aaamusic | On 17, Jul 2014

Friday 11th July, Birmingham

First up on the stage was Keep the Change, representing the Birmingham pop band scene and doing so very well; the three piece band kicked the night off extremely well. These guys were definite crowd-pleasers with the scream of the girls ringing throughout the crowd for their whole set.

The highlight of the night for these guys would have to be their own rendition of Carly Rae Jepsons’ ‘Call Me Maybe’ – this was definitely a good choice as there are very few people who don’t at least know a few words of this song and this was showed here with the whole room shouting the lyrics back at them, practically drowning out the band. With all these positives during their set, there wasn’t actually anything notable that I can mention about the set, no catchy tunes or memorable lyrics to speak of.

Next up were Orchard Hill. Right from the start I couldn’t fathom why they weren’t at least main support. The lead singer Tiff had an incredibly powerful voice with the whole band containing a very strong Tonight Alive vibe about them and they were in control of the stage and crowd from the start. The presence of the two guitarists Jamie and Mark did not go unnoticed though, as they controlled either side of the stage top notch riffs and high kicks aplenty!

Now half way through the night it’s Woodward’s turn to woo the crowd and they did so very well, throwing out love heart gestures to anyone and everyone. Launching themselves straight into their first song, there was nothing spectacular about it, it was difficult to differentiate between the songs apart from the drumming and I give it to Curtis for saving the night for Woodward, he mastered his kit like a lion leads his pride.

Futureproof were the surprise of the night, not at all what I was expecting but in a good way as they introduced their own genre of music to the night and made the stage their own. Exceptionally well produced and performed, the crowd loved every second and when lead singer Jonni shouted for the crowd to jump multiple times, they were more than happy to comply and willingly did so. This was more than just a boy band though with very little instruments to speak of and the majority of the music was pumped through the speakers via a laptop, Futureproof were able to offer something that no one else could: hard-hitting dance drops that made everyone want to touch the roof.

Now comes the time for the headliners In Hindsight. As soon as brothers Issac Anderson, Michael and Daniel Newcombe step on the fogged-up stage the screams from the crowd hit new levels. Powering through their songs it was guitarist Issac that kept on pulling my eye, with his eager interactions with the crowd and guitar solos that were short but could rival many bigger bands. Even with all this happening, dividing my attention, lead vocalist Michael was still the main focal point of the set with his impressive vocals reaching every corner of the room.

But it wasn’t until they played their version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ that Michael showed the true power of his voice. Unlike other bands that have covered Michael Jackson and have ruined that song, most notably Fall Out Boy, In Hindsight made it their own song but kept the core that made the original a worldwide hit, with drummer Dan now playing keyboard and introducing his own voice into the mix creating a relaxing harmony alongside Michael.

While none of these bands were to my own individual taste, I have to say they were a lot better than what I had envisioned and the crowd loved each and every band that played the stage… so at the end of the day they came out on top.

Review + Photos: Sean Shore