News and Reviews: 3rd December 2006
Looks like Muse will be the first band to play a
show at the new Wembley Stadium on 16 June 2007
................................................
02 Dec 2006.Buzzcocks live at The Kentish Town Forum,London. Punk legends on another UK tour
to celebrate their 30 year career.Tonight they
played 2 sets of 50 mins and 60 mins which is the
longest show i have ever seen by any punk band.
First set had some songs from latest album
"Flat-Pack Philosophy" and other rarely played
tracks from all their albums but it was a bit
average. The second set was full of the classics
and got the crowd jumping with gems like "Love You More","What Do I Get?","Times Up","Autonomy",
"Promises","Boredom","Ever Fallen In Love With Someone","Harmony In My Head" and my fave tune
by them "Orgasm Addict".Very brave of them to play a long set but they cant really do no wrong
in my eyes.Very good.See aftershow page.........
01 Dec 2006.Human League live at Shepherds Bush
Empire,London.Back again for their annual tour
The Human League were one of the best 1980s acts
with their perfect synth pop dance sound.The
stage set is all white which they have been using
the last 5 years and the setlist is mainly the
greatest hits set they have played for the last
5 years.There are loads of catchy tunes played
like "Love Action","Louise","Mirror Man","Open
Your Heart","The Lebanon","Human","Sound Of The
Crowd","Fascination","Tell Me When" and of course
the perfect "Dont You Want Me".Great encore of
disco anthem "Electric Dreams".Very good 90 mins set that always goes down well.Phil Oakey still
doing the vocals and both the girl singers are
still looking fab.A good one...................
November was a great month as i went to 23 live
music events including 3 major awards shows
(Classic Rock ,UK Hall Of Fame and World Music)..........................................
30 Nov 2006.Christina Aquilera + Nizlopi live at
Wembley Arena, London. Nizlopi are the worst
band i have seen for ages .They play their novelty hit "The JCB Song" but its all awful.
A far too long wait of 60 mins between acts tonight but i must say Christina put on a great
95 mins set.A massive stage production that had
5 huge screens across the back of the venue,a
dozen members in the band and 8 dancers not to
mention Christinas saucy outfits which came to
around 10 quick costume changes.Lots of dance
routines and stuff going on visually.Christinas
voice when she tried for the high notes was more
of a scream and even when she was talking to the
crowd you could not understand her that well.
Some decent songs too like "Aint No Other Man",
"What A Girl Wants","Welcome","Dirrty" and for
"Nasty Naughty Boy" she pulled a young lad out
of the crowd to tie him up and tease him.Also
good was "Lady Marmalade" and encores of the
ballad "Beautiful" and the uptempo "Brighter".A very good entertaining and very visual show.
...............................................
28 Nov 2006.The Killers live at Brixton Academy,
London.They may only play clubs back home in USA
but the UK loves The Killers.This was the last of
3 Brixton shows that sold out in 1 day (they also
play Wembley Arena Feb 24 and 25 next year).Both
their albums "Hot Fuss " and " Sams Town" have
sold loads over here and this crowd are to ready
to dance and bounce.A roadie lays bunches of
flowers at the front of stage and then the
curtain falls and the band get stuck in. Gems
like "When You Were Young" and "Somebody Told Me"
are played fairly early on then the 75 mins set
slowed down a bit before rocking versions of
"Smile Like You Mean It" and "Mr Brightside" .
Great encores of "For Reasons Unknown" and "All
These Things That Ive Done" .Their brand of synth
rock was much better than expected and live they
were very good................................
27 Nov 2006. Tool live at Wembley Arena,London.
Well i do not actually own any Tool albums and
all i have seen of them are a couple of videos
that have been shown on tv but a few friends have
said they were really good.Anyway i was looking
forward to the show but sadly it was a letdown.
Tool are on stage for 1 hour 50 mins to promote
latest album " 10,000 Days" but their heavy
industrial metal rock is just pretty boring.
