Jump to content

Concert Reviews


Disco
 Share

Recommended Posts

Bravado

The Boardwalk, Sheffield

June 1st, 2007

 

Having never been a fan of tribute bands, this all changed last year when I saw Bravado for the first time. A three-piece with a Geddy look alike on bass/vocals/keys/etc, they really put on a good show. However, since last night was the 30th anniversary of Rush's first UK gig at Sheffield City Hall, they decided to do something a little special by playing the actual Rush set in the same city (sadly not the same venue).

 

Having to travel up to South Yorkshire, it took us a little time to find the Boardwalk and, finally, when we did it wasn't open yet so it was off to Burger King for some food. Once we got in, I was very impressed by the venue as it reminded me of what the smaller venues used to be like having a really traditional ambience. Add to this some decent handpull ale (sadly lacking at places like the Diamond) and I was in heaven (The Moonshine was excellent).

 

A quick look at the stage told us we were in for something different to a normal Brav gig tonight with Pod's shiny silver keyboard being replaced by something a lot less hi-tech looking, which was tucked away 'Stage...Left' wink.gif . In addition, I managed to spot a Rickenbacker in place of his usual Jazz bass which heightened my anticipation.

 

There was a healthy crowd who were certainly up for it at the cheer that greeted the band displayed, especially when they launched in Bastille Day. Due to the changed stage set up, Pod had a lot more room to move and he made full use of this which, I'm sure, prompted the enthusiastic crowd even more.

 

Personally, I don't think I've ever heard the band sound better nor a rowdier crowd, something that the lads themselves seemed to be enjoying judging by the number of cheesy grins being flashed together.

 

For anyone who has got either the Necromancer or The Madrigals bootlegs, the set held no surprises. However, I'm sure some people there hadn't judging by the surprised cheer the greeted the segue from By-Tor into the latter half of The Necromancer.

 

Once the 1977 section was over, there was a short break for the crew to do a sterling job of changing gear slightly before we were treated to spirited (no pun intended) run throughs of Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer, the Hemispheres medly, La Villa, Closer to the Heart and Red Barchetta (there may have been others but, by then, I was losing the capacity for coherent thought) which brought the night to a triumphant end.

 

Any complaints?

 

Only one - why didn't they get a blone wig for Paul (guitar) to wear during the first half? biggrin.gif or a set of handle-bar moustaches for drummerDean? biggrin.gif biggrin.gif .

 

Then again, we were spared the sight of Pod wearing a silk blouse ph34r.gif

Edited by Slaine mac Roth
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marillion - The Forum, London, UK 15th June 2007

 

In a word: WOW. I've seen Marillion upwards of 30 times now and this was one of the best gigs I've ever seen them play. The atmosphere was unbelievable from the moment the lights went down, at 8:45, and the opening beats of Splintering Heart began, and increased as each member of the band walked on stage one at a time. It's a great way to start a show, as that intro slowly builds to an explosion of sound and light. I could tell straight away that they were on form. When the track finished the cheering was so loud that H had to back off the microphone and just look around in wonder.

 

Being the Somewhere Else Tour they played a lot from the new album. One of my favourites, The Other Half was next up and sounded even better live. It's a great song to sing along to. The title track from the album was quite stunning, also, with H singing the "Mr Taurus" section through a megaphone. It's going to be a firm live favourite in years to come.

 

Other highlights included Afraid of Sunlight, Fantastic Place, a suprise in the form of Beautiful and Man of a Thousand Faces, the end of which nearly raised the roof off the venue.

 

But it was the pacing of the end of the set which really sticks in my mind. They got it pretty much spot on. Between You And Me kicked things off, which is just a great mass of clapping and singing along, and had the added encouragement of huge confetti-filled balloons bouncing around over the crowd.

 

Then came King, which is one of those songs where not only does H hold the audience in the palm of his hand, but Rothers' guitar playing hits new heights. It's a great way to close a set out, as that final barrage of sound does its best to blow your hair off.

 

Then the encores. And another surprise as The Release was rolled out, and it sounded fantastic.

 

It was followed by Easter, a huge favourite among the fans, as shown by the fact that H let us sing it for him, nearly all the way to the guitar solo. It was spine-tingling, and the band left the stage to even louder cheers.

 

But they weren't finished. They came back for one final song and it was the one I'd been hoping and praying they'd play: Neverland. H's do-it-yourself echoes were spot on, Rothers' guitar soared, Pete T and Ian Moseley locked into a rhythm that had me punching the air, and Mark Kelly was playing with a huge grin on his face. It was, quite simply, awesome.

