Saturday, November 10, 2007

The Foxes / The Will To Rally / Killerapollo The Rainbow, Digbeth Friday 9th November 2007

Time once more for my weekly soiree down Digbeth High Street for a good dose of the up an coming stuff from the Kamikaze! 444 club...or the 344 club tonight as first on the bill, Soldier, went AWOL. No matter, The Allies kept us entertained on the ones and twos...which is some DJ term...'cos I'm down with all that. Anyway, the first band proper were Killerapollo. I get the impression (I could be wrong) that they've got together fairly recently (with this line up at least) and are still getting to grips with some of their material. The lead singer mentioned that they were playing quite a few new tracks and that was bound to show a little. That said, they certainly know their way round their instruments and seem to be developing a solid, scuzzed up rock feel perfectly exemplified in their only My Space track up at the mo, Elephant Foot. Next up, The Will To Rally. In my mind (none of my companions agreed...but heck, who wants to agree...vive le difference) they came across like Elvis Costello fronting an edgy rock band. Maybe it was the lead singer's specs, but listening again on their My Space page...yep...I'm still getting it. I'm talking Elvis in the Pump It Up Days...nervy, spikey, new wavey...got it? No? Just me then. Anyway, I liked them. They have a damn fine track called I Heart Birmingham...which has a QOTSA (yep Elvis Costello and QOTSA in one review) vibe. The drummer has excellent tats too. Finally, The Foxes. Every bit as good as I hoped they'd be they're a fab blend of 60's pop, close harmonies, garagey bits, riffs from heaven and a fine dose of the magic ingredient X that makes a band a BAND. Opening with one of their catchiest tracks She's A Cow (Joe Jackson meets The Beatles in a bad mood) they put on an excellent show from start to finish, the highlight of which was the brilliant Lover Killer from their self released Limited Edition EP (I have number 174 I think...it's the best one...so much better than 173...and don't get me started on 175...no, 174 is where it's at, trust me...I wonder who has number 1?). They're coming back to Birmingham in January (24th) with Yeti at The Barfly. I heartily recommend you catch them. To paraphrase as T-Shirt from back in the day..."Cool As Fox".

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