They are all great musicians and the way the
singer spends the entire set at the back of the
stage next to the drummer so everyone can focus
on the music is good but even when they brought
out the lasers an hour into the set i still did
not enjoy it.Too much muso twaddle ............
Sunday 26 Nov is the 30th anniversary of one of
the greatest records of all time The Sex Pistols
"Anarchy In The UK" .I bought it on its first day
of release in 1976............................
25 Nov 2006.George Michael live at Earls Court Arena ,London.
His first UK and European tour for some 15 years.This was first of a staggering 9 shows
in London(4 here and 5 at Wembley Arena).
The stage set is excellent with a huge screen from floor to ceiling behind George.I had a
superb view 7 rows from front in Block A stalls
seats with some 18,000 punters behind me.George
on stage for 2 hours 10 mins over 2 sets. "Fast
Love " and "Father Figure " were both good. He
has none of Mick Jaggers energy as his set is
a fast one,slow one ,fast one,slow one etc ."Everything She Wants" and "Star People "
were good."Shoot The Dog " was great for the
giant George Bush inflatable with a British
Bulldog attached to its privates. "Faith " and
"Jesus To A Child" and a mega "Im Your Man" were all really good as was " Outside". Great encores
of "Careless Whisper" and "Freedom" finished a
good show.Michael Jackson should take note.This
is how you do a proper comeback..................
24 Nov 2006.Primal Scream live at Hammersmith
Apollo,London.This was the first of three London
shows on this tour(also Brixton on Dec 1 and 2)
which means the band are as popular as ever.Bobby
G has a smart suit on as the band kick into their
Rolling Stones based rock n roll. The first half
of the 90 mins mins is good with the two female
backing singers giving it a nice full sound.The
band step up a gear for gems like "Jailbird",
"Swastika Eyes" and rockin' versions of "Country
Girl" and "Rocks" .Great encores of "Loaded "
and "Moving On Up" sealed a good show............
The UKs top punk festival Rebellion (was Wasted)
will happen in Blackpool 9 to 12 Aug 2007.Over
100 acts will be there.Tickets are only 60 quid
up to Nov 30 and then 70 quid after.Book them on
02476 601678 .See you there....................
22 Nov 2006.Red Hot Chili Peppers live at the
Camden Roundhouse,London.This was an invite only
free gig for 2000 people for XFM Radio made up mainly from RHCP fan club members and XFM comp winners.Got a great view five rows from front.
RHCP play a very tight set of 90 mins.They
really have got a cool funky rock sound that
tonight sounds perfect.Opening with "Cant Stop"
and playing others like "Scar Tissue" and also
the current single "Snow(hey oh)" and finishing
with "Californication" and "Give It Away".
There were 3 or 4 songs where they extended into
funk rock jamming which was cool but that meant
a couple of big songs like "Under The Bridge" were not played.RHCP are always great live .
See aftershow page for this show................
21 Nov 2006.Muse live at Wembley Arena,London.
Muse really have been flying high over the last
2 or 3 years and tonight was the first night of
3 sold out shows at this venue.As promised the
stage production is very impressive with loads of
lights and neat video screen animation.The drummer appears from within a giant
bulb ridden spaceship capsule which was all very
Spinal Tap.Matt Bellamy really gets stuck into
his guitar playing and often slides across the
stage on his knees although his Thom Yorke
singing style gets on my nerves a bit. The band
have a really powerful big sound that sends the
crowd wild .They play all the best tracks from
their mega albums "Absolution" and "Black Holes
And Revelations" in the 95 mins set.For the
encores giant balloons are dished out. A very good show ......................................
20 Nov 2006.Slayer + In Flames live at Brixton
Academy,London.This was a 5 band thrash metal
package but we missed the first 3 bands.In Flames
headlined Hammersmith Apollo a year ago. They had
some great riffs but the vocal style was not to
my liking.Finished off well with "Take This Life"
and "My Sweet Shadow". I am not a big thrash
metal fan but some bands deserve a bit of respect
and thats what Slayer are due after 20 years of playing this type of music..I have seen them
half a dozen times since 1987 but tonight is
easily the best.A great lightshow with superfast
guitar riffs and reunited with their amazing
drummer Dave Lombardo means they go down a storm.
