Strange how there seems to be a glut of decent gigs around this time of year. You could put it down to the Xmas CD market but that doesn’t quite ring true on the small gigs scene.
Anyway, here are my tips for the next couple of weeks in Birmingham.
Tomorrow, being Friday 3rd, is possibly the best of the bunch – Enablers at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath. I saw them in March and described them thus:
“Simonelli evoked a cross between William Burroughs and Captain Beefheart in my mind, yet with the craggy intensity of Tom Waites, maybe, and told his stories of, well, I’m not sure exactly as it was all a bit loud, but it was certainly something dirty, decayed and romantic. As the music rose Simonelli transformed into a psychotic preacher and we were no longer in the upstairs of a Midlands pub. We were transported elsewhere to a place of myth, an environment that is universal yet utterly connected that seam of Americana.”
They are very, very good indeed and I urge you to see them.
Sunday 5th is A Slice of the Pie at the Rainbow in Digbeth, a DIY-style night I’ve been meaning to check out for a while now. Here’s the line-up.
Thursday 9th is Flaming Lips at the NIA and will be the first time I’ve been to a gig at that monstrosity. The F’Lips will be terrific, I’m sure, and there were still tickets available yesterday.
Sunday 12th is Dufus at the Jug who I saw last May and would like to see again. They’re also on a European tour and are worth checking out. Bouncy folk-rock with squirly scratches. (I’m kinda-officially photographing them so I’ll be the annoying cunt at the front getting in your way.)
[That Sunday is also the Birmingham Flickrmeet for November should you be a photographer in Birmingham]
Further in the future sees The Autumn Store mini-club night at the Sunflower Lounge on November 16th and the full Jeffrey Lewis Band at the Barfly on November 25th. And probably some more stuff.
When you say ‘kinda-officially’, what does that mean, exactly?
there are so many gigs at this time of year because a] the students have got some money (in theory anyway) b] there aren’t the festivals taking up all the bands like in the summer and it’s the same everywhere.. I’ve seen about 20 bands in the last fortnight!
Brenda: Their UK record label asked me to take photos for publicity but I suspect the band has no idea.
Littleraindrops: you’re probably right.
Much more:
Nov 8th: Luke Haines at the Bar Academy
Nov 24th: Nina Nastasia in Coventry
Nov 26th: Don Caballero at the Medicine Bar
Dec 3rd: Make Believe (aka Joan of Arc) at the Flapper
+ (shameless plug) a bunch of GodsOwnPrototypes gigs.
Most of these courtesy of Last.fm finally getting a decent event posting system.