we are out of step

One of the best albums of this year for sure

2011-06-13T15:51:51.476+01:00

One of the best albums of this year for sure

i myself actually put flyers out flyring at even...

2010-10-27T18:14:51.069+01:00

i myself actually put flyers out
flyring at events around Birmingham/show's before the gig

Hit as many places that would have them the art work is made for flyers and posters

it one of those things where they get burried amongst all the other things going on in the City

Just saw/read this.. pretty pissed off really, i d...

2010-10-23T21:24:53.132+01:00

Just saw/read this..
pretty pissed off really, i didnt even know GRASS widow were playing BRUM, didnt see flyers or anything,anywhere.

Seems advertising on the net is all thats needed nowdays...forget the art of flyering places.

Hey Rob, Really sorry that you had a poor experien...

2010-10-09T21:04:48.206+01:00

Hey Rob, Really sorry that you had a poor experience at your first OOS gig. Totally valid comments, that definitely didn't go unnoticed by ourselves at the gig and we very honestly have no excuse aside from the fact that it was a bit of an experiment for us: First time doing a gig at the venue, first gig in Birmingham at all actually. The sound for Grass Widows set was absolutely appalling, especially when paying for a sound man when we've previously, unprofessionally, done it ourselves with hugely better results. This is all the more terrible for us as the reason we put the bands on in the first place was to SEE THEM!
The band were also pretty dismayed by it and had a bad time because of it which is terrible...
The support Green Gables doubled their 20 minute support slot against our wishes and signals for them to finish up leading to massive overrunning.
The filming business is to do with a london based tv thing - a bit different than usual gig filler, it was just a fun thing to do and way to promote the gig and record the night. The stuff was reminiscent of the kind of thing that goes on at the gigs run at their own stags head venue in London. We are just trying to introduce something fun and less po-faced, but apologies if it rubbed anyone up the wrong way..

Which apparently it really really has; we lost a ton of money from putting it on, recieved a ton of crazy bitchy negative reaction from other promoters in the area and from people such as yourself.

All in all, it certainly wasn't the fun night that we had promoted at our previous venue, not a good experience at all. We would say that we would build on the mistakes from the gig but instead, you've won. We have been forced to cancel our upcoming gig and have been assured of negative promotion of anything that we wish to put on in future by a group of local promoters. We were just trying to do something fun.
Anyway, sorry again.
JN

I think the 'Brainless, moronic or just plain ...

2010-10-05T15:54:29.657+01:00

I think the 'Brainless, moronic or just plain rude?' comment was aimed at the cameraman rather than the robot?

As an outsider (my first Out Of Step show), it did appear at times that the bands were of secondary importance to some of the attendees.

The comment about approaching with caution - a friend of mine had travelled from Coventry specifically to see Grass Widow. Last train home 11.05pm on Saturday night, which under normal circumstances would mean he'd be able to see the majority of the headline set before leaving the Island Bar for New Street. Grass Widow didn't come on stage until nearly 11pm, by which time he'd had to leave. I don't think it's unreasonable to forewarn people who are travelling to shows that they can't guarantee to be able to use public transport after the show.

Given the late running, it appears inexplicable with hindsight that Green Gables got to play for 40 minutes.

Totally appreciative of these D.I.Y promoters brin...

2010-10-04T22:28:56.757+01:00

Totally appreciative of these D.I.Y promoters bringing some great bands to Birmingham.

I can’t help but think the previous comment is ever so slightly contradictory

"It's a bit rough to be too judgemental as they're young folks bringing bands to the Midlands who wouldn't otherwise play here. That said, they could do with sharpening up their act. On last night's evidence, approach with caution, particularly if you're travelling to attend one of their shows."

Young folks doing something different for the West Mids music scene (surely a good thing?).... Approach with caution? This attitude only serves to dissuade potential gig goers, which begs the question will we only be satisfied when generic mainstream acts and boring venues devoid of atmosphere are the only things thriving in Birmingham?

Exactly where is the incentive for these guys to try and do something different when apparently it is impossible to please people? Yes, the sound may not have been perfect. Yes, Graham Gadget (the “brainless, moronic, just plain rude” robot) may have been throwing some extraordinary stage obstructing shapes. Yes, the venue was a tad on the cosy side BUT I would tolerate all of these things again for the intimacy ‘Out of Step’ bring. Great bands, great vibe, great night.

2010-10-04T21:03:00.195+01:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Enjoyed both Trash Kit and Grass Widow (despite th...

2010-10-03T23:26:11.953+01:00

Enjoyed both Trash Kit and Grass Widow (despite the seemingly endless tech problems Grass Widow suffered)

Interesting comment:
"Trash Kit - fine set of short, fast, spiky songs. Theoretically supporting, but the crowd thinned noticeably for Grass Widow's set.