The sweaty moshpit here is mental all night.
The vocals are still not to my taste but tunes
like "Mandatory Suicide","Raining Blood" and "Angel Of Death" are highlights of the 70 mins set.Better than expected.................
18 Nov 2006.Thunder live at Oxford New Theatre.
This famous old venue used to be called The
Apollo and it reminds me of Shepherds Bush Empire
with stalls seating.Not that anyone stayed in their seats for Thunders sellout show here.
From the very start its good time rock and roll
as "Backstreet Symphony " goes down a storm.
Lots of tracks have a lovely blues rock feel.
Danny on vocals is great at getting the crowd
involved and Lukes guitar playing is on top form.
They play some great tracks from their new album
"Robert Johnsons Tombstone" inc "Dirty Room",
"A Million Faces" and new single out on Dec 4
"The Devil Made Me Do It".The Stones influenced
"I Love You More Than Rock And Roll" from a couple of years ago is a real corker.
The 1 hour 45 mins set is finished off with a
stunning "Dirty Love".Thunder still rock.
Thunder play The Forum in London on Wed 22 Nov.
tickets are 22.50 from 0870 400 0688 . more
info on the band check www.thunderonline.com
See aftershow page for this gig..................
17 Nov 2006.W.A.S.P. live at The Astoria ,London.
Nice to see a near full house for these 1980s
rockers.The singers microphone is amazing.Its
a giant pogo stick but with chopper bars and skull and cross bones and steps where he can
climb on it and sway from from side to side.
The band themselves all look like its still 1988.
Always a band with too many average rock songs
to anything more than second division they do have a few decent tunes like "L.O.V.E. Machine","Wild Child" and "I Wanna Be Someboby"
and the 75 mins set is finished off with "Blind
In Texas".Ok gig but nothing special...........
16 Nov 2006.Glen Matlock live at The White Horse,
High Wycombe,Bucks. A 30 mile drive up the A40
to see this Sex Pistols legend in a nice cosy
pub.Glen does a really good 60 mins set starting
with "Burning Sounds" and others like "Yeah Right","Sad Meal For One" and the crowd really
sing loudly along to "God Save The Queen" ,
"Steppin' Stone","Pretty Vacant " and the superb
encores of "All Or Nothing " and "Anarchy In The UK".Very good.................................
15 Nov 2006.World Music Awards At Earls Court Arena,London.Well this year its moved from its
usual home in Monaco but i still knew it would
be a third rate event.A big crowd of maybe 10,000 are here mainly for Michael Jacksons
first stage appearence in the UK for 10 years.
It starts very impressive with Beyonce and
the stage production is truly awesome.(She also plays another great track later on).From
there it goes a bit dodgy as it becomes more of
a Fashion Rocks event for the MTV crowd with models and fashion designers giving out awards
like Paris Hilton,Lindsay Lohan,Elle McPherson,
Jade Jagger,Peaches Geldof,
Rachel Hunter and even Katie Smith (Jordan) and
Peter Andre.Those that played a song inc Enya,
Faithless,Rhianna,Nelly Furtado,Katie Melua
and acts from Russia,Italy and the Middle East.
Thankfully during the breaks we are in the 500
strong VIP section to the right of the stage
knocking back the free cocktails and canopes
a couple of tables away from Paris Hilton.
At the end was the main event.Michael Jackson
accepts an award for "Thriller" the biggest
selling album ever with a mega 104 million sales.
(i thought it was more nearer 60 million???).
He gives a decent speech and then the "Thriller"
music starts up but its american singer Chris
Brown who sings .After 50 children come on stage
dressed in t shirts and a backing tape of "We Are The World" starts up.Michael Jackson
comes on and mumbles 3 or 4 lines as the
children do all the singing.He throws his jacket
out to the crowd and shakes a few hands but its a total letdown.All he had to do was give one
song 100% and that would have done the job but instead he blew it and even
a lot of his own fans jeered and booed him.
