Tag Archive: O2 Institute


As December Falls — O2 Institute2 Birmingham — October 14 2022 

Filed under: Reviews — Leave a comment
November 3, 2022

I only discovered As December Falls after the Happier Tour had finished last year so when they announced a return to the Institute2 in Birmingham, I was straight in the queue for tickets.

As December Falls — O2 Institute2 Birmingham — October 14 2022

An independent band, they really do everything themselves: Recording, merchandise, publicity and being on the road. So, sell out tours are a much-deserved result of this and it’s only a matter of time before being rewarded with the right deal to take the band further.

From Nottingham and founded in 2014, As December Falls have in the past cited Kanye West as one of their major influences. I must admit, this shocked me. How can a band liking something so dire be this bloody good? There is a freshness about them but most of all, hard rock with excellent, catchy tunes. In addition to early offerings, the band released a self-titled album in 2019 followed by the excellent Happier last year. Reading up, they have been likened to Paramore (Obvious comparison) and Fall Out Boy (Better than Fall Out Boy, in my opinion).

As December Falls — O2 Institute2 Birmingham — October 14 2022

Fronting is Bethany Curtis who engages well with the crowd while delivering powerful and distinctive vocals. On lead guitar, Ande Hunter displayed stunning chord progressions that Slash would be envious of while Timmy Francis (Bass) and Lukas James (Drums) contributed equally to make As December Falls the complete outfit. Some bands have weak areas; this one doesn’t.

The set at The Institute2 opened with 2022 release, Go Away followed by Afterglow from the most recent album. We also had the title track from the same in Happier, plus the outstanding Tears (My favourite). Other highlights of the first album included More to You and Ride. Both top drawer and there was even a cover of My Chemical Romance’s I’m Not Okay which brought the house down early on. Other numbers at the Institute2 were: I Feel Like Feeling Great, Break Your Heart, Nothing on You, Everything You Say, Mayday, You Say When and No Money, which featured audience interaction in which I was more than eager to take part. There was not a bad track during the entire set which could explain why this band have grown such an audience.

As December Falls — O2 Institute2 Birmingham — October 14 2022

At present there is a family feel to the fandom; this deserves to expand further. Therefore, when As December Falls are next in your area, get in without delay. Witness a giant in the making.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt 

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Coral – O2 Institute Birmingham – March 4, 2022

Filed under: Reviews — Leave a comment
March 11, 2022

I shall start with something unconnected to The Coral by stating that the O2 Institute in Birmingham was the most difficult venue to get into (on numerous counts) in over 40 years of attending music gigs and theatres. And with a management policy ignorant of autism.

So, I was in a bad mood before we started, and I was looking for The Coral to lift me. Thankfully, they did, although I was not particularly a fan of the show format, being a 20th anniversary celebration of their self-titled debut album.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the 2002 offering; it has great tracks. But I also like songs from the subsequent nine, therefore, when the opening 11 numbers come from one album, the remainder only average one per subsequent release in a shorter set than most gigs with just 19 numbers in total.

From the first album set and following Spanish Main, standout numbers were Shadows Fall, I Remember, Dreaming of You and the epic Goodbye. I say epic because played live, the extended instrumental break during Goodbye is out of this world. Bisecting the album and second set was the hidden track Time Travel while the band took a short break. And then we had the best of the rest.

Starting off with Bill McCai and Pass it On, The Coral also treated the crowd to a couple from the 2021 release, Coral Island. Now this is where I felt the most disappointment because Coral Island was one of the best releases of last year. To only get two tracks from it, and a double album at that, left me feeling short-changed. The two on the night were Faceless Angel and Lover Undiscovered, but I would dearly have loved to hear Vacancy, among others. Still, of the remaining offerings we did get In the Morning, Holy Revelation and my own personal favourite Coral track, Jaqueline.

The Coral produce original music with a touch of nostalgia, sometimes harking back to the psychedelia of the 60s and fluctuating between melodic and raw energy. The sort of music you can lose yourself in, and long may it continue. In addition to the full-time current line-up of the band (James Skelley, Paul Duffey, Nick Power, Ian Skelley and Paul Molloy), Zak Mc Donnell and Danny Murphey join live proceedings to achieve a massive sound which in a smaller venue like the O2 Institute, makes for something special. I just wish we would have had more from them, even just a further 10 minutes.

So, not the most enjoyable Coral gig I have been to, due to the set content, but still a great night out.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment
%d bloggers like this: