Page 46 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 104

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NEW YEARS DAY / LOWLIVES – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY 2, 20.02.20
New Years Day were only in the UK a cou- playing a hometown show here. Lowlives are no There's a real buzz in the room as we wait
ple of months ago, playing support to the mighty strangers to New Years Day either, as it is re- for New Years Day to take to the stage, and
Halestorm, but have wasted no time in making vealed that vocalist Lee Downer actually helped when they finally arrive all hell breaks loose as
a swift return to British soil as they are back al- Ash Costello write a few of their songs off recent they get underway with 'Come For Me' straight
ready with a run of their own headline shows. album 'Unbreakable'. They go on to put on a from the new album. When it comes to strong
Los Angeles-based Lowlives are the sup- very enjoyable set too, as they have the whole women in music Ashley Costello is right up there
port here tonight, although funnily, enough one room bouncing along to 'Burn Forever', getting among the best; there are a lot of young women
of the members happens to be a Brummie so is everybody warmed up for the headliner. in the crowd who you can tell really look up to
her as their role model. There's
even members of the crowd
who also have Ashley's trade-
mark half-head hairstyle. It's
really refreshing to see how
much she genuinely cares too;
she has a bright big smile on
her face for most of the show
and regularly points out individ-
uals in the crowd to let them
know she's grateful they came
out tonight.
The musicianship on dis-
play is a joy to watch. There's
a real chemistry between gui-
tarists Nikki Misery and Austin
Ingerman and also bassist
Frankie Sil. They are the driv-
ing force in the background
whilst Ash Costello works her
magic with the microphone.
Songs come thick and fast in
the form of 'Shut Up', 'I'm About
To Break You' and 'Kill Or Be
Killed', which all get special
mentions, and there's even
room for a Pantera cover with
'Fucking Hostile', which easily
goes down as one of the most
enjoyable of the set.
With final song, 'Angel
Eyes', Ashley asks the crowd
to help her out with some of the
vocals, "Can you guys help me
sing Chris's part?" as the song
of course features Chris Mo-
tionless of Motionless In White.
For a band who's aesthetic is
to be dark and gloomy, they
sure seem to be a bright shin-
ing light of inspiration to their
adoring fans who leave the
venue tonight all smiles.
YYYY
Sam Robinson
Ashley Costello (New Years
Day) Photo By Sam Robinson

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