See aftershow page for this event............
14 Nov 2006.UK Music Hall Of Fame Awards At
Alexandra Palace, North London.Massive event
to induct 8 major names this year.6.30pm champers
and canopes then 8pm awards start.Bon Jovi and
Sir George Martin are in VIP block Row A and we
are directly behind in VIP block Row 4 with a
superb view of it all .Soul legend James Brown
gets an award and plays one song then Led Zep
get an award which is picked up by Jimmy Page and
Wolfmother play "Communication Breakdown" then
Rod Stewart gets an award which is picked up by
James Morrison who sings a Rod song.David Gilmour presents Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson
with an award and Brian plays "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" .All the acts sounded mega.
Bon Jovi pick up an award and easily have the
most fans here.They play 3 songs "You Give Love
A Bad Name","Wanted Dead Or Alive " and "Its My Life".Dusty Springfield wins one and Patti
Labelle sings one and Joss Stone sings one.Joss
looks amazing as she walks into the crowd.Beyonce
hands Prince his award but sadly he does not play.Sir George Martin picks up the final award
and a 30 piece orchestra ,20 piece gospel choir
and Johnny Borrell,Roger Taylor,Corrine Bailey
Rae and Jose Gonzales play a 3 song medley of
lesser known Beatles tracks.A great night.
See aftershow page for this event...............
13 Nov 2006.Flaming Lips + Midlake live at
Hammersmith Apollo,London.Midlake are hotly
tipped for big things but their take on 1970s
soft rock is a bit dreary for me even though
songs like "Roscoe" are pretty good.What an
amazing visual treat Flaming Lips are live.
From the start singer Wayne Coyne bounces over
the heads of the crowd in a giant balloon as 100
other giant balloons are pushed into the crowd
and there are over 20 people on stage in fancy
dress costumes,there are disco glitter balls,
confetti cannons,lasers,a giant screen ,streamers
and more and its just like a New Years Eve Party.
There is so much fun and joy here tonight as they
play their psychedelic indie pop .Plenty of
superb songs in the 1 hour 45 mins set like
"Yoshemi The Pink Robots","The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song","She Dont Use Jelly","Do You Realize?"
and a mad encore of "Bohemian Rhapsody".You really have to see this band live .A great show.
.................................................
12 Nov 2006.Brian Wilson live at The Adelphi
Theatre,London.One off UK show that sold out in
less than an hour.Tonight they play the classic
"Pet Sounds" album for the last time in the UK.
I saw a few of those amazing Brian Wilson shows
at The Royal Festival Hall so its nice to see
him in this rarely used for gigs theatre that
currently has a production of Evita running.
Brian and his excellent band take the stage at
7.30pm prompt for 2 sets lasting 2 hours 10 mins.
First set started quietly . "Do It Again","In My Room","I Get Around" then a mega "California Girls","Marcella" and "Good Vibrations".Second set had all of "Pet Sounds" with gems like "
Wouldnt It Be Nice","Sloop John B" and "God Only
Knows".The encores were stunning "Help Me
Rhonda","Barbara Ann","Surfin Usa ","Fun Fun Fun"
and the beautiful "Love And Mercy" .A great show
but not as good as Royal Festival Hall shows.
See aftershow page for this gig...............
11 Nov 2006.Bruce Springsteen And The Seeger Sessions Band live at Wembley Arena,London.
Back again in the UK after the shows a few months ago.Bruce and his amazing 16 piece band
(his wife stayed at home for this tour) somehow turn the venue into a bar room gig atmosphere for 2 hours 25 mins.They played all
the album and most of the tracks were stretched
out a bit with fiddles,steel guitar and brass
all over the place.Great tunes like "Oh Mary Dont You Weep","My Oklahoma Home". Only a couple
of solo tracks tonight inc "Devils And Dust" then
rousing versions of "Mrs McGrath","Jacobs Ladder"
and "Pay Me My Mother Down" .Bruce mentioned
he was at Fridays Lucinda Williams gig at Shepherds Bush Empire so it seems pretty
certain he will be at Nils Lofgrens gig at the
same venue on Monday.While it was not as good as a gig by Bruce And The E Street Band it was
still very good and Bruce was on top form .
