Check out my review in this month's Brum Notes
A shuffle of music anecdotes from a Lazy Ukulele
Showing posts with label wide eyed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wide eyed. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Wide Eyed invite friends and fans down to ‘Bleak’ video shoot
Photograph by Nicole Peplow Birmingham’s best dressed band and resident psychedelic shoegazers, Wide Eyed, invited friends and fans over to their practice room in the middle of an industrial business park just outside of Cannock (aka the middle of nowhere) to film the video for their debut single, Bleak. Against all the odds an actual sun radiating actual heat (occasionally) shone down on the bunch of attendees as they swigged cheap beer whilst slumped on old knackered leather sofas with the likes of Nirvana and The Horrors blasting from the stereo; definition of rock ‘n’ roll or more like a scene from an indie version of shameless? After a couple of hours of being totally chilled, the filming commenced in their incredibly cool practice room complete with all kinds of posters and music memorabilia; a haven for any music lover. The crowd assembled and downright chaos ensued as speakers fell to the ground, people fell onto the band and flowers were ripped up and thrown around. There was the case of the missing pineapple and the attack of the bumble bee which claimed the camera man as its victim. Despite the small space and low ceilings, crowd surfing was still a major event; it wasn’t just members of the small crowd either, as almost all of Wide Eyed gave it a go. When they weren’t swinging from the beams of the ceiling, they somehow managed to play a brilliant live set despite the fact they were being fallen on top of and their instruments were being bashed around. Along with ‘Bleak’ which was played a number of times, the band played another favourite ‘Still’ and treated the crowd to two new tracks which were equally well received. The hazy vocals and echoing guitar riffs make Wide Eyed one of the most interesting bands to emerge from the Birmingham music scene. The special gig came to an end at just the right time as the cigarette smoke to oxygen ratio started to get ridiculously unbalanced in the room. Someone shouted “let’s get the fuck out of here,” and like something out a zombie movie everyone staggered out 10 times less attractive than they were when they went in; dripping in sweat, squinting at the sun they’d forgotten all about and desperately trying to cure their deafness; all conclusive evidence that the live set was tonnes of fun. Wide Eyed proved themselves to not only be a group of lads with impeccable taste in fashion and heaps of musical talent, but also down to earth personalities. They were genuinely appreciative and humbled by the support of the people who starred in their first ever music video. Keep your eyes peeled for the finished result! Published in Counteract Magazine here
Friday, 22 March 2013
Wide Eyed, Dumb, God Damn, Bad Moon and Laced play a secret gig in a Birmingham living room. No, really.
If you’re under the impression that the whole Birmingham music scene ‘hype’ has been exhausted to its fullest extent with the likes of Swim Deep and Peace making a name for themselves, oh how wrong you are. There is an immense underground scene exploding with undeniable talent. Jack Parker, or DJ Jacky P as he’s better known, was brave (or stupid) enough to invite a bunch of up-for-it music enthusiasts into his house on Friday March 15 2013 for a night of phenomenal live music, fun and frolics.
New kids on the block, Laced, opened the night with great success. They may not have the most live experience, but my god they’ve got potential.
Laced As everyone squeezed into the living room, complete with decorative rock ‘n’ roll bunting, they listened intently to Gracie and Andy’s dreamy harmonies against the edgy psychedelic backdrop. With just two demos that haven’t even been put online yet, it’s incredibly exciting to imagine where this band will be in months to come. Bad Moon were up next; another band with immense potential. As the crowd spilled out into the hallway and on top of radiators and poor old sofas (RIP), they enthusiastically nodded along as the band rocked out to their killer tunes.
Bad Moon The dreamy sounds of their current available demo, ‘Quinton Expressway’ intertwined with heavy guitars and a rocky beat wowed the crowd. Is there no end to Birmingham’s talents? As soon as Wolverhampton’s very own God Damn started playing, everyone completely lost their shit. Their loud and relentless set of heavy grunge and blues infused tracks shook the room into a state of energetic chaos. With feet in their faces and elbows in their sides, everyone went completely insane and moshed like there was no tomorrow to the band’s heavy rock tunes; especially recent single ‘I’m a Lazer, You’re a Radar.’
God Damn By the time Dumb came on, blood alcohol levels were on the rise, and everyone was ready to continue rocking out. With vocalist Dylan playing with the front of his top missing, bass player Adam crowd surfing during their set and Jacky P, the host himself, joining in with a cheese grater and a drumstick (a very worthwhile contribution, may I add), it’s clear that this gig was unique and downright crazy.
