Address: University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, England
Telephone: 01522 837400
E-mail: hellothere@engineshed.co.uk
Capacity: around 1000
The Engine Shed is THE largest musical venue in Lincoln. It is to this venue on the University campus that bands such as Kings Of Leon, Gorillaz, Kasabian and even great DJ’s like Fatboy Slim come to play their shows. The Engine Shed also hosts live comedy performers, so if you fancy a change from the pandemonium of a live gig, you can be entertained by some truly hilarious people. The Tower Bars are conveniently located at the back of the venue – they serve hot food and a variety of beverages, including Guiness, Carlsberg and John Smiths.
If a well-renowned band comes to Lincoln, this is where they will be playing.
You’d be forgiven for thinking Ben Howard had been around for years if you listened to his music. But he hasn’t. In fact, he only really started to hit it off with fans just over a year ago. His debut album, Every Kingdom, reflected this new popularity, peaking at number 6 in the UK and doing almost as well countries across the world.
His newest EP deserves just as much success. It (an in particular Esmerelda) has a much darker tone. Its stormy and eerie melodies encapsulate you in the world of Ben perfectly, taking you to a place that’s super relaxing, yet a tad weird. The music has clearly grown and developed too, with instruments being used to blend and mould with his spine tingling vocals in the most interesting of ways. Sections are reminiscent of Every Kingdom, and this is particularly relevant to To Be Alone. It’s not quite as dark as the others and shows that this EP is a brilliant way of bridging his debut album with whatever is coming next. If winter had a sound, it may very well be this collection of tracks. And it works beautifully. It’s almost ironic too, that an EP which seeps with spooky and mysterious melodies should have been released on Halloween!
He’ll be playing at Lincoln’s very own Engine Shed later this month, on the 20th. You can check out his Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.
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Lower Lands – Socialise With Closed Eyes
Lincoln’s alternative rock band Lower Landshave been going from strength to strength since their debut a couple of years ago. They’re fresh off a tour with Hawthorne Heights, and in the past have shared a stage with bands like Deaf Havana. This year also saw them getting signed to I Am Mighty Records.
They released their newest single, Socialise With Closed Eyes, on Wednesday. And it’s an absolute cracker. The guitar riffs at the start are an awesome way to kick it off and set the upbeat tone of the song, and when they starts belting out their vocals, they’re nothing short of beautiful. They entwine some light, catchy melodies with some proper rock voices in a superb way to produce a tune you’ll instantly fall in love with. It’s really upbeat, feel-good rock and is a definite improvement on their older stuff, with a slightly less heavy tone that makes it super friendly to willing ears.
It could easily be mistaken that they’d been making music for much longer than the short time that they actually have been, and whilst they are fairly unique, it’d be fair to say they produce music to the quality and style of bands like Lostprophets.
You can read our new interview with the band here. Alternatively, check out their Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
After what could only be described as a whirlwind of year following the release of his debut album, Letters, X-Factor winner Matt Cardle has released his second album, The Fire. He parted with his original record label earlier in the year, but this has had nothing more than a positive effect on his music. He sounds happier and almost less restrained on this album, and that’s probably because he was given full control of the writing and production.
Lead single It’s Only Love shows this. It’s catchy and quite different to the Matt we heard in Letters. You can tell instantly that this is the music he’s meant to make. It’s flooded with passion and attention to detail to a degree that makes for listening heaven. There’re also a few slightly more emotional and deep sounding songs on the album. All that matters, for example has a very sad feel to it, with lyrics like ‘I just pray somebody loves you, somebody somewhere, cause I can’t hear you cry, not one second more, it’s killing me.’ Yet because of the notes that Matt can reach, it’s hauntingly nice, and in an odd way, soothing. Another track worth mentioning, because of the rocky turn taken, is bonus track Your Somebody. Matt’s voice is really raw and heavy in this track, and it doesn’t rely on his high notes in the way many of the others do.This just proves how diverse of a singer Matt really is, and also how much he’s grown and come on since his X-Factor days.
For more info on Matt, you can take a peek at his Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.
Half Welsh, half Greek singer Marina Lambrini Diamandis began to taste fame in 2009, following the release of several EPs and singles. But it wasn’t until a year later, in 2010, when Marina & the Diamonds really hit it off with fans. Hollywood and I Am Not A Robot sported quirky yet soulful sounds, and this combined with some catchy relatable lyrics was the perfect recipe for a super songstress. And that she is. Her first album, The Family Jewels, hit an impressive number 5 in the UK charts, and the follow up, Electra Heart, took a more poppy turn, but shot to number 1 regardless.
Picture: Dave Lichterman
Now on a UK tour for her second studio album, Electra Heart, Marina is venturing to venues she didn’t go on the first leg of her tour earlier in the year. One of these was in Lincoln. The Engine Shed is a rather
large venue, and whilst the gig wasn’t a sell out, the atmosphere was electric. Even before Marina came on, the crowd was alive with excitement, screaming and chanting her name for several minutes before she actually appeared. Cheeks covered in little hearts, it was clear that most of the audience idolised Marina, and she idolises them just as much (the diamonds in her stage name actually refers to her fans, not the band as you might expect.)She performed an equal blend of Marina classics and Electra Heart songs alike. Starting the gig in a shiny wedding style dress (veil and all) she belted out an incredible rendition of Homewrecker, a tune which depicts a woman who can’t fall properly in love due to being content with breaking hearts. This was followed by some true bubblegum pop in the form of Oh No! and Mowgli’s Road, which work beautifully together to express Marina’s goals and fears of failing at these. Other fan favourites like Shampain, Power & Control, Lies and Hollywood alsomade an appearance during the gig, much to the delight of the singing audience.
After an encore, she graced the stage with her presence one final time, closing the show with How To Be A Heartbreaker. Marina’s fixation with the so called American Dream shone throughout the whole performance. Her lyrics express this desire too, seeping with emotion, sadness and dreams gone wrong.
Another major part of the performance was the visuals and props. Varying from a toy dog called Marilyn (which she “rescued” in America and sang Primadonna with) to a proper old school style TV, she completely captured the crowd with her creativity and inventive unique ideas. It can easily be argued that Marina thrives in this environment. Singing directly to her diamonds, she sounded better than ever whilst live. She hit every note perfectly, and seemed to develop more soul and vibrancy as the gig went on. Reacting to various things said by members of the crowd, she made it obvious that she was paying attention. She’s incredibly talented, and after the success of her newest album, it’s clear that she’s loved by many. Go Electra!
