Under A Banner

Something wicked this way comes.

It was undoubtedly the chance to see Under A  Banner perform live that fuelled our initial desire to go to The livestock Festival.  

They are an incredibly hard working, media savvy band.  Our paths had crossed on Twitter and Adam is incredibly 'on it' and loyal to those who show support for the band.  Their sound is fresh a folk, punk, rock fusion but very lyrics driven with subject matter that resonates.  They were without doubt one of my favourite finds of this year, and many a day has been improved by playing LEAVING HERE very loud indeed.

Find them here - you won't be sorry that you did

Did they deliver live?  Overwhelmingly yes, they are passionate and intense and gratifyingly ear ringingly loud (for which I thanked them at 3am)  These boys, and girl can definitely play - the sound quality was a bit 'first night new festival' standard but you can't hide power and passion.

Big thanks to Adam for sharing the set list, presumably written in his own fair hand.

However, my one disappointment was that they delivered the set like a heat seeking missile, one great number after another it must be said, but with little introduction or interaction and the price that we paid for this approach was that we didn't really get to know them.  

I do get it.  

It was a quiet night at Livestock and those that were around needed to be grabbed by the throat and kept there - I don't know if Adam would usually introduce the members of the band, or if together they are more than the sum of their parts, but I wanted to know them.  It may even have been an antidote to the somewhat 'just the right side of chaos' feel to backstage.  But it was on the verge of being maniacal until Adam introduced "Impossible Dave" and with that simple interaction proved himself to be incredibly likeable, which indeed he is.  It was the first time during the set, that he seemed to relax and allow us a glimpse of the man behind the music.  

But it was undeniably a great set.  The heart of Under a Banner was here, I love the insane energy of Network and rousingness, possibly not a word but should be, of Victory Time.  

I did miss the softer side of Under a Banner with the beautiful musicality of their acoustic numbers such as Another Time and Inseparable but so that anyone who was there does not miss out ….

I suggest that you sell your granny and get yourself t'Midlands to see them.  I  definitely want to see them again, I want to see them in a metaphorically  smokey bar filled to bursting with folk who get them.  I want to get hot and sweaty and hoarse with singing and dancing, and do I want to stay there and drink with them?

  Hell Yeah!