Review - The Joy Formidable at Birmingham O2 Academy 2
Three years ago the Guardian tipped indie three-piece The Joy Formidable as "ones to watch out for". Last night they more than lived up to that promise.
The Joy Formidable
Birmingham O2 Academy 2
Concert review and photos by Ian Harvey
Three years ago the Guardian tipped indie three-piece The Joy Formidable as "ones to watch out for".
Last night, hitting Birmingham to promote their stunning debut album The Big Roar, they more than lived up to that promise, with a set full of confidence, power, big riffs and enormous melodies.
Click on the image on the right for our gig photo gallery
Not that they didn't have their problems, with a false start when guitarist/singer Ritzy Bryan was unable to get any sound out of her instrument.
But once they were up and running there was no stopping the band, Bryan proving to be a hypnotic star in the making.
A non-stop bundle of energy, she commanded the stage from the off through standout tracks including The Magnifying Glass, The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade and the single Austere.
Drummer Matt Thomas, from Wolverhampton, who had friends and family in the audience, locked into an impressive rhythm section with bassist Rhydian Dafydd, the band creating a wall of sound that seemed so much bigger than just the three musicians on the stage.
If this performance is anything to go by bigger stages await The Joy Formidable.
