Gig Review: As Elephants Are

Last week (14/03/14), I went down to Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath (a place that I'm finding myself far too often), to see As Elephants Are. I can't remember the last time I was in a room with so many rolled up t-shirt sleeves, oversized jumpers and Fenders - you could just smell the indie. Songs from Bombay Bicycle Club, The xx and Tame Impala playing during the intervals said enough. I'd never heard of either of the support acts prior to the gig so was looking for something to catch my attention.

New Bays stepped on stage and definitely caught my attention. They smashed their (surprisingly long) set. I knew that they must've been a local band - the crowd was absolutely loving it - a few brave souls dancing at the front and everyone else bopping about and swaying in time with the music. Their final song "They'll Never Know" really left a lasting impression. It was a tough support act to follow so I was hoping that second support act LIME's set didn't turn sour (pardon the pun)...

Considering how indie the whole atmosphere was, the promoters made a bit of a mistake booking LIME for this gig. They came thrashing in with their slightly more noise rock/punk fast paced riffs and startled the crowd. Before the end of the third song they'd managed to clear out at least a quarter of the room, one lad taking out earplugs as he left (not very hardcore \m/). LIME's set wouldn't have been out of place at last week's Eagulls gig but for this gig it was hard for a noise rock sounding band not to stick out like a sore thumb. Although they were a little sloppy at times they played a solid set and other people's opinions aside - I actually liked them. Kind of timid, but they just got on with it and played good music. Always nice to come to a gig and get something that you weren't expecting.

As Elephants Are came on soon after and definitely showed us why they were the ones headlining. They were super confident and just great really. Even though New Bays drew a bigger and more enthusiastic crowd that night, As Elephants Are smashed it. Also, despite a bit of feedback from the lead singer's two mics - yes, two - there was just a great vibe. They played through hits "Crystal" and "Kingdom" amongst others, and their drummer!! I have never seen a drummer play a right handed kit, left handed and hit every single beat so perfectly - even whilst having somebody adjusting their kick drum mid set. All in all it was just a really good set. The crowd was really more merry than hyped I'd say, but it was nice.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...