Keeping Rock n' Roll Alive…
Posts tagged Gigs
Danko Jones @ Monto Water Rats
Sep 1st
12th July 2010
Taking position in the barely occupied back room of the Monto Water Rats, I felt a rather strange feeling drift past me. For a short while I stood in disbelief! Wondering whether my mind was playing tricks on me. After a quadruple check and third person verification, I can now say with glee that Monto Water Rats air conditioning system is finally working! With such an amazing revelation, tonight was bound to be great!
However The Raid made a rather shaky start to the evenings sonic glory. Wearing a stupid neck-scarf the lead vocalist was an instantly disagreeable fellow, who only served to prove our assumptions correct throughout the set. His aloof, almost Liam Gallagher sized ego, his self importance and grandeur was projected without a glimpse of irony. It’s a shame really as the band were pretty handy at crafting some standout indie rock tunes scattered amongst their generic brit-rock fare.
The Raid
Danko Jones doesn’t mess about, he’s here to rock, no questions asked. Strutting to his mic stand he picks up his axe with warrior like adeptness, before blazing a trail on the fret board from the opening power chord to the last kerrang. As a power trio this band really have an abundance of energy as they fire off frantic hard rockers which are based in their punk influenced past.
Danko Jones
Their riff hungry tracks are both aggressive and melodic at the same time, all the while being rooted in firm pop principles of rousing chorus’s with boundless energy. These guys clearly take their rocking seriously as they ploughed non-stop through the first 20 minutes barely giving the crowd time to think as they assaulted their ears with high octane power chords and emphasised riff-ettes. So much time this power trio spent rocking, that when they did stop to chat with the crowd everyone was listening attentively. Lead singer, the actual Danko Jones loves his life and he loves to rock and this comes across in his machismo attitudes and desire to want to put on the best show of the year! After launching into a passionate tirade of how hard they roll, how fast they play and how loud they crank, Danko announced
I AM ROCK AND ROLL!!! …and next a pop friendly Radio Hit
Before strutting into their upbeat rocker First Date.
The quality of their set was superb as they played the choice cuts from their 4 album back catalogue including Lovercall, Play The Blues, Forget My Name, Code Of The Road. The new album material from 2010′s Below The Belt stood up well with its bigger pop hooks. Danko clearly just loves to play and hence it wasn’t a big surprise when he rants about his record company which ended thus…
…they put out this next song as a “single” (cue cheers), they want it to get “rotation” (cue cheers), preferable “heavy” (cue cheers)…
What followed was the cracking rocker Full Of Regret. Even if Danko didn’t seem to care whether or not it was popular (I feel he’d be happy playing to an empty room) it seems to go down well here!
The real high points of the show were where they went back to their roots and played their super-fast punk rockers at breakneck speed which sparked some mini moshing and over enthusiastic dancing. These showcased their raucous energy as they played with such unrelentling fury within these 2 minute outpouring of guitar chaos.
After listening to Danko’s extended speech during Mountain It’s clear to see that this guy is a real trooper with rock and roll spirit coursing through his veins. I just hope he keeps on coming back, as London loved him tonight in what was one of the best shows of 2010!
(P.S. Apologies for the terrible photo quality)
Switchfoot @ The Forum
Jul 4th
2nd June 2010
From the moment we crossed the threshold into The Forum tonight, there were people everywhere! In every direction, just hoards of fans who have arrived here at a rather early. The only place nobody was to be found was the bar! Now at any other show I would be shocked, but seeing as Switchfoot have a large Christian following, I was hardly surprised.
First up was a very energetic and enjoyable sounds of The Audio Cartel. Their clean vocals and punky riffing made for a nice pop combo which occasionally bordered into classic rock territory. The guitarist also had an affinity for the rock of ages as he abused his wah-wah pedal with impressive screeching solo’s and wailing melodies. Good fun and a perfect kick start to the night.
The Audio Cartel
Following hot on their heels were Flood of Red, another punk influenced band who has expanded their musical horizons. Sounding a great deal more epic in scope than your average angry punk band, they sound was reminiscent of Circa Survive which is no bad thing. Vocals were not particularly appealing with a mix up of high pitched squeaks and throaty screams. Their melodies were big and complex but somewhere in their skyrocketing sound they lost their immediacy and punch. Just another support band!
