Live Review: The Blinders at Jimmy’s in Manchester 24/02/2017

Review from Jack Brownbill

2016. Didn’t really go to plan did it? From music to politics to the arts, it was as bad as it gets. I, like many, am now thinking the arrival of 2017 brings hope, optimism and basically loads of great music to fight back.

Whether good or bad – whatever side of the fence you decidedly sit in, nobody can argue that with any significant shift in music can bring that hope, optimism, change, and agenda. Something that defines the movement of many.

The past can tell us a lot about what can come out of social change and division. From Thatcherism and artists such as The Jam, The Smiths and Billy Bragg, to New Labour and the Britpop movement, as a nation we somehow can be at our most creative when it comes to catching the mood and tone through our music.

This brings me nicely on to The Blinders. Currently, the band that have people talking (along with Cabbage) about the nation’s state of affairs. Some would argue that Manchester is actually leading the line with its current crop of bands engaging with the current mood and times. It’s easy to forget as the tides change, society shifts and ethics evolve, people have to go with that, and a band like The Blinders are doing just that. It’s worth noting as well that these guys are young, so it’s really refreshing to see young people becoming more concerned and interested in social movements. But it also helps that the songs these boys play are just absolute bangers.

Based in Manchester but actually originating from Doncaster, the band are currently on tour and found themselves at the Northern Quarter’s newest venue, Jimmy’s NQ. The big (and probably expectant) crowd were here to see a band that everyone’s talking about. The night was set and everyone knew something special was in the air.

The cosy but claustrophobic venue was actually perfect for the cult like crowd. Everyone was here not only to see some great music, but I feel with The Blinders, people are aware of what they represent and that’s what was so exciting. A quick mention to the two supports acts who played their part in keeping with the high octane energy that maintained throughout the evening. Carnival Club & Saytr Play might be both rehashing old school indie music, but you can’t fault them for the enthusiasm and for doing exactly what any warm up act should be doing. Whipping the crowd up to a frenzy, serving them to the headliners on a plate, ready for the big show.

The magic started with actually nothing happening. Time went by and after a brief conversation with the bass player, I was informed that the lead singer had not arrived on time to the show. Rocking up a good 10 to 15 mins late didn’t bother anyone in the slightest. Frontman Thomas Haywood eventually did turn up, covered in his now trademark black face paint and writing scribbled all over his body and guitar. A lovely message aimed at the Tories is etched over the instrument as well for good measure. If anything, it added to the rock and roll, and the lead singer knew it. As if baying for blood, he knew the anticipation of the crowd was hot. As you can imagine, after that first chord was played, a release of emotion was released and the gig never let the momentum drop.

As far as the songs were concerned, with only a limited release of songs available on the web, and one proper single to their name, the stand out track is the debut single ‘Swine’. Full of raw anger and energy, this is a song that really does capture the mood of the youth in just over 3 minutes – It’s simple 3 chord riffs with a psychedelic twist.

The gig was over before it had begun, but that’s the knack of a great, exciting new band. The Blinders are really going places and in the aftermath of the sweat of the gig, everyone knew that. The mutters of “We were there” rang out. The Blinders are making great music, but more importantly, they are engaging the audience with important issues. Manchester has a knack of being part of moments in music, and history will confirm that. The Blinders, albeit honorary Mancunians, may just be starting their own mark of the musical heritage within the city, and across the land. Not just ones to watch; Just watch them go.

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Live Review: CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH All-Dayer featuring THE FALL and more at Arts Club in Liverpool 21/01/2017

There’s nothing like a stacked all-dayer to kick off the year good and proper. Admittedly, I was at a show the night before, but for the purposes of this review and the previous sentence, the CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH. all-dayer in Liverpool marked the first big blowout of the year.

A line-up that’s had us salivating here for months, not only were the folks at C.T.M. putting on Northern leg-ends THE FALL, but they had peppered the bill with some of the biggest and brightest on these shores looking to make a name for themselves (if they hadn’t already).

Kicking off proceedings between the two rooms were local noise-makers Pink Kink and Strange Collective, the latter giving us our first taste of the picturesque auditorium.
Pink Kink have got near enough nothing online to wet one’s whistle, so it was pretty refreshing catching them up first without much of a clue of their sound. Dipping in and out of genres and warping minds throughout the huge crowd, I particularly liked the song they closed on – Psyched out, dancey as anything and complimented with dead cutesy/bratty, cheerleader-esque shouts in the chorus and the closing stretch. It’s clear why they’re racking up a bit of a following around Liverpool!

Strange Collective continued on the psychedelic hype, smashing out a barrage of wigged out, fuzzy belters that suddenly make me realise I’d just smashed four cans on the train up from Manchester. A dip in tempo on the closer offered up a false sense of security, before they ramped it back up again, making way for an unrelenting wall-of-noise.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after Strange Collective that we had to duck out to find a watering hole that wasn’t taking the piss. Sadly this meant sacrificing Goat Girl, who I’d wanted to catch again before their upcoming meteoric rise, but I didn’t feel up to the challenge of paying five quid for a pint of Carlsberg. You’d expect an ‘arts club’ to sell craft beers and all manner of hipster joys, rather than just pints of Carling, cans of Guiness and bog-standard whiskey and cokes. Their loss ended up being our loss as well, sadly.

