News and Reviews: 28th December 2003

Check out www.ticketbank.co.uk for all your ticket needs .Tel 01702 345050 or 07808 078000. They can get any ticket for any event even when it is completely sold out.Also 07961 301346. Well it is late October 2003 and at last all the shows and dates have been entered in the main year listing for all the gigs from 1990 onwards. Sorry for the delay and now just 2003 to be put up there so for the time being i will list the gigs i have been going to since coming back from my recent 2003 Australia trip so here goes, April 20 + 22 Status Quo ,Coolangatta ,Australia. May 3 Craig David , Royal Albert Hall, London. May 4 Showaddywaddy,Andy Scotts Sweet ,Ruebettes, Palladium , London. May 5 Simply Red ,Wembley Arena . May 6 Skin , Scala ,London. May 8 Stereophonics , Hammersmith Palais . Virgin Radio 10th Birthday Party. May 9 Melanie C ,Shepherds Bush Empire, London May 10 Tom Jones ,Wembley Arena . May 12 Whitesnake + Gary Moore + Ynt ,Brighton Centre. May 13 Blur , Astoria , London . May 14 Faster Pussycat , Underworld , London. May 15 Led Zeppelin DVD Launch , London. May 16 Ray Davies , Royal Festival Hall , London. May 17 Whitesnake + Gary Moore , Wembley Arena. May 18 Neil Young , Hammersmith Apollo , London. May 21 + 22 Peter Gabriel , Wembley Arena . May 23 Thunder , Astoria , London. May 24 Radiohead , Shepherds Bush Empire,London. May 26 + 27 Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band , Crystal Palace Sports Arena , London. May 28 Lou Reed , Barbican , London. May 29 Paul McCartney , Sheffield Arena . May 31 Iron Maiden + Marilyn Manson + Deftones Donington Download Festival . June 1 Paul McCartney , Kings Dock ,Liverpool. June 2 Blue Oyster Cult , Stables , Milton Keynes. June 3 Murder Dolls ,Kentish Town Forum,London. Metalhammer Awards Party . June 4 Joe Jackson Band , Shepherds Bush Empire, London. June 5 Queensryche , Astoria , London. June 6 Counting Crows , Royal Albert Hall,London. June 7 Annie Lennox , Sadlers Wells , London. June 8 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds , Hammersmith Apollo , London. June 10 Public Enemy , Royal Festival Hall,London. June 12 Suggs play " Our House " and dinner with Suggs after in the West End. June 13 Sly and Robbie , Royal Festival Hall , London. June 17 Audioslave , Astoria , London. June 19 Ari Ups Slits , Underworld , London. June 20 Damned + Adicts + Boys + Ari Ups Slits + UK Subs + Vice Squad , Morecambe Arena . June 21 Cocksparrer + Slaughter And The Dogs + Anti Nowhere League + GBH + 999,Morecambe Arena . June 22 Deep Purple + Lynyrd Skynryd , Birmingham NEC. June 23 Eminem + Cypress Hill ,Milton Keynes Bowl. June 24 REM Brixton Academy , London . June 25 Har Mar Superstar ,Virgin Megastore,London June 26 Kool And The Gang , Hammersmith Apollo , London. June 27 Macy Gray + Lee Scratch Perry , Royal Festival Hall , London . June 28 Bon Jovi , Hyde Park , London . July 1 George Benson , Royal Albert Hall,London July 2 Yes , Hammersmith Apollo , London. July 3 Tony Bennett , Royal Albert Hall, London July 4 Alice Cooper + Arthur Lees Love + The Wildhearts , Guildford Festival . July 7 Rolling Stones + Stereophonics ,Bercy Indoor Arena , Paris , France. July 8 Stereophonics , Cafe De La Danse, Paris , France . July 9 Rolling Stones + Stereophonics , Stade De France , Paris , France. July 13 James Brown , Royal Albert Hall , London. July 17 Dead Men Walking ,Underworld , London . July 18 Dead Men Walking ,Jailhouse ,Coventry . July 20 Status Quo ,Grand Prix Party ,Silverstone. July 23 Zodiac Mindwarp + Vice Squad + Dragster, Borderline , London July 30 ZZ Top ,Brixton Academy,London. Aug 1 Robbie Williams ,Moby,Ash at Knebworth Park. Aug 2 Robbie Williams ,Moby,Ash,Kelly Osbourne, Darkness at Knebworth Park. Aug 5 Darkness at Virgin Megastore , London. Aug 7 John Otway Band ,Olympia Beer Festival. Aug 8 Rolan Bolan + Reagan ,Camden Barfly. Aug 11 Patti Smith Band , Shepherds Bush Empire. Aug 16 Coldplay + Foo Fighters + Hives + Cardigans + Killing Joke ,V Festival Chelmsford . Aug 17 Red Hot Chilli Peppers + David Gray + Queens Of The Stone Age + Inspiral Carpets + Tim Burgess + Skin ,V Festival Chelmsford . Aug 19 Rolling Stones + Starsailor , Ajax Arena , Amsterdam . Aug 22 Linkin Park + Placebo + Darkness + Staind , Reading Festival . Aug 23 Blur + Black Rebel Motorcycle Club + Beck + Streets + Libertines ,Reading Festival. Aug 24 Metallica + System Of A Down + Primal Scream + Good Charlotte + Raveonettes ,Reading Festival . Aug 26 Jet , HMV Megastore , Oxford St ,London. Aug 29 Rolling Stones , Wembley Arena ,London. Sept 2 Chuck Prophet + Jonathan Richman ,Slims , San Francisco. Sept 3 Sex Pistols + Dropkick Murphys + Rev Horton Heat , Warfield ,San Francisco. Sept 5 Sex Pistols + Dropkick Murphys , The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel , Las Vegas. Sept 6 Sex Pistols + Dropkick Murphys ,The Greek Theatre , Los Angeles . Sept 7 Sex Pistols + Dropkick Murphys , Street Scene Festival , San Diego. Sept 8 Sex Pistols + Glass Heroes , Marquee , Tempe , Arizona . Sept 10 Beach Boys , America West Arena , Phoenix, Arizona. Sept 13 Rolling Stones , Wembley Arena, London. Sept 14 Dixie Chicks , Royal Albert Hall,London. Sept 15 Rolling Stones + Darkness , Wembley Arena London. Sept 17 John Mayer + Clarksville , Hammersmith Apollo ,London. Sept 19 Deftones + A Perfect Circle , Wembley Arena ,London. Sept 20 Rolling Stones + Primal Scream , Twickenham Stadium,Middlesex. The Stones at Twickers was superb. I have seen them 7 times on this tour in Paris ,Amsterdam and London and they have played a slightly different set every night and changed song order as well. 2 hours of pure rock n roll.For this show Angus Young and Malcolm Young of AC/DC came on for a blues jam halfway through the set. Their tour of theatres, arenas and stadiums has been very special. Sept 21 Small Faces Convention , Ruskin Arms, East Ham ,London. Sept 25 MOBO Awards and Party ,Royal Albert Hall, London. Sept 27 Dead Men Walking ,Civic Centre, Aylesbury. Sept 29 Rolf Harris 50 years in TV , Royal Albert Hall , London. Oct 2 Q Awards , Park Lane Hotel , London. Oct 3 Stiff Little Fingers ,Garage ,London. Oct 7 Stiff Little Fingers ,Zodiac ,Oxford. Oct 9 Dead Men Walking ,Princes Theatre,Aldershot. Oct 10 Chic + Tavares + Shalamar + Alexander O'Neal + Rose Royce + Real Thing + Kid Creole And The Coconuts ,Wembley Arena ,London. Oct 14 Duran Duran ,Kentish Town Forum,London. It was great to see all 5 DD original members on stage together in London for the first time since 1985. They played a mainly greatest hits show. Oct 15 Fashion Rocks , Royal Albert Hall,London. The Fashion Rocks event at the Royal Albert Hall was a superb evening . Hosted by Liz Hurley and Denis Leary it featured 150 of the worlds top models on a catwalk with a stage in the middle where a host of big names did one song each . Beyonce,Duran Duran,Blue ,Bjork,Janes Addiction, Grace Jones ,Robbie Williams,JK , Skin, Bryan Adams,Kelis , Sheryl Crow and best crowd reaction of the night went to Bryan Ferry for a great version of " Lets Stick Together" which went down even better than Robbies tune.Also there were all the top designers in person like Dior, Armani , Dolce And Gabbana,Alexander McQueen ,Julien MacDonald,Stella McCartney ,Tommy Hilfiger etc. Guests in the crowd included Bob Geldof , Nick Mason ( Pink Floyd) Roger Taylor (Queen), Jimmy Tarbuck,Micheal Stipe(REM),Tamara Beckwith. Actors Dolph Lungren and that French bloke with the big nose and of course HRH Prince Charles. Liz Hurley changed into at least 16 outfits on the night .Great night. Oct 16 REM ,Shepherds Bush Hall ,London. Amazing to see REM play this great little venue for only 250 fans.Short lunchtime show lasting 50 mins and 10 songs with my highlights Man On The Moon and Losing My Religion. Oct 18 Motorhead + Wildhearts , Hammersmith Apollo, London. Motorhead were fantastic . That great wall of noise. Their first show at this venue for 11 years.They still play Sex Pistols GSTQ . Oct 19 Dead Men Walking ,Shepherds Bush Empire, London.Really enjoyable night out and Clash legend Mick Jones came on for encore of Pretty Vacant and Stray Cat Strut. Oct 20 AC/DC ,Hammersmith Apollo, London. raysgigs.com was one of the 50 guests and comp winners who watched these rock legends do a 4 song rehearsal prior to the main show tomorrow night. Amazing to be so close up and with full light show.The songs were If You Want Blood You Got It ,Gone Shootin, Hard As A Rock, TNT. Oct 21 AC/DC at Hammersmith Apollo, London. Superb 90 mins set from these Aussie rock legends. Encore of Highway To Hell and For Those