CradLe to the GraVe: Gigs & Concerts

The Mars Volta, The Roundhouse, London, 16 July 2008

2008-08-28T00:00:00.004+01:00

I thought I'd give TMV a chance seeing as I am obsessed with the lovely John Frusciante, he is best mates with Omar and he contributed to their latest album ("the Bedlam in Goliath"). So yes, maybe secretly, or not so secretly, I was hoping Johnny boy would make a surprise appearance. Sometimes people live in hope and are disappointed.

Not only did JF not make a special guest appearance, I had to put up with a band who I.did.not.get.at.all. They were waaaay too "progressive rock" for my liking. The singer Cedric did not have any rapport with the crowd and was completely disengaging despite looking like he was having a bloody good time doing these weird epileptic fit dance moves. In all fairness, Cedric looks like how a rock star should look. Individually, TMV are really good musicians. Collectively, their music is just loud noise which you can't sing or dance to. You just stand and stare at the people making this LOUD noise. It was like the emperor's new clothes. Maybe someone started a rumour that TMV were the band of the moment so now, no one dares defy that. Maybe they were having an off night. Maybe I'm too old and like my music to be more obvious, less experimental. Maybe I don't appreciate musicians who are completely self-indulgent. I'm all for artistic integrity and non-manufactured bands but sometimes you have to draw the line. For example, I admire Radiohead for doing what they do and not giving a damn about what's popular, but apart from their first two albums, everything they have produced since then is masturbatory crap. Whatever. Unless the delectable John Frusciante is playing with TMV, and I have good earplugs, I will not be spending my hard earned cash on seeing them again.

Wu Tang Clan, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 15 July 2008

2008-08-24T19:59:00.005+01:00

Ash and I were stressed out about going to see Wu Tang. Everyone who had seen them before had such bad experiences - turning up late, not all of them turning up, riots etc. Their reputation obviously preceded them because they had not managed to sell out the first night and tickets were going for less than face value. We agreed that as long as Method Man and RZA turned up, we would be happy.

Getting into the venue was an effort and a half. Everyone was searched and frisked in a way that would have made Heathrow airport proud. Crazy and quite unnecessary considering that the crowd was mostly made up of white, middle-class wannabe "rudeboys" and "rudegirls".

Wu Tang were 45 minutes late which did not help calm mine and Ash's nerves. Eventually they emerged and a wave of relief washed over us as all of the main members turned up. Thank fucking God! We exhaled the second we saw RZA and Method Man.

The Clan apparently don't rehearse but it obviously doesn't matter because they gave an energetic and at times, chaotic, performance, each MC taking turns to rap. Method Man took centre stage of course. I guess when he's in the mood Method can seriously rap his ass off! He was crowd surfing, ragging on a fan who stole his mic at one point and just plain whipping the wiggers into a frenzy. They played loads of classics, many off their debut album "Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers)" and only a handful from their latest album "8 Diagrams" (which no one really cared for). The absence of ODB was clearly felt and of course they had a special segment for him, screaming his name repeatedly which the crowd reacted to rambunctiously and teasing us with a snippet of ODB's most commercial hit, "Money".

They didn't play a very long set (ironically finishing on time despite turning up late). Ash and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - it was a great show but a part of suspects that because we expected the absolute worst, anything that fell short of a complete disaster would have been a great result.

Wu Tang Clan ain't nuthin' to fuck wit!

I have some videos but I am too lazy to upload them.

Apparently this is the WTC symbol... it's a "W" with your fingers, geddit? Nevermind.

Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer & others, Hyde Park Calling 2008, Hyde Park, London, 29 June 2008

2008-08-24T19:33:00.008+01:00

I missed John Mayer because I wanted to see my darling Rafael Nadal beat the hell out of Mikhail Youzhny (he did but play did not start till really late so I missed it anyway). I wasn't too disappointed because I haven't caught on to the John Mayer hype - he seems a bit too slow for my liking but knowing my luck, I'll "discover" him at some point and curse myself for not making the effort to see him when I had the chance.

Sheryl Crow looked really good. Girlfriend's got the body of a 20 year old! She sounded great and played all of the hits. I was disappointed she didn't play "The Difficult Kind" and "Strong Enough" though.

Clapton was amazing, I can't help but wonder just how great he was when he was in Cream. I now understand why he consistently appears on Greatest Guitarists lists, the man is incredible. The crowd pleasers were of course "Wonderful Tonight" and "Layla". Clapton ended the set with an all-star encore by bringing out John, Sheryl et al.

Overall, it was a nice day. Made even better by Nadal kicking ass!

Def Leppard, Wembley Arena, London, 26 June 2008

2008-08-23T22:30:00.012+01:00

SETLIST: Rocket - C'mon C'mon - Animal - Nine Lives - Make Love Like A Man - When Love & Hate Collide - Rick Savage bass solo - Rock On - Two Steps Behind - Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Hysteria - Armageddon It - Photograph - Pour Some Sugar On Me - Rock Of Ages - Bad Actress - Let's Get Rocked

Confession time! Back in the day I did quite like Def Leppard and for awhile I could not get enough of "Slang" (It's a very danceable tune. Well that's my excuse anyway). And how can you not be transported back to whatever it was you were up to in the 80s whenever you hear "Pour Some Sugar On Me"?!

If I had a choice I would have liked to see them way back when Steve Clark was still alive but it didn't work out that way. So a few of us found ourselves going to the Wembley gig for Matt's birthday where, get this, Whitesnake were second headliners. Now I draw the line at Whitefuckinsnake! I timed it so that I turned up when they would play "Here I Go Again", their only hit. I wish someone had reminded them of that because they had the nerve to play another song after that. Like they had any other song bigger than that!

Anyway, Def Leppard apparently have a new album out. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge or something like that. Yeah, I know, no one cares. Bands like Def Leppard should just come to terms with the fact that their best work is behind them and that fans don't want to hear new stuff!

In all fairness to Def Leppard, they are a band trying their darnest to not be written off as a band of the past. When they came on for the first song, the screen showed images of them from 1979 to the present day and ended with "That was then, this is now". Apart from a really bad hairstyle from Joe Elliot, gone were the mullets and Def Leppard powered through the gig like the seasoned rockers they are (Joe was most definitely "seasoned", the guy has bingo wings!). As predicted, no one cared about the new songs although I will concede they did sound quite good live. It was great to hear all of the classics and the acoustic set was a great cheesefest because I do really like "When Love & Hate Collide" and "Two Steps Behind" (sue me). Before they kicked off the acoustic set, Joe told a story about them starting off and my hero Ross Halfin and Geoff Barton checking them out in a club in Sheffield in the early 80s. I hooted at the mention of Ross' name and wondered if he was in the audience (turns out he was - look under 26 June).

Unsurprisingly, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was the biggest hit of the night and thank fucking GOD they did NOT play "Love Bites". Everyone else was disappointed but I was relieved because I cannot stand that song, it's a watching paint dry song in my opinion.

AND I finally got to see a one-armed drummer! Rick Allen is one of those survival stories that has always amazed me and I just had to see him for myself.

Def Leppard did exactly what it says on the tin - they played the classics and entertained. I'm not sure I would see them again, maybe if I got a free ticket.

Because everyone but me was so disappointed that they did not play "Love Bites" and kept going on and on about it after the concert like it was the biggest tragedy since 9-11, I decided to see if I could find an answer and so the next day, I e-mailed my hero, Ross Halfin:

From: Lyn Low
To: Ross Halfin
Subject: Def Leppard/Geoff Barton/The Legendary Ross Halfin
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:45:03 +0100

Ross

I was at the Def Leppard concert last night and thought you'd be amused to know that as a long time fan of your work and dedicated reader of your website, I was chuffed to hear the amusing story told by Joe Elliot that, at the very mention of your name, I let out a loud cheer, which did not go down too well with the people around me who thought I was a complete lunatic. They obviously were not familiar with your name but I didn't think there was any need to explain myself.

Sincerely
Lyn (London)

P.S. My friends were quite disappointed that Def Leppard did not play Love Bites. If you have any inside knowledge as to why they left it off I'd love to know. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Love Bites and was hoping they would play Slang.

To my surpise and elation, the Legend himself replied with the following a day later:

From: Ross Halfin
Sent: 28 June 2008 18:25:17
To: Lyn Low

It's a Shit song and i know a certain guitar player is sick of it....

Cheers

Ross

Finally, some inside knowledge. If Ross says it's a shit song, then it is a shit song!

Buddy Guy, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 24 June 2008

2008-06-29T22:18:00.006+01:00

Anyone who knows of Buddy Guy will find it hard to disagree that there really is only one word that can sum the man up, and that word is "legend". If you are a music aficionado , you will know that this is the man who was a major influence on artists like Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Keith Richards, to name a few. I'll even go so far as to put my neck out to say that Buddy is responsible for bringing blues guitar and rock guitar together. Buddy has been vocal and honest about how, early on, black musicians were never given the same breaks as white musicians. There's a great video here.

Buddy is 72 and is such a legend that he received a very long, standing ovation from the sold out crowd as soon as he walked on to the stage, without even playing a note. It was emotional and rightly deserved.

Buddy's band consisted of 5 ultra talented and amazing musicians. Everything looked improvised (I mean, if they rehearsed the show then by damn they rehearsed it so well to make it look like it was all impromptu). Buddy was witty, charming and full of anecdotes. It didn't matter that he forgot a few words here and there or that he had a tendency to go off on a tangent, we were witnessing a part of music history and the only thing to do was to soak it up.

Buddy performed all of his crowd pleasing moves that he is so well known for - walking through the crowd, playing the guitar with his teeth, a towel, a drumstick... great singing from him as well, I got chills when he sang "Feels Like Rain". He got a loud cheer when he played a bit of Voodoo Chile - check out the video here. For an hour and a half I witnessed one of the greatest living legends of all time and I will never forget it.

Good review here.

Santana, O2 Arena, London, 22 June 2008

2008-06-29T19:43:00.004+01:00

SETLIST: Pease/Jingo - Life Is For Living - Incident at Neshabur - Batuka/No One To Depend On - Curacion - Concerto/Maria Maria - Foo Foo - Corazon Espinado - Happy/Right On Be Free (with Beverly Knight) - Historia* _ Africians and Antillais* - Lord's Prayer/Sun Ra - Yaleo/Drum Solo - Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen - Oye Como Va - Spartacus/Blues Jam/Smooth/Dame - ENCORES: Woodstock Chant/Soul Sacrifice - Angel Chant/Into The Night

*With Idrissa Diop

A quick survey of the Santana crowd made me think that the geriatric wards of every hospital in England must have been empty that night. For a split second I couldn't help but wonder why we were going to see Santana and I secretly envied the crowd queueing up to see Queensryche at the O2 Indigo. But shame on me for being all ageist! Santana reminded me that good music is timeless and I was grateful and humbled by the fact that I was witnessing one of the greatest guitarists of all time (and his band of utterly amazing musicians and singers), and not to mention a very kind and rather funny humanitarian (check out The Milagro Foundation, Carlos & Deborah Santana's charity for underpriviliged children around the world). And for the sake of sounding melodramatic, there were times during the concert, especially during the guitar solos, when I felt myself welling up as Santana's playing was so passionate, powerful and genuine. The other nice surprise was that Carlos played all of his hits off his 1999 Supernatural album (Maria Maria and of course, Smooth, which got the biggest reaction). Amazing night.

Chad Smith, Drummer Live - London International Music Show, ExCel, London, 14 June 2008

2008-06-14T23:29:00.000+01:00

UPDATE: I've now posted a clip of Chad yelling at the security guard. Enjoy!

ORIGINAL POST:
This wasn't exactly a gig per se but when I found out that Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers for those not familiar with Chad) would be headlining Saturday's Drummer Live at the London International Music Show (be warned, this is one of the shittiest websites to navigate), well, Matt and I quite simply had to go! And at £14 a ticket this was a no brainer!

