Peace + Swim Deep + Jaws + Wide Eyed + Heavy Waves + Junnk, The Rainbow, Birmingham 22/12/12
Peace played The Rainbow not so long ago before tonight in the smaller room of this very same venue. It felt like it couldn’t be topped by another local show again, but tonight just vibes so much harder.
Jaws
The fact that Peace curated the line-up of tonight’s bash confirms their status as the gang-leaders of the B-Town boys and girls in bands. It’s still the big three: Peace, Swim Deep and Jaws that make the crowd want to forget about how cool they look and jump around.
Heavy Waves
Still, the support in the form of Heavy Waves and Junnk (now known as Superfood) manage to get some heads nodding and some chins wagging. It’s Wide Eyed who stand out most however, their sound feels like it’ll soon be signature.
Peace
Peace’s set just plays off all the energy built up by the support acts and amplifies it. Five circles pits open and close within the span of ‘1998 (Delicious)’. During the debut of a new song, the barrier is picked up by the front row and crowd-surfed all the way to the back of the venue.
Peace
Everyone in the room can feel that something is happening inside of this city. People will be quick to denounce it as a flash in the pan or just dismiss the age of these bands getting attention. Sure, there have been bands going strong in Birmingham for years but it’s the bands on tonight’s bill that are getting everyone hot under the collar. And so what if it only lasts for a year or so, for those of us who are in this moment, it will be a time we won’t forget.
Photographs by Luke Huntley
