midnightbonfires

The night began for us tossing cards into a pile in the middle of the table.

‘Three sevens’

‘Bull shit! You’ve put down six seven’s already!’

Everyone’s easy. The sails are risen, the deck is clean and the waters are still and calm. We kick the boat from the harbour and direct it towards the path of  the tempest. Steady as she goes.

Familiar faces, friends old and new and potential acquaintances grinning with drink fill the audience as ‘Our Mutual Friend’ begin their set. We have had the pleasure of playing with them once before and I am glad they could make it. It’s like they have been thrown into the future from some forgotten decade, where style and wit reigned. They play with cool groove, entirely masterful. Not even a renegade cuff-link could stop them. According to lead singer and guitarist Jack Goodall he had been warned that Rock n’ Roll and Cuff-Links do not mix; but Jack my friend sometimes you have to take these risks to look dapper!

‘Our Mutual Friend’ hand the night over to us and we cut into new tracks and new arrangements we had been saving for tonight. Anna from Anushka joins us on stage once more for the last four tracks. It seems as though she has become quite a permanent fixture at our gigs recently and it is an honour to have her in the Midnight Bonfires family. The world feels vibrant and young as two lads skank it at the front to ‘Misbehave’.

Our set ends but the music always continues while JAM HOTT DJ Ben Dunn is around. With his eclectic range of Soul, Funk, Electro, Reggae, Drum & Bass, Mash ups and more the night continues till 2am when the lights rise.

But the party doesn’t end there as we all head back to Anna’s to celebrate her birthday. The sort of night ensues where leaving at 5am is considered early…

The next day as I bathe and doze I  have a vision of a sallow grey beach, an extinguished fire, a creeping cold and a limbless radioactive child. Dark days are looming over the ocean. May the Almighty Comedian spare the good humoured, as we are too busy laughing to save ourselves.

By Rick

I’ve always thought the Rainbow was a strange place to play, the fear of the unknown I suppose. Not the venue, I’ve played there three or four times in three or four different rooms.  It looks and sounds great. I guess I’m self-conscious, nervous standing in front of all the cool kids of Digbeth.

We are back to supporting, after headlining the Mac and Jack Parker’s House Party, and a few other shows it was starting to feel comfortable being last on, but it’s always sensible to not get carried away. We whole heartedly agreed to support Cosmo Jarvis on his tour when he came to good old Brum. Big thanks go to promoter Rachel Marclar Plant for putting us on.

Daisy Guttridge was on stage when I came through the entrance of the venue. A very talented singer and guitarist that appeared very comfortable on stage, throwing a few covers in her very enjoyable set. She showed great showmanship and confidence for such a young age. She seemed to dig us too, and we are currently in talks for some sort of collaboration.

We stick to Mandolin for our set; I believe that these songs are our strongest, but maybe the keys do add variation. I suppose if we had any money we would bring an entourage of instruments, at least to play one of my favourites with Rick on guitar as well as me. It’s our heaviest, once we played it with Anna Kristina Maisie Palmer, one of the best pianists I’ve had the pleasure to perform with, with soaring vocals and great stage presence, you must seek out her act Anushka. We play pretty tight, probably the tightest. I think the nerves made us play clean, well me anyway, it’s always hard to gage new audiences when you’re the opposite side of the applause. We are still pretty new to all this, as Midnight Bonfires. I think when people start noticing lyrics and singing to verses, that’s when you can use a bit of swagger maybe, start enhancing the character then. But who knows maybe it’s the other way around.  Nerves and self-conscience aside, we come off to a lovely applause, an old man gives us a thumbs up, so we pack up and get a beer before Cosmo Jarvis comes to the stage. 

He seemed a lovely guy, he liked us and we liked his stuff too. “Gay Pirates” is his obvious hit, that’s when the crowd really started to move uncontrollably. It was a huge set; I particularly liked his vocals, especially the screaming. His electric mandolin also gave a lovely sound, something to invest in one day.  If you’re not already checking him out, you definitely should!

Next stop is the Prince in Moseley, a familiar haunt on a Friday night for a few jars of Sad Bastard. Not this time though, it’s a wonderful Sunday afternoon with arts, crafts and the best samosas in town. A good friend of ours helped organise the shindig for charity. We thank the one and only holly Andrews greatly for putting us down to headline alongside some great acts like Anushka and The Bombergs. We played in the corner through a make shift PA sharing amps, microphones and songs: A perfect setting. I see people tapping feet and a couple dancing by the street artists that have been painting away all day.

Two or three weeks before, we are belting out everything we know in Jack Parker’s back room to a packed room of people going crazy. At that moment I realised why I was doing what I was doing, and what we all do in the band. Why we add certain beats, minimal riffs, minimal solos. These cool dudes were singing, jumping and passing round absinthe jelly, even to me when I was trying to sing, I knew I couldn’t pass that down. Next thing I know I wake opposite to Mark, me on one sofa; him on the other where we played the night before. We scramble out the front door; safe in the knowledge that Jack Parker knows how to throw a good party.

The next stop is an Easter shindig at the Hare and Hounds with Ben Dunn covering the DJ slots with Jam Hott!! A support band is yet to be named but we assure a great Easter party Sunday 31^st March, bearing in mind that everyone has the Monday after off, it’s gonna be a cracker!

By Dave

The Doors opened at seven, the nerves started to kick in, this was a big venue and so far it was still looking big. We, Midnight Bonfires, weren’t on till 9.40pm. Everything was set up since three, this time is known as limbo. I walked aimlessly, smoking far too much; drinking far too less.