 

The band left the stage at 10:55. I don't think they really wanted to leave, they were so taken back by the reaction. I have never heard a crowd quite like that. I can barely talk this morning from all the singing along (a blessing, some might say laugh.gif).

 

I dragged along a couple of friends, one of whom had lost touch with the band years ago and one who had never heard them before. The former is now intent on completing his cd collection. Best of all, the guy who hadn't heard them before thought it was a stunning gig, that some of the songs were spine-tingling, that H is a total nutter (and a great singer), and was most impressed with Pete T's bass playing. And he will be placing some orders for CDs via the website. I have a convert on my hands! If only these people had been listening to me all these years... laugh.gif

 

Thanks to the guys for a superb night.

 

Oh, and boooooo to Mr Kelly for nicking back the balloons and spoiling our fun. laugh.gif

 

 

The full set list:

 

Splintering Heart

The Other Half

You're Gone

Faith

Thankyou

Afraid of Sunlight

Fantastic Place

A Voice From The Past

Beautiful

Somewhere Else

Most Toys

Man of 1000 Faces

Between You and Me

King

------

The Release

Easter

------

Neverland

 

 

And best of all, it was all being filmed (along with the second night tonight) for a future dvd release new_thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

 

 

Oh, and a quick word for the support act, Public Symphony. Their website describes them as "Pink Floyd for the Coldplay generation", and it's not far off the mark. They were very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Muse - Wembley Stadium, London, 17th June 2007

 

Absolutely stunning show put on by the lads, quite possibly the most spectacular I've ever seen. All three of them were on top form. The sound, for a stadium gig, was pretty good. The light show was jaw-dropping. The stage was surrounded by satellite dishes which rotated and shone spotlights on the crowd. The backdrop to the stage was a huge video screen onto which were projected live images of the band and various other imagery. Some of the effects were amazing. There were two screens on either side of the stage as well, which had purely live footage. To cap it all, during the encores balloons lifted two dancers into the air above the crowd.

 

The set list:

 

Knights of Cydonia

Hysteria

Supermassive Black Hole

Map of the Problematique

Forced In

Sing For Absolution

Butterflies and Hurricanes

Hoodoo

Apocalypse Please

Feeling Good

Sunburn

Invincible

Starlight

Time Is Running Out

New Born

 

----------

 

Soldiers Poem

Unintended

Blackout

Bliss

 

----------

 

Plug In Baby (if the roof had been on it would've lifted it off)

Stockholm Syndrome

Take a Bow

 

 

I'm not normally a fan of stadium gigs, but this was pretty special new_thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (Rush! @ May 25 2007, 08:41 AM)
Roger Waters, May 24, 2007, Continental Airlines Arena, NJ

My Mom & I got in around 7:45 PM and went to our seats. The tickets said 8 PM SHARP on them, but Waters and the band didn't even come out until 8:30 PM. There was a lot of crappy (IMO) music playing while the backdrop of the wine and glass on the table was shown on the main screen. They came out and went right into a hard-kicking version of In The Flesh. Just like on 9/6, the way that Katie Kissoon, PP Arnold, and Carol Kenyon sung the aaa's in the opening gave me goosebumps. It was amazing. The ending was also amazing, featuring some blazing pyro as the song closed. He then went into a quieter, calmer version of Mother. Roger played acoustic for the song, and Katie Kissoon took over the vocals for Gilmour's parts. They then performed a stunning version of Set The Controls featuring a lead solo and some atmospherics from saxophonist Ian Ritchie in the middle section. Once again, the female voices complimented the song very well. Almost immediately as the song ended, we heard the infamous space-like sounds and they went right into Shine On... Jon Carin's wonderful synths opened with that same brass sound as heard on the studio version, Roger then skipped the guitar parts entirely, and went right into the famous 4-note guitar pattern (duh-DUH-duh-DUH, that's the best way I can describe it) and they went into the song. Ritchie's tenor sax playing was spot-on and he did a fantastic job. I noticed that for most of these songs, even on the Dark Side set, that they stayed VERY true to the studio versions of the songs. We then heard Have A Cigar, with a screeching solo from Dave Kilminster, and then a very poignant version of WYWH, featuring images of Syd on the main screen. He then performed 2 songs from The Final Cut, Perfect Sense (Parts 1 & 2 from Amused to Death) and he briefly explained the story that I already knew about Leaving Beirut and how he wrote the song. There was much better reception for the song this time than it was last time when I saw him at PNC. I barely heard any boo's. He then played what I thought was the highlight of the show. SHEEP. Carin's electric piano sounded very faithful to the original, and Waters' voice was awesome. The middle section featured the infamous inflatable pig coming out, this time however, it had a lot of different messages on it such as "Fear builds walls" among a message to Impeach Bush Now on the pig's heinquarters. I didn't mind any of the messages as I'm not big on politics. Sadly the pig did not come as close to me as it did at the PNC show since my mother and I were in the upper level for this show. And since it was an indoor venue, when the song went back into the verses, the pig was gently carried backstage. Kilminster's guitar solo was AMAZING and I think they even extended with a minute or two from the original. The lights were awesome for this as well, just like at the PNC show. He then closed the 1st set saying they would take a short break, 15 minutes, and would come back out performing Dark Side. He was replied with loud cheers, big surprise, eh?  laugh.gif

