Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Any band that can survive the pre-Christmas atmosphere of The Rainbow in the area of Birmingham called Digbeth, a place in which poets have trembled and the packets of pork scratchings come with their own serving suggestion, will always surely go down well in Liverpool. The Twang exemplify the bridge, the mutual love in that does exist between the cities of Liverpool and Birmingham, especially when it comes to decent, well performed music.
Many thousands have hailed from Birmingham since The Beatles kick started off the British invasion and turned New York into an extension of Liverpool’s emerging culture. Some have been enormous, Black Sabbath, some quietly revolutionary, UB40, some never made it but full deserved to, The Shore, and some like The Twang, well they just bring the house down everywhere they go and on a day when the rain seemed to finally abate in Liverpool long enough to see the strange sensation of blue sky, they did exactly that at the 02 Academy. This was a set so bouncy, Zebedee himself may have hung his head in shame at running out of steam before a very animated audience even broke sweat. Such is life at Twang gig; it brings to the fore days of the old Hummingbird or the Institute on one of their wild evenings with some of the local bands making an appearance.
For the crowd in the o2 Academy, not only was it the special privilege of being present at the first night of the new tour but it was also the honour of hearing some of the songs that have found their way on to the new album Neontwang. If by honour you mean venerate then the band more than did their job. Loud, wonderfully so; thunderous, exceptionally; incredible to watch, undoubtedly so, The Twang are Birmingham to the core and they take their music where it is appreciated with pride.
With the band opening up with the track Larry Lizzard, one of the highlights from the new album, the evening was set to really rock out in hybrid of Birmingham and Liverpool mutual understanding, a common reciprocated love of quality music. With tracks such as Sucker For The Sun, the exceptional Barney Rubble, Paradise, Two Lovers and the enjoyable Wobble all making a grandstand entrance this was a night when the guys in The Twang proved that they can be the voice for the 21st Century from the heart of the Midlands.
A night of sheer Birmingham know-how wrapped up in a set of songs that blistered along at full speed.
Ian D. Hall