Its a rainy Thursday night in Birmingham.
We’re in the basement of The Flapper.
The room is full.
Early 2000’s emo is about to be resurrected.

Before the bands had even started playing it was a legitimate nightmare to move around. If you’ve been to The Flapper before you know its a small room. But its arguably one of the most iconic rooms in all of Birmingham.
And what a room to be in for the night. You’d be hard pressed to find a room that had more passion and more energy than this one.

Local legends Cauldron opened up the night with an intense hardcore set that saw the room open up instantly. We all know an opening band is there to warm the room up. Cauldron set it on fire. Their set was short but sweet, and had the pit ninjas out from the moment they hit the stage. Looking back at it now, i’m actually impressed that i’m walking away with a functional camera, and any teeth left in my head. People came to throwdown, and Cauldron gave them the perfect opportunity.

I’ll admit now to being quite grateful that the following acts were not hardcore bands.
Hardcore adjacent? Yes. But the head height spin kick count was notably less after Rosasharin came out.
I hadn’t heard of these guys before tonight. But they ripped through their set with boundless energy. Every single member of this band was working themselves to the bone in their performances, no one stood still, and that translated directly to the crowd. When a band gives this much energy its impossible to not absorb it and join them. Whats even more impressive is that they had energy to begin with, because looking at the stage i recognised a good chunk of the band from Cauldrons mosh pits. Ninety nine percent sure their bass player had spin kicked me only 15 minutes earlier. But this just further goes to show that Rosasharin’s members have a deep seated love for the scene that comes through in every aspect of their performance. Throughout their set the crowd were engaged fully, going all out for the heavier moments, and singing along for the quieter moments. It was a great transition to the more emo post-hardcore vibes i’d been expecting from the night.

And then it was time for the headline act. I Promised the World came out swinging. I had my expectations of what I was going to get out of this gig. Some heavier moments, some softer moments, some vicious screaming. But these guys gave all that and then some. At this point, the night feels like having been taken 20 yesrs back in time, when bands like Senses Fail, Silverstein, Saosin and the likes were starting out. Theres a raw, real and genuine energy in the room. The music they’re playing comes from the heart and everyone in the room knows it.
No ones stood still, the fans are spilling onto the stage. They know every word to every song. I knew one song. Don’t Just Stand There. When they played it and i managed to join in with the crowds singing, it felt so much bigger than The Flappers basement. I Promised the World brought to Birmingham music that felt like it was performed by people for people. By that I mean that it didn’t feel like it was a technical performance. That’s not to say they weren’t talented, they most assuredly were, I mean that the performance didn’t feel like an exercise in perfection, it felt like a living breathing act of passion, and that is something that the scene often feels like its missing.

Leaving the room at the end of this show almost felt wrong. For the 2 hours that everyone was in there, it felt like the outside world was non existent and the only thing that mattered was the music on the stage.
And if the merch line was anything to go by, every single person in the room agreed that this was one of the best shows of the year.

Want to see more photos? Check out the gallery below!

I Promised The World | The Flapper | 22/10/2026