Nottingham – Page 6 – Gig Addiction

Reckless Love, Santa Cruz, rock city, Nottingham 12-3-16

I’d been looking forward to this gig for some time,yet,when the day arrived, i just couldn’t get motivated for it. Lots of crap going around my head & generally confused about situations. Eventually, i decided on the old adage of ” It’ll get better once there” so i zipped off to Nottingham. Upon arrival there were about 10+ peeps in the queue, so i decided to wait for next hour & half +. Had a nice laugh/chat with a Czech girl from Leeds who had followed a few shows (Hi Barbara). Took a while for queue to grow, but eventually it got as far as the car park. Once inside, again i was disappointed as they didn’t open the balcony. Oh well, back to position number 2 under the stairs 😉
After a while my mate Steve rolled in…with the 2pint of beer..Had a little chat & then they wandered off into the crowd.
The first band, “Santa Cruz”, i’d seen before. They’re quite a “trashy” band. Went down well with the crowd.

As always, Reckless Love delivered. They’re such a fun live band & the quality of songs has always been consistent. Of course, to many of us, Rock City is paradise, so Reckless Love came back to paradise 😉

And then they set the night on fire…

After the gig, i met up with Ady & we had a natter about some stuff that had gone down & also considered the possibility of Download festival. Still nothing definite yet.

Machine Head, Rock City, Nottingham 3-3-16

If you like Machine Head, you NEED to see them at Rock City. Their shows there are always amazing. The one previous to tonights, December 2014, was electric. They just have a connection with the Rock City crowd. It’s always crazy. Btw, their first headline show in the UK/Europe was Nottingham Rock City back in the day 😉 Tonight they have moved the doors till 6pm. Fortunately, my boss let me have extra time off, so my day worked out perfectly : Parked at Forest park n ride, cost £2 for parking & tram into town. Went to multistory car park next to RC, scanned the app towards free parking voucher 😉 Yes, i know, it’s wrong but the last time i went, because of B.S. surrounding the day, i forgot to scan the app. So this makes it even . Saw there was only about 10 peeps queuing at RC, so decide i have time for a curry ! Bloody lovely it was as well. Nice n relaxed in my 2nd fave place in Nottingham. Go join the queue & see my mate Jason is there. He’s doing the M&G. We have a good old natter 😉 Then later Jase points out something behind me it’s Richard (who again i first met at a MH gig) we have a chat & he tells me he’s going to see MH up in Glasgow ! Cool. Once inside, we have an hour & half waiting for MH to hit the stage. After the intro of Ozzy Osbournes ” Diary Of a Madman”, it’s straight into “Clenching the fists of dissent”. The audience is kicking off already ! Great circle pit !

Tonights “Evening with Machine Head” certainly covers all bases of their career. During the course of about 21 (?) songs, we get all the classics such as “Locust”, ” Ten Ton Hammer”, ” The Blood, The Sweat, The BEERS” 😉

Apparently, when they had the idea of ” A night with…”, loads of people told them it was a mistake. Well, they proved them wrong, with sold out gigs & a fantastic connection with their audience. Also good to see the security having to work a little, due to all the crowd surfers 😉 Roll on Machine Heads next return to Rock City. It certainly seems to be their home from home nowadays 🙂

( Updated 13-7-16 with addition of 2 cam mix video clip )

Black Stone Cherry, Shinedown, Halestorm, Highly Suspect, Capital FM arena, Nottingham 29-1-16

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Yet again, the arena has new sponsors. It’s now called “Motorpoint Arena”. Over the years it has been the arena, Capital Fm arena, Trent FM arena. It’s hard getting used to it being called Motorpoint arena as the Sheffield arena used to be Motorpoint arena! So there’s a little confusion for me when i see Motorpoint arena on tweets . I digress….My first stop in Nottingham was the Tourist Information place, to buy some tickets for Rock City gigs. Since the closing of the box office at Rock City (a very poor idea as it now costs so much more ordering through the post) they’ve started stocking a few tix here. Again, seems pretty stupid that RC /Alt-tickets don’t really advertise they do this… I managed to get in the arena only a few minutes after doors (no real queuing) &started off about 6 or 7 rows from the front in the centre. Then, bizarrely, i got a phone call from my doctors! Eventually i put it to the back of my mind & was set for the first act of the night, “Highly Suspect”. Whilst they went down reasonably with the crowd, myself, i just couldn’t get into them. It was just a bit “meh..” lol Next it’s the band i bought todays ticket for ; Halestorm.

