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Ministry - The Forum, London

 

And so we bid a fond farewell to mad, bad Al Jourgensen and his merry men. But this is no retro show, the chainlink fence across the front of the stage being just about the only nod to the past.

 

The main set consisted entirely of tracks from Ministry's last three albums - a triptych of works inspired by the evils of America's current administration and more specifically Dubbya, just like his daddy inspired much of Psalm 69. This caused much controversy in the Ministry chatrooms and many spleens were vented and bile spat at this not being a greatest hits tour. But the quality of these songs stands up against just about anything in Ministry's illustrious back-catalogue.

 

From the opening blast of Let's Go the set is well paced and well played by Al's band who, it has to be said, look a f***ing scary bunch. Al spends most of the night looking like Gary Oldman in Dracula with his top hat and round sunglasses and he acts like a circus ringmaster leading the band through the set. The band seem pretty fired up as they pummel the faster songs into submission whilst kicking back for the slower stuff such as Wrong and Senor Peligro. Al has been singing about ultra-controlling governments, corrupt politicians and the f*cked up state of the world for many years now. Unfortunately most of it is more relevant now than ever before. The main set ends with a monumental version of Khyber Pass. where's Bin Laden indeed!

 

For the encores Ministry dip into their past for superb versions of So What, N.W.O., Just One Fix and Thieves, all played with their usual ferocity. They finish the show with three cover versions. Jim Morrison is probably still spinning in his grave at how Al led the band through a version Roadhouse Blues at least three times as fast as the original and what Louis Armstrong would make of Al's 'Tom Waites gargling Leonard Cohen' version of Wonderful World God alone knows.

 

Of course the entire show is accompanied, as usual, by a barrage of psychadelic video images and bursts of harsh lighting. Al has his weird mic stand and the hired hand band members are uniformly excellent, especially the human octopus on the drums. It was a shame not to see the late Paul Raven on bass but I'm sure he was looking down with approval.

 

Judging by the reaction of the crowd the new songs went down a storm. The pit was big and as active during the main set as it was during the first encore and I heard few complaints on the journey home. With the band turning in a performance as good as this one its a shame that Al feels the need to retire Ministry - the world needs bands like this - but at least Al and the band are going out on a high.

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STP at The Pearl/The Palms in Vegas.

 

First off, the venue is awesome. We were right on the balcony, the view and the sound were fantastic.

Opening band was lame, and so was the long wait. The consensus was that they were trying to find Wieland. laugh.gif

The band seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Scott was all over the place, from the normal spot to climbing on amps to being the drumkit. The DeLeo bros were great! Scott was having fun and his voice was pretty good considering he was smoking in between songs.

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It's 10:22 PM and Iron Maiden are ripping through their first encore song, Moonchild. The show has been amazing so far and it is only getting better.

 

We left from Maine around 3:15, and hit the road down to Mansfield to the sounds of Maiden's 1984 album, Powerslave. I had been anticipating this day for months, and it was finally here. After getting down to the Comcast Center at about 6:30, as we drove through an epic thunderstorm and stopped for dinner, my friend's dad dropped us off. We headed in through the lightest security I had ever seen, and headed over to the merch stands. I bought a cool Somewhere Back In Time tour shirt, I'll have a pic of that later. Unfortunately, we had lawn tickets. However, as we walked up, the usher said we could sit in any seats not under the roof. We found some pretty good seats for what our options were on the stage right side, where Dave Murray was stationed most of the show. As we were waiting in our seats, it started to rain. And rain some more. And more, until we were soaked. During this, the opening act had begun playing. It was Lauren Harris, Steve Harris's (Maiden bassist) daughter. The music her band played was ok, but overall I didn't like her. About 10 minutes after she stopped, so did the rain. We waited for about 20 minutes or half hour. Then over the PA system, Doctor Doctor begins to play and the lights go down.