Flood of Red
The Forum suddenly came alive with ear piercing female screams as Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman hung from the balcony on stage left to announce his arrival! An unusual, but effective entrance! From the very first song he had the crowd in his hand and he could do no wrong.
Switchfoot
Vocals were spot on, with all the high notes being hit with ease. The band played a very tight set which took in all of their hit singles including Meant To Live, Dare You To Move, Awakening plus a handful of new tunes from their latest album Hello Hurricane.
Jon Foreman
The only gripe I have is the extended between song preaching about love, truth etc! I understand most of the crowd were right there with him… Hallelujah! But for the rest of us, this was just another American rambling on about god!
It was a good job then that their newer fuzzier and bluesy direction works really well in the live environment with romper stomping tunes like Mess of Me & title track Hello Hurricane providing a platform for crowd excitement (within restrained parameters of course).
A very professional clean cut performance from a very straight edge band!
From the moment we crossed the threshold into The Forum tonight, there were people everywhere! In every direction, just hoards of fans who have arrived here at a rather early. The only place nobody was to be found was the bar! Now at any other show I would be shocked, but seeing as Switchfoot have a large Christian following, I was hardly surprised.
First up was a very energetic and enjoyable sounds of The Audio Cartel. Their clean vocals and punky riffing made for a nice pop combo which occasionally bordered into classic rock territory. The guitarist also had an affinity for the rock of ages as he abused his wah-wah pedal with impressive screeching solo’s and wailing melodies. Good fun and a perfect kick start to the night.
Following hot on their heels were Flood of Red, another punk influenced band who has expanded their musical horizons. Sounding a great deal more epic in scope than your average angry punk band, they sound was reminiscent of Circa Survive which is no bad thing. Vocals were not particularly appealing with a mix up of high pitched squeaks and throaty screams. Their melodies were big and complex but somewhere in their skyrocketing sound they lost their immediacy and punch. Just another support band!
The Forum suddenly came alive with ear piercing female screams as Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman hung from the balcony on stage left to announce his arrival! An unusual, but effective entrance! From the very first song he had the crowd in his hand and he could do no wrong.
Vocals were spot on, with all the high notes being hit with ease. The band played a very tight set which took in all of their hit singles including Meant To Live, Dare You To Move, Awakening plus a handful of new tunes from their latest album Hello Hurricane.
The only gripe i have is the extended between song preaching about love, truth etc! I understand most of the crowd were right there with him… Hallelujah! But for the rest of us, this was just another American rambling on about god!
It was a good job then that their newer fuzzier and bluesy direction works really well in the live environment with romper stomping tunes like Mess of Me & title track Hello Hurricane providing a platform for crowd excitement (within restrained parameters of course).
A very professional clean cut performance from a very straight edge band!
ATP Pavement Festival: Day 3
Jun 24th
After a dip in the swimming pool complex with its incredible cool water slides, (with rather long queues and dramatic names like The Black Hole & The Master Blaster) then having watched the Monaco GP we were ready for day 3.
It started quite slow really with Pierced Arrows, who were devoid of life and energy. They played basic bluesy riffs with weak vocals that failed on most levels to captivate the audience.
Arriving at the ‘normal’ Wax Fang I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t always wear afros and 70′s style glam wear. Their set was a mix of tight riffs melded together with huge sound that really worked here on the Main Stage. They played with a lively spring in their steps and had the backing of the crowd, most I expect were here (like me) on the back of their stunning Prince show. The only down side was their material wasn’t particularly memorable post-performance, but this did not dampen their spirited performance.
Boris
After yesterdays gargantuan effort, we thought we’d check out the weekends second performance from Boris, this time performing their so called ‘classic’ album, Feedbacker. Given an album title like that and Boris’s sound you can imagine what it sounded like.
In fact I have to imagine also, as I fell fast asleep during the first song after sitting down for a rest (As it turns out 3 out of the 4 recharged our batteries during this show). 45 Minutes later I awoke to find a desolate and empty arena. I promptly headed out to find the rest of the DiR team who were busy putting a huge hole in the Pizza Hut buffet selection, much to the annoyance of other customers.
