With a couple of warm up acts before the main event I thought I'd check them both out, as I know, support acts are normally brilliant!
The opening act were called Brothers, and they came from Slough. Possibly the armpit of the south of England but this didn't stop them making music that sounds a bit familiar. Oasis sprang to mind at first but then I realised the women on the end with such a soulful voice acting as backing vocals. Using a laptop too (but honestly I didn't hear what was coming out of it). The front man was seeming to be a bit big headed about playing first on the bill stating "we have never not played a headline slot" and "this is strange isn't it? Headline act on first", well at least he has attitude and a bit of a joking side. Some front men just stand there and look lost. I ended up loving their set. The song I most loved was "Darling Buds Of May"
Darling Buds of May by Brother
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Next on stage was a brilliant rock band called Sound Of Guns, I have been listening to their album for the past month and couldn't wait to see them play live. They come from Liverpool and play Alternative-Rock songs with big hooks and a powerful front man. They had more of a presence on stage as the previous band solely down to the front man going down onto the floor and mingling with the crowd during the songs, jumping from speakers on stage and attempting to climb over the lights like some sort of animal. But that's good as it gives you a visualisation of the energy they have on stage. A song that really stood out for me was "Lightspeed" this is available to stream below for your listening pleasure.
Lightspeed by Sound Of Guns
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This has been the gig I have most been looking forward to this year. Not Foals, Kele, Editors or Two Door Cinema Club. This. Morning Parade at their home show.
Well they never disappoint, but one thing I did miss was the headline act getting on stage and being a bit shook by the performance of the support slot, and of which Morning Parade normally do. But this is their headline slot, and for a good reason. The end of year show, first of two! They opened with the latest single "Under The Stars" and the place started to get into the groove. A couple of people started to dance, followed by more and more until the place erupted when "Marble Attic" came on. After a bit of a technical issues Steve decided to play a new track called "Half Litre Bottle" which apparently is going to be a B-Side, he played this track on his own and said "It's better than waiting isn't it", sure was! SO the problem got fixed and then they went into what is becoming my favourite track by them "Headlights", I really do hope this makes the album and EMI decide not to put it as a B-Side to a single. This could easily be the centrepiece of the whole album as it showcases their sound perfectly.
A 'oldie' was played next (oldie as this has been around since April). And "Youth" is just brilliant, the demo doesn't do it justice live and live... don't get me started, the vocals are crisp, bass is throbbing, synths are fantastic and the guitars are amazing. I have not noticed yet the drummer and you can see him sweating it out in the back. "Pieces" and "Carousel" were next, not much is known of these songs to me to I shall skip them as I haven't heard them enough live yet. "Monday Morning" the B-Side to "Under The Stars" was next in the setlist and I was a bit weary about this live as it seemed to have a drum machine in the background and was wondering how the drummer would incorporate this live. Pulled it off! This was a highlight of the night, possibly hearing a track that when they go into album 2 you may not hear. "Speechless" was a track they have played a acoustical version for Absolute radio and it is brilliant no matter how they play it, electric or acoustic. "A&E" had the biggest reaction of the whole night with mass sing along and a few people losing it in-front of me! "Your Majesty" and "Close To Your Heart" both have tremendous choruses and amazing riffs that when played live you just have to imagine if they are really human! The last song to round the night was a brilliant track called "Born Alone" perfectly rounded off a great nights worth of music! Setlist is below.
SETLIST:
Under The Stars
Marble Attic
Half Litre Bottle
Headlights
Youth
Pieces
Carousel
Monday Morning
Speechless
A&E
Your Majesty
Closer To Your Heart
Born Alone
Morning Parade by morningparade
[FACEBOOK]
[MYSPACE]
[OFFICIAL SITE]
The opening act were called Brothers, and they came from Slough. Possibly the armpit of the south of England but this didn't stop them making music that sounds a bit familiar. Oasis sprang to mind at first but then I realised the women on the end with such a soulful voice acting as backing vocals. Using a laptop too (but honestly I didn't hear what was coming out of it). The front man was seeming to be a bit big headed about playing first on the bill stating "we have never not played a headline slot" and "this is strange isn't it? Headline act on first", well at least he has attitude and a bit of a joking side. Some front men just stand there and look lost. I ended up loving their set. The song I most loved was "Darling Buds Of May"
Darling Buds of May by Brother
[FACEBOOK]
[OFFICIAL SITE]
Next on stage was a brilliant rock band called Sound Of Guns, I have been listening to their album for the past month and couldn't wait to see them play live. They come from Liverpool and play Alternative-Rock songs with big hooks and a powerful front man. They had more of a presence on stage as the previous band solely down to the front man going down onto the floor and mingling with the crowd during the songs, jumping from speakers on stage and attempting to climb over the lights like some sort of animal. But that's good as it gives you a visualisation of the energy they have on stage. A song that really stood out for me was "Lightspeed" this is available to stream below for your listening pleasure.
Lightspeed by Sound Of Guns
[FACEBOOK]
[MYSPACE]
[OFFICIAL SITE]
This has been the gig I have most been looking forward to this year. Not Foals, Kele, Editors or Two Door Cinema Club. This. Morning Parade at their home show.
Well they never disappoint, but one thing I did miss was the headline act getting on stage and being a bit shook by the performance of the support slot, and of which Morning Parade normally do. But this is their headline slot, and for a good reason. The end of year show, first of two! They opened with the latest single "Under The Stars" and the place started to get into the groove. A couple of people started to dance, followed by more and more until the place erupted when "Marble Attic" came on. After a bit of a technical issues Steve decided to play a new track called "Half Litre Bottle" which apparently is going to be a B-Side, he played this track on his own and said "It's better than waiting isn't it", sure was! SO the problem got fixed and then they went into what is becoming my favourite track by them "Headlights", I really do hope this makes the album and EMI decide not to put it as a B-Side to a single. This could easily be the centrepiece of the whole album as it showcases their sound perfectly.
A 'oldie' was played next (oldie as this has been around since April). And "Youth" is just brilliant, the demo doesn't do it justice live and live... don't get me started, the vocals are crisp, bass is throbbing, synths are fantastic and the guitars are amazing. I have not noticed yet the drummer and you can see him sweating it out in the back. "Pieces" and "Carousel" were next, not much is known of these songs to me to I shall skip them as I haven't heard them enough live yet. "Monday Morning" the B-Side to "Under The Stars" was next in the setlist and I was a bit weary about this live as it seemed to have a drum machine in the background and was wondering how the drummer would incorporate this live. Pulled it off! This was a highlight of the night, possibly hearing a track that when they go into album 2 you may not hear. "Speechless" was a track they have played a acoustical version for Absolute radio and it is brilliant no matter how they play it, electric or acoustic. "A&E" had the biggest reaction of the whole night with mass sing along and a few people losing it in-front of me! "Your Majesty" and "Close To Your Heart" both have tremendous choruses and amazing riffs that when played live you just have to imagine if they are really human! The last song to round the night was a brilliant track called "Born Alone" perfectly rounded off a great nights worth of music! Setlist is below.
SETLIST:
Under The Stars
Marble Attic
Half Litre Bottle
Headlights
Youth
Pieces
Carousel
Monday Morning
Speechless
A&E
Your Majesty
Closer To Your Heart
Born Alone
Morning Parade by morningparade
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[MYSPACE]
[OFFICIAL SITE]