Page 48 - Black Velvet Issue 84

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YYYYY Excellent YYYY Very Good YYY Good

YY Listenable, Just Y Poor

GERARD WAY / NO DEVOTION – enjoying being back where they belong. was different but that’s nothing compared to
BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, It’s a night of new beginnings. It’s the first transgenders – although adds “they’re just the
20.01.15 Birmingham show for Gerard Way, who obvi- same as us”. He also brings up mental illness
and gives a shout out to his brother before the
ously everyone knows for previously fronting My
So young but so full of experience – that’s Chemical Romance. My Chemical Romance slightly flamboyant ‘Maya The Psychic’, a song
No Devotion. Lee Gaze, Mike Lewis, Jay Oliver have played sold out shows in Birmingham at about mental illness and hearing voices. He tells
and Stu Richardson, Geoff Rickly and even bigger venues such as the LG Arena. We were the audience that hearing voices in your head
stand in drummer Phil Jenkins (previously Kids sad when Gerard announced a tour in Novem- happens when you have too much information
In Glass Houses), are known to many rock fans ber which didn’t include Birmingham, but some- in your brain and it spills out. He speaks to the
in the UK for their previous bands. Now Geoff one somewhere must have heard our crowd almost as if he’s speaking one on one
has joined forces with Lee, Mike, Jamie and Stu disappointment and one got booked for January with you, down to earth and full of compassion.
they are doing something completely different. instead. Hurray! It’s not sold out, but there’s a He also thanks the crowd for being cool about
It is the polar opposite to Lostprophets – instead decent sized audience at the O2 Academy, him not playing MCR songs and says “when it’s
of uptempo rock tunes with mega anthems, the which bodes well for the future. Like No Devo- time it’s time”. Gerard plays a couple of new
boys infiltrate the audience with synthy mesmer- tion, Gerard has also switched his sound a little songs after his album tracks – the two new
izing experimental sounds. Single ’10,000 Sum- – also phasing out the huge rock hooks and an- songs are ‘Don’t Try’ and ‘Kid Nothing’, the latter
mers’ is hypnotizing while ‘Stay’, the first song themic choruses and going for a slightly left of is the final song of the encore, and has a more
the band released last year, is dreamy and in- centre approach. His early Britpop influence rock n’ roll style to it, almost Rolling Stones-ish,
fectious, like a sparkly sky full of shooting stars. seeps out in songs such as ‘Drugstore Perfume’ with a big guitar riff. It’s an instant favourite.
Set closer ‘Grand Central’ is atmospheric with while intro ‘Bureau’ stutters like a lo-fi garage Overall, the voices in our head told us that
dark repetitive sampled beats. The boys seem hustler. ‘Action Cat’ picks the set up early on this was an enjoyable show by a talented man
to have walked away from rock and dived into a and Gerard finds the crowd in the palm of his that has proven he deserves every ounce of
spiraling tunnel of new wave and smooth electro hand. Gerard speaks out on the same couple of success he’s had so far. May his future make
pop with mellow tones. It’s still early days for the topics that he did in Oxford – transgenderism him as content as he makes us.
band. It may take us a few more listens or and young women. He tells the crowd that he YYYY
shows for some of their songs to really grow on supports transgenders “so much you have no Shari Black Velvet
us, but it’s great to see the band on stage and idea”. He comments that he used to think he Gerard Way Photo By Shari Black Velvet
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