time they came on stage not one inch of the NIA floor was empty.
The band played tracks from all three of their albums including their newest edition ‘Audio Secrecy’ which was released in September this year. There was a partial split of the audience, those who mainly came to see Avenged and those who came to see Stone Sour, but it seemed that almost everyone was enjoying the clear rock and roll being projected from this band.

Corey Taylor’s energy is second to none; he took full control of the audience of the NIA, splitting the crowd into circle pits as if he were some biblical figure. He would silence the crowd and cause uproar at a wave of his hand. From this performance it seems that Mr Corey Taylor is on his way to becoming a rock God, but he still has a little way to go.

The guitar thrashing from Jim Root and Josh Rand gave intense backing to Corey’s vocals, capable of sending goosebumps down the spine of many rock fans. With Shawn Economaki on bass and Roy Mayorga on drums, Stone sour were a force to be reckoned with.

To offset the full-on hardcore rock, Corey belted out the powerful ballads ‘Bother’ and ‘Through the Glass’, which balanced their set, but didn’t calm the crowd. Mosh pits were still visible through these slow tracks. It was either the alcohol or pure love for heavy metal driving these moshers to continue.

After the death of ‘Slipknot’ member and friend Paul Gray earlier this year, there were many doubts that Corey and Jim would be able to give a steady performance with Stone Sour, but like Avenged they were empowered by the spirit of their friend to carry the rock on. Gray however was not mentioned in their set, something they will leave for the ‘Slipknot’ tour.

Even with all the tragedy that both bands have faced, they came, they saw and they blew the roof off the NIA in Birmingham.

My Chemical Romance Hammersmith Review

Definitely Not ‘Dead!’
The Killjoys of the UK made some noise for the comeback of My Chemical Romance in the first of their three UK dates on their ‘sample’ European tour.
Screams erupted from the eager crowd of the Hammersmith Apollo as My Chemical Romance stormed the stage for the first show in the UK for three years; and it could not have come sooner. The band kicked off their ‘mini European tour’ in London, Saturday 23^rd October. Some fans queued outside the venue for a massive thirty-six hours for a chance of being at the barrier of this sell out show.
  

 Controversy surrounded the American band after their 2006 concept album; ‘The Black Parade’ brought negative connotations to their music, MCR being called a ‘Suicide Cult’ by the national newspaper ‘The Daily Mail’, this causing the band to take a break from the whirlwind that had become their lives and reassess what rock meant to them. In an interview with ‘Kerrang!’ lead singer Gerard Way says “There was something in the back of my head asking, ‘Is this going to happen again? Are we done?’.” and thank the Gods of rock they weren’t. The New Jersey rockers hit back with more vengeance than ever, banishing the dark costumes and themes, trading them for new, colourful comic book personas.
   

The support was the Scottish pop punk band, Twin Atlantic, who gave a lively performance and were a great warm up for the main attraction that everyone was waiting for.
   

At 9pm the anticipation of the crowd was at a peak, a few minutes later the house lights went down and the walls of the Apollo shook. My Chemical Romance ran on stage, starting the show with their new single ‘Na Na Na’, which was barely audible through the ear-piercing screeching from the mainly female audience. Gerard Way smiled at the response of the crowd and seemed genuinely humbled. He gave a truly remarkable performance, his electrifying vocals brightened up the entire venue, joined by a chorus of over 4000 fans, as the band punched out old and new tunes. As promised, MCR played songs from all four of their albums (the fourth not yet released). Reeling out favourites such as ‘Our lady of sorrows’, ‘Helena’, ‘I’m not Okay’ and ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’, just some of the nearly 2 hours’ worth of songs performed. For the track ‘Honey, this mirror isn’t big enough for the two of us’, Way asked for a fan to come on stage and assist with the vocals; he was joined by twins who looked as if they had won the lottery with this opportunity, though they were slightly over enthusiastic hugging and grabbing all the members of the band whilst on stage. But what fan wouldn’t?
  

Guitarist, Frank Iero, appeared to have lost his onstage personality from earlier years, as he took a ‘Kurt Cobain’ like stance for the entirety of the set, saying just one word. Still, he was able to shred the guitar riffs he is known for, with Ray Toro blasting the hair raising solos with an avid excitement at the other side of the stage. The amalgamation of the guitars and drums pounding riled up the crowd to form brutal mosh pits to the older tracks played, fans sharing sweat in this energetic frenzy the band had created.
  

During songs Gerard Way flirtatiously played to female audience members by licking his hand several times and blowing kisses, showing the playful side he has always displayed and being a father and husband hasn’t changed. Gerard’s brother, Mikey, took a confident position with his bass next to the singer during the set, he too being a favourite amongst the female fans.
    

Four tracks from the new album were unleashed on the crowd during the gig, two making their world debut, ‘Planetary (go!)’ and ‘The Kids From Yesterday’ were incredibly upbeat but different to what the fans are used to; they were also only the tracks that the audience gave their full attention to as no one knew the lyrics. The other two ‘new tracks’ being the already epic ‘Na Na Na’ and ‘The Only Hope  For Me Is You’, both very diverse from each other, but equally as crowd rousing.

Although the set was long, being approximately an hour and fifty minutes, the band didn’t lose energy for one moment, making the long wait worthwhile. Gerard Way saying “we’ll be back very soon” and “we always come back for more”, during the gig, are promising indications of a bigger tour next year, and some more eccentric shows from the colossal My Chemical Romance.

My Chemical Romance’s fourth album ‘Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys’ comes out November 22^nd.
Words and Photographs by Gemma Harling