 

Now, if you know anything about Maiden's live shows, you'll know Doctor Doctor is always the last one played before they come out. Doctor Doctor ends, every light is off, and the Translyvania intro/video starts. When that ended, a video of old war clips with Churchill's Speech playing over it played. The crowd is going crazy at this time. The video ends, and the taped Aces High intro is played. It seemed to take forever! Finally, it ends, and we hearthe snare drum hit to start the real song and BOOM! Maiden runs out onto the stage. This was one of the greatest moments of the night. Of course, they waited until it was dark to come out, so that made it even better. Aces High was a fantastic opener. Fast paced the whole way through, never let up. Bruce had a scream at the end that was out of this world. Amazing he can still do that. Aces High finishes, and they go right into 2 Minutes to Midnight. During this one, we get the first of Bruce's classic "Scream for me Massachusetts.... SCREAM FOR ME MASSACHUSETTS!!!!!" 2 Minutes was an amazing song, making for a great 1-2 punch to start the show. Bruce lead the crowd in a singalong in the chorus. After, there is a short break and Bruce talks for a while. Ends with "I promise it will be... a Revelation" after talking about the tour and how they were gonna play a long time. With that, they started into Revelations. Wasn't so familiar with this one, but great song nonetheless. After Revelations, the backdrop behind the stage changes to the Trooper artwork. About 10 seconds pass, and they start in to The Trooper. What an amazing song this is. With such high energy, a fan favorite, and an extended solo from Dave Murray, this was one of the highlights of the night. Bruce talked a little more, and they went into Wasted Years. A good song, but there were far better ones during the night. Far from bad though. As soon as WY ended, the low voice intro for Number of the Beast started playing. They absoulutely nailed this one, a great song from start to finish with lots of fire. Bruce threw in Massachusetts in the lyrics at the end. After NOTB, Bruce went on a ranting dissing American football. "It's gay." He went on for a few minutes, finally saying that a hand motion must have been code for..... Can I Play With Madness!!!??? This was a song I wasn't so crazy about going into the show, but ended up loving. Once CIPWM ended, I knew it was on. Bruce talked about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the albatross and all that and I knew it was time for Rime of the Ancient Mariner. My god, this song was amazing. 13 and a half minutes of intensity. In the studio, during a quiet part, they have the effect of a boat creaking. Live, they recreated it by having the upper lights slowly swing back and forth and playing the creaking sound. Basically, the most badass thing I had ever seen. They filled up the stage with smoke in the middle of the song, creating a fog effect, making it even cooler. To top it off, it started to slowly drizzle during this song, making it seem as if we were out on the ocean with Iron Maiden. Before, the rain sucked. Now, it added to it. Rime of the Ancient Mariner was going to be hard to top. They didn't, but they almost did with an amazing version of Powerslave. Great song all around, the combonation of Ancient Mariner and Powerslave wasn't topped all night. Following Powerslave was Heaven Can Wait. This was a great performance of a great song. In the middle, a bunch of fans got to go on stage and sing. I was quite jealous. After HCW, Run To The Hills started. A fantastic song that the band positively smoked. Another highlight of the night, the whole crowd singing along to the whole thing. After RTTH was Fear of the Dark, the only song of the night that wasn't from the 80's. Although it was a bit out of place in the set, it was a brilliant rendition of the song. Bruce lead the fans in singing the intro riff, which was really cool. After FOTD was the main set closer, Iron Maiden. This has always been the song to close out the first set for Maiden, and it always should be. Entire crowd singing along, band going crazy, just awesome. In the middle of this one, the giant Powerslave Eddie head behind the stage split open, and out came Mummy Eddie. The thing was huge! It leaned forward and started lunging out at the crowd. An awesome effect to end the show. This song also featured Janick Gers throwing his guitar about 30 feet in the air and swinging it around by the strap. The band left the stage, and the crowd cheered for more. About 5 minutes later, we got it. They came back out, and Bruce introduced the band as they went into Moonchild. I had almost lost all my energy at this point in the show, and I had to spend this song trying to get it back. Not a bad performance at all, but not one of the highlights of the show. Right at the end of Moonchild, Steve Harris started the awesome bass intro to The Clairvoyant. This was a great song that came across even better live. Maybe that was because of the appearance of.... a 12 foot high Cyborg Eddie (From the Somewhere In Time album)! Eddie walked out on stage and roamed around for about a minute and a half, playing Dave Murray's guitar in the process. Once The Clairvoyant ended, there was about 30 seconds of silence. A slow four count on the cymbal was done, and Hallowed Be Thy Name started. This was one of the best show closers I had ever seen. The band was firing on all cylinders, and the crowd was loving it. An amazing song to end an amazing show. Bruce said thank you and good night, Nicko McBrain came out and threw his A) Drumsticks cool.gif Drumheads, as frisbees, and C) socks into the crowd.

