Live review: Don Broco with NOISY and Kid Brunswick, O2 Academy Bristol – 9th November 2021

After releasing their new album – Amazing Things – recently, Don Broco brought their last night of the tour to Bristol, turning a quiet Tuesday night into something full of energy and excitement!

The show was opened by Kid Brunswick, a grunge artist from London. He opened the night with a mix of tracks from across his catalogue, including tracks off his new mixtape XFOREVER. He did his job of getting the crowd warmed up brilliantly, getting people moving and enjoying his music, even if his attempts at starting a mosh pit came to not much. Although his grunge-rap-rock style isn’t normally my kind of listen to music, I really enjoyed the set and think that Harry did a good job in getting everyone hyped up for the next bands.

After this was NOISY, a four piece from the South Coast. Another mix-and-match of musical genres and talents, these guys got the crowd moving even more. Now that most people had arrived at the venue, the atmosphere was really starting to build and people were getting excited. Although they only played a short support set, these guys could easily hold their own playing as the main band, they knew perfectly how to get a crowd and hold them, and I’m sure they’ll be walking away with some new fans after their set.

And then it was onto the main band. Although slightly delayed in coming on, when Don Broco hit that stage, they hit it hard. Opening the set with a song off the new album is always a brave thing for any artist to do, but playing Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan first was certainly the right choice. The crowd were loving it, and the band kept that energy and love going.

Within the first three songs, the crowd was going like they’d been partying all night! The mosh pits were insane, and being a rock crowd, everyone was being looked after by those around, and if people fell, they were helped back up again.

Throughout the rest of the night, Don Broco played a wide range of their back catalogue, including plenty of songs from the new album, as well as older tracks to get the more established fans moving. When I say this crowd was good, I mean they were good. I don’t think I’ve experience a performance where the artists on stage and the crowd were like one together. It was insane!

Kid Brunswick came back on stage to join the band for the song Action, and after a short break from frontman Rob Daminani to “regain his stamina” (I’ll let you decide what that means), the band kept the good times rolling until the first big finish.

Bruce Willis was the song that brought the main set to a finish, with a picture of the man himself displayed behind the band, and everyone screaming back “Yippee Ki-Yay” back with the band.

After the walk-off-walk-on from the band, the song Everybody got the crowd moving and moshing one more time, before the proper big finish of the night.

T-Shirt song had everybody taking their tops off, and spinning them around their heads. Although a bit of a copy of Skindred’s Newport Helicopters, it was still super fun to watch and be a part of, a final moment of crowd and band connection.

And that was it, another night of rocking out and pure happiness. Don Broco rocked out the O2 Academy, and I’m sure everyone who went had a good time and hopefully left happy.

The only thing that hindered the night for me was the actions of a couple of the security guards at the venue. I am happy to say I have been in contact with the O2 Academy Bristol and these issues are being resolved.

As always, I’d like to thank the band and crew for putting on a great show, as well as the venue staff and the rest of the security for making sure everyone else was having a good time.

Review and photos by Ted Stargatt for TrueStyleMusic

We chatted to Alibi about their EP I THINK YOU THINK TOO MUCh

Although it was released at the start of this year, when we came across Alibi’s EP over on Musosoup we just had to invite them for an interview. Have a read of what we discussed here:

Can you tell us a bit about the band? Where are you from and how did you all meet?        

We’re all from Mesa Arizona and we met through a old friend/coworker because he knew we all played instruments and figured we should get together and we had similar music tastes 

If you had to sum up each band member in one word, what would you say?         

Joe – Loud // Bryan – brains // Chris – heart 

Where did the band name Alibi come from? Is there any special meaning behind it? 

I was watching an Alex turner interview the guy from the Arctic monkeys and he said the word and I liked it.

Earlier this year, you released your EP I Think You Think Too Much. Can you tell us what inspired you to make this?     

Typically girls is the subject of all our songs me getting my heartbroken or rejected sometimes it’s just me using my imagination like a song like “Too late” was a made up scenario.     

Does each band member have a favorite track? Mine is certainly That’s OK.       

That’s okay is a great one! Some of our favorite tracks are personally un-released ones for our up coming album but I would say on the Ep it’s between just a friend and too late for us

Looking back on the EP, is there anything you would do differently?         

We would’ve recorded the Ep better we feel as the sound or tone of instruments could be a lot better and we could’ve taken more time

Have you guys had the chance to play the songs live? Are there any plans on doing so? 

Yes we’ve played about 20 something shows now and have played all the songs live for awhile now typically at house parties

What artists have each of you been listening to recently?         

Personally for me I’ve been on a maroon 5/Coldplay obsession for the other two guys they’ve been loving Interpol and kings of Leon 

Where can we find out more about you?           