The show itself was a musician's dream - guitars, drums, amps, workshops. Sadly, the only musical training I have is 3 months' worth of piano lessons in my youth but I really enjoyed it as a music fan, soaking up the atmosphere and appreciating the musician's plight. Anyway, Matt and I were checking out some Chad Smith drumming DVDs at a stall selling DVDs, books, guitar tabs etc and for some reason I decided to peek around the corner and literally, less than 10 metres away from us, was Chad himself in the middle of an autograph signing session! I almost had a heart attack (imagine if it had been John Frusciante...)

I looked around and the queue was massive! After snapping a few shots, Matt and I queued up as we just had to meet the legend!! We grabbed a few freebie posters for Chad to sign, we joined the queue all the way back at the end. We found ourselves queueing up with this very bitter, older, didn't quite make the big time drummer and his young teenage son. Oh, he told us the usual stories, how he'd been coming to the London International Music Show for years, how it's changed and gotten too big, how he'd been drumming since he was 10. Inevitably, the topic turned to Chad and other famous drummers and of course, he had his opinions (what was it Dirty Harry said? "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one"). Boy did he have his opinions. "Chad Smith isn't the greatest, he's just the most popular, he doesn't have the technical skills that Ian Paice* has, Ian blows him out of the water every time. Even Keith Moon** wasn't as great as people think he was...". Of course, we had to ask him who his favourite drummer was and we expected him to say John Bonham*** but no, not even John (and definitely not John's son Jason) made the cut. Bitter Drummer Man said he had seen God play drums and when we asked who it was, he proceeded to mention some completely unknown drummer (probably himself, we never asked him his name). His son looked quite bored by all the stories which he's probably heard a 100 times before. Despite not rating Chad Smith very highly as a drummer, turns out he'd queued up to meet Chad on 2 previous occasions, was eager to meet him again (evident when he bit the head off management who came round saying Chad would only be signing for the next 30 mins or so as he had to get ready) and he was carrying drum paraphernalia for signing which were blatantly not his son's.

Chad was due to go onstage at 4.30pm. Around 3.45pm, management comes round again holding up Chad's DVD saying that if anyone buys or has bought a DVD they can go to the front of the queue. The DVD costs £24.99. Needless to say, everyone told him to fuck off (myself included). Chad, oblivious to all of this, was happily signing anything and everything, so he didn't give a shit if we bought his DVDs (he certainly doesn't need the money). I'd say Matt and I were about 20 people away from Chad when rather reluctantly Chad had to apologise to everyone that he had to leave because he had to get ready. Of course, Matt and I broke free from the queue to try and get a, well, something, anything! Matt, the cheeky bastard, managed to run up to Chad and shook his hand and said something totally gay like "Nice to Meet you Chad you're a legend". I was not so fortunate as Chad was quickly whisked away by management.

The closest shot I got of Chad seconds before he was dragged away to get ready. He is really tall
We then went to queue up to get into the hall where Drummer Live was taking place. The people who had gotten into the hall earlier when other drummers were having their showcases in order to secure front row seats for Chad were all kicked out (haha) and forced to rejoin the queue. Matt and I were close to the front of the queue and of course, for some reason, Bitter Drummer Man and his Moody Teenage Son were right next to us again. I ignored him and left Matt to entertain his rants.

We finally got into the hall and got seats about 6 rows away from the stage (by this point we'd successfully lost Bitter Drummer Man and Son). Security, Management, Wankers, whatever you want to call them, were being absolute tossers and barking orders like Nazis. I fucking hate this day and age of orderly queueing and fire safety hazards!

Anyway Chad came on at 4.30 on the dot and one of the first thing he does is tells everyone to move their chairs closer to the front which everyone eagerly did, much to security's horror hahaha

Chad effectively gave a two finger salute to security when he asked everyone to move up. Video cuts out as I scrambled to move my chair amidst the stampede!
I could tell from seeing Red Hot Chilli Peppers' stuff that Chad's a funny guy (I knew there was a reason why he's Will Farrell's doppelgänger!) and he proved it over and over during the showcase.

Will Farrell?
Hear me hoot and laugh at 0:11, O:22 and 0:45
Chad drummed to 3 Chili tracks off the Stadium Arcadium album (Charlie, Readymade and So Much I) and did one freestyle drumming. Even though it was obvious it was already planned what he would do, he still indulged the crowd by asking us what we wanted to hear (instinctively I shouted "Give It Away"). Someone shouted "Dani California", to which Chad responded that he was sick of it. Then someone shouted "Under The Bridge" and Chad went "I'm even sicker of that!".

Chad drumming to "Charlie"
The atmosphere was great. There was an incident when once again, security tried to clear a path between the crowd for whatever dumb ass reason security does the things it does and Chad was like "Hey asshole, you're disrupting my show!", jumped off the stage and had a few words with the security guy. Of course, everyone was like "Go Chad!". Seriously, I really hate the draconian treatment we're always subjected to in this day and age when attending concerts and events like these. It can make the whole concert-going experience feel really rigorous at times so I'm glad Chad gave this guy a mouthful (of course, in fairness, the guy was just doing his job but he was being a twat about it).

Chad tells off the security guard!

At one point Chad jokingly asked the crowd "You guys all know who the most important member of the band is don't you?" and I yelled out "John!" much to Matt's horror. Haha. It was really great to see Chad up there handling his own really well instead of hiding behind the drum kit. He did remark that he felt a bit like an animal in a zoo as everyone hung on every single word he said.

Anyway, I don't care what Bitter Drum Man said, Chad is a phenomenal drummer. I was disappointed that there wasn't a Q&A session as I really wanted to ask Chad his version of his audition for the Red Hot Chili Peppers (I've already read Anthony's take and seen John's effin' hilarious rendition here - see from 2:15, hilarious stuff!) and it would have been great to hear it from the horse's mouth. Still, it was a great event.

After it ended, we walked around a bit and came across another signing session, this time with Joe Fuckin' Satriani!

Joe Satriani - Botox?
Joe looked really young! The queue was long so we decided to give it a miss. We'd already seen one legend.

*Drummer for Deep Purple (alive and drumming)
**Drummer for The Who (deceased)
***Drummer for Led Zep (deceased)

Matchbox Twenty, Wembley Arena, 1 May 2008

2008-06-09T23:23:00.000+01:00

I am proud to report that Matchbox Twenty remain as cheesy as ever and God bless 'em because someone needs to!

Loyal readers of my blog* will know that I have seen MB20 on 2 other occasions (read here). Personally 2 was quite enough for me but Matt, having discovered them by default after inheriting Hank's cheesy music collection, discovered "Push" and had this need to see them, so we hatched a plan to turn up late at Wembley to find two cheap tout tickets, the rationale behind it being that MB20 aren't that huge in Europe and if a tout hasn't sold his tickets 20 minutes into the concert then we'll have the upper hand! Supply outweighing demand and all that.

Upon arrival there was a momentary panic when the streets were empty and we could not spot any touts. Bollocks. We finally found two and lo and behold, they had two standing tickets left and actually wanted to sell them to us for a profit. Piss right off. Eventually we got them down to £15/ticket (face value was around £30/ticket). We could have gotten them down to £10/ticket but it was pissing it down and I wasn't in the mood to haggle anymore.

In the arena, I was quite shocked to find that it was PACKED! Fekkin' hell when did they become big in Europe? The last time they played Wembley Arena the place was half empty (or half full, if you're the optimistic type).

Rob Thomas of course could not shut his gob. I can't believe that in my teenage years I used to love his little monologues before each song; this time round I was like "Shut the fuck up and just sing!". They played a few stuff from the new album but I couldn't tell you what they were. And it doesn't matter because it was the old stuff that got the crowd going. And in the same vein of never forgetting how to ride a bike, I instinctively knew all the words to all those songs... I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed... 3AM, Long Day, Bent, Unwell, If You're Gone, Bright Lights, Back 2 Good (dear God I had forgotten how much I lurrrvvvved this song)... they did not play Mad Season or Soul, what's up with that? Anyway, as I stated in the beginning, MB20 are the Cheesemeisters! You just know Rob Thomas has never had to suffer anything more than a bad hangover, a broken heart and maybe a bad doobie comedown - it's all there in his pop rock, heart tugging lyrics. And that's ok, because we don't want all our rock stars to OD and go through rehab do we? They performed well but one thing I do notice about MB20 (and having now seen them 3 times I think I am right on this), their songs live do not deviate at all from the album versions; each song sounded exactly the same as it does on the album. C'mon guys, add a new riff or a new verse or something; for fucks sake Rob you talk so much normally just ad lib a chorus or whatever! Bottom line, MB20 does what it says on the tin. But God bless them, the night brought back some nostalgic moments from me, I had no choice but to reminisce about all those times a cheesy Rob lyric got me through some shitty break up. "There's always something tearing you apart".

Oh and guess what song they closed with? Go on, you'll never guess! Click here if the suspense is killing you!

*In danger of becoming extinct

Velvet Revolver, Brixton Academy, 25 March 2008

2008-03-27T16:05:00.000Z

UPDATE: The May (I think) issue of Classic Rock magazine has a great coverage of the moments leading up to the break-up. Ross Halfin was of course privy to all of this and took the last ever group picture of the band. Anyway here's a better clip of Patience and a quite good clip of The Last Fight.

UPDATE: Scott's response... siiigh, wish it didn't have to come to this. But his comments are fair in light of the statement released by the others.

UPDATE: Well it's official, Scott's leaving Velvet Revolver. While I am not surprised, I do feel a bit sad. I just hope it won't be the last time I hear Scott sing The Last Fight - I have already decided that no other band will do that song justice other than the original VR line-up!!

UPDATE: Hahaha I found this on the net and it's quite hilarious. Let's face it, if some fans had their way, we would have wanted GnR and STP to still be together respectively and for VR never to have existed!

ORIGINAL POST:
Setlist: Let It Roll/She Mine/Sucker Train Blues/Do It For The Kids/Just Sixteen/Big Machine/American Man/Vasoline/The Last Fight/Interstate Love Song/Patience/She Builds Quick Machines/Get Out The Door/Fall To Pieces/It's So Easy/Slash Solo/Set Me Free (Encore) Mr Brownstone/Sex Type Thing/Slither

Ok, don't tell my parents, but I sorta planned my trip back home around this Velvet Revolver gig. Yes, I am a terrible daughter who put her selfish desire to see a volatile and completely unapproachable rock band over and above her parents wish for their youngest to come home for a visit asap. Will I burn in hell? Probably. Was the gig worth the 4 or 5 day delay? I hate to say it, but, hells yeah! That doesn't mean I didn't experience some bad karma for my calculative move. There was the whole Scott arrested for DUI debacle, Scott missing a gig due to "transport problems", Scott checking into rehab, the cancellation of the Australian leg of the tour, Scott and Matt's online handbag fight with each other, Scott hinting of a break-up.... so naturally, up until the very second they turned up onstage on Tuesday night, I had severe doubts as to whether or not the gig was going ahead, which didn't help on the guilt front!

The gig was sold out and there was a sea of old Guns N Roses t-shirt wearers and ageing, overweight, long-haired fans (where do they come from??). Sadly, I only spotted one Stone Temple Pilots t-shirt wearer (more on that later). Matt and I were early so I decided to buy t-shirts for me and my cousin Eric (huge VR fan). The American dude who served me at the merchandise stall was talkative and said "Oh my God they have been playing so well these past few nights although there is a bit of tension and fighting but I shouldn't really say anything more, especially after Axl turned up at one of their shows in the US blah blah blah". I replied "Well I don't really care if they split up because Stone Temple Pilots are reforming and I prefer them to Velvet", much to Merchandise Boy's horror.

Anyway, VR were supposed to come onstage at 9.15pm but came on at 9.30pm instead (heck, this was impressive, especially compared to Axl Rose's record). I have to admire their professionalism, despite all the recent internal conflict and struggle, they pulled it together. The first half of the show (up until just before The Last Fight) came across as going through the motions, although Scott seemed to be giving it his all. Clearly keen to try and dispel rumours of a split, Scott announced about 3 or 4 songs in "We are STILL Velvet Revolver and we STILL play rock and roll". Ok, whatever, let's see if the 3rd album surfaces before I believe that!

I have to say though, VR songs sound bloody awesome live. Contraband I found somewhat mediocre (apart from Slither) and I much prefer Libertad, but I guess they were always going to be heavily scrutinized seeing as they formed from the ashes of 2 of the greatest rock bands (IMHO) of the 80s and 90s.