 

We headed out, I bought an awesome poster, and we walked out to the entrance to meet my friend's dad, almost getting hit by a car in the process. It wouldn't have taken anything away from that night, and I say that with all seriousness.

 

NOTES:

- Dave Murray is easily the best guitarist in Maiden

- Bruce Dickinson hasn't lost a thing

- However, Bruce was lost in the mix early on, to the point that his mic totally cut out while talking before Wasted Years

- Besides that, a nearly perfect show. 9.5/10

- Anyone seeing them on the European leg (this was the last US show) will be blown away

- Bruce also said they will be back in a year or two with a brand new Maiden album

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QUOTE (asp324 @ Jun 22 2008, 11:47 AM)
It's 10:22 PM and Iron Maiden are ripping through their first encore song, Moonchild. The show has been amazing so far and it is only getting better.

We left from Maine around 3:15, and hit the road down to Mansfield to the sounds of Maiden's 1984 album, Powerslave. I had been anticipating this day for months, and it was finally here. After getting down to the Comcast Center at about 6:30, as we drove through an epic thunderstorm and stopped for dinner, my friend's dad dropped us off. We headed in through the lightest security I had ever seen, and headed over to the merch stands. I bought a cool Somewhere Back In Time tour shirt, I'll have a pic of that later. Unfortunately, we had lawn tickets. However, as we walked up, the usher said we could sit in any seats not under the roof. We found some pretty good seats for what our options were on the stage right side, where Dave Murray was stationed most of the show. As we were waiting in our seats, it started to rain. And rain some more. And more, until we were soaked. During this, the opening act had begun playing. It was Lauren Harris, Steve Harris's (Maiden bassist) daughter. The music her band played was ok, but overall I didn't like her. About 10 minutes after she stopped, so did the rain. We waited for about 20 minutes or half hour. Then over the PA system, Doctor Doctor begins to play and the lights go down.