You can find more about us on our website “thebandalibi.com” as well as our Instagram “thebandalibi”

Anything else you would like to tell us?               

Be excited for our new album if you liked the songs off our Ep these new ones are gonna blow those out the water 

I’d like to thank Joe and the rest of the band for taking the time to answer our questions. We would like to wish them the best of luck with the new album when it comes out!

FRANK TURNER shares new song and tickets for Lost Evenings V on sale now!

TODAY (29/10/21), music legend FRANK TURNER has released a new song into the wild. Non Serviam, taken from the new record FTHC (out 11th Feb 2021), is a heavy, electric guitar driven song, reminiscent of the days of Million Dead. This song slaps you in the face and makes no apology for it.

And to add to that, weekend tickets for Lost Evenings V in Berlin are on sale now, and can be found here. (UK users may wish to translate the page to English).

This comes as the first song off the new album, which Frank promises to be hard and heavy. I really like Non Serviam, my only wish is that it was longer, so I could rock out to it some more!

We talked about the new album with Frank before his show in Frome earlier this year.

Frank is off on tour early next year, hitting up most places in the UK. Tickets for The Never Ending Tour Of Everywhere, with PET NEEDS and Truckstop Honeymoon are on sale now.

Tickets are already running low for Cambridge, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Nottingham and Southampton, so if you want to go to any of these shows get your tickets ASAP.

May be an image of text

We will hopefully be hitting up the Bristol show, and maybe even one or two more. Maybe we’ll see some of you guys there?

Words by Ted Stargatt. Images copyright Frank Turner/Xtramile Recordings/Polydor records.

We caught up with IN EARNEST about their new EP ‘Reasons to stay alive’

We last chatted to In Earnest back in May 2020, after the release of their single Put Me Under. With the release of their new EP, we thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with the band about everything they’ve been up to over the last 17 months.

So we last chatted back in May 2020, right in the middle of ‘that thing we don’t mention’. How have you guys been since then?

We’ve been good thanks! It’s been amazing to release our second EP, ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’ into the world and we’ve had such lovely feedback on it so far. We’ve also played our first few live shows which have been mind-blowing!

Would you say the Pandemic and resulting world has changed your approach to music and songwriting?

Having extra creative time definitely taught us to be even more thorough than we already were when creating a release and the promo campaign around it. For instance, our new ep is cyclical, gapless and loops back around on itself, which was a concept we came up with in lockdown. We do everything ourselves, so we’ve really noticed the difference in a release that has loads of great promo to support it and one that contains an interesting concept or quirk as a focal point.

In our last interview we chatted about your single Put Me Under. How does your new EP Reasons To Stay Alive compare to this.

The focus on mental health as a writing topic is definitely still there, but we pushed ourselves to dive even deeper into difficult subjects like depression and suicidal ideation. We also tried to push ourselves musically to create songs that were more artful and there away any commercial leanings.

The new EP has a pretty provocative title. What made you want to call it that? 

It was inspired by our favourite book, ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’ by Matt Haig. It inspired us to write openly about our personal experiences with mental health, which is a topic that sits very close to our hearts. The title crept into track 5 (‘Welcome To Hope County’) and it really felt like a summation of everything we wanted to say with the songs on the ep – that we will always experience good days and bad days, but ultimately there is always something to keep on living for.

Making a gapless 6 track EP is a pretty bold move. What made you want to do it that way?

Sarah was inspired by The Beatles and came up with the concept as a cool way of tying all of the songs together. It’s also a reflection of the fact that we’ve all felt stuck on an endless loop through the Covid pandemic.

I hear there is something special planned for release alongside the EP soon, can you delve a little more into what this might be?

Yes! We’ve made a short film to accompany the EP, which will be released on the 4th November! We teamed up with our videographer friend, Rob Humm of Soundcastle, and spend 4 months creating a cyclical visual concept. We then shot it over 6 days in order to keep continuity with our appearance and to make everyone’s schedules line up! It was a challenge but we’re really happy with the end result.

Are there any plans for any gigs soon? Maybe even coming to Bristol?

We’re going to spend 2022 focusing on gigging in new places and writing, so it’s quite possible!

What music has each of you been listening to recently? Any good recommendations?

Deafheaven – Infinite Granite
Bo Burnham – Inside
Free Throw – Piecing It Together
Gang Of Youths – Go Farther In Lightness

As always, where can we find out more about you?

We’re on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook all under @inearnestband. We’re also on YouTube and our main website is www.inearnest.co.uk.

And finally, would you like to ask us anything? I’ll do my best to answer.

Any tips on great venues and local artists that might want to share a show with us in Bristol?!