The atmosphere started changing from The Last Fight onwards. The Last Fight is by far, their best song, it's a shame most people fail to realise this! Then came Interstate Love Song, which saw me and probably only 2 other STP fans go mental! Then, the turning point... Patience. Bloody hell was there a complete eruption! Hallelujah for rock ballads eh, especially GnR power ballads! Even I have to admit that a wave of nostalgia engulfed me at that point and I swayed along and ironically, I was never the biggest GnR fan. The crowd's reaction to Patience confirmed my suspicions that a lot of VR fans are made up of hardcore GnR fans who clearly miss the good ol' days because, at the end of the night, it was the 3 GnR songs (Patience, It's So Easy and Mr Brownstone) that were the clear favourites and got the loudest reactions. From Patience onwards, VR cranked it up to 11 and gave it their all. The highlights for me where The Last Fight (beautiful), Patience (for reasons stated above), She Builds Quick Machines (2nd best song on Libertad and amazing live), Fall to Pieces (I was surprised, I never liked it on the album but damn it sounded great live), Slash's solo (as Dewey Finn would say, it was a face-melting solo. Legend!)...

....the 3 encores and finally seeing Scott Weiland slither (haha geddit??) about onstage doing his thing... Scott Weiland is a fucking enigmatic frontman and he makes me want to go back to lusting after bad boys!! He looks and behaves exactly how a rock star should (although this whole substance abuse thing is getting kinda old).

By the end of the night, VR blew my socks away. VR are LOUD live and my ears have not stopped ringing. I was disappointed that they didn't really add any surprises to the setlist (it's remained more or less the same for the past couple of shows) and I did initially wish that they would play other STP songs (e.g. Plush and Big Empty) but it was probably best that they didn't as it would have been wasted on the mostly GnR fanbase, so I'll just wait for the reunited STP to come to London. By the way, what is wrong with you Brits? Are you guys not aware of the greatness that was/is Stone Temple Pilots? Bah humbug. It's also a shame that there's not really much love between the band and Scott so we probably have another Audioslave situation (but don't expect Axl to reform with the rest of 'em).

It's also worth mentioning that they delivered on Slither. Fantastic climax.

Despite what I said to the merchandise bloke, it would be a shame if VR did split up because they do put on a great live rock show (when they pull themselves together that is). Only time will tell.

Oh, and there was this annoying, ugly, fat, long haired bitch near us most of the night. I have nothing against fat people but she was a nasty piece of work. She was obnoxious and rude to everyone around her and determined to take anyone who stood in her way down. During the concert she kept "headbanging" and her long fucking, dirty, coarse hair kept hitting me and Matt in the face and it was like being hit with a broom. Stupid cow. By the end of the night, even her friends had become sick of her as she seemed to have been deserted by them.

Clips of Slash's face-melting solo and Patience. Enjoy and rock on and all that.

Queens of the Stone Age, Hammersmith Apollo, 11 February 2008

2008-02-13T00:21:00.000Z

Setlist: Turnin' On The Screw/Hanging Tree/Burn The Witch/Misfit Love/Hollow/Do It Again/3's And 7's/Era Vulgaris/Go With The Flow/Song For The Deaf/Blood Is Love/In The Fade/Suture/Designer/Little Sister/U Can't Quit Me/Regular John/Sick, Sick, Sick

Mondays are bad enough on its own but when you have to trek all the way to West London in the freezing cold to see a band you secretly have doubts about, it can be excruciating (yes I had doubts but they vanished. How you ask? Well read on my friends, read right on...).

All day at work I kept trying to call the Hammersmith Apollo to find out what time QOTSA would be onstage but they probably expected dumb ass questions like that because the number was engaged THE ENTIRE DAY. So there I was whining, whinging - all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Anyway I decided that whatever happened, I would leave by 10pm. 10.30pm at the very latest.

Arrived at the Hammersmith Apollo around 7.30pm and taped up on the wall was the exact information I had been pursuing all day long - opening act 8.15pm - 8.45pm, QOTSA 9.15pm - 11.00pm. Goddammit.

I can't remember the opening band's name. Crates of Fire? Firecracker? Crates of Desire? I know there was a "Crate" and a "Fire" in the name. Yeah obviously they were so good I didn't bother remembering the name. They were 3 guys from Scotland (well it sounded like a scene from Trainspotting to me up on the stage) and Jesus Christ, you'd think they'd have at least some charisma between them. Nada, the songs were crap and the frontman had no personality. The sound system during their slot was terrible which supports a conspiracy theory I have that opening acts are deliberately given a crappy sound system.

So after the passionless band leaves, who do I spot setting up but the notorious Ross Halfin, looking as tanned as ever. Ross is my hero; he leads the life I wish I had, the bastard. Anyway that was quite a highlight for me as I regularly read his online diary and feel sorry for myself that I'm sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day long at a job I'm not sure I fully understand while Ross is hanging out with my music idols, flying first class around the world and staying at 5 star hotels. Yes Ross I get it, you are the man.

Rather surprisingly, the lights went off at 9pm and QOTSA appeared to the delight of the crowd. A band that's actually more than punctual, how about that, fuck me. Everyone went wild (the place was absolutely packed, most packed I've ever seen the Apollo) and they kicked off with "Turnin' on the Screw" from their new album Era Vulgaris. And from start to finish, the band stormed through an epic set. You would have never guessed that Josh Homme was actually suffeirng from bronchitis (as we were told by the man himself) because he sounded incredible. He did fuck up "Little Sister" and declared "I'm sorry about that, I took a lot of drugs before the show, but I obviously didn't take enough. I feel like I ruined the party." The crowd cheered him on which prompted him to play some mean guitar riff.

And I swear to God, for the WHOLE show (and the following is going to sound really corny and pretentious but there really is no other way to describe it), the music and energy was surging through everyone's bodies and we couldn't help but dance, jump around and headbang (yay the 90's!) the entire time.

Ok, on to the doubts that I had... I'd heard and seen QOTSA on the radio and on tv and I thought that their music was good but nothing special. I was like, what is the big deal? Well, I still stand by that observation to an extent BUT, I concede that QOTSA, LIVE, is something else! They re bloomin' marvelous. I will be seeing them again given the chance, oh yes you can bet on that.

After the gig (yeah, I stayed till the end...), I checked out the merchandise counter. I had to decide between spending all my cash on an overly-expensive, cheaply produced t-shirt or saving my money so that I could buy a bottle of water as I was dehydrated from all the dancing. Guess what choice I made....

As always, Ross Halfin has great pics of the gig. Click here and look under the 11 February entry.

The Chemical Brothers, Brixton Academy, 13 December 2007

2007-12-16T22:43:00.001Z

Electro, trance, dance... I'm not really sure what genre The Chemical Brothers falls under but what I can tell you is that a CBs gig is an experience and a half and then some - for the 2 hours or however long these DJs remain onstage, be expected to be transported to a world of insane beats, melodies and pyrotechnics, all of which will get under your skin and whether you plan to or not, you WILL lose yourself in a sea of bodies, each and every one of you possessed by some sort of dancing spirit, regardless of whether you can dance (and trust me, there were many white boys around me who were repeatedly proving the old stereotype that white men can't dance...).

I nearly decided not to go at the last minute as I was tired from my first week at my new job and I had the office Christmas piss-up the following night. However, I rationalised that the gig would be free for us (my mate Owen got me and Matt on the guestlist) and if I wasn't feeling it, well, I could always leave.

Someone should have slapped me over the head for thinking like that. Do not make the mistake of thinking that going to a Chemical Brothers gig will just involve 2 guys playing what is essentially their recorded material. From the opening number Galvanize until the end (admittedly I left when the last song started as I really could not face battling the crowd at Brixton Station), the CBs didn't say a word and instead, let their music and enthusiastic mixing (or whatever the cool DJ lingo is) speak for themselves. The gig was peppered with a brilliant and captivating light show, an epileptic's worst nightmare. There were even times when I had to look away for fear of having a fit.

Short clip of Galvanize, the opening number*
So my advice is to catch them the next time they play near you - wear something shiny, pop a pill if you're into that sort of thing and pump your hands to those block rockin' beats.

*NB: I do have more videos of the gig but I'm having some problems uploading them on youtube, so do check back after I have kicked youtube's ass!

The Foo Fighters, O2 Arena, London - 18 November 2007

2007-11-19T00:49:00.000Z

NB: I am in the process of uploading some of the video clips I took so please check back. These include a guitar stand-off, Dave's first monologue, a snippet of the crowd singing "My Hero" and Taylor's drum solo. Oh how I spoil you so.

The Foo Fighters have been around for awhile, especially on the festival circuit, but I never really gave them a second glance until recently. Sure, I'd heard their radio-friendly, formulaic songs and seen their often hilarious cross-dressing videos on the likes of MTV (straight men in drag always gets a good chuckle out of me). But that was my impression of them - a rock band with mediocre songs, what the heck is the drummer from Nirvana doing as a frontman?!

Then of course, I saw them at Live Earth, and oh. my. God. They were so fucking good that their album sales went up by 1,000% (yes, ONE THOUSAND per cent ) in the UK. So what if their songs are mediocre? It is their delivery of those songs on a live platform that makes them a fantastic live act. Plus, it is well established that Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins (by far the cutest little thing behind a set of drums, ever) are two of the nicest guys in rock, which can only help. In fact, I read a review of their latest album and because Dave Grohl has always been such a nice guy to the reviewer, he gave the album one more star. True story.

One of the opening acts was Serj Tankian, former lead singer of System of a Down. It must have been a Spinal Tap type joke right? He sounded like a cross between a polka-group on acid and a Turkish heavy metal band. And don't get me started on the socio-political messages of his songs. Still, he seemed like a nice guy though, I'm just not sure I got his music. He apparently lives in New Zealand now.

Like true professionals, the Foos emerged onstage at 8.30p.m, on the dot - no big entrance, no drama, they just walked on. I think everyone was mildly surprised by the rather subdued entrance but the entire arena soon got over it and the place erupted. And for 2 1/2 hours, the crowd was duly entertained and of course, the Foos stuck to a winning formula - 4 fast-rocking songs to begin with, the first monologue of the night (does Dave ever not say the F word?), Dave running up and down the runway with his guitar headbanging that long scruffy hair of his, a great drum solo by Taylor "The Cutie" Hawkins, the acoustic set on the centre stage (which was initially illuminated in a sea of red)...

...Dave introducing the rest of the band (Taylor getting the loudest screams and wolf whistles, as expected), Taylor thanking Dave or else they (the band) would all be serving cheeseburgers or out of a job (at which point I was actually dying to shout "I hear Alanis Morrissette is looking for a drummer" but wisely decided against it*), a rapturous performance of "My Hero", back to the main stage for a few more rockin' songs, the band leaves, Dave & Taylor teasing the crowd backstage with a night-vision camera before the encore (btw, Dave was blatantly smoking backstage and flouting the smoking ban but no one even gasped because he is such a nice guy so who cares if he was breaking the law?!), back for the encore, Dave introducing one of their collaborators on the new record (some guitarist called Katy something or other, very talented), on with the show, duet with Serj the mad Armenian with Kiwi PR, and ending with "Best of Me" (of course) ("Everlong" was thrown in there somewhere too). I could have written how the show would go down on a piece of paper the night before and handed it to you and after the show, I'd ask you to open it up and you'd stare at me in amazement at my Nostradamus-like abilities. BUT before you think it, I am not dissing the Foos, far from it in fact, because they thoroughly delivered by giving the sold out arena an impeccable and energetic performance. If it was any other band I'd scoff at the obviousness of it all but there's just something so damn likeable about the Foos that you'd just let it slide. Dave is a riot, very witty and sharp, damn I'd gladly pay cash to hang out with him for half an hour. Plus, my respect for him went through the roof when he recently called Paris Hilton a total, raging, disgusting, rich, lazy party slut. I mean, you must really be a disgrace to society when the nicest guy in rock has nothing, erm, nice, to say about you.

*Taylor was the travelling drummer for Alanis during the Jagged Little PIll days and there were rumours of a relationship of the non-professional variety between the two, if you know what I mean ;) - God why do I know so many useless trivia??!