Now, if you know anything about Maiden's live shows, you'll know Doctor Doctor is always the last one played before they come out. Doctor Doctor ends, every light is off, and the Translyvania intro/video starts. When that ended, a video of old war clips with Churchill's Speech playing over it played. The crowd is going crazy at this time. The video ends, and the taped Aces High intro is played. It seemed to take forever! Finally, it ends, and we hearthe snare drum hit to start the real song and BOOM! Maiden runs out onto the stage. This was one of the greatest moments of the night. Of course, they waited until it was dark to come out, so that made it even better. Aces High was a fantastic opener. Fast paced the whole way through, never let up. Bruce had a scream at the end that was out of this world. Amazing he can still do that. Aces High finishes, and they go right into 2 Minutes to Midnight. During this one, we get the first of Bruce's classic "Scream for me Massachusetts.... SCREAM FOR ME MASSACHUSETTS!!!!!" 2 Minutes was an amazing song, making for a great 1-2 punch to start the show. Bruce lead the crowd in a singalong in the chorus. After, there is a short break and Bruce talks for a while. Ends with "I promise it will be... a Revelation" after talking about the tour and how they were gonna play a long time. With that, they started into Revelations. Wasn't so familiar with this one, but great song nonetheless. After Revelations, the backdrop behind the stage changes to the Trooper artwork. About 10 seconds pass, and they start in to The Trooper. What an amazing song this is. With such high energy, a fan favorite, and an extended solo from Dave Murray, this was one of the highlights of the night. Bruce talked a little more, and they went into Wasted Years. A good song, but there were far better ones during the night. Far from bad though. As soon as WY ended, the low voice intro for Number of the Beast started playing. They absoulutely nailed this one, a great song from start to finish with lots of fire. Bruce threw in Massachusetts in the lyrics at the end. After NOTB, Bruce went on a ranting dissing American football. "It's gay." He went on for a few minutes, finally saying that a hand motion must have been code for..... Can I Play With Madness!!!??? This was a song I wasn't so crazy about going into the show, but ended up loving. Once CIPWM ended, I knew it was on. Bruce talked about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the albatross and all that and I knew it was time for Rime of the Ancient Mariner. My god, this song was amazing. 13 and a half minutes of intensity. In the studio, during a quiet part, they have the effect of a boat creaking. Live, they recreated it by having the upper lights slowly swing back and forth and playing the creaking sound. Basically, the most badass thing I had ever seen. They filled up the stage with smoke in the middle of the song, creating a fog effect, making it even cooler. To top it off, it started to slowly drizzle during this song, making it seem as if we were out on the ocean with Iron Maiden. Before, the rain sucked. Now, it added to it. Rime of the Ancient Mariner was going to be hard to top. They didn't, but they almost did with an amazing version of Powerslave. Great song all around, the combonation of Ancient Mariner and Powerslave wasn't topped all night. Following Powerslave was Heaven Can Wait. This was a great performance of a great song. In the middle, a bunch of fans got to go on stage and sing. I was quite jealous. After HCW, Run To The Hills started. A fantastic song that the band positively smoked. Another highlight of the night, the whole crowd singing along to the whole thing. After RTTH was Fear of the Dark, the only song of the night that wasn't from the 80's. Although it was a bit out of place in the set, it was a brilliant rendition of the song. Bruce lead the fans in singing the intro riff, which was really cool. After FOTD was the main set closer, Iron Maiden. This has always been the song to close out the first set for Maiden, and it always should be. Entire crowd singing along, band going crazy, just awesome. In the middle of this one, the giant Powerslave Eddie head behind the stage split open, and out came Mummy Eddie. The thing was huge! It leaned forward and started lunging out at the crowd. An awesome effect to end the show. This song also featured Janick Gers throwing his guitar about 30 feet in the air and swinging it around by the strap. The band left the stage, and the crowd cheered for more. About 5 minutes later, we got it. They came back out, and Bruce introduced the band as they went into Moonchild. I had almost lost all my energy at this point in the show, and I had to spend this song trying to get it back. Not a bad performance at all, but not one of the highlights of the show. Right at the end of Moonchild, Steve Harris started the awesome bass intro to The Clairvoyant. This was a great song that came across even better live. Maybe that was because of the appearance of.... a 12 foot high Cyborg Eddie (From the Somewhere In Time album)! Eddie walked out on stage and roamed around for about a minute and a half, playing Dave Murray's guitar in the process. Once The Clairvoyant ended, there was about 30 seconds of silence. A slow four count on the cymbal was done, and Hallowed Be Thy Name started. This was one of the best show closers I had ever seen. The band was firing on all cylinders, and the crowd was loving it. An amazing song to end an amazing show. Bruce said thank you and good night, Nicko McBrain came out and threw his A) Drumsticks cool.gif Drumheads, as frisbees, and C) socks into the crowd.

We headed out, I bought an awesome poster, and we walked out to the entrance to meet my friend's dad, almost getting hit by a car in the process. It wouldn't have taken anything away from that night, and I say that with all seriousness.

NOTES:
- Dave Murray is easily the best guitarist in Maiden
- Bruce Dickinson hasn't lost a thing
- However, Bruce was lost in the mix early on, to the point that his mic totally cut out while talking before Wasted Years
- Besides that, a nearly perfect show. 9.5/10
- Anyone seeing them on the European leg (this was the last US show) will be blown away
- Bruce also said they will be back in a year or two with a brand new Maiden album

Holy sh*t!!!! WHAT A GREAT REVIEW!!!!!

