Bring Me The Horizon Photos

Hey everybody, my Bring Me The Horizon photos are now on the bands facebook profile, go check it out!

View Photo Album!

Introducing: We Are The Union.

Every now and again on BTS we tell you guys about new bands we think are worth listening to. Well, I've recently started listening to this band, We Are The Union, a punk/ska/hardcore band from Detroit. They've just finished supporting Less Than Jake and Zebrahead on their UK Tour and now they're doing a few headline dates before they go back to the states.

So, If you're in to bands such as Less Than Jake, Set Your Goals etc, then check out these guys. If you have spotify, search for their new cd ‘Great Leaps Forward’ and let me know what you think. You can also buy it now on itunes!

Download: We're All Dead, One Million Motors, Curtain Calls...

LIKE We Are The Union on Facebook.

The Wait Is Over: Requiem For The Dead Post Their First Song!

Thank you to everyone that has followed this website and helped Requiem For The Dead get to 3000 likes on their facebook. The new song has finally been posted on their page, you can take a listen and download it by clicking HERE. This is just the beginning, keep spreading the word and tell everyone you know to listen to this band. Enjoy.

Requiem For The Dead New Song 30 Second Clip!!

It's been a little while since my last Requiem For The Dead update on here, but here is something all you fans will be happy with!
Not so long ago RFTD posted on their facebook that at 3000 likes they will post their very first song, 'The Terrible Tale Of Two'. They are less than 200 likes away from reaching 3000, so now all you can do is suggest them to all of your friends and the new song will be posted on their page. Below is a 30 second clip of that song, if you want to hear more then tell all your friends to LIKE Requiem For The Dead on facebook!

RFTD: Newest Band Member... Fin?

We almost have our full band line-up for Requiem For The Dead! So far we know who is doing vocals, guitar, drums etc... but no one knows who the bassist is just yet. On their Facebook 'band profile' tab, the band member list is now showing up, and under Bass we see the name 'Fin'. Don't know who he is yet, but photos will be posted shortly. Watch this space...

Keep Liking Requiem For The Dead on Facebook! Get them to 3000 likes and they will post their very first song 'The Terrible Tale Of Two' - TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

Also, you can now get email updates from the band by clicking 'join mailing list' on the band page tab on their profile. Signing up for this means you will find out about new music, shows, music videos and other cool stuff first! Go check that out, it will only take a few seconds!

UPDATE!

We can now put a face to the name, meet Requiem For The Dead's newest member, Fin!

Requiem For The Dead Need YOU For Their New Music Video...

Requiem For The Dead is looking for a couple to be in RFTD's first music video for the song, "The Terrible Tale of Two". Do you look ALOT like the couple below? Requirements:

Both Boy and Girl must live in Southern California.
Ages: 18-25 (must look like your 17 to 19)
Boy: Tall, around 5'9" to 6' Hair: Jet Black (look at photo) Pale Skin
...Girl: Small/Petite 5'3" to 5'5" Hair: Blonde/Light Brown. We will be adding color to your hair as well.
Acting experience a plus, but not 100% needed to fill the part.
Send photos/quick bio with info above to:

Requiem4thedead777@yahoo.com

Attention People in Rochester, NY!

www.facebook.com/THIRDESTATE

If you live in Rochester why not take some time out of your day and go to see Third Estate. I wish I could!

The Terrible Tale Of Two...

Bowling For Soup Tour 2010

Tonight I photographed Bowling For Soup, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Dollyrots and 'A'. Photos will be online soon, check out the ones uploaded so far: FTSK

Requiem For The Dead: 5th Band Member Announced, and Recording Blog Part 1!

Welcome the newest member to Requiem For The Dead - Klaryssa. She will be doing vocals, synth and piano for the band. You can also check out her other band 'Chamber of Echoes' on Facebook. They are described as a female version of Nine Inch Nails mixed with Depeche Mode, Evanescence, Porcel etc.

RFTD member line-up so far:

Steven - Vocals
Ty - Guitar
Justin - Drums/Producer for new record
Kim - Vocals
Klaryssa - Synth/Piano/Vocals

More updates coming soon.

Recording Blog Part 1:

Third Estate: MUSIC UPDATE!

Did you all see my 'Introducing: Third Estate' page I posted not so long ago? If not, click here to see what I had to say about the band.

Third Estate have posted a new song on to their Facebook page, go check it out! It's called 'Least Of My Regrets' - The intro is brilliant, great song. While you are there also check out 'Giant Machines' and 'Where Are You?' - Enjoy!

Also, feel free to leave comments below, let us know what you think!

Introducing: Sienna.

Sienna are a hardcore/alternative band from Birmingham, UK. If you are in to bands like Alexisonfire, Underoath, Cult of Luna, Four Letter Lie etc. then you will LOVE these guys. They're probably my favorite unsigned band right now, and to be honest, I don't know how they haven't been signed yet!

