A few friends were also going to this one, so nice to briefly hook up with Lisa + Carl, Nomis + Liz & also Scott. Whilst i was the first in the queue, i wasn’t the first there as a couple of nice German girls were actually waiting at the wrong door. I soon put them straight though. First band was “Chase The Ace”. They had plenty of energy up there. They said they were also not getting paid for tonight, which is a sign of the times. Yes folks, that’s why it’s always important to support bands buying the merchandise.
This was a co headline tour between Hardcore Superstar & Michael Monroe. Those German girls i mentioned were following the tour to see HSS. Oh yeah, there was also a lass i met from Finland who was following the tour to see MM 🙂 HSS i’ve seen a few times before & i always felt there was nothing that really stood out that was different or unique. But saying that, they are good at what they do & tonight was the best i’ve ever seen them. Really enjoyed their set.
Mr Monroe is always entertaining. Within a couple of numbers, the sweat is just running off him. The band all seem to be having a great time as there’s little in jokes with each other etc. MM is just all over that stage & down on the barrier. It’s what full energy rock n roll is always about. Something i loved though was despite the craziness, he still took a few seconds to go down in the pit to tough base with someone in a wheelchair ( I think it was a “mate of a mate” Mark Hodgkinson) such a diamond geezer. I wouldn’t really say that the show was much different than it always is….just quality rock n roll delivered very professionally by all involved.
I was slow getting a ticket for this one so ended up in the balcony.I’ve never been in balcony before at The forum, so was interested how it would be. Knowing it was unreserved seating, i made my way there early-ish, about 45mins before doors opened. Guess what? I was the first person there! hahaha. Well, i’d get the seat i wanted 🙂
For the money, this was a great line up. I’ve seen 3 acts before & the others are all “new” to me. First up, its The “Popinjays”. A guy, a girl, a guitar & prerecorded tracks. It was ok but didn’t really interest me much tbh. Next was “Back To the Planet”. Again, i knew nothing about them. They were a LOT of fun. Really got a groove going & i’ll try check em out more. I’m actually annoyed with myself that i didn’t video anything 🙁
Next it was “Eat”. Hadn’t heard anything by them etc but i was aware that Malc Treece (ex Wonder Stuff) was a band member, so that peaked my interest. A nice set but the sound wasn’t fantastic. The vocals seemed a bit too low in the mix.
Next it’s The Primitives. I’ve only previously seen them one time before, back in the old days, at Rock City 1988…where they were supported by Goodbye Mr Mackenzie (Hello my Garbage friends 😉 ). Todays showing was as if the clock had stood still. Tracey was still the same diminutive lady from years back. Dancing around most of the time,pulling shapes & playing the tamborine as well. I saw online that someone thought she didn’t seem too happy though, due to lack of smiles. Whatever, it seemed fine to me 🙂
PWEI were bloody great. First song in & i really wished i was downstairs amongst it jumping around with every one else. They really brought the party to the Forum tonight. Best band of the day for me so far.
So The Wedding Present ? Strangely, for whatever reason, our paths didn’t cross “back in the day” ! So this is all totally new to me. They were also going to play all of their “classic album” “Bizarro”…so even a classic was new to me haha. They were ok. A few moments really rocked, where i wasn’t expecting it tbh. I absolutely LOVED the Bass sound 😉
Finally, the Wonder Stuff. I’ve seen them many times over the years & my journey started where they opened for (& blew off stage) Zodiac Mindwarp back in 1988. I’ve never seen a bad show from them (even when there were internal tensions within the band). I fucking love this band ! If ever there was a statement of intent said, that would sum up a gig,then the opening words of Miles said it all about tonight ” I’m fucking well up for this ! “. Starting with “Red Berry Joy Town”, then straight into “On The Ropes”, it was hit after hit…ok, they might not technically all be “chart hits” but in my heart they are….& i’m sure it’s just the same for many others in the crowd.
Miles really seems to be in a very good place nowadays. He’s one very happy geezer. As ever, i loved the little stories about a couple of songs.
“Friendly Company” was good if you’re a foodie, but, i loved how he dropped Erica in it by saying she didn’t like “Cartoon Boyfriend” ! *queue the boos* .Apparently, when she auditioned for the band, she “Didn’t bother to learn it”
as she didn’t think much too it! She likes it now though & Miles “Finally has a member of The Wonder Stuff who will answer me back!”