.................................................
10 Nov 2006.Paul Simon live at Wembley Arena,
London.Not the best place for this American
legend to play.There is no video screens and no
big stage production but its clear that the focus
is on a top quality band with two drummers. For
over 2 hours they played a nice mix of old and
new Paul Simon with a few Simon And Garfunkel.
Best were "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover","Me And
Julio Down By The Schoolyard" ,"Loves Me Like A
Rock","Graceland","Cecelia","Diamonds On The
Soles Of Her Shoes".They played a few off the new album "Surprise" inc "Father And Daughter" Encores got the crowd up and on
their feet for "You Can Call Me Al","Still Crazy
After All These Years","Mrs Robinson","Bridge
Over Troubled Water,"Late In The Evening","Boxer"
and "Homeward Bound".Not a very visual show but
Pauls voice is still great and the songs are pure
class and the band were stunning all night.
See aftershow page for this show................
Status Quo have a great DVD out this week called
"Just Doin' It Live In Birmingham 2006" .They
start their UK Winter tour next week which includes a London show at Wembley Arena on Dec 16
...............................................
08 Nov 2006.Cliff Richard live at Wembley Arena,
London.This was show number four of five at this
venue for the Peter Pan of pop who has been making music for nearly 50 years since his first
hit way back in 1958.I have seen him a few times
before but it still feels a bit odd mixed in with
all the grannies and his loyal female fans.
Two sets and on stage for 2 hours 30 mins meant
there was lots of old ,new and borrowed songs.
He looks great for his age and tells plenty of
good stories like recording in Abbey Roads Studio 2 in the 1960s in the Beatles era.A nice
big stage production with 8 dancers.Best songs in
the first set were "Hey Mr Dream Maker","Miss You
Nights" ,"Devil Woman","The Young Ones" and
"We Dont Talk Anymore". Needless to say there
were a lot of pretty average tracks and the less
said about his new album of duets the better.
"Wired For Sound" was really good.For the encore
i had been informed that Queen guitarist Brian
May and The Shadows drummer Brian Bennett would
turn up and true enough they joined him on stage and played his first hit,the now guitar laden
"Move It" twice as its to be used as a video for
use in 2007.Cliff Richard may not be that
cool but hes a living legend and it was a decent
night out in the end..........................
07 Nov 2006.Inxs live at Shepherds Bush Empire,
London.This was the last of their 3 sell out shows at this venue.Where as last weeks radio
show crowd was a bit laid back the atmosphere
tonight is much more rocking from the start as
the band tear into "Suicide Blonde" ,"Mystify Me"
and "Disappear".It still amazes me how confident
new singer JD Fortune is as he struts and prowls
the stage.The tracks from the new album "Switch"
are real growers with "Never Let You Go " and
new single "Pretty Vegas" both going down superb
tonight.The whole venue is on its feet for
"Need You Tonight" and "What You Need" .
The band still have that great funk rock sound
with lashings of guitar and cool sax playing.
The 90 mins set is finished off in great style
with "New Sensation","Never Tear Us Apart" and
"Dont Change".An excellent show .See aftershow
page for this gig....
Inxs return for a full UK tour in June 2007 which
includes a London show at Hammersmith Apollo on
Thursday 21 June .Buy tickets on 0870 735 5000
with further info on www.inxs.com.............
