News and Reviews: 31st July 2007
The site was down for 3 days at the end of July as i forgot to pay my annual website hosting fee.
Sorry about that.Normal service is back..........
30 July 2007.Scorpions + Michael Schenker Group (MSG) live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.A neat
double bill of German rock legends.MSG only played for 30 mins but they sounded good musically with oldies like "Lights Out","Too Hot
To Handle","Armed And Ready" and "Doctor Doctor"
still great.The singer was a bit average and Michael Schenker was in his usual zombie state
not saying a word to the crowd but the flying V
riffs were still there.Scorpions back on their
London stomping ground of the 1970s and 1980s
where i saw them loads of times.They always
seem to sound pretty good.Their set at a staggering 2 hours 30 mins is a bit too long.
They supported Judas Priest last year and played
a solid 60 mins of mainly hits that rocked.
"Bad Boys Running Wild" is played early but a section in the middle where they play a few
tracks from new album "Humanity:Hour 1" and
then Uli Jon Roth joins them for a few songs is
all pretty average.The last hour is great with
"Tease Me Please Me","Blackout","Big City Nights"
and encores of "Still Loving You","Wind Of Change" and "Rock You Like A Hurricane" all really good.Overall a great night................
28 July 2007.Scissor Sisters + DJ live at O2
Arena,Docklands,London.First of all a rare mention for a DJ set but it was because he played
perfect tunes to warm this crowd up.Scissor Sisters are now so popular that this was the
last night of 3 sell out 20,000 crowds here.
The stage production is great with a huge SS
logo as its base with loads of lights and lasers.
Its a pure glam disco pop party atmosphere and the crowd are up for it.Jake Shears the singer
is more camp than ever with some very dodgy
stage outfits.The 1 hour 40 mins set had loads
of big songs in it to get everyone dancing like
"Tits On The Radio","Laura","Music Is The Victim"
"Take Your Mama",and P. Floyd cover "Confortably Numb", "Filthy/Gorgeous" and encores of "Mary"
and "I Dont Feel Like Dancing".A really good
fun and entertaining show........................
26 July 2007.New Young Pony Club live at Rough
Trade East,Nr Brick Lane,London E.1.This was the
invite only launch party to celebrate the opening
of this new branch of this legendary record store.In 1976 i used to buy some of my punk records there in the shop off Portobello Road.
Anyway the free booze is flowing for this cool
crowd.New Young Pony Club play a 30 mins set
but have no stage lighting at all and it does
not feel like a proper gig.Have seen them better.
The space is great so you can have a coffee on
the sofa as you listen to the music etc.Bit of
a risky time to open a record shop but their
knowledge of the indie scene is second to none
and all the vinyl here is heartwarming.I really
hope its a success for them.Also here was Graham
Coxon,Don Letts,Nicky Tesco(The Members) and
a few others....................................
25 July 2007.Barbra Streisand live at The O2 Arena,London.This was her last of 3 shows in London and the last show on her European Tour.
Although i had been a week ago a female friend
wanted to go and i managed to blag a couple of
guest list tickets as it was not as sold out as
the first night show i went to.Our seats are in the second block back on the floor(£500 each face
value)but we see a bunch of spare seats in block
A(£600 area) so we end up wathing it 9 rows from the stage with a totally amazing close up view.
Near us is actress Meryl Streep,actor Ralph
Fiennes,Michael Ball,Paul O'Grady and others.
Its pretty much the same 2 hour show over 2 sets.
Barbra is relaxed and chatting to the crowd.The
four man vocal group that come on for a few songs
still get on my nerves.Highlight again were
a stunning version of "You Dont Bring Me Flowers"
and it was again good to be here but it will not
be as good as Prince at this venue next week.....
24 July 2007.The Hives live at The 100 Club, London.One off UK secret club show that sold out
in under an hour.The perfect venue for The Hives
uptempo garage rock n roll.They have been playing
festivals all over Europe this summer but tonight
its for just 300 punters.The singer is on top
form as usual with his over the top on stage banter.The band are all in black and white blazers and must be roasting as even though the air con is on its really hot and sweaty in here.
The 65 mins set was a mix of old and new tracks
from next album.Tracks included "No Pun Intended","Try It Again","Die All Right" and things really started rocking for brilliant
versions of "Two Timing Touch And Broken Bones",
"Hate To Say I Told You So","Walk Idiot Walk" and
encore of "Main Offender".Always a great live band............................................
