Friday 07 March 2925.

Friday 07 March 2025. ZAKK SABBATH live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Black Sabbath cover band, Zakk Sabbath features guitarist/vocalist, Zakk Wylde of Ozzy Osbourne Band /Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne's bassist, Blasko and ex Queens of the Stone Age, drummer Joey Castillo. As part of a UK & European Tour. I saw the original Black Sabbath many times since the 1970s. ----------- The venue is rammed sold out, which is pretty impressive when you think it is pretty much just a Black Sabbath tribute act. I even saw several jean jackets covered in band patches. LOWEN arrived on stage at 8pm for their 30 mins . Lowen: “It’s illegal to play metal in Iran. It’s illegal for women to sing. So this is defiance, it’s rebellion” Blending doom, death metal and prog with traditional Iranian music, London’s Lowen are a colourful pot of heavy sounds. For singer Nina Saeidi, it’s also a way to express and explore her heritage, as well as taking a stand… Her style of vocals were not my cup of tea. ZAKK SABBATH and band mates arrived on stage at 9pm for their 1 hour 45 mins set. Just the three of them on stage ,looking like proper old school long haired rockers . The band's logo is behind on a huge curtain and on equipment. ZAKK is wearing a kilt , with his trademark legs apart stance. The entire setlist is all Black Sabbath tracks. Those iconic Tony Iommi riffs are performed well by Zakk. Some 20 or crowd surfers tonight. Not the perfect setlist , as some big Sabbath tracks were not played , so we got lesser known tracks and a bit too many guitar solos from Zakk. Missing ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’ from a Sabbath set is a bold move. Treats you wouldn’t get at a normal Black Sabbath gig include ‘Wicked World’ with an extended jam and ‘Tomorrows Dream’. Then come the massive hits. The bass and drum combo on the ‘Children of the Grave’ is crushing, while ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ sounds as good as the first time I heard Sabbath play it. Blasko absolutely kills the ‘NIB’ intro with Zakk re-joining him onstage before the duo tear into that legendary riff while the crowd sing the chorus and scream the obligatory “OH YEAH”. Ending on an extended ‘War Pigs’, Zakk disappears into the Level 1 VIP seating , to play yet another extended solo with the crowd once again doing Ozzy’s “Oh, lord yeah!” . Overall a really good show. Full ZAKK SABBATH setlist played tonight... Tape intro - Supertzar Supernaut Snowblind Orchid Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes Tomorrow's Dream Wicked World Fairies Wear Boots Into the Void Embryo Children of the Grave ( a dozen beach balls thrown out) Lord of This World Hand of Doom (Band Introductions) Behind the Wall of Sleep N.I.B. War Pigs (Zakk performed an extended solo from the Level 1 VIP balcony seating area) ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Thursday 06 March 2025. Very sad news that BRIAN JAMES has died. The Damned were one of the bands I saw many times in the punk heyday,including The 100 Club Punk Festival in 1976, and 10 times in 1977, including three nights at The Roxy Club , dancing down the front , and punching the polystyrene ceiling tiles of the venue. It was great to see him at both The Hammersmith Apollo shows when the original four reformed . 'New Rose' and 'Neat Near Neat' and others still sound fantastic to this day ...R.I.P. Brian . --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- Thursday 06 March 2025. FRANZ FERDINAND live at Shepherds Bush Empire. FF back here for their second sold out show at Bush. The first night had one support act, but for tonight there are two support acts. ---------- Again , the venue is rammed solid sold out. THE GREAT LESLIE on stage at 7.30pm for their 30 mins. London based indie rockers played a good set , that included a speeded up cover of Coldplay 'Fix You'. MASTER PEACE on at 8.15pm for their 30 mins. Their really good set went down well again tonight. Lots of catchy singalong choruses . FRANZ FERDINAND on at 9.15pm for their 95 mins set. A very lively atmosphere again ,as the crowd soon got dancing and moshing down the front of stage. Good to see a couple of songs were changed from last night. All the older gems were played again. Alex said " it is always great to play this beautiful theatre where the Terry Wigan show was recorded". A stunning version of ' Take Me Out' again was a highlight. Final song of an extended ' This Fire' again was superb, as Alex got the crowd to crouch down , then get them up together for furious moshing and even a circle pit. There is a great 10 mins video of this on YouTube. Another great show. ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- Wednesday 05 March 2025. FRANZ FERDINAND live at Shepherds Bush Empire. FF play the first of two sold out shows at this London venue. Franz Ferdinand are back with their latest studio album, 'The Human Fear' , a record at their most immediate, upbeat and life-affirming, unashamedly going for the pop-jugular in classic Franz style. Franz Ferdinand's new album, 'The Human Fear', was released on January 10, 2025 on Domino. Singles: "Audacious" and "Night Or Day" Is is the band's sixth studio album and first since 2018's 'Always Ascending'. Part of their UK and European Tour I have seen FF a few times before , including when they played The Forum with Sparks in 2015, when they made an album together under the name FFS. ---------------- The venue is fully rammed sold out tonight. MASTER PEACE arrived on stage at 8pm for their 30 mins. Master Peace is a black indie rock singer who fronts his own band , and he played some good tracks from his albums. FRANZ FERDINAND arrived on stage at 9pm for their 95 mins. A nice stage production, and constant use of strobe lights . Lots of nifty arty short sharp indie rock tunes played . Vocalist Alex Kapranos sings, jumps, dances, saunters, and commands the crowds without missing a beat. And his voice never wanes no matter how much jumping or running around he is doing! Sure, this band is a darling in the indie music category, so of course a large part of their catalog does take us down memory lane with mega hits like 'Take Me Out' and final encore ' This Fire' which did not disappoint. Overall , a great show. Full FF setlist played tonight... Bar Lonely The Dark of the Matinée Night or Day Walk Away Everydaydreamer Do You Want To Audacious The Doctor No You Girls Build It Up 40' Black Eyelashes Michael Love Illumination Take Me Out Hooked ( with Master Peace) Outsiders Encore: Cats Evil and a Heathen The Birds This Fire

Posted 4th March 2025