 

unsure.gif

 

 

How old are you, really????!!?????

 

 

 

laugh.gif

 

 

Good job, Buddy!!!

 

Hare biggrin.gif

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QUOTE (asp324 @ Jun 22 2008, 01:04 PM)
Hare would I get an A+ in your class? biggrin.gif

http://www.coachsims.net/img/retention_clip_image006.jpg

 

new_thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

 

Proud of ya!!!!

 

Hare biggrin.gif

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Haven't been on here in awhile due to my computer being out of comission for about 3-4 months.

 

 

HOWEVER.

 

I saw Sigur Ros at Bonnaroo. To say they blew my mind is an understatement to how truly great they were. Easily one of the best concerts of my life. As good as when I saw Rush and The Mars Volta for the first time. I still look back and still can't believe what I had witnessed. On my birthday no less!

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I saw Rush 2 times, both times were great, heres my review (both had the same setlist):

 

Sound: Freakishly loud, you could hear everything that they were playing, it was great. I couldn't beileve how much effort was put into the audio.

 

Video's/Visuals: The huge movies above Geddy, Neil, and Alex were great. I love how funny these guys are, you would think they are kind of not funny, but their actually hilarious people.

 

Songs: Great setlist! A true stand out was when they played 2112 and natural science, both are incredible songs.

 

And I saw Aerosmith a few Times as well:

 

Sound: Some songs were just great, but sometimes it would just be kind of lacking the energy you would think that these guys would have.

 

Video's/Visuals: Not a great stand out of the whole concert, but I looked up to see something interesting once in a while.

 

Songs: The setlist for them was great, I loved all the songs that they played. Love In an Elevator was incredible, I love that song so much. Most of the other songs weren't that memorible.

 

Lastly, I saw Deep Purple once, a long time ago:

 

Soung: I was pretty good, untill they all got backstage to get all high, and whatnot. But before that it was great.

 

Visuals: It was great! The lightings were awesome, so when they didn't play that good at the second half of the concert, you would just be amazed by the light effects, and what not.

 

Songs: The setlist was good, unfourtantly they didn't play some songs as good as you hoped that they would.

 

 

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Radiohead - Victoria Park, Hackney, 25 June 2008

 

Radiohead are in an interesting space, they are a hugely popular art band. And this causes them a few problems. Lots of people want to see them, but where are they going to play? Are they going to jump on the commercial arena tour bandwagon and play Wembely Arena? Suck commercial c*ck by playing their music surrounded by adverts for Pepsi, embrace the machine of the industry of milking the fans of their money? No, they are one of the most credible artists working today. So they played in my local park. It was a big gig, and felt like the headline act of one of those big festivals you get. Surrounded by nature, no adverts. So how was it as an experience?

 

I cycled home from work along the canal towpaths from Canary Wharf to my home in Hackney. Got home, put some food out of the birds in the garden, met up with Female Variety Disco and we walked down the canal tow path that took us directly to the park. Across the field in the summer sun to the gig. It was a beautiful way to get to a gig. No cars, no trains, no public transport.

 

There was a big crush of fans up the front and we hung back near where there was space. They played their newer more interesting stuff, steering clear of the old rock tunes. I found myself thinking they were great, but the gig was far too big. Down the front the keen fans were packed in as if for a rock gig, and at the back we were too far away for an art gig.

 

The older rock songs started up towards the end of the gig. It seemed that the fans at the front were loving them. They had been waiting for the group moment of all singing along with Karma Police. For me thought the old tunes all seemed a bit silly after the more intelligent stuff we'd had. They were rock songs, they really wanted to be rock songs and they seemed very eager to please.

 

After a couple of the old tunes though my resistance broke. They might be rock songs, but they are fantastic. And the closer, Paranoid Android, was simply overwhelmingly good.

 

By chance I met my old friend D there, who I'd last met at the back of the tent Radiohead had played in when they were last at Victoria Park. He collapsed in a cocaine breakdown on that occassion (though he was clean that night). He was in a much better place this time.

