The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - The Asylum, Birmingham 29.03.2019
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, easily one of the biggest Emo bands from 2000's era, stop at Birmingham's Asylum Venue during their run of headline UK shows, joined by The Bottom Line and Saywecanfly.
First up is Saywecanfly, a solo acoustic act from Canada. Unfortunately there aren't many who make it here to check out the supports tonight, the room is sparsely populated with a few groups of people here and there, but thankfully this doesn't stop singer songwriter Braden Barrie putting on a very enjoyable set. Second song 'Someone Else' is a real belter, and is very warmly received by the few who have made it here early. Last song 'Between The Roses' also stands out, and really showcases what Braden is all about.
Next up are The Bottom Line. A late addition to the line up, replacing Cute Is What We Aim For who dropped out due to unforeseen circumstances, but make no mistake they are a great addition to this show tonight. The Pop Punk four piece come flying out of the traps to massive opener 'Reasons' and the set doesn't slow down from here on out, but it's the closer 'I Still Hate You' that steals song of the night! These guys also score bonus points for saying some kind words for the venues club night that I also happen to photograph for, Uprawr. (Shameless plug, I'm not even sorry!)
Last but not least, up step tonight’s headliners The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Tonight they are playing their classic debut album 'Don't You Fake It' in it's entirety, but before that we are treated to three songs off of the new album 'The Awakening'. They make their entrance to 'Fighting Everything', a real hard hitting and energetic opener that gets the show off to the perfect start.
After the third song 'The Awakening' drummer John Espy manages to go ahead and break his kick drum, this results in a last minute change around of the set and so next they decide to play the acoustic number ‘Your Guardian Angel’ whilst Espy gets his drums sorted out, this obviously is one of their biggest songs and was originally intended to be the closing song of the night so it comes as an early treat here tonight.
Shortly after is old school classic 'Face Down', this one is an absolute favourite and that's very clear to see. Perhaps again the only downside though is that the venue is barely half full here tonight, turns out it wasn't that people weren't showing up early for the supports, but that tonight just didn't actually sell very well unfortunately. This doesn't stop frontman Ronnie Winter getting up close and personal though as he hops over the barrier and takes a walk around the room during 'Atrophy', giving the fans that made the effort something to remember tonight.
The night comes to a close with 'Justify', and I think it's fair to say 'Your Guardian Angel' would have been a better ending however that comes at no fault of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as the kick drum issue could hardly be helped. Tonight was a great showing from Red Jumpsuit Apparatus however unfortunately the undersold crowd did put a dampener on things slightly, would love to see these guys in a packed out venue as it's what they deserve!
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - https://www.facebook.com/redjumpsuitapparatus/
The Bottom Line - https://www.facebook.com/thebottomlineUK/
Saywecanfly (Braden Barrie) - https://www.facebook.com/bradenbarrie/
Photos & Review - Sam Robinson Photography
