News and Reviews: 24th May 2006

Alice Cooper has a great 27 track DVD out on 29 May called "Live In Montreux 2005" .This will tie in with his co headline show with Deep Purple at The Monsters Of Rock Festival at Donington Park on Sat 03 June .Tickets still on sale at £37.50 each .see you there............ 22 May 2006.Eric Clapton live at The Royal Albert Hall , London. This was number 4 of 7 sell out EC shows at this venue just over a year after those Cream reunion shows .The first hour of the two hour set was a bit too cosy and hardly exciting but there were some very good momemts. Eric still is a great guitar player and "I Shot The Sheriff" and " Let It Rain " were very good.Other goodies played tonight were "Running On Faith" , "Wonderful Tonight" , "Layla" and "Cocaine" and a great encore of " Crossroads".Eric said very little on stage as usual and even had two guitarists on stage with him.Its a bit like seeing a David Gilmour show with 75% of the show being good but hoping he plays those 5 or 6 songs you really like. So a typical EC show then really.......... 20 May 2006.Richard Ashcroft live at The Brixton Academy, London.This was the 2nd of his 3 sell out shows at this venue.I have ssen him 5 or 6 times before but this was easily the best with a really good 1 hour 50 mins set of Verve classics and great solo material with an up for it crowd and a very impressive light show. Highlights were "Sonnet","Music Is Power" ,"The Drugs Dont Work" (with the crowd outsinging him) ,"Science Of Silence" ,an epic version of " New York" and a superb "Lucky Man" .Encores inc "Song For The Lovers" ,"Break The Night With Colour" and a totally awesome " Bittersweet Symphony " sealed a very good evening........................ 19 May 2006.The Answer + Pig Iron + Steranko live at The Peel ,Kingston, Surrey.Its been a while since i last came here to this pub venue. Up first are Steranko and yes they are as good as when i saw them a couple of months ago. Their singer Lee is amazing . A mixture of natural energy and charisma that sees him slagging off the sound guy, throwing drinks at the crowd, swinging from the venues ceiling beams and jumping into the crowd and thats just the first song. They play The Borderline on July 19. Up next are Pig Iron(crap name)who as their own singer admitted could not follow coming on after Steranko . Things are looking good for The Answer who won best new band of 2005 in Classic Rock and they have got the support on Whitesnakes UK tour starting in a couple of weeks. Their singer has a stunning bluesy rock voice and the band are very much in the Black Crowes in sound .Songs like " Never Too Late " and "Into The Gutter" are superb and the band play great. Most of the songs tonight are on their debut album" Rise" which comes out on June 26 which will be a must buy purchase. The last encore was a stunning version of Aerosmiths " Sweet Emotion" .Its hard work trying to be a rock band in the UK these days but The Answer have lots of quality to make them a huge success.......... 16 May 2006.Texas + The Upper Room live at The Hammersmith Apollo, London.I must admit i am at this gig to see the support band The Upper Room. I caught them playing some songs on Channel 4 a couple of weeks ago and now i am hooked.A bit like Snow Patrol in places with totally catchy melodies and hooks that really get you humming along. Tracks like "All Over This Town " and current single "Black And White " are superb. They even throw in a cover of "I Will Follow" by U2. Their debut album comes out in a couple of weeks and i reckon they will be massive before the end of the year.A sold out show by Texas who have been together for 20 years now. Charlene hangs out at loads of London celeb parties when not touring but she still has an easy stage banter that the crowd love. They have quite a few hits in the 1 hour 45 mins set like "I Dont Want A Lover" ,"Black Eyed Boy" and great versions of " Halo" and " Inner Smile" .For the encore Charlene came on in a white naval uniform that got her army of "female couples" a bit hot as she played recent single "Sleep" .The show ended with "Summer Son" and "Say What You Want " as the cannons of confetti covered the stalls. A decent show overall................. After all the rumours Guns And Roses have confirmed they will play a Download Festival warm up show at The Hammersmith Apollo on June 7. Tickets are £37.50 on sale this Friday from 9am................ 15 May 2006. Terri Walker live at Kettners ,Soho, London. This was the launch party for her new album" I Am Terri Walker" on Dekkor Records. This a a great little venue and the free champers and canopes give it a nice party atmosphere. Terri does a short set of a few songs. She still looks fab and that amazing rich soul voice is still there .The last couple of years have had its up and downs for Terri so hopefully this material moves her up to the next level......... My old mate Gary Lammim from Cock Sparrer plays the G Lounge 18 Kentish Town Road on 23 May and The Twelve Bar Club, Denmark Street ,near Tott Court Road on May 27.............. 12 May 2006. Santana live at Wembley Arena , London. First of two Wembley Santana shows. The stage looks good with a big band and a screen showing stage action and old Santana clips.The highlights of the lengthy 2 hours 10 mins for me were "Jingo" ,"Maria Maria " and "Black Magic Woman" .Carlos played some great guitar and the sight and sound of the 3 man drums, bongos and percussion was superb. Sadly too many songs sounded the same and whoever was doing the vocals lacked charisma and a proper voice. Encore of " Smooth " was really good. Thankfully we were near the front so it was a good show but nothing mega.................. 11 May 2006. Anniversary Show of The Queen Musical "We Will Rock You " At The Dominion Theatre, London. This was the 4th time i have seen this musical and its still great fun with all those classic Queen songs. Pretty amazing it has been at this large theatre for 4 years. At the end for " Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You" Brian May came on to play guitar and Roger Taylor and Ben Elton came on stage too. See aftershow party page for this.............. 10 May 2006.Launch Party For The Book By Paul Gorman "The Look - Adventures In Rock And Pop Fashion" at Too2Much in Soho, London W1. Usually at book launches nothing much happens but the organisers put on a great bash.3 hours of free booze and a dj set by Boy George .In the crowd was Glen Matlock(Sex Pistols),Kevin Rowland (Dexys) and Led Zep legend Jimmy Page. Had a nice chat with him .Asked was it true he went to see The Australian Pink Floyd at their recent Royal Albert Hall show and he said "Yes because i love their versions of the Syd Barrett material) .The book is in the shops now ....... 