It is so refreshing these days to see a promoter have so much belief in a show that they are willing to put boundless amounts of effort into promoting it. Milk Presents are real rabble rousing, party starters and boy was this a party.
In all of my gig going years I have never seen anything quite like this and I’m not just talking about unsigned shows, this was a spectacle. Some of the very finest of Liverpool’s unsigned talents gathered to celebrate the launch of Broken Men’s Phase [002], two sneak-preview singles and a video from their highly anticipated debut album.
I have already drooled over this band on this very blog once before so I will try to avoid repeating myself as I am running out of superlatives to describe their brilliance.
A word on the powerhouse undercard, four fantastic acts including Natalie McCool, Dominic Dunn, Sugarmen and Oxygen Thieves. District was brimming with excitement and eagerness to kick this party off. This task was handed to exciting starlet Dominic Dunn. For a chap of only 16 years, Dominic brims with confidence, maturity and charm. What stands out the most about this gentleman though is his seemingly inherent song-writing talent; I mean nobody could have learned how to be this good at such a young age, surely this kind of ability is something Dominic was born with. This kid is surely set to be one of the top talents to emerge from Liverpool in the coming years.
Next up, another immense solo artist and somewhat of a staple of the Liverpool music scenes elite; Natalie McCool. With a textured voice that can haunt as much as it can entrance, Natalie is one very skilled songstress and I expect her platform to keep growing and rising. With an ode to Greg Lake’s perennially underappreciated Christmas classic ‘I believe in Father Christmas’ and a plethora of her own well-crafted ditties, Natalie really makes herself stand out in the sea of quality acts on this bill. She has been lauded by many more powerful voices than Yeah Buddy! but for what it’s worth, we get the hype and we are firmly in camp McCool.
To make this show even more exceptional, McCool and Dunn teamed up for a magical duet that they also performed at the Liverpool Music Awards, this was a special moment and again underlined the talent that these two harness and the fantastic occasion that this show was.
So taketh the stage, the (Broken) Men of the moment, the team that has taken Liverpool by storm since its inception and the blokes that everyone is here to see, Broken Men. As stated above, I have already lauded this band as an awesome force, but this was ten times the show that I experience back in October. This was an awe inspiring exhibition of what is to come from this bequiffed and gifted quintet.
Taking the stage to a pop from the audience that would be fitting for any of Liverpool’s mightiest heroes, Broken Men cruise through the most part of their debut E.P Phase [001] Dogmeat. ‘Five Star’ and ‘Oversold’ do a flawless job of whetting the crowd’s appetite but these are mere h’orderves for what is to come. BM cruise into ‘Can the kids come back alive?’ and as they reach the bridge the first big treat of the night, hot hip hop prospect KOF enters the fray with a perfectly fitting rap interlude that leaves the audience buzzing. Wow, that was something special and most people would have been satisfied have spent a measly £5 on that alone but that is only the first half of the set.
So begins Phase [002] and with it the surprises keep on rolling. First 2 silky voiced female singers hit the stage to help with backing vocals, one of which being Natalie McCool and that is some statement alone. This really added a fine layer to what is already a well-oiled unit but it was the 3-piece brass section that joined the party that really gave this show its pinnacle moment. Wide eyes and nodding heads of agreement now struck the spectators as Broken Men ploughed through new material including the 2 newly released tracks, the brilliant ‘1956’ and ‘The Outsider’. I am sure that those in attendance, me included, would have been more than happy to see the band alone but with the buxom supporting cast and treats galore throughout, there was not a person in the building that left without the belief that Liverpool music scene is thriving and that in Broken Men they have an asset and band that it can be proud of.
To flex their muscles in such a way is incredible and begs the question, ‘what in all of hell are Broken Men going to pull off next?’
Krystian Hudson
In all of my gig going years I have never seen anything quite like this and I’m not just talking about unsigned shows, this was a spectacle. Some of the very finest of Liverpool’s unsigned talents gathered to celebrate the launch of Broken Men’s Phase [002], two sneak-preview singles and a video from their highly anticipated debut album.
I have already drooled over this band on this very blog once before so I will try to avoid repeating myself as I am running out of superlatives to describe their brilliance.
A word on the powerhouse undercard, four fantastic acts including Natalie McCool, Dominic Dunn, Sugarmen and Oxygen Thieves. District was brimming with excitement and eagerness to kick this party off. This task was handed to exciting starlet Dominic Dunn. For a chap of only 16 years, Dominic brims with confidence, maturity and charm. What stands out the most about this gentleman though is his seemingly inherent song-writing talent; I mean nobody could have learned how to be this good at such a young age, surely this kind of ability is something Dominic was born with. This kid is surely set to be one of the top talents to emerge from Liverpool in the coming years.
Next up, another immense solo artist and somewhat of a staple of the Liverpool music scenes elite; Natalie McCool. With a textured voice that can haunt as much as it can entrance, Natalie is one very skilled songstress and I expect her platform to keep growing and rising. With an ode to Greg Lake’s perennially underappreciated Christmas classic ‘I believe in Father Christmas’ and a plethora of her own well-crafted ditties, Natalie really makes herself stand out in the sea of quality acts on this bill. She has been lauded by many more powerful voices than Yeah Buddy! but for what it’s worth, we get the hype and we are firmly in camp McCool.
To make this show even more exceptional, McCool and Dunn teamed up for a magical duet that they also performed at the Liverpool Music Awards, this was a special moment and again underlined the talent that these two harness and the fantastic occasion that this show was.
So taketh the stage, the (Broken) Men of the moment, the team that has taken Liverpool by storm since its inception and the blokes that everyone is here to see, Broken Men. As stated above, I have already lauded this band as an awesome force, but this was ten times the show that I experience back in October. This was an awe inspiring exhibition of what is to come from this bequiffed and gifted quintet.
Taking the stage to a pop from the audience that would be fitting for any of Liverpool’s mightiest heroes, Broken Men cruise through the most part of their debut E.P Phase [001] Dogmeat. ‘Five Star’ and ‘Oversold’ do a flawless job of whetting the crowd’s appetite but these are mere h’orderves for what is to come. BM cruise into ‘Can the kids come back alive?’ and as they reach the bridge the first big treat of the night, hot hip hop prospect KOF enters the fray with a perfectly fitting rap interlude that leaves the audience buzzing. Wow, that was something special and most people would have been satisfied have spent a measly £5 on that alone but that is only the first half of the set.
So begins Phase [002] and with it the surprises keep on rolling. First 2 silky voiced female singers hit the stage to help with backing vocals, one of which being Natalie McCool and that is some statement alone. This really added a fine layer to what is already a well-oiled unit but it was the 3-piece brass section that joined the party that really gave this show its pinnacle moment. Wide eyes and nodding heads of agreement now struck the spectators as Broken Men ploughed through new material including the 2 newly released tracks, the brilliant ‘1956’ and ‘The Outsider’. I am sure that those in attendance, me included, would have been more than happy to see the band alone but with the buxom supporting cast and treats galore throughout, there was not a person in the building that left without the belief that Liverpool music scene is thriving and that in Broken Men they have an asset and band that it can be proud of.
To flex their muscles in such a way is incredible and begs the question, ‘what in all of hell are Broken Men going to pull off next?’
Krystian Hudson