Gwen Stefani @ Wembley Arena, London 29/9/07

2007-10-01T14:37:00.000+01:00

I would love to give you a full detailed report on the concert but I am afraid that's not going to happen because I was so distracted by the fact that Gavin Rossdale and baby Kingston (for those not in the know, Kingston is the firstborn son of Gwen & Gavin and who no doubt - heh, No Doubt, geddit? - will have no problems getting laid when he is older) were standing about 8 feet away from me and Sathish. Gavin bleedin' Rossdale! Bush is Sathish's favourite band so he was in heaven and I find Gavin Rossdale to be one hot piece of meat so I am afraid to say that for most of the concert, I was concentrating on trying to get pictures and videos of him and the baby without looking like a crazed stalker (not easy). As we were quite close to them I couldn't really use my flash so had to resort to stealth like methods, which unfortunately meant that my pictures and videos aren't of the best quality:

Short clip of Gavin & Kingston bopping away to Gwen

Clip of when Gwen runs into the crowd near us - you can see Gavin & Kingston on the bottom right watching her in action and of course I zoom in towards the end!

So yeah, I'm not really sure what to report on Gwen's concert as my focus was elsewhere. There were lots of kids, she has a fantastic figure, she sang and danced really well ("Wind It Up" actually sounded great live), she came across as extremely friendly and approachable and even though I knew it was rehearsed, I was ultra impressed when she made her way into the crowd and even got to the people all the way at the back. Let's face it, people with the crap seats hardly have the best concert experience so fair play to Gwen for going that extra mile. Here are some pictures I did take of her:

And for the record, I was completely appalled when Gwen bowed down to pressure and covered up for her concert in Malaysia. Gwen Stefani is a lot of things but slutty is not one of them. Who the hell do the The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students think they are? If you want to see slutty then go to ANY club in KL and you will see men and women dressing and behaving "inappropriately". I mean, were any of you boring farts attending the concert? No? Well then shut the fuck up, stop ruining things for people just because you happen to be small-minded. We don't give a shit about your dikir barat or whatever the hell it is you do for fun so you should have kept your noses out of it. And you wonder why the major international artists always bypass KL. For the record, this minority group does not represent the majority of us open-minded Malaysians. Gwen has class hence she decided to play by the rules so even more respect to her.

Ok, back to Gavin Rossdale! He is so hot in real life. He joins Chris Cornell in the DILF premiership league that's for sure! He really has the best life; he's made his millions from Bush and now all he has to do is follow his hot wife all over the world. Good job if you can get it.

Chris Cornell - Roundhouse, London 3 September 2007

2007-09-04T01:39:00.000+01:00

Pictures courtesy of Serena Sundai. A complete set can be viewed here

UPDATE: You know it was a good show when Ross Halfin says so (look under "September 3"). He's also uploaded his pictures so check them out here (includes a great shot of Chris and Peter after Peter destroyed his guitar strings!).

Clare O'Brien who runs the brilliant Chris Cornell Fan Page has written a great review of the gig on Subba Cultcha. She's also used an extract of my review here (thanks Clare!).

Just added: Another clip, this time of Cornell singing Seasons. Some idiot thought it would be funny to keep doing "bunny fingers" in front of my camera hence it's shakier than normal. You can hear me go "Oi!" at one stage!

ORIGINAL POST:

Setlist: Silence The Voices/Original Fire/Let Me Drown/Outshined/Show Me How To Live/You Know My Name/No Such Thing/Say Hello To Heaven/Be Yourself/What You Are/Rusty Cage/(Acoustic Set)Billie Jean/Fell On Black Days/Preaching The End of The World/Blow Up The Outside World/Doesn't Remind Me/Cochise/Ty Cobb/Arms Around Your Love/Black Hole Sun/Spoonman/Jesus Christ Pose/Encore)Seasons/Wave Goodbye/Burden In My Hand/Slaves and Bulldozers/Whole Lotta Love

I'm completely deaf but I am on such a high! I knew the gig was going to be good (and I was really looking forward to this one after being completely drenched at Chris' performance at Hyde Park a few months back), but I didn't expect it to be THAT good!

Chris' vocals have never sounded better. Dare I say it, even better than when he was in Audioslave! The crowd gave Chris and his band (his amazing band) a thunderous reception when they came onstage at 9 p.m. And for 2 solid hours, Chris & Co rocked The Roundhouse. I mean, just look at the number of songs he played!

The crowd totally got into it and all the rockers, young and new, were headbanging, screaming and moshing away. It was great to see Chris in such top form and I love that little pout and head movement thing he does when he's rocking away. The entire night was something else but the main highlights for me were: Outshined (one of the BEST live versions ever), Be Yourself (beautiful, Chris said it reminded him of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall... I assume he meant when the crowd was singing it back to him), Say Hello To Heaven (always wanted to hear it live, especially the final verse!), Fell On Black Days (nice surprise during the acoustic set), Cochise (tore the place up!), Ty Cobb (everyone went mental, ditto with Spoonman), Wave Goodbye (written for Jeff Buckley) and Slaves and Bulldozers (out of this world).

I would have loved to have heard Hunger Strike (again), My Wave and Sunshower, but I'm not complaining, Chris spoiled us enough. Maybe next time (please come back Chris!).

His band was on fire! Special mention goes out to Jason Sutter, the drummer. His drum solos were unbelievable; the sheer force he showcased was outstanding. Corey's a sweetie and really knows how to work the crowd. Peter and Yogi were equally amazing (Tom Morello who?) and at one point during Peter's solo, and with Chris' encouragement, he played so hard that the strings on his guitar snapped. Chris and Peter beamed like proud father and son while the crowd cheered!

Oh, and please note that I respect and love Chris as a singer/songwriter first and foremost but blimey, when he came out in the latter half of the show shirtless (Yogi went shirtless much earlier :) ), all I could think of was... DILF!!! Haha! My mind was going SCHWING! HUBBA HUBBA! If only all men were built like Chris! Check out this short clip of Burden In My Hand and you will understand (notice how I cleverly zoomed in around 7 seconds into the clip):

Chris Cornell, you are the man. You can rock my world any day.

Matt, Ash, Jo and Beebs, glad you guys had a good time! Sorry if I scared you with my screaming and headbanging attempts hehe.

Prince, O2 Arena, London 1 September 2007

2007-09-03T15:59:00.000+01:00

Stealth pcitures courtesy of Sathish
I have to say that I am thankful to have been able to experience, in this lifetime, the eccentricity and pure musical genius that is Prince. This was a concert that I will never forget and one which surpassed every expectation I had.

Only Prince can say to organisers and promoters "I'm going to do 21 nights in London, each ticket will cost £31.21, I'm going to give away my new for CD free to every concert-goer and oh, no one is allowed to take pictures, not even the press" and they will bend over backwards and let him do whatever the hell he wants. And why not, because who would dare defy Prince! As you can see from the pictures above, the stage was in the form of his squiggly male/female/guitar symbol and was bang smack in the middle of the O2 Arena.

Each night of his tour has a different setlist and His Purple Highness keeps getting rave reviews. Oh, speaking of purple, loads of people were wearing Prince's favourite colour, oh how original (I'm just jealous really because I wish I had done the same!).

Prince emerged from the middle of the stage amidst dry ice and kicked off with 1999. The gig, from start to finish, was funkin' spectacular. The New Power Generation were amazing and his twin dancers and two other back-up singers provided a great Studio 54 70s disco feel to the whole concert. And what can I say about 'ol Prince himself? For one thing, he hasn't aged a bit! He looks exactly as I remember him from the 80s! And the man can strut. His performance was fluid, the man was born to do this. The whole theme of the night (and tour in fact) is basically Prince reminding London that we all ain't ready for him as he has too many hits and too little time. And he's right! He churned out the hits - Kiss (brilliant), Musicology (awesome), When Doves Cry (the man can squeal melodically!), Satisfied (the men finally understood why women want to sleep with Prince), Cream (yummy), Nothing Compares 2 U (beautiful), Guitar (funky!) etc etc etc and he did two medleys of his hits (felt a bit cheated that he only sang one line from Little Red Corvette, one of my fave songs!). He closed with Let's Go Crazy and left us panting for more. Those that got tickets to his after party were treated to more Prince as he obviously felt in agood enough mood to perform. Check out the official blog.

Real musicians, real funk. Prince can do anything he wants because someone who can create such amazing music should be given carte blanche over whatever the hell he likes.

Prince, you're filthy cute and baby you know it.

Tool, Brixton Academy, London, 22 August 2007

2007-09-03T01:38:00.000+01:00

(Pic Source: Tool Official Website)
The fact that I like Tool can be blamed on my friend Josh who had to go and open his big fat mouth and tell me about them. I was perfectly happy going through life not knowing about this progressive metal, experimental, rock, alternative metal, WHATEVER, band! And who knew that the lead singer, Maynard James Keenan (legend...) was friends with Tori Amos.

Of course, by the time I decided to go to their Brixton gig, the damn thing had sold out. Of course, why wouldn't both nights sell out like hot cakes because Tool are fekkin' awesome!!!!! I got my ticket off ebay (UB got his off a friendly tout) and finally, a concert where I wasn't the only one dressed in black!

I am not going to profess to being a Tool expert as I only know a handful of songs. But when you go to a concert and you're completely blown away even though you have limited knowledge of the artist, then you know you're experiencing something truly special and unique. Tool is not for the fainthearted (very, very loud) and the strict no crowd surfing policy (at the band's request apparently) fell on deaf ears (see what I did there??!). Tool's music is something else. Maynard's voice was melodic, controlled, perfection. If you get a chance to listen to Maynard's lyrics (dark, complex, you know, that sort of thing, but don't be fooled, Maynard proved to be quite the joker during the concert when Herman Li of Dragonforce was doing his guitar solo - it involved toilet paper and numbers), well, let's just say he doesn't take the easy route out by rhyming "love" with "dove". For example:

"I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this shit, blood and cum on my hand" - Prison Sex (unfortunately they didn't play this song but here's an old and brilliant live version)

Yes I went straight for the "filth" but I figured I'd get more of a reaction that way!

Click here for an interview with Maynard talking about his lyrics.

OH! Jack Osbourne is apparently a massive Tool fan and he definitely walked past me at the gig. Yup, still a tubster.

I found a good review here.

Sorry there aren't any pictures or videos because at Tool's request, no cameras were allowed. Maynard exlains why.

10 Reasons To Live, Kingly Club, London, 15 August 2007

2007-09-03T01:21:00.000+01:00

Once again, we made it onto the Aftershots, albeit with some random, questionable bald dude
I got me a plus one on the gueslist to 10RTL's acoustic set at the overly expensive, WAGesque, somewhat pretentious Kingly Club.

What started out as a promising night slowly went downhill. We were told to arrive between 9.30 p.m. and no later by 10.00 p.m., assuming of course the guys would be onstage by then, giving us enough time to get the last tube home (Wednesday being a school night for most normal people). I guess the guys were more concerned with drinking their JD and schmoozing because by 11 p.m. they were still nowhere near the stage but were instead either propped up by the bar or running outside for a fag. Unbelievable. You'd think they had already hit the big time, judging from the Axl Rose style behaviour. I spotted Dave Snr, manager and father to lead singer David Jnr, who seemed pleased to see me as he remembered me from the Purple Turtle (I have this effect on older men you see...) and I swear, if I hadn't told him to get the guys onstage it never would have happened. David Jnr was literally carried onstage but by that time, me and Matt had to leave so we only caught one and a half songs. Oh what a loss. Listen guys, I loved you when you were actually nice and humble but cut out the rock star act until you've reached the top because you're not doing yourselves any favours. If you're still setting up your own equipment, trust me, you still have a long way to go.

Electric Gardens Festival, Kent, 4 & 5 August 2007

2007-09-03T01:13:00.001+01:00

I actually won two camping tickets to the Electric Gardens Festival in Mount Ephraim Gardens, Kent. Yeah, I'd never heard of it either.

As for camping, sod that, so me and Matt just went on the Saturday. The acts on the bill were Kate Nash, Calvin Harris and Supergrass (headliners), amongst others.

