Bleeding Hearts - Birmingham 2008

The Roadhouse, Birmingham UK
13th October 2008
BLEEDING HEARTS - New Grey Whistle Test Liveshow

Music & Performance
The Roadhouse is an intimate and not overly huge venue but atmospheric and edgy enough to suit the band’s punk folk rock style perfectly. That being said, that description really doesn’t do them justice, for they are on the edge of all those genres and have, if the truth be known, invented a genre all of their own, for no two tracks can be pinned down in style, but all are executed with the same flawless accuracy that truly makes the band stand out in terms of technical ability. They opened with ‘Democracy’, strong and hard hitting continuing through a rainbow of lyrical messages and emotive content song after song, some social political some purely personal, but all of them intelligently crafted, beautifully worked and performed with a togetherness and a passion that is rarely seen. The sound was great, and that became more than apparent with the emotive, close and gorgeously harmonious ‘Damage you do’, which for me was the best song of the set. The lead singer Foxie gives the hard driven punk folk elements his all with raw hard screamed vocals whilst managing to temper his voice to a rich subtle timbre for some songs which underlines that these guys are truly diverse and able in all musical regards.



At one point the drummer Gaz stepped forward to lead vocal compellingly with a simple military drum as backing. In this regard the band is a clear democracy and this theme is underpinned in their very many social political songs with thought provoking lyrics, thunderously good driving beats and stunning delivery. Honourable mention is due to the very excellent Gel on lead guitar whose amazing riffs and shreds were the backbone of the hard rock feel to their set and also to Nick who lit up the stage with fierce, goose pimple inducing fiddle work, at one point jumping off the stage and carousing around the venue, mingling with the audience as he played. Visually the band is electric and charismatic with a gritty flamboyance and a vibrancy of integrity that would be hard to match. They are both purveyors of important messages and people not afraid to take the rise out of the establishment, but above all they are excellent and energised musicians, unequivocally devoted to putting on a good show, with enough backbone not to go down the purely commercial route to do so.



The only downside to the whole gig was the lighting which was nothing short of dire, being predictable, tired and limited, but that was down to the venue and not to the band who put on a gig well worth remembering and which will act as a benchmark to anyone who follows them onto the New Grey Whistle Test. At the end of the set the audience gave them rapturous appreciation and they were recalled for a long encore, finishing with Beam me up Scotty, which finished off one of the best gigs I’ve seen in England’s second city. A new live CD is available shortly entitled ‘Red, White Blue and Green’ which includes many tracks not available on the band’s existing four albums. BLEEDING HEARTS can be found here where the album will be available for download. http://www.bleedinghearts.co.uk/forms/index.html



Setlist