News and Reviews: 31st May 2008
31 May 2008.Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band live at The Emirates Stadium (home of Arsenal F.C),London.Back again to see Bruce as you know there will be six or seven different songs in the setlist compared to last night.I am
right of stage pitch standing but not in gold
circle area.A promoter friend told me a couple
of hundred camped out straight after last nights show to get front of stage tonight.Amazing its
again not raining.He comes on at 8pm and finishes at the same time so tonights set was
15 mins shorter than last night.Songs are moved
around in the set as well.What you do notice is the pure quality of the songs on his recent album "Magic".Songs like "Radio Nowhere" are
just brilliant.Tracks played tonight and not last night inc "Downbound Train" and "Im On Fire".The fans down the front are so close to him that they can touch him and shake his hand in the many up close moments.The band are just
superb again.Versions of "Because The Night",
"The Rising" and "Badlands" again are all great.
The encores inc "Girls In Their Summer Clothes",
a long and stunning version of "Jungleland" with
that great sax solo replaced "Dancing In The Dark" and "Rosalita" which were left out tonight.
Needless to say "Born To Run " was perfection and
"10th Avenue Frezze Out" was good.A great show.
Check www.brucespringsteen.net/setlists for a
full breakdown of what he played.................
30 May 2008.Bruce Springsteen And The E Street
Band live at The Emirates Stadium,London.Never
seen any footie at this lovely new complex and
its the first ever concert here.Some 40 to 45,000
people are here and it did not rain.Amazing.
Bruce and his stella band took to the stage at 7.45pm and played a lengthy 2 hours 50 mins set.A great mix of very good tracks off the recent album "Magic" and loads of Springsteen classics.Bruce has plenty of energy and knows just what to say and do on stage.I have a good seat left of stage but i still feel a long way back.Setlist inc "Radio Nowhere","Lonesome Day","Magic", a brilliant version of "Because The Night" then at 9pm at halfway dusk fell and the full lightshow kicked in.Also superb were "The Rising" and "Badlands".Great encores inc "Thunder Road", needless to say "Born To Run" is fantastic then "Glory Days","Rosalita" and "Dancing In The Dark".A great show as always from The Boss but not as mega as that indoor show at 02 Arena in Dec 2007 when i was in gold circle just 10 yards from the stage..............
29 May 2008.6.30pm to 8pm i was at the posh
San Lorenzo restaurant in Knightsbridge for the
launch of a book by Pauline Hyde titled "Midas Man".The champers and canopes are flowing.There are a few faces here inc Simon Callow and Donald Sinden......then up the road to see Mark Knopfler
again at The Royal Albert Hall.The same 2 hours 10 mins set.Pretty impressive he can still play
six nights at this venue but of course those of
us of a certain age will remember how huge Dire Straits were and its still great to hear those
songs again.The crowd rushed to the stage for
the encores just like the other night i went.
Joe Brown again came on for two songs............
Another quality female artist has come to my attention.Nicole Atkins is already well known
in her native USA.Her album "Neptune City"is out 09 June which features her fragile vocal style
with sweeping strings and atmospheric guitars.
The catchy single "Maybe Tonight" is out now
on Columbia.She is one of support acts for
Morrissey at The Wireless Festival on 04 July.
Check www.myspace.com/nicoleatkins...............
28 May 2008.Dio live at The Astoria,London.A
great atmosphere here as 2000 loyal Dio fans
are really up for it.He may be small in size but
he is big in voice.Dio and his band play a brilliant 90 mins set.He is such a great rock
vocalist and the guitar riffs are perfect.Loads of great songs inc "Holy Diver","Dont Talk To Strangers" a drum solo after only the fourth
song, also "Rainbow in The Dark","Rock And Roll
Children","Stand Up And Shout","Man On The Silver
Mountain","Long Live Rock And Roll","The Last In Line" and encore "We Rock".Just a great show as
always from Dio.Tennis star Pat Cash was floating
around after the show............................
27 May 2008.Liza Minnelli live at The Coliseum,
London WC2.Back again to see this legend for the
second time at the last of her three shows here.