Interesting they opened with “Sick Individual”. I’d never have expected that.

They’ve all got new hair cuts since the last time i saw them (well, except Josh i think 😉 ) & everyone still has that fire on stage. I cannot really say much about tonight except they were great as ever & of course i wanted them to play longer 🙂

Shinedown is a band i love. They have some fantastic songs. But nowadays i always have a problem with Bretts “preaching”. It’s obviously all very genuine, but, i just wish he wouldn’t go on yapping so much. Also, the last few shows i’ve seen, he does the same lines about saying hello to you neighbour next to you. Time to change that i think.

I’m still unsure how much of the show is live & how much is off tapes, but it’s quality. Don’t get me wrong, i LOVED their set.

Black Stone Cherry told the story of how they started in “The Basement” at Rock City & then they moved upstairs to the main room. Now, they’re in the arena. No mean feet. They’re such a quality act that their rise is totally understandable.

Lzzy joined them for “Peace Is Free “. Apparently, tonight there were also a couple of live debuts of songs. It was very nice to see at the end of their show, they jammed “Ace Of Spades “. So much love for Lemmy. They were a great way to finish a fantastic night out. Wish it could be like this always.

P.S. The only downside was afterwards it was pissing it down for the majority of my journey home…but it kept me awake 😉

Cancer Bats, Palm Reader, Lord Dying, Incite, Rescue rooms, Nottingham 21-1-16

A rollercoaster of an evening ! Delayed leaving, crazy traffic, forgetting to scan in at the car park, typically a “40minute” delay on food (which in fact was nothing like that), more “fun” in the pub (not! lol), a gig which started great, had one crap band & finished with a great set from Cancer Bats. Once home, the night was very close to finishing really bad as almost had a head on crash at a petrol station of all places ! Live n learn…

Well this was a strange old night ! It started pretty rubbish due to the friends i was picking up were not ready. Those 20 minutes made all the difference to how the evening would go. ( Nowadays, i’ve got the timing perfect for Nottingham, usually arrive about 5.10pm so miss the traffic & have time to grab food if wanted before the gig). Roads were busy, we hit the rush hour traffic in Nottingham & ended up over 30 minutes later parking up. So tonight was gonna be a bit of a rush….when it really shouldn’t have been.

As luck would have it, when i got into the venue it wasn’t over busy. So i *just* managed to get front row of the balcony. First band up were Incite, a well heavy band from Phoenix AZ, USA. Whilst there wasn’t a big crowd for them, the ones who were there were really getting into them. I really enjoyed their set. They even had Liam from Cancer Bats join them for one song 😉

Next up were “Lord Dying”. They were excellent. A bit more “instrumental” than Incite. Unfortunately, i didn’t get any video of them as their set seemed to be cut short (They said there were 2 more songs & after the first they said it was over 🙁 )

The (now) local band , Palm Reader were the weakest act of the night for me.

As ever, Cancer Bats kicked some serious ass. It was one hell of a show in a packed out venue with loads of moshing down there.