Their song 'Invincible' is my personal favorite. I listen to this song a lot, it's very catchy and I often find it gets stuck in my head for ages! Definitely a song to check out! They have recently posted a newer version of it on their Facebook with added vocals, which you can see at the bottom of this post.

Sienna have shared the stage with bands such as Ghost Of A Thousand, Sharks, The Computers, Yashin, Saving Aimee, Wil Francis (Aiden) and loads more, and are set to support Jody Has a Hitlist in November.

Keep an eye out for tour dates on their Facebook and Myspace, and be sure to go and see them if they come to a place near you!

Download: Invincible, The Sky Before Katrina Struck, Caligula.

Turn the volume up loud, and check out 'Invincible' just below, enjoy!

To Sum Up Requiem For The Dead So Far...

If you've only just found out about Steven Juliano's (I Am Ghost vocalist) new band Requiem For The Dead, here is a quick update with what you have missed:

- Ty Oliver announced as guitarist for the band.

- Steven posts the first 'Terrible Tale of Two' unlock teaser trailer.

- Steven posts first video blog for unlocking a brand new song.

- RFTD start a 'What's Behind The Wall?' discussion board. (Their default picture was of a wall, which would change every now and again revealing more of an image each time.)

- At 900 'likes', the wall changes: a very faint image appears behind it...

- RFTD post Hint #1 regarding the wall: It is the entire basis for Requiem for the Dead.

- The wall changes some more revealing more of an image, and hint #2 is posted - There is always a beginning, middle, but never an end...

- Hint # 3: Pretty People Never Lie.

- RFTD Teaser 2 Trailer posted.

- At 1500 'likes' on facebook, Steven posts the full interview all about Requiem For The Dead and what it's all about, and the wall comes down to show this picture:

- Justin McCarthy (IAG drummer) announced as the drummer for the new RFTD record, and he will also be producing it.

- Teaser Three- The Story Behind it All posted.

- RFTD welcomes newest member, Kim, on vocals.

More band members will be announced soon, and at 3000 'likes' on their facebook page, Requiem For The Dead will post their first ever song 'The Terrible Tale of Two'.

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS! Like them HERE.

The Dear & Departed New Music Video!

These guys are great, I saw them live on the AFI tour earlier this year and they have become one of my favorite bands ever since. If you're in to bands such as AFI, The Cure, The Smiths etc. then check out this band, you will not be disappointed. The first time I heard their album 'Something Quite Peculiar' I could not stop listening to it, it's definitely an album to check out if you are looking for new music to hear.

They have a new music video for their song 'Matter of Time', taken from the Chapters EP. Take a look at this video below!

Download: Hometown Hero, Masquerade, Tambourine Love, Bordering On Ordinary, To Cut a Long Story Short (with Dallas Green from Alexisonfire)

Also, check out my photos of The Dear & Departed here.

Dear and Departed - Matter of Time

Third Estate Official Page!

Have you checked out Ron Ficarro's band Third Estate yet? If not, go to their music player and have a listen now! CLICK! Giant Machines is my favorite.

Also, 'LIKE' these guys on facebook.

FREE 'ORANGE' ALBUM DOWNLOAD!

For one week only, download Orange - Phoenix for FREE. I love this album, and this band. check them out. Click here to download now!

Requiem For The Dead: Band Member Announcement...

Recently, Requiem For The Dead announced on their Facebook that Ty Oliver will be playing guitar for the band, and today we found out that another new member, Kim, will be doing vocals for the band aswell as Steven. Make them feel welcome…
‘LIKE’ Requiem For The Dead. More band members will be announced soon…

Requiem For The Dead make announcement about new record:

Good news for I Am Ghost fans! Requiem For The Dead have just announced on their Facebook that Justin Mcarthy (I Am Ghost) will be producing and playing drums on the new CD!

Keep an eye out HERE for more details!

Steven Juliano explains new project 'Requiem For The Dead' online NOW!

My interview with Steven is now available to view online. If you don't know anything about RFTD... it's because you haven't seen this interview yet! This is the first interview explaining REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD, so for everything you need to know click HERE for the full interview. Thank you.

Steven Juliano Explains RFTD: Coming soon...

Steven Juliano, lead singer and creator of I Am Ghost unveils new epic project: REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD, a pre-curser to the acclaimed Epitaph Records release of "Lovers' Requiem".
Currently, they have 1482 'likes' on facebook, as soon as they hit 1500 you will get a special interview with Steven Juliano explaining Requiem For The Dead, right here on BTS. Tell all your friends, we're almost there.

LIKE REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD HERE.

RFTD: Teaser part 2...

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

Introducing: Third Estate!

You may know Ron Ficarro as the bassist from I Am Ghost and Christian TV, well you should all check out his old/recently re-formed band ‘Third Estate’. The guys have two songs posted on their facebook page so far for you to hear, which you can listen to by clicking HERE. So if you’re in to your punk/pop/rock music, go straight to their facebook page and check out ‘Giant Machines’ and ‘Where are You?’ - Giant Machines is my personal favorite, very catchy guitar riffs and just a cool song, and ‘Where are You?’ is great too! You never know, they could be your new favorite band, so ‘like’ them now and listen to the songs they have online, and expect more music soon! I hope you like them as much as I do.

