Brass Against - Live Review

BRASS AGAINST / BIRMINGHAM 02 2 / 26.06.22

Supreme Court - Testify Mother Fucker 

With everything that seems to be happening in the world currently, there’s no better time for a band like Brass Against to be on tour. The world needs some righteous anger about now… 

Brass Against, formed back in 2017 as a kooky Rage Against the Machine cover band, since that time though they have become so much more - gaining viral success from their epic heavy brass covers of a range of classics. 

 Birmingham 02 Academy 2 is our venue tonight and straight off a late night set at Glastonbury the day before Brass Against hit the stage like a tornado. Liza Colby is a powerhouse of a frontperson, taking no prisoners as she prowls across the stage. At one point Liza launches into a scathing attack on the US Supreme Courts recent ruling overturning of the Roe Vs Wade case - which protects a woman’s right to have an abortion - Liza screams “Supreme Court - Testify mother fucker.” It’s an emotionally charged speech, one that comes from the pit of a woman’s hatred of white conservative men making choices that affect women.
Another moment of beauty is when Liza talks to two Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war that is currently ravaging their country, a truly tear-jerking moment, when she awakes our awareness of how lucky we all are to be here, listening to live music, and to be safe.

Although there’s clearly a lot of passion and as said earlier “righteous anger”, Brass Against are all about bringing the love and the unity, and tonight at the 02 the crowd were as one, singing along to almost every word of every song. 

 We’ll be honest, Brass Against have taken us by surprise tonight. We expected the good music, Brass Against are all talented musicians in their own right, but maybe we didn’t expect such a powerful and passionate display of political anger and emotionally charged speeches… Although, they started as a Rage Against The Machine cover band so maybe we should have!