Dumb Risen from the ashes of The Carpels, Dumb proved that they have all the makings of a great indie rock ‘n’ roll band. Their upcoming single Dive received the best reaction and finished their set on a high. Headliners, Wide Eyed, triumphantly brought the one-of-a-kind gig to an end with their majestic psychedelic rock tracks. With crowd surfers and moshers still on full form, the crowd continued to appreciate the superb live music; so much so that they started to fall on top of the band themselves! Wide Eyed proved once again that they are a phenomenal live band as popular track ‘Bleak’ sent the crowd into a state of frenzied admiration.
Wide Eyed B-Town, West Madlands, or plain old Birmingham; whatever you want to call us, we’ve got something truly special here which was proven by this legendary house party. Everyone who was lucky enough to be there witnessed something incredible. Musicians, friends, and fans alike came together in Jack’s living room to support and appreciate the talent that just won’t stop erupting from our very own hometown. It’s safe to say that the feelings the next morning were of great pride for Birmingham, along with a banging headache of course. Photographs by Andy Hughes Published in Counteract Magazine here
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Wolf Alice + Wide Eyed + Hoopla Blue, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham 23/02/13
Published on February 25, 2013
Wolf Alice One of Birmingham’s most intimate venues, the Sunflower Lounge, filled to capacity with B-Town music enthusiasts eager to hear the latest in the underground indie music scene. Local band Hoopla Blue were far from similar to the stereotype of small unheard of support bands; the experimental pubescent teens. Instead, their sound was precise, well refined and moreover interesting and exciting.
Hoopla Blue Their 80s-esque debut track ‘Holy Ghost’ manages to sound soft and dreamy at the same time as dark and heavy; how masterful! They set the bar high for the other acts that night. There really does seem to be no end to the talents that keep being produced from Birmingham. The venue soon became crammed with people, including other local bands, ready to show their support for Brummie band Wide Eyed; the next big name to emerge from the vastly growing B-Town music scene.
Wide Eyed Lead singer Jake Bellwood dressed to impress with his suitably fitting accessory; a sunflower guitar strap. Wide Eyed truly have the whole package; they look and sound like readymade rock stars. Whether it’s the big hair or the psychedelic sounds, a complementary comparison with The Horrors has to be made; A harmonious take on The Horrors though, with a more rock n roll edge.
Wide Eyed They finished their breathtaking set with their superb debut track, ‘Bleak.’ If Wide Eyed are already capable of stunning an audience with their headline-worthy set at such an early stage in their career, who knows what they’ll achieve in months to come. Hot new band Wolf Alice, although from London, have been making a name for themselves within the Birmingham music scene and we seem to have adopted them as our own. During their set, front woman Ellie Rowsell joked, “Apparently we’re from here, so it’s good to be home.”
Wolf Alice Ellie has the ‘rock chick’ persona down to an absolute T. Her soft vocals against the heavy guitars works so perfectly and is almost reminiscent of 90s punk band Elastica. Their jaw dropping set finished with a bang as they played their debut single ‘Fluffy’ – one to really rock out to. Wolf Alice are the band that you’ll be able to brag about seeing and knowing before they made it big, and judging by their performance at the Sunflower Lounge, that won’t take long. Photographs by Jonathan Morgan Published in Counteract magazine here
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Btownstock @ The Rainbow
It's no secret that Birmingham, or B-Town as it's now been named, has become the new hotspot for great indie music. Birmingham is starting to lose its reputation as chav central and is instead becoming an indie kingdom. There are so many phenomenal bands emerging from B-Town, bringing heaps of vintage style straight from the streets of Digbeth and fresh new indie sounds to the current music scene.
At the Rainbow Warehouse on the 22nd of December, the best of Birmingham's up and coming bands played a show to a bunch of crazy Brummie hipsters. Birmingham promoters and Counteract Magazine presented a gig with Heavy Waves, Wide Eyed, Junnk, Jaws, special guests Swim Deep and headliners Peace. Without trying to sound overly sentimental or cringey, the show really did feel special and will no doubt go down in history. It was a proud moment for all the Brummie fans and the bands who came together to celebrate B-Town's success.
I was stupid enough to get there late, so I missed the first three bands. However, from the atmosphere of the crowd and the general reaction after the gig it's obvious that they were great. This wasn't any ordinary gig. The bands prior to Peace weren't treated like your average support band; each band received the respect they deserved. The fans weren't there just for Peace, but were there to support each and every local musician.
