News and Reviews: 16th December 2011
15 Dec 2011.Kasabian + Miles Kane live at The 02 Arena,London.This was the last night of Kasabians UK arena tour proper and the second of two shows at this venue to promote their fourth studio album "Velociraptor" which topped the UK charts.
They come back here to play on 31 Dec 2011.
Up first we have Miles Kane for a neat 35 mins set of indie guitar pop.He has toured with Beady Eye and Arctic Monkeys and now with Kasabian.
Lots of short sharp tunes with some nifty guitar including "Rearrange","Kingcrawler","Come Closer"
(he was joined by Serge from Kasabian on that one) and then finally the excellent single "Inhaler".He headlines the Kentish Town Forum on 28 April 2012.
Kasabian are on stage for 1 hour 45 mins.Lots of Oasis type "lad rock" fans throwing lager in the air as they danced on the floor standing area.
A huge stage production with three big screens and loads of lights.A few songs plodded but there were loads of goodies inc "Days Are Forgotten","Shoot The Runner","Underdog",
"Where Did All The Love Go?","Club Foot",new single "Re-wired","Empire" and "L.S.F.(Lost Souls Forever)" and encores included "Vlad The Impaler"(comedian Noel Fielding who was in the video for this song was dancing side of stage but sadly did not come on stage) and a mental "Fire" with the whole crowd getting down.
A great show.
14 Dec 2011.Def Leppard + Motley Crue + Steel Panther live at Wembley Arena,London.
A nice weeks gap since i saw this great trio of rock bands in Birmingham.Tonight was the last night of the six UK arena shows.
Birmingham had three or four unsold blocks at the back but tonight it is totally sold out.
As far as i could see all the bands played the same set as Birmingham.
Like Birmingham most of the crowd are in early to see Steel Panther who play 40 mins of pure entertainment.The songs from their two albums are great and the stage banter is totally rude but great fun.Every song they are asking girls to show their boobs and they are plenty here getting on shoulders to display them.
Steel Panther go down a real storm and return to the UK in 2012 for a short tour that includes Brixton Academy on 31 March.
Motley Crue are on fire tonight.Their 90 mins set is Hollywood sleaze rock at its best.
Pyros,explosions,flames and Tommy Lees amazing 360 Rollercoaster drum solo where his drum kit goes upside down within a giant wheel.You gotta check the clips out on youtube as its an amazing stunt.So many great songs too.
Some folks leave after Motley Crue as the pop rock of Def Leppard does not sit well with some Motley Crue fans who see Def Leppard as a bit soft.Def Leppard play their 90 mins set with great big distorted sound and a wall of video screens.The first half is good but the second half has big big tunes one after the other.
They finish well and its another great set.
This gig has to go down as the best indoor rock package of the year.Three fantastic bands.
12 Dec 2011.Duran Duran + Cocknbullkid live at The 02 Arena,London.
Up first is support Cocknbullkid which is a pretty crap name for a band.They played 30 mins of tracks from their album "Adulthood" but were very tame and average.
A full house here for Duran Durans London leg of their UK arena tour to promote the "All You Need Is Now " album that came out a few months ago.
Lots of females in the crowd here as usual.
A full two hour show.They use three big screens but its showing images more than live footage.
Another band i have a lot of history with.I was working on front stage security at Hammersmith Odeon when their debut album came out in 1981 and when their second album came out in 1982.This was Duranmania at its height as they needed a police escort from the building every night.
Some of those fans are here tonight i reckon.
Lots of goodies in the set inc "Planet Earth",
"A View To A Kill","The Reflex",for current single "Girl Panic" they were joined by Mark Ronson who produced the single and the new album.
Also good were "Careless Memories","Ordinary World","Notorious","Hungry Like The Wolf","Reach Out For The Sunrise" and encores of "The Wild Boys" and "Rio".Simons voice still not sounding 100% but he did a good job.
A great show even if they omitted "Girls On Film" from the setlist.
Check aftershow page for this gig.
09 Dec 2011.Coldplay + Emili Sande live at The 02 Arena,London.
Like them or loathe them Coldplay are one of the biggest bands in the world.
I first saw them in 2000 at this venue when it was the Dome supporting Reef.
Up first is Emili Sande for a 40 mins set.
Another great UK female singer.Some proper tunes inc "Daddy","Hope" and her excellent debut single "Heaven".She is hotly tipped by the critics for success in 2012 so you will hear more of her in Feb when her debut album comes out.
Coldplay are promoting their "Mylo Xyloto" album with a full world tour.Nice use of big circular video screens over the crowd.
They play for 95 mins which seems short for such a big band with five hit albums.Coming in everyone got a wristband.It lit up in different colours for the first three songs which looked great when everyone waved their arms.Then they were used off and on through the show.
They were controlled by Coldplays lighting team and not the punters.An impressive stunt.
Chris Martin is full of energy as he charges around the stage and up the second stage in middle of the crowd.They have got some massive tunes.Set inc "Yellow","Lost" had giant balloons,"In My Place" had confetti,also good was "The Scientist","Politik","Viva La Vida" and new single "Paradise".Encores were
really good with "Clocks","Fix You" and "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall".They always put on a great show.