Review

Members only
Sound Bar, Birmingham
6/1/2011

At the Sound Bar tonight, it seems to be more of a gathering than an actual gig. It’s a shame really, because Members Only, a Brummie four-piece indie band were determined to put on a good show.

It was strange to observe the audience number decline as we came closer to the headline act. I heard excuses ranging from ‘I need to catch the last bus home’ to ‘I need to be up in the morning’. A bit unusual after these people have bought tickets for this gig and don’t even stop to see the main act.

The set starts energetically, with the four lads not looking like they will get any calmer. They perform their new single ‘Play’, which goes down well. The drums definitely commanded this one, and Alex Aitken, the lead singer even attempted a small amount of shouting. He was obviously new to this but nevertheless, pulled it off. Mid-way, Alex stops to announce that the next song is “deep and meaningful” and will be a bit calmer. Their idea of a calm song is quite unusual, but nevertheless the audience didn’t see the slower song as a chance to run off for a few minutes, and listened intently.

The band begin to get tired towards the final few songs of their set. The vocals for their current song, Seventies Flare were weak at times. The few audience members that were enthusiastic enough to stand went and grabbed a bar stool for this one.

The cover songs were easily the best part of the set. Slipped in the middle was their take on Kill the Director by The Wombats, which didn’t turn out to be that much different. The vocals sounded like the result of having the original on repeat a large number of times. They ended with a cover too, and a very unusual one. They managed to get away with re creating the hip-hop and rap fusion that is Hotel Room by Pitbull. Obviously they masked that genre with a guitar and bass, but they were determined to keep the rapping in there, which was a wise choice. Now let’s see what 2011 brings for Members Only. If a larger audience is on the cards, Birmingham may be seeing much more of them.