We got a brand new song which will be on the next album released next year, “Days Of the Feast” & it sounded great.The last 6 or so songs were absolute belters from the early catalogue. Finishing with the irrepressible ” Ten Trenches Deep”, what a fucking great show that was !
Tonights plan was to visit Cat at her new home in Grantham & then carry on to Nottingham for some rock n roll ! Everything worked a treat 😉 I saw online that tickets for Biters were £3.75. Very reasonable. However, the show was also part of the “Hey Hey Hey ” club night. Fortunately Cat saw this & by us adding our names to the online guest list, we got in for £1 ! Superb bargain. Upon arrival in Nottingham, we went to our usual, “The Roebuck” for beer n burger….why change a good thing ? Then it was on to The Pit & Pendulum pub for more drinks. Finally we get to Rock City & pay that high price of £1 entry 🙂 The support band had just come on. They were very energetic, especially when the guitarist fell flat on his back…maybe intentional? It wasn’t very busy to start off with. There was a guy down the front who (i’d hope) was, having a bad trip, judging by his “moves” lol. I bumped into Chris, who used to be in “New Generation Superstars”, so that was a nice little catch up after all those years.
Biters came on all guns blazing. They’re a typical ’70s/’80s sounding band ( No Cat, they’re not THAT old lol). Good fun rock n roll. Main man “Tuk” is nicely in your face & has good banter. Loved it when he called out the people at the back/sides & the guy too interested in his mobile phone 😉 He also thanked the young ladies that were dancing all through their set & knew the words to the songs. It was just straight ahead rock n roll. Nothing groundbreaking, but it was fun with a capital F 🙂 As Chris said, this was a proper band & “They have a gang mentality”. They played a decent selection from the debut album “Electric Blood” plus a couple of oldies. Unfortunately, we didn’t get an encore as the sound was cut when their official time was up 🙁
We then checked out the various rooms playing some great sounds & ended up in the main room people watching etc. Cat : ” How come i’ve not been to this before? It’s a great club night ! “. Well, as i said, the plan was to have done this after Amaranthe gig, but we didn’t quite manage it. For sure we will do one of these nights properly in future though 😉
P.S. I truly hope that the *tall* photographer who was down there *the WHOLE bloody show* managed to get a decent shot…
Well that’s 3 out of 3 ! Last 3 gigs i was the first person in the queue. Tonight,as i didn’t leave work till 4.30, i didn’t get to the venue till 15 minutes before doors & yet i was still first there!
Gotta say, i enjoyed The Amorettes much more than when i saw them at Camden Rocks. The sound was way better @ Bodega & i got right down the front 😉
This was the first time i’d seen Danko Jones headline & strangely, it seems it’s their first headline gig in Nottingham ! Old Danko was very annoyed about this. So much so that he ended up wanting to do a run of 9 nights at Bodega 😉 Well, the show was full on rock n roll. It was also quite hilarious with some of the stuff Danko was coming out with. It was a great night out & i’d certainly go see them again.
Well i did it again ! Two nights in a row, i was first person there! But i knew this one was sold out,so more important to get there early to take my fave spot on the balcony. The night started with Richards/Crane doing an acoustic set. It was ok. Hail Mary i found to be very boring/repetitive. Sorry guys. I knew UKJ would be great & they sure delivered. A great start with “Neighbor” (Just a shame the played the whole N.W.A. track as an intro lol) The crowd were great as pointed out by Whit. It was a real party atmosphere in there tonight. There were the obvious classics plus a great new song “Shes Already Gone” from the latest album “Uglier Than They Used Ta Be”. There was also a moment where Whit read a note out which was basically some dude asking his girlfriend to marry him. She said yes !
The lighting was pretty rubbish tonight tbh. Way too dark. But i still enjoyed the night & what better way to finish than showing their love of Motorhead covering Ace of Spades. Another early curfew so home early again tonight. P.S. Chris didn’t drink as much as usual, so we coulda stopped off at Cats on the way home. But i’ll save that for another time 🙂
I was surprised about a couple of things at this show. Firstly, i was the first person at the door! But, it is a drinking crowd,so could be expected. Secondly, it was very surprising that they hadn’t sold enough tickets to have the balcony open. So, good thing i got there early to be able to take prime position under the stairs (A great place to see/film from 😉 ) Hey! Hello! started proceedings & went down very well. I love the energy & fun of this band. Tonight we also had the bonus of Chris from Eureka Machines standing in on guitar. Hollis is a brilliant star in the making. So full of energy & covering all the stage. Obviously, having Ginger up on stage gives them an advantage,but, they really were damn good. Was great to see everyone enjoying themselves up there. I’m really looking forward to their second album & of course their headline tour in December.
