 It's
a nice evening in Birmingham, the academy is bustling
and a huge crowd has shown up for tonight’s
We The kings gig, all eager to get into the party
mood and that sunshine state of mind.
Inside the room is boiling and everyone is eager
to be entertained, first up is Riots, who I cannot
find anything about on the internet. This young
group are alright, they are pop rock with a bit
of indie thrown in. They sound ok for the most
but have rather heavy bass that washes out the
other instruments from time to time but I'm guessing
this is due to sound problems and not how they
are meant to sound. They have catchy chorus's
with harmonies a plenty And this young crowd laps
it up, but to be fair this is one of the youngest
crowds I've seen in a long while so any band would
keep them entertained as long as it had pretty
you lads in it. They tie up this fast paced set
and can be proud of themselves, they've entertained
and put on a decent show despite their young age
and sound problems.
 Next
on is Bedford based Don Broco, who have played
Birmingham quite allot over the past few months
and are making quite a name for themselves. I
was really looking forward to them but unfortunately
I think I built it up too much. They burst straight
into their new single Priorities which sounds
pretty good instrument wise, the flowing bass,
heavy riffs and fast drums are ace but the singing
can hardly be heard under the strength of the
rest of the band. They move around the stage and
make it their own, whilst using creates to stand
up above the crowd and jump off. They have fun
with their short set which includes singer Rob
Damiani jumping into the crowd and getting in
amongst the sweaty fans, they get people onto
each other’s shoulders to get a festival
atmosphere and they do the odd synchronized dance
moves on stage, but underneath this fun stage
show are songs that just are not strong enough,
they're good don't get me wrong but they're lacking
something that pushes them over the edge. Hopefully
they'll come back when there album drops in summer
with stronger songs to back up there frantic live
show!
 Next
up is the main act, We The Kings. This 5 piece
pop rock band from Florida are rather popular
over here with 3 albums rather big selling albums
and a sell-out tour under their belts. So it's
no wonder they put on a good show starting with
poppy anthem She Takes Me High Then continuing
the fun with Skyway Avenue and What You Do To
Me. They sound great, with all the problems from
earlier in the night sorted so the levels are
all good, so you can hear Travis's smooth and
creamy vocals over the sweet medley of clean guitars
and keys, with some nice plodding bass and hi
hats thrown in for good measure.
This band is a fun time band, they have no gimmicks,
they're pop rock and they're proud of it, every
song is catchy and happy and that's how everyone
here likes it. Singer Travis Clark puts their
love of the fans into context "you are the
only reason we exist, if you didn't come to the
shows then we wouldn't do this! So with that said
it means you are now a part of the band, so sing
along" so this mostly female crowd off screechers,
who for most of the night scream and pierce my
ears as they grab the attention of the bands but
now they sing along to Secret Valentine perfectly,
it really sounds amazing leaving Travis with little
to do on stage.
 Most
of the band leave the stage and leave Travis and
Coley O’Toole alone to do two slowed down
songs We’ll Be A Dream and Heaven Can Wait,
which are stripped back and bear with just the
acoustic guitar and piano. This is a nice change
of pace and mixes the set up with some ballads
before going back into the whole band with Every
Single Dollar and Say You Like Me.
I am not a massive fan of We The Kings but they
do, what they do well and if you’re in the
mood for some pop rock and want something less
mainstream than Mcfly then We The Kings are the
bad for you! The only thing I will say bad about
them is that singer Travis goes on about sex way
too much and considering the audience is made
up of 14 year olds it's probably not the most
appropriate. The band wrap up this short set with
a excellent speeded up version of The Middle by
Jimmy Eat World and finishing with the summer
time anthem Check Yes Juliet.
 Overall
tonight has been fun, the supports where decent
enough and We The Kings were great, it is a shame
they haven’t played more songs as they only
play 4 from each of their albums meaning that
everyone leaves the venue half hour before curfew,
even with them talking quite allot between songs.
But everyone has had a good night and they can
go home and enjoy the rest of this bank holiday
weekend with a smile on their face.
Riots 3/5
Don Broco 3/5
We The Kings 4.5/5
Review By James Daly
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