The musical collectives Afro Celt Sound System and Dhol Foundation are not known for being shrinking violets. They do not do musical delicacy, they are about the tribal experience of music, the transcendental fusion of genres,of grooves, sound and melody, sound it was no surprise when they turned Birmingham Town Hall into more of a dance hall than a concert venue for recitals when they appeared there as part of their nationwide tour.

Both ensembles are well over two decades old, have many members in common, and are both experimental and adventurous in their music making, fusing all types of genres together, from the Fiddle, whistles and pipes of celtic music, to the dhols, djembes and African singing styles that inform their soundscapes.

Starting off the evening were the Dhol Foundation, founded by Johnny Kalsi, their energetic sound, and stage presence has provided the soundtracks to many films and television shows, but it is in the live arena that they really come to life. They played pieces from their most recent release, Basant, which ranged from the bombast of 'Thunder-Drum' to the folksy protest song 'Mother Tongue'. Their soundscapes were informed by looping pedals, electric and acoustic guitars, and drums, and were highly rhythmical. Indian singers and dancers also add both colour and visual colour to the presentation, whilst a number of guest singers and musicians featured throughout the set.

Afro Celt Sound System are at the forefront of World Music, with their sound blending industrial drums and rhythms with traditional folk instruments to danceable, tune laden effect. With founding member Simon Emerson on guitar and bouzouki, the rest of the group was made from a collective of players, many of whom featured on their latest release The Source. Emer Mayock played whistles and pipes, whilst fiddler Ewan Henderson also made a valuable contribution to such songs as 'Honeybee' and 'Release', whilst the dance club rhythms of such songs as 'The Magnificent Seven' and 'Cascade' added to the energy that the band produced, The encore saw both bands playing the upbeat, rhythmically intense 'Desert Billy' and 'Kalsi Backbeat', which ended this historic concert in a suitably uplifting fashion.

It’s Re-TROS’ first foray into Ireland, and here they are in Dublin’s biggest arena opening for Depeche Mode. The venue isn’t full when they come on, so they’ve only about 5000 people to impress then: no pressure. The Beijing trio are huge in their home country but not very well known in these parts yet. They recently signed with Modern Sky UK and released their first album for the label. Before The Applause is an awesome collection of dystopian epics. Far from being commercial, they sound like Underworld playing with !!! and Alt-J.

The twin synths stand either side of the drum kit but the three musicians trade out instruments for fun. Dropping the guitars or stepping away from their synths, they might pick up a percussion instrument as the beat goes on. A brief greeting and an explosion of white light introduce the thundering ‘Hailing Drums’. The crowd’s reaction is nearly as entertaining as the band. Standing stock still throughout as if hypnotised, there is little in the way of cheering or clapping. Mostly it’s a kind of stunned silence; which is the appropriate response to hearing Re-TROS for the first time.

The ominous bass tones of ‘Pigs In The River’ follow. The organ stabs and gravelly vocals are immediately redolent of Nick Cave’s ‘Red Right Hand’. Crimson spotlights flicker in time with the Joey Santiago guitars of the chorus. They play with the structure of the song and even play up the Bad Seeds resemblance by dropping a line from it into one of the verses.

The 30 minute set only gives them time for three songs and the realisation that their set is over is physically and emotionally painful. Like a sudden blackout that brings an engrossing film to a premature end. It’s a performance of mastery and intensity so compelling that a number of times I have to remind myself to breathe. The narcotic rush of Re-TROS is addictive. Hopefully they will be back soon. This music is a smaller venue would be overwhelming. In a Stendhal kind of way.

After the success of last year’s first ever fuelling the fire tour, fireball returned this year with an even bigger line up to satisfy out taste buds. This year’s line-up had them pulling out all the ska-punk big dogs, Mad Caddies, Anti-Flag and Reel Big Fish and new foot stomping favourites Sweet Little Machine all for the ridiculously cheap price of £10!

Upon arrival, local pop-punk five piece Everyone and Anyone who won the local competition that ran, are pleasing a rather empty crowd. Despite the first night of a 10 day run being sold out, it would appear that the early door time of 6:00pm on a Wednesday night has led to most people missing the talented band. The Rhyl based band play tracks from sophomore EP A Page from a Journal, which is full pop-punk attitude and infested with heartfelt lyrics which the band bring energetically to the stage. The latest single ‘Hanging on a Cigarette’ allows vocalist Rob to show off his unique raw voice, which is unusual to find in a pop punk band, giving them a stamp of originality,  gets a few audience members singing along from the quiet crowd. But don’t be shocked if you soon find these guys filling out venues, they certainly won over the small audience and deservedly so. 