Requiem For The Dead: The Terrible Tale of Two Teaser...

Help ‘Requiem For The Dead’ get 3000 friends on facebook to unlock this new song ‘The Terrible Tale of Two’ !!

CLICK.

Interview with Joe Rizzotto.

My friend Joe has recently started a new band 'Death Valley Superstars' with Gabe Iraheta (one of the original members of I Am Ghost), so I've done an interview with him to help promote his band over here in the UK. Click HERE for the full interview.

Introducing: Requiem For The Dead.

Here is Steven Juliano's (RFTD vocalist) first video blog with a bit of news on the band. Check it out.

Steven Juliano Interview: Coming Soon.

Introducing: DEATH VALLEY SUPERSTARS!

If you like bands such as Murderdolls, Slipknot and Stone Sour then keep an eye out for Death Valley Superstars, a metal/heavy punk band from Hollywood, California just started up by a friend of mine, Joe Rizzotto, and Gabe Iraheta (one of the original members of I Am Ghost).
They are currently writing new songs and working on their first album/EP 'Spreading The Hate' which they are planning to bring out by early 2011. DVS plan to tour as soon as possible after the new CD is complete, so add these guys on their Facebook to keep up to date on progress with the new album, and new tour dates so you are sure not to miss them if they come to a place near you!

Artsfest Birmingham 2010

More coming soon!

Interview with Ron Ficarro!

Ron Ficarro (I Am Ghost/Christian TV) has taken a bit of time to answer a few questions for BTS. Click HERE for the full interview!

Bad Religion @ Academy 2 Birmingham

I'm not as good at Ryan at the whole review thing, but as he wasn't at this show I wanted to write a little something so you all know how good it was!

So, it seemed no one had any idea who was supporting Bad Religion last night in Birmingham, nothing on the internet or anywhere! And that's because the band themselves didn't know about the show til about 30 minutes before it happened. They are called Templeton Pek. Seeing as they only found out they were doing the show so close to doors opening, I think they put on a great performance. (Also, their new single 'Barriers' is available on their website for free download, just click here to download now.)
After TP got off the stage the tech guys started setting up for bad religion, and I guessed it was going to be a long wait as there was only one support band and then BR who were headlining. So I went to talk to Neal Mitchell (Bassist/Vocalist from TP) and asked him if I could take a few shots of his band (view photos from that shoot).
Bad religion takes to the stage, unfortunately I missed the first song while taking photos, but as soon as I got there and was ready to shoot they went straight in to playing Sinister Rouge which has always been one of my favorite songs by them. They really got the crowd going with that song, so energetic and catchy, everyone was singing along to it. They played a long set of 27 songs and that includes a cover song 'Unite and Win' by Sham 69. I could of watched these guys for way longer than that, even after 30 years live they're still as lively and energetic as ever, and didn't disappoint in the slightest.
Being able to photograph AND see these guys live in one night was pretty great for me, I can't even remember how long I've wanted to see them for and the night turned out even better than I thought! I knew to expect a great gig, I've never heard anything bad about any of their shows, and what I've seen on youtube is good, but to be there seeing them for the first time and to take photos on their 30 year live anniversary tour was a great experience and I'm happy I got to be a part of it.
As soon as the show finished I expected to just leave the venue and go home, but I thought I'd stick around for a while and see if I could meet the band. There wasn't many people waiting by their tour bus after the show, they had probably already gone and left before I got there though. I waited for a bit, then finally I met drummer Brooks Wackerman! He was a really nice guy, very easy and fun to talk to and we got a few photos. Then a little while Later I met Vocalist Greg Graffin and he joined in on the photo shoot! I stayed with them for a while so I got to meet almost all of the band and got some nice portrait shots, which are now on my flickr account if you want to check them out. I'll never forget that night, was so much fun being able to hang out with a band I have been in to for years and have them appreciate my photos.

Bad Religion - It all started in 1980 til now, let's hope they carry on touring for a lot longer!

Their new CD 'The Dissent Of Man' will be released August 28th and is now available to pre-order here. Go order your copy now!

Setlist from the show:

Do What You Want
Overture/Sinister Rouge
We're Only Gonna Die
Recipe For Hate
Flat Earth Society
Atomic Garden
Before You Die
A Walk
Germs Of Perfection
New Dark Ages
Requiem For Dissent
Along The Way
Suffer
How Much Is Enough?
Generator
No Direction
Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell
No Control
I Want To Conquer The World
Unite And Win (Sham 69 cover)
Infected
Man With A Mission
21st Century (Digital Boy)
American Jesus
Sorrow
Los Angeles Is Burning

So have any of you seen Bad Religion on this tour? Feel free to leave comments below.