21/22 July 2007.The Lovebox Weekender , Victoria Park, Hackney, East London.Sat was Sly And The Family Stone + Blondie + The Jive Aces and Sunday was Groove Armada + B52s + Hot Chip +
Last Man Standing.This was the 5th Lovebox Fest
and the 3rd at this venue.I had never been before
as its a bit too dance based for me but rare
London shows by Sly And The Family Stone and
B52s got me along this time.A big crowd of some 25,000 trendy dance folks .Its a lovely vibe
with loads of interesting stalls,tents and stuff
going on like line dancing,beach volleyball,table
tennis etc.I caught The Jive Aces on one of
these small stages.They are the UKS number 1 jive
and swing band playing over 200 gigs a year and are a great energetic fun band to watch.Check
out www.jiveaces.com......i had managed to blag Access All Areas passes for today so i ended up
watching Blondie and Sly on the side of stage.
Blondie play a 60 mins greatest hits set.The
sound could be better but its hits a go go like
"Call Me","Hanging On The Telephone","Atomic"
and many more......next up its Sly And The Family
Stones first UK show for 20 years but what a
fiasco this was.I was told in advance of short
sets but this was a joke.The band came on and
played great versions of "Dance To The Music" and
"Everyday People" but Sly was nowhere to be seen.
He shuffled on after 30 mins ,sung 3 songs and
left the stage after 15 mins and that was it.
Loads of boos and it was one of worst headline
shows i have ever seen......On the Sunday we saw
Last Man Standing in the afternoon.Their dirty
blues country rock was a great way to start the
day.The singer doing a fine job of getting
this hip crowd to dance to the band......next we
saw Hot Chip who are highly rated by the press.
NME end of year critics poll made their single
"Over And Over" number 1 and their album number
4 .I found their style a bit too laid back and
boring......Really looking forward to B52s first
UK show for over 10 years and they were superb.
Fred is on vocals and both the girls are here
looking like older versions of Baby Spice and
Ginger Spice.Its just great party tunes.A couple
of new tracks but loads of hits in 75 mins set like "Mesopotamia",stunning versions of "Roam" and "Love Shack" .Encores of "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster" were both fab.Excellent stuff.
......next up were Groove Armada who i thought
would not compare to B52s but they were great.
Remember its their festival and to have 25,000
people dancing in a field(including me)to their
uptempo dance was great fun.Great percussion
player and big bouncy tunes.New single "Song 4
Mutya" was really good and the last 2 tunes were
GA anthems "I See You Baby(Skakin That Ass) and
"Superstylin" were pukka.A really good GA show.
.................................................
18 July 2007.Barbra Streisand live at The O2 Arena,Docklands,London.Its official as Barbra S
has the most expensive concert tickets ever in
the UK with cheapest at 100 quid going up to 600
quid (YES 600 QUID)down in Block A on the floor.
She last appeared here in 1994 and i suppose she
is protecting her " premium A list artist who is
the female Sinatra " but it all stinks of greed.
Anyway there are cheaper ways of getting a ticket.Unlike other venues in London where you can sell tickets outside the venue at O2 Arena
there are police,security and trading standards officers here stopping touts AND the general
public from selling tickets anywhere between the
tube and the O2 concourse.This means its a real
nightmare to sell spare tickets so i picked up
a 250 quid ticket in Level 1 superb seat for only
10 quid.Yes only 10 quid.Barbra got a standing ovation before she sang a note.She looks fantastic at age 65 and with over 45 years in the
biz.With a huge orchestra she played two
sets that lasted 2 hours in total.But she spent a lot of time talking between songs which like the lyrics was all scripted on autocues on the
stage and hanging from the ceiling.Fun chat
about her career but i presume the idea was she sings??.She only sung 8 or 9 songs in each set.
A sickly 4 man singing group took the stage to sing 3 or 4 songs during costume changes.Barbras
voice is still great."Starting Here Starting Now","The Way We Were","Funny Girl","Children
Will Listen" a superb "You Dont Bring Me Flowers" also "Unusual Way" and "Somewhere" and then encores of "Dont Rain On My Parade",
"Smile" and "All Of My Life".Of course i am not
a fan of her music but it was good to be here.
In the crowd i saw Andrew Lloyd Webber,Anthea
Turner and Andy Gray(SKY TV football reporter).
Barbra comes back to The O2 Arena on July 22 and
25.Get down there and you can pick a ticket up
for 20 quid max outside i reckon................
16 July 2007.The Ruts feat Henry Rollins + Tom
Robinson with TV Smith + The Damned + Misty n Roots + UK Subs + Splodge with Wurzel and John Otway live at The Islington Academy,London.
A special benefit night for Ruts guitarist Paul
Fox who is suffering from throat cancer.A rammed
solid sold out crowd of 500 or 600 punk fans here
to celebrate a special event.All the support bands played 5 or 6 songs in 20 mins sets and The
Ruts played 35 mins.Splodge started the evening
off in a very sad way by telling the crowd that
last night Kelly from 1980s all girl rock band Girlschool had died of cancer.Splodge was joined
by ex Motorhead guitarist Wurzel and John Otway and finished with their hit "Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps"......then UK Subs get the
crowd jumping for "Stranglehold","C.I.D" and
"Warhead" and a couple of others......Misty n Roots used to play with The Ruts and other punk bands back in the late 1970s so it was nice to
have some punky reggae in da house......The
Damned were superb for their 5 songs "Love Song",
"Eloise","Neat Neat Neat","New Rose" and "Smash It Up"......Tom Robinson and TV Smith brought the
mood down a bit but "Up Against The Wall" was good......then it was main event time The Ruts
back together and on vocals they have american
punk legend Henry Rollins .He is just pretty
amazing as he sings the songs with passion as if
he had wrote them himself.Songs played included
"Something That I Said","SUS","Jah Wars" and manic versions of "Babylons Burning" and "In A Rut" where members of all the support bands joined in.It was a totally great night...........
13/14/15 July 2007.Guilfest Weekend At Guildford,
Surrey .Friday = (Supergrass + Ordinary Boys + Rodrigo Y Gabriela + The Hold Steady + Thirteen Senses)Saturday=(Squeeze + Morcheeba + Captain +
Crazy P)Sun=(Madness + Toots And The Maytals + Dub Pistols + The Icicle Works + Night Of Treason). Here we are again at the cosiest and
friendliest festival in the UK.We even have perfect weather with just an hour of rain on the
Sunday.Friday opens with Thirteen Senses who do a decent set including a great version of "Into
The Fire"......Next its The Hold Steady who are
really good although the vocals could have been
louder and clearer......next its Rodrigo Y Gabriela whose Mexican guitar playing has
really taken off mainly because he gets the crowd
involved.He played a neat cover of "Stairway To
Heaven" but most of it bored me......next it was
The Ordinary Boys who were best band today for me.Despite his split from Chantelle Preston looked and sounded great and the band played loads of catchy indie pop with a mod slant like
"Talk Talk Talk","Life Will Be The Death Of Me",
"Nine2Five" and "Boys Will Be Boys"......then its
headliners Supergrass who have been away from the last 3 months recording a new album and spoil their set by playing too many new songs from it.They played some old gems like " Caught
By The Fuzz","Sun Hits The Sky","Grace" and "Moving"......On to the Saturday where i sadly missed an early showing for Jimmy Cliff......new Manchester band Crazy P were really good with some bouncy pop tunes and a female singer really working the crowd well.
Reminded me of Swing Out Sister......Captain were
all great musicians and very tight as a band.Some
good tunes inc "Frontline" and "Glorious"......
Morcheeba are back with a new female singer.They
play their laid back breezy tunes like
"The Sea","Part Of The Process" and "Rome Wasnt
Built In A Day".They are joined on new song "Enjoy The Ride" by Judie Tzuke......Squeeze
are another band who have reformed and this was
only their second gig.They have so many hits you
can sing along to with those great lyrics "Take Me Im Yours","Tempted","Labelled With Love",
"Pulling Mussels From The Shore","Up The Junction" and "Cool For Cats".Encores were "Is That Love" and mass singalong for "Black Coffee In Bed".A very good 85 mins set.All the bands seem to have all their kids watching them from
side of stage......Sunday sees me wandering a
lot around the many stages here.I spend an hour
in the comedy tent where Junior Simpson does a great set.I also come across the UNISON tent
where i come across a great band from the Gosport/Portsmouth area called Night Of Treason.
They play a brilliant punk covers set mainly
of Clash anthems but also a few others.The packed tent loved them and the stewards had a
problem trying to control the pogoing crowd.
"Complete Control","Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone","White Man In Hammersmith Palais","Tommy Gun","GLC" and many more.In many ways better and more fun than most of the bands on bigger stages.
Check out myspace.com/nightoftreason......The
Icicle Works spoiled their set by playing too many cover versions and leaving out too many of
their own songs but they did play "Birds Fly" and "Evangeline"......Dub Pistols played a set
of heavy bass rumblings and were joined by
Terry Hall from The Specials......nice to see
the legend that is Toots And The Maytals play a nice early evening set......massive crowd here for Madness who are always great live.Lots of
catchy hits and great lyrics "House Of Fun",
"Baggy Trousers","Our House","It Must Be Love"
and many more.Encores were "Madness" and "Night Boat To Cairo" where they were joined by Neville
Staples from The Specials and all of their kids.
So another Guilfest over and again just a great
way to spend a summer weekend...................
11 July 2007. Blondie live at Hammersmith Apollo,
London.Another band that i see live every year.
That they can still sell out this venue is very
impressive.Perhaps that is why there is a musical
featuring Blondie tracks opening in the West End
in October.From the start there is so many great pop songs like "Call Me","Dreaming","Union City Blues","Hanging On The Telephone","Atomic",
"Sunday Girl","Maria","The Tide Is High",
"Picture This","Rip Her To Shreds","Rapture" and
"One Way Or Another".Clem Burkes drumming is just
superb but he could have been a bit louder.
Debbie is looking great but plimsoles dont suit
her.She should stick to heels.Encores were all
good "Denis" followed by a cover of Beatles
"Please,Please Me" and then "Heart Of Glass".
Blondie are always great to watch in concert.
See aftershow party page for this gig............
10 July 2007.Justin Timberlake + Timbaland live at 02 Arena,Docklands,London.My first visit to
this new venue(it was The Dome).It holds about 20,000 and looks fantastic and there are lots of
bars and eating places here.Its very american in
style.Coming by tube is a must as they want 20 quid to park your car here.This was Justins last
of 5 nights in London and the 80th show on this
world tour.Its in the round with four extended
walkways in each corner.As expected its a largely
female crowd who scream at every chance they get.
JT still moves well on stage but the vocals are
muffled and the overall sound is not that good.
He is on stage for two hours over two sets and
Timbaland had a 20 mins set in the middle which
bemused many.He played "Senorita" and "Like I
Love You" but there were too many lifeless songs
for a big venue like this.Second half was a bit
better with "Rock Your Baby","Cry Me A River"
and "SexyBack" but really it should have been a
lot better.......................................
09 July 2007. Courtney Love live at The Bush Hall,Shepherds Bush,London.This was one of four
secret gigs(also Paris ,New York and Los Angeles)
to promote Courtneys upcoming album "Nobodys Daughter".Its also her 43rd birthday and her
loyal fans have brought flowers,cards,balloons
and chocs along for her.She looks fantastic.
Lovely cosy venue that has chandeliers and only
holds about 250 people at the very most.
The 80 mins set was a mix of new album tracks and
some past gems including "Malibu","Stand Up Motherfucker","How Dirty Girls Get Clean" and
stunning versions of "Doll Parts" and "Celebrity Skin".Courtney fluffed a few songs by forgetting
the lyrics or chords or both but just laughed it
off.Fact is she still has more rock and roll in
her little finger than most female musicians
can ever dream of...............................
08 July 2007.Genesis live at Twickenham Stadium.
Back together again for the first time in over 10
years for a massive stadium tour of Europe ,USA
and others.Hardly surprising its a 50,000 sellout
as Genesis and Phil Collins solo were 2 of the biggest acts of the 1980s.The stage production is awesome.A giant steel construction with loads of lights and 3d graphics. The sound is superb.
We have great seats 15 rows from the stage.Seated
near us are Roger Taylor(Queen),Will Carling,
Angus Deayton,Phil Manzernera and Eddie Jordan.
Genesis play for 2 hours 30 mins.Loads of great songs like "Turn It On Again","No Son Of Mine",
"Land Of Confusion","Follow You Follow Me" then
mega versions of "I Know What I Like"(In Your
Wardrobe) and "Mama"."Throwing It All Away " was
followed by a great double drum solo by Phil
Collins and Chester Thompson.Then it was "Tonight
Tonight Tonight " followed by a brilliant
"Invisible Touch" and a huge fireworks display.
Encores were fab versions of "I Cant Dance" and
"Carpet Crawlers".Much better gig than i was really expecting from these "dad rock" old chaps............................................