Well, it would have to be always and forever at Exchange Bristol. And you’d have to contact some local bands, the Bristol music scene is pretty alive right now.

I’d like to thank In Earnest for taking the time to answer my questions, and wish them all the best of luck with the EP, the new video and the upcoming shows. Hopefully I’ll catch them on the road son!

Live review: Scouting For Girls, with Ben McKelvey and Aliensdontringdoorbells – Cheese and Grain, Frome. 23/10/2021

Celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their album Everybody Wants To Be On TV, scouting for girls stopped off in Frome as part of their MEGA 45 stop UK tour. When these guys tour, they tour hard.

Before anything else, I have to say how much I love this venue. In a quiet little Somerset Village, with not much really going on, lies a pretty big music venue (about 500 capacity). Every gig I’ve been to there has always been great fun, and the team at the venue always know how to put on a good show.

Opening the night was Ben McKelvey, a solo singer songwriter from Oxford. Ben did his job as a warm up artist perfectly, getting the crowd dancing and singing along, with a mix of his old and new music, and even a brilliant Johnny Cash cover. The crowd really warmed to him and I’m sure he went away with a few new fans after his top performance last night.

Up next was Aliensdontringdoorbells (yep, all one word for some reason?). These guys brought all the energy on stage of their younger selves, and were trying really hard to rock the crowd. The guitarist was incredibly talented, and I cannot put into words just how good the vibe was that the bassist gave off (he was really in his element, playing amazing and rocking hard), but something about the lead singer felt very out of place. Pointing at the girls in the crowd and singing “I want to spend the night with you.” Was more like a karaoke night with a backing band to be honest.

Also, they did not need to do a meet and greet at the barrier before SFG set. Those who wanted to meet them could easily find them at the merch desk.

After that slightly strange performance, it was on to the main act of the night. Scouting For Girls certainly have a wide fan base, from the very young (some awesome kid fans I saw at the front), to the much more established live music fans, these boys know how to rock a crowd.

It was an absolute killer of a set list, playing songs both old and new, singalongs and moments, pure good times. Playing such a big song as Heartbeat so early on was certainly a brave move, but they pulled it off and the crowd were loving it.

Normally, I’m not a big fan of artists playing cover songs at their headline shows. At the end of the day, most people have paid to see them, play their songs, but I think SFG did it well, breaking halfway through Superman to play Stacy’s Mom, and a super upbeat cover of I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

If I thought the crowd were loud for Heartbeat, that was nothing compared to This Ain’t A Love Song, with everyone dancing and having a good time, and then getting even louder for Elvis Ain’t Dead, for the first big finish of the night.

After the whole walk-off-walk-on, the band came back on to firstly play Michaela Strachan. A good song, but even better when someone from the crowd called Michaela was welcomed onto stage with her partner, for her birthday. It was made a million times better when the two of them got engaged on stage, and got to enjoy the last song with the band!

And the crowd enjoyed it just as much. She’s So Lovely made the room explode, an absolute sea of dancing and having a good time, really what this band is all about. Just enjoying the good times and good music.

In short, they know how to have a good time and get the crowd moving.

Scouting For Girls are only about halfway through this tour. Tickets for the remaining shows can be found here.

As always, a massive thank you to the staff and security at The Cheese And Grain, as well as the promoting team for making such an awesome night possible. And of course to Roy Stride, Greg Churchouse, Peter Ellard and Jamie O’Gorman for putting on a brilliant show, and the crowd for taking their job as the 5th member of Scouting For Girls so seriously.

Review and photographs by Ted Stargatt for TrueStyleMusic

GIG ALERT: Electric Litany at Exchange – 13th November 2021

London four-piece post rock band Electric Litany come are set to play at Exchange Bristol next month, as part of their first UK tour.

This gig is set to bring be a good night already, but with No Feathers and Nossienness, both local bands who know how to put on a good show. If you’ve ever been in the basement stage at Exchange Bristol, you’ll know intimate a venue it is, and just how good the atmosphere can be in there.

So if you are looking for something to do on a Saturday night in Bristol, look no further than Exchange Bristol. Tickets are only £8 and can be purchased here. We’ll be there taking pictures and writing a live review of the show!

Live Review: Skindred at O2 Academy Bristol, with Trashboat and RXPTRS. 8th October 2021

After seeing Skindred and Trash Boat at the Download Pilot this year, this was one gig I was super excited to be at. Skindred are an amazing live experience, and Benji’s interaction with the crowd is second to none. Trash Boat are also amazing live, and one I was happy to see again.