All The Way From LA: Orange UK Tour!

As you might remember, recently Orange did an interview with BTS. Well I met up with the guys again at the Birmingham date at the Academy 2 and got loads of photos of them backstage, and on stage. So a BIG thanks to them for being so nice and letting me hang out with them and do these photos. I really enjoy photographing these guys, and in a few months time they should be back in the UK again so every one should go and check them out.
You can see the Birmingham photos online now by clicking HERE.

SONISPHERE REVIEW COMING SOON!

Watch this space.

I Am Ghost Split

Hey everyone, Jodi here. I'm sure everyone already knows about this, but a great band named I Am Ghost split up recently so I wanted to make a post about them. If you have met them you will know how nice they are and they will be missed by a lot of people. I'm glad I got to photograph them when I had the chance, everyone should go and check the photos out on my flickr of their last tour in the UK.

Birmingham Academy 3 Photos
Milton Keynes Photos

You can check out Steven Julianos new project HERE.
Also, Ron Ficarro recently started a new band Christian TV, they performed live on Fox TV show 'So You Think You Can Dance' yesterday with their new song 'When She Turns 18' which you can see HERE.

Young Guns @ Relentless Garage

This is Young Guns biggest ever headline show, which was added after the initial London date of this tour at the Camden Barfly sold out at lightning speed. Tonight is a showcase of young British bands, all of which have the potential to become huge.

First up, hailing from Watford, are Lower Than Atlantis. I’ve seen these guys many times before as support to other bands, and tonight is no different. What is different though, is the performance they give. Tonight they have knocked it up a notch from previous times I have seen them. Their album ‘Far Q’ is jam packed with tracks designed to make love with your ears, and not the gentle type! During their set they let rip with their unpolished urgent punk songs which are so often infused with catchy melodies which manage to get the dormant crowd moving. Album title track ‘Far Q’ along with every other song they play tonight show why they are one of the UKs new hopefuls and they don’t fail in getting every head in the venue nodding. With intelligent titles like ‘Im not Bulimic (I just wanted to see how far I could stick my fingers down my throat)’ they’re sure to grab people’s attention, and what makes it better is the fact that the song with these intelligent titles contain witty and intelligent lyrics that people can really connect with. During their short, but ferocious set, Lower Than Atlantis have undoubtedly earnt themselves a huge bunch of new fans and I’m sure it won’t be long until they’re headlining this very venue themselves.

Flood Of Red are also a band that I’ve only ever seen as a support band, also making tonight no different. The Glaswegians have racked up tours with many major names, which isn’t surprising when you hear the quality of music that they play. Whenever I’ve seen Flood Of Red on previous occasions i haven’t really been able to get into them, but tonight they have really surprised me. Sounding 10 times catchier, much tighter as a band and in my opinion have improved a lot since last time. With the vocals resembling Anthony Green (Circa Survive) which really grabs my attention, their performance tonight has really impressed me, to the extent that id happily go see them when they headline.

Young Guns have made a massive impact on the music scene recently and quite rightly so. When their EP ‘Mirrors’ was released they were a common band to be on the bill of many gigs as support., but with the release of debut album ‘All Our Kings Are Dead’ this is set to change and they will undoubtedly soon be headlining those very venues they supported in. The debut album was released only days ago yet most of the fans here tonight seem to have memorised every lyric already, singing them back as if they were old classics. Young Guns have a knack at writing extremely catchy songs which makes tonight exciting because it is so easy to get hooked up on every song.

When I’ve seen Young Guns on many previous occasions, the shows became samey because they only had an EP worth of material, but now with their new album, and them playing tracks from it, it feels like I am watching a refreshed band tonight. Young Guns have matured as a band and this is so clearly evident in their performance. Front man Gustav Wood has charisma by the bucket load as he bounds across the stage, and interacts with the audience at every available opportunity. And it seems he has many of the girls transfixed as they stare at him and try to catch his eye, including my sister who is here…who is a little bit obsessed with Gustav! And it’s when Gustav comes down to the crowd that these girls turn into rabid monsters trying to get their hands on any part of him that they can!

Young Guns rocket through songs from their album, clearly throwing all they have into every song, and I can sense that this show means so much to them, as Gus states on a few occasions. Latest single ‘Crystal Clear’ is one of their catchiest songs, with a chorus reminiscent of You Me At Six. ‘D.O.A’ is easily their heaviest track and is my definite favourite, sounding noticeably heavier live, giving the moshers something to get their teeth into, while also giving their non-moshing fans something to enjoy with the infectious chorus. Young Guns then give old school fans a treat by performing ‘There Will Be Rain’ with a twist. They ditch the electrics and go for an acoustic rendition, even inviting a cellist onstage. It’s good to see a band as young and new as YG try different things and they pull it off amazingly.

