 
 Tonight one of the godfathers of emo are playing
in Birmingham and yet more people are queuing
up outside for the Scissor Sisters. I can’t
get my head around it, this band has influenced
many great pop-punk and emo bands that emerged
over the last ten years, Blink 182 and Fall Out
Boy being just two of them, and yet it seems like
they’ve been forgotten . I enquire t the
ticket office as to how many tickets have been
sold and I get the response of “80”.
This is disheartening and as I enter a almost
empty room I think I’m in for a quiet night
here. But as the clock ticks on and it gets closer
to Straight Lines taking the stage, out of no-where
the room starts to fill up, its no-where near
busting but at least we have an atmosphere now,
with the cool kids at the bar and the young ones
up front.
 Straight Lines come out to a nice warm reception,
it seems like they’ve got quiet a few fans
here for them and why not they’re an up
and coming band with the looks and a sound that
will take them far. They kick into a few thumping
punky numbers that sucks the crowd in. Guitarist
James Pugh and bassist Todd Campbell thrash energetically
around the stage thoroughly enjoying every minute
they’re up there, it’s a shame singer
Tom Jenkins has to stay in one place whilst he
sings because it seems like he wants to break
free from the mics restrictions and join his band
mates in the fun. A few songs in the band slows
it down with a nice melodic number ‘All
My Friends Have Joined The Army’ that gets
the crowd dancing and has a nice catchy chorus
of “I’ve got places to go I’ve
got people to see, I know what I’ll do I’ll
fight for my country”. They pound through
the rest of their set list with little talk in
between tracks as they’ve got a job to do
and they’re going to do it well and that’s
to play some good tunes and leave the crowd wanting
more! The set builds up to a big end with a beefy
riff heavy 2 min instrumental which goes down
a storm. Straight Lines have done well tonight
and I reckon you should keep an eye out for them
as I’m sure they’ll be headlining
this venue themselves very soon but in the mean
time you can catch them doing some support slots
for Attack! Attack! in October.
The crowd wait around anxiously for the Get Up
Kids to come on stage, its hard to believe that
in 2005 they had broken up and things looked like
that would be that. But in late 2008 they got
back together and went on to play lots of sold
out gigs, but even though the venue has filled
up, its still nowhere from sell out and it’s
a shame, as this band still have a lot to give
and with the release of their new e.p. ’Simple
Science’ I’m sure they can win over
new fans and ignite the flames of old.
 The lights go down the and the Get Up Kids come
onto the stage one by one with guitarist Jim Suptic
getting into the world cup spirit by wearing an
England shirt with his name on the back, which
gets some mighty cheers from the crowd. Without
wasting any time they kick into they’re
classic ‘Holiday’ followed by ‘I’m
a Loner Dottie, A Rebel’ which sound as
fresh as they did eleven years ago. Instantly
the tone of the night is set up and that’s
a good ole sing along , with the crowd singing
every word and pumping fists into the air to add
more depth to the lyrics they’ve grown to
cherish over the years. The Get Up Kids, all though
by now they should be The Get Up Young Adults
are still as catchy and poppy as ever but somehow
sounding gritty and powerful at the same time.
They know how to take this crowd on a journey,
with ambient keyboards and screeching guitars,
they build the crowd up then lower them down with
a good mix of fast and slow tunes which make the
atmosphere electric. They banter well between
songs and look so happy to be playing here tonight,
they’ve mastered the art of live gigs over
there extensive carrier and sound even better
than they do recorded. There’s just something
about them that’s awe inspiring, which is
most definitely shown by the amount of bands they’ve
inspired over the years.
They’re set lasts for well over an hour
with them playing six songs from the seminal album
‘Something To Write Home About’ a
huge mixture of songs from there other three albums
whilst also including covers of ‘Beer For
Breakfast’ and ‘Close To Me’
as well. Tonight was a treat, The Get up Kids
blew everyone away, lets hope they stick around
for years to come as they truly know how to satisfy
a crowd.
Get Up Kids 4.5/5
Straight Lines 4/5
Review By James Daly
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