The Ramona Flowers @ Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre

Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre welcomed the Ramona Flowers & Broken Symmetry to the town last month and what amazing bands!!

Young people from Red Dreams went along to review the gig...

 

Ramona Flowers Review – John Robson (Red Dreams)

On Friday the 22^nd of January I and a few other members of the Red Dreams Family went over to the Town Hall to not only see the Ramona Flowers, but to have a chat with their tour manager. We were made to feel very welcome from the start when we were greeted by a member of the Ramona Flowers team, showed around a bit and heard a bit of knowledge about the band. She made a very interesting remark saying by next year these guys would be bigger than Muse! Very bold indeed, however I am excited to follow these guys career to see how they do.

We watched the guys do a sound check (it’s a shame none of our sound techs could make it, they would have learned from this part) and they sounded really good, which impressed me as this was only a sound check. We then went on to speak to the tour manager, who it turns out has also managed tours of Stereophonics (WOW), who certainly had a lot of information to give. I’d say we all learned quiet a lot, not just about the touring side of things put the whole day to day operations of the band. We then began to wait in eager for the band.

First up, we had the support act ‘Broken symmetry’ who although weren’t brilliant in my opinion, they still entertained us with an Ok set which lasted around 20 minutes. I was sure I’d heard these guys before but I couldn’t recall where from!

Anyway the Ramona Flowers came on more or less straight after which seemed a good move as at this point the support acts had already got the atmosphere flowing! They had a fairly good vibe/stage presence as they came out and really interacted with the crowd. During their first song I didn’t really know what to make of them, it took me until about midway through the second song to realise they were actually brilliant! Everything about their performance impressed me, they are definitely a band I would love to see again! I think I will definitely be purchasing their album.

After their performance, the night got even better when the guys from the band stuck around to have a chat with us! The lads were very genuine people, who with the talent they have clearly have all the aspects to go far. We exchanged helpful tips – obviously we had a couple of musicians with us who received some tips on how to go about their business, and although very cliché, told never to give up! We gave them some helpful tips on the Hartlepool Nightlife, and recommended Loons for a class night out!

I hope these guys go far, and if they do I can say I met them before they were huge! Best of luck to the Ramona Flowers. Top guys and top performers.

The Ramona Flowers Event – Jonathan Trueman (18) (Red Dreams)

Location Town Hall Hartlepool

Time 5:30 – 10:00

Firstly I went in the town hall and went upstairs and sat down to watch the band set up for their performance they set up the lights, drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, microphone, amps and sound system. When seated the view was fantastic and I could see everything really clearly such as the drums, guitars, amps ,lights ,sound systems and the wide stage with the band members on it.

The band tested each instrument which made the drummer drum the guitarist strum some chords and rifts on the guitar. The bassist played a good bass line to a song and keyboardist played some notes to a song. Once their checks were complete they played a song which was really load because of the amps where turned up high and whenever the drummer drummed the stage lights would change colour. After they played their song which was great we were told to go down stairs and take a seat near the bar because the bands tour manager wanted to talk to us. Once seated near the bar the tour manager introduced himself to us and told us a bit about his job and asked us if we had any questions to ask, some of us did have some questions so they asked them and we got some good feedback and then they opened the doors to the public and the support band played a few songs then the main band came on and they were really good. The atmosphere and the crowds support for the band was good and the bands interaction with the crowd was very good. In my opinion I would give the Ramona Flowers Event an eight out of ten because music, the lights, the surround sound and atmosphere was very good.

Ramona Flowers Review – Victoria Davies (18) (Red Dreams)

Today was the day of The Ramona Flowers gig at Hartlepool’s Town Hall Theatre. I was really excited to go see this as I have never seen them perform before, plus I hadn’t really heard of them until now! So after a day in work, I along with others from Red Dreams began our journey over to the town hall. We turned up at 5:30 like arranged but no had turned up to meet us. After a while a lady had come to the front entrance to sign us all in. After this we were taken up to the balcony to watch the two bands sound check as, they were having a few technical difficulties. 

When they finally began to sound check, the first band Broken Symmetry came on the stage. I didn't really know if I liked the sound of their music. Wasn't the style I normally listen to. But then The Ramona Flowers came on. There are 5 people in this band with a edgy rock twist to their music. To watch them sound check was amazing, the connection they have as a band was brilliant. Their style of music is head turning to anyone and the room went silent. It was an amazing experience. 

John Thompson was the bands tour manager. He was able to sit with us for a good 10 minutes to discuss the music industry from his point of view. Everyone was sat quietly as it was quite nerve racking to as the first question. But when the questions started flowing, we began to interact more with him. He told of how everyone is that business had to start at the bottom to work their way up it is the only way to do it. He said sometimes the money isn't great but you have to live with it. He then went on to talk about being on tour and how stressful that is. Also he talked about for smaller venues on their list who books support for them etc. It was for many people wanting to be in this industry very eye opening. 

When it came around to watching the gig, it was amazing. I said previously I wasn't really impressed with Broken Symmetry but it was lovely to watch them perform. Not many people had turned up to the gig which was a shame. But for those who did it was a nice little tight knit audience. When TRF came out they had asked everyone to move closer and everyone was gathered at the back. Plus I think for the amount of people the venue was way to big. But the band still played to a huge audience, which made me enjoy the gig more. It was an amazing gig, I'd be happy to watch them again any time. 

After we got to speak to the band which was amazing, the band are really nice and genuine.  It was nice to hear stories from them about being on tour and the places they get to see. 

Overall I really enjoyed my time at the gig, I learned a few things about being there. I hope I get this opportunity again soon. 

All photography by  Andrew Dorrian, ARD photography