After a very short 10 song set they leave the stage to applause and screams equal to a gig at a much larger venue. But as every band does, Young Guns return for one last song, and what better than the very first song that most of these people probably heard from them (well it certainly was for me when a long while ago Gustav handed me a single cd of this track on the steps outside ULU after they supported We Are The Ocean). The song I’m talking about is ‘In The Night’. This gives everyone a last chance to jump around and enjoy themselves for a few more minutes. Such a great end to the show!

While their set was very short, it was also very strong, and it really hit me how far Young Guns have come in the last year. Undoubtedly the best live performance I have seen from them, I am left with a renewed appreciation for them and I see Young Guns following the same success story as fellow Brits You Me At Six have enjoyed.

Blondie @ Southend Cliffs Pavilion

I have been anticipating tonight’s show since the very moment I purchased tickets a fair few months ago. Blondie are legendary, and I am not using this term lightly. Having sold in excess of 40 million records since their formation in 1975 making them one of the most commercially successful bands to emerge from the 1970’s punk scene and most recently being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they thoroughly deserve this legendary status. And the fact that they are playing this relatively intimate (for them at least) venue makes tonight’s show even more special.

Before I go any further I’d like to give you a glimpse of the scene that I am confronted with in the space just outside of the main stage room. What I am standing in resembles tea-time at a retirement home. Tea and cakes are being served to individuals who were at least in their late teens when Blondie started and I am most certainly one of the youngest here (I’m 19 by the way). But this is a band of their childhoods, many of the women here idolised Deborah Harry and many of these men had enormous crushes on her! Given the huge task of being the sole support for such a legendary band is small Oxford band Little Fish. Without even an album to their name (debut to be released October this year entitled Baffled & Beat) they have already racked up some impressive support slots with bands such as Hole, Placebo and Alice In Chains. After my last experience of these live (supporting Placebo) I was dreading having to stand through these again. But something has changed, they’re good, very good! Their female fronted garage rock captivates me, and clearly the rest of the audience as no-one holds back applause after each song. Admittedly a few songs sound a little flat and uncatchy but then a gem like ‘Darling Dear’ comes along with its steadily increasing tempo that grabs my attention and the amazing vocals from Julia ‘juju’ Sophie, showing just why they were chosen for this huge feat. The highlight of their set for me is the new single ‘Am I Crazy?’ which I know well due the computer game Rockband. Little Fish’s job is done, and I’m ready for Blondie!!
As the backdrop becomes visible, a black and white striped sheet with BLONDIE across it, many of the crowd come close to peeing themselves with excitement, although for many of the older members the excitement may not be the reason! I may be playing on the fact that many of the audience are on the older side of life, but there are still plenty of young faces which is pleasing to see as it shows that Blondie are still attracting new fans that weren’t even born when the first album was released. When Debbie Harry walks out onto the stage, the cheers and screams are beyond deafening! This is understandable as for many of the women here she was an icon and they all wanted to be her. She neither looks, sounds or moves like the 64 year old lady she is as they plough through their massive hits while also given us a sneak peak at many new songs from forthcoming album Panic Of Girls. Hanging On The Telephone sounds phenomenal. Debbie has certainly not lost her dance moves over the years as she moves as if it was 1979, although she does require the odd rest here and there, which she uses as an opportunity to allow the rest of the band to show their talent, with guitar solos and a exceptional drum solo which all receive tremendous reactions from the crowd, and leaves me thoroughly impressed.

Sandwiched between new songs are hits including Atomic, The Tide Is High, Rapture and Picture This which are all delivered with everything that Blondie have, I’m actually so surprised at how perfect they sound, and id happily stand here and watch them play all night long. Muse had clearly been listening to Call Me before writing their song ‘Uprising’ as there are many similarities. Blondie are clearly aware of this as they slightly change the intro and various parts to sound more like Muse and it sounds bloody amazing! Unlike many of the gigs I go to, the crowd here are relaxed. There is no pushing, shoving or people getting in each other’s faces. The room is full of people here to appreciate the music. ‘One Way Or Another’ is possible Blondie’s most well recognised song and tonight it sparks an energetic response from the crowd which equals the performance onstage. It seems that Blondie still have the ability to surprise as they deliver a shock cover of Taio Cruz’ hit single ‘Break Your Heart’. If I was told beforehand that they would cover this then I would have been wary of the result, but I’m pleasantly surprised and pleased that they performed it so much better than the original (which is actually a guilty pleasure of mine).

As ‘Heart Of Glass’ comes to an end, the excruciatingly painful cheers make an appearance once again. Debbie and the band smile as they have been all night, which is something I like from a band. I love it when a performer looks like they are enjoying themselves as much as I am. I may have not been around to witness a Blondie show back in the day, but their performance tonight makes one thing clear…they still have it!!

Kids In Glass Houses @ KoKo

Photo credit: CUTCLEAN Photography

Kids In Glass Houses have grown hugely in size with regular airplay on Radio 1, which has all resulted in tonight’s show being completely sold out. The mainly teenage queue is extremely long as anticipation builds.