Jesus Christ, the amount of Kent chavs was unbelievable. A trip to the dance tent was enough to convince me that this was a poor man's version of Ibiza. But it was a sunny day and Mount Ephraim was kinda pretty and all the food was locally sourced.

Kate Nash - what is with the hype?! Rubbish, she is nowhere near the Tori Amos league.

Calvin Harris - he has good tunes but he really shouldn't open his mouth.

Supergrass - well, we left early to beat the jam but I'm sure they were good. Although, it is sad days when this is the sort of festival they are headlining these days.

Glad I didn't actually fork out money for the tickets!!

Great venue, shame about the acts and punters!

Live Earth, Wembley Stadium, London - 07/07/07

2007-07-08T22:20:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about an event organised to bring people together to solve the climate crisis. Surely with all the lights needed to generate the concerts around the world and the private jets used to fly in the artists, a bigger carbon footprint would be left?!! I have to say though that after attending this monumental event (and I can't believe that I'm actually saying this), I do applaud what Al Gore is doing and if anything, I hope that this event has made more people aware of the issue. The righteous preachings of the hypocritical celebs can bugger off. My stance, even before the event, is this; while things like flying are a necessity of modern life, small things can hopefully make a difference so do try to do your bit (for e.g. use eco-friendly bags when out shopping or re-use plastic bags, recycle, wash your clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40 degrees and don't leave electrical goods on standby if at all possible). More tips here.

But I'm not here to preach because you guys are smart enough to make your own choices. I'm here to give a rundown of the artists who performed at the London concert, with ratings out of 10, so here we go...

Me, Matt, Nev & Tash turned up around 2 p.m. and had missed 2 acts; a "supergroup" kicked off the show and consisted of drummer Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters, drummer Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queen's Roger Taylor (damn) and Genesis who I was glad to miss because I can't stand them and the sight of Phil Collins makes me want to punch old women in the face.

The new Wembley Stadium is impressive and the Arch is a magnificent sight. The sound system was amazing - great acoustics.

View of Wembley Stadium from the tube station
What I found odd was the "security" checks. I had brought along a 1.5L bottle of mineral water (with the full intention of recycling the same after!) but they confiscated the TOP in case I decided to chuck it at Bloc Party or something, which was a bit dumb because chucking the empty bottle of water would give me a better chance of hitting the bastards. Anyway, the London event was hosted by the fatty Chris Moyles and the rather delicious Russell Brand (who took over halfway through) and here is my take on the acts: -

Razorlight (Setlist: In the Morning/America/La Waltz)

I wanted desperately to hate Razorlight as I think Johhny Borrell is a bit of a ponce but I take it back because they were amazing live. Rating: 8/10

Johnny Borrell

Snow Patrol (Setlist: Open Your Eyes/Shut Your Eyes/Chasing Cars)

Again, this was another band I wanted to write off (God I'm so bitter) but they were fantastic live and really got the crowd's spirit lifted with a touching sing-a-long at the end of "Chasing Cars". Rating: 8/10

Short clip of crowd singing along to "Chasing Cars"... it'll tug at your heart strings!

David Gray & Damien Rice (Setlist: Babylon/Blower's Daughter/Que Sera Sera)

They did an acoustic duet at the end of the catwalk. David Gray is not my cup of tea but I can see why some people dig his stuff. To me, hearing his music is the equivalent of watching paint dry. Damien Rice has an amazing and powerful voice, absolutely beautiful. The sing-a-long to "Que Sera Sera" was rather random but sweet, although David Gray managed to make his part sound like "Babylon". Ugh. Ratings: David Gray 3/10 (only because I can't stand his music); Damien Rice 7/10.

Kasabian (Setlist: Empire/Club Foot/LSF)

My boys! My darling Kasabian! They were a last minute addition to the show so good call on the organisers' part! My future husband Tom Meighan & co swaggered onstage, Tom wearing a funky Union Jack shirt and did what they do best - rocked the stadium! Rating: 9/10 (honestly, I am not being biased, check them out live and you will see)

Me so close yet so far from Tom
Tom remembered to do our secret hand and face gestures when he spotted me in the stands (Pic Source: The Sun Online)
Video of Kasabian performing "Club Foot" here

Paolo Nutini (Setlist: Alloway Grove/Last Request/What A Wonderful World/Jenny Don't Be Hasty)

I was looking forward to Paolo Nutini as he's quite good from what I've heard and I was curious because I've read mixed reviews about his live performances. What can I say apart from this guy is a bit weird. Granted, he has a great voice but it's like a 90 year old crooner entered his body for the performance because that voice cannot belong to such a young, gorgeous guy! His singing pose was equally dumbfounding - the whole time he sang hunched with his left hand holding on to the mic stand for dear life. His performance was a bit boring although he redeemed himself with his final song. Rating: 5/10

Quasimodo was in da house

Black Eyed Peas (Setlist: Pump It/Get It Started/Big Girls/SOS/Where Is The Love)

Every time a Black Eyed Peas song comes on, I switch channels. So I was pleasantly surprised to be blown away by them. They burst onstage and injected some much needed energy into the crowd and sang, rapped, jumped around and danced their hearts out. Fergie's solo of "Big Girls" showcased her strong, clear voice. While I won't be rushing out to buy their albums, I give kudos to them for putting on one helluva show and working the crowd into a frenzy. Rating: 8/10

John Legend (Setlist: Ordinary People)

John played the piano and sang his most famous song. Nothing else to report I'm afraid: Rating: 6/10.

Duran Duran (Setlist: Ordinary World/Notorious/Girls On Film)

The truly revolting Geri Halliwell introduced Duran Duran and there was a less than thunderous reception (those who applauded were probably only being polite). The shameless wench unsurprisingly plugged The Spice Girls' reunion which was met with boos, jeers and heckles (My contribution: "It's not the Geri Halliwell show love! Piss off!"). Note: Rage Against The Machine reforming is a good thing, not The Spice Girls.

I was too young when Duran Duran mania came about but my sister was into them. There were loads of Duran Duran fans in the crowd. While I found them to be a little dated, I will give credit where credit is due as they were once the biggest band on the planet and their performances of "Ordinary World" and "Notorious" (video here) were quite good. Apart from that, I found them a bit bland. Rating: 6/10 (7/10 if they had played "Come Undone")

Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Setlist: Can't Stop/Dani California/So Much I/By The Way)

I always half joke that the Chilli Peppers post-drugs are quite boring but admittedly, this was an unfounded claim as I had never seen them live. They were introduced by Chris Rock and they were mindblowingly awesome. They got everyone on their feet. The Chilli Peppers reached the top a long time ago and judging from their performance, they intend to stay there. Video of "Dani California" performance here. Rating: 8/10

The sexy-as-hell Anthony Kiedis (Pic Source: Live Earth)

Bloc Party (Setlist: I hate them so I'm not even going to bother)

I can't f*cking stand Bloc Party so when they came on I decided to take a toilet break. I've seen them on interviews and they are rude, arrogant little shitheads and their music sucks. I don't get them at all. The only good thing about Bloc Party was the fact that Neve Campbell introduced them and I liked her on Party of Five and the Scream movies. Rating: 0/10

Oh, while I was queueing up for the toilet, I managed to pledge to "make the switch":

(Pic Source: Philips)

Corinne Bailey Rae (Setlist: I Would Like To/Mercy Mercy Me/Put Your Records On)

She only has that one hit ("Put Your Records On") so no one really cared about her first two songs. Good voice but otherwise a forgettable performance. Rating: 5/10

Terra Naomi (Setlist: Say It's Possible)

Classically-trained alternative musician from America now living in the UK. She sang acoustically. Great voice, reminded me of Tori Amos. Rating: 7/10.

Keane (Setlist: Somewhere Only We Know/Is It Any Wonder/Bad Shape)

Congratulations Keane, you are in the running for "The Most Boring Band on Earth". When they came on all of the middle-aged housewives went crazy. I mean, "Is It Any Wonder" is bearable but otherwise, they are, as Matt puts it, "Musical wallpaper". Rating: 4/10

Me during Keane

Metallica (Setlist: Sad But True/Nothing Else Matters/Enter Sandman)

Oh my God! Metallica were the BEST act of the night by far! There are no words to describe how bloody awesome they were. "Enter Sandman" was... WOW! Seriously, if you get a chance to see them, GO! Unbelievably amazing. Metallica, I bow down to your greatness. Rating: 10/10.

See Metallica performing Enter Sandman

James Hetfield of Metallica rockin' Live Earth (Pic Source: Live Earth)

Spinal Tap (Setlist: Stonehenge/Warmer Than Hell/Big Bottom)

The fictitious heavy metal band of the much loved Rob Reiner rockumentary/mockumentary classic This Is Spinal Tap reunited for the concert, how unbelievably cool and mad is that?! Rob Reiner, in character as Marty DiBergi, introduced the band as "the loudest and most punctual band on Earth, this is Spinal Tap!" and it was a hilarious, laugh a minute set. Highlights: the little people dancing around the model Stonehenge and Michael McKean a.k.a. David St Hubbins, introducing "every bass player in the known universe", only to have the likes of Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammett, and James Hetfield (Metallica), Gordon Moakes (Bloc Party - yuck), Adam Yauch (a.k.a. MCA) of the Beastie Boys and Stuart Price (Madonna's bass player and manager) join him onstage, all playing bass for the last number... cracking stuff! James Hetfield was smiling and laughing away, devil worshipper my arse (see video here). Rating: 11/10 (because that's 1 more than 10)*

Tiny Happy People holding hands (Pic Source: Live Earth)
*If you have no idea what I'm talking about, rent the movie!!

James Blunt (Setlist: Wise Man/Wild World)

Boring. Forgettable. Uninspired. Rating: 5/10

The Beastie Boys (Setlist: Sure Shot/So Whatcha Want/Intergalactic/Sabotage)

They came onstage wearing green suits (geddit??) and delivered a flawless, non-stop and highly energetic set which drove the crowd absolutely mental. Top class. Video of "Intergalactic" and "Sabotage" performances here. Rating: 8/10

The Pussycat Dolls (Setlist: Buttons/Stickwitu/Don't Cha)

Not the most credible of acts musically but the girls, dressed in very little, definitely did entertain with their catchy pop hits and ~~sex simulation~~ raunchy dance routines. The men-folk definitely perked up. Many of them rushed to the toilets immediately after. Rating: 7/10

Foo Fighters (Setlist: All My Life/My Hero/Times Like These/Best Of You/Everlong)

Pure rock genius. Like the Chilli Peppers, the Foo Fighters got everyone pumped up and rocking. I was blown away by how good they were, especially Dave "Hairy" Grohl. He commanded the entire audience from start to finish and gave a chilling and raw performance of "Everlong" where he initially played solo at the end of the catwalk before the rest of the band joined in for the climax. What a voice. Bloody marvellous. Kurt Cobain's suicide was probably the best thing to have ever happened to Grohl's career. Rating: 9/10

Videos of My Hero and Everlong performances

The mighty Dave Grohl (Pic Source: Live Earth)

Madonna (Setlist: Hey You/Ray of Light/La Isla Bonita/Hung Up)

Prior to Madonna, Terence Stamp led the symbolic gesture of turning off all of the non-essential lighting in Wembley Stadium which I caught on video:

Lights out!!!
Seconds later, Madonna came onstage to close the show. Love her or hate her, no one can deny that Madonna knows how to put on a good show! I was excited to finally get to see her, I mean, COME ON, it's Madonna! Madge, who I believe is almost 50, looked fantastic in a black dress and heels and sang the first song, "Hey You", with a choir of kids, beautifully. She then strapped on a guitar and blasted into "Ray of Light" (which I think is one of her best songs). The thing with Madge is that, she's not going to let something like her not being the best guitarist/singer/dancer in the world stop her from entertaining. She then went into an extended version of La Isla Bonita, introducing Gogol Bordello stars Eugene Hutz and Sergey Ryabytsev and salsa danced all over the place and whether or not she was acting, girlfriend looked like she was having a fantastic time. Then she donned a sexy pair of leotard and closed with a breathless and extended performance of "Hung Up", her massive hit from last year. Her dancers complemented her beautifully and Madge sure can distort her body into all sorts of positions, Guy Ritchie is a lucky man. Even my darling Tom from Kasabian was impressed. Madonna provided a wonderful climax (ummm, no pun intended). Madonna = one of the greatest entertainers of our time. Rating: 9/10

Her Madgesty (Pic Source: NME)
View videos of Hey You, Ray of Light, La Isla Bonita and Hung Up. I promise you will be astounded.

