Ray's Gigs

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Monday 07 November 2022.

Sunday 06 November 2022. UGLY KID JOE + MASSIVE WAGONS live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Rock is alive and well, as Ugly Kid Joe and Massive Wagons have just announced a huge co-headline UK tour including a night at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. Ugly Kid Joe will be hitting the road in support of their upcoming album," Rad Wings of Destiny" , whilst Massive Wagons are touring the release of their latest LP, 'TRIGGERED!', out 28th October 2022 via Earache Records. Two days before this show the album went in at a very impressive number 6 in the charts. Massive Wagons are one of my fave new rock bands from the past few years. I saw them at The Ramblin' Man Festival in Maidstone, Kent a few years ago. Their hard work has finally paid off for them. I have seen Ugly Kid Joe three times times before... Twice at Wembley Stadium on a mega bill in 1995 when they they were upport to Bon Jovi, Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar) and Thunder...and in 2012 supporting Alice Cooper at Wembley Arena. They had 2 x Top 10 singles in the UK...."Everything About You" (1992) and "Cats In The Cradle" (1993). ------------------- Levels 2 and 2 are closed tonight , so maybe 1000 tix max sold tonight. A surprise opening act tonight is CHRIS CATALYST who was on at 7.15pm for 25 mins. Chris is currently the guitarist in The Professionals with Sex Pistol Paul Cook. He played half a dozen tracks (just him and his electric guitar) which included a couple of cover versions - Chas n Dave "Ain't No Pleasing You" and A-Ha "Take On Me". The Professionals bass player Toshi is one of the road crew tonight for all three acts. MASSIVE WAGONS arrived on stage at 7.50pm and played for 65 mins. Needless to say that i was really looking forward to seeing Massive Wagons again at last. The band capture the excitement of seeing the greats in their prime, because they themselves are firing on all four cylinders. They may be fuelled by the legends of a bygone era, but they very much their own band, carving their own path. A dollop of playfulness, a scoop of sing-along ability and pinch of self-deprecation. The Wagons have this in spades. The singer is wearing shorts and a dodgy tache, but is full of energy as he bounces around the stage, and the band are totally on fire with their uptempo rock n roll gems. A great set. My mates on security told me 39 fans left the venue after Massive Wagons played. Full MASSIVE WAGONS setlist played tonight... Pressure Triggered Bangin in Your Stereo Back to the Stack A.S.S.H.O.L.E. Fee Fi Fo Fum Germ Fuck the Haters China Plates Please Stay Calm Skateboard Generation Prime Ratio Nails In It Together During the interval it was all AC/DC tracks over the house PA system. UGLY KID JOE arrived on stage at 9.35pm and played for 70 mins. Not an easy job to follow Massive Wagons, but Ugly Kid Joe do a good job. Like Massive Wagons they also have a nice AC/DC / The Cult type of rock sound. They dedicate a couple of songs to the guitarist mum and the producer of their massive selling debut album "Americas Least Wanted" , who both take a bow from the Level 1 VIP seats. They played a great pair of songs for the pretend encore, as they actually didn't leave the stage. Like Massive a Wagons there was a fair amount of moshing in the front stalls. A great pairing of old school rock bands tonight. Full UGLY KID JOE setlist played tonight... That Ain't Livin' V.I.P. Neighbor Panhandlin' Prince No One Survives Devil's Paradise So Damn Cool Cat's in the Cradle ( Harry Chapin cover) I'm Alright Failure Milkman's Son Goddamn Devil Lola (The Kinks cover) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC cover) (see below for special guests on this track) Everything About You Note: for AC/DC cover they were joined by tennis player Pat Cash and Massive Wagons singer Baz Mills -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- Saturday 05 November 2022. CARPENTER BRUT live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Franck Hueso, better known by his stage name CARPENTER BRUT, is a French darksynth artist from Poitiers, France....he has released four albums. He has also contributed original music to a variety of soundtracks, both for film and video games. This European Tour followed a North American tour. ------------------- Level 3 is half unsold , but the rest of the venue is full. Up first tonight is French female DJ SIERRA from 7.55pm to 8.30pm - 35 mins. She said it was her first visit to London. Her EDM (electronic dance music) and Darkwave tones set the vibe perfectly for this moody dance night. She also was the sole vocalist performing live at this show. Armed with her DJ rig, drum pads, and hypnotic beats. She went down well with the crowd. Who are fuck is CARPENTER BRUT you may ask? A couple of friends said i would be surprised how good a good it was , and they were right. The songs on the pa are all classic rock songs, and there are plenty of rock band t-shirts in the crowd. CARPENTER BRUT arrived on stage at 9pm and played for 80 mins. The main man has his DJ rig / keyboards and is joined by a guitarist and a drummer. A great stage show, with three big screens showing digital images and loads of lights. It was a stunning visual and sonic assault of metal electronica. Plenty of moshing and pit circles during the liveliest tracks. There is no microphone in sight for the few songs with vocals to get played like “Lipstick Masquerade.” It doesn’t seem out of place at all, the crowd and the sound system did all the work. With the pre-finale of “Turbo Killer,” you know the crowd wanted more. The only way to end this night was with their cover of Michael Sembello’s 1980s classic “Maniac.” The crowd went bonkers. Loads of sweaty bodies everywhere at the end of the show. Like The Prodigy and Pendulum , you can easily see them playing rock or dance festivals. A really good show.