About To Rock with cannons blasting away was perfection. Although i have seen AC/DC over a dozen times at this venue in the late 70s/ early 80s this was there first show back here for 21 years. Oct 22 Darkness + 3 Inches Of Blood,Hammersmith Apollo , London. Justin the singer gets his voice back and the band do an excellent 75 mins rock set. Oct 23 Jake Burns (SLF)acoustic set and book launch , Borders ,Oxford Street,London. Oct 26 Def Leppard , Acadamy , Birmingham. They did a brilliant 1 hour 45 mins set. Joe Elliot the singer was telling me how much the band are looking fiorward to playing Hammersmith. (i will miss that show as i will be in Madrid, Spain to see Iron Maiden.) Oct 27 Flock Of Seagulls ,Scala ,London. Oct 28 Alarm ,Scala , London. These 2 shows were part of the new VH1 series to be called "Bands Reunited". Flock Of Seagulls played a 30 mins greatest hits set .This was the first time since 1983 that all 4 original members have played on stage together. Also The Alarm who broke up in 1991 on untidy terms but here are all 4 original members on stage together to play a blinding 55 mins set. Nov 02 Iron Maiden, Vistalegre ,Madrid ,Spain. Maiden came on at 9.30pm and did their excellent 1 hour 45 mins show in this round arena that held about 6,000. The Spanish fans loved it .The band actually flew back to London after the show to be at home for a day before Tues show in Frankfurt. Nov 03 Flaming Lips ,Hammersmith Apollo,London, Visually its a stunning night out with non stop giant balloons , confetti ,fake blood , mirror balls and 20 people in animal costumes with some top tunes as well. Nov 04 Flaming Lips ,Hammersmith Apollo ,London. Back to see them again after last nights great show. Nov 05 Christina Aguilera,Wembley Arena, London. She looks great and has plenty of costume changes. A very strong voice that sometimes is just too loud. Give me Kylie over Christina anyday. Nov 06 Simply Red ,Wembley Arena,London. Not everyones cup of tea these days but Mick Hucknall still has a fantastic voice and the 1 hour 40 mins set was full of great songs. Nov 08 Dashboard Confessional ,Shepherds Bush Empire ,London. Sold out show that the fans loved but to be honest i thought DC 65 mins was pretty average stuff. Nov 10 Dexys Midnight Runners ,Royal Festival Hall ,London. What a great show this was ,full of soul ,passion and a great band playing slightly different versions of Dexys classics. Nov 11 Darkness , Astoria ,London. Even better than the Hammersmith Apollo show. Another rockin 75 mins set but they dropped the Radiohead cover and played the Christmas single. Full on stage show with lots of lights etc. Nov 12 Janes Addiction ,Hammersmith Apollo,London. Some great songs in the 80 mins set but to honest i enjoyed The Darkness show last night more. Nov 13 Finlay Quaye ,Shepherds Bush Empire , London .There were a few good songs here but the band were acting as if it was a rehearsal room and not a gig in front of paying punters . New single "Dice" was superb, just too lacklustre. Nov 15 Kylie Minogue ,Hammersmith Apollo,London. One off show for ITV recording so its a shorter set than normal ,13 songs in 70 mins. Kylie looks lovely in all 5 of her costumes.Like The Darkness show all the competition winners are downstairs with all the guests upstairs.Mainly songs off the new album with a few old hits like "Cant Get You Out Of My Head " and " Spinning Around". A dozen dancers and a full stage production. Nov 17 Meat Loaf ,Wembley Arena ,London. Bit of a odd one this as after 45 mins Meaf Loaf collapses to the floor and needs oxygen from a roadie to carry on . The thing is most people think its just part of the stage show and then 10 mins later he says he cannot continue as flu and exhaustion have got the better of him. A lot of disgruntled punters as he only played 55 mins of a 2 hour 15 mins set. Great to hear some of those big anthems again and full credit to Meat Loaf for giving 100% knowing he was unwell. Will be interesting what happens now.Another show later ? A full refund? or no money back? Nov 18 David Essex ,Royal Albert Hall ,London. When i was age 16 in 1975 a lot of teenage boys wanted to be David Essex.He had hit singles , he drove motorbikes and women loved him. Some of those same women are hear tonight as they all rushed the stage like they did in the