Dark Side was amazing, the whole thing. I don't need to say much about it. On The Run was especially incredible, I could feel the bass and the sounds vibrating in my body, it was an amazing experience. And check this, Harry Waters (Roger's son) was using the exact same synth (VCS3) as they used to originally construct On The Run in the studio, I could see him turning knobs as they performed it! The only 3 performers on this track were Harry, Jon Carin, and Graham Broad who kept the steady hi-hat rhythm for the whole song as well as adding some nice splash cymbal accents. Broad also performed an excellent performance on the roto-toms in the opening to Time. Great Gig was incredible, Carol Kenyon was the highlight on this one. She hit those high notes in such an amazing register that.. it was just amazing, you had to be there. Harry Waters did a very nice job on the piano intro, as well as adding organ touches to the song. Money was great, Kilminster ripping out an amazing solo. Us and Them was awesome as well, another great performance from saxophonist Ian Ritchie. Any Colour You Like was another highlight for the keyboardists, Carin and Waters. Brain Damage and Eclipse were incredible, the light show was absolutely incredible, the best light show I've seen. They had a metal prism suspended from the ceiling and during Eclipse they turned lasers on which made the prism look exactly like the original Dark Side prism. It was amazing during every couple of verses the lights passed right over me, it was so freaking cool. It was an amazing ending.

They then went backstage for about 3 full minutes, came back out, and Roger complimented the audience very much, saying how we were a great crowd, something like that. He then closed with Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, then performed Vera/Bring the Boys Back Home (Roger hit some very high notes here, harkened back to the original) and then to end the show completely, Comfortably Numb.

Overall, a 10/10 show, absolutely amazing light and concert performance experience. Anyone who hasn't seen Roger yet and is hesitating, DO NOT HESITATE. Go out and see him, it will be completely worth the price you pay. My Mother and I had an amazing time, and I hope you will too. smile.gif

Before the concert even started, me and my dad were in the Upper bowl at Gm Place which was pretty far away from the stage, and this big Security guard comes and says to us " You two alone?" we replied that we were and then he said"Give me your tickets" i thought we were being kick out unsure.gif . But in turn he gave us MUCH better tickets right beside the stage lower bowl row 16 wub.gif It was an amazing stroke of luck.

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was an amazing Concert.

 

It was almost ALL Floyd songs.

Except for two Waters Solo songs.

The three guitarists he had freaking were amazing and most of the songs sounded spot on to the studio versions.

The drummer, holy crap he sounded pretty much identical to what Nick Mason sounded like for Floyd.

Both keyboardist were amazing and i don't think messed up once.

The femake vocalists had such an amazing range.

 

The lights and effects were so freaking cool.

 

And then the Astronaut and the pig rofl3.gif The video's in the back were freaking sweet too.

 

And lastly the T-Shirts are awesome

 

Edit: Unfortunatly Nick Mason was not there fists crying.gif

Edited by *Limelight*
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Peter Gabriel / Crowded House / Starsailor Marlay Park, Dublin June 22nd

 

Sometimes, things start ominously. At 4 o'clock I'm in a traffic jam on the outskirts of Dublin, the weather forcast is predicting more thundery showers and localised flooding, with flooding already causing problems around the venue. The talk show on the radio is taking texts suggesting the gig will be cancelled, and above me, the clouds are preparing for battle.

 

Eventually, I get to the venue, walk through a stream which had previously been a footpath to the entrance, and thunder is indeed rumbling above me in a distant overture.

 

Starsailor are late on, the rest of the band is stuck in traffic, so James the lead singer starts off with a solo performance, joined later by the band for the rest of the set.

