Wednesday 21 February 2024.

Wednesday 21 February 2024. AITCH live at Shepherds Bush Empire. This was a pre BRITS gig week for War Child charity. AITCH is a 24 year old white rapper from Manchester. His 2022 debut album went to number two in the UK charts. "Taste (Make It Shake)" and "Baby", which both peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart...and he has had collaboration hits with other artists. The name "Aitch" derives from the pronunciation of the letter 'h', which is the first letter of his given name. --------- Level 3 is closed, and other levels have space , so maybe 1000 folks here...perhaps the £50 plus £10 booking fee was too much for this act that mainly appeals to the under 30's females. A1 and J1 arrived on stage at 8pm for their 40 mins set. The first 20 mins they played DJ tracks that the crowd knew and sang along to, then they sung some of their own tracks. Near the end of their set, the music stopped as there was a scuffle down front of stage , where a couple of girls had barged their way to the front , upsetting others , and pushing and shoving occured , and security ejected the pair. AITCH and band arrived on stage at 9.15pm for his 75 mins set. He arrived on stage in all white attire , as the females screamed. The same nice lighting and strobes as the night before , as it was the same promoter , relating to AEG/War Child. Aitch brought on a few rappers to guest with him , including tonight's support act. The show ticked along ok, and the crowd loved it . ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- Tuesday 20 February 2024. Pre- BRIT AWARDS gigs this week...for War Child charity. KEANE live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Keane celebrate 20 years of their million selling debut album Hopes and Fears, and are pleased to announce the anniversary collection, including a limited edition box set, 2LP, 1LP and 3CD. They had mainstream international success with the release of their debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004. Topping the UK chart, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the UK's second best-selling album of 2004. It is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.Their second album, Under the Iron Sea, released in 2006, topped the UK Albums Chart and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200.....they have released five studio albums. They have had several Top 20 hit singles This is an intimate gig for them , as their UK arena tour coming up features two huge shows at The 02 Arena on May 10 and May 11. I have seen Keane a few times before, with the first time back on 2004. Including the launch party opening for The Hard Cafe at Piccadilly Circus in Sept 2019. --------- The show is sold out, even with a steep ticket price of £75 plus £10 booking fee , although all proceeds go to War Child charity . As expected the show is pretty much full of polite folks in their 40's. OSCAR LANG and three musicians arrived on stage at 8pm for their 30 mins set. He played a decent set of keyboard based tracks from his debut album ' Chew The Scenery' KEANE arrived on stage at 9pm for their 95 mins set. Singer Tom Chaplin is now aged 44, but still has those boyish looks. Hard to imagine he had a serious drug addiction around a decade ago. Lots of good catchy keyboard based, radio friendly hits played in their set. Never really a band liked by critics , but they write top notch songs. A very good show. Full KEANE setlist played tonight... Can't Stop Now Bend and Break Silenced by the Night We Might as Well Be Strangers Spiralling The Way I Feel Your Eyes Open (first time live since 2013) Disconnected Is It Any Wonder? Nothing in My Way Bedshaped This Is the Last Time A Bad Dream Everybody's Changing Somewhere Only We Know Encore: The Night Sky (first time live since 2007; acoustic; Tom and Tim only) Neon River Crystal Ball Sovereign Light Café

Posted 21st February 2024