Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

Brother
The Dig
@ The Rock Shop
3/24/11

Where were you when Brother came to town? Its probably going to be the question that comes up next time they’re here. It wont be a surprise when the band (who is already getting lots of hype) becomes the next big thing.

Brother, hailing from Slough (outside of London), might be starting the new revival of britpop bands. At times sounding a bit like Blur, they might be more closely seen as the next Oasis. Lead singer, Len, has the same swagger as Liam of Oasis. He’s chatty with the audience – tells us to remember where we were when we first saw them – and is sure theyre going to be huge.

Len might come across as a bit arrogant and self-assured but the music speaks volumes. Theyre catchy and the crowd (who seems to be a lot of bloggers and photographers) is in awe of them. People dancing and singing along – the band does a hurriedly 30 minute set. Its fun and the band is great together. It comes across as a bit odd that there is a back up woman dancer/singer, but in some ways it works.

If you blended the Stone Roses, Oasis and Blur together, throw in some of the other catchy 90s bands and youd get Brother. It was seemingly awesome and yes, seeing them at a small stage at The Rock Shop is definitely something none of us will forget. And yes – they are destined to be that huge.

Openers The Dig have some great songs as well. I seemed to remember them a bit differently from when I first saw them open for The Editors. They seemed to pick up more of a bluesy sound. While some of it works quite well, a lot of the songs started sounding same-y and it became a bit much after awhile.

Both the bands seemed in much appreciation of the other. Each being so generous and throwing out compliments. It was definitely a nice thing to see as you dont always get that.

Either way – Brother is back in a month or so and Id highly recommend *not* missing them.