And that was all folks! For more pictures, videos, details of the shows etc. click here and here

10 Reasons To Live, The Purple Turtle, Camden, London - 30 June 2007

2007-07-01T21:23:00.000+01:00

UPDATE:

On Monday, like the ever faithful ~~groupie~~ fan, I sent David a message on Myspace querying whether he had gotten into trouble for his drunken antics and his reply was:

“From: David
Date: 03 Jul 2007, 10:24
I must admit babe*, i was a little worse for wear, it aint gonna happen again cos i got told off from the band! ha. hope you had a good night though! x”

So I’ll let him off his performance for now (not sure if Matt has found it within himself to forgive him for the snakebite incident). ALSO, pictures of those in attendance have ended up on their website, check it out:

Ian & Kat, click here

Me & Stu, click here

David on bar, back of my head (bottom right hand side corner – am I balding??), Sathish to my left and Matt by the bar to David's left (unconfirmed whether this was taken before or after the snakebite incident), click here

Munhoy & her friend Gemma, click here

Full set of pics from the night here

*He calls everyone babe to save him from remembering all the girls' names. I'd be offended if I didn't think he was quite fit

ORIGINAL POST:

It was the eve before England became smoke free and I had managed to persuade a few unsuspecting people to follow me to the 10 Reasons To Live ("10RTL") gig at The Purple Turtle in Camden. Poor sods. Matt and I had caught them a few months ago at the Carling Islington Academy and I wanted to check them out again (because if you knew me, you're probably aware of the fact that once I like a band, my OCD kicks in and I try to see them as many times as I humanly can. See links to U2 and Kasabian). So, between Katrin (who had been wanting to check out 10RTL) and myself, we gathered the crew at The Purple Turtle on a cold and rainy Saturday night.

Some of the unsuspecting crew, L - R: Kenny, Ian, Stu "Pirateboy" North, myself and Sathish
Katrin & I
Matt "Watch Me Pout" Taylor & Stu
Free plug - check out Stu's and Ian's band When Kisses Become Scars
10RTL were headlining and were only due to come on at 11.10 p.m. There were 3 other support bands; The Heys (we walked in halfway through their set and they sounded good), DORP (they sounded good until their singer started singing) and Ghostcat (they were really good, highly recommended).

As I stated earlier, it was the eve before smoking would be banned in all enclosed public places in England. All the smokers were therefore taking full advantage of their last night of freedom, as evident from the following pictures (NB: Matt quit smoking a few years ago but felt compelled to jump on the bandwagon for one night only): -

Having enjoyed 2 of the 3 support acts, we waited for 10RTL, all the while getting hammered. I spotted the band setting up onstage, although their lead singer, Mr David Wilcox, was by the bar getting tanked up on booze and feeling up a blonde. By this point, Kat and I had already decided to be good ~~groupies~~ fans and stand at the front of the stage when 10RTL came on. Not wanting to seem too lame at the prospect of doing so, I had to bribe Matt and Stu with one snake bite black ("snakebite") each if they would stand at the front with us for one song. Sathish, being a man comfortable with his sexuality, did not need bribing. Kenny and Ian could not be persuaded.

Stu & Matt were ecstatic to be at the front
The band was finally ready to begin and a now very drunk Mr Wilcox took to the stage with Stevie (guitar), Paul (guitar), Johno (bass) and Toby (drums). Now, it'd be interesting to see if 10RTL manage to recruit new fans after this gig. The venue was not packed to capacity, which did not go unnoticed by Mr Wilcox as he remarked that he had slept with more people than there were in the room (probably true, he's been in the business for awhile now). The people at the front were mostly girls and 10RTL's faithful friends and fans. David tried to beckon the people at the back to come to the front but this request fell on deaf ears. Not to be defeated, 10RTL kicked off with "Come Alive". The band sounded tight and David's vocals were strong and clear. The ~~groupies~~ fans at the front danced away. However, David's drunken antics may have gotten him into a little hot soup. I sensed that wanting to make an impact on the crowd, David jumped offstage and worked his way through the crowd (at one point even grabbing me for a quick and un-coordinated dance and getting up close and personal with Katrin, hilariously causing Stu to declare to me and Kat that he wanted to punch David in the face. For the record, Stu didn't punch David in the face). David's signature move of the night was to jump up on the bar and sing, which perhaps did not go down well with the bar's management, although I think where David did get into trouble was when he flung his beer into the crowd (me and Kat got slightly soaked, not cool) and some guy in a suit who I assumed to be the big kahuna of The Purple Turtle immediately went up to David and had a few words.

Matt had decided to park himself by the bar to drink his snakebite and continue watching the band. So of course he was taken by surprise when Wilcox jumped up onto the bar, mid-song, crouched down, took the pint off Matt and proceeded to gulp down almost half of the snakebite before handing it back to Matt. Taking Matt's drink from him without his permission is almost as bad as taking his chocolate away from him so, feeling bad for him, I poured him half of my snakebite into his half empty pint (At Matt's insistence, he wants to be quoted as follows: "You do not take another man's pint without his permission").

10RTL played a number of their songs which will appear on their soon to be released first album, including "Money", "Killing Me" and "She LIkes It". Noticably absent (well, to me anyway) was "Breathe", which is my favourite song of theirs, and which, in my humble opinion, is probably their strongest, so I was surprised that it was left out.

The band encountered some technical difficulties towards the end of their set, with Wilcox having to urge the sound man to get his act together. The sound man, from what I could tell, may have done a runner. Finding himself in a position where he had to fill up a void, Wilcox tried to get one of the bartender's attention but to no avail, as Wilcox was ignored by the bartender in a way only a bartender knows how when it involves a drunk punter. It occured to me at this point that if Wilcox wants his band to get publicity, he should cause some hell raising havoc Axl Rose-style. Any publicity is good publicity. The band ended the set with their soon to be released first single "Pretty Girls".

Performance-wise, the band did give a solid performance and Wilcox did sing well and he is certainly living up to the bad boy of rock image he has now fine-tuned. It was thouroughly entertaining. Notwithstanding that, I'm inclined to believe that this gig will not be remembered by the band as one of their better ones. But hey, all bands starting out are entitled to an off day or two. My two cents worth on this would be for the band to concentrate on their strengths i.e. the music & their looks! I'll be checking them out in Leicester again at the end of the month so watch this space.

The end of "She Likes It" with Wilcox singing on the bar
Hoe had turned up at the beginning of the set and at the end of the set, I turned around and all of a sudden, she is holding a drumstick! I turned back to the stage and true enough, Toby the drummer is drumming away with one drumstick and his hand!! How much fun can a group of drunken people have with a drumstick? Quite a lot actually as the following pictures prove: -

Matt & I had to leave before 1 a.m. to catch the last train. As we staggered out of The Purple Turtle, who should be outside but an inebriated David Wilcox and his father/manager of 10RTL, David Wilcox Snr. I gave David Jnr a hug and congratulated him on the show and told him that he had upset Matt by drinking his snakebite. David Jnr looked genuinely sorry as he said to Matt "Sorry mate". I then held up the drumstick, which a few minutes earlier had been up Stu's arse, and asked David Jnr if I should give it back to Toby. David Jnr said not to bother and that I should keep it. I then spoke to David Snr and congratulated him on having a fit and talented son and asked why the band did not play "Breathe". David Snr said it wasn't the right crowd to play "Breathe" to and "Killing Me" was more appropriate. I beg to differ. I then told David Snr that I had been messaging with David Jnr over Myspace and that, in my opinion, a band like 10RTL could potentially be huge in Asia (the Asian market is kinder than the Western market - look at the likes of Tommy Page, Michael Learns to Rock etc). I said I could try and see if I could sort them out with a contact or two and David Snr wrote down his e-mail for me (does that mean I pulled a Wilcox?). I found David Snr to be a rather lovely and charming man! I then got in some photo opportunites and for some reason, this girl with short hair kept appearing in the pictures!!

L - R: No idea who this girl is, David Jnr and me (note the drumstick in my hand)
Me cuddling up to David Snr
L - R: The girl who wouldn't go away, David Jnr, moi and David Snr
After saying our goodbyes, Matt & I trudged off to get the last train from Waterloo, me feeling quite proud of my groupie-like efforts and Matt still complaining about his snakebite.

Chris Cornell & Aerosmith - Hyde Park Calling, 24 June 2007

2007-06-25T11:33:00.000+01:00

UPDATE: The Chris Cornell Fan Page has used an extract of my blog review on its page! Mine is the 2nd fan review after "james". Check it out!!

Chris Cornell Setlist: Spoonman - Outshined - Show Me How To Live - You Know My Name (with David Arnold) - Hunger Strike - What You Are - Arms Around Your Love - Rusty Cage - Cochise - Like A Stone - Doesn't Remind Me - Let Me Drown - Black Hole Sun - Jesus Christ Pose

Check out this short Youtube video of Hunger Strike with Chris holding his two kiddies:

ORIGINAL POST:

Matt & Ad - Fallen Rock Stars?
The "Let's Put The Left-Over Fried Chicken In The Empty Cup To Save For Later" incident
The oldest rocker granny
Andy's response when asked what he thought of the festival beer prices
I got really close to Chris Cornell, not
Me before Chris Cornell
Me, after Chris Cornell
We got even closer to Aerosmith
Mud galore
Welcome to an English festival where rain is guaranteed. So much for avoiding Glastonbury. I arrived at Hyde Park in my sensible footwear and managed to bypass getting my bag checked by security so I was pleased that I succeeded in sneaking my small £2.99 bottle of rose in (nevermind that later I had to fork out £18 for 2 glasses of Pimms, let me relish this small victory of beating the system! Rock & roll!). Hyde Park was heaving and there were old and new rockers everywhere. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the nature of the festival but I was not getting a good vibe from this crowd.

I didn't check out the other bands who were playing as I was only there for 2 reasons: Chris Cornell & Aerosmith, although from what I heard, The Answer were pretty good. When I initially bought the tickets, only Aerosmith had been announced to headline. When it was subsequently announced that Chris Cornell was the second headliner, I nearly broke out in plaid shirts!

After constantly nagging everyone that we had to get closer to the stage before Chris Cornell came on, we battled the crowd and got to about 500 metres from the stage. Not too bad, but considering that I'm quite short and there was a sea of umbrellas obstructing our view, we still couldn't really see the stage. By this time, the rain was pouring down in a steady stream. Although I had my umbrella with me, there was no point and I was already soaked so I discarded it. When Chris finally came onstage, it was pandemonium and everyone started screaming "PUT YOUR UMBRELLAS DOWN WE CAN'T SEE!!" and in unison, everyone dropped their brollies; it was like an unwritten understanding that if we're gonna get wet, let's all get wet together. There was one girl next to me who didn't put her umbrella down which resulted in a near fight when one rude man got aggressive with her but because he was such a complete cunt, everyone told him to fuck off and told her to keep her umbrella up (for the record, she only had her umbrella up so that her mate could find her and when she did, she put it down to the cheers of the crowd).

Chris Cornell, Rock God Extraordinaire, 42, still looked good and never sounded better. He kicked off with "Spoonman" and then went into a rollicking performance of "Outshined". Then, the moment I was waiting for for about 10 years of my life. I have to divert slightly here to give a quick background story. Way back in the 90's when the whole Seattle grunge rock scene exploded, I was into the likes of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden et al. I had a bootleg CD of a compilation of live Pearl Jam performances but it didn't have a songlist. One of the songs was of Eddie Vedder singing a song which I was later informed by my dear friend and fellow Pearl Jammer Josh that it was a song called "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog, which was a one off side group formed by Chris Cornell with ex-members of Mother Love Bone (following the death of their lead singer, Andrew Wood, and was a tribute to him) and members of Soundgarden and the future Pearl Jam. "Hunger Strike" was a duet between Cornell and Vedder and was the band's most popular song in the early 90's. It showcased both lead singers' respective and unique voices and it has the most beautiful tune to it and the most touching lyrics (more below).

