Live Music Showcase at Birmingham Regional final – Feedback

The Regional Final live music showcase in Birmingham took place as the NEC welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition. Birmingham’s NEC provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 10th April, with some great guest acts headlining the showcases. 

The headline acts taking to the stage alongside Live and Unsigned Regional Finalists in Birmingham were Flood of Red who entertained the audience by with some rocking indie tunes. Joe Karchud also played as a guest act at Birmingham, treating the crowd to his unique brand of acoustic material and showing why he made the finals of Live and Unsigned in 2010.

Judges presiding over the Birmingham Regional Finals included Kerrang Radio’s Danielle Perry, Dutch Van Spall of Big Help, Benjamin Price of High Peak Radio, Osfest Event Manager Carly Jackson and Dance Choreographer  Tanya Anderson.

The competition was fierce, and the standard was extremely high, well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Credit goes especially the few who made it through to the Live Midlands Area Final on Saturday 7^th May 2011 at the Bedford Corn Exchange.

Find below feedback for the day. Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judge panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who performed. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping.

Final 1

Alex Leur– Nice Led Zeppelin cover with a lot of himself in it. Good voice and guitar-there is something very unique and refreshing here. All very low key though, would have liked a tempo change. Needs to work on stage presence and interaction with the crowd

Gateway– Good front woman with decent stage performance, but other band members are staring at the floor. Really good original song though, great potential as a band. Work on a collective image!

Tero –Looks good, nice to see ultimate confidence. Decent original but it got a bit repetitive towards the end and needed more melody. No cover! You must follow the rules of the competition!

Stephanie & Kevin -A really good double act. Beautiful keyboard accompany and Stephanie has a great voice. Work on connecting with your performance and emotion. You should think about your image as a duo

Sermon –Good full sound with two strong voices. There was a messy point in the transition. Good potential, but need more experience. Work on stage performance

Airstryke -Good energy in performance. They all look like rock stars, but the image is a bit old-skool. Performance was a bit clichéd, but very entertaining. Good original song but cover choice a bit predictable. The material may not be showing the band at its best

GCsolo Star –Good connection with the audience and the song and good overall performance. A bit out of key at times and the cover wasn’t a great choice. The original was much better

Arcade Parade –Excellent potential for the future, but performance is lacking something, there is not a very full sound. Cover choice was a bit obvious and needed some backing vocals. Keep practising!

Between the Lines – Pleasant sound, but need to work on the image. Could work on male/female harmonies a little. Cover performed operatically which seemed to not quite fit. This band seem to be at their early stages, the performance needs tightening up, but there’s obvious potential here!

Sam Rose –Nice tone to her voice, needs to work on performance. Seemed nervous on stage, needs to feel comfortable in what she is doing and relax! Very basic chords. Very brief did she not want her full time allocation?

Fall Back Theory –Like the original and they have good harmonies and an overall decent sound for a 3-piece. Perhaps a little more energy on stage is needed.  Image a bit dated. Cover was not the best choice. Not much of themselves in the performance

Wilcox –A good, clearly arranged performance. Good original and a nice cover with good tempo changes throughout. Frontman is good. Nice and tight. Energy and enthusiasm needs to be shown by every band member!

Hockers –Backing track completely detracts from the guitar playing. Performance was a little dated and vocals could have been better. Good original song though. He would benefit from more performance experience

Girls that scream –Good impactful start. Decent original but a messy transition and lost a little bit in second half of performance. Need to make sure the transition between songs is smooth. Don’t over-complicate the performance as it looks messy. Great energy, keep at it!

