The Wild Feathers AS

Artist Showcase

I have been thinking about doing this feature for a while now and the time has finally come. I wanted to do a new type of post that highlights and shares great bands, not just on their latest releases or a specific album but over a whole body of work, both current and older artists included in the mix to keep things interesting. Th aim will be to post these once month but occasionally it may double up if the mood takes me.

It just so happens that the first band I want to showcase is The Wild Feathers has just released their sophomore album 'Lonely Is A Lifetime'. The Wild Feathers are a 4 piece Alt-Country band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members consisting of Ben Dumas on drums, Joel King on Bass & Vocals and both Ricky Young and Taylor Burns on Guitar & Vocals. They released their first self titled album back in August 2013 and their latest was released just in this great month of March 2016. The blend of soulful country rock and roll that they make has worked perfectly across their body of work so far and really hope they come play at The Deaf Institute sometime in the future. Speaking of live dates, they are currently doing a bunch of shows for SXSW then following that with a big tour around the US. No signs of any UK dates as of yet but we wait with hope and fingers crossed. Below is a brilliant live performance of one of the latest singles 'Happy Again'

I hope you like these guys music and even this new music showcase feature thing. It will improve with time and a little practise just like everything else. Enjoy!

General Manchester Update

16/07/15

Today would normally be a Design Of The Month post but there was no design that inspired me to post about it so I have decided to do a general post about Manchester venues.

I have been living here in Manchester for a week and a half now and I am starting to plan some gigs to go to in the near future. After reading a local free music mag, I was pleasantly surprised at the quantity and variety of cheap concerts that take place around Manchester on a daily basis. Also the amount of venues is really impressive (pictured below) with places like: Gullivers, RNCM Concert Hall, Castle Hotel, The Deaf Institute, Sound Control, Night & Day and The Soup Kitchen to name but a few. I am pumped full of energy to visit these places and hopefully experience good music along the way.

Temples & Childhood Live

Last night I went to a Temples gig at my favourite venue (The Library at The Institute just in case you didn't know). It was a great gig and I got there at just the right time to get a great spot on the balcony, beautiful job. The guitar playing from the lead singer in Temples was amazing and the guitars he played were some of the most stylish designs that I have seen and I loved them. I was also pleased to see Childhood supporting them who I haven't seen since Reading festival, and they were brilliant. Also supporting was Dark Bells, who were an unknown to me but I am now a bit of a fan. The gig as a whole was one of the best ones I have been to recently. Brilliant line up and brilliant sound, enough said.

Design Of The Fortnight D.O.T.F.

This time around I have decided to talk about a location. The place in particular is The Institute in Birmingham. More specifically, The Library which is the smaller of the two main rooms. I have been to this venue several times and as I think I have stated in the past, it is my favourite place to see bands/artists. The last artist I saw there was Nina Nesbitt (picture below). As you can see I had a terrific view and even though I was on the balcony which is right at the back of the room my view and the sound quality was superb. The layout also is well planned out which I guess is pretty much assumed, with the two bars set either side of the stage and on the main balcony and just below it is room for a merchandise stand still with plenty of room all around for the crowds. Lastly, the style of the venue as a whole is really cool. They keep aspects of the classic look from the outside face of the building but with added modern features where you would want them. Great venue, if you are close to Birmingham go listen to some music and see some great design. 

Little Green Cars

The support had a soft/subdued and slightly dark feel to them alongside the female singers beautiful piercing stare made for a powerful experience. At times the vocals were hard to hear over the instruments but the guitar playing was quite brilliant, it was a shame I couldn't hear what they were called but I have a picture (below) if you recognise them?

As for Little Green Cars, they had a slow acoustic start with a small mic problem but it soon picked up with the introduction of the electric guitar. They played my favourite songs from the album (My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me, Harper Lee and The Kitchen Floor) The thing that was most impressive was the vocal harmonies of these guys. Every member seemed to have some singing ability but my particular favourite was the female singer. For the encore they came out into the crowd for an ultra stripped back performance of The Consequences Of Not Sleeping which is another song i really enjoyed. Overall the feel of the gig had a really chilled out vibe and everyone seemed to be really hanging on to every word they sang, they were so enchanting. I would like to see where their next album will take them.

Imagine Dragons at The Institute

Last night I went to the sold out performance of Imagine Dragons and performance was definitely the right word for it. Those guys know how to put on a show. To be honest I wasn't expecting a great deal from them, having listened to their EP and thought it was so-so, nothing special. The thing that pushed me to see them live was their support being The Good Natured. A band I randomly found out about through YouTube and liked them.

As much as I wasn't particularly excited by IDs CD I really got into their live show. The lead singer had a seemingly endless source of energy and kept the crowd jumping the entire time. And maybe part of the good energy was from the place being crammed to the max with bodies, with barely room to have your arms by your sides. But it seemed everyone was there for the same reason, to have a good time and like the singer said, to escape and forget about the outside world for a few hours.

I enjoyed The Good Natureds performance slightly less than Imagine Dragons but the lady singer was pretty incredible, with a great voice and groovy dancing to match. Also the drummer was particularly talented. The speed at which he was playing seemed awesome.

Overall surprisingly great gig!