Live Review - Me First & the Gimmie Gimmies


Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies, Masked Intruder and Sweet Little Machine @ O2 Institute, Birmingham 24/02/17

Stop me if you’ve heard this before BUT “this one’s a cover”, that’s right Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies have dusted off the Hawaiian shirts, pressed their white trousers and got themselves back on the road in the UK. 

Opening the night, were recent recipient of Fireball Whisky’s ‘Hottest Band’ Sweet Little Machine who brought their anthemic/stadium rock to the Birmingham stage. Channelling Green Day is a risky move, especially channelling something like the ‘American Idiot’ era of Green Day, but with Sweet Little Machine it just about works without becoming cheesy. Fireball have clearly seen something in Sweet Little Machine, and playing shows like this is only going to help their exposure.

Pop-Punk in ski masks is Pop-Punk done right, accompanied to the stage by their “police escort” Officer Bradford, Masked Intruder bring more energy than a hyperactive two year old. With Green missing tour due to his incarceration, Masked Intruder had a guest guitarist in the form of Fraser from The Murderburgers, who mask-less took to duties with seeming ease. Masked Intruders write love songs, but with a criminal touch, and let’s be honest who doesn’t love a dancing police man who ends up in a thong?

If you’ve ever seen Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies live, then you’ll know what to expect. As soon as Spike walks on stage he becomes an enigma- of Robbie Williams or Freddie Mercury levels-, Jay Bentley the permanent fill-in for Fat Mike comes across as cool Dad who refused to let Punk and the music industry get in the way and Joey Cape is just, well, Joey Cape. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies are arguably the only band in the world who can get a crowd of Punks and misfits singing-a-long to the likes of ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ and ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’. Fun is guaranteed, and the next song will always be a cover.

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