An on-going, online account of all the music acts I have had the pleasure and displeasure of experiencing. I suspect I am over-compensating for the fact that we used to only get shite acts coming to Malaysia...
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Mars Volta, The Roundhouse, London, 16 July 2008
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
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
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!
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
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.
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
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)
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!
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.
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??!
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.
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.
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.
10 Reasons To Live, Kingly Club, London, 15 August 2007
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
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!!
