GIG REVIEW: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown O2 Academy Birmingham

November 11, 2016

The husband and some friends have been waxing lyrical about this band for a while now, so when we saw they were playing at the O2 Academy in Birmingham we jumped at the chance to go and see them live. They were supporting The Cadillac Three, who held less appeal, but at just £15 a ticket it was still good value.

Weekday gigs are often a bit of a struggle as I have a 30 mile drive home, a portion of which is currently plagued with roadworks and slow traffic, and getting back into the city centre for a support band isn’t easy. At one point it looked like we might miss them, but fortuitously their stage time was later than we expected and we got to see the entirety of their set.

Wow. What a great great band. From Nashville, they play Bluesy Southern rock with meaty bass guitar and chunky drums. The eponymous front man, Tyler, is full of energy, charm and swagger, plays guitar like a demon and looks like he’s just stepped out of the late 60s. At just 25 years old he’s already had a lot of exposure and acclaim from a young age, and the band have opened for rock legends like Aerosmith, AC/DC and ZZ Top. His steel guitar playing was outstanding and vocally he’s raspy, gritty and growly – like a rock and roll singer should be.

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Musically there’s a lot of 60s and 70s influences too, and a touch of country alongside good old rock n roll. Special mention to Caleb Crosby who’s drum solo at the front of the stage towards the end was as exhilarating for the audience as it must have been exhausting for him.

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Humble, gracious and polite (thanking the crowd for spending their money and supporting live music, praising the venue and the audience) it was all together an outstanding gig experience. A really cool band, with charisma for days, who I’ll most definitely be checking out again.

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As a footnote, headliners The Cadillac Three didn’t ding our dong. We hung around for a couple of songs but they’re so Southern that the song lyrics were unintelligible and they came across as a bit of a bad parody. Sorry guys! On the plus side this meant that I was at home in pyjamas by 10pm! Rock n fuckin’ roll!

If anyone has any suggestions of bands I should be checking out, let me know!

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this live video so you can judge for yourself.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

RIP Lemmy

December 29, 2015

Whether you’re a rock and roll fan or not, everyone knows of Lemmy Kilmister; hard drinking, hard living, epitome of a rockstar.

Lemmy

His death from cancer, so suddenly, is a surprise; although he hasn’t been well for quite a while.

I saw Lemmy performing live twice.

The first was with his rockabilly super group side project The Head Cat, at the Garage in London, 4 years ago. The place was absolutely rammed, and deservedly so. This was the first (and only) time the band played outside of the States and it was something special.

The second was seeing Motorhead at the NIA in Birmingham 14 months ago where the gig started, as ever, with the immortal line “We are Motorhead and we play rock n roll”.

Rock hard on the other side Lemmy. The music world has lost a great one.

Celebrity crushes

November 5, 20158 Comments

A bit of fun on the blog today (and an excuse to perv over ridiculously hot men!)

Inspired by the fact that I saw one of my big celebrity crushes on stage last night (and again tomorrow, woo!) and that another one of is all over TV chat shows at the moment (I’m not complaining).

So, in no particular order…

First up, Nikki Sixx. Ooh, ooh, ooh! He’s such a tattooed, big haired, guyliner wearing pot of yumminess! We saw Motley Crue in Birmingham last night and he was definitely the member of the band I had my eye on the most! So cool, so passionate!

My favourite picture of him really doesn’t need any explanation!

Next, we have Adam Lambert. Yes, I know he’s gay. But what does that matter? It’s not like I’m ever going to meet him or try to start a relationship. This is purely aesthetic, and he just looks sooooo good. Plus he’s ridiculously talented – we saw him with Queen earlier this year and he was amazing; vocally great and a true performer. Seeing him on TV he comes across as funny, and cheeky and a good laugh.

Last but not least – Johnny Depp. I mean, who doesn’t fancy Johnny Depp? He’s gorgeous and always has been, he’s an incredibly talented and versatile actor and now he’s taking to the stage with rock and roll legends as a guitarist for the band Hollywood Vampires. Not only that but he’s great at it. Is there nothing the Depp-meister can’t do?

I’ve already documented my love for Steven Tyler earlier this year; you can read about it here

Now I’m off to send a loving text message to the husband before he reads this post and tells me off!

Thanks, as always, for reading – and let me know your celebrity crushes!

Steven Tyler – hot pensioner, country singer and unlikely style icon

May 25, 20154 Comments

When I consider which celebrity wardrobe I’d most like to have, the first person that springs to mind is Steven Tyler. Which is odd considering a) he’s 30 years older than me, and b) he’s a man.

But he’s Just. So. Cool.

When he was one of the judges on American Idol I fell in love with him a little bit (ok, a lot). His charisma, sense of humour, that voice. I also developed a major hair crush. His locks are divine!

Aerosmith headlined Sunday night at last year’s Download Festival, and only added to my love for him. It had been a heavy weekend of drinking, standing, walking and more drinking and we were all feeling worse for wear but Steven came onto the stage like a whirling dervish – a vision in white, feathers and scarves flowing – and lifted our energy levels through the roof.

To perform with such fervour at an age when most men are retiring is no mean feat. The stage show was electric, his vocals were perfect, and it was all very special and emotional and an amazing end to an amazing weekend.

And now he’s diversified musically and is set to release a country album. I’m having a bit of an out of character (for me) love in with country at the moment, and the first single of the album is a bit of a corker, right from the first listen.