Anyway, I used to constantly listen to my bootleg version of Vedder singing "Hunger Strike" (and subsequently my illegally downloaded album version) and always wished that one day, I'd be able to hear either him or Cornell (or both!) sing it live so I could shout "I'm going hungry!!" at the top of my voice. True enough, the fifth song Chris Cornell played was "Hunger Strike". Had it not been for the adrenaline pumping through me, I probably would have shed a tear or two when I heard the instantly recognisable opening riffs. Chris brought out his two gorgeous youngest children at that point to the screaming approval of the crowd. Then he went into the song and yes, it was everything I could have ever imagined and I did fulfil my dream of shouting "I'm going hungry!" at the top of my voice.

Chris played a good mixture of Soundgarden, Audioslave and solo material including "Doesn't Remind Me", his James Bond tune "You Know My Name" (joined by his co-writer David Arnold), "Chochise" (which got the crowd roaring and headbanging), the rocking "Original Fire", the popular "Black Hole Sun" and he closed with a screamadelic "Jesus Christ Pose" (that man can still wail!). Full set list to follow. Credit is also due to his four-piece band who powered through the songs. Needless to say, when he finished his set I was left panting for me. I was slightly disappointed with the crowd as most of them didn't seem to get or know who he was and were not aware of the fact that they were witnessing a true genius perform. I suppose they had all come to see Aerosmith. Ah well, at least there was this random Ethan Hawke-ish bloke next to me who was headbanging along and screaming with me. (UPDATE: After scouring some Chris Cornell fan pages and his Myspace, it seems there were a number of CC fans in the crowd, shame that I was nowhere near them!) Ethan even tried to wager a £50 bet with me that Chris would close with "Black Hole Sun" but knowing that he would lose his money I didn't take that bet, much to his relief when Chris closed with "Jesus Christ Pose" (God I'm so nice). Chris even commented on the weather at one point, saying that it reminded him of his home town (that would be Seattle) [UPDATE: Turns out Ross Halfin may have said it first]. For the record, he now divides him time between Paris and LA.

The crowd then started getting aggressive and even more obnoxious so for our own safety, we decided to fall back and stand at a further distance from the stage.

Now, I have to confess that I was a bit skeptical about Aerosmith. I love them, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't help but think that this was a jukebox tour for them and that all they would do was churn out the greatest hits on auto-pilot. How very, very wrong I was. I now understand why they are one of the top live acts because they know how to put on a show and bring the house down, and then some! By the time they came on, the rain had more or less subsided and they too were late. They kicked off with "Love in an Elevator" which had us screaming along. I was however surprised that the crowd around us didn't seem to know the song... eh?!! Next was "Cryin'" and "Eat the Rich" and again, the crowd had no clue. Just as I was starting to think that perhaps Aerosmith aren't really that big, they played "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" from that sucky movie Armageddon, and a song which I truly detest (a classic example of songs produced by Aerosmith post-drugs) but the entire crowd erupted and sang along. For fucks sake. At this point, I decided to buy a disgusting £3.50 cheeseburger (UPDATE: If you want a proper Aerosmith ballad listen to "Angel").

Anyway, so why do I think Aerosmith are rock legends? Because they know how to put on one helluva show and Steve Tyler and Joe Perry certainly know how to tease and work the crowd. If reincarnation does exist, please God let me be a rock star in my next life. The OTT rock outfits, the removing of the shirts to reveal bare chests at the right moment, the Jimi Hendrix style guitar playing behind the head... Steve Tyler beckoning the camera towards him and then lifting his top up to show the crowd he had the words "Lick Me" written just above his pubes. Fucking awesome!! And Joe Perry, for many years now I have lusted after this man and yes, if I could, you know I would.

Apart from the cheesy Armageddon song, Aerosmith played a good set of hits, including a haunting "Seasons of Wither" (one of my fave songs and one I always wanted to hear live), "Livin' on the Edge", a breathtaking "Dream On", the classic "Sweet Emotion" and closed with "Walk This Way" with an appearance by DMC of Run DMC.

Leaving Hyde Park was a complete an utter nightmare but even though I was all sweaty, soaked and muddy, I had absolutely no regrets and would do it all again (with a raincoat). The rain unfortunately prevented me from taking more pics and clips of Chris Cornell and Aerosmith so just take my word that it was truly legendary.

And just for Josh, I give you "Hunger Strike" by the now defunct Temple of the Dog (lyrics below): -

Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog
I don't mind stealing breadFrom the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerlessWhen my cup's already overfilledBut it's on the tableThe fire is cookingAnd they're farming babiesWhile the slaves are workingThe blood is on the tableAnd their mouths are chokingBut I'm growing hungry

10 Reasons To Live - Carling Islington Academy

2007-06-04T01:23:00.001+01:00

(Photo Source: Channel 4 - SlashMusic)

The lovely David Wilcox & me
The lovely Johno & me

Snippet of "She Likes It"

Snippet of "Breathe"
Believe it or not, I have a new favourite band!! They're called 10 Reason To Live ("10RTL"), they hail from Liverpool and yes, I do believe they're going to be huge! They have a single coming out in the summer called "Pretty Girls" (they've just wrapped up filming the video) and an album shortly thereafter.

I came across them on Myspace (click here for theirs) and was hooked after the first listen of their track "She Likes It". Basically, if you like stadium rock style bands (think Aerosmith, U2, Guns & Roses, the Stones, Goo Goo Dolls etc) with their hard hitting guitar-strong songs and power ballads ("Breathe" is gorgeous, listen to a snippet above), this is the band to watch out for. Matt and I managed to catch them at the Carling Islington Academy (where they were performing as second headliners) a short while back and they blew me away. 10RTL consist of 5 guys (David Wilcox - lead singer, Paul Garrett - rhythm guitar/songwriter, Johno - bass, Stevie B - lead guitar & Toby Smith - drums) although unfortunately, Paul wasn't well that night and couldn't therefore be there. Yes, they are a bunch of good looking blokes (which does not hurt when it comes to recruiting female fans) but there is no denying their musical talent. Toby drums with military precision and great force and if I knew the proper musical terms to describe how brilliant Stevie B and Johno are at playing guitar and bass respectively, trust me when I say that I would articulate it on this blog! Although Paul was absent, I must commend him for his songwriting talent; he clearly knows a thing or two about catchy tunes and heartfelt lyrics!

As for David Wilcox, what can I say? With lead singers, what you're looking for is talent, stage presence, charisma and someone who knows how to work the crowd, amongst other things. Mr Wilcox ticks all of those boxes, and then some! I am therefore not surprised that he has been likened to "a young Mick Jagger", as stated on the band's record label's website. And he looks better than I do in eyeliner!

After the gig, Matt and I managed to have quick chats with Johno and David, who, along with the rest of the band, were having drinks in the outside area and mingling with the crowd (and presumably their family, friends and long-established fans). They were really friendly and sweet and it is such a refreshing change to meet a band that makes time for the people who come to see them.

I haven't been able to catch them in concert again but trust me, like with U2 and Kasabian, this is a band that I will be checking out over and over again and I have my fingers crossed for their success in the charts. Do yourself a favour and go check them out too. Details of their gigs, tickets, tracks etc can be found on their Myspace and official website.

The Wailers, Rise Festival 2006, Finsbury Park, London

2006-07-08T17:05:00.000+01:00

Go on admit it, the only Bob Marley & The Wailers album you own is "Legend" which is essentially a Greatest Hits album and through which you try and pass yourself off as a knowledgeable Bob Marley fan. We've all done it, the difference is I have the guts to admit it.

Anyway I completely forgot to blog on the fact that I saw The Wailers at last year's Rise Festival. This is because what started out as a great fun day somehow ended up in complete disaster for all of us who attended (for reasons that will remain undisclosed, I ended up in hospital around 3 a.m., Munhoy got yelled at by Owen (who later apologised), Tom, James et al more or less ended up calling each other cunts). So you can understand why blogging was the last thing on my mind.

But there's always a calm before the storm and in this case, it was a nostalgic and astounding performance by The Wailers. Yes, Tuff Gong is no longer with us but his spirit was felt when all the classics were churned out by The Wailers as fronted by Aston “Familyman” Barrett... "Buffalo Soldier", "I Shot The Sheriff", "Redemption Song", "Exodus"... I've always wanted to sing along to the "Everything's gonna be alright" line in "No Woman No Cry" and by gosh I sure did in between retching (long story).

Kids, stay away from Road Runners and Space Cadets.

The Prodigy, Brixton Academy, 2 December 2005

2005-12-05T11:47:00.000Z

NB: This is a random picture off the

interweb not of actual gig itself

This review from MusicOMH.com sums it all up:

"Their first full tour since 1997 and Prodigy set about reclaiming their techno-rock-rave-punk space from the opening bars of Wake Up, from this summer's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

"It's been too fucking long!" yelled co-front man Maxim, tonight sporting a fetching frilly PVC dress. The audience at this first of Prodigy's two dates at the Brixton Academy yelled their agreement - various side projects have distracted the leading members. The new record appeared sans the vocal talents of either Maxim or co-MC Keith Flint, as main man Liam Howlett opted instead for such luminaries as Liam Gallagher and Juliette Lewis.

But tonight, something like normal service was resumed as everyone's favourite spiky-haired suburban firestarter was back on stage alongside Maxim. Keith Flint is looking a little portly these days, but he's lost none of his considerable stage presence as a front man par excellence. He still resembles an angry demon delighting in having stolen a Corn Flakes packet from your kitchen table.

Behind them both, secure in his fortress of keyboards, Howlett let rip with Prodigy's trademark dirty synth noises over thumping bass. A drummer added extra beats to stage right, with a guitarist stage left - but neither Miss Lewis or Mr Gallagher were in evidence.

The headliners, presumably not wanting to appear to rely on their back catalogue, didn't air much from the first two albums, but a notable exception was Poison, which sounded as good now as it did a decade ago. Tracks from the new album were interspersed with some lovehandles from The Fat Of The Land.

Breathe predictably rocked the house from floor to ceiling, and the balcony trembled, while Firestarter had young converts and longtime fans alike bouncing in the aisles as Flint snarled and jumped about. Such was the pace that Maxim leant against walls and even appeared to sit down at one point.

Of the new material, the singles Spitfire and Hotride were easy to learn and kept the set slamming along. But there was a palpable drop in energy levels from the audience during some of the most recent stuff - maybe Always Outnumbered's tracks need time to find their fans and bed in to their consciousness.

A short encore featured set closer Smack My Bitch Up, before the tempo wound down and the house lights snapped on. Albeit a little slower and plumper around the edges, Prodigy are back - and they're still a visceral visual experience pedalling some of the most infectious dance numbers anywhere" - Michael Hubbard

Stereophonics, Hammersmith Apollo, 20 September 2005

2005-09-22T20:53:00.000+01:00

My ebay skills managed to snag me two standing tickets for £36 (face value, one ticket costs £35) so wahey! I joined Matt & Co for a concert which I knew I would enjoy but wouldn't have a mind-blowing time at - not because the 'phonics suck, but because I only know a handful of songs (namely the hits) and a concert is always more fun when you're really into the band/singer and know most of the songs (see U2 ) .

Kelly Jones & Co come onstage and true to rock star form, Kelly's got the shades on and they kick off with "Superman", my fave tune. Good start although I prefer the album version because he didn't sing in his falsetto voice which makes the song.

As predicted, I only knew a handful of songs so where appropriate I sung along. Everyone all around me seemed to know all their songs so I guess the 'Phonics are bigger than I thought. Fair play to them and they were a good band and Kelly Jones has good stage presence although the Welsh accent was missing somewhat hmmm... During the end bit in "Dakota" where he goes "So take a look at me now" over and over again was magnificent; I think it was his husky voice that did it for me.

All in all, a good concert but I didn't leave on a high but I definitely rate them as a band. Oh, and Kelly Jones - I definitely would.

