I came to this gig knowing very little about The Staves and if I'm honest, I turned up pretty tired and so wasn't excited for much... I was just hoping for some easy listening. So as I stood in the crowd waiting for someone to come up on stage and keep me awake I took a look at the fans to get an idea of what kind of people were into the band. On first glance I saw a lot of middle aged people and families, sprinkled with a few students here and there - so a seemingly mellow crowd.

After a while waiting, James Canty wasted no time with introductions and went straight in with his first song. However, because he did this, unaccompanied, a few people (myself included) were confused at first as to whether he was actually the support act or just a very confident sound check person. As the song continued I decided on the former and really started to listen. I'm a little conflicted about how I feel about his set. There were so many negative points but the few positive points he had were really good. I'll start off with the good... He was funny - his onstage banter and crowd interaction was enjoyable. He definitely wasn't lazy about the way that he performed and you could tell that he's enthusiastic about music. Also, he is a fantastic guitarist. However (here comes the bad), his voice was not great at all. At times it felt like karaoke or an open mic night and at some points I felt like he didn't even believe in his own songs! His song "Love" had some great lyrical parts and potential but his song "Debra" was not my cup of tea AT ALL. Part of the way through I was almost sure that it had to be a joke. Based on his set alone, the night hadn't started off as I'd hoped.

Whilst trying to figure out my feelings about what I'd just seen, I heard Wayne's World playing through the speakers before The Staves came on and that managed to put a smile on my face. Now it was up to The Staves to keep it there. They succeeded. Their first song "Blood I Bled" was absolutely mesmerising. Before they had even finished singing I was already writing down lyrics so that I could look up the song later on. Their harmonies were beautiful. I can't remember the last time I heard three voices mesh together that well - I mean Haim who?! Just that one song managed to catch my full attention. Also, James Canty had reappeared except now joining the ladies on guitar/synth and in my opinion, this fit him much better! Back to the girls though, from song to song it was a series of amazing vocals, interesting beats and instrumentals and clever lyrics. Some standouts were "Winter Trees", "Steady" and "Don't You Call Me". Aside from their music, the girls had a really awesome vibe, and they were hilarious. Between them and James Canty you could guess that there would be a lot of laughter backstage. The only criticism I have is that by the end of the set I was losing interest a bit. Although quality didn't drop, novelty did. Either way, I picked up a copy of their Blood I Bled EP outside afterwards and have been listening to it since! I'm expecting big things from these ladies.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

Earlier this month (5/4/14), I went to go and see Canterbury at The Temple, Birmingham. I've had a sort of on-off relationship with their music since getting into them years ago. The only album of theirs that I've actually listened to in full happened to be their most recent one Dark Days and so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I came to this gig aside from what I'd heard in that...

First up supporting was Big Sixes, whom I'd actually never heard of prior to this. However, before they even came on stage I saw an acoustic guitar on stage, which I was slightly disappointed about but still intrigued. This was later explained when they came on stage and said that their drummer was unable to make it so they'd be doing an acoustic set. Unexpectedly, they absolutely smashed it! All three of the lads had beautiful, beautiful voices. The crowd's talking and chatter did grow annoyingly loud at times but the band calmly continued anyway - even though it was only a 15 minute set, it really made an impact. Will certainly be looking out for them.

Blitz Kids were next and the huge population of scene kids surged forward to the stage flicking their colourful long hair and chanting the lyrics back at the band. Shouting the lyrics along with them were a couple of unexpectedly older men in the crowd which was funny but really nice. The frontman probably couldn't have been any more pop punk if he tried but they actually played an impressive set. I didn't know any of their songs before coming but they even had me singing along at times - and I definitely have to mention how cool the lead's mic was (it lit up!). All in all it was a very good warm up for Canterbury to come out to. Cool band!

Last but not least - Canterbury. The opened with one of my favourites "Expensive Imitation" from the new record and the crowd completely transformed. Those who had kept themselves to themselves during the support acts were pushing people around in the pits, shouting the lyrics and just letting loose. They then followed up with what is probably my current favourite - "Keep It Moving". This had me leaping about in the crowd, losing my place at the barriers but I didn't even care - Canterbury were killing it! Mike had great crowd chemistry, lifting the mood every so often with his light-hearted banter and the band as a whole meshed well together. Halfway through the set Mike mentioned that this was one of the "hottest shows that they've ever played" and I can vouch for him - that tiny venue was roasting by the end of the night. Their setlist was perfect - playing other favourites of mine, "Satellite", "Think It Over" and "Saviour", before coming on for an electric encore. You could tell that the crowd was mostly young because even by the last song they still had just as much energy as they came in with.

Canterbury was much better than I expected them to be if I'm honest. Not sure if I would pay to see them again, but I definitely don't regret paying to see them here, they were great.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...