What's On In Brum? - Your guide to what's on in Birmingham?

Butterfly Catchers
Doin’ Time (Self Released EP)

The songs on this record are lovingly crafted, beautifully arranged and played and sound consumately professional.
However there is something missing which makes it hard for Butterfly Catchers to really engage me. Their sound is intimate
and earthy, basically acoustic pop with some touches of strings and laidback percussion. The eponymous track, ‘Doin Time’,
is the best, but the band never really get out of first gear. Rather than delicate, lush and compelling, they come across as a
bit bland, like unplugged by numbers. Like an even more laid back Corrs. Vocalist, Melissa, has a lovely voice, but the lyrics are a bit pedestrian and add nothing new to her time honoured tales of lost love. The band won a Birmingham Music Award for ‘Best Unplugged
Act’ so they must be doing something right, but they don’t do it for me.

Adam Moffatt

ArnoCorps  Scruffy Murphys   13 July 2008

Just like The A Team, the five members of ArnoCorps went AWOL from their unit in the Austrian Army. They now roam the land, righting wrongs and inspiring the masses with musical interpretations of ancient Austrian folk tales. Such stories as ‘Terminator’, ‘Predator’ and ‘Total Recall’ have for too long been exploited for commercial gain by the Hollywood film industry and a certain unscrupulous actor. ArnoCorps are taking them back for the masses, touring the world and elsewhere to promote Austrian culture and the action adventure lifestyle. Audiences have been known to leave their shows with increased muscle mass, self belief and discipline and great big smiles on their faces.

But seriously…the concept behind ArnoCorps is nice, but until you see them live it is hard to understand how good they actually are. Yes, they might be a one trick pony, playing rock songs inspired by a string of (whisper it) Schwarzenegger’s gloriously and ridiculously macho action films, but this is one goddamn BALLSY pony. If you have a sense of humour and an appreciation of such films then you’ll love ArnoCorps. Their live show is absolutely bang on. The energy they give off is really insane, especially what with this being the last show of ArnoCorps’ British tour. An epic jaunt which took in London, Sheffield, Northampton, Manchester and Irish dates in Galway and Belfast, ArnoCorps ended up in Brum for a performance which seemed more like one massive end of tour party than a gig as such. Scruffy Murphys is a suitably rough and ready venue, and its beer soaked basement is rammed full of fans in camo facepaint and helmets. There were literally people hanging from rafters.

The feeling from the crowd is one of real devotion, like a football match where everyone’s supporting the same team. You’ll be familiar with such an atmosphere if you’ve been to any power metal gigs by bands such as DragonForce. In fact there is a bit of a similarity in the audience. Right from the off the crowd are eating out of vocalist Holzfeur’s gloved hand. This guy is a great performer who interacts constantly with the punters, fuelling the fires of their devotion and urging them onto greater heroic deeds. His between song banter is priceless, at one point inviting the fans to tell him “what is best in life?”, which naturally elicits the response “to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of the women”. In the middle of ‘Running Man’ the band bring things down to a rock steady beat whilst Holzfeur gets everyone running on the spot and his bandmate, bassist Toten Adler indulges in a spot of crowd surfing. Holzfeur also proves he has no truck with fans invading the stage, as he bodyslams one hapless guy who tries it. Said fan is launched about ten feet into the crowd, landing on his head. He gets up with a massive grin on his face. Perhaps his helmet protected him.

After a run through of all their classics there is a lull in the action. Holzfeur invites someone to buy him a Jagermeister and then there is just time for an encore of ‘Eraser’ and a cover of ‘Real American’ before the band get into their chopper and fly off into the sunset, to fight another day. They leave the crowd in a state of rapture and screaming for more. I have to say that musically, ArnoCorps are not really anything to write home about. They play no frills, punky metal in the vein of early Celtic Frost or The Misfits. I can’t imagine wanting to own one of their albums and listen to their songs out of context. But in the atmosphere of a masterful live show, with so much enthusiasm and fun to be had, ArnoCorps were fanTASTIC.

Adam Moffatt

Photos: Tom Horton

Taste Of Birmingham Food Festival  11-13th July 2008

Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston

This four day culinary extravaganza showcased the best of local restaurants, local farmers and suppliers, and entrepreneurs. The idea was to highlight the culinary expertise present in Birmingham and give recognition to some of its great restaurants and suppliers.

Sprawled across the central area of the park were wine and cheese tasting tents, cooking displays and marquees serving food from the best restaurants in Birmingham. Simpsons in Highfield Road, Edgbaston served up small tasters of such dishes as Scallop Dumplings, Mushroom Wellington and Chocolate and Orange Biscotti. Festival goers could purchase these dishes with a certain amount of crowns, which was the festival currency. People had to exchange their money for crowns upon entry to the festival, which seemed rather strange and pointless to me, especially as all the vendors had to pay a fee for exchanging these crowns back into hard currency after they were taken.

People flocked around the few stalls with free samples, such as cheese and olives, which were excellent. However, there weren’t enough free samples and too many local sellers were unwilling to promote their produce with samples. I think it would help them much more in the long term to provide a few free samples. People might feel a bit short changed having to pay for everything inside after spending twelve pounds on a ticket. It was also strange to see that Purnell’s, probably Birmingham’s most famous restaurant, was not represented at the festival at all.

However there were some excellent displays, interesting stalls (the game stall being a personal favourite) and gadgets, like the self twirling pasta fork. So, interesting and a nice atmosphere, and some beautiful food and drink, but a little strangely organised and I would have liked to see a bit more value for money in the experience as a whole.

Adam Moffatt

Photos: