Welcome to the third instalment of the seemingly never ending guide's to Birmingham. It's no secret that Birmingham have built up quite the reputation for music, and I could sit and talk to you for hours about the bands from here. But, do you know where to see these bands? I don't think you do sir. I've picked out three of my favourite venues for you to enjoy; let us share them via the medium of blog post.
First up is the Hare and Hounds; a pub/venue situated in Kings Heath. The first time I ever went to the Hare and Hounds, I found it very confusing. I'm not really sure why, but it made no sense to me. However, as that gig began, I decided that it was suddenly my new favourite place to see bands.
The Hare and Hounds has had many a famous face grace its stages over the years, including UB40; with their first ever gig being held at the venue back in 1979. Other well known acts that have performed here include Yuck, Best Friends, Kate Nash, Wide Eyed, Splashh and Jaws. Aswell as gigs, the Hare and Hounds also plays host to burlesque, spoken word and cabaret shows.
I'm not really sure what it is exactly that has given the Hare and Hounds such a big place in my heart. Is it the way it's charmingly small so every gig is an intimate experience? Is it the way I know I am surrounded by sources of alcohol? Or is it the fact the smokers area is down some stairs into a place that feels secret? Who knows. But I do know that every time a gig is at the Hare and Hounds, I get overly excited.
For full event listings and more information you can visit their website here: http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/
ALL PHOTOS BELONG TO THE HARE AND HOUNDS KINGS HEATH
I guess The Institute is a bit of an obvious choice, but there's a reason it's so popular. Formally known as The HMV Institute, this venue have put on some of the biggest names in music. The Institute is split up into several rooms: The Institute, The Library and The Temple (in order of size: biggest to smallest). I have a lot of love for this venue simply because The Temple Bar is one of the best places to watch a band. It's really tiny, like, super tiny and this really works to it's advantage. This room always draws a crowd: and the lack of security within the room itself really plays to a lot of people's advantage. Expect crowd surfing, stage invasions and to probably be kicked in the face at some point.
I think I'm also kinda bias because this venue was the location of my best gig of all time. Which was, of course, The Horrors supported by TOY back in May 2012. The Horrors are clearly always amazing, but this gig was just amazing. Amazing. So I feel eternally grateful to this great venue for making that gig happen. The more I think about it, the literal only downside to this venue is all the stairs because I'm super lazy. But other than that the advantages of The Institute know no bounds: good rooms, walking distance from town, brilliant acts and they used to have pink tickets. Pink tickets are good.
For full event listings and more information please visit: http://mamacolive.com/theinstitute/
ALL PHOTOS BELONG TO WWW.LDC.CO.UK
I'll admit it: on a night out situation the Sunflower isn't my favourite place. This is probably just because it gets really packed and I get stressed but in recent times it has been really growing on me. I think this is largely to do with the fact it's such a good place for gigs. The gig room is situated downstairs is small yet in a really good way. This venue has seen a lot of familiar faces play there: from Bad Moon to Curb to Birmingham all-stars Peace. Anyone who attended THAT secret Peace gig will tell you: this is a great place to watch bands. Intimate and with a friendly feel, this is my kind of venue.
Another great thing about the Sunflower is it's location. It's a ten second walk away from New Street and is the designated pre-drinks spot for most of Birmingham. The venue also has regular Friday night DJ sets from members of Juice, Curb and Wide Eyed, where all the songs you love to pieces but forgot about are played. Gigs here aren't all that frequent, but when a gig is played here it is played here. I'm still thinking about the secret Peace gig. I don't think I'll ever get over that gig and I know that if a gig like it were to ever happen again, the Sunflower Lounge would be the place it was held. P.S A lot of you will recognise it as the bar that Swim Deep go to in the original King City video.
For full event listings and more information please visit: http://www.thesunflowerlounge.com/
ALL PHOTOS BELONG TO THE SUNFLOWER LOUNGE
And for this weeks musical suggestion:
Juice are fairly new on the scene and have only played a few gigs; however this hasn't stopped them finding an ever growing fanbase. Earlier this year a teaser of their track "Sugar" was posted online and sent most of Birmingham into a frenzy. Who were Juice? What were Juice? Why do we already love Juice from this tiny clip of music? Fortunately we can now answer all of these questions; Juice are an effortlessly cool band with an effortlessly cool sound. Boasting roaring guitars and rockstar sets, Juice are here to stay. They don't currently have any music online for you to listen to other than the "Sugar" teaser, but you can find the link to listen to that below. Warning: it leaves you wanting more. Juice are set to headline upcoming gig "Citrus" along with Curb and some special mystery guests on the 30th of November. Citrus is going to be held at TALK Bar Birmingham and entry costs just five British pounds: plus if you bring your own orange you get a free drink. I'm not sure why, but any band that offers delicious vitamin C along with good music is a band I love.
love,
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