 

After the gig Female Variety Disco and I walked back up the canal tow path in the dark to our bed.

 

Disco

 

PS I should mention that where they played, and where I live, is a very multicultural area. Hackney, for centuries has been a focus for immigration. It's the most internaitonal part of an intenaitonal city. People from everywhere in the world live there. No ethnic group is the majority. But at the Radiohead gig!!! It was like a white supremicist meeting. Only white middle class folk, dress from Boden!!

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I'm not going to write a full review because this simply cannot simply be put into words. I saw Sigur Ros last night at the Greek and let me just say that they were absolutely f***ing MANGNIFICENT! Incredible! Holy shit! Their music is so powerful and moving live and the lead singer, Jon Birgisson, has an amazing voice. Basically, if you can GO SEE THIS BAND!

They will blow you away. One of the top 5 concerts I have ever seen. Stunning

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QUOTE (theworkingman @ Oct 3 2008, 02:37 PM)
I'm not going to write a full review because this simply cannot simply be put into words. I saw Sigur Ros last night at the Greek and let me just say that they were absolutely f***ing MANGNIFICENT! Incredible! Holy shit! Their music is so powerful and moving live and the lead singer, Jon Birgisson, has an amazing voice. Basically, if you can GO SEE THIS BAND!
They will blow you away. One of the top 5 concerts I have ever seen. Stunning

+1

 

 

What he said.

 

GO see this band!!!!

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I took my 10yr old daughter to see Australian Pink Floyd do "The Wall" in its entirety.

 

Nothing short of AMAZING...and I listened to The Wall all week leading up to it. Spot on, every note.

 

Never hesitate to go see these guys. They do Floyd better than Floyd and that's no joke. Lasers, lights, video effects and all.

 

 

www.aussiefloyd.com

Edited by ashpkt
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Fleet Foxes - Vicar Street

 

Rarely does a band manage to exude gravitas, humility, confidence and grace like these guys did last night.

I was at one of the greatest gigs of my life last night.

They soared. All night. Reaching places I never thought a band with only an EP and an album to their name could.

Their harmonies evoke all that is great about The Band, Byrds and Beach Boys. Mix that with 60's English folk and a bit of Greensleeves, and you're still not close. They were given CDs' by Planxty and The Bothy Band backstage so God only knows what the next album will sound like.

Onstage skits about Enya, reverb and white tigers were bonuses. Funny bunch of guys.

At one stage the singer, Robin Pecknold, sang unaccompanied with no amplification. As the whole place went confession box quiet, his voice filled the hall, not a mic in sight. Remarkable.

 

Their album will probably be Number 1 in most music mag lists this year, for once I agree. A special band.

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Our local zoo Lowry Park Zoo has various charitable events throughout the year to make money. Last night they had Zoofari which has 70 restaurants bring their food and drinks. You eat and drink unlimited at one price. The band last night?

 

Night Ranger.

 

I haven;t seen them since '84 when I saw them twice; once at a small show populated mainly by guitar geeks because Gillis had just done the Ozzy tour and once at Grad night. They were much better than expected and played little fun medleys of other acts such as Deep Purple's Highway Star, Sweet Home Alabama, Styx - Too Much Time on my Hands, and more. Good showmen and a good time. Kelly Keagy (the drummer) who sang Sister Christian and other songs has a lot of trouble live. Jack Blades can handle his business though. Brad Gillis is still a moajor showoff on guitar.

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It's been a wee while since I posted anything, so I might as well get back into the live thingy.

 

Wishbone Ash - Oct 30th, Newcaslte. The 'Real Deal' tour. Top form, even if Andy Powelll f*cked the ending of a number. Some tunes from way way back. The Hamsters were a canny support band as well, all covers from what I caught.

 

Rancid - 1st Nov, Newcastle. Pure energy! Not the greatest musicians, but hard working, and the bassist is top drawer.