Fireball’s very own Sweet Little Machine were up next and they have been a name cropping up a lot recently after a lot of festival appearances this year. Despite relentless touring though, the band brought nothing but 100% energy and charisma to the stage, even after a small hiccup with the bass during opening song ‘Who Killed the Hero’. Leading man Alex Lantrua oozes charm and easily has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, even during ‘D!ckwad prickface’ in which he has the whole crowd screaming ‘fuck you Dec’ to an audience member. The band close on EP titled track ‘Monsters’ which gets the crowd moving and leaves everyone knowing why they were named as Fireballs Hottest Band of 2017.

Manchester Ritz is packed, flooding with brightly coloured hair and Mohawks by the time Mad Caddies arrive to the stage. There is no denying that Mad Caddies are hailed as one of the longest standing and pioneers of ska-punk music, and that becomes apparent when watching them live. It is clear that the whole audience is fully ready for the Caddies as they open with ‘Lay Your Head Down’ before continuing to play hit after hit such as ‘Backyard’, ‘Shoot out Lights’ and ‘Brand New Scar’ as well as many more. They have very little say or very little to prove to an audience who awaits impatiently for the next song from a band that despite such a long successful career, hardly ever seem to come to the UK. The crowd-pleasing ‘Monkeys’ sends the crowd into a frenzy causing the floor to quiet literally bounce whilst ‘Drinking for 11’ has everyone holding onto one another, rocking back and forth, singing their hearts out. The band close on a rather unusual choice of ‘Dixtress’ and exit, leaving the crowd begging for more from the Californian heroes. 

Anti-Flag are a rather heavy choice for a ska-punk-infused line up, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to bring their A game. It is clear from the chatter and choice of clothing from the crowd that they are one of the main reasons many people are here. The energy that rips through the crowd during their set in the mosh pits is intense and is a long way from the fun loving skanking during Mad Caddies set. The four piece use this set to stand their ground on their political views, giving lengthy speeches after each song, but the crowd doesn’t appear to batter an eyelid and hang on their every word. They cause the most memorable moment of the night with their remarkable cover of The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ which has the whole sold out venue screaming back at them. 

By the time Reel Big Fish walk onto the stage, the audience is both nicely pissed from the free fireball shots being passed about, exhausted from the sheer amount of dancing and slightly disturbed at how brilliant of a DJ Pennywise is. Reel Big Fish are a band that everyone knows at least one song by, whether they are aware is it by them or not, and no that does not include cover songs. Despite them often being mocked as a ska-cover band, they have a huge amount of original songs that this audience have learnt off by heart. The always fun ‘Everyone else is an arsehole’ is absolutely beautiful to hear sang by 1500 people, just as is nearly every disgustingly catchy song by Reel Big Fish. The set list takes the crowd on a travel back to the past when everything seemed much easier, with tracks ‘ Drinkin’, ‘Sell Out’, ‘Everything Sucks’ and ‘She Has a Girlfriend Now’ with a special guest appearance from Sonic Boom Six’s Monique Powell. The band close with a very fitting ‘Beer’ to a nicely extremely pissed crowd before returning to send the crowd into total madness with their cover of ‘Take on Me’. 

The whole night was a drunk infused, leg breaking, fun but sweaty travel down memory lane to much easier days and one that the whole sold audience quiet clearly enjoyed. The large amount of empty plastic cups and deflated mowhawks and sweaty smiles leaving the Ritz proved that. 

In just under a weeks’ time, Musos’ Guide will take over the Finsbury, London for our leg of Blogtober. For the 31 nights of October, The Finsbury is hosting 31 gigs curated by a different music site each day. We’ll be bringing Dublin electro-rockers, Makings, Up Down Go Machine from Wales, and local London upstarts Black Cheroot.

Makings [http://www.makingsmusic.com/] raised eyebrows in 2015 with their debut album, Cognition, which they made with legendary producer, Chris Potter (The Verve, The Rolling Stones). You can download the whole album for free here. They’re no strangers to London having played the Proud Camden on their last tour. They’ve since played storming sets at Vantastival and Swell Festival, and their live set has to be seen to be believed.

Rooted in RnB, yet sprung from the more eclectic sounds of heavy rock/pop music. Black Cheroot use these foundations to create grooves, that sometimes roll smooth, and then at once, turn into a raw nerve of barely contained passion and expression.

Up Down Go Machine are from Wales but based in London. The acoustic indie folk quartet formed in 2012 and played the BBC Introducing Stage at SO Festival. They’ve been compared to Ben Howard, Tom Grennan and Samuel Jack, and should get the night off to a cracking start.

Come down, join us, and say hello to your favourite writers in the Finsbury next Monday, October 9. RSVP here, and ensure you are signed for a free ticket for free entry because we can only squeeze so many of you in!
Age Restriction: 18+
Doors - 7.30pm (Live Room)