06 Nov 2006.Classic Rock Music Awards at The
Langham Hotel ,London.7pm to midnight .Not the
biggest of the many music
awards shows but loads of my fave classic rock
heroes are here.Around 250 seated (3 course meal
and booze) and 20 standing(booze only).Those here
to give or take an award included Alice Cooper,
Brian May and Roger Taylor(Queen),Saxon,Thunder,
David Coverdale(Whitesnake),Jaz Coleman(Killing
Joke),Bruce Dickenson and Adrian Smith(Iron Maiden),Ronnie James Dio, Frankie Miller ,Scott
Gorham(Thin Lizzy )and Philomena Lynott(Phils
lovely mum),Jeff Beck,Chris Squire(Yes),Tim Rice,
Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs(Mott The Hoople),
Sensational Alex Harvey Band ,Glenn Hughes
and new bands The Answer and Roadster.Also here
were all the main promoters and booking agents
etc like Harvey Goldsmith,Rod MacSween,Neil Warnock,Rod Smallwood,Ross Halfin,Geoff Barton,Steve Guest and comedian Justin Lee Collins.Most of them at the end were very
friendly and chatty ,best were Ian Hunter ,
Jeff Beck ,all the boys from Sensational Alex
Harvey Band,The Answer ,Harvey Goldsmith.Only
David Coverdale was really flexing his ego here.
Excellent evening.See aftershow page for this.
Alice Cooper won the main award "Living Legend"
.................................................
Thursday was yet another day i went to 2 gigs.
02 Nov 2006.7pm.Inxs live at Cafe De Paris,
London.Invite only gig for 400 comp winners and
media for Capitol Gold Radio .Everyone seemed
pretty horrified when Inxs announced a couple of
years ago they would hold a reality show to find
a new lead singer.The winner was JD Fortune.
However it seems the public chose the right one.
Inxs played a 75 mins set of decent tracks from
their new album "Switch" but it was the oldies everybody wanted.The new singer had a healthy
amount of nervous energy as he jumped up on
the stage monitors and climbed into the balcony.
"Disappear","Taste It","Need You Tonight","What
You Need" ,"Devil Inside","New Sensation " and
"Never Tear Us Apart" all went down very well.
The new boy did a good job...................
02 Nov 2006.9.30pm.Glen Matlock live at The
Boogaloo,Highgate,London.Sex Pistol legend plays
another 60 mins acoustic set to a packed house.
Loads of great songs from Rich Kids ,Sex Pistols
and solo material like "Burning Sounds","Piece
Of The Action","God Save The Queen","Sad Meal
For One","Whose Side Are You On?" and "Pretty
Vacant" .A great gig and some good singing
from the crowd.Propped up at the bar all night
was Pogues legend Shane McGowan who was in
great form and invited the whole pub to come
to his Brixton shows in December..............
01 Nov 2006.The Answer live at The Mean Fiddler,
London.This is the 4th time i have seen this
great blues rock act.This was the last date of
a month UK tour and the place is packed.Their
sound is firmly in the Robert Plant/Humble Pie/
Black Crowes area and they just rock. A 65
mins set focusing on tracks from their debut
album "Rise" like "Never Too Late " and "Under
The Sky".They will get bigger for sure..........
Out this week is a must buy box set of Clash
singles all with original artwork .............
31 Oct 2006.7pm to 9pm Faithless launch party
for new album "To All New Arrivals" at The
Big Chill House ,Kings Cross,London.Along with
The Prodigy this lot are the best live dance band out there.The band are all here to introduce it and they have insisted SONY put
4000 quid behind the bar for free booze and pizza
"as its always nice to have a drink to music".
The album sounds great and comes out on Nov 27.
....Then a mad dash up the road to watch Lordi
live at The Kentish Town Forum,London.They are
the Finnish rockers who won Eurovision earlier in
the year.They arrive on stage in their over the
top costumes with a great gothic castle and giant
bats stage production.For 75 mins they are just
total fun.The lyrics are basic but its a non stop
fireworks,explosions,fire cannons and confetti
party that rivals KISS and the venue is packed
out on this Halloween evening.Most of their
songs are from their album "The Arockalypz"
and they encore with their Euro hit "Hard Rock
Hallelujah".I had a smile on my face the entire
evening........................................
Well this time last year i went to The Q Awards
in the afternoon and a Deep Purple secret gig at
The Hard Rock Cafe in the evening so read on for two music events this year on the same day
.................................................
