Patent Pending played a packed out Institute, Birmingham (Photograph: Jack Kirby)
Trumpets, Pop Punk, Ska, Mario and high octane energy. Patent Pending and friends erupted into the Institute last Friday.
After supporting Bowling For Soup’s ‘Farewell UK Tour’, the American based band seemed ecstatic to be back in Birmingham.
Warming up with Suburban Legends (Photograph: Jack Kirby)
Supporting Patent Pending is no easy task, however the Californian based Ska band Suburban Legends certainly made it look like a piece of cake. With a bouncing blend of trumpets and trombone alongside the typical guitars and bass, not only did they play their original tracks, which were lively and catchy, but they had the crowd hooked with expertly constructed covers of Disney songs. So while you and I may know the slow calm version of, ‘You’ve got a Friend in me’, that night I was shown a completely different version.
After warming up, quite literally with ‘jazz hand exercises’ and ‘head bang neck stretches’ with the support, Patent Pending didn’t even need a build up to get the explosion of sound the crowd erupted into when they strolled onstage.
Vocalist Joe Ragosta takes a ‘swim’ (Photograph: Jack Kirby)
>>GALLERY: Patent Pending at the Institute Birmingham<<
With their ‘hooks in the air’ the crowd showed Patent Pending their love, as singer Joe (Ragosta) launched himself over the barrier and up to the balcony, chatting with fans and joking around.
This was followed by an amazing crowd surf from the back of the venue straight to the stage, before being ‘rescued’ by ‘the strongest security guard’ he’d ever met.
Patent Pending filled the Institute (Photograph: Jack Kirby)
With the set list carrying on, Suburban Legends were not the only ones to cover well known songs, as Pending gave fantastic versions of favourites ‘I’ll Be There For You’ and ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’. The whole night was filled with crowd interaction and the feeling of absolute happiness, not only from the crowd, but from the stage.
Patent Pending gave a blistering performance and gave all the needed evidence to prove that they are Headline material, and should not be thought of otherwise.
Jack Kirby
