Live Review - The Devil Wears Prada, Dead Harts, Napoleon - Corporation Sheffield, 2013

Saturday 30 November 2013

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I recently got the chance to interview and review The Devil Wears Prada Sheffield, you can check it out here or below.

[Rhian Westbury]

In a week of insane clashing line ups we caught The Devil Wears Prada on their last date of their UK tour at Corporation , Sheffield. Being in the midst of so many tours saw the show moved to the small room at Corporation, sell out to then be followed by an in flux in ticket demand. We doubt any Prada fans will leave it to the last minute again.

Openers Napoleon lurch across the stage as they attempt to warm up the room and although they fling every limb and thrash through every track the crowd just doesn’t seem to shift more than the gratuitous head bob. Despite this awkwardness musically and vocally Napoleon give everything they’ve got till we are desperate to hear what they’ve recorded. So despite fumbling presence with the audience Napoleon’s sweet blend melodic hardcore is something to listen out for.

And lest we forget ladies and gents that we were on Dead Harts territory here as the room heaves before they even begin.As vocalist Matthew Baxendale sweeps up the mic the crowd is swaying unleashing to ‘Leech’ and never relenting through walls of death, circle pits and flailing limbs. Dead Harts hit the spot unlike anything to tongue your ears at the moment, grooving through deviating riffs as Bax relays the mic because everybody already knows the words. And the vivaciousness doesn’t stop there, drummer Anthony Allen has an alluring way of keeping time that leaves the tinkering of the drum rim to accidentally fill spaces that you’d almost miss if it wasn’t for the impeccable breaks in ‘Pit Talk’. As they close on the renowned ‘Smoke Wagons’ the room is in uproar – primed for TDWP.  Regardless if the track is new or old the crowd and DH are giving all they have got and with a new album due for next year there are big things to come for Dead Harts.

The audience at Corp feels a little older, with the odd youth floating about showing that maybe The Devil Wears Prada have developed as we have matured reviving a secure fan base that weren’t just there for the older tracks. As ‘Gloom’ sends Corp wild it proves ’8:18′ is a Prada album not to be reckoned with as ‘Martyrs’ and ‘First Sight’ see the room heaving. And it seems to be a pattern ‘War’ and ‘Sailor’s Prayer’ hold the room in reverence as ‘War’ beautifully lurches in melodicmusicianship and ‘Sailor’s Prayer’ intertwines pop elements that has Jeremy DePoyster vocally conducting the crowd over the intricate agile riff that could easily sway over any fans sitting on the fence. Although the new tracks tear the place apart songs like ‘Escape’, ‘Danger’ and ‘Assistant’ get more chaotic and crushing as they come with frontman Mike Hranica clawing the air with every beat.


With it being the last show of the tour we requested ‘Spongebob Grindpants’ and ‘Still Fly’ but Sheffield was treated no different from the rest of the tour and ‘Dead Throne’ and ‘Mammoth’ split the carnage that was TDWP’s encore. An insane ending to an amazing show that saw The Devil Wears Prada prove that you can evolve and still tear it apart.

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Live Review - The Dillinger Escape Plan - Nottingham, Rock City - 2013

Sunday 24 November 2013

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So in my recent wee trip Nottingham I got interview and review some amazing bands and one of these was The Dillinger Escape Plan. You can read it below or check it out here which includes some amazing shots. 

[Graham Berry]

Culminating a two month European tour saw The Dillinger Escape Plan bring Nottingham’s Rock City to a stand still. White lights and disorientating bass left us in unsettling darkness between each erupting blindess for ‘Prancer’ to ambush the crowd with its jagged riff and renowned lyrics. Despite this being the last date of the tour DEP are as tight as ever ripping in ‘Farewell Mona Lisa’ as the crowd continue to shout every word back, flinging their bodies with every embedded riff in their person.

If you didn’t take a Ben Weinman to the face after walking the crowd at KOKO you certainly did at Rock City, sliding the throngs of people as security lashed at his ankles. Epic Dillinger tracks such as ‘Milk Lizard’ and ‘Panasonic Youth‘ had the room in fits swinging with every grooving bass strung with Liam Wilsons vivacious moves and the syncopated riffs of ‘Panasonic Youth’. Dillinger continued to work their way through their anthems with ‘Fix Your Face’ and ‘Black Bubblegum‘ jolting through  volatile time changes in perfect unison whilst throwing every limb and vaulting off everything they could.

With every track came a distortion of absurd moving images. With each haunting picture came another abberant image that left you wincing at the stage but desperate to watch DEP. The looming introduction to these eerie figures left us seduced, unrestrained and cornered by Dillinger, making each track more twisted and more vicious than the last. As Greg introduces ‘One Of Us Is The Killer’ with ‘Lets make some babies‘ it’s slow, grooving motions settle in heaving within each person there.

Proceeding to make a crowd lose their shit is possibly the best kind of encore. As the band covered Aphex Twin’s ‘Come To Daddy’ fans eyes met and tore the place apart lunging at every object as the illustriously mental opening riff to ’43% Burnt’ saw t-shirts flying and bodies launching. No one left unscathed.
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Hull, Chuck Palahnuik, City of Culture 2017.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

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Last Friday I braced all the trains to Hull for Humber Mouth literary festival with Chuck Palahnuik. I write this on the day that Hull was announced city of culture 2017, which is amazing. Whenever I tell people I went to University in Hull they squirm in the name it picked up for itself in previous years, but it is so much more than that. Every time I visit something has gotten bigger or better, more and more shops are coming to Hull whilst its avenues still remain independent and the heart of the city. So with this and countless arts projects bringing more and more to the city Hull is showing the world what is has to offer and Humber Mouth was one of those.


In all my life I never thought I would be witness to a famous Palahnuik reading of 'Guts' but I was and although I don't think anyone fainted someone in the balcony claimed they felt a bit whoosy. It was an amazing insight into Chuck's writing, structure and life but even more amazing to witness it at The University of Hull.

I wish I could have been in Hull for the whole festival but unless something miraculous happens, oh like handing my notice in tomorrow I don't think I will get another chance to visit until 2014.


I always said I didn't want to live in Hull after Uni but I love visiting and with the announcement of City of Culture 2017 a wave of articles hit of the amazing and interesting things to do in Hull. So to all those who squirm at thinking of visiting and to all those programs that have used it as a punch line. Go visit, you will soon change your mind.

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'Wetlands' by Charlotte Roche

Wednesday 13 November 2013

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Charlotte Roche's debut novel is not one for the faint hearted but definitely one you will not be able to put down. Surrounding the world of the protagonist Helen through her stint in hospital after an anal injury is a place of open thoughts, bodily fluids, sexual fulfillment and the quest to find more names for female parts. Sometimes men do get all the fun.

Get it here: Wetlands
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