Written by: Dan @ Cherry Dog Apparel
O2 Academy, Birmingham
Saturday 7th October 2023

It’s not too often you come across small up and coming bands that can amass a keen following so early on but it is clear to see that Road Closed is certainly doing so! They recently announced that their latest single to come out is set to release October 27th and the lovely folks - including us - who were present at their recent gig at O2 Academy 3 in Birmingham got to hear it first! Disregarding the announcement of the new single, the gig was set to be a good night anyway, as Road Closed also had three other bands playing with them on the bill, so it’s safe to say the audience were thoroughly served.

Road Closed initially opened their set with an absolute classic tune that everyone would know. The lyrics go something like this, ‘If there's something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call?’. If you don’t know those lyrics then you best watch-up on your 80’s Ghost movies. Anyway, after the October themed opening, RC got into full swing with things after a slight set-back during the intro involving some sort of technical issue with lead guitar. Now I mention this in the review because although it happened, I wanted to give credit to Amar on drums and Rachael on bass for continuing to play and stay in rhythm whilst the tech problems were sorted. From then on, they went on to put on a great show, as mentioned above, they played their newest single and a handful of their currently available music, including Lightning and Omnipotent. The crowd were enjoying the show and were very happy to sing along! It was great to see so much support from the local fans as well as the friends and family of the band that were undeniably present. Leo’s singing and vocal range was second to none on the night and Delilah absolutely killed on lead guitar. The chemistry between these four is very much present and they all look like they have fun on stage together as well as playing in unison too. It was a shame that the time slot they had had to get cut short in the end due to previous delays in the evening, however the time played in front of the crowd had lots of energy and passion, so we applaud them greatly for their efforts! It was also great to have them come back on when the lights went dim, to fulfil a crowd demanded encore. Their song choice? Pretty decent I think! ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark’ by Fall Out Boy. they clearly liked playing that themselves as they crushed it! A great way to end the night! 

Previous to RC coming out on stage, there were three other bands to open up and warm the O2 up! Starting off with ‘Haze’, a band from Shrewsbury that had a classic look and feel to them. It’s always tough being first on the bill but these guys did a great job with their small set and I really enjoyed their original song, ‘Dissolve’ plus their cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’. The next band to bless the O2 Academy 3 stage was ‘The Cage’ who also had a good mix of cover and original music. They got the crowd's vocal range warmed up by requesting a singalong with a classic indie song, ‘Chelsea Dagger’ by ‘The Fratellis’. They played original music such as my personal favourite, ‘Take 20’ but also gave us an awesome rendition of ‘My Generation’. A song that really suited their style and tone in my opinion. Before the headline act, there was one more band to play and I firstly praised them and gave them big respect for travelling up from Devon. They were called ‘The Kabins’ and had a great look and sound to them. They knew how to talk and interact with the crowd and really set the tone for Road Closed. They’re certainly one we’re adding to our playlist. It was also lovely to speak to them a little in the smoking area afterwards, although I wasn't too envious of their long drive back in the night they were to undertake after the gig finished! 

Overall, it was a fantastic night to not only catch Road Closed for a second time, but also to be introduced to new music too. Being acquainted with new bands seems to be underlooked a lot in today's music. I see some bands get their big breaks with cool cover versions that go viral on TikTok or if they’ve gone heavy on their social media videos etc. and it’s great that this new age of media can help with being seen. But I can't help but think that sometimes seeing a band you’re unfamiliar with playing their hearts out on the small stage, is undeniably the best way to really gain a connection. That’s definitely something that’s been achieved at the O2 Academy 3 during this particular night.

Picture credit goes to jacraig_photography

Here’s some links you’ll probably go and look for after reading this; 

-Road Closed Link Tree - https://linktr.ee/roadclosedmusic 

-Haze Link Tree - https://linktr.ee/hazeband 

-The Cage Link Tree - https://linktr.ee/the_cage 

-The Kabins Tree - https://linktr.ee/thekabins