 

Flogging Molly - 2nd Nov, Newcastle. Simply the best. Good banter, strong tunes, and a tight band. Good to see the whole band (except the drummer) lining up along stage front. So damn good I bought a T-shirt.

 

Joe Bonamassa - 10th Nov, Gateshead. Cancelled due to ill health - BUMMER!

 

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Ok, I saw Disturbed last night at the Bismarck Civic Center. I wasn't putting my expectations very high because they're not in my rather small circle of favorite bands, but I really had a blast.

 

I'll be honest. I didn't know all the songs they did, but they made each one exciting. The Dan Donnegan (guitarist) and John Moyer (bassist) didn't have much for vocal duties, so for much of the show, they were running back and forth trading sides of the stage getting the crowd on either side hyped up. Vocalist David Draiman was doing the same thing, and it did keep the audience excited.

 

While this crowd had a mosh pit, I was not in it. Instead, I was near the boundary line between the moshers and the tame people, slightly more on the tame side. This gave me a really nice balance because I was much closer than I had ever been to a band at a rock concert before, but I still got to enjoy the show without being shoved and having to jump around to see.

 

If Disturbed comes back around here, I'll definitely go see them! I had one hell of a time.

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QUOTE (priest_of_syrinx @ Nov 27 2008, 09:34 AM)
Ok, I saw Disturbed last night at the Bismarck Civic Center. I wasn't putting my expectations very high because they're not in my rather small circle of favorite bands, but I really had a blast.

I'll be honest. I didn't know all the songs they did, but they made each one exciting. The Dan Donnegan (guitarist) and John Moyer (bassist) didn't have much for vocal duties, so for much of the show, they were running back and forth trading sides of the stage getting the crowd on either side hyped up. Vocalist David Draiman was doing the same thing, and it did keep the audience excited.

While this crowd had a mosh pit, I was not in it. Instead, I was near the boundary line between the moshers and the tame people, slightly more on the tame side. This gave me a really nice balance because I was much closer than I had ever been to a band at a rock concert before, but I still got to enjoy the show without being shoved and having to jump around to see.

If Disturbed comes back around here, I'll definitely go see them! I had one hell of a time.

That sounds cool.

What was the set list?

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QUOTE (theworkingman @ Nov 29 2008, 06:34 PM)
QUOTE (priest_of_syrinx @ Nov 27 2008, 09:34 AM)
Ok, I saw Disturbed last night at the Bismarck Civic Center. I wasn't putting my expectations very high because they're not in my rather small circle of favorite bands, but I really had a blast.

I'll be honest. I didn't know all the songs they did, but they made each one exciting. The Dan Donnegan (guitarist) and John Moyer (bassist) didn't have much for vocal duties, so for much of the show, they were running back and forth trading sides of the stage getting the crowd on either side hyped up. Vocalist David Draiman was doing the same thing, and it did keep the audience excited.

While this crowd had a mosh pit, I was not in it. Instead, I was near the boundary line between the moshers and the tame people, slightly more on the tame side. This gave me a really nice balance because I was much closer than I had ever been to a band at a rock concert before, but I still got to enjoy the show without being shoved and having to jump around to see.

If Disturbed comes back around here, I'll definitely go see them! I had one hell of a time.

That sounds cool.

What was the set list?

I'm not very familiar with Disturbed's work, so I don't know what some of the songs were, but I know for sure that they played the following:

 

Perfect Insanity

Divide

Indestructible

Inside The Fire

Land of Confusion

Prayer

Stricken

Stupify

Down With The Sickness (awesome closer)

 

There were others, but I don't know what they were. All were great songs, though.

Edited by priest_of_syrinx
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I had the best concert year EVER this year! 1022.gif

 

Rush: 7/2 in Pittsburgh (8th row center)

Neil Diamond: 8/18 in Pittsburgh

The Who: 11/3 in Washington DC (15th row almost center)

The Eagles: 11/21 in Pittsburgh

Brian Wilson: 11/22 in Glenside, PA (outside Philly)

 

All were phenomenal shows and I would go see them again in a heartbeat, no matter what the cost or how far I have to travel. wub.gif Great set lists and everyone sounded at the top of their game. I don't think I'll ever have a year like this ever again.