09 May 2006.Bruce Springsteen And The Seeger Sessions Band live at St Lukes,Old Street ,London EC1. Sadly i was not at The Hammersmith Apollo show the night before but this secret gig for only 400 people more than made of up for it. 300 comp winners and 100 BBC guests in this ex church gave it a very intimate feel. Standing only 5 yards from the stage it was a bit surreal to see Bruce and his amazing 17 piece band here. Of course the crowd were up for it from the start.The set tonight lasted for 85 mins. The band focused on tracks from the new album . "O Mary Dont You Weep" ,"How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times","Mrs McGrath" ,"My Oklahoma Home" and totally amazing versions of "Jacobs Ladder" and " Pay Me My Money Down" with all the band apart from the drummer playing in line across the stage.The crowd are clapping along loudly and really getting into it. Its a joyous riot of celtic folk, bluegrass, cajun and much more and Bruce is really enjoying himself. Quite an amazing gig really .Another " i was there" evening that felt very special. The show is on Radio 2 9pm Sat 13 May and then on BBC 2 11.30pm Sat 20 May.................. 07 May 2006.Bruce Dickenson and Nicko McBrain Band + Glitterati live at The London Guitar Show, Wembley Conference Centre. A great day out in Wembley where in the morning i picked up yet some more Sex Pistols items at The Record Fair and then in the afternoon it was the guitar show next door with a couple of decent bands. Two members of Iron Maiden on stage could not be missed. They played a 30 mins set of mainly covers like "Voodoo Child", "Black Night" and "All The Young Dudes" .Nicko McBrain has brought his massive Maiden drumkit .Bruce is really getting into it. They finish off with a mega " Run To The Hills" . Great stuff and straight after the show Nicko signs stuff for everyone that wants autographs. Support Glitterati were hotly tipped 18 months ago.They look the part and there are some good songs like "You Got Nothing On Me" ,"Do You Love Yourself?" and " Back In Power" but their brand of uptempo rock sounds like a thousand other bands so ok but nothing special............. One of the best live concert DVDs to come out this year is Whitesnakes " Live In The Still Of The Night" . At the end of May they play a few shows in the UK including Hammersmith Apollo on 30 May where i have seen them play so many great gigs over the years..................... Paul Simon has a new album out called "Surprise" he will be playing a special show in London on 25 May for BBC Radio 2 and to win tickets check www.bbc.co.uk/radio2.................. Aussie rockers INXS play The Shepherds Bush Empire on 12 Oct 2006 which is the start of their European tour.Their new singer was chosen by the public via a ROCK IDOL tv show................... 04 May 2006.Kettners 2nd Floor Bar Launch, Romilly Street, London W.1.Great location near Old Compton Street for this classy venue. The new decor is fab and the cocktails and food are top quality .The place soon gets packed and its nice to see a few celebs like Bananarama and Emma Bunton and members of Bloc Party .A really great evening and i will be going back on a regular basis for sure.................... 02 May 2006."Chicago -The Musical" .I went along to this press and vip night to celebrate the productions move from The Strand to The Cambridge Theatre .I saw it last year and tonight was even better.Bonnie Langford is now in the lead role and she was amazing.Loads of great songs . See aftershow party page for this event....... Saturday 29 April was pretty amazing as i went to 5 events in the same day inc 3 Carling Live 24 gigs. 4 bands at 4 different venues feat Boy Kill Boy ,Ordinary Boys, Razorlight and The Alarm and finally a party with a surprise guest spread over 15 hours. First up its always great to see bands play live on a boat on The Thames so as part of the Carling Live 24 (9 gigs every 3 hours over 24 hours around London) Boy Kill Boy play an 8 song set as we pass The Houses Of Parliament .Carling are giving out the free booze to all .The band all have that "distressed indie hair" and play their great new single "Suzie".Although we depart from Tower Hill Pier we get dropped off at Cadogan Pier ,Chelsea for the next Carling Live 24 gig The Ordinary Boys at Hammersmith Palais.They play a 60 mins set of bouncy ska pop that i like more and more. Preston is still a cheeky chappie and there are some great songs in there like "Boys Will Be Boys" , "Life Will Be The Death Of Me " and "Talk Talk Talk". Next gig is a short walk to The Shepherds Bush Empire for Razorlight .They play a good 70 mins set featuring songs from the second album which they are now recording and those great hits like "Vice", "Golden Touch" and "Rip It Up" .The gig here finishes at 7.30pm so its a mad dash over to the Academy ,Islington to see The Alarm .Even though singer Mike Peters has just had treatment for another bout of cancer he gives a stunning 1 hour 50 mins set of pure passion. They played a few tracks from their new EMI album " Under Attack" .Some might think The Alarm are a bit naff but they have got loads of superb rousing tunes like "Absolute Reality" ,"Where Were You Hiding" ,"Rescue Me " and the anthem " 68 Guns" . Perfect encores of " 45 RPM" and " Spirit Of 76" finished a great set.Then into town for the invite only launch of The Gumball Rally with free booze for all and a few celebs at The Hilton Hotel , Trafalgar Square .Pretty amazing to see Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho here with his wife and a few of his mates from Portugal .Another one of Chelseas top men Peter Kenyon was also here .So picture the scene ,us on the dance floor with Jose and his wife as they celebrate winning the championship that very afternoon. Jose stayed for a couple of hours and left at 2.30am .An amazing day.

Posted 24th May 2006