Page 51 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 109

BV109 pg 50-53 Against The Current.qxp_BV109 pg 51 10/12/2023 22:00 Page 2

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AGAINST THE CURRENT / LØLØ / CALL ME AMOUR – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 02.12.23
It’s the last English date of Against The Current’s Nightmares & Daydreams tour, and it’s definitely a dream night, with
Call Me Amour and LØLØ supporting. Call Me Amour, fronted by Harry Radford, perform songs such as ‘IMFKD’, ‘Drop The
Knife’ and ‘Deeper’, the latter calling for the audience to all use their phones to film video clips for a music video. Harry leaves
the stage and ends up at the back of the room, standing up over the mixing desk. Their music is powerful, hard and deep,
with elements of electronics infusing guitar-driven rock. Mikey Chapman of Mallory Knox joins the band on stage for a number,
which is a nice surprise.
LØLØ’s fanbase is in full force tonight as the female contingency sing along to her infectious pop rock gems. It’s obvious
that the female singer/songwriter is destined for stardom. She has such fun, cute songs, such as ‘debbie downer’, ‘faceplant’
and ‘hurt less’. She throws some tinselly pom poms out to the audience; ‘debbie downer’, in particular, is bouncy, cheer-
leader-style music, with the video seeing cheerleaders shake their pom poms. She almost has a Nickelodeon vibe although
her songs are very honest and real, with subject matter ranging from crippling anxiety to boyfriends making her mentally ill,
the latter in the form of ‘u turn me on (but u give me depression)’. Seeing LØLØ as support to Against The Current is like
opening a big present ahead of Christmas Day. Every song is addictive and adorable – we can’t wait to see her again, hope-
fully before she becomes a massive superstar.
Chrissy Costanza, vocalist of Against The Current, runs onto the stage full of energy, as ‘”good guy”’ kicks off their set.
It’s the perfect start, uplifting and vibrant. Dressed in sparkly tights and a mini skirt, Chrissy doesn’t stand still for long, moving
about the stage and stepping up onto the riser at the front. ‘jump’ (from the band’s 2021-released ‘fever’ EP - all the titles of
which are written in lower case) is inspiring, with Chrissy singing, ‘What are you waiting for? Don’t be afraid of wanting some-
thing more. Jump into the deep end’. Songs such as ‘again&again’ have a dark subject matter, but have such an illuminating
beat courtesy of drummer Will Ferri. ‘blindfolded’ has a beautiful atmospheric air, while older classic ‘Talk’ is punchy and
brash. The band’s lighting ranges from submerging red to sprays of irradiating white. Chrissy kneels on the stage during
‘silent stranger’, while ‘lullaby’ blends an ethereal feel with the most virulent beat that urges the crowd to clap along.

CONCERTS