The show was opened by local band RXPTRS, who brought all of their energy with them. They may have played early to not a full crowd (they were on only 15 minutes after doors), but they really did connect with those who had come down early to see the show. They treated us to a couple of new songs, as well as some of their back catalogue. A first band’s job is to get the crowd warmed up, and they certainly did that and more.

Up next was Trash Boat, a five piece from St Albans. Since their formation in 2014, these guys have been pumping out non-stop bangers. In the last few years especially, they have really started to make a name for themselves.

In my opinion, Trash Boat played an awesome set. Musically, they are at home on stage, the whole band clearly get on really well together, and share the same ideas. Their lyrics are simple, but have a clear message behind them, and they rock out hard.

But for some reason, the crowd just didn’t seem to warm to them. It might have been because their music was a bit less heavy than RXPTRS or Skindred, or that frontman Tobi did talk and take the stage like they were the main band, but the crowd just were not into them in the way I (and probably the band) hoped. Don’t think they’ll be selling many tickets for their upcoming tour to this crowd – especially as we were told our closest show is Birmingham!

After a quick break (and some Queen singalongs), it was time for the main event. Everyone was excited to be there, and eager to move their feet – mosh pits were starting before the band even came on stage!

It’s a real struggle to put into words, just how good their set was last night. From the moment the band came on stage, the energy and enthusiasm was brilliant, all the way through to the moment they walked off at the end of the night.

Throughout their set, the crowd responded just as much as Benji gave, with plenty of mosh pits and crowd surfing. We were treated to covers of Oasis, Eddie Van Halen, House Of Pain and Slipknot, mixed masterfully into their own songs.

One of my favourite parts of the night was the crowd chant off for That’s My Jam. One half of the venue was screaming the “Whoop Whoop”, while the other half was screaming back “That’s My Jam”. Benji certainly had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

A notable mention has to go to the Skindred Sandwich Challenge, where an audience member has to eat a sandwich in 30 seconds on stage, and if successful wins tickets to see Skindred in New York! So far, no one has completed the challenge, and tonight….

Was no different. Sadly Shay (I think that was her name) failed the challenge, but we all had a good time anyway.

Another mention also has to go to the brilliant acoustic version of Saying It Now, in dedication of Benji’s sister. Last night’s venue – O2 Academy Bristol, has a special emotional connection for Benji, and last night we were all together in that moment.

But of course, there is one thing Skindred are known for. One thing that everyone who comes to one of their shows knows to expect. The Newport Helicopters.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, take a quick moment to go to YouTube and search it up. Words cannot begin to describe was awesome a spectacle it is to watch. Hundreds of garments of clothing, all flying up above the heads of people, and everyone (even security) got involved. It may not be what makes a Skindred show, but it is certainly a key element.

And that’s because a Skindred show is so much more than just a show, it is an experience, a connection with the audience. I can bet that not a single person left that night feeling unhappy, or that that they missed out on something. I’m certain that every single person there had a great time, and if you are in any deliberation about going and seeing Skindred live, then go. It will be worth it.

A massive thank you has to go to Skindred, Trash Boat and RXPTRS for playing amazing sets, and to all the venue staff and security for helping make this event.

Review by Ted Stargatt for TrueStyleMusic. All photos are copyright Ted Stargatt/TrueStyleMusic

We chatted to Freddie Mercer about his new single PLACE IN THE SKY

Released back in September, Place In The Sky is a testament to freedom from lockdown, made from a mix of classic sounds and modern sonic landscapes. We chatted to Freddie about all things music:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from and where did your journey into music begin?

Sure, I’m from a town called Frome in Somerset, I was classically trained but I first was truly magnetised to music when I heard ‘Babe I’m gonna leave you’ by Led Zeppelin on my fathers Hi-Fi.

If you had to sum yourself up in three words, what would you say?
Charismatic, Honest, Deep

You released your new single Place In The Sky today. Can you tell us a bit about the song? What does it mean to you?
Sure, it’s really a song about feeling numb throughout lockdown and the energy really comes from that frustration.

Is this a hint at more new music to come?
Absolutely, another 4 tracks en route.

Who produced this music? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
Myself and my mate, Alex Ferguson. We went to ACM together and have always loved making music in the studio and drinking beers after.

What is your least favourite bit about making music?
Having to sell myself. The rest is top fun!

Which artists have you been listening to recently? 
Sam Fender has a couple of good tracks, but other than that not many new artists.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received, or that you are willing to share?
Listen to what people have to say and what they think you should do, smile and walk away. Then do exactly what you were going to do before, anyway.

Where can we find out more about you?
I’m on all the main socials as ‘freddiemercermusic’

Anything else you would like to tell us?
Just that there’s lots of new music to come, thanks guys.

I’d like to thank Freddie for taking the time to answer our questions and wish him the best of luck for the future!