Keep It On The DL: May

We headed back to the Old Blue for another instalment of live music and japes from Keep It On The DL. This month we got to revel in the greatness of music from Birmingham-based band The Bombergs (above), and the ukelele-tinged sweetness of Family.

The Bombergs play bouncy, electrifying rock with a playful and poppy edge to it. There's Talking Heads wildness written all over this, but they've really got the energy on stage to pull it off. On top of that, singer James Rea was a total sweetheart.

The Bombergs' James Rea

Next up we enjoyed the lo-fi (or rather, self-proclaimed 'ho-fi') of the quirky boys from Family. Their long-hair-falling-over-eyes look worked really well with the reverb-heavy songs they shared. They also threw beautiful glitter bombs all over the Old Blue's top floor. Anyone who left without a few flecks clearly wasn't dancing about in the front enough.

Overall, it was another great night from the crew at Keep It On The DL. The music had that perfect balance of variety, danceability and the energy to set us up for a great Friday night. We'll see you at the June edition, guys.

Keep up with all things On The DL via their Facebook profile and Twitter page. Big shout to organiser Steve (above) for putting together another awesome night.

all images © Tshepo Mokoena for DEERBRAINS

Keep It On The DL

We headed over to the Old Blue Last on Friday to check out this month's Keep it on the Down Low music night. Organiser and all-round lovely man, Stevie, put together a roster of three talented young bands that impressed and entertained us (and were also lovely to chat to). First up we had This Many Boyfriends, a Mancunian power pop five-piece:

Then came The Walkers: four boys from Barcelona, playing a heady and sexy mix of blues-inspired rock. Watching them you can tell they just love to perform and their enthusiasm is pretty damn infectious.

Finally, headliners Kurran and the Wolfnotes pretty much stole the show with their brand of what we can only call alt-folk. Plus, we loved their style the most. They also played a really engaging set, with a cover of Kelis' "Millionaire" thrown in. No joke. They pulled it off.

Massive thanks to Down Low Promotions and Stevie for being so sweet to us and having us cover the night. It was a great mix of different styles and people which is always refreshing for a venue like the Old Blue. Follow Keep it on the DL on Twitter, and add them on Facebook to hear about next month's night. See you for the April edition!

all images © DEERBRAINS