But first on tonight are Watford hopefuls Spy Catcher. I have only ever seen these guys perform an acoustic set so I was excited to see what they could deliver with a full set up. One thing that has baffled me both times watching these is the fact that bassist Stu Gilli-Ross (also bassist for Gallows and the reason I heard of this band in the first place) is not performing with them. Spy Catcher perform to a half full KOKO but this doesn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. They play song after song of gritty punk-rock injected with a high dose of soul. The crowd lack in movement but they show their appreciation in form of applause, and I can’t see one person not clapping. Spy Catcher don’t need the spectacular lighting that the headliners receive to make their set more appealing, they do this with their music alone, especially with extremely catchy tracks ‘You Got Soul’ and ‘Don’t Like People’ which I can’t help but nod my head and tap my feet to. I really hope these guys get the attention they deserve and make it big, they certainly have the potential.

I’d never actually gotten around to giving General Fiasco a listen before the show so I was completely unaware of what to expect from them, although I was told that they were really indie (yawn). When General Fiasco started playing, up until the chorus what I was told seemed correct, they are very indie indeed. But as the chorus comes in they transform into an insanely catchy pop-rock band. This seems to be the guideline for all of their songs tonight, indie verses with pop-rock choruses that are so bouncy they even manage to get the old guy leaning against the wall on his feet and moving. But it’s when they perform ‘Ever So Shy’ that I’m hit with how good these Belfast boys really are. I need to get an exterminator in to remove its chorus from my head, but it’s so enjoyable I’m not sure I want to. It gets everyone jumping and plasters smiles on everyone’s faces, including mine. Im left pleasantly surprised by General Fiasco but I can’t help but think how much more id enjoy them without the indie verses.

Almost 2 years ago, I saw Kids In Glass Houses play here at the KOKO as support for a free I-tunes live festival show. Tonight shows how far they have come as they have managed to sell out the same venue as headliners and the place is buzzing with excitement. The stage has been taken over by fairy lights as they cover all of the amps and even the drum kit. This along with the bouquets of pink and white flowers attached to the amps and mic stands creates a theatrical feel that fits perfectly well with decor of the KOKO interior.

KIGH open with the first track form latest album Dirt ‘Artbreaker I’. I’ve never heard KIGH sound so perfect, especially on the first song of their set. Without pause they plough into ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ and they already have 100% control over the audience as they dance, jump and sing along.

‘Give Me What I Want’ is the first track that I ever heard from KIGH and has always been a live favourite of mine and certainly still is after the energetic deliverance of it tonight.

The set list is mostly Dirt orientated but it is lightly scattered with gems from debut album Smart Casual which pleases everyone in attendance. On record, ‘Undercover Lover’ (which features guest vocals from The Saturdays’ Frankie Sandford) sounds cheesy and is kind of a guilty pleasure track on the album, but live tonight it is transformed into a sing along beast.

A favourite of mine off the new album ‘For Better Or Hearse’ shows that KIGH are masters of creating infectious choruses. The energy reaches every level of the KOKO even to the very highest floor. Even though I have seen KIGH many times before, this is my first time hearing the new songs performed, and they sound huge to say the least.

A brief cover of Gwen Stefani hit ‘Hollaback Girl’ provides a bit of a joke before exploding into ‘Fisticuffs’ which produces the circle pit that Aled Phillips requests. KIGH sound pleasingly heavy live and have so much more energy than is experienced on CD.

‘The Morning Afterlife’ slows down the pace a fair bit for possibly the slowest song of the set, but this gives Aled Phillips an opportunity to show that he is a natural front man. Strutting around the stage unleashing his powerful vocals, he looks and sounds the part.

The encore consists of 3 great songs ‘Artbreaker II’, ‘Saturday’ and ‘Sunshine’. But it’s ‘Artbreaker II’ that I have been waiting all night to hear. It is without a doubt my favourite KIGH song and it sounds monstrous live tonight with a nice long perfectly executed guitar solo part, its fast pace and the passion with which it is delivered by every member of the band.

Im left surprised at how much tighter they are as a band than the last time I saw them. KIGH are on a steep upward climb which doesn’t look set to stop anytime soon. They have the catchy songs and the ability to put on amazing performances like tonight which could see them rocketing in popularity just like You Me At Six. KIGH have just finished a tour with Lostprophets, maybe it’s not long until they are the ones headlining the huge venues.

Kids In Glass Houses set list:

Artbreaker I

The Best Is Yet To Come

Give Me What I Want

Lilli Rose

Young Blood (let it out)

Good Boys Gone Rad

Undercover Lover

For Better or Hearse

Fisticuffs

The Morning Afterlife

Hunt the Haunted

Matters At All

**encore**

Artbreaker II

Saturday

Sunshine

Interview with Orange!

Thank you so much to Joe Dexter, Alec Gomez, Perry Ladish and Zak Glosserman from Orange for taking some time out to answer a few questions for BTS - View interview HERE.