We didn’t really see anything for a while after this, brief sweeps past The Clean weren’t attractive enough to warrant our full attention, neither was the uber-northern song smith Terry Reid (Who looked like a cross between Pat Butcher and Jack Duckworth ). We returned to the fold to see the outspoken legend that is Mark E. Smith and his iconic band The Fall.
The Fall
Never one to shy away from controversy, Mark decided to pull the majority of his set from his latest album which despite its decent standard was somewhat of a disappointment. Very few popular songs were played as even Mr. Flowers (a self confessed Fall freak) didn’t recognise a single tune!Still the set they did perform was typical Fall. Musically tight and vocally shocking with Mark’s grumbles coming across as clearly as radio Belgium in a electrical storm. Nothing he did made much sense. From wandering around aimlessly on stage, twiddling dials he should never be let near, pulling out his band member’s amps or erratically attacking their instruments. Still it made for good comedy value at least.
We all wondered if we would hear a song we knew in the encore. Not surprisingly the answer was no! The crowd shuffled away in dismay while we stood and pondered what to do next, which turned out to be a master stroke as The Fall unexpectedly returned for a 2nd encore! This time they got it spot on, playing a song we knew…We Are Spata F.C.. From being quite a way back, we were suddenly right down the front for this cool tune. But as quickly as they returned they buggered off again. This wasn’t a bad show, I’d just expected more…a lot more.
After flitting back and forwards between Enablers and The Raincoats, chilling outside in the cool air enjoying relative peace was the most engaging option. After all I was waiting for the old school punk attitude of The Authorities.
The Authorities
These guys looked every one of their aging years but don’t let that fool you into thinking they are past it. They invoke the sound of punks early days of three chord wonders, crunching melodies, male dominated thinking and tracks of no more than 3 minutes long. They were on top form and blasted their way through some top punk numbers. Showing no signs of nostalgia, they clearly felt it was still 1972 and we were all willing to peek inside the time warp which had opened up onstage. A 30 second guitar rattle brought about the end to a high octane set as they powered down the final amp of ATP Pavement 2010.
ATP have the right idea when it comes to festivals! Civilised, laid back and comfortable, things not normally associated with festivals. I guess that’s why it this weekend was such a success despite a lineup which was barely got us excited before arrival. A long drive awaited us in the morning, but we all knew we’d be back soon for another installment of ATP genius!
ATP Pavement Festival: Day 2
Jun 23rd
Not being woken up by a blazing dawn sun, a drunk girl falling on your tent over, or a drunk bloke relieving himself in the remnants of your bonfire was by far the least interesting but most pleasant way to start day 2 at a music festival. Rolling out of bed and beginning the almighty fry up was The Docktor who rustled us up a feast (Note: 4 blokes sharing 3 cans of baked beans with their for breakfast is not advised for those with sensitive noses or a strong gag reflex). To work it off we hit the sandy coastline for some beach football! After all it was a rather unusual glorious sunny day! A few bruises and an abundance of sand in all manner of bodily crevices later, we caught wind of a secret gig going on.
Not being able resist the urge of the secret gig we were treated to an extra special show from Wax Fang @ Reds who were set to perform the entirety of Prince’s timeless album Purple Rain.
Wax Fang as Prince
Complete with comedy wigs, 70′s flares and more than required bodily hair on show Wax Fang both looked and sounded simply amazing. Their Prince routine was perfect, from the shrieking vocals right down to the note perfect solo’s and ambient keyboards. This was tongue in cheek delight and as they played hit after hit such as When Doves Cry, & I Would Die For You. Despite playing covers this was a guaranteed highlight for the festival as they faded slowly out with the fully extended version of the epic Purple Rain, the entire crowd swaying hands aloft to cheer this inspired performance.
Later that afternoon we had the biggest clash of the weekend, music or the FA Cup Final. I was the only one who made it away from the TV as I headed out to catch Blitzen Trapper. I was so glad I did! Their Americana influenced folk was at times beautiful and bold, while always being catchy and melodic. Lead singer sounded very close to a less nasally Bob Dylan but more or less managed to steer clear of the obvious comparisons. Their instrumentation was excellent and they did not get overpowered by the size of the arena, their music suited this perfectly. On the whole a very impressive performance that I really enjoyed.
