Midlands outfit ‘The Seas of Mirth’ found themselves washed ashore at Island Bar Birmingham but this was no shipwreck. It was a planned assault on the ears, but most importantly, the eyes of unsuspecting victims enjoying a quiet Bank Holiday folk fest.

Billed as a “pirate band”, the crowd did not really know what to expect, and to be honest, weren’t expecting much... maybe the odd sea shanty and cringey “arrggh” but the excitement began to grow as the eight piece band began to set up; we were later told they were missing a cellist and an accordion player but quite what they would have added to such an already eclectic sound, heaven knows. Pirates emerged from nooks and crannies, a shark set up a drum kit and a sequined crab outfit was glimpsed. Centre stage, a long thick rope was lain out ready for an epic, healthy and safety busting tug of war contest.

You could be forgiven for forgetting about the music. Songs were well suited to the performance and were used as more of a background to the whole crazy spectacle. Break downs were tight and musicianship was excellent with great mandolin playing standing out amongst everything. There was humour in the music as well as the performance with the well known early 00’s riff of zombie nation clearly, and discordantly piercing through in one song.

The climax of the performance was the emergence of a man wearing hideously short red hot pants adorned with a crab outfit dancing to a song about a crab. Stunned faces watched in gleeful horror as very little was left to the imagination. Cue a staged, yet very real looking, wrestling match between said crab and very cuddly band member and the show was over.

I, along with everyone else, thoroughly enjoyed the show and the band reminded us that yes, music is important but so is the show, otherwise you can listen to a CD. Having said that, their CD is pretty good and you can find their tracks here. As well as being a bloody good band, they are also really nice chaps (and one chapess). We hope to see them back in Brum again.

Discover 'The Seas of Mirth'

When we walked in we were shocked. The place was rammed an hour before American folk/country/blues duo ‘The Civil Wars’ were due on stage. For a pair that were little known before Christmas to sell out the HMV Institute is no mean feat but a performance on 'Later with Jools Holland', a recent tour supporting Adele, who is a big fan, and winning Grammys for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album have lead to an exponential increase in their popularity.

Despite initially positioning ourselves behind the tallest woman to ever grace the streets of Birmingham and her equally late epiphyseal fusing boyfriend, we managed to manoeuvre ourselves into position where we could see the stage albeit behind a squat 50-something woman with a leaky sphincter. John-Paul and Joy walked on stage to a rapturous reception and seemed taken aback. With a huge smile etched across her face Joy Williams’ looked radiant in a dainty black dress complemented by her Johnny Depp lookalike partner, John Paul White’s tuxedo.

It was so well rehearsed that it looked unrehearsed. The bond and on-stage chemistry between the two of them was awesome. The nuance of delivery, shifting from clear diction to lazy slurring of words was in sublime unison. Every lyric and every harmony was perfect. Vocal harmonies are the duo’s main selling point and they have an unnerving amount of skill in weaving in and out of counterpoint yet still creating songs which have clear melodies and well defined structure.

The set moved between achingly beautiful songs such as ’20 Years’ and ‘Poison and Wine’ to the exquisitely bluesy title track to their debut album ‘Barton Hollow. John Paul White’s superb playing  of both acoustic and electric guitar gives the Civil Wars a dynamic variety which many solo-acts and duos find so elusive; if they’d had a band, it would have spoilt it. The set was rounded off by their marvellous cover of Billy Jean, demanded by the audience; a song that has been covered countless times yet they made it their own.

So, excellent musicianship, chemistry, and friendly banter with some stereotypically loud Brummies at the front, added to great songs, made this gig one of the best, if not the best I have been to. I spent the first six songs smiling and the last six open mouthed; the Civil Wars are destined for great things and if we live in a just world, they will make it.

Discover 'The Civil Wars'