I hadn't given Jaws a proper listen previously, but since seeing them at Btownstock (as the gig was rightfully named on twitter) they've really grabbed my attention and now I just can't get enough. Their music is so chilled out. There's a real tropical vibe to their tunes with what I can only describe as a 'whatever' kinda tone to the singer's voice. Their latest single, 'Surround You' is one of my favourites, and is a real 'surfer-dude' type track.
The crowd swayed in a trance-like state to Jaws' trippy tunes. The same can definitely not be said for Swim Deep's performance. In true Brummie style, everyone went absolutely insane. From the moment they came on stage, there were screams in appreciation for each member, an overwhelming sound of people singing along to the chorus' of their favourite tracks, an insane amount of moshing and a crazy amount of crowd surfing. The band themselves seemed overwhelmed by it all, and Austin said "I guess the B-Town hype is real." It certainly is. Almost every lyric of 'Beach Justice,' 'Orange County,' 'King City' and crowd favourite 'Honey' were sung back to the band. 2013 is so gonna be their year.
The crowd was growing bigger in anticipation for Peace. Everyone was getting sweatier and more and more up for it by the second. Eventually, Peace came on sporting some Christmassy attire. Douglas was wrapped in some Christmas tree lights and Harrison was wearing some dangly snowman earrings. Amazingly, they still managed to look ridiculously cool. I have been to an awful lots of gigs, but not once have I been to one where the barriers at the front have been crowd surfed to the back ... What?! The barriers between the manic fans and the band were being trampled on and were eventually lifted and crowd surfed to the back. It goes without saying that everyone vibed SO hard to every single track; even the especially new track that they'd never played live before! 'Bloodshake' was a definite crowd pleaser.
Even though it's a shit-hole, I'm so proud to be from Birmingham. Btownstock has made me genuinely excited about what 2013 will bring. I have no doubt at all that we'll be hearing so much more from everyone on the bill of this very special gig, especially Swim Deep and Peace.
At the Rainbow Warehouse on the 22nd of December, the best of Birmingham's up and coming bands played a show to a bunch of crazy Brummie hipsters. Birmingham promoters and Counteract Magazine presented a gig with Heavy Waves, Wide Eyed, Junnk, Jaws, special guests Swim Deep and headliners Peace. Without trying to sound overly sentimental or cringey, the show really did feel special and will no doubt go down in history. It was a proud moment for all the Brummie fans and the bands who came together to celebrate B-Town's success.
I was stupid enough to get there late, so I missed the first three bands. However, from the atmosphere of the crowd and the general reaction after the gig it's obvious that they were great. This wasn't any ordinary gig. The bands prior to Peace weren't treated like your average support band; each band received the respect they deserved. The fans weren't there just for Peace, but were there to support each and every local musician.
I hadn't given Jaws a proper listen previously, but since seeing them at Btownstock (as the gig was rightfully named on twitter) they've really grabbed my attention and now I just can't get enough. Their music is so chilled out. There's a real tropical vibe to their tunes with what I can only describe as a 'whatever' kinda tone to the singer's voice. Their latest single, 'Surround You' is one of my favourites, and is a real 'surfer-dude' type track.
The crowd swayed in a trance-like state to Jaws' trippy tunes. The same can definitely not be said for Swim Deep's performance. In true Brummie style, everyone went absolutely insane. From the moment they came on stage, there were screams in appreciation for each member, an overwhelming sound of people singing along to the chorus' of their favourite tracks, an insane amount of moshing and a crazy amount of crowd surfing. The band themselves seemed overwhelmed by it all, and Austin said "I guess the B-Town hype is real." It certainly is. Almost every lyric of 'Beach Justice,' 'Orange County,' 'King City' and crowd favourite 'Honey' were sung back to the band. 2013 is so gonna be their year.
The crowd was growing bigger in anticipation for Peace. Everyone was getting sweatier and more and more up for it by the second. Eventually, Peace came on sporting some Christmassy attire. Douglas was wrapped in some Christmas tree lights and Harrison was wearing some dangly snowman earrings. Amazingly, they still managed to look ridiculously cool. I have been to an awful lots of gigs, but not once have I been to one where the barriers at the front have been crowd surfed to the back ... What?! The barriers between the manic fans and the band were being trampled on and were eventually lifted and crowd surfed to the back. It goes without saying that everyone vibed SO hard to every single track; even the especially new track that they'd never played live before! 'Bloodshake' was a definite crowd pleaser.
Even though it's a shit-hole, I'm so proud to be from Birmingham. Btownstock has made me genuinely excited about what 2013 will bring. I have no doubt at all that we'll be hearing so much more from everyone on the bill of this very special gig, especially Swim Deep and Peace.
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