 

The rain worsens. Considerably. In the meantime, I've met with Hatchetaxe&saw, we're chatting away, and are then joined by Derek, my gig companion for longer than I care to remember.

 

Crowded House do a nice mix of new and old stuff. Inevitably, "Weather With You" becomes a synchronised umbrella dance to ward off the rain.

 

Amazingly, it worked, within five minutes, the rain had stopped, the brollies were down and the sun peeped out from behind the clouds.

 

PG came on just after 9, kicking off with Rhythm Of The Heat, On The Air, Intruder and DIY (which was restarted after a miscue on the intro, with Peter wryly promising the Encore people more sales as "The f**k ups are what the fans want.

 

Other highlights included Blood of Eden, No Self Control, Steam, I Don't Remember and Mother Of Violence sung by Peter's daughter Melanie.

 

The set finished with Solsbury Hill, before encores of Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes sent us home happy (once we managed to get out of the car park).

 

The sound quality was superb, one of the clearest gigs I've ever been at.

 

Some great line dancing from Peter, David Rhodes and Tony Levin as well, Michael Flately eat your heart out.

 

It may have started ominously, but it ended up a triumph.

Edited by madra sneachta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (madra sneachta @ Jun 23 2007, 06:09 PM)
Peter Gabriel / Crowded House / Starsailor    Marlay Park, Dublin  June 22nd

Sometimes, things start ominously. At 4 o'clock I'm in a traffic jam on the outskirts of Dublin, the weather forcast is predicting more thundery showers and localised flooding, with flooding already causing problems around the venue. The talk show on the radio is taking texts suggesting the gig will be cancelled, and above me, the clouds are preparing for battle.

Eventually, I get to the venue, walk through a stream which had previously been a footpath to the entrance, and thunder is indeed rumbling above me in a distant overture.

Starsailor are late on, the rest of the band is stuck in traffic, so James the lead singer starts off with a solo performance, joined later by the band for the rest of the set.

The rain worsens. Considerably. In the meantime, I've met with Hatchetaxe&saw, we're chatting away, and are then joined by Derek, my gig companion for longer than I care to remember.

Crowded House do a nice mix of new and old stuff. Inevitably, "Weather With You" becomes a synchronised umbrella dance to ward off the rain.

Amazingly, it worked, within five minutes, the rain had stopped, the brollies were down and the sun peeped out from behind the clouds.

PG came on just after 9, kicking off with Rhythm Of The Heat, On The Air, Intruder and DIY (which was restarted after a miscue on the intro, with Peter wryly promising the Encore people more sales as "The f**k ups are what the fans want.

Other highlights included Blood of Eden, No Self Control, Steam, I Don't Remember and Mother Of Violence sung by Peter's daughter Melanie.

The set finished with Solsbury Hill, before encores of Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes sent us home happy (once we managed to get out of the car park).

The sound quality was superb, one of the clearest gigs I've ever been at.

Some great line dancing from Peter, David Rhodes and Tony Levin as well, Michael Flately eat your heart out.

It may have started ominously, but it ended up a triumph.

What he said. biggrin.gif

 

Great review Donal. You nailed it!

 

PS: Go to www.tonylevin.com for some cool pics.

Edited by Hatchetaxe&saw
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting 2 reviews done here as I saw both bands in the span of a week:

 

1. John Mayer- Dallas, Tx

 

Setlist:

 

Neon

Belief

No Such Thing

I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You

Waiting on the World to Change

Why Georgia

Dreaming with a Broken Heart

I Don't Need No Doctor (Ray Charles Cover)

Bigger than my Body

Vultures

Gravity

*Encore*

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Your Body is a Wonderland

I'm Gonna Find Another You

 

Overall i'd give this show basically a 9.5/10. I wish he had played a few more songs from "heavier Things" (Notably: Something's Missing) and maybe one more from the Trio cd (Good Love is On the Way preferably). But it was great, he was spot on and the extended improv jams were great as well. The sound quality of the show was exceptional, which alone moved this one up from 9 to 9.5 for me. It was perfect, as It was loud enough to give it a great atmosphere, but quiet enough to not kill you on the high notes (unlike my next review). One of the best parts was seeing all the babes there though... biggrin.gif and I do love those women.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2. The Police- New Orleans, La

 

Setlist:

 

Message In A Bottle

Synchronicity II

Walking On The Moon

Voices Inside My Head

When The World Is Running Down

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Driven To Tears

The Bed's Too Big Without You

Truth Hits Everybody

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Wrapped Around Your Finger

De Do Do Do De Da Da Da

Invisible Sun

Walking In Your Footsteps

Can't Stand Losing You

Roxanne

*Encore*

King of Pain

So Lonely

*2nd Encore*

Every Breath You Take

Next To You

 