Muha – Nice fusion of different sounds, very original. Visually brilliant but is there a BIG market for this? Great bongo playing, but the performance became a bit repetitive after a while

Si Clancy – Very distinctive voice, but needs to think about image to make him stand out more. A bit strained in chorus but a good original. Loads of charisma and passion, and a great transition into a good choice of cover. Think about originality, dynamics and how your songs can stick out from the masses

Just Morale –Plenty of energy and stage presence! Original song is good, image of some band members needs updating. Frontman looks good. Two good voices and they used the stage well

Themselves –Liked the instrumental cover it had a good riff and gave impact. Band are overall very tight. Great to see them having fun on stage. More vocals were needed and image could be much better

Dee’vyne –Soulful vocals and good original vocal training would be a benefit. More stage performance skills were needed as it was quite static. Use the stage!

The James Lewis Band –Good arrangement and harmonies. A passionate performance, but lead vocalist could benefit from some voice strengthening. They look good, but not much of themselves in the cover. Need to work on performance as a whole band, not just front man. Good potential so keep going

4Mula –Plenty of passion and confidence. They look great, they’re confident, and they have good harmonies. They use the stage perfectly.  Female vocals are good, but could be clearer. Think about deeper vocal hooks. Could put Birmingham on the map for urban music. No cover song, so marks were lost! You must follow the rules of the competition!

Pandemic –Good stage performance. Love the singing drummer, he has a great voice and the rest of the band performs well. Overall tight performance. Great technical ability and great lead guitar

Final 2

The Sin Kings –Great frontwoman, very eye-catching . Both girls look great, the males in the band need to have an image too! Original material could be more engaging. Nice spin on the cover. Vocals and arrangements need polishing in places

Amos –A bit different but a bit flat. Performance needed more excitement. Great drummer and good energy from all members playing instruments, but more energy needed from singers as the two main men are a bit static. Work on being more together as a band. Vocal delivery needs work, keep rehearsing. It has potential but needs to be stepped up

Acoustic Ash – The voice of an angel. So compelling! Pleasant original. she needs an image to make her stand out- and then she will have it all

Purple Valley Rocks –A well delivered performance with very competent vocals. A bit of a dated look and sound but they’re good at what they do. Performance could have been more engaging-it was static. Remember to look like you’re enjoying it!

Barnaby Newman –Great acoustic three piece with a great blend of arrangements fronted by very nice vocals. The strings are a great addition. Nice song. Missed a few notes but vocally a decent performance. Needs to make sure his good guitar playing doesn’t get drowned out

Ascendance –Not the best singer but he’s got stage presence and confidence. Good energy from band and a decent song. Work on the arrangements and vocals

Harriet Little –Instantly likable song. Great keys playing, but sounded a little nervous. Best song of the day so far. Played to the crowd not the keyboard, which is fantastic. Keep playing in front of crowds to gain confidence in your performance!

Exit –two singers need to work on harmonies. Decent original, but a little repetitive. Not ready yet, but good potential

Harry Jones– Nice chilled performance. Looks great but missed a note very early on. Has very engaging eyes. He’s got it all but needs to make sure vocals are warmed up before he starts. Perhaps a little nervous?

Jeiso & Platt – An energetic and committed performance. Need to work on harmonies. They could engage more, they’re on opposite sides of the stage. They look like they’re individuals rather than a group. Original song is good

Jen Robins – Mellow vibe with smooth vocals and nice guitar playing. She’s a lovely girl and instantly likeable, but the performance needs more excitement to keep people engaged. Made the cover her own, but again needed something to make it stand out

Arcane Rage– Backstreet Boys cover in metal, nice! Good energy from the band but they need a USP. Good symmetrical performance though with cover at start and end

Nick Riley –Quirky, and good song. This song is unique to today and obviously had a lot of time spent on it. He has fully embraced the competition, best solo of the day so far

Uncle Slacker & the Jellyfish –A competent performance and lead singer has a nice tone to his voice.  The scarf over his face detracted from the performance. Work on guitar playing

Patrick J Hart– Great voice and guitar. Fairly good original, it felt instantly recognisable and a really good transition into cover. The whole performance needed more emotion. Performance was a little dated

Missin’ Rosie –Such a good funky sound. Looked like they were enjoying themselves. Not the strongest frontman but the concept is great. Nice incorporation of the flute. More energy from the group as a whole is needed and image was a bit too mixed

Katie Collins – A very engaging performance. Great confidence for a 16 year-old and has a very sweet voice and looks good. Very tuneful acapella. Nice choice and theme to the original.  Good original. Won the crowd over then kept them. That’s the way to do it!

