Reel Big Fish, Less than Jake - Academy Birmingham - Nov 11, 2018

Suburban Legends tongue-in-cheekily introduced themselves as "The Opening Band" but in reality it seems like a role they were built to play. And that's not a knock on them but an endorsement of the kind of energy and instant likeability that they exude, enough to win over new converts in the span of a set, or even a song. They played slick punk rock with a trumpeter and tromboner running around in synchronisation for much of the set, including a mock sword fight with their instruments. The entire band got in on some of the choreography which was so cheesy it was actually rather entertaining. The surprisingly mustachioed lead singer sang clearly and was confident yet humble in his banter. Doing exactly what they were meant to do they went from being "who's this?" as we walked in the door to "well those guys were fun! Who's next?" by the end of it.

Zebrahead were another of those bands that I surely saw by happenstance opening for someone like Goldfinger back in the day. Judging by the lack of familiarity with the set it must have just been in passing. With their duo of emo singer and kinda spit-rapper, they had a unique dynamic but didn't really impress me. No dance moves. They did have a couple guys dressed as beer bottles on stage just to drink and have drinking contests with crowd members but I wouldn't say it added anything to the set. I think I walked out of it at Slam Dunk in the summer but this time around that wasn't an option. It wasn't terrible it just didn't really speak to me.

Up next were Reel Big Fish, as I guess it's a co-headlining tour where they swap closing roles. Consummate professionals after all these years, (decades would be more appropriate) they played a fun, polished set of hits and cover-hits spanning their catalogue. From the most recent 2012 release we had Everyone Else is an Asshole and then they also dug back into classics like their famous Brown-Eyed Girl cover. Speaking of, of course they did their own tunes too like Sellout, after their now ritual round of playing choruses of other people's 90's hits first - this time Smashmouth's All Star and Semisonic's Closing Time. Later during their tune that tables similar topics of being dumb but not a dweeb, Beer, they also managed to integrate Offspring's Self Esteem seamlessly. Good fun was She Has a Girlfriend Now, although really just about everything they do is fun. And after all this time if you're not having fun then what's the point? After nearly selling out the Academy it proves that there's still an appetite for ska or at least having a laugh and a skank at a show. To be honest, it probably wasn't all that different from the half-set I saw at Slam Dunk this summer or the Fireball tour from last year but if it works then tinker but don't change it!

Again I expected to know more of the Less than Jake tunes than I ended up (almost none) but it didn't really matter because they are that good and know how to put on a show. Being the night-of-the-morning-after for me I wasn't keen to mosh around and so stayed to the outside, but just skiring the edge of the shenanigans. The frontman did a few stupid things, presumably to entertain himself as much as us at this point in his career, like turning up the house lights to call a female security guard from the upper deck down to the stage (she did not oblige), attempting to vape (although he called it something much more vulgar) from someone's pen in the crowd, and even calling out a massive dude from the crowd to come on stage and proceed to just kill it by being an amazing hypeman. A bit of showmanship, a bit of interaction, a lot of solid punk rock, all added up to a good time had by all.

The Streets - Academy Birmingham - Apr 19, 2018

The Streets

The build-up on this one was immense. After announcing the end of The Streets some six years ago Mike Skinner decided to dust off the mic and do a short string of gigs, promising to bring the party with "all the old shit." Opinion varies on whether this is a cash grab or a valid calim that he really missed the road but does it really matter? Tix went in a flash and were selling for five times on the resale market (Yeah, in excess of £200 a piece. And plenty of stories of overpriced tix ending up being fake. Fucking scam artists and scalpers make me sick..) Having signed up to all the lists and alerts a miracle happened a couple weeks before the show as a new block were released from the actual retailer for face value - jumped all over that. The Streets return in Skinner’s hometown? I do think so.

With electricity in the air all day online and in the city, the venue was actually a bit oppressive - there were a lot of lads and football chants and jostling before the lights were even lowered. The opener was pretty mediocre - hip hop sets can really be bad when it’s just a guy who can’t even spit his own raps live - however when the main event came on things took a massive turn towards stellar. Right away Mike was right out at the edge of the stage, soaking it up and the crowd surged towards him to catch a spot of his charisma. On looks alone there’s not much to say, a little lad with sweat pants and a football tee but he’s written some hits and perhaps more importantly has produced some true bangers. The full live backing band filled the room with energy and as promised, he played the hits, and showcased some friends along the way. He didn’t exactly take the lad mentality out of the room, even starting up some opposing football chants but he also was a showman. He kept asking crowd surfers how the waves were and promising to take a ride soon. In the crowd itself I think the entire Academy floor was a mosh. I started near the front on the left and at one point was almost to the back at the right, and hopped my way everywhere in between. Things were surprisingly friendly as everyone was just so bloody excited for these songs. We barked along to the lyrics and pumped our fists. It was honestly a bit berserk at times and I felt proud of my adopted town of Brum to represent so well.

Near the end Mike detailed his plan to us a dozen times or more - we were gonna split down the middle, he’d run to the back and then surf back up to the stage. A few hardcore fans tried to make way for him early but everyone else was doing their thing and kept crushing it back in. About the same happened when he finally hit the floor, the narrow passage opened for about four tenths of a second as he started down the middle and then everyone realised they could touch a piece and pushed in toward him. About 2/3 of the way to the back he gave up and motioned to put him up. Thousands of people collectively held aloft their hometown hero until they collapsed on themselves as the excitement tipped a massive wave of the crowd over; M.S. on top. Dusting themselves off Mike finally got back onto the stage with a bit of a “what the fuck is wrong with you guys?!” in the best way look. The encore was basically insanity as there were guests, rapid fire beats, singalongs and a massive outpouring of love. More than I actually could have hoped for. Walking back across the pagoda subway drenched in sweat - some of it my own - under the Radisson Blue, past new Snobs, and around New Street station it made me truly proud to be a Brummie.