Edited by Jen Sawyer
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Bell X1 - The Black Box, Galway - last Thursday

 

I leave the house, not really in gig mood, so much so, the drive to Galway is accompanied by Mike Oldfield. Not in a good mood at all.

 

I get to Galway, hoping to find a good place to eat, all I could find was MacDonald's. The condemned man's last meal, or so it felt. Why does MacDonald's feel so wrong, yet so right.....

I get to the venue, it's called The Black Box, presumably because someone already had the rights to "Shithole". An awful place, the gig hall, all black, no shit!

I really wanted to be at home. The place fills up, and it occurs to me that I'm the oldest person(38) there. The kids must have thought I was a cop, or a creepy old man, or both, a creepy old man cop.

 

Dear God, why won't the concert start? Ah, the lights dim, the Black Box blackens boxily.

A support act. Oh, for f*ck's sake. I'm in the foulest of foul moods, not willing to give this shower of (my) timewasters the time of day.

Then things started to get a whole lot better. They were fantastic, Villagers they were called. A wonderful mix of Belle & Sebastian crossed with Fleet Foxes.

Things continued to improve. The main act. Bell X1, along with Republic of Loose are the two best bands in Ireland today. Bell X1's new album Blue Lights On The Runway, is THE Irish album to buy this year. Don't buy Saint Bono's latest sanctimonious bilgefest, buy this lean, taut album instead. The odd moment might be a bit too Talking Heads in parts, but overall, there's more feeling, emotion and honesty in one of Paul Noonan's couplets than the entire new U2 coaster.

 

The gig. Yes, the gig. Newly augmented by a guy on an Apple Mac for loops and beats, the sound is hypnotic, the stage bedecked with strings of household light bulbs. Noonan owns the stage, moving like a happy Ian Curtis, and an absolutely glorious voice.

Some of you might know Eve The Apple of My Eye from The O.C. soundtrack, it soared like a lark tonight. Rocky Took A Lover continues in its quest to be the greatest Irish love song of all time. So many highlights, Flame, The Great Defector, Pinball Machine.........

The ended the last tune with the first couple of minutes of Nick Cave's Into My Arms......and they were gone. And so was I.

 

Bell X1 are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. They should be huge, but then again maybe they are better off where they are. Jesus has too much competition already from Irish rock stars.

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Not that anybody HERE is going to care, but I had a wonderful time at the Coldplay concert Monday night.

 

It was chilly for Alabama in late May - temps in the low 50's, but it was clear and a great night for a show. This was at the amphitheater literally 5 minutes from my house. Our seats were in the 2nd tier about midway back - not bad seats really.

 

It was nearly a sell-out but the crowd didn't get packed in till time for the main event. Coldplay took the stage at about 9:30 after two opening acts: Howling Bells (from Australia and not a bad band atall) and then Pete Yorn (YAWN - typical whiny "college" music).

 

Coldplay put on a fantastic, spontaneous, fun and funny show. Chris Martin is down-to-earth and made a huge effort to connect. The band moved out to small satellite stages in the venue at two different times - once to my right in the front section, and once to my left in the "cheap" seat section, much to the delight of those fans. I got pretty close during that 2nd satellite performance.

 

After Rush's amazing but very strictly scripted shows, this relaxed atmosphere was a lot of fun. I know that nobody here likes Coldplay, but the music made me happy, and actually moved me to tears at the end (The Scientist).

 

Here's the setlist:

 

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Yellow

Glass Of Water

Cemeteries of London

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Talk

The Hardest Part

Postcards From Far Away

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Green Eyes

Death Will Never Conquer

I'm A Believer (The Monkees cover)

Viva La Vida dance remix

 

Encore:

Politik

Lovers in Japan

Death And All His Friends

 

Encore 2:

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor II

The Escapist

 

I give it 4.5/5 cosmo.gif - a much-needed night of relaxation and fun for me. I hope to see them again sometime.

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