30 Oct 2006.Noon to 5pm The Q Awards live at The
Grosvenor House Hotel ,Park Lane , London.This
was the 20th anniversay of the music mag and as
usual a massive amount of musicians were here to
present or accept awards.U2,Oasis(not Liam),
The Who, Razorlight,Kooks,Girls Aloud,Take That,
Kasabian,Manic Street Preachers,Smokey Robinson,
Faithless,Gnarls Barkley,Aha,Paul Weller,Arctic
Monkeys,Muse,Peter Gabriel,John Cale,Sugababes,
Jamelia,Boy George,Amy Winehouse,Jeff Lynne,
Orson,Primal Scream,Ross Halfin,Moby,Tim Burton,
Corinne Bailey Rae,Jay Kay,Russell Brand,Michael
Eavis.Those who got a standing ovation were
Smokey Robinson,U2,Oasis and The Who.The event
was hosted like last year by Jonathan Ross who was very funny indeed.Some 500 guests
were seated for a 3 course meal and drinks and
50 standing guests had a cold buffet and drinks.
A quality event for sure then off to the
official aftershow party at Paper in Regent
Street from 5.30pm to 7pm for more cocktails and
canopes.Jay Kay was the only face here as bands
like Razorlight had their own parties at The
Met Bar with other acts on their label.........
7.30pm to midnight.Harvey Goldsmith Tribute
Dinner at The Grosvenor House Hotel ,Park Lane,
London.A massive event to celebrate the career
of the UKs top music promoter. Needless to say
i have been to loads of concerts that Harvey
Goldsmith has promoted from all those 1970s
shows like Bruce Springsteen at Ham Odeon to
Live Aid and Live 8 which he also promoted.
3 course dinner and drinks for over 1000 guests
who included Roger Daltrey,Phil Manzernera,
Mike Rutherford,Chris Rea,Feargal Sharkey,Chris
Tarrant,Paul Gambachini,Mica Paris,Bernie
Ecclestone and loads of music biz people.Loads
of nice video tributes from the likes of Bob
Geldof and Bruce Springsteen .Harvey himself
gave a 30 mins speech on the highlights of his
career then Status Quo played four songs inc
"Rockin All Over The World" and "Whatever You Want".A great night for a real rock n roll legend
who has done so much for promoting quality live music events for the last 40 years and who still finds time to do loads of charity work for
The Teenage Cancer Trust and Nordoff Robbins.
.................................................
28 Oct 2006.Damned + Sham 69 + Angelic Upstarts +
Anti Nowhere League live at Shepherds Bush Empire,London.A great line up of punk bands all on the same bill.Up first we watch Anti Nowhere
League .As usual they are a bit third rate but
"So What" and "Streets Of London" are good.Next
its Angelic Upstarts whose singer Mensi is still
in prison so its a bit of a con really however
"Teenage Warning","Last Night Another Soldier"
"Who Killed Liddle Towers" and "I'm An Upstart"
are sung well by the replacement singer. Its not
a good idea to put a band like Sham 69 on as a
support band because tonight they were better
than the Damned.Too many catchy pop punk gems
here that got the crowd dancing and singing like
"Angels With Dirty Faces","Ulster Boy","Borstal
Breakout","If The Kids Are United","Hersham Boys"
and "Hurry Up Harry" although their version of
"White Riot" tonight was crap.The Damned played
a mix of old and new in their set like "New Rose","Love Song ","Rabid Over You ","Jet Boy
Jet Girl" and "Ignite " but they suffered a bit
from dodgy sound and a very tired crowd.Encore
of "Smash It Up " was superb but overall their
show at Blackpool Punk Festival in August was
a lot better.Sham 69 won tonight...............
27 Oct 2006.New Order + Maximo Park live at
Wembley Arena ,London.Support act Maximo Park sold out Brixton Academy a month ago.They played
a nice set of jerky indie pop with a singer that
really gets into it. "Apply Some Pressure" was
excellent. New Order played for 1 hour 50 mins
and were superb.An amazing start as they played
a bunch of Joy Division classics "Shes Lost
Control","Shadowplay","Transmission","Love Will
Tear Us Apart" and "Atmosphere".Then it was loads
of New Order singles like "Ceremony","Temptation"
and "Blue Monday " which really got the crowd
dancing.Peter Hook was great on bass.Bernard on
vocals danced like my dad in places though.