Tears For Fears, Hammersmith Apollo, 2 May 2005

2005-09-21T17:17:00.000+01:00

So before I loved Bono, I loved Roland. I mean I thought the guy was a lyrical genius. So he and Curt decide to put aside their differences, record another album together and tour. They get paid shitloads and the fans are happy so everybody wins. Uncle Barry, Heng and Jess came along for the ride. Uncle Barry went missing hours before the concert but he turned up eventually, feeling his age. At least he wasn't wearing an ill-fitting "Songs from the Big Chair" t-shirt. Anyway no one knew or cared about the new songs but my God, the old songs were brilliant. Everybody, Mad World, Pale Shelter... Heng and I were screaming along. UB wanted to be swallowed by a hole but I think he enjoyed himself. One childhood dream fulfilled.

Kings of Leon, Brixton Academy, 12 December 2004

2005-09-21T17:16:00.000+01:00

Aaah the Kings... that was a phase I went through when I was into that whole Tennessee swamp rock thing. Admittedly I only have their first album and never bothered with their second one. I didn't pay attention when I got my ticket and instead of being in the standing section right near the stage, I was up in the seats far far away. I tried to sneak downstairs twice but it didn't happen. But every cloud has a silver lining because a mysterious man sat down next to me and chatted me up (I don't care what you say Matt I'm sure you chat up all the girls at every concert you go to...) . Andy was being miserable, understandably, considering his circumstances. Matt bought me a drink and offered me a doobie (smooth). We rocked to the Kings and the rest is history...

The Roots, Brixton Academy, 27 November 2004

2005-09-21T17:15:00.000+01:00

I don't really know The Roots (I still don't know much about them) but Munhoy likes them and when she asked if I wanted to go I said sure. I'd heard enough about them and it seemed like a good night out. Of course we decided to get pissed at the Goose pub beforehand with James and Dan after being harassed by about 10 million weirdos. So we got pissed (£1.50 for a double and a mixer so who wouldn't?). We staggered to the Academy and we must have missed about 2 or 3 songs but we still had a good time for the rest of it. It was awesome and as far as we know, no one got shot.

Rahzel, Cargo, London 14 October 2004

2005-09-21T17:14:00.000+01:00

The Human Beatbox. Munhoy introduced his music to me and he is awesome. So when he came to London, Munhoy, Seth and I jumped at the chance. We even got right up to the front of the stage but we had to fight our way through with these bunch of annoying tall American twats. Rahzel did not disappoint. He gave me a rose (since I was waving for it like a lunatic) and the girls got to dance on stage at the end. Me and Munhoy danced classily of course but my God what is with girls and dancing like strippers?

Roots Manuva feat Asian Dub Foundation and Chuck D, Somerset House, London 20 July 2004

2005-09-21T17:13:00.000+01:00

Somerset House is such a cool venue to hold concerts. A bunch of us went for the annual Channel 4/Somerset House event. ADF were good. Chuck D was on for like 2 seconds and shouted stuff like "Fuck Blair" a few times and disappeared. I think he was trying to be political. Ahem anyway good old Rootsva did not disappoint but by this point in his career he had already become mainstream and must have been so sick of playing Witness.

Amp Fiddler, Forum, Kentish Town, 22 May 2004

2005-09-21T17:12:00.000+01:00

Amp Fiddler swaggers onstage in a bad-ass MF of an orange pimp suit with his fro in style really working it... and the crowd went wild! We were right at the front funkin' and groovin' away. AF is also a bad ass singer and keyboardist and all these "pop idols" can learn a thing or two.
(Thanks to Hoe for da pic and suggesting that me and Grush go)

Bonobo, Jazz Cafe, Camden, London 22 January 2004

2005-09-21T17:11:00.000+01:00

This is how Munhoy and I celebrated the first day of the Chinese New Year - watching a band named after a monkey. They were so chilled and such talented musicians. Munhoy tried to chat up Simon Bonobo at the end of the night although she denies it...

Saian Supa Crew, Shepherds Bush Empire, 17 October 2003

2005-09-21T17:10:00.000+01:00

So Munhoy asked me if I wanted to check out a French hip hop band. Being naive and thinking hip hop only came from the States I went "French? You sure this is right?". She was right and though they were hip hopping away in French they were effing blinding! The guy who beatboxed was top class, shame we weren't down by the stage.

UPDATE: Sian Supa Crew, 10 September 2005, The Marquees, London

Our favourite French Hip Hop artists were back and me, Grush, Munhoy, Ash and Matt were right at the front. The venue was more intimate than Shepherds' Bush Empire and better in my opinion. It was Matt's first hip hop gig and I think as a Surrey boy, he held up quite well. SSC were pumping and spoke more English this time round. They really got the crowd involved and the beatboxing by Sly was unbelievable. Worth it to just go see 'em for that. This annoying blonde groupie was standing next to Munhoy and was obviously desperate for some SSC cock (she didn't get any in the end). Munhoy fought viciously for a vinyl with blondie and won. SSC are so down to earth and came out of the venue without a posse or any attitude. They signed our free CDs and we got on French TV. Later, around 2 a.m., me and Matt were walking down Oxford Street en route home and who should we pass but SSC. I yelled "Sian Supa Crew, you guys rocked!" and they smiled and waved. Such nice boys.

Roots Manuva, Underworld, Camden, London September 2003

2005-09-21T17:09:00.000+01:00

This was before old Rootsva hit the mainstream and the first time I ever heard Witness and it blew me away. The venue was bloody disgusting - I know I'm supposed to like the Underworld for its street cred blah blah blah but it was hot, the people were sweaty and Roots only came on at midnight. But he brought the place down and I've never seen so many middle-class white boys dancing ;)

Goldfrapp, ULU, London March 2003

2005-09-21T17:08:00.000+01:00

So Josh tells me there's a band called Goldfrapp playing at the ULU and says we should go because he likes some of their stuff. I was like "Who dat?" and he was all "You'll see". So we get to the ULU, buy some tout tickets and have a drink in the student bar. Bloody students. Cut to the gig - me and Josh managed to park ourselves right up at the stage and Goldfrapp come on and all I could think of was Blondie. Anyway this was at the time of thier Black Cherry album, not that it made any sense to me at the time, but I was blown away nonetheless. Alison Goldfrapp's voice and range was chilling and quite impressive. She didn't have much banter with the crowd but I guess she didn't need to. "Train" was nice and upbeaty (note I didn't know the song was called "Train" at the time) and gave the impression that not all of their songs had to be dark and sublime. It was a good gig which I thoroughly enjoyed. And then they hit the mainstream. Glad I was there before they got too expensive to see.

Ja Rule Feat. Ashanti, Wembley Arena, London 26 September 2002

2005-09-21T17:07:00.000+01:00

Until today I question why oh why did we ever spend all that money going to this concert? I console myself with the fact that Ja Rule was the "in" thing at the time and I knew and liked 1 or 2 songs but why why why. Anyway, Romeo opened for them. Who is Romeo? Well for a moment he was going to be the next R n B sensation coming out of the UK but where is he now? Exactly. Ja Rule was prancing around onstage shirtless the entire time and in all fairness, Ashanti was good. But the whole thing was soulless. Never again. Question: Where is Ja Rule now? Exactly.

Fun Lovin' Criminals, London Astoria, 13 June 2002

2005-09-21T17:06:00.000+01:00

I have nothing against the FLC per se but they seem to be one of those groups that falls into the category of "cool" and not necessarily because of their music. And they tour way too often which somehow reeks of desperation. Notwithstanding that, the gig was good, Huey was his usual charming self. Unfortunately I was with Mr Bastard and his friends at the time but at least I never paid him back for the ticket ;)

Tori Amos, Hammersmith Apollo, London 16 January 2002

2005-09-21T17:05:00.000+01:00

I didn't really pay attention when getting the ticket so I didn't realize I got the standing ticket right at the back until I got to the gig. Fucks sake. But it didn't matter in the end. Tori sauntered onstage like a goddess and for the most of it it was just her and her piano and keyboard. Her voice was resoundingly powerful and she was just sexy (I say this in a non-lesbian but more of a huge fan way). I was hoping she would play "Silent All These Years", my favourite song but alas it was not to be.

Matchbox Twenty

2005-09-21T17:04:00.000+01:00

Hammersmith Apollo, London 12 June 2001

I got the ticket for Heng and myself off this wanker of a tout in Leicester Square who almost did not deliver. He did and the seats were quite good. Heng and I could not believe we would finally see our hero Rob Thomas! We were surprised they'd even come to England because they're not really known here and it was probably only because of Rob's duet with Santana that people more or less knew of him. But still. Call me biased but the concert was bloody brilliant; Mad Season was great live and of course, they ended with Push which they must be so sick of by now.

Wembley Arena, London 7 September 2003

They didn't sell out Wembley but then again, they're still not big in the UK and probably never will be. Me and Heng, sadly, knew all the songs (well I did). Rob rocked!

Alanis Morissette, Kuala Lumpur circa 1996

2005-09-21T17:03:00.000+01:00

You may not believe this but I was an angry young female and Alanis was the voice for us irate femmes, oh yes. I'm shocked that she actually came to Malaysia but she was probably cashing in on her success at the time, and who can blame her because damn she was successful. She sang every song on "Jagged Little Pill" including the hidden track, "My house", and boy, was she mad onstage, running about like she had ADD. My 18 year old self left the concernt feeling even more empowered and despising men more than ever.

Pearl Jam, Singapore Indoor Arena, 3 March 1995

2005-09-21T17:02:00.000+01:00

Set List: Release, Go, Last Exit, Spin The Black Circle, Tremor Christ, Corduroy, Not For You, Lukin, Even Flow, Dissident, Animal, Deep, Jeremy, Rearviewmirror, Immortality, Alive, Blood Encore 1: Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall)/(W.M.A.)/(Little Wing), Why Go, Porch Encore 2: Sonic Reducer

Aah the 90's. Grunge rock and plaid shirts. Man I miss those days. While everyone was into Nirvana, I don't think I was suicidal or depressed enough then to really get into them until Kurt blew his head off so I opted for the more user-friendly and mainstream Pearl Jam. Unsurprisingly, their Vitalogy tour never came to Malaysia. Shockingly, they did perform in stick in the mud Singapore. Go figure. So me, Heng and Ivan just had to go. Opening act Mudhoney were forgettable. PJ came on stage and gave a hauntingly breathtaking performance of "Release". They did not disappoint and I was a happy camper when they played "Alive" (my fave song at the time) . Vedder smashed his mike stand into the stage at one point but we were all old enough to know that it was most likely pre-planned and not some random rebellious Who style act. Heng will never be forgiven for dragging me and Ivan out 2 or 3 songs before the concert ended because he did not want to get lost in a strange country! Of all places to get stabbed, Singapore would be very low on the list. And he didn't give me money to buy a t-shirt. NOTWITHSTANDING that, it was a rocking concert.

Color Me Badd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia circa 1992

2005-09-21T17:01:00.000+01:00

Yes I have no shame in admitting that I loved CMB and I fancied the pants off the curly-haired bloke, Sam Waters. We were 14 and the NKOTB craze had died down. NKOTB never came to Malaysia but CMB for some reason did. Me, Angie, Jacelyn, Tina and Simon were there! Like the spotty-teenaged kids we were, we pushed our way to the front and sang our hearts out to "I Wanna Sex You Up" etc. One of them threw his dirty towel into the crowd and all of us had to fight these two other girls for it - we ended up compromising and tearing it up so everyone would have a piece. I still have mine. Then they threw roses into the crowd and Simon caught one but I forced him to give his to me which he reluctantly did. In those days he was keen to expel any suggestion that he was gay. A good night was had by one and all and if they re-formed, I'll still push my way to the front row.

Paula Abdul, Kuala Lumpur circa 1991

2005-09-21T17:00:00.000+01:00

Yes it was a bit naff but this was the first concert I ever want to so for nostalgic reasons, I still rate it. We didn't get that many good international artists coming to Malaysia so we made do with who we could get. And Paula was all the rage then. This was during her Spellbound tour and me, Wen and Joanne went. I recall Paula lip-synching to a lot of the songs but we didn't care. At the time, we were just ecstatic to be there.