I always love Cancer Bats version of “Sabotage”

My night almost ended in tragedy once i got home ! I always go to the petrol station once home so i’m tanked up ready for next journey etc. Tonight i had the misfortune of almost having a little twat driving the WRONG WAY around a roundabout & almost hitting me head on. It was only due to my quick reactions & composure that it was avoided. Yes, it did really shake me up when i thought of what could have happened. I was later annoyed with myself as i didn’t go after the little kid in his silver Corsa, but it was too late. I did however inform police of the incident, so if they wanted to follow it up, it would be easy as there would be CCTV at both the petrol station & Tescos. I’ve done my part…

Motionless In White , New Years Day, Silent Screams, Rescue rooms, Nottingham 18-1-16

Half expected the queue to be busy & it sure was. Luckily, i managed to get a great spot on the balcony. The first band “Silent Screams” went down very well with the young audience 😉 They had a circle pit & even a “wall of death”. Whilst i wouldn’t buy their CD (or go see them headline), they were entertaining. I’m just not much of a fan of “shouty” vocals.

Next up it was New Years Day. Unfortunately, the sound wasn’t great (a problem that continued all night) the vocals needed to be higher in the mix. However, i think for a lot of people that didn’t even matter as they were either just smashing the hell out of each other, or just swooning over Ash 😉

Their set was short, maxing out at about 35minutes & doing around 7 songs. Second song in, “I’m No Good” Ash got the crowd jumping along straight away. Basically, she had everyone in the palm of her hand .

Motionless In White were entertaining but they had sound problems all night. Lost count of the amount of times someone went from the mixing desk to the stage! Ash also joined them for “Contemptress”

Him, Rock City, Nottingham, 27-12-15

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Him are one of those bands I’ve been into for many years. Once again, it was watching satellite tv from Germany that exposed them too me. Probably around 1999. I first got to see them live at rock city ,Nottingham 18th May 2002. They were playing in the downstairs “basement” room. ( Oh yeah, i remember when they cancelled a show at RC, in 2000 or 2001 & the person in the ticket office said “…oh don’t worry. They’ll be back soon as they’re always playing here !” ). I don’t really remember much about it, but, the one thing i do remember & have always had a problem with, was Villes attitude. One moment he’s all up/happy, the next he’s a moaning old git ! Dunno how much of this was due to the heavy drinking or what. I did miss out a couple of tours as i read about his problems…. I last saw Him at Rock city in 2013. My standout memory of that show was how LOUD it was. Not loud in a good way either; it just distorted & there was no definition to the sound. Honestly, it was rubbish. (One of my friends recently said to me “…there was plenty of times i didn’t even know which song they were playing, it was that bad sound…”). So this show, their only UK date in 2015, i really don’t know what to expect….

I got to RC 2 hours before doors & there was quite a queue already, almost as far back as the car park. I’d guess there were about 80 people in front (?). So that was that , no beer n burger tonight, it’s joining the queue in the hope i manage front row balcony. ( Cat & Reno went to the pub 😉 ) Luckily most people went straight down the front to the barrier. I managed front row balcony, but not my usual spot. I’ve never seen Rock City fill up so quickly as this show. It was quite amazing to see from my vantage point…

The support act, ” Empire ” were just ok. I thought the singer had a nice tone to his vocal,but, i didn’t really get into the band. I always struggle with new bands to me. So its to Spotify i need to go to give them a fair chance….
Once Him were on stage, straight away i could see Ville wasn’t having a good time with his IEM/monitors. Tyical. After a while he did warm to things & there were a few smiles. He even had a jacket & a bra thown up onstage to him. The sound was much better that last time i saw them, but, it could have been better for sure. I’ve got to say, i’ve never seen so many fights in the crowd than at this show.I just don’t get it. I think this will be the last time i go to see him.

Blabbermouth posted a link to my footage 🙂 http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/him-video-of-nottingham-concert/

Ghost, Dead Soul, Rock city, Nottingham, 14-12-15

Picked up Andy then we went to Grantham to pick up Cat & Reno. This was the first time i’d met Reno. Once in Nottingham we parked at Forest Park & ride as it only costs £2 return if you have an event ticket. Quick visit to FOPP & then it’s time for beer n burgers 😉 Go to join the queue,about an hour before doors open & who should be the last in queue but my mate Gary ! We’re both hoping the balcony will be open tonight 😉 There’s about 16 people in front of us, so we’re pretty sure of a decent place in the room. Disaster ! Balcony closed 🙁 So we end up in the other usual position 😉

The opening band ” Dead Soul” were interesting/different. Need to check them out properly on Spotify…

I’d previously only seen Ghost at festivals,so was looking forward to seeing them headline. I wasn’t disappointed ! After the (long) intro tape they go from “Spirit” straight into “From The Pinnacle To The Pit ” (Just like on the album) a great start.