The Jesse Dansons – A very pleasant performance, good harmonies and the strings work well. The three girls could have coordinated the image a bit more, but it was engaging. Original song was good, but lacked impact

Final 3

SP –Nice lyrical content, good timings and stage presence.  Not original enough as an act though. Needs to keep connection with the audience throughout the whole performance. Maybe consider collaborating with a second vocalist or DJ to liven up the performance

Heathen Zoo –Nice original sound and good performance. Decent tight band and the front man has a strong and consistent voice. It sounds like an impersonation though rather than natural. Relax into it and enjoy it! Good stage performance

Rivington –Good laid back style. Looks the part but a shaky vocal start. Keys player looks bored- needs to be engaging! Original song was difficult to follow at times- structure needs working on. Work on stage presence and performance

Citizen Smith –Good harmonies and energy between band members. Cover choice could have been better. Original is good though and very chorus driven. Not sure if the act is original enough

Laura Cowley –Looks great. Nice and different act like nothing we’ve seen today. Good song, but lost it very slightly on the cover vocally. She would be a great front woman for a band

Bethia Mitchell –Classy look. Shaky vocal start, need to make sure she’s warmed up before starting. Too many covers, which doesn’t allow a song to grow enough and doesn’t allow the crowd to get into it. Really good potential, keep working at it!

Fire for Effect– Need more energy in the performance from the whole band. Need to work on the image. Not the clearest of voices but great bass and electric solos. Funky mid-section, it’s just lacking a fullness in sound. Interesting cover choice nice to see

Katie Dove-Dixon– A good old Adele cover! Put a bit of herself into it. Playing to the audience rather than the keys, well done. A smooth transition into a good original song. Keep it up!

Pink Traffic Band– Great high impact start and good stage performance throughout. Really good cover song. The front girl is on fire! Keep up that energy. Almost there as a band, just need a great original song to take them forward

Carlton Curtis –Very listenable and good voice. Looks the part, but not the strongest performer. Needs to gain confidence. Lost marks for not including a cover

Jack Kenworthy Trio –Real star quality! A very engaging performance and look like they’re loving it. Great original song but a bit of a messy transition

Fires and Fireplaces –High impact performance. Need work on a coordinated image. What a fantastic bassist! Get him up the front.  Love the cover choice. Watch out for feedback issues

The Rassoodocks –Nice to hear something different- very fun cover choice. Nice basey feel and Good image. Really good original song. Good frontman, but it does feel like there’s a missing ingredient despite it being a five-piece. Need something to make them stand out

John Wilson –Nice performance, but needs to work on vocal strength.  Performance needed more energy and excitement.  Needs to think of something original to make him stand out

The Trinity Band– Spot On. Great image, great impact and really worked the crowd well. Great chemistry between the band. Really tight band too, very professional. They’ve got it!

Rainboy –Act works really well. A good sequence with engaging dancers.  Make sure they don’t steal the show though! More vocals would be good as the sound is great

Blemish– Good, stylish look and decent original song. Cover was a bit clichéd. Frontman has an excellent voice and overall energy was really good. A really well arranged performance and very watchable

Aggyfro –Really well arranged and bags of energy. Lively band, but they are an eight-piece! Good stage sight. Like the girl, she stands out. Nice, tight and very entertaining. Well done, keep this up!

 For those acts who didn’t get through the Regional Finals, don’t forget to use your Wildcard! All acts have been given a Wildcard in the form of a national public vote. There are two places up for grabs and just two weeks to make your mark, so keep an eye out on the website and get voting for one of those last Area Final spots!

If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the the Midlands Area Final on Saturday 7^th May 2011 at the Bedford Corn Exchange go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows