Gigs / live music discussion

[Tetchytyke]

And as good things come in threes, I'm off to London this weekend to see The Cure at Wembley Arena on Saturday- not quite my choice, but my wife adores them, and I'm very happy to tag along- and then Placebo (who really are my choice) at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

The Cure on Saturday were brilliant, on stage for over 2 1/2 hours, Robert Smith's voice hasn't changed a bit, plenty of energy. Fantastic.

Placebo were a little bit flat, sadly. They were note-perfect, so much so I couldn't quite shake the view they were miming the music (though definitely not the singing), and the Manchester Arena was way too big for them. The upper tier was curtained off and the lower tier was probably only about two-thirds full, so there wasn't much energy from the crowd and it ended up feeling a bit like watching them on telly. They'd have been much better off playing the Apollo, to be honest, the Arena was simply much too big for them. A bit disappointing, really, although after a heavy weekend in London and on a Monday night maybe I was a bit flat too.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

Placebo were a little bit flat, sadly. They were note-perfect, so much so I couldn't quite shake the view they were miming the music (though definitely not the singing), and the Manchester Arena was way too big for them. The upper tier was curtained off and the lower tier was probably only about two-thirds full, so there wasn't much energy from the crowd and it ended up feeling a bit like watching them on telly. They'd have been much better off playing the Apollo, to be honest, the Arena was simply much too big for them. A bit disappointing, really, although after a heavy weekend in London and on a Monday night maybe I was a bit flat too.

I'm seeing them tonight in Birmingham. The Barclaycard Arena is another huge space, though they often bring the stage forward to shorten it, so maybe they'll do that tonight. I'll report back!

I can imagine a lot of bands being "lost" in the Manchester Arena, you need a band that inspires true devotion for that space. When I saw Morrissey there earlier this year it was absolutely one of the most intense, life-affirming gigs of my life.

 

[SteveP29]

The Wildhearts killed Glasgow on Wednesday night.
Lots missed it to go and see Korn/ Limp Bizkit at the Hydro instead (and had a worse night)
They tore up Newcastle last too by all accounts and are set to do the same in Wolverhampton tonight. I'll see if they've still got the stamina tomorrow night in London

 

[59CosG95]

Well, short gig update: Anthrax in the O2 Institute (B'ham) were absolutely incredible back on Feb 9th, on their "Among The Kings" tour; the smallish size of the venue meant that the acoustics were fantastic, and the moshpits were extremely frenetic. Their 3rd album, Among The Living, was also played in FULL during the second half of the set, to huge cheers from the crowd on all levels. Definitely the best £30 I've spent on a gig!

And today, I just bought standing tickets for Metallica. Just in the Triple figures mark (!) but I'm sure it'll be amazing!

 

[Cowley]

Well, short gig update: Anthrax in the O2 Institute (B'ham) were absolutely incredible back on Feb 9th, on their "Among The Kings" tour; the smallish size of the venue meant that the acoustics were fantastic, and the moshpits were extremely frenetic. Their 3rd album, Among The Living, was also played in FULL during the second half of the set, to huge cheers from the crowd on all levels. Definitely the best £30 I've spent on a gig!

And today, I just bought standing tickets for Metallica. Just in the Triple figures mark (!) but I'm sure it'll be amazing!

First proper gig I went to was Anthrax at the NEC in 1988ish. It was the State of Euphoria tour. Awesome

 

[317666]

Off to see the Stranglers at Brixton Academy tonight, and again at the Manchester Apollo next weekend. Saw them at both locations this time last year and they were on fire!

 

[shredder1]

Saw Peter Green at Buxton Pavillion 1968, my 17th Birthday, stoned out of my head. Jimy Hendrix, Paul Kossof, Martin Barr, Alvin Lee, Rory Gallagher Isle of Wright 1970, Jimmy Page, Led Zep Bath Shepton Mallet 1970, pretty much all the top guitarists since then, Gary Moore, EVH, Robin Trower, Beck, SRV, Hillage, Hackett, even Segovia, Gilbert, Vai, Satch, Malmsteen et al.

 

[infobleep]

I've been to see many bands but my favourites are Hawkwind and Status Quo.

I've seen Quo over 60 times but that's nothing compared to some fans. Some of whom might have seen that number of gigs in just 2 years.

The best Quo gigs were when they got Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan back for a couple of tours. Alan was their former bass player and singer and John their drummer. I did 7 concerts on each tour and they were amazing. Alan Lancaster sung the first four numbers. T'was like he'd even been away and I hasn't even seen them when he was in the band as I was too young to even be interested in them.

In the 60s to early to mid 80s, Quo were a band with three lead singers. That changed once Alam left.

As for Hawkwind. I've seen some great concerts with them. From reunions featuring 21 current and ex-members to gigs with special guests. At the reunion gig, Lemmy joined the for the last hour. It was like he'd never been away and I've never seen him perform with them before until then. Dave Brock is 75 and still going strong.

They have a new album out this year and last year's album, The Machine, went to 27 in the album charts I believe. Not bad for a band most people haven't heard of!

You gets person I've seen professionally was Nawfel, who was 14 at the time. He was a great French blues guitarist but not heard anything from him since. I have his album, which he signed at the festival.

The oldest I saw was David 'Honeyboy' Edwards. He was 91. A wonderful country blues guitarist. Saw several of his gigs.

 

[infobleep]

Saw Olly Murs tonight at the O2. A friend had a spare ticket. He was really good I thought and seemed like such a nice person on stage.

He made the comment, if it wasn't for us he wouldn't be there. I think some other musicians could take note of that comment.

He had a 11 piece backing band which included, guitar, bass drums, piano, 3 piece horn section and 4 backing vocalists.

I saw John Coghlan's Quo last week at the Half Moon in Putney. John Coghlan being the ex-Status Quo drummer. Quiet different from Olly Murs, not least the venue size being much smaller but really good all the same. I usually prefer smaller venues. He was backed by the people from the band Predatür. Did a load of old Quo numbers.

I might go and see Amy MacDonald at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday. She has a great voice and some nice tunes. Seen her once before at the Royal Festival Hall.

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[61653 HTAFC]

Saw Olly Murs tonight at the O2. A friend had a spare ticket. He was really good I thought and seemed like such a nice person on stage.

He made the comment, if it wasn't for us he wouldn't be there. I think some other musicians could take note of that comment.

He had a 11 piece backing band which included, guitar, bass drums, piano, 3 piece horn section and 4 backing vocalists.

I saw John Coghlan's Quo last week at the Half Moon in Putney. John Coghlan being the ex-Status Quo drummer. Quiet different from Olly Murs, not least the venue size being much smaller but really good all the same. I usually prefer smaller venues. He was backed by the people from the band Predatür. Did a load of old Quo numbers.

I might go and see Amy MacDonald at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday. She has a great voice and some nice tunes. Seen her once before at the Royal Festival Hall.

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Can't ever imagine myself going to see someone like Olly Murs... perhaps in my indie snobbery I'm missing out!

Glad that a thread started by me has become self-sustaining though. I myself have got out of the habit of going to gigs, partly because nothing has appeared on the horizon that grabbed my attention. The next definite will be Half Man Half Biscuit at the Holmfirth Picturedrome in the Autumn.