Syntheticity. Actress and Bishop 19th October 2013

This has to be one of the best gig nights we have been to.  Me and Rhonda have been to a couple of gigs with electro acts including Among the Echos this year.  We bought tickets in advance, which were only £5 each. This time is was a pub/venue, The Actress and Bishop, situated further away than the Flapper and 02.  As usual, its a pretty quick train trip and this time, we went to the Travelodge, which is only just around the corner from the venue.

With the hotel,  difference to the Holiday Inn. Its bare, not even a phone or an iron in the room. I think next time, its back to the Holiday Inn.
We dressed up and went to the pub, which is very nice place. First time i had a rum and coke, although i think in future i will have straight rum or Vodka and coke, which has more a a kick, lol
We first thought the bands started at 8, it turns out, they were running a little late with soundcheck and was not on until 8.45.  One thing i learned is always check Facebook profiles for faces, even though i had talked to some people on Facebook, as some people i had totally forgot were going to be there and just didn't know what they looked like.
Everyone climbed the staircase to see the first act, Among the Echos. Great sound, great performance

from the guys and played the classics they are, known for, Pure, Freak, and the new powerhouse of a song Sin.
The first suprise, was guest act, Destination. Brudge was on stage with ATE Phil on base. Then ATE had her on guest vocals for a couple of song,  ATE having a vocal harmony works really well

Next up and the guys i always want to see, Johnny Normal and Psycho Pete.  Pete had a lot of trouble at the start. I discovered afterwards someone had messed up the equalizers on the monitor After a false start, they played, Time, which is one of the

catchest songs and got the crowd going.  About half way through, Johnny announced they are working on an album and played a few songs from it.  Talk to me is the new bside song to, Miss Razorblade, which is really nice live, then, Save Me, which has a very different tone, more oa ballade and then Miss Razorblade, what an electrifying performance. They blew the roof off.  Their new material is fantastic and Pete, goes into Hendrix mode with his guitar work, no one can take their eyes off him.
Awsome set by the duo.  That wasn't the only suprise of the night.......
The other billed and headlining act was, Spacebuoy.

This is another duo, including Howard Moth( Second name on Facebook), who are like the modern day version of the Pet Shop Boys.  Never seen or heard them before, although i had heard two studio songs.  Howard is a great singer, flying all over the stage and has some real presence and reacting to the crowd.
The sound is very Pop trance in style and most of them are in radio friendly length, which was kind of a suprise, unless that was to do with set length.  Great set by them, music and performance wise.
After the gig, i had a quick chat with, Howard,. nice guy to talk to and they have done a lot including support Erasure and touring quite a lot
All in all it was a great night, with all the electro acts given it all.
Every act is different, they bring their own sound to the table.
After talking to Sam, who is the guitarist and recording engineer of, Among the Echos, i found out is has engineered the new songs by Johnny Normal.  From what i gather from the performance and hearing Miss Razorblade live, Johnny Normal are going in a more performance direction with their new songs. The new songs are amazing with the live guitar as they are more synth driven on the studio songs. .

The only disappointment of the night, was filming of the acts.  My camera only lasted 30 minutes, which i could not work out.  Comparing the Flapper footage, i realise the lighting was very different at last nights gig and took more battery? The Flapper was better lit. The best footage audio wise ATE and Spacebuoy, but nothing else really came out.

As always with a night in Birmingham we booked a hotel in advance, as the trains stop way to earlier in the evening.  We went to the After Dark club afterwards.  Had a few drinks, listened to the 80s sound, had a few pictures taken and went back to the hotel and colapsed

Many thanks to all the performers wh odid a great show as always

Dj Readman
Radio Variety Show
djreadmanyuk@gmail.com