Papa is a great front man. I was cracking up at some of the things he said. The show was presented very well. Everyone on stage plays their part great. I absolutely loved this night & really wanna go see them again…

P.S. I planned on going to see them in Manchester at the weekend (3 hours drive away. There’s not many bands i’d drive to Manchester for, but these are worth it) but unfortunately the show is sold out 🙁

Apocalyptica + Vamps , Rock City, Nottingham 25-11-15

I was absolutely fuming before this gig! Why ? I was meant to collect a ticket on the door & Alt-Tickets had NOT sent the collection list to Rock City. So whilst myself & a bunch more were waiting, people were streaming into the venue & taking the best spots. Fortunately, tonight Cat went with me so she got in the venue whilst i waited around like a spare part in the foyer. Whatever, this fiasco really wound me up & basically ruined my night. I hate incompetence. I’ve since emailed both RC/Alt-tickets complaining. RC just passed the buck. Alt-tickets did accept they were at fault & have offered to refund my collection fee of £1.50…wow big deal ! I’ll obviously never order a ticket for collection here again. In the end, i did get into the show. It was ok. Nothing fantastic. I’ve ticked them off the list of bands too see 😉

P.S. The irony was also when you collect tickets, they don’t actually give you a ticket! You just get a till receipt, which you give to the doorman! Good ol’ Cat gave me her ticket…..which i think was an attempt to try calm me down 😉 Its appreciated.

Clutch, rock city, Nottingham 24-11-15

I left work early & was on the road to Nottingham by 3.30. Had a decent drive & was in Nottingham by 5.30ish. Carl & Lisa were already there in the queue, along with Chris & Teresa. In fact, they were the only ones in the queue apart from some chap from Mexico (i think?). Doors were a little later tonight, being at 7pm. The time flew by as we caught up & exchanged our latest gig travelling stories. (They had all been following the Clutch tour – respect ! ). Tonight we had two opening bands & the second one , ” Planet Of Zeus ” (From Athens, Greece) were bloody fantastic ! I hadn’t heard a thing by them before the show,but, Carl & Lisa said ” We think you’ll like them! “. They were so right 🙂

I must say, Planet Of Zeus seemed to really strike a chord with the crowd. They got a great reaction. I wondered for how many, this was their first time seeing them, like myself. Great band.

Clutch were just the same outstanding quality as always. No messin, straight ahead rock n roll. They had the audience eating out of their hands from the off. There were a lot of NEW songs off the latest CD ” Psychic Warfare” , in fact, at one point, Mr Fallon even says ” Two more songs & we’ll have played it all” 🙂

We Are The Ocean, Tall Ships, AllUsOnDrugs, Rescue Rooms, Nottingham 18-11-15

I got to Grantham to pick Cat up along the way & typically, she’d had a slight problem with work & she wasn’t ready. So i had the options of either going on my own (& she would drive herself there) OR wait whilst she gets ready. As i owed her a lift,after she recently picked me up after the Garbage tour, i decided to wait. By the time we got to Nottingham it was 6.27ish. We were both expecting a reasonable size queue, but, there was only one person in front of us ! Talk about luck being on our side ! Once in the venue, we even more realized the gig wasn’t gonna be busy as the balcony was closed. During ” AllUsOnDrugs”, i’d guess there was a maximum of 60 people in there. The audience did get a bit bigger by the time We Are The Ocean came on though. They kicked off with “Do It Together”. A couple of songs in & Liam said his voice was in bad shape & that the crowd would have to sing up! Personally, i thought he sounded just fine ! They played their cover version of ” Hey Now” (London Grammar) & played a nice mixed set with songs from all through their career. They finished with the classic ” Good For You”. A decent night out.