Baby Chaos had a hard job following Hey! Hello! They were good,but, i felt were a bit repetitive. The Wildhearts just delivered,as always. Now it might be sacrilege to say it, but, i’ve never been much of a fan of PHUQ album…the one they were playing in full tonight! But seeing as i never saw it the first time around, i felt i had to go. Obviously, we get a nice few other oldies after the main album set & it was just killer. I really wish i could have gone to another gig as they are changing it up each night. Respect to them for doing that. They actually ran over the 10pm curfew tonight (those pesky club nights). I was in my car by 10.10 & on the way home!
Firstly, if it wasn’t for my old mate Rob, i wouldn’t have been able to go to this event. He understood how important it was to me & helped me out. Cheers mate 😉
I flew from Luton & bumped into Ian at the airport. Upon arrival in Glasgow, it was pissing it down. After a failed attempt at getting a Greggs breakfast (missed it by 20mins!), had a quick wander & ended up at the pub ! (Deja-vu). Was later joined by Rob & Kristina.
As the event was for charity & it was requested we wear smart/casual attire, this was a very rare occasion to see me in a suit! It actually felt pretty good.(Judging by the responce on my FB page, a lot of friends also thought it suited me…pun intended). Once at the venue,after negotiating their rubbish organisational skills, we were in a room with art along the walls & various offerings of champagne & nibbles were being handed out. The samosas were bloody fantastic!
Our table in the main room was on the front, to the side. Decent position. The food was great. Was interesting seeing the auctions & the crazy money some items went for. Shirley did the rounds of a few tables & when she came to ours,to talk with someone she knew, i asked for a photo. Its only took about 35 Garbage gigs & years of following her career to get that elusive photo lol.(But that’s what happens when you’re low key & not in an artistes face hastling them. This was perfect as the occasion was so special, it had to be done).
As the reformation of Angelfish was such a unique event, there was no way that i wouldn’t try to document it 😉 Everyone stayed at their tables for the Angelfish set, apart from a few of us hard core types 🙂 Myself & Lou even ventured down the front for a couple of songs. After “security” asked us to move, i dropped back to the middle, in front of a pillar, so as to not upset anyone else hahaha…i had actually already planned this so as to get a couple of different angles to shoot from 😉 The crowd was pretty quiet,but appreciative. I did notice a dick head kept shouting “The Rattler”, even when Shirley already said the next song was a b-side,but it brought a smile to her face.
I thought the band were pretty tight. I wonder how much rehearsals they had before tonight? The gig was really enjoyable for myself. Even though it was a short set list, it was nicely balanced. It seemed to take until “Trash It” for Shirley to become a bit more animated, but, through out the show her vocals were great. Respect to the other guys in the band for their solid performance. For whatever reason, they dropped “King Of the World” & then brought the tempo down again with “The End”. But it also showed Shirleys emotional vocal prowesse. They finished with a cracking version of “Mummy Can’t Drive” & we were expecting an encore,but didn’t get one 🙁 I guess it’s a case of old old adage ” Always leave them wanting more “.
Was it worth going to the event? You bet your ass it was! A most enjoyable evening. We were actually surprised that there were not more of the Garbage followers there,yet at the same time, it’s kinda understandable.
We were soon out of there,back to the hotel to change back into our civvies & back on the beers in town ! It got a bit hazy & i seem to recall at our last stop,as i ordered the beers, they said “you’ve got 20 minutes till we close” I got the pints in & Rob also ordered Jager shots lol. Once back at the hotel, i was out like a light. Following morning i was rudely awaked by some drilling outside. After breakfast,somehow, we ended up at a pub. I think it was a sign of the previous nights fun that both myself & Rob were drinking non alcoholic beverages 🙂 We parted company later & i went to see the film “Legend”. Must confess, i thought i’d fall asleep as i was still so knackered! Luckily i didn’t & enjoyed the film.
All in all, a great couple of days. So pleased i saw the reunion of Angelfish with good friends.
The funniest moment of the weekend had to be being “eaten” by Lous dress…but that’s another story 😉
Saturday was a day/night of hanging around Leeds, up pubs, buying pyjamas!, a curry with Nomis & then a guided tour of various boozers.
