Saturday 29 January 2022.

Saturday 29 January 2022. SAXON + URIAH HEEP + GIRLSCHOOL + DIAMOND HEAD live at Hammersmith Apollo. A nice quartet of British rock bands who i all first saw back in the 1970s / 1980s. Amazingly , i have seen all four bands headline Hammersmith Odeon during their heyday. Amazingly, i have also seen all four bands as support acts at Hammersmith Odeon as well. I have seen Saxon over 25 times , with the first time in1979. I have seen Uriah Heep over 15 times , with the first time in 1974. I have seen Girlschool several times , with the first time in 1979. I saw Girlschool support Motorhead, Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult at Hammersmith Odeon, and in 1982 i saw them headline Hammersmith Odeon. I saw Diamond Head headline Hammersmith Odeon in 1982 and 1983. This show is another that has been postponed two or three times since 2020. Needlessly to say that I am really looking forward to this great classic rock evening. ------------------- Tonight is sold out, as the older classic rock fans are out in force, with many wearing those 80s style denim jackets covered with the patches of their fave bands. The merch stands did a roaring trade,as these rock fans love buying the t-shirts. Only musician I spotted was DAVE COLWELL from Kenney Jones Gang/Bad Company etc. The three support bands are given a tiny space , in front of the Saxon stage curtain and production. DIAMOND HEAD arrived on stage at 6pm for their good 30 mins set. GIRLSCHOOL arrived on stage at 6.45pm for their good 30 mins set. Both the above bands were nice and loud, but overall sound quality could have been better. Diamond Head and Girlschool have their own fans , and when the stage times were confirmed a couple of days before, they were moaning at the short time they were allowed on social media , and that Saxon long set should be cut a bit. The bottom line is they have not got the quality of Saxon. URIAH HEEP arrived on stage at 7.35pm for their 50 mins set. Original guitarist Mick Box is still there on guitar. My first ever guitar plectrum that I got from an artist was from Mick Box when I saw them play Hammersmith Odeon in 1974. Uriah Heeps singer still referred the venue by its legendary "Hammersmith Odeon" name. A good set that included "Look at Yourself" and "Easy Livin' ". SAXON arrived on stage at 9pm for their 1 hour 55 mins set. Tonight Saxon ,showed why they are head and shoulders above the other three bands. They have many superb catchy rock songs with top notch melody and rocktastic guitar riffs. Old images of the band in their heyday and ticket stubs are projected on to the stage curtain. The curtain falls and there is a massive stage production , including a big screen showing digital images including their logo and album covers, and their huge eagle that is hovering over the band, which looks great as it is lowered and tilted later on in the set, with lots of lights too. Some staircases too, along with a raised walkway behind the drums...the stage looked fantastic. An excellent show. Full Saxon setlist played tonight.... Motorcycle Man Battering Ram Wheels of Steel They Played Rock and Roll Strong Arm of the Law Denim and Leather The Eagle Has Landed Thunderbolt Dogs of War / Solid Ball of Rock Never Surrender To Hell and Back Again Backs to the Wall Dallas 1 PM And the Bands Played On Power and the Glory Heavy Metal Thunder Encore: Crusader 747 (Strangers in the Night) Princess of the Night Saxon are playing a full UK tour at the end of the year and it will include a London show at The Roundhouse on Saturday 26 November. ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Friday 28 January 2022. ARIES + OLIVER MALCOLM live at The Forum. Stage name Aries, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and YouTuber. He is best known for his songs that gained popularity off YouTube and Spotify with multi-millions of views and plays. I wouldn't even make a note of this gig at any other time of the year , but as its a very quiet January due to several covid postponements, i will be going along to check it out. ------------------- Who the fuck is Aries you may ask? Me too, but tonight is a near sell-out as he has plenty of fans. Most of the crowd seem to be under the age of 30. OLIVER MALCOLM arrived on stage at 8.15pm for his 20 mins set. A white rapper with some nice shouty lyrics. He was chunky in build, so his manic stage dancing left him out of breathe. ARIES arrived on stage at 9.15pm and played for 65 mins. During the interval the crowd are shouting "Aries, Aries, Aries" loudly. On an Instagram post he asked fans to throw flowers on stage and many duly obliged. A great stage production as we have a large screen showing his videos and digital images, along with lots of lights and dry ice plumes. The crowd are singing along to every song, and plenty of dancing stage front. Aries certainly knows how to work the crowd. A great cover of Linkin Parkin "In The End". For one song Aries got his manager to come on stage for some dodgy dad dancing. The show was enjoyable, and i was pleasantly surprised overall. ------------------- After the sad death MEAF LOAF last week, his albums are selling crazy on the back of it. Number 3 in the charts - Bat Out Of Hell Number 5 in the charts - Hits Out Of Hell

Posted 29th January 2022