old days. We put up with all the songs from new album "Sunrise" but most of the old hits is what most are wanting. Such simple lyrics but good fun. Nov 20 David Bowie + Dandy Warhols,Birmingham NEC. Dandy Warhols did a mixed set of good pop tunes and some pretty weird stuff too. David Bowie was on stage for 2 hours 10 mins and was superb.His band were great as they mixed the new with the old like Rebel Rebel ,Fame ,All The Young Dudes, Man Who Sold The World,Heroes,Under Pressure, Life On Mars ,Changes ,Five Years ,Ziggy Stardust. Nice use of screens above and behind the stage. David presented Gail Ann Dorsey a cake as it was her bithday .DB looked great even in jeans and sneakers.A really excellent show. Nov 22 Linkin Park + Lost Prophets ,Wembley Arena, London . Support did a good rockin set .Linkin Park look like college kids but they just really do rock big time .Fantastic 80 mins set. Nov 24 Bob Dylan ,Hammersmith Apollo ,London. Sure hes a legend and when i saw him in the 1970s he was great but now BD just seems to mumble his way through a mainly unfamiliar set .Boring . Nov 25 David Bowie ,Wembley Arena , London. I had a fantastic seat 15 rows from the stage. A superb set that like Birmingham lasted 2 hours 10 mins . From start to finish just brilliant. Nov 26 David Bowie ,Wembley Arena ,London. Another fantastic show .He dropped a couple of numbers inc All The Young Dudes and added a couple inc Jean Genie compared to yesterdays gig. Nov 27 Four Tops + Temptations ,Royal Albert Hall, London . Enjoyable double bill of Motown legends. Nov 28 Jools Holland and his Orchestra , Royal Albert Hall , London . Pleasant enough boogie woogie but the highlight was 3 songs sung by Paul Rodgers inc My Brother Jake and a superb encore of Alright Now. Nov 29 Fleetwood Mac , Earls Court Arena ,London. Back again with the classic line up . A long set lasting 2 hours 25 mins .A mix of great , average and boring songs but i was surprised by what a great guitar player Lyndsay Buckingham is . Nov 30 Echo And The Bunnymen ,Shepherds Bush Empire ,London .25th Anniversary Show .Loads of great oldies in the set with " The Cutter " my fave of the night . Dec 01 Frank Black And The Catholics + Serafin, Shepherds Bush Empire ,London. Recently The Pixies have been name checked by the likes of David Bowie and Placebo so it seemed a good time to see their singer play live. A dirty noisy rock n roll band who were pretty good. Great versions of "Monkey Gone To Heaven" and "Where Is My Mind." Dec 02 Blur ,Brixton Academy ,London. Damon was glad to be back in London telling the crowd that they first played this venue as first band on the bill supporting The Cramps .Loads of great songs from their entire career.Really good. Dec 03 UB40 + Stranglers ,Wembley Arena,london. Stranglers did a good 45 mins set and ended with a superb "Grip", "Duchess "and "No More Heroes" UB40 did a nice soft reggae set and the old hits were great with a mega encore of the Rugby song " Swing Low " which is rereleased next week. Dec 05 Simple Minds ,Hammersmith Apollo ,London. The first half was a bit average but the second half was full of those big anthemic rockers. The set was a bit too long at 2 hours 10 mins. Dec 06 Simple Minds ,Hammersmith Apollo,London. Back again for more of the same .Why did they leave the stalls seats in for these shows ?? Dec 07 Nickleback ,Brixton Academy ,London. They were much better than expected .Sure most of the songs sound the same but they put on a real entertaining gig with a huge light show,fire columns, fireworks,explosions and giving loads of beer out to the crowd. Dec 08 Madness ,Wembley Arena ,London. Loads of great pop ska hits .The crowd as usual were totally up for having a real knees up. Dec 09 Sheryl Crow + Clarksville ,Shepherds Bush Empire,London .Started off badly with a piss taking 55 minutes gap between bands.Sheryl Crow is now aged 41 but looks fantastic and she plays guitar and piano .Nice to see Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood come on and play 3 songs with her. Some good tunes like "All I Wanna Do".Good show. She was running late as she came straight from a recording of The Graham Norton TV Show. Dec 10 Buzzcocks ,Electric Ballroom,London. This more like it .Non stop punk rock classics. They played over 25 songs in the 75 mins set. Fantastic. Dec 