Friday night in the UK`s second city and we have three of the most established London bred Indie rock bands playing so what more could you really ask to start your weekend off with a bang?
First up tonight are nu-gaze outfit My Vitriol who entertain us with a set which began with the blistering `Losing Touch` and ends forty minutes later with a similar but more reflective number in `Always Your Way`. In between, the stand out tracks for me were the reflective `Kohlstream` which kind of flowed into `Cemented Shoes`, `Ode to the Red Queen` with its shimmering guitars and the heavier `Moodswings`. There were a few stops and starts and stutters along the way and maybe this wasn`t the best performance from the band that I’d witnessed but it certainly had its moments, nevertheless. My only gripe was why the lighting was so bad.
How else could you expect a post-hardcore band called Hell Is For Heroes to arrive on stage but to a piped tape of Enrique Iglesias singing `Hero`. Singer Justin Schlosberg is suitably suited and booted, well suited and wearing white trainers and slams straight into `Folded Paper Figures` as he prowls the stage like a recently released caged tiger. We have tracks from all of the bands albums as well as recent singles the swaggering `Should Never Have Been Here in the First Place` where maybe it was the singer`s kids joined the band to supply backing vocals and `Together in Pieces` which nigh on mesmerised this captivated audience. I think it was on `To Die for` that the singer ventured into the crowd and was also jumping on the drum riser and doing head stands as well. The band closed out with what may have been `Slow Song` and I have to say left us all wanting more. This was a real masterclass in how to win over a gathering as a support band. I`m not sure if I’d ever seen HIFH before but if they come to town again, I’ll definitely be there.
Headliners Hundred Reasons arrive in Brum on what is the penultimate date of this short six date trek around the UK having just released their first new music in fifteen years with the album `Glorious Sunset`. The title track of the album is the first number that the band share and I have to say it`s one of the best cuts on this recent release. The fellas share a fairly well balanced set over the next eighty minutes with mid paced tracks such as `What You Get` which veered toward the anthemic, questioning `Answers` before getting the faithful to sing along with numbers such as The Perfect Gift` and the reflective `Falter`.
He set progresses with tracks such as the fuller sounding `I`ll Find You`, `Remmus` which had some intricate guitar interplay at times, stop start intricacies of `Silver` and ballad like `This Mess`. There were a couple of new tracks like the pounding `It Suits You` and scorching `The Old School Way` blended in with the bouncier `No Pretending` , heavy ` Oratorio` before closing out with the thumping `Kill Your Own`.
The band return for a three song encore with another cut off the new release with the quite introspective `Replicate`, `No Way Back` follows before leaving us with `If I Could` from the debut album of over twenty years ago.
The band seemed to be genuinely delighted with the size of this nigh on sold out audience tonight and shared a pretty satisfyingly balanced set of their career highlights. I imagine that on the strength of this reception and having a new album in the bank it would be no surprise if the band head out again around the country before the year`s out.
Let`s hope so.