Imagine a small rectangular room (capacity maybe 60 at a push?). Imagine a rectangular stage across one end of the room. Now turn that stage 90 degrees, put the bar immediately in front of it and use the only gap between the two as the main thoroughfare to toilets and dressing room. The only standing area immediately in front of the stage is about 6ft square and the route for constant traffic to the bar, toilets etc. Most of the crowd, and the venue entrance, and most importantly the soundman, are stage left. The soundman can't hear what's coming out of the (vocal) PA and spends the whole evening relying on messages/hand signals from his girlfriend, who is stood in front of the stage. The sound got worse as the evening went on. Add small but noticeably noisy and disinterested element in the room. Blend with periodic equipment issues. Garnish with a bloke with a blindingly bright light on the top of his video camera, who seemed interested only in filming the antics of his mate who'd dressed up as a robot, and who stood on the edge of the stage, back to the band, to do this, WHILST TRASH KIT WERE PLAYING! Brainless, moronic or just plain rude?

Promoted by Out Of Step
http://weareoutofstep.blogspot.com/
It's a bit rough to be too judgemental as they're young folks bringing bands to the Midlands who wouldn't otherwise play here. That said, they could do with sharpening up their act. On last night's evidence, approach with caution, particularly if you're travelling to attend one of their shows.

Not to be a geek but the bottom picture is Islet, ...

2010-07-01T08:13:00.787+01:00

Not to be a geek but the bottom picture is Islet, not Mi Ami... Great gig!

Now; I'm clearly biased, but I would definitel...

2010-06-20T13:42:12.204+01:00

Now; I'm clearly biased, but I would definitely say that Bad Apes stole the show. ;) I've said it once, and I'll say it again - big big love for my boys =D

Hey kids, If you want me to come down with the ca...

2010-05-11T14:59:54.488+01:00

Hey kids,

If you want me to come down with the cameras again, just gimme a shout!

Elspeth x

WEB SHERIFF Who You Gonna Call Tel 44-(0)208-323 8...

2010-05-06T17:35:54.934+01:00

WEB SHERIFF
Who You Gonna Call
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208 323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
www.websheriff.com

Hi OoS,

On behalf of Beggars, 4AD and The National many thanks for plugging "High Violet" on your site (street date 11th May) ... .. thanks, also, on behalf of the label, management and artist for not posting any pirate links to unreleased (studio) material and, if you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, preview tracks, then a full length, high quality version of "BloodBuzz Ohio" is available for fans and bloggers to link to / post / host etc from www.highviolet.com/thenational_bloodbuzzohio.mp3 and “Afraid of Everyone” is now also available from www.soundcloud.com/ninasles/afraid-of-everyone-the-national ... .. for further details of the new album, on-line promotions, videos and 2010 shows, check-out the official site, as well as the band's MySpace at www.myspace.com/thenational and YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/beggars ... .. and keep an eye on these official sources for details of further news, preview material and on-line promotions.

Also and as a goodwill gesture to fans and bloggers, an exclusive preview stream of the full album is currently available via NPR as part of their ‘First Listen’ series at www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126220062 and via KCRW “On Demand” at www.kcrw.com/music/programs/ap/ap100503the_national_high_vi ... .. these are for hyper-linking, or embedding the sites’ official widgets and for streaming by fans directly off NPR and KCRW, so please reciprocate this goodwill gesture by NOT ripping or re-embedding these files. Last, but not least, keep an eye on pitchfork.com/tv/ for the “Castle Rock Sessions” featuring live versions of tracks off “High Violet”.

Thanks again for your plug.

Regards,

WEB SHERIFF

l-l-love fever fever - great zine too! xx

2010-04-28T21:37:16.593+01:00

l-l-love fever fever - great zine too! xx

i like! this! and! your blog!

2010-04-14T12:42:02.074+01:00

i like! this! and! your blog!

from olympia

2010-04-13T14:53:13.006+01:00

from olympia

From Olympia.

2010-04-08T00:19:26.240+01:00

From Olympia.

It was a good night lads, really enjoyed myself. M...

2010-04-03T17:15:09.078+01:00

It was a good night lads, really enjoyed myself. Music choices were tip-top! Was nice to hear At The Drive-In, no-one ever seems to play them anymore.

This is looking pretty impressive! 65daysofstatic ...

2010-03-17T17:43:21.881Z

This is looking pretty impressive! 65daysofstatic and And So I Watch You From Afar... massive. And Metronomy are an amazing live act, so I'm seriously considering this now.

Loved the gig man, cheers for putting us on! Sam ...

2010-03-15T19:05:36.032Z

Loved the gig man, cheers for putting us on!
Sam ADV

Metronomy, Your Twenties and Men Diamler are all f...

2010-03-15T18:47:16.617Z

Metronomy, Your Twenties and Men Diamler are all fab fab fab.

It was always about the White Printz - to me that ...

2010-02-18T14:27:29.949Z

It was always about the White Printz - to me that had all their best material on. Such a good record, thanks for reminding me about them.

no, i love vivian girls, don't get me wrong. I...

2010-02-14T20:44:19.639Z

no, i love vivian girls, don't get me wrong. I just don't make the comparison and see why most girl bands are compared to them, it's lazy.

mistaken changed yet yawn to you but for some tha...

2010-02-14T04:25:50.429Z

mistaken changed
yet yawn to you but for some that's not a bad thing

oh and it's grass widow, not window.

2010-02-13T22:25:37.363Z

oh and it's grass widow, not window.

Comparing a girl band to vivian girls = Yaawwwwwwn...

2010-02-13T21:27:52.114Z

Comparing a girl band to vivian girls = Yaawwwwwwn