The Mac is a wonderful venue. Huge stage, big lights and friendly staff, I wanted all their hard work worthwhile. Back from another smoke and the standing area is starting to fill, the first act is on in twenty. I bump into to the ever street smart hipster Jack Parker, a lovely chap who helped promote this shindig and got everyone dancing with his disco DJ set-check out his weekly radio slot at Scratchradio.co.uk. I sneak backstage for a cheeky drink; we even have our own dressing room! This is a big change for us; I’m used to a few free tins of red stripe and being able to tune up in the gaffs kitchen. This by all means is just as lovely by the way. There’s a loud crackle from the speaker in the corner of the dressing room: cheers, whistles, and applause, Tom Forbes has entered the stage.

A tall thin whiz kid towers above the audience. He constructs the tunes before our eyes, blending interesting beats from what appears to be a hundred different types of percussion thrown about the stage. This is a 21^st Century one man band. He can harmonise with himself too.  He does a strong set with catchy melodies and clever covers. Check him out at Tom Forbes Music on Facebook

Next up was the first band of the night, Deceptions Pocket. A six piece power house of huge indie sounds. Every time I look around the crowd keeps growing. A tall blonde catches my eye; she smiles and carries on dancing. The band are obviously creating a good atmosphere at the Mac, so I recommend checking them out at facebook.com/deceptionspocket.

It’s time for the changeover so attention turns back on Jack in the DJ booth.  One more to go before me and the guys take our turn, the nerves begin to fill in my gut again so I decide to go meet and greet, try and find someone I know, get me mind of things. Amongst some new arrivals is the very talented Craig Davis. He is a top dog producer, singer, songwriter, performer-it’s insane this guy only has one brain. We’ve worked with him on ‘Misbehave’ (find that on iTunes) and plan to do so on our next double A-side. So in the meantime it would be worth your while having a listen to his band Prisms.

I’m by the café and in true British style all the hipsters and cool dudes queue patiently for their next beverage. Within the first licks of a guitar the crowd at the café dispersed, it is apparent that Symfonyah have begun.  I dash back in to a dancing frontman hypnotized on stage. I believe this was their fourth gig: very impressive. Their set is a stormer, I can tell by the crowd who are hypnotized too. Go search for them on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s our turn. Let’s keep the groove going. The atmosphere was pitched perfect. New and familiar faces singing along, people dancing! Three quarters through the set and our lovely friend Anna from Anushka joins us. We sing a song about death at St James Infirmary. The lights go out at the climax of ‘Wait’ (check out our video and get it from iTunes) and jig ourselves to the final song of the night ‘”Summersong”’ which is tipped to be our next single so stay tuned! The audience the stage the bands the atmosphere the venue, were all awesome.

I lose sight of Sam and Rick by the time the celebratory drinks come rolling in; it’s just me Mark a Crazy Guy a Jam Hott DJ and a Magician in the pursuit of total oblivion. We dance like mad men and drink like we’re already dead. Nothing matters. The Magician pulls a card out his shoe, his mouth, from under a beer. The Crazy Guy shoves tequila in my hand. I wake, ears ringing; head pounding. The Mac was wonderful. Let’s keep the groove going

By Dave

A cheeky video of our new track Darkness Falls… Make sure to check out the ‘Special Edition’… It’s “Hilarious”…

Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls (Special Edition)

This is our first official music video shot in association with Nokia all on a Nokia Pureview 808. A big thanks to our friend David Knight for recording!

The day is dark early and veiled by the hazy shade of winter. The air is bristling like the fur of some feral cat; the dance of the playful Baltic breeze kissing the inside of our lungs with iced lips. We skip through traffic threatening car bonnets with hard cases and 100 watt amps.

In these dark days where half the world is obsessing over mad doom we take refuge with the mass of freak optimists and play music.

‘Anushka’ kick the night off for us. The two piece perform their finely crafted songs with such cool, blue flame, jazz flare that everything turns black and white for half an hour. I feel like Humphrey Bogart waiting on a girl in Casablanca. ‘Here’s looking at you, Kid’. They are quite a hidden gem on the scene at the moment, with the band currently undertaking an evolution of sorts. Keep your ear to the train track for any upcoming gigs of theirs, they are something special.

‘The Mourning Suns’ begin spinning their bewitching folk melodies. There’s something dark and tribal about the whole experience. The dim lights, the smoke, Rosie’s wild shaman dance. I feel like I am sat in a dirt hut in some foreign land as the past and old ghosts are exorcised. A truly impressive live performance. We have the pleasure of playing with The Mourning Suns on December 14^th at The Flapper and Firkin, hope to see you there.

It’s our turn and any fear we had regarding the night is gone and replaced with the wild, drunken faces of friends. The dancing, the screaming. ‘Everything is fine here officer’. Anna from Anushka joins us for a rendition of St James Infirmary Blues. Abi mourns over Misbehave and Wait with her violin…

Come on in and shake the darkness off at the door.

By Rick

The Midnight Bonfires E.P. launch is fast approaching on the 17th November and we hope to see you all down there for a great night of music and misbehaviour with ourselves, The Mourning Suns, Anushka and the JAM HOTT DJ’s. In the mean time here’s a fly on the wall look at what’s in store…

(A big thankyou to Abi for her insane violin skills. To see more of Abi check out the folk inspired, acoustic pop band Husch.)