07 July 2007.LIVE EARTH Concert at Wembley Stadium.The biggest live music event of the year with some 20 acts and some big names.2 billion
saw it on tv.Most acts did 3 to 5 songs and a
couple just did 1 or 2.In order it was Genesis,
Razorlight,Snow Patrol,Damien Rice,David Gray,Kasabian,Paulo Nutini,Black Eyed Peas,
John Legend,Duran Duran,Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Bloc Party,Corinne Bailey Rae,Terra Naomi,Keane,
Metallica,Spinal Tap,James Blunt,Beastie Boys,
Pussycat Dolls,Foo Fighters,Madonna.A fantastic atmosphere and some decent weather.A couple like
Genesis and Duran Duran had sound problems and
Foo Fighters and Madonna benefitted from playing
at the end when it was darker.First 6 hours i was standing near the front then went to media
seats on right of stage.My top 6 acts were
1.Madonna.2.Foo Fighters.3.Metallica.4.Red Hot
Chili Peppers.5.Kasabian.6.Spinal Tap.Mega day.
See aftershow news for this show.................
06 July 2007.Seal live at The Tower Of London
Festival.Like the summer shows at Hampton Court
this is a stunning location to watch live music.
Set within the grounds of this historic Tower and the Beefeaters are still on parade.It seems
like years since Seal played a live UK show.He has sold over 15m albums.A 95 mins set of
uptempo songs and acoustic songs that went down
well with his loyal fans who have come from all
over the country to be here.Second song was a killer version of er "Killer".Other goodies
played inc "Waiting For You","Loves Divine" and
the superb "Crazy".The ladeeez are still swooning
a bit down the front when he reaches over to touch hands.Encores inc a mega "Kiss From A Rose"
(he won a grammy for it) then "Future Love Paradise" and "Get It Together".Seal seemed
really emotional to be back in London(he lived in
a squat here in the early 1980s)and it was great
to see him play live again.A very good show.
The festival runs until 14 July.For more info
check www.towermusicfestival.co.uk..............
03 July 2007.Travis live at The ICA ,London.
The whole of July at The ICA is devoted to free
gigs hosted by www.itunesfestival.com with loads
of big names.Its invite only for 350 comp winners and press each night.Its a great intimate
venue to watch a big band in.Travis headlined V Festival and Reading a few years ago and are still very popular.They are a bit too nice for their own good as all 3 members at the front
proudly display wedding rings and talk onstage
about fatherhood.They have loads of catchy hits up their sleeves in the 65 mins set like "Side"
and "Driftwood".They play old song "Good Feeling"
before last single "Closer" and hit "Sing" and
"All I Want To Do Is Rock" with the guitar player
on top of the amps cranking up the feedback.
Another hit "Turn" is great and the encores are
stunning as "Flowers In The Garden" is sung acoustic without any microphones and "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" has Fran asking and getting
the crowd to all mass pogo.A very good show.
Travis are still alive and kicking...............
02 July 2007.The Hold Steady + The Steers live at Shepherds Bush Empire,London.Up first are The
Steers who do a decent set of indie rock.The Hold
Steady are Americas hottest bar band.The critics
here love them and a month ago they rocked on The Jools Holland TV show.Its a near sellout
tonight so the word is spreading.They are on tour
to promote their new album "Boys And Girls In
America" which i think is their 3rd long player.
The singer may look like a computer geek but he
has bundles of energy and passion.Its uptempo
rock in the early Bruce Springsteen/John Fogerty
vein along with a hint of 1980s new wave.They play for 90 mins and its a really good set.In a
world dominated by jangly indie guitars and r n b this type of music rarely hits the big time
but this band really are breaking through.The
crowd love it and the band clearly love playing.
Fresh from Glastonbury there are playing loads of
summer festivals.You must check them out.........
Monday 02 July 2007 is the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest singles of all time "Pretty Vacant" by The Sex Pistols.......................
Two of my fave festivals have still got tix left.
Guilfest in Guildford on 13/14/15 July has got
Supergrass,Ordinary Boys,Hold Steady,Saw Doctors,
Squeeze,Morcheeba,Jimmy Cliff,Captain,Madness,
Magic Numbers,Toots And The Maytals,Uriah Heep
and many more.Info and to buy tickets on
www.guilfest.co.uk and 0871 4240050..............
Rebellion Punk Festival in Blackpool 10/11/12 Aug
has got Damned,TV Smith,Slade,Chas And Dave,Cockney Rejects,Ari Up,999,Eddie And The Hot Rods,Adicts,Penetration,UK Subs,Ruts and many
more .Info and to buy tickets please check out
www.rebellionfestivals.com....................... Posted 31st July 2007