Sunday myself & Cat set off for the festival hoping to catch Babymetals set, but unfortunately we missed them by a few minutes.Whilst walking around the site we bumped into Jason & Kristy 🙂 .We made sure we were in a prime position for Marmozets, down the front on the left 😉 Typically, Marmozets were just excellent as always.
After their set, Rob & Kristina found us…again they know where to be lol. ( “Always on the left side” )
We all then hung at the BBC Introducing Stage, where we saw ; Area 52, Crosa Rosa, Ducking Punches etc.
I hadn’t seen Royal Blood before, so was looking forward to their set. They had great sound & it was a very solid performance. In fact, it was way better than i expected it would be.I still have my doubts about how much is live though… I’ve got to see them do their own headline show now 😉
I was expecting the crowd to go mental for Bring Me The Horizon,but, it just got silly really. Yeah, it’s kinda nice to see the pits etc,but, do any of these kids actually watch/listen to ANY of the show? BMTH also had the honour of having the worst sound of the day. It was just a mess. Hell, even Oliver commented from onstage about it. When it gets to the point that it’s just not enjoyable on any level, might as well leave, so we did ! Went & saw a couple of songs by Ghost then back again to main stage for Metallica.
Now don’t get me wrong, i love Metallica,have done since the beginning, they always can be relied upon for a great gig. But the venue/crowd can make a big difference. I’m not a fan of festivals, pretty much hate them tbh. Not just because of the weather, but the crowd. Nowadays they attract so many chavs. Today was one of those days. There’s always so many idiots just geting pissed up & not interested in watching the bands. Even though Metallica started the set with some classics, Fuel, Bellz, Blackened, King, i just couldn’t fully get into it because of the dickheads near me. Eventually i warmed to things & started to enjoy it (as much as i could given the situation). There’s no denying it was a great set list, maybe one of the best set lists ever, with many of the old classics including “Frayed Ends Of Sanity” (which i don’t think had been played before in the UK?), but still, it’s nowhere near as good as seeing them indoors.
All in all a good weekend spent with various friends. But i’m still in no rush to go to any festivals next year…
First a little rant : It was inevitable that Halestorm would get bigger/more popular. With each tour ive noticed it.
The problem now is that if you want to get on that front row,you’ve pretty much got to pay the extra & do the VIP Meet & Greet. Compared to other bands, their VIP ticket pricing is very good,but, it’s still expensive. After the previous Glasgow gig, i doubted i’d do VIP again. Then they announced the special “An Evening With Halestorm” shows 😉 Yup, this is special, i’ve got to get either front row or front row of balcony. This will be the last time….famous last words 😛
When we first arrived at Koko, there were about 10 people there. So beer & food time it was! When we got back, the numbers had swelled slightly & pretty much all were familiar faces.During soundcheck, we heard them play “(I Cant Get No) Satisfaction”. So lets hope they add it into the set..(Yesterday in Liverpool they covered the Beatles “Hard Days Night”, so the Stones in London would have been apt). The M& G went well, the band told me the cakes i gave them in Glasgow had lasted seconds. There were a few in the venue before us & we had to decide either front row at the side (poor angle, in front of pa) or balcony. We went for the later. Security was surprised we went up there, but, he agreed, where we were *originally* stood (left side), it’s one of the best vantage points in the venue.As things got busier, it turned out they needed more room for disabled spaces…so they moved us to the other side! (& in turn, even that position was made smaller). But as Arejay said, as the band walked by returning to backstage, “You’ve got the best seats in the house there!” He was pretty much correct. If you get that front row, you have to do everything in your power to save it for yourself/friends ;-0
Eventually the main punters were let in & we soon had Jim & Diana behind us, shortly followed by Rob & Kristina. With no support act, it seemed to take forever for Halestorm to take to the stage.
The first 5 songs were acoustic. First up was ” Mz. Hyde”. I loved the totally different vibe how it realy had a “swing” to it. Kristina was quick to say that tonight was already way better than Liverpool, due to the great crowd (& company 😉 ) Was really strange to be hearing “Heres To Us” so early in the show.Damn the crowd was really loud .