Encore included a super"True Faith". A pounding
dance beat made for a great gig...............
26 Oct 2006.The Good The Bad And The Queen live
at The Roundhouse, London.So here i am back at
this venue where i saw so many great shows in the
1970s(type in roundhouse in my venue search).
This was the second of five shows for the series
BBC Electric Proms. With a band feat Damon Albarn
(Blur)and Paul Simonon (The Clash)they have sold
all 2000 tickets without anyone ever hearing
anything they have done .Pretty amazing. This was their first ever proper gig after a couple
of low key secret gigs in the run up to this.Its
great to see Paul playing bass again after some 20 years away and he still sounds fab.The band
play for 60 mins and its all new material with
nothing from previous bands.They stopped a couple
of songs midway and the whole thing was a bit too loose and hardly exciting.It kind of felt
more a rehearsal than a proper gig with some
gentle ska and dub thrown in.All in all a bit
of a letdown but maybe it will be better when
they have a full series of dates next year.
See aftershow page for this gig..............
25 Oct 2006.All Saints + DJ Don Letts live at
Shepherds Bush Pavillion,London.This was an
invite only event for 400 comp winners and media
for mobile phone company 3FrontRoom.All night
free booze and food went down a treat .All Saints
played a 6 song set lasting 25 mins.Again they
admitted they were a bit nervous but settled down after a couple of songs.They all look great.
Most tracks were from comeback album "Studio 1"
but also played mega hit "Pure Shores" .Liam from
Oasis was there to support his Mrs.It will be
fun watching All Saints battle it out with Girls
Aloud and Sugababes in the future.A decent night.
..............................................
23 Oct 2006.New York Dolls + All Saints + Tim
Finn + Howling Bells live at Koko,London for TV
Recording of Channel 4s "The Album Chart Show".
All four bands played three songs each.First on
were All Saints .This was their first gig after
splitting a few years ago.They looked a little nervous but its good to see them back.Next up
were up and coming indie stars Howling Bells who
had a neat mix of female vocals and stunning
guitar playing. Ex Crowded House Tim Finn was
totally boring.We were only here for one act
really anyway.The New York Dolls again looked
and sounded fab as they played "Gimme Luv And
Turn On The Light","Dancing On The Lip Of A
Volcano" and new single "Dance Like A Monkey"
Only 3 songs but totally worth it................
22 Oct 2006.New York Dolls + Towers Of London +
Glen Matlock And The Philistines live at the
Kentish Town Forum,London.I was really looking
forward to this evening .Things started great as
i got to venue at 5pm to pick up my Access All
Areas pass and saw all three bands do their soundchecks.All of them did 3 or 4 numbers.
The gig proper started with Glen Matlock And The
Philstines who played 8 Philistines tracks that
rocked.Glens voice sounded great and the twin
guitars rocked.They finished with "Piece Of The
Action" and " White Knuckle Ride" (i helped
set the bands equipment up before the set
and moved it off the stage at the end which was
how i got my AAA pass).Next up The Towers Of London who were lively on stage and look the
part but their songs need to be stronger.The
New York Dolls were simply stunning.For 90 mins
they were the coolest band in the world.David
Johansen on vocals was superb.They played 8 songs
off their brilliant new album "One Day It Will
Please Us To Remember Even This " which is a must
buy album if you have not got it.The setlist was
"Looking For A Kiss ","Puss n Boots","We're All In Love","Piece Of My Heart","Private World ", "Fishnets And Cigarettes","Punishing World","Plenty Of Music","Pills","Dancing On The
Lip Of A Volcano","You Cant Put Your Arms Around
A Memory","Gimme Luv","Dance Like A Monkey",
"Trash","Jet Boy" and mega encores of "Personality Crisis" and " Gotta Get Away From
Tommy".It was a fantastic show .See aftershow
page for this gig..............................
Posted 3rd December 2006