I had not been a big Police fan until I saw the show. Needless to say it was great, especially since they're all 50+ years old now! Sting's voice obviously couldnt hit the higher notes (a'la Roxanne) but he used audience participation to cover for him. My favorite moments were in "King of Pain" because that song was played literally to perfection. Not much else to say except that they made me a HUGE fan on that night and everything sounds much better live. The sound quality was strange because it was clear, yet when Sting would go for a long note in the higher register, something wouldn't click and it would just kill my ears (and those around me too). I made makeshift earplugs out of napkins and I was okay. Only other complaint is that they should've atleast played a recording of the piano overdub on "Every Little Thing she Does is Magic" because it sounded empty without it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, on July 3rd, i went and seen Asia and Kansas live, for free in Mason, OH. It was pretty good. Asia did way better than Kansas. Asia played:

 

Heat of the Moment (Encore song)

Sole Survivor

Here comes the Feeling

Only Time can Tell

In The Court of the Crimson King (for John Wetton)

Roundabout (for Steve Howe)

Video Killed the Radio Star (for Geoff Downes)

Carl Palmer did a drum solo

Steve Howe did a guitar solo

 

Thats all i can remember for Asia. Kansas was just bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Genesis - Olympiastadion, Berlin, & Zentralstadion, Leipzig, July 3rd and 4th.

 

Seeing as twelve of us had travelled to Germany, the fabulous German weather gods treated us to typical Irish weather. The day of the Berlin show was glorious, sun shining, everybody in t-shirts.

As we walked towards the Olympiastadion, the heavens opened, and lo, it did verily piss down. The plastic mac vendors prayers were answered.

I had 2 tickets, one for the pitch and one for covered seating. My mother did not raise a mule, so I sold the pitch ticket.

Great view, jocular English guy to my left, friendly German guy to my right. Beers bought, in Genesis glasses!!! What a great idea, and a serious money making racket too. There was three to collect, over the two nights I ended up with thirteen. If you brought it back to the beer stall, you got a fresh glass. Or you could keep the old glass and get a new one. Very clever. If you're smart ,one glass will do all night. If you're an idiot(maybe my mother did raise a mule) you will want as many glasses as possible. Which is what we did in Leipzig.

 

On with the show.

 

They came on to Behind The Lines/Duke's End. The place went nuts.

The set list was pretty bang-on, bar Hold On My Heart, which was very handy for toilet-breaks on both nights.

I did not spot a dud note, they really were on top form.

The stage was probably big, but it looked tiny as it was dwarfed by the biggest muthaf*cking large screen I've ever seen, bookended by 2 oval HD screens for close ups of the members. Crystal clear, unbelievable quality. The background images were amazing from start to finish. It got well trippy during In The Cage.

Phil Collins was in great form, speaking in German now and again, albeit from a sheet.

Mike Rutherford has an awfully shiny collection of guitars. Especially the double-necked one. I must ask his roadie does he use Pledge or Mr. Sheen.

Tony Banks did not smile, once. And that is why we love him.

Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer continue to amaze by their proficiency. The guitar solo in Ripples was gorgeous, and the drum duet was, the drum duet. Chester and Phil started off, tapping way on an elevated drum stool! Then they proceeded to beat the living bejaysus out of both kits, and then onto Los Endos, which was my personal highlight on both nights. That and Carpetcrawlers. And Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea. Oh yeah, Domino was awesome too. Not forgetting Afterglow.

It ended with fireworks. A two and a half hour lesson in how to properly pull off a stadium gig.

 

The ladies did not go to the Leipzig gig, so the six lads decided to collect as many glasses as possible.

 

The set list was the same.

Phil's German was the same.

The weather was better.

I could become a ticket tout.

Toilet breaks were more frequent.

Official shirts were 30 euro, unofficial shirts were 10 euro.

Literally bumped into Tony Smith(Genesis manager), bass-supremo Leland Sklar and some perma-tanned guy from Toto, think it was Bobby Kimball.

 

Fiona, Ethan and I stayed in the wonderfully ostentatious Hotel Fuerstenhof in Leipzig. As we went to check in I noticed a few people hanging around the hotel entrance, with Genesis lps in hand.

The efficient receptionist wouldn't divulge any info either.

