Nov 2012 - View Online - Whats On Live

Music
Bat For Lashes
HMV Institute, Birmingham, Thurs 1 November
Making a mark with her unique sartorial and musical
style, Natasha Khan has been singing about
love, loss and suffering since the release of debut
album Fur And Gold in 2006. Having followed it up
with the more commercially successful Two Suns in
2009, she’s now back from a three-year hiatus and
boasting a more sophisticated sound. Posing nude
for the cover of The Haunted Man, Khan has said
she chose a "specifically unsexy pose" to make a
point about the music industry's treatment of female
artists.
Rizzle Kicks
O2 Academy, Birmingham,
Sat 17 - Sun 18 November
Having the dubious honour of being the second
most illegally downloaded act in the UK (behind Ed
Sheeran), youngsters Jordan ‘Rizzle’ Stephens and
Harley ‘Sylvester’ Alexander-Sule are on the road
again. Playing two Birmingham dates on a tour that
takes them across the UK and Europe, the Mama
Do The Hump stars have recently recorded a comedy
track with DJ Chris Moyles. Spending eight
weeks in the top-twenty with their hit single Down
With The Trumpets and scooping three MOBO
nominations, the twenty-year-olds have had a busy
year.
The Wedding Present
O2 Academy, Birmingham, Thurs 15 November;
The Assembly, Leamington Spa, Tues 20 November
British indie rock group The Wedding Present have
been gigging since 1985, when the group was
formed following the demise of the Lost Pandas.
With influences including The Fall, Buzzcocks and
Gang Of Four, the band is best known for playing
fast-paced indie rock. There’ve been numerous
line-up changes down the years, with vocalist and
guitarist David Gedge having been the band's only
constant member.
Elbow
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, Wed 28 November
British band Elbow have played together since 1990, picking up the 2008 Mercury Music
Prize for their album The Seldom Seen Kid. In 2012, the group released First Steps, the
BBC theme for the London Olympics. Originally called Mr Soft, their music embraces various
genres, including indie rock, art rock, new prog, post-Britpop and, most evidently, alternative
rock.
Emeli Sandé
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thurs 8 November
If you’re not ‘in the know’ about Emeli Sandé, the fact that she performed at both the
opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics offers excellent evidence
of her current high standing in the music industry. The Scottish recording artist and songwriter
first came to public attention in 2009 when she featured on rapper Chipmunk’s Diamond
Rings track, after which she contributed to rapper Wiley’s Never Be Your Woman
before finally releasing her first solo single, Heaven, in August 2011. As well as her career
as a singer, Emeli has also written for numerous artists (including Cher Lloyd, Susan
Boyle, Gabrielle, Leona Lewis, Alesha Dixon, Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah) and has
even been called “my favourite songwriter” by no less a Godlike entity than Mr Simon
Cowell. Expect ever-greater things from Ms Sandé in the years to come...
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