Page 44 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 103

BV103 pg44_BV103 pg44 23/12/2019 11:36 Page 1

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DREAM STATE / NORMANDIE / LED BY LANTERNS – BIRMINGHAM ASYLUM, 29.10.19
It’s been five years since they first formed, but 2019 finally saw the There’s something special about a Dream State show. It’s not just the
release of Dream State’s debut album – and a UK tour to back it up. music, but frontwoman Cj Gilpin’s between-song speeches. She is dedi-
Led By Lanterns make an impressive opening band. The Birmingham- cated to helping others, so much so that almost every song includes in-
based outfit have some quality songs under their belts. Gorgeous spirational words at the start of it. She tells the audience to express
melodies wrap around solid rock tuneage. We can picture Led By Lanterns themselves, to keep fighting the uncomfortable zones in your life, to raise
following in the footsteps of bands like You Me At Six, who have gone on the vibration and practice living in the moment. And then each song backs
to arena status, such is the calibre of the goods in their bag. that up with its own heartfelt lyrics that CJ wrote about various experiences
It’s quite a nightmare show for Normandie, who, after the first song, and times in her life. Songs such as ‘Made Up Smile’, ‘Hand In Hand’ and
stop the show as something’s not quite right. Frontman Philip Strand goes ‘Help Myself’ are played with conviction and passion. CJ doesn’t stand
over to the laptop while the venue DJ plays music over the PA. This lasts still either – she bends backwards, she lies on the floor of the stage and
for what must’ve been at least three songs and you wonder whether Nor- she climbs off the stage to go and stand on the barrier. Later in the set,
mandie will have any set time left by the time they’ve sorted the problem. she crowd surfs part of the way towards the lighting rig and tries to reach
In the end, Philip gives up and says they’ll have to deal with it, hoping the up to it, but is too short to reach up to it. It’s such an emotive show with
audience is OK with the problem – which he later explains is that every the four members of Dream State being such a bright shining hope for the
30 seconds the backing music on the laptop skips five seconds. While future of music. “Who’s got anxiety?” CJ asks before ‘In This Hell’, a song
they manage to soldier on with the laptop music skipping constantly (we she invites the crowd to part down the middle and do a wall of death and
can’t really hear it), and we feel sorry for them for having the disaster hap- circle pit for. Tonight’s set really is like heaven and Dream State make us
pen (Philip comments that it’s the hardest gig of their life), it also reminds feel at home.
you how you can’t beat a band that is 100% live, playing their own instru- YYYYY
ments with no need for backing tracks. Of course, adding instruments that SBV
can’t be played live may make for a bigger and more impressive sound,
but maybe it would be worth working on a different ‘live’ version that is
100% live (or having a backup system).

CJ Gilpin (Dream State) Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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