Lostprophets + The Blackout @ The Roundhouse, London

The reason behind today’s show kicking off at the early time of 6pm is that it is part of the Gaymers/MTV sponsored Camden Crawl weekend. So as I arrive at 5:35 seemingly with enough time to quickly take a trip to the toilet, but before I get a chance I hear a booming noise coming from the stage area. The Blackout are starting 20 minutes before advertised on tickets. This therefore results in a lack of crowd in front of the stage. Only about half of the Roundhouse is currently occupied.

This is the 12th time for me seeing The Blackout play live, so I am already prepared for an entertaining show from them. Tonight both The Blackout and Lostprophets only receive 45 minute set times due to this being part of a festival even though this show did require individual tickets.

The Blackout explode onto the stage showing that they are a band full of energy, using full advantage of the spacious stage, running around like Meerkats on drugs. ‘STFUppercut’ is delivered with intensity but one thing that brings TBO down tonight is the terrible sound quality, which is of course not down to them.


It’s no surprise that TBO got noticed by Epitaph with songs like ‘Children Of The Night’. Their performance of this tonight sounds damn near perfect with Sean Smith’s screaming vocals sounding as monstrous as usual. Sean Smith and Gavin Butler share the vocal work on ‘Its High Tide Baby’ which also gets a tremendous amount of help from the crowd. On CD, this track features guest vocals from Lostprophets front man Ian Watkins and seeing as he is here in the building tonight, an appearance by him on this song would be expected. But strangely the song finished with no assistance from him at all.

Another song by TBO that features guest vocals (from Josh Francheschi of You Me at Six) is ‘I Don’t Care (This is why we can’t have nice things)’. Yet he also doesn’t make an appearance has he has done on various occasions before. After hearing this song over and over and over at the video shoot for the single release id expect to be sick of hearing this song, but TBO seem to have a way of making everything sound so interesting live and manages to make this track sound fresh and exciting tonight.

The crowd has started to filter in and the room is starting to fill finally. There is a mixed crowd of various ages and of people who are here to see their favourite bands (dressed in band merch and with their eyes glued to the stage) and those who are here just as part of the festival weekend (standing at the back with drinks not paying much attention to the band). TBO then deliver another few delights from latest album ‘The Best in Town’. A personal favourite of mine ‘The Fire’, sounding elegantly heavy and cements the claims of them being one of Wales’ best bands. Sean Smith’s screams sound on top form in this song tonight. Whilst on the subject of Sean Smith I feel I should highlight how energetic he is as he jumps non-stop around the stage and even front flips onto the floor. It looks painful, but it sure helps aid the intensity of the music.


On another favourite of mine ‘We’re Going To Hell…So Bring The Sunblock’, Gavin Butler’s amazing voice fits perfectly with the screams produced by the blonde haired Energizer bunny and sounds excellent getting the crowd moving more than usual. Midway through ‘Save Our Selves (The Warning)’, TBO attempt to get the entire audience to kneel on the floor. Clearly a trick stolen from Slipknot, this request is met with enthusiasm at TBO headline gigs but tonight only half of the crowd seem willing to participate. Then when the song kicks back in they jump up half arsed. I’ve got to admit, Slipknot pull this off a hell of a lot better!

Unsurprisingly they close with the beast that is ‘Im A Riot? You’re A Fucking Riot!’. This ferocious song sends the crowd into a frenzy for the first actual time tonight (even producing a fair sized moshpit), apart from the weak attempt at kneeling down then jumping up. With this, The Blackout have made their mark on the Camden Crawl and undoubtedly earnt themselves a decent amount of new fans today.

With the Roundhouse a lot more packed out as Lostprophets are about to begin their overly short set of just 45 minutes I find it weird that the headline act should be given the same set time as the support act but due to the festival scenario this is what it has to be like. With 4 studio albums and many hit singles, I’m sure it was hard for LP to decide on their set list for tonight’s show.


When Lostprophets hit the stage they explode into the first single off their latest album ‘The Betrayed’ which is entitled ‘It’s Not The End Of The World (But I Can See It From Here)’. The crowd go insane for LP and it’s no surprise with this song sounding so huge! Even with the slightly dodgy sound quality tonight. Not slowing down one bit, they burst into classic ‘Burn Burn’ which happened to have its music video filmed in this very building a few years ago. Drummer Luke Johnson is recent addition to the bands current line-up and wasn’t with them when any of these early tracks were written, but you’d have never have guessed this as he plays so naturally as ‘Burn Burn’ sounds amazing.

Next up is the outrageously catchy ‘Can’t Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won’t Save You This Time)’, followed by another older song ‘Last Summer’. In my opinion, I feel LP could have sacrificed this song from the set list to make way for a stronger song which was left off, such as ‘4:AM Forever’ or maybe even ‘A Town Called Hypocrisy’.

