HGR01
Holy Ghost Revival @ Bar Academy

3rd December 2007

Monday night in Birmingham and 3000 people are crammed into the Academy to watch Queens Of The Stone Age plough through a set of psychedelic stoner rock while a few metres away in the bar next door just fifteen lucky punters get to witness one of the most entertaining and somewhat risky performances the venue has ever seen.

Hailing from Seattle and signed to 1965 Records (The View/Ripchord/Metros), Holy Ghost Revival could be forgiven for giving a half-arsed show, considering the amount of people that have turned up tonight. Instead they spend the entire set throwing shapes, interacting with crowd members, swapping instruments, snogging their label manager, falling to the floor and generally giving it 110%.

Frontman Conor Kiley mixes the swagger of Axl Rose with the charisma of Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, all the while demanding your attention as he strolls around the audience, getting right up in their faces and at one point tying up a group of unsuspecting crowdmembers with his microphone lead.

The entertainment factor is certainly high but this is a band with tunes and musical talent to back it up. Songs like “Autumn’s Children” and “Green Raised Vain” brilliantly showcase the band’s baroque, 70s rock vibe yet sound in no way dated.

A band which is sure to get plenty more attention in 2008, Holy Ghost Revival may just be the group to bring the fun and excitement back to your local venue. Make sure you catch them when they return to these shores.

Words and photo – Steve Gerrard www.rock-photo.com
KE1 Kathleen Edwards - Manchester Academy 3 - June 25th 2008 Canadian songstress wows at intimate Manchester show.
ED1 EDITORS @ Birmingham NIA Local boys take on arena crowd and win...
DEP1 The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Birmingham Academy 2 – 20th February 2008 Chaos reigns as US hardcore outfit lay waste to Birmingham's Academy 2.
JEW1 Jimmy Eat World @ Birmingham Academy - 19th February 2008 Uplifting punk anthems to warm a cold winter's night...
K01 Baroness, Kylesa & Taint @ The Medicine Bar, Birmingham Capsule bring the noise to Digbeth

Words & Photos - Steve Gerrard
St01 Stars @ Birmingham Barfly Indie pop from Montreal

Words & Photos - Steve Gerrard
Tw01 The Twang - Birmingham Academy 20th December 2007 Brummie heroes celebrate a momentous year.
KOL01 Kings Of Leon @ Birmingham NIA The Followills go stadium rock.
Job01 Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder and The Red Chord @ Academy 2 Metal Blade Records celebrate 25 years with an evening of immense death metal.
HGR01 Holy Ghost Revival @ Bar Academy The View's US label mates bring the fun to Bar Academy.
DH01 Divine Heresy @ Birmingham Barfly Debut UK performance sets high standards.
H01 THE HIVES @ Birmingham Academy Sweden's finest rip it up in Birmingham

Review - Kimberley Owen

Photos - Steve Gerrard

MH01 The Black crusade @ Birmingham NEC The Black Crusade featuring Machine Head, Trivium, Dragonforce, Arch Enemy and Shadows fall @ Birmingham NEC 23rd November 2007
Stereo-01 Stereophonics & The Enemy @ Bimingham NEC Welsh rockers bring local boys to the big stage.

Words & Photos - Steve Gerrard

KT01 KT Tunstall @ Birmingham Academy Scottish songstress brings the smiles to a Monday night in Birmingham.
AD01 Adele @ Birmingham Glee Club Intimate gig for London's newest rising star.
AK01 The Arcadian Kicks @ Stourbridge Rock Cafe Local Indie Rockers Get The Kids Dancin'
sspu01 Silversun Pickups @ Birmingham Barfly New US alternarock heroes make their Birmingham debut.
ed1 Editors @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall Local boys return with a spectacular (if all too short) set in Wolves.
DR01 Damien Rice @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall 29/03/07 The Irish troubadour goes through the motions during a shortUK tour.
Un01 Unearth @ Academy 2 US Metal crew tear up Academy 2
23rd March 2007
Lily01 Lily Allen @ Wolves Civic Hall Lilly Allen shouts her mouth off in Wolverhampton, with a few unexpected covers thrown in for good measure.
Rave01 NME Rave Tour - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall Photos by Steve Gerrard - www.rock-photo.com
Twang03 The Twang & friends @ Academy 2 A feast of Birmingham talent for Christmas with The Twang, Murdoch, Deluka, The Ripps and Untitled Musical Project @ Academy 2 - 20/12/06. Words & photos: Steve Gerrard www.rock-photo.com
Rac01 The Raconteurs @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall Mr Jack White takes time off to rock out with Brendan Benson and friends.
J01 Juliette and the Licks @ The Barfly 30.09.06
Juliette Lewis brought her band, The Licks to the Birmingham Barfly for a special performance.
twang3finsmall The Twang - 22 May, 2007 OK so it’s very hot and it’s very sweaty and in all honesty this has got to be the hottest and the sweatiest gig that I have been to all year!! Support tonight comes from the very interesting ...
MD1 Megadeth - Birmingham Academy 22nd February 2008 Dave Mustaine keeps the metal fraternity satisfied.
hotchip Hot Chip It’s a bit corny to describe everybody’s fave electro-geeks Hot Chip as, well, hot but anyone who had to swim through the sweat at the end of their Wulfrun set will agree.
WAS05 We Are Scientists 18.4.8 - Birmingham Combining stand-up with music has always been an experiment that We Are Scientists have pulled off with Grade A aplomb. Bunsen burners are generally exchanged for improv ...
nerd1 NERD - Birmingham Academy A Tuesday is a good night for a gig but you wouldn’t necessarily have it down as a good night for a party. But this Tuesday £30 gained you access to just that!
Back to topic index