Coming down for breakfast the following morning, post-Leipzig show, the first person I see is Tony Banks, munching away and reading a paper.

I pick a table which has a pillar between him and I, otherwise I would have stared at him like a maniac, and put him off his cornflakes. Fiona reckons she's never seen me as quiet.

It's during these moments one has to make big decisions. I decided against going over and gushing like a love-sick schoolgirl. This is his downtime. The hotel is effectively his home. Then Daryl Steurmer walked in. Palpitations. Texting the lads along the lines of, "you will not f*cking believe this........"

The paramedics were called when Mike Rutherford came in for breakfast. He's huge. Even Fiona recognised him. I was beyond help at this stage. Again I decided not to encroach on their personal space.

 

We went for a walk around Leipzig, lovely city. Saw the spot were Goethe based part of "Faust".

Came back to the hotel, lots of big black Mercedes people carriers outside, some increasingly desperate fans fishing for luckies with an increasingly agitated concierge.

Mike and his wife are at the reception desk. This is way too other-worldly for me. I go upstairs, feed Ethan, watch a bit of CNN, as Alan Johnston had just been released.

Went to meet Fiona in town, she'd been shopping, and I thought they must have left by now. I walk back into reception, and there's Chester. And Daryl. And Mike. And their entourage. I walked out of a day in the life of Genesis and into the German rain.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the Police and Steve Miller about a week apart in Chicago.

Both were good shows, glad I went .... but NO RUSH in terms of energy and performance.

I'm off to see EC's Guitar festival in Chicago in a matter of hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Foreigner / Styx / Def Leppard - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel NJ 8/15/07

 

Took my kids to the show last night. My sons are not only Rush fans, they love Def Leppard. I probably wouldn't have gotten tickets to this show, but my kids asked me to get them. We had seats about 15 rows from the stage. It was a bit warm and muggy, not much of a breeze blowing. A little uncomfortable, but as the night wore on, it became more tolerable. Certainly not the worst weather I've seen at PNC. Most importantly, it didn't rain and the beer was cold.

 

I'd been a big Def Leppard fan back in the 80's, but I hadn't really kept up with them in the last 15 years or so. So, I don't know much of their newer stuff. And I'd always liked Foreigner and Styx, but not enough to go out and buy tickets to their concerts. Just a casual fan.

 

Well, I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed this show. If you're a casual fan of these three bands, this concert is perfect. Each band mostly plays their hits.

 

Foreigner was spot on, even though Lou Gramm isn't their lead singer anymore. The new singer is very good. Jason Bonham was on drums and has a touch of his father's style. They even added a hint of "Whole Lotta Love" to their last song, "Jukebox Hero". The crowd was still rather sparse when they took the stage, so crowd reaction was not very strong. But, by the third or fourth song, the crowd had grown considerably. The band was energetic and the crowd responded in kind. Very short set. But, enough for me.

 

Styx was entertaining. They certainly miss Dennis DeYoung. I think the band isn't really the same without him. However, Dennis' replacement does a fine job. He's a real ham on stage and had the crowd into it. Highlight for Styx was obviously "Come Sail Away" and the appearance of Chuck Panozzo who has been sick recently.

 

Def Leppard's set was a little longer than the other bands, so they were able to inject a couple of "obscure" tunes into their set. Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell played the whole show shirtless, and the females in the crowd certainly loved it. I kept hearing the women behind me comment on them, that's why I mention it. They had me laughing. The band was pretty good, and Joe Elliott's vocals are still holding up somewhat. He can't hit all the high notes like he used to, but who would expect an aging rocker to be able to scream like he did 25 years ago? The band seemed very appreciative of the crowd's enthusiasm and promised they'd be back next year, to which the crowd responded with a big cheer.

 

All in all, I give it two thumbs up.

 

Here are the setlists as I remember them, but don't quote me. I'm sure I am missing a song or two...

 

Foreigner Set List:

 

Double Vision

Cold as Ice

Dirty White Boy

Head Games

Feels Like the First Time

Urgent

Juke Box Hero (with Whole Lotta Love)

Hot Blooded

 

Styx Setlist:

 

Blue Collared Man

Grand Illusion

Too Much Time on My Hands

A Criminal Mind

Miss America

Brave New World

Come Sail Away

Renegade

 

Def Leppard:

 

Rocket

Animal

Excitable

Foolin

Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)

Another Hit and Run

Love Bites

Rock On

Two Steps Behind

Bringin' on the Heartbreak

Switch 625

Hysteria

Armageddon It

Photograph

Pour Some Sugar on Me

Rock of Ages

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David Sylvian Royal Festival Hall - last week

 

DS is probably still best known for his time in Japan back in the 80s with his gender warping experiments, and since then he's put out very well received solo albums and worked with some wonderful artists like Christian Fennez. I went along with 2 devout fans. DS is to them what Rush is to many of us. They'd caught the bug young and his work, in some way, defines music to them. I sat with them supping a pre-show cocktail or and heard how Jo (one of the chums) had been moved to tears by the set she'd seen him play in Glasgow 2 nights before.