Suitably re-charged after a few scoops from round the corner, it was back in the venue and straight to the front for the arrival of Tigercub. For a while now, the Brighton trio have been edging ever closer to receiving the recognition they so rightly deserve. Following a storming EP release in 2015 (‘Repressed Semantics’), Tigercub hooked up with super indie label Alcopop! Records for the release of their debut album ‘Abstract Figures In The Dark’ late last year. Receiving great reviews across the board and a daft amount of radio play from all the big dogs, it’s had the Tigercub flag flying high.

In Liverpool, the new album tracks sounded huge, with the incredibly infectious new single ‘Control’ kicking off with a belting intro. It wasn’t the only track to receive such a treatment, with Tigercub getting into that really great spot of playing about with their material in a live setting, adding little quirks here and there and knocking the norm on its head. ‘Antiseptic’ kicks in with a proper DOOM intro, whilst ‘Destroy’ closes on a mammoth wig-out. The vocal interplay between the two leads is terrific, creating a pop edge to their raucous sound. There’s no point saying they’re ones to watch as they’ve already surpassed that (and we’ve been at it for a while), but if you don’t yet know, you’re one of the few!

I still find it mad that Eagulls went big Stateside for 10 minutes, popping up on The Late Show with David Letterman for their “Network Television debut”. Surreal.
It’s always good to catch the Northern collective live. The last time I caught Eagulls (supporting Parquet Courts up the road in Manchester), your man up front was clutching a bottle of red. This time, it’s no different.

Along with a bottle of plonk, they boast an infectious 80’s post-punk wall of sound, wearing their influences clearly on their collective sleeves. But for me, they don’t give off the air of kids pretending to be something they’re not, with clobber from Pop Boutique, COW and the like, but actually the genuine article. They pack in a massive crowd at the Arts Club, smashing through gems from newest record ‘Ullages’, with a few choice cuts from their self-titled debut. The juddering rhythm and shimmering, 80’s sounding guitar permeates big single ‘Tough Luck’ and it hits fucking hard!

Back upstairs and it’s time for one of the marquee names that first caught my eye: Kagoule. The trio from Nottingham have just put to bed their latest album, the follow up to 2015’s ‘Urth’. Produced in Suburban Home Studio with MJ of Hookworms (more on them later), it’s a record that makes up half the set, with the incredible ‘Magnified’ opening up proceedings. From there we’re treated to more from the upcoming album, each one sounding more immense than the next. Noisy and dabbling in a throwback sound, the songs are stupidly catchy with really intelligent writing, aiding them in standing out against their grungier, 90’s inspired contemporaries. Following their tremendous debut, expectations are high for album number two from Kagoule. After their performance in Liverpool, something tells me they’ll surpass these hopes.

With the mood suitably set and revellers liquored up (but only from Jack Daniels or Smirnoff, given the meagre options), penultimate band of the evening Hookworms drew a huge crowd into the auditorium. Featuring a mental, throbbing backdrop and prolonged beats evoking muntered-faced-grins, their set gave one the feeling that they’d just dropped a handful of eccies, rather than one of those aforementioned 5 pound single whiskey and cokes… Complete sensory overload was the name of the game and Hookworms excelled, putting on a particularly breath taking performance to an unhinged, baying mass of punters.

After a lengthy wait and a few stop-starts, it finally looked like we might be getting a glimpse of Mark E. Smith and his mates. Then we waited a little bit longer. Unfortunately, when the time did come, it was more of a dribble than a geyser, with Mark E. Smith eventually pulling back the stage curtain and waddling out on stage. Fair fucks to him for keeping it going and drawing a huge, enamoured crowd. I would have loved to have pretended I was into it, but it just wasn’t for me.

THE FALL have had their day, and will clearly continue to have their day for years to come if the crowd is there. But from the minute that line-up went live, boasting back to back performances of Eagulls, Hookworms, Kagoule and Tigercub, I had Liverpool in my sights and knew I had to be at the Arts Club come January 21^st. The headliner might’ve been lacking, but all that meant was a sour cherry on top.

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Competition: Win tickets to see The Fall, Hookworms and Cabbage in Liverpool!

Now here’s a line-up we’ve been salivating over for a while…

Putting together Tigercub and Kagoule with the likes of Eagulls and Hookworms would be enough for any normal true believer to part with their cash. That’s not quite how Southern promoters CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH work though it would seem.

Along with those four listed, they’ve decided to have a bit of an all-dayer and have also chucked the hotly tipped Goat Girl and Cabbage onto the bill, as well as Liverpool’s own Strange Collective, pink kink and Ohmns. Oh, and Northern legends THE FALL are headlining!

With a back catalogue spanning 30+ studio albums, Mark E. Smith and his gang coming to Liverpool and smashing in skulls is worth the entry fee alone, so it’s a blinding effort from the organisers to put on this peach of a show! The first show of the year for CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH kicks off at the Arts Club in Liverpool on the 21st of January and promises to be pant-wettingly good.

So what’s better than seeing The Fall rub shoulders with the likes of Kagoule and Tigercub for thirty quid? Seeing it for free!
Birthday Cake For Breakfast has got two pairs of tickets to give away to this bodacious all-dayer – Just check out the Tweet below, give it a RT and follow us and CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH. Piss-easy!

Lineup of the year already?!
Fuckin A – and we've got two pairs of tickets to give away!
RT + FOLLOW TO WIN!https://t.co/R3azi1MI5e pic.twitter.com/sG1K3DNRPD

— Birthday Cake For Breakfast (@BirthdayCakeFB) January 9, 2017

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