Page 54 - Black Velvet Issue 97

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STONE BROKEN / THE BAD FLOWERS / THE NECTARS – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE 2, 19.05.18
West Midlands-based band Stone Broken released their second full-length album, ‘Ain’t Always Easy’, at the start of March and announced a UK
headline tour around the release date in support of it. Two shows, however, were postponed due to the ‘Beast from the East’, so two and a half months
later, they’re back to commit to them.
The evening kicks off with The Nectars from New York. There is a slight resemblance to No Doubt – in the fact that they are fronted by pretty
blonde female Jess Kenny, who possesses a sweet vocal range and is dressed in noticeable black and white chequered leggings and matching
bandeau top. She is joined by three male musicians; Jon Paul, Mike Montalbano and Michael Baron. Songs such as ‘Heaven’ and ‘I Want It’ are
punky pop bites of exuberance and edge. ‘Wet Cigarette’ is about the New Jersey band’s experiences in New York City and is a slab of sticky fudge
with stomping drums and a DIY garage rock ethos. ‘Cemetery Girl’ and ‘Don’t Panic’ stand out for their quirkiness, with Jess announcing ‘Let me have
your attention please’ at the start of the latter. Wrapping up their set with ‘We Will Run’, this is only the beginning for The Nectars, whose debut album
hadn’t even been released at the time of the show, but on this performance, they have definitely grabbed our attention already.
It’s almost like being in a sunny, summer garden – first The Nectars, the headliners being Stone Broken, and sandwiched in the middle are The
Bad Flowers. But this is a garden we are happy to relax in. Not that The Bad Flowers give you much chance to relax as they are an immensely powerful
trio. Songs such as ‘Thunder Child’ and ‘Be Your Man’ are full-on classic rock. The three members of The Bad Flowers wipe the floor with bands that
have five or six members, really showing them how it’s done. You can’t help but admire Karl Selickis’s impressive drum work, Dale Tonks’s hefty bass
pounding or Tom Leighton’s intricate guitar playing and singing (although his vocals are a slightly acquired taste). Following in the footsteps of Stone
Broken, The Bad Flowers are constantly progressing and every time we see them, impress us more.
Tonight, Stone Broken play a set worthy of arena status. For starters, they have excellent lighting, which is so much better than many of the bands
that play the Institute 2. Secondly – the songs. Their songs are as good as any on rock radio – and they play them as professionally as they sound on
disc. Our only one slight quibble is that ‘Be There’ has a recorded intro that the band could probably play themselves. That said, everything else is fan-
tastic. Drummer Robyn Haycock performs a solo, which shows her talent on the drums, and frontman Rich Moss also plays a song acoustically on his
own, which takes a lot of guts. Each member has great stage presence and they know how to put on a top class show. They look confident on stage
and have the crowd in the palm of their hands. They
give one fan, Gary, a shout out for being 50 yester-
day, while a fan who passed away, Mike James, gets
the whole show dedicated to him, his photo held up
on stage during ‘Wait For You’, and placed on stage
for the whole show. It’s a very emotional moment.
Rich also brings his sister on stage as her birthday
was on the day of their originally-scheduled Birming-
ham show. The crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her –
even though it’s two months later. The band cover
Backstreet Boys’ ‘Larger Than Life’ in the encore – a
song we may be the only one not to have known –
although the band turn it into a Stone Broken song,
making it very rocky, fitting in at home with the rest
of the set. Ending with ‘Not Your Enemy’, there are
definitely no enemies here, and we can see why so
many of their fans are diehards and follow them all
over the country. We are already looking forward to
the next time we can see them.
YYYYY
SBV

Rich Moss & Kieron Conroy (Stone Broken)
Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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