 

Oh, and I too would almost be reduced to tears, but for all the wrong reasons. It was a relentless dull concert of beige drabness. DS took to the stage in silence and perched atop his stool from which he did not move. Like the others he dressed in black, so as not to detract from the music. He didn't so much launch into his first number but gently let it slip from its moorings. Plopping into our laps came an unchallenging acoustic number. It wasmwid-tempo, and politely arranged with a mood of gently seeping regret, as was the next, and the next, and the next....if this music was a high street shop it would be Gap, only without the pretty assistants.

 

The pianist played some beautiful pastel colours over the music, but over all of it. The saxophonist played static inoffensive dinner jazz stylings over every song, the drummer jazzed his way politely thru it all. DS said almost nothing to the crowd, both verbally and musically.

 

Never again.

 

Disco

 

PS I see some folks like to add the setlist to their reviews, here it is: All the same song.

 

 

Edited by Disco
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen quite a few shows this past year........I'm not one for doing reviews as such , so I'll just post a few pics (not all the groups as it'd bore the pants of yers all)

 

Asia-December 06

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/ASIA%20at%20Wolverhampton/DSC_0329.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/ASIA%20at%20Wolverhampton/DSC_0343.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/ASIA%20at%20Wolverhampton/DSC_0171.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/ASIA%20at%20Wolverhampton/DSC_0141.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/ASIA%20at%20Wolverhampton/DSC_0385.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Porcupine Tree & Three, October 12, 2007 at the State Theater in Falls Church, VA

 

Here's the setlist from the Oct 12 show as I remember it (someone correct me if my memory brings error) ;

 

What Happens Now

Fear Of A Blank Planet

The Sound of Muzak

Lazarus

Nil Recurring

Anesthetize

Open Car

My Ashes

Blackest Eyes

Cheating the Polygraph

A Smart Kid

Way Out of Here

Sleep Together

 

encore:

Dark Matter

Halo

 

My only complaint is that the set was slightly shorter than what I've seen posted from earlier shows. Absent were songs like "Drown With Me", "Trains", and one I had been especially looking forward to - "Half Light". But this is a disappointment due to expectation.

 

I'm not a professional review writer so forgive the cliches.... The show rocked!!! Porcupine Tree were amazing and put on an amazing show. Very tight, good sound - well mixed. They changed guitars often and I saw lots of tuning checks - they really are a band with minds for sound musicianship. Very technical performances....very attractive stage presence by all members, each with their own personality.

 

The show opened with "What Happens Now?" off the new EP. This was a great opener as it has a nice build-up and climax. Once it was over, bam - right into "Fear Of A Blank Planet".

 

"Open Car" and "Blackest Eyes" got some really good reaction and energy from the crowd.

 

The highlights for me were "Anesthetize" and "Way Out Of Here". Phenomenal! The video playing behind the band for these two numbers was incredible and really added alot to the performances. Wilson had said before WOOH that he had been screwing up during earlier performances of it during the tour, and said that Gavin would quit the band should he continue doing so. No worries though - they played it flawlessly (as they did with all the songs).

Here's the video they played during WOOH -

 

"A Smart Kid" was a surprise and was enthusiastically recieved by the crowd.

 

"Sleep Together" was an awesome way to end the main set and featured some interesting video that reminded me of some of Tool's video work.

 

"Dark Matter" was beautiful, and "Halo" was a good closer that really riled the crowd up with some loud singing-along.

 

.

.

.

.

 

Usually bands in the "opening act" role make me me think "not bad" or "they're alright" or some other unimpressed sentiment. Not this night.... the band Three blew me completely away! These guys freakin' shredded with a sound that was unlike I have ever heard and a performance I've never seen. Maybe I should just get out more. Seriously, these guys have HUGE talent and were an absolute treat. I'd pay the same and drive the 2 hours just to see them! Amazing band, check them out.

