Velvet Revolver, Brixton Academy, 25 March 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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.

Electric Gardens Festival, Kent, 4 & 5 August 2007

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

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

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.