PJ Harvey, Giant Sand, @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London 11-2-01
Tag: London
Iron Maiden , @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London 7-1-01
Iron Maiden , @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London 6-1-01
Can you even imagine it ? The mighty Maiden in the tiny Empire ? For two nights ? Oh it was fantastic, like the intimacy of the ’80s again. I just loved it.
Guano Apes, Miocene, @ The Garage,London. 20-12-00
This was Guanos last show of 2000 & it was a special one for sure. Whilst it wasn’t a huge crowd, it was a great appreciative crowd (as they mostly are in the UK). Sandra really got into this show. She actually crowd surfed ! Up till now, this was only the 2nd time she’d ever done that…it has to be a good crowd for that to happen 😉 A clip of my footage was added to the DVD they later released. The guys did an extended jam at the end of Lords…very cool. Another VERY cool thing was they jammed an unreleased song which would eventually change & become “Kiss The Dawn”. Yeah, London deserved all these treats for sure. Funny thing was, to start off, i don’t think Sandra realized i was filming this night. Once she knew, it was a case of ” Simon, here’s my home address, please send me a copy !” So yeah, a great way to finish the year for all involved 🙂 (Scan of the note from Sandra. Obviously i covered up the address 😉 
The Wonder Stuff, @ The Forum,London, 12-12-00
Smashing Pumpkins, Catherine Wheel , @ Wembley Arena, London 4-11-00
Skunk Anansie ,Machine Head, Rollins Band, Therapy? @ Docklands arena, London 2-7-00
Shit! How the hell could this be the last UK Skunk gig ? I still think they should have “finished” in the UK & not in Portugal…but maybe they didn’t know it was “over” at the time ? Still, at least they got back together in 2009 🙂
All my photos from the gig are here…
Edit 2017 ; Another memory has come back to me. There were a few American knuckleheads down the front….or rather, pushing their way down there. Absolute idiots who had no respect for anyone who’d queued for hours to get that spot. Can’t remember if they were there for Rollins or Machine Head, but they were absolute dicks. Talking of M.H. i wasn’t impressed at all. Yet a couple of years later i got into them! Go figure. But whatever, that night, Skunk were bloody fantastic !
Black Sabbath, Breed 77, Astoria, London 5-12-99
This was a very cool small show from the Sabs. Theres a boot video of the show, as well as a boot CD from radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzCDG7C1_2Q
Skunk Anansie, Muse, @ Brixton Academy, London,19-10-99
Guano Apes, @ The Borderline, London 23-9-99
Ok, this was a BIG deal for me. I’d been wanting to see these live ever since catching them on satellite tv back in ’97. They just never played the UK though:-( Well, I
I planned to go see them in Utrecht ,but then they announced a London gig. No contest; London it is. If anyone would have told me how this gig would effect my future gig going, I wouldn’t have believed them. Never in my wildest dreams, could i have prepared myself for the unexpected fun all thanks to my (soon to be) buddy, Henning. I got there early & had took CDs hoping to get them signed. Well, I managed everyone except for Sandra. I told Henning & he said “Go in after her”. I went in with the rest of the band. Got autographs & some nice photos with Sandra & Henning. 
I told Henning about being a fan for years & that I had seen live broadcasts via satellite tv & that I’d collected a bunch of live audio recordings as well. He seemed impressed. In fact, there were some that he didn’t have, so, he asked me to send him copies…yes, he gave me his private address 😉 The band & crew were going to find a nearby bar & I was invited to join them. What? Seriously? For sure I’ll join. 
The gig was just great. I’d earlier told Henning that “Innocent Greed” was my favourite song (coincidentally, also his at the time) & before they played it, he dedicated it to me 🙂 So, I guess you now think I’m the luckiest SOB out there (& someone may be wildly jealous). I’d agree, I am/was. But as “someone” once said to me, “sometimes you get a feeling that a person is genuine…” 
And this started my amazing Guano Apes “journey”.
P.S. I’ll never forget how a couple of times Henning told me his memory of arriving at the Borderline & seeing a guy in a Rock am Ring shirt, thinking it was a German tourist 😉
ALL the photos from the day are here..
EDIT 24-9-15 : Yesterday was the anniversary of me seeing my first Guano Apes gig in London, back in 1999. The band posted a link on their Facebook page to this entry of my blog! Thank you GA 🙂 
If you have got here via that link, firstly, thank YOU for checking it out. Please take a look around my blog for other entries from where I’ve seen Guano Apes (& many other bands) & feel free to comment. If you put Guano apes in the search on the left, it will list all the GA shows I’ve seen around the UK/Europe (over 50 shows) including my first time in Amsterdam, where they filmed the live DVD, travelling on their tour bus in 2000 & being interviewed for a tv documentary!, managing to meet Dave Grohl at a German festival, following every date of the “final” tour in 2005. The reunion shows at Portugal & then Sofia, Bulgaria in 2009 (Sofia was THE BEST ever) & of course stories of meeting my old friends I’d met on the road along the way back in the day. I’ve said it before, but will again ; thank you Guano Apes for accepting me into the family & giving me so many unique moments on tour. You rock guys ! Here are a couple of direct links to some of the other shows :
17-4-00 Paradiso, Amsterdam no hotel, no sleep haha