 

http://www.thefamily3.com/home.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Incubus/Puggy

MEN Arena Manchester, 20th September 2007 &

Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, 21st September 2007

 

Setlist (Nottingham variations in brackets):

Quicksand

A Kiss To Send Us Off

Nice To Know You - (Wish You Were Here)

Anna Molly

Pistola

Vitamin

Are You In - (Circles)

Love Hurts - (Here In My Room)

Drive

Megalomaniac

Sick Sad Little World

Oil & Water

Dig - (Nice To Know You)

---------

The Warmth - (Favourite Things)

Nowhere Fast - (Beware Criminal!)

Acquious Transmission

 

Two gigs in two days, firstly, the support. Puggy. They were actually really quite good. Inoffensive noise, produced by three people. All singing, all playing. I draw the line at three-part-harmony skat-singing though (on their last song).

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/melll1972/incubus/DSCF1256.jpg

^ Manchester

 

Now, I'd been waiting since, well, April for this/these gigs (Notts was not on the cards in April, rescheduling allowed me to go). These were originally postponed due to Michael Einzigers Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, so for this tour, he's playing with a Gibson SG, as opposed to his Fender Jazzmaster (that's for the guitar freaks), and the sound is slightly different.

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/melll1972/incubus/DSCF1275.jpg

^ Manchester

 

Manchester's set brought a chunk from the new album, which I like a lot more than the last one, and it's nice to see that Brandon is (a) ditched his metrosexual haircut so he looks like a rockstar again and (cool.gif is in fine fine voice, as always. Never hits a bum note onstage, that guy.

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/melll1972/incubus/DSCF1297.jpg

^ Nottingham

 

One thing that I always notice about Incubus gigs (and these ones are No. 4 and 5 for me), is that the audience are so damn PRETTY! I felt like the ugly kid there, honestly. For Manchester I was sandwiched between two beautiful ladies who I should not allowed to have been in the same ballpark as, and for Notts, I was accompanied by my friend Mel, who's gorgeous!

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/melll1972/incubus/DSCF1317.jpg

^ Nottingham

 

Ok, so setlist variations for the two nights was fantastic to see (and hear), because I'd read beforehand that because of Einziger's injury and recovery, the sets wouldn't change much, and they wouldn't include some of the lesser-known, obscure material (so any hope of playing Nebula from S.C.I.E.N.C.E, which they were doing before the injury, was out)...

 

I think because I went to both nights, I definitely got to enjoy the best Incubus sets. In Manchester, I got to hear The Warmth (possibly my favourite Incubus song), and in Nottingham, they played Here In My Room and Favourite Things, both of which I love, and for the latter, I never thought I'd hear.

 

Notable happenings in these gigs, was blowing out the lighting rig for Pistola in Nottingham, but it made it kinda minimalist playing the opening in the dark, and having limited lighting for the rest of the song. Also, comsummate professionals for (a) not paying attention to it, and (cool.gif playing on as if nothing happened.

 

I do have one complaint though (apart from the relative lack of older material), which is, please please please, stop the pointless jazz noodling, you can fit two more songs in the set if you didn't do that! I love drum segues more than most, but when you're playing a shortened set anyway, surely it's best to try fit in as many songs as you can, right?

 

8.5/10 (.5 of a point added for Brandon keeping his shirt ON!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Journey 7-2-07

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0007.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0154.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0168.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0064.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0246.jpg

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g21/leemillward/Journey%207-3-07/Img0161.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Porcupine Tree, The Forum, London, 9th November 2007

 

Third time I've seen them in the space of a year and it was another stellar performance by Messrs Wilson, Barbieri, Edwin, Harrison and Wesley. The venue was sold out and it was obvious that the band's popularity is increasing with each month that goes by. It was also fairly obvious that a lot of the crowd were only familiar with the last couple of albums, judging by the bewildered response to some of the older material (I heard one person ask, as Dark Matter started, "Do you know what this is?").

 

The great thing for me was that they changed up the set list considerably from April, so we got:

 

What Happens Now

Blackest Eyes

The Sound Of Muzak

Lazarus

Nil Recurring

Anesthetize

Waiting

Open car

Dark Matter

Cheating The Polygraph

A Smart Kid

Way Out Of Here

Sleep Together

-------------------------------

The Sky Moves Sideways

Trains

Halo

 

Lazarus and Anesthetize were highlights for me (although, let's face it, Wesley is no Lifeson laugh.gif ), but the real standouts were Waiting (the song that got me into the band in the first place), Dark Matter, and the big shock of the evening - The Sky Moves Sideways, which was quite breathtaking. Lovely to hear A Smart Kid, too.

 

new_thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...