A short break & they were back to play all of “Into The Wildlife” album. The crowd was pretty quick picking up the scream parts of..erm “Scream” 😉
I was quite amazed how damn heavy “Sick Individual” sounded compared to the album,especially the starting jam part. In our prime position, the sound was just full on in your face & great 🙂 3 more hard rockers then the tempo is brought down with “Dear Daughter”, which was just beautiful. I’m still unsure about “New Modern Love”, especially in the live setting, but praise be we had “Mayhem” to turn things back up to 10 🙂 Everything seemed to flow on stage, but, i felt the audience got quieter as the show went along. It was certainly nothing like at the start…
The UK has been very lucky with the amount of live debuts we’ve had on each tour they do here. Tonight was no exception as they debuted “Jump the Gun”. It was quite hilarious when Joe had the line “Babe I think I love you”, especially when we got the explaination of how many takes it took in the studio . Obviously, Arejay & his big sticks made an appearance, shortly followed by the old classics “Love Bites” & “It’s Not You”. This was the only time tonight i missed being downstairs on the front row as you just gotta jump around to those & it just felt a little strange on the balcony.I missed the old dynamic (in more ways than one). I loved “Unapologetic”, there was a great vibe to that.
Finally another couple of classics “Freak like Me ” & “I Miss The Misery”. Damnit Freak is another you just have to jump too! After those, Joe & Lzzy seemed to have a bit of a conversation, then everyone bowed & off they went. I was rather disapointed we didn’t get no Satisfaction (pun also intended) but overall it was a great night out. I’d hoped to see my mate Kevin who had last minute come over from the States.(He didn’t have a ticket as the show sold out in 8 hours. Luckily, the Freaks network is pretty good..i asked Lucy if she could find a ticket & sure enough she came up trumps).Well i didn’t see him in the gig, but, managed to find him outside afterwards. Had a little chat before we set off on our journey back to Boston. Oh yes, ya cannot beat those 2am Maccy Ds stops…
The thing with addiction is that it’s always there. You may think you’ve got it beat, but, that itch is still there needing to be scratched. It’s just the same as regards going to gigs 🙂 There’s always the next high that you’re seeking….well, i needed a fix.This weekend it was great weather & i just didn’t fancy staying in. What to do? Find a gig ! I had in fact penciled this one in in my diary (I often do that when planning ahead for gigs) I wondered if it would be sold out as the Borderline is tiny. Result, tix still available! That’s what i’m doing then 🙂 I got down London in decent time, visited “my local” the Montague Pyke for food & watering, then went round to venue. Jim joined me later.All went to plan as i was the first paying person to get in & got exactly the spot at the side i wanted.Pretty good value for 4 bands i thought. First band “Dick Venom & the Terrortones” were great. They just kicked ass. The bassist just stood there, shades on, pretty much showing no emotion, but being solid & just looking cool. The guitarist i couldn’t help thinking “I bet he’s hot in that coat”, drummer just seemed bang on & the singer was just a Dick ! (in a good way). He’s a great front man, using all the tiny stage, the PA stack at the side & also the little ledge near the bar. Very energetic. I also loved the use of the Theramin. It worked very well. Next up was “Dick Dynamite and the Doppelgangers”. Hmm, too many Dicks already ? These just didn’t work for me. Couldn’t get into it. They seemed to make quite a few (playing) mistakes as well. So after a great start, they brought things down for me 🙁 Next “The Zipheads”. They seemed to have brought their own crowd with them. Went down a storm & brought the mood right back up 🙂
Creepshow : They just ambled on stage, Kenda took a quick video of the crowd, then Sean/Sickboy kicked things off. Straight away, i could see this was gonna be fun. They were having as much fun onstage as us punters off stage. Whilst it was obviously a partisan crowd, Sickboy did make us work with the shouts n claps. I noticed that a couple of songs in, Kenda said to him (off mic) ” I love them!” after a particularly good sing along. McGinty (keyboards/vocals) is a hella funny bloke ! I was cracking up at stuff he said. I loved how Kenda also took her mic stand into the middle of the crowd, i guess so she could see it from that perspective lol. She’s such a tiny thing & everyone showed her a lot of respect within that melee.The evening just flew by. The funniest thing was when they came back for an encore. McGinty said ” I understand there’s someone here named Nicole ? ” Silence. “We’re going to play a song for you & you’ve already left?!” More silence. The band then seemed unsure if they should play said song or do another. They did what was planned. Then about three quarters way through, a couple of girls came down the stairs into the venue . Yup, it was Nicole & her mate. Hilarious as they’d left as they thought the band had finished. I thought McGinty let her off lightly 😉 So all in all, a great nights entertainment for me. For sure i’ll go see The Creepshow again in future !
