Mason Hill, South Of Salem & Straight For The Sun, The Asylum, Birmingham. 20th October 2022.
I know very little of headline act Mason Hill (8), I’d downloaded some of their material with the intention of listening to it, so I’d have some idea of what I should be singing along to. I never did however, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the show, musically there’s a similarity to Black Stone Cherry, that Southern Rock sound that works really well for these Glaswegian rockers. They’ve quite the history and for anyone interested their story is one of great achievements and successes.
I need to start this with an apology and it’s to the band that opened tonight’s gig at The Asylum in Birmingham, because for the life of me I didn’t catch the name.. and it was mentioned a few times; (Straight For The Sun - Ed) opening acts have a daunting task but these boys started the night off in good stead and I’m sure they’ll only go from strength to strength and hopefully get their name out there for all to know. (6)
Next up are South Of Salem (10), the only reason I ventured into the wilds of Birmingham and the appropriately named The Asylum, I don’t know much about the place but covering the walls are a plethora of signed drum skins and pictures of well known artists, Slash amongst them alongside a bust of Batman of all things.
Next up are South Of Salem (10), the only reason I ventured into the wilds of Birmingham and the appropriately named The Asylum, I don’t know much about the place but covering the walls are a plethora of signed drum skins and pictures of well known artists, Slash amongst them alongside a bust of Batman of all things.
I first discovered South Of Salem trawling through the depths of YouTube about a year or so ago and have been a fan of their Goth tinged rock ever since. The Bournemouth based five piece have been pushing their album The Sinner Takes It All’s brand of hook heavy, sing along tracks with tour dates popping up everywhere you can imagine in what must be quite a punishing tour schedule.
The crew got to the stage with album opener Let Us Prey an absolute beast of a track full of crowd pleasing band interactions, vocalist Joey Draper knows how to play to an audience and has us all singing along with him. The rest of their set was made up of highlights from the album including The Hate In Me, Made To Be Mine and the ever emotional My Demons Are Forever, written and dedicated to long lost friends, an ode to mental health and it’s tragic toll.
Following this are No Plague Like Home and Pretty Little Nightmare bringing the pace back and with some rock star like showmanship from all of the band they bring their set to a close with the very first song that captured my attention Cold Day In Hell. South Of Salem are a band that I recommend to everyone that’ll listen, the album is one of very few that I don’t skip through and they bring that to the stage brilliantly, tonight was the third time I’ve seen the band perform and I’m already looking for the next one.. they’re a band to keep an eye on, they truly deserve greater things.
I know very little of headline act Mason Hill (8), I’d downloaded some of their material with the intention of listening to it, so I’d have some idea of what I should be singing along to. I never did however, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the show, musically there’s a similarity to Black Stone Cherry, that Southern Rock sound that works really well for these Glaswegian rockers. They’ve quite the history and for anyone interested their story is one of great achievements and successes.
It was an emotional night for the band as vocalist Scott Taylor thanked not only the audience filled with fans but also his fellow band mates, that he admitted have stood by him through tough times, he’s a man proud of what he and his band have achieved and throughout their performance he is equally humbled and in awe of the reaction from an eager Mason Hill fan base. I promised myself last night that I’d give the aforementioned material a listen and I will.
I went for South Of Salem and wasn’t disappointed and Mason Hill are now on my To Listen To List. I just need to be more aware of Clean Air Zones and the complexities of cash only car parking in a contactless world before I venture back into Birmingham.
I went for South Of Salem and wasn’t disappointed and Mason Hill are now on my To Listen To List. I just need to be more aware of Clean Air Zones and the complexities of cash only car parking in a contactless world before I venture back into Birmingham.