I have a superb seat four rows from the stage.
Its the same show but considering she was in a
wheelchair a few years ago her energy and pure
love of performing on stage is just incredible.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is in the front row and
Liza introduces him during the show.Also here was
comedian Frank Skinner.The showstoppers again
were "Cabaret" at the end of the first set and
"New York New York" near the end of the second set.An excellent show...........................
26 May 2008.Mark Knopfler live at The Royal Albert Hall,London.Second of six shows here at this venue from the Dire Straits singer.On tour to promote last years solo album "Kill To Get Crimson". The first 30 mins is a bit too laidback and average for me and plods along .
Mark Knopfler is one rocker not too bothered how he looks.Balding,greying and dressing like an
unemployed school teacher he lets the music do
the talking and he can still play a nifty bit of
guitar.Of course its the Dire Straits gems we all
want to here and the 2 hours 10 mins setlist inc
"Sailing To Philadelphia","Romeo And Juliet","Sultans Of Swing" then 1960s chirpy chappie legend singer Joe Brown comes on
for a couple of songs dedicated to Lonnie Donegan.Then the lightshow finally kicks in for
"Telegraph Road" and the great encores of "Brothers In Arms","Our Shangri-La","So Far Away" and "Going Home - Theme From Local Here".So a good show overall.....................
25 May 2008.Liza Minnelli live at The Coliseum, St Martins Lane,London WC2.This was the first of
three shows at this beautiful old theatre by
this Hollywood legend of song and dance.Backed by
a 12 piece orchestra this 62 year old put on a
great show for her adoring fans.Half of the crowd
were gay men.On stage for around 1 hour 50 mins
over two sets Liza was full of great stories and
ad libs on friends,family,ex husbands,weight loss,drink and drugs.Best songs of first half
were "My Own Best Friend","Maybe This Time" and
a superb "Cabaret".Liza got a standing ovation after nearly every song.The second half featured
a tribute to family friend and vocal coach
Kay Thompson who died 10 years ago.Liza got stuck into all the dance routines with gusto even though each one left her out of breath.
Encores of "New York New York" and "Always"
sealed a really good slice of old school razzle
dazzle...........................................
24 May 2008. Chris Rock + Mario Joyner live at The 02 Arena,London.Second of two shows which were the biggest comedy shows ever in the UK with crowds each night of around 16,000.Support did a good 20 mins set before Chris Rock.Pretty
amazing its just him and two big video screens.
I have a great view in front quarter of the venue
but still end up looking at the screens half the
time.Most of the material was used in the Hammersmith Apollo show i saw earlier in the year.The set length was 1 hour 45 mins which was
15 mins longer too.He covered politics,women,
men,relationships etc and was very funny.
He comes back to the UK in September.............
23 May 2008.Paul Weller live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.Last of his three shows at this venue and last night of yet another PW UK tour.
There is a party atmosphere as on 25 May its
Paul Wellers 50th birthday.Over the next week
his new single comes out and his new album
"22 Dreams" comes out.Did you know Paul Weller
loves vinyl so much that he makes sure his
record contract always includes the fact that all his releases are available on vinyl.The 2 hours 5 mins set saw Weller on top form and
the first 30 mins he was just totally buzzing.
Great versions of "From The Floorboards Up" and
"Peacock Suit" were full of real passion.He sung a few off the new album inc the new single then
brilliant versions of "Butterfly Collector" and
"Wild Wood" then Gem from Oasis came on for a
song then the main set finished with superb
versions of "Come On Lets Go" and "Eton Rifles"
that his loyal fans loved.At the start of the encore all the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to him
and a load of balloons appeared stagefront.Then
Roger Daltrey came on to sing "Magic Bus" and
play some great mouth organ.Then it was "Broken
Stones" and "The Changingman" before Noel Gallagher came on for "All You Need Is Love".
Needless to say this was a very special night.
See aftershow page for this gig.................
22 May 2008.A busy day with noon to 5pm The 53rd
Ivor Norvello Songwriting Awards At The Grosvenor House Hotel,Park Lane,London then 8pm Robert Plant And Alison Krauss live at Wembley Arena.......at The Ivors we had a three course meal and drinks before the 15 awards were given out.A big crowd here of around 1200 for the UKs
top event for songwriters and a nice bunch of big names here.Hosted by Paul Gambachini.Robert Plant presented Phil Collins.Others here inc
Robin Gibb,Kate Nash,Brett Anderson,Elbow,
Jazzie B got an award,Gary Barlow and Howard from Take That got an award for Most Played Track for "Shine",Beverley Knight presented an award to Amy Winehouse.Her dad picked it up but Amy did make it to the awards some 10 mins later,Gabrielle got an award,Mark Ronson presented to Squeeze members Chris Difford and
Glen Tilbrook,Gary Kemp,Cherry Ghost got an award,Tom Robinson,Mika picked up Songwriter Of
The Year,Diane Warren picked up International Songwriter and the last award was presented by
Robert Wyatt to David Gilmour.A great bash......
home quickly then over to Wembley Arena for Robert Plant And Alison Krauss.A clever move to announce UK arena dates for this tour straight after The Led Zeppelin reunion gig publicity has resulted in a near sell out tonight.Still
promoting the album "Raising Sand" which most critics love.They played for some 2 hours 10 mins.Alison Krauss is a multi grammy winner who can sing well and play the fiddle.She looks great too and the band are great too as they include T Bone Burnett on guitar.There are half a dozen rugs on stage and as expected its a bluegrass/blues laidback sound that is more
interesting than actually exciting to watch.
The two video screens come in very handy.
Alison sung a few songs on her own in the show.
They play three or four Led Zep tunes in a
reworked way inc a great "Black Dog" early on.
The Townes Van Zandt tune "Nothing" was the
highlight of the set for me.Encore inc "When
The Levee Breaks".Robert Plant has to be admired for the way he sticks to playing what he wants and ignoring all the shouts for a Led Zep reunion.A good gig...............................
20 May 2008.Launch party premiere for Genesis live dvd "When In Rome 2007" at The Kensington Odeon,London.About 700 or 800 people here.A nice
mix of fans and music biz folks.All three members are here Phil Collins,Mike Rutherford,
Tony Banks,also their manager Tony Smith and their booking agent John(Madonna,Rolling Stones,U2, Sex Pistols,David Bowie etc)Giddings,also comedians Al Murray and Simon Pegg and host Philip Glenister from 1980s tv prog Ashes To Ashes.For the two hour screening i am sitting directly in the row behind the band. The documentary shows the ups and downs of getting a multi million stage production off the ground.The live show in Rome was watched by
half a million people as it was a free gig.
I saw the Twickenham show and it was superb.
The size of the Genesis stage is just huge.
Afterwards there is a 30 mins Q n A with the
band.One of the questions was why a free gig in
Rome and not England?? Tony Banks said the
Italians dont like paying for live music.
The 3 disc dvd box set is out on Mon 26 May
and contains over 5 hours of documentary and
live footage.Its well worth a purchase.
See aftershow page for this event................
19 May 2008.Roger Waters live at The 02 Arena, London.Back again to see this superb show.It starts 30 mins later than yesterday due to late
arrivals and the later running tube service.
We again have great seats to right of stage and
a couple of rows in front of us are Mike Rutherford (Genesis) and Chris Squire (Yes).
Its the same show(see yesterdays setlist).The band are just totally brilliant together.The drumming solo intro to "Time" was amazing.The sound quality was just perfect.This was a big music spectacle.So many highlights again and from start to finish this was a real quality live show........................................
18 May 2008.Roger Waters live at The 02 Arena,London.Pink Floyd legend plays the first of two shows at this venue.Its pretty much the
same setlist and massive stage production as
last years Earls Court shows.On stage for 2 hours 30 mins over two sets.Setlist inc "In The
Flesh","Mother" and stunning versions of "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" and "Shine
On You Crazy Diamond".The band are just great
and the three female backing singers superb.Three
giant screens inc one the length of the stage.
The amazing quad sound sent tingles down your spine.Lots of flames,fireworks,explosions and
a flying spaceman and a flying pig."Wish You
Were Here" and "Perfect Sense" also went down a treat.Second half featured DSOTM inc "Breathe",
"Time","Money" and sublime versions of "Us And Them" and "The Great Gig In The Sky". We also
had the album cover hanging from the ceiling.
Encores of "Another Brick In The Wall","Vera"
(complete with more explosions) and of course
"Comfortably Numb" sealed an excellent show.
See aftershow page for this gig..................
17 May 2008.Girls Aloud live at The 02 Arena, London.This show is being beamed live to Vue cinemas across the UK and its packed with a mixed crowd out to have a good time.Their
story is amazing really.Six years ago they came
together after a reality show and now its another
UK arena tour.A big production with five big
screens,fireworks,dancers and a walkway into
the middle of the arena.Also about half a dozen costume changes inc a couple of very raunchy
outfits.The 95 mins set had plenty of hits inc
"Sound Of The Underground","Love
Machine","Biology" and a great version of their
Pretenders hit cover "I'll Stand By You".Also
some covers near the near the end "Push It",
"Walk This Way" and "Jump(For My Love)".They
also played "Call The Shots" and encore of
"Something Kinda Ooooh" with the crowd showered
in silver confetti.A good fun visual pop show.
DVD of tonight will be out for Christmas.......
16 May 2008.Rick Astley + Bananarama + Paul Young + ABC + Curiosity Killed The Cat + Johnny Hates Jazz + Cutting Crew live at Wembley Arena,London.This Here And Now tour is a great idea where seven acts from the 1980s play sets
lasting 10 mins(2 songs) to 40 mins(8 songs)
so you get some 30 hits on the night.There is a
house band for everyone so quick changeovers of
just one minute.Cutting Crew played two inc their mega hit "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight".Then Johnny Hates Jazz played three hits
inc "Shattered Dreams" then CKT Cat played five
songs inc "Name And Number " and " Down To Earth"
then the two highlights of the night for me ABC
and Paul Young.ABC were brilliant with five great
hits "Poison Arrow","Tears Are Not Enough","All Of My Heart","When Smokey Sings" and "The Look Of Love" then after the interval Paul Young
also plays.He looks and sounds great.His five hits inc "Come Back And Stay" and "Every Time You Go Away".Then Bananarama play eight hits
inc "Cruel Summer","Robert De Niros Waiting"
and "Venus".Not sure how Rick Astley was top of
the bill.Maybe because its 15 years since he last
toured.Loads of ropey soppy hits before his big
one "Never Gonna Give You Up".So a mixed bag of
good and average acts but a fun night where the
crowd where all up and dancing from the start.
See aftershow page for this gig..................
14 May 2008.The Charlatans live at Zavvi,Oxford Street,London.This was a free record store gig for about 400 people to promote their new album
"You Cross My Path".The band played about nine
songs in the 40 mins set with most from the new
album.Its hard to get that excited about bands
like The Charlatans new material.The band sound
great but Tim Burgess with his awful new hairstyle and dreary voice never really gets into the show.Tracks inc "You Cross My Path",
the recent single "Oh Vanity" and oldie "How High".Pretty average.............................
13 May 2008.Willie Nelson + James Hunter live at
Hammersmith Apollo,London.Support act did a nice
30 mins of rock and roll with a soul tinge.A
mix of covers and their own material with a
chirpy chappie singer.Country legend Willie
Nelson has just had his 75th birthday and is over here to promote a 100 track box set called
"One Hell Of A Ride".There is a full band here but the show has a semi acoustic feel as the
drummer just has a snare drum with brushes.
He has sold over 30 million albums and his fans
really do see him as the real deal.Although
there are a few covers in the set his unique
vocal interpretation of them is superb.The 1 hour 40 mins set inc "Whisky For My Men And Beer For My Horses","Crazy(his track made famous by
Patsy Kline)","Help Me Make It Through The Night","Georgia On My Mind","Mama Dont Let Your
Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys","On The Road Again","Always On My Mind","Healing Hands Of Mine","Gotta Get Over You Again","Good Hearted Woman" and Jambalaya (On The Bayou) and encores inc "Superman" and "You Dont Think Im Funny Anymore".I am not the biggest country music fan but it was a real treat..........................
12 May 2008.6.45pm to 10.30pm.The High Street
Fashion Awards at The Cafe De Paris,London.
Invite only event for about 400 (mainly women).
Loads of free booze and grub flowing all night.
A few faces here inc Kelly Osbourne,Caprice,
Myleene Klass,Abi Titmuss and a few others from
GMTV inc host Lorraine Kelly.The 10 awards were
dished out nice and quickly to the likes of Topshop, Primark,Accessorize,French Connection, River Island,New Look etc.Kelly Osbourne won best
dressed celeb.Then pop r n b act Booty Luv did
a few songs inc "Shine","Some Kinda Rush" and
for "Boogie Tonight" they were joined by Kelly
Osbourne who said she loves the band but looked
a bit confused.Then we had 80s pop star Jason
Donovan play a few songs inc "Too Many Broken
Hearts","Any Dream Will Do","Sealed With A Kiss",
"Nothing Can Divide Us" and "Everyday(I Love You More).Everyone is just pissed up so its a mass
singalong.Jason has just signed a new record deal
with Decca Records.Harmless 30 mins of fun and he does not take himself seriously at all.
A nice goody bag from sponsors The Perfume Shop
sealed a great bash that ticked all boxes.......
then 11pm to 1.30am over to The Sony Radio Academy Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel,Park Lane,London W1.This is the biggest awards show
for the UKs radio industry.Get here at the end to catch the afterparty.Lots of the main radio djs are here inc Jonathan Ross(won best Radio personality),Bob Harris,Chris Moyles,Jamie
Theakston,Colin Murray,Zane Lowe,Simon Mayo,Paul
Gambachini,Nicky Campbell etc and a few music
folks presented awards inc Edwyn Collins,Rod Argent,Mick Hucknall and great to see Sparks here.Mitchell And Webb were also here.Lively
disco got a great atmosphere going despite it
being a posh event.An excellent evening..........
11 May 2008.Give It A Name Festival live at Earls Court Arena,London feat 30 Seconds To Mars + Billy Talent + Glassjaw + Silverstein.A big
crowd here of around 9000 all standing to watch
the best of these EMO(or whatever its name is this week) groups from America and Canada.Nice to see so many girls in the crowd.I am twice the age of virtually everyone in the building. Silverstein play a 35 mins set and are pretty good with tunes inc "My Disaster","My Heroine","Here Today Gone Tomorrow","Smile In Your Sleep" and "Smashed Into Pieces".....next Glassjaw who were my fave band on the night mainly due to a fantastic drum and bass who gave songs like "Tip Your Bartender" and
"Cosmopolitan Bloodloss " a nice heavy Rage Against The Machine feel.....next up Billy Talent
who have headlined Brixton Academy with their
catchy rock tunes inc "This Suffering","Surrender","Fallen Leaves" and "Red Flag"......then headliners 30 Seconds to Mars
who have headlined Hammersmith Apollo recently
who have a proper stage set.They feel a bit cartoon rock for my liking but the 60 mins set
inc tracks "From Yesterday","The Story","Buddah For Mary" and encores "The Kill" and "Fantasy"
went down well.So an average night but i kept thinking that when i was age 18 in 1977
the rock bands i was watching from America and Canada were Kiss,Aerosmith,Rush and Bachman
Turner Overdrive etc and you cant get better than
that.............................................
09 May 2008. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds live at
Hammersmith Apollo,London.Last night of three shows here for one of the coolest bands in rock.
The two hour set is focused on recent album "Dig
Lazarus Dig!!!" which had great reviews and did
well in the charts.Nick Cave is now aged 50 but
with his dodgy moustache and hair looks like a
pimp and he still gestures like a mad preacher.
The band are total quality and make a fantastic
brutal rock noise.Loads of great songs inc "Get
Ready For Love","Tupelo","Red Right Hand","Dig
Lazarus Dig!!!","Todays Lesson","The Ship Song",
"We Call Upon The Author" and "More News From Nowhere" and encores inc "Lovely Creature",
"The Lyre Of Orpheus","Into My Arms","Hard On
For Love" and "Stagger Lee".Singer David Gray
was in the crowd.A great gig.....................
08 May 2008.Celine Dion live at 02 Arena,London.
Second of two shows here for Celine who is the
biggest selling female act in the world with over 200m album sales.Its been nearly 10 years since the last UK shows of which 5 years were
spent in Las Vegas where she played a staggering
717 shows at Ceasars Palace.Well i know the
music will be middle of the road but as promised
its a massive "in the round" stage production
with half a dozen costume changes,dancers,trap
doors for Celine and the band,walkways and loads
of video screens that is visually great to watch.
Celine looks and sounds fantastic even though
its a bit too reheased at times and the band could have been a bit louder.The 1 hour 45 mins set inc Roy Orbison cover "I Drove All Night",
"The Power Of Love","Its All Coming Back To Me Now","Because You Loved Me","Think Twice" and covers of Eric Carmens "All By Myself" and Hearts "Alone" which the crowd loved.She also sung a couple of Queen classics "We Will Rock You" and "The Show Must Go On" and a soul medley as well.Not sure why she had to pad out her set with so many covers.Celines on stage chat was mostly cringeworthy.Encores of "River Deep Mountain High" and Titanic theme "My Heart Will Go On" finished off a show that was very entertaining overall.............................
07 May 2008.Another one of those busy nights
with three events on in the same evening.First
its 6.45pm to 8.15pm at The 100 Club for the
launch of their new photos up on the walls.Lots
of great pix of bands who have played there inc Sex Pistols,Clash,Siouxsie,Rolling Stones,Chuck
Berry,Metallica and others.Great to see a photo
up of Sex Pistol Steve Jones from 1976 100 Club
Punk Festival with me in the crowd.The free booze is flowing and faces here inc Glen Matlock,Spizz and photographer Ray Stevenson....................then over
to Knightsbridge 8.30pm to 10pm to launch of
Chicago Rib Shack.Lots of people here as its a huge place.Lots of lovely grub inc spare ribs,
bbq wings,cheeseburgers etc and booze but the
food leaves your hands so messy.....then over to
one of Londons coolest nightspots Bungalow 8 at
St Martins Lane Hotel 10.30pm to midnight where high fashion mag www.woundmagazine.com and
Devetta PR are having a joint party.A very cool
crowd ,the djs are playing some great sounds and the freebie cocktails are flowing. Cok Wan from the tv is here.Good one..........................
06 May 2008.Def Leppard live at The Islington
Academy,London.Small club show for 800 people
(600 paying punters and 200 media and guests)
to launch their new album "Songs From The Sparkle
Lounge".The venue looks great as they have huge
posters and cardboard cutouts of the band,
Guitar Hero 3 consoles are everywhere and the
stage is dressed with curtains like their new
album cover.Nice to have free booze all night
in the upstairs media/guest bar.Def Leppard played a 75 mins set that was just superb.
Basically 4 or 5 tracks off the new album and
loads of hits with perfect on stage sound quality.Setlist included "Let It Rock","Action","Armageddon It","Rocket" a couple
of new tracks "Nine Lives" and "Hallucinate" went
down well then "Animal","Photograph","Pour Some
Sugar On Me","Lets Get Rocked" and encores
"Cmon Cmon","Rock Of Ages" and early tracks
"Mirror Mirror(Look Into My Eyes)" and "Wasted".
All the band looked and sounded just great.
Just fantastic to hear so many big rock classics
in this small venue.Just a brilliant night.
See aftershow page for this gig..................
Rumours are Metallica are play a warm show for their European tour at The Astoria on 12 July......Billy Idol plays Brixton Academy on 31 July.........Ratt play The Astoria 2 on June 4...
The Mail On Sunday have another major cd freebie with the Sunday 18 May edition with Paul McCartneys recent album "Memory Almost Full".....
Posted 31st May 2008