Latest single ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Felon’ is played and greeted as if it were a classic by the crowd. Then LP deliver an actual classic, ‘Last Train Home’. Everyone sings along to this as if their lives depended on it, and one thing’s for sure…I won’t be missing my last train home with this show set to finish so early.

Stuart Richardson (Bass), Mike Lewis (Guitar) and Lee Gaze (Guitar) are all on great form tonight as ever song sounds note perfect, although at times this cant be fully appreciated as the sound continues to be a problem. A song which enables Ian Watkins to display his great vocal skills is ‘Where We Belong’. With its anthemic chorus that would suit much of the larger venues, he unleashes his powerful voice, but at times it sounds a little under pressure. This is most probably down to their hectic touring schedule lately because on other occasions seeing LP his voice has sounded much better than this. But it’s only a minor issue as 99% of the time his voice is on form tonight.

They cover the opening of Guns’N’Roses hit song ‘Sweet Child’O Mine’ without the highly recognisable Slash guitar part. Only the original lyrics are used with a very poor guitar part, which makes for a boring attempt at covering a classic song. But something that Lostprophets are good at is creating highly accessible music that appeals to fans from various genres of music. A good example of this is ‘Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)’, but tonight it sounds a little bland at times, but on the most part is played with passion and sounds great.

Cameras swoop thought the air like an Eagle surveying the crowd as if they were its prey, as today’s how will be broadcast on MTV.

For their final song, LP give us a choice between two of their heaviest and greatest songs in my opinion, ‘Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja’ and ‘We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan’. And to vote for the song we want, we have to cheer when the song name is said. Unfortunately the ‘Shinobi’ cheer is greater than the ‘Godzilla’ cheer, and I was one of the people left gutted from this. Not that I don’t like ‘Shinobi’, I just prefer ‘Godzilla’. Lostprophets don’t disappoint anyone though, sending the crowd mental. Pleasing old school Lostprophets fans with the only song played tonight from their debut album ‘thefakesoundofprogress’.

Jamie Oliver (turntables, vocals, effects) has been crazy all night, like a guy possessed. He interacts with the crowd more than any other member of the band and he looks like he is really enjoying himself up there, as he throws himself around the stage really feeling the music.

As they finish, it is still light outside on the streets of Camden which is a rarity for gigs, and the show was over way too quickly. But both bands gave great performances and everyone leaves happy and ready to enjoy the rest of the night, and considering its not even 8pm yet, there’s plenty of the night left.

Orange - New Video/Cartoon Network show theme song!

Check out this amazing new video by Orange with their song Revolution that is featured on Cartoon Network’s Generator Rex. I met Orange on the Zebrahead tour earlier this year and they're all really cool guys so I wanted to share this new song with you all! It's very catchy, check it out, you're gonna love it.



Jodi.

AFI @ o2 Academy Birmingham 2010

(Support bands - The Dear and Departed, Sick of it All) - 12.04.10 - After about 3-4 years since the Decemberunderground tour, AFI finally came back to the UK to tour with their most recent album, Crash Love. It was a very long wait, but so worth it when they came back. AFI are my favorite band and have always been my favorite band to see live, and last night I was lucky enough to take photos at this show in Birmingham and it was seriously amazing. They played a really good set, including many songs from Crash Love, a few older songs such as Perfect Fit and Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and they also played But Home is Nowhere from Sing The Sorrow which I have never seen live before and it was so good! (Full setlist)


During Kill Caustic Lou Koller from Sick Of It All joined AFI on stage, and all I can say is it was really, really good! I think it was around about this time I met guitarist Pete Koller from Sick of it All and took a few portrait shots of him (click). And then near the end of their set Dan Smith from The Dear and Departed came on stage and sang Love Like Winter with Davey - which you can watch just below (Although, this video was taken by me in Manchester, but equally as good!).



I would definitely recommend to people to go and see them if you ever get the chance! You won’t be disappointed! I know I can’t wait til they come back! Let’s just hope the wait isn’t so long this time!


Photos:

AFI
The Dear and Departed
Sick of it All

Jodi

Bowling For Soup Acoustic Tour!

For an acoustic show, this was actually pretty good. I haven’t had the chance to see Bowling For Soup live before, but these guys were really funny and did a great set so I’ll definitely be seeing them when they come back with the whole band. From the moment they got on stage it seemed they didn’t really plan on what they were going to play, they took suggestions from the crowd, and they had a book of song names in front of them and played songs randomly and it was really good. They saved one of their best songs til almost the end of the set, that most of the crowd shouted out about an hour before they even finished, and that song was 1985! I didn’t really see much of the support acts as I got there just as the second band was finishing, but I really enjoyed Jaret and Eriks set, it was a good night, especially when they played this. Click here for more photos!



Jodi

Welcome!

Hey everyone, so we've been planning this website for quite a while now and finally got round to setting it up, so we'll keep you updated with reviews and photos from all sorts of different bands from now on, hope you all like the site and be sure to follow!

BTS