11 Doors Of The 21st Century ,Wembley Arena, London.With 2 original members and Ian Astbury from The Cult on vocals the crowd are well up for this one .A long set lasting 2 hours 35 mins meant have the set was really good and the other half a bit average but saved by great video projection behind the band . Ian Astbury even has a Jim Morrison haircut . Great encore where they finished the last song " Light My Fire " and turned the houselights on and said goodbye .Half the crowd were out of the building on the way home when the band came on for another song which caused a mini riot down front of stage. Dec 12 Iron Maiden + Funeral For A Friend ,Earls Court Arena ,London.Hotly tipped support FFAF were pretty average i thought.Iron Maiden really put on a fantastic rock event.Even though the show was in a venue more than twice the size of the Madrid show i saw 6 weeks ago it was still superb .Big stage production and all the band running and rockin all over the place.Excellent. Dec 13 Suede ,Astoria ,London . The atmosphere is electric as this could be Suede's last ever show. They play 2 sets the first is called the "funeral" session which is full of b sides and lesser known stuff and the second is called the "celebration " session which is a superb greatest hits set . On stage for over 2 hours they are a great live band and i will miss them. Dec 14 The Music + Fran Healy(Travis) + Cooper Temple Clause + McAlmont And Butler + Graham Coxon ,Astoria ,London. First 4 acts did 20 mins each and The Music did 45 mins.Graham Coxon did a great version of "Revolver ". McAlmont still has a sweet voice.CTC started well but faded a bit . Fran Healy played acoustic with a nice version of "Rain" . The Music were surprisingly good with loads of stomping dance rock tunes . Dec 15 Human League + John Foxx , Watford Colosseum .Great to see John Foxx out playing again and he still does " Underpass" . Human League were superb. They have brought back the all white staging from a few years ago. All those great synth pop tunes from the 1980s and the female blonde singer is a total babe and is sexier than any of those girls half her age in groups like Girls Aloud/Atomic Kitten etc. Dec 16 Stereophonics ,Earls Court Arena ,London. This show should have been a lot better .Credit due as this massive venue is sold out but the band sounded tired and jaded . A badly paced set that put most of the familiar songs at the start and lesser known ones at the end . Ronnie Wood from the Stones came on for 3 songs but even that could not muster some real excitement. Dec 17 Shed 7 ,Shepherds Bush Empire ,London. Their final London show before they split up on Sat with a hometown gig in York .The venue is sold out and there is a great atmosphere.They have a few really good songs but they feel the band has run its course. Next split?The Bluetones? Dec 19 Paul Young + Kim Wilde + ABC + Five Star + Howard Jones + Heaven 17 + Nick Heywood + Tpau + Curiousity Killed The Cat +China Crisis ,Wembley Arena ,London . An impressive press release stated that tonight would feature 10 acts from the 1980s with 44 Top 10 hits beteen them.For me ABC and Paul Young were the tops with all the others playing pleasant short sets with fast changeovers. The crowd is in a dancing mood for Christmas . Dec 20 Metallica ,Earls Court Arena ,London. Last night of their European Tour. They were on stage 2 hours 15 mins . The set was pretty much the same as Reading Festival with the fireworks, bangs and fire columns near the end . St Anger material still only gets a luke warm reception. Plenty of superb older material that really rocked.Great stuff. Dec 27 Salford Jets + Pork Dukes + Bleach Boys + Knox(Vibrators),The Verge,Kentish Town ,London. 4 acts that were all on the fringes of punk circa 1976 to 1979 .Pork Dukes stole the show with their sleazy rude lyrics and it was a good night. The live music scene goes to sleep now for most of the big acts as they fly off to warmer places before starting up again in mid Jan .I will be away in Orlando with my 2 boys Jan 2 to Jan 16. Despite record sales falling again the concert scene is still growing . 2003 was a fantastic year where i spent nearly 200 nights at music gigs and events . 2004 looks like it will be just as good .Thanks for checking out this site .

Posted 28th December 2003