Blitzen Trapper
It was at this point I found myself pondered over the weekend’s stage schedule structure. Most bands played for at least 45 minutes each with most being granted 1 hour. Now this is a good thing if you happen to like the bands that are on, but with a limited number of bands over the 3 days, 37, this leans itself to being quite restrictive.
On the plus side though if you missed the start of a set It didn’t matter so much as they would be playing for ages anyways. Looks like this was one debate I was not going to solve in a hurry so I decided to stick my head into Centre Stage for Saccarine Trust, before promptly removing it again realising the last 30 mins for the Cup Final & lunch was a more profitable use of time.
Fiery Furnaces
Disappointed after a Pompy defeat our next band of the day were up on the Main Stage. I have to admit that I went into this show with rampaging negative bias against Fiery Furnaces. Their brand of twisted indie is not the most approachable, unless you have an arty streak or a connoisseur complex. But I can say they’re live shows are a blast. Kicking into their tunes with wistful breeziness and rampaging a noisy fed back amp the combo of pop and rock was ideal. Melody wise they had big enough progressions to keep everyone nodding their heads (Apparently dancing at ATP is un cool), and enough catchy guitar licks to make me happy. This was a huge surprise, as they dropped their sweetness and blasted their way through a very entertaining set!
Boris
We quickly shuffled our way through the crowds, we had a date with Boris. The gargantuan Japanese noise rock behemoths had some technical problems in setting up and were late in getting started, but it was well worth the wait. If Spinal Tap turn it to ’11′ then Boris have their amps set to 111 as this was the most epically loud show the earth has ever seen. A drum kick sounded like a firework exploding, a bass thump was making my clothes move and the power chords where like a head gremlin playing the migraine march on your frontal lobe!
When this audio wall hit’s you square in the face, it sends you flying into a dizzying sonic spiral of intense rock energy which is astoundingly great. The songs themselves were very lucidly progressive, with heavy sections counterbalanced with some inventive and beautiful melodies. The greatest compliment to Boris was evident in the crowd. Despite near deafening volumes which could knock planets out orbit…nobody was going anywhere! Instead they were putting fingers in their ears and remaining down the front sharing the epic sounds.
Now for the reason we were all here, it was time for Pavement on a Main Stage filled to capacity (you can almost feel the desolation on the rest of the site). In one form we’d seen all the Pavement members bar front man Steven Malkmus himself over the weekend already, (Spiral Stairs, Marble Valley) so when they finally got down to their actual set it felt like we were pretty acquainted with them already.
The biggest cheers of the weekend greeted them as they made their way onstage and began playing a solid all round set of their greatest hits. Their pop sound was rougher live, but this made for a far better performance. With so much joy in the room there was a lot to love and little to fault in this show. Throwing in classic tracks like their biggest hit Cut Your Hair, Stereo and Gold Soundz, Pavement were lapping up energy from the crowd and flinging it right back.
This felt like a great return for the American indie heroes, but with a room full of people who signed up to their ATP curated festival and sold out the event before announcing any bands except themselves, I ask “was it going to be any different?” Nonetheless a superb showing for the weekends main headliner!
Monotonix
After chilling out for a while on the sofa with a few of our beers, we arrived at Reds and looked on is disbelief! The queue to get in was snaking around the smokers hangout with no indication of movement. Of course everyone was here to see the fiery DIY garage rock of those crazy Israelis’, Monotonix. After asking the door security informed us that the venue was full! 5 minutes later as we walked past him into the venue I wondered what on earth is going on?
Sit Quietly
This bewilderment was to continue once inside. Monotonix were sitting on their own stage, in only a their shorts and full chests of hair in the middle of the floor with the crowd all sitting down around them. They sounded immense! None of it made the slight bit of sense, but their three piece rock captured the spirit of beer soaked garage rock and roll ethics which is so lacking in the modern era. After about 15 minutes this spirit was too hard to ignore as the seated crowd stood up, overcome with the desire to rock out!
Sadly this was quickly brought to a halt as Butlins security stepped in and dragged Monotonix off stage, citing capacity problems and accusing the band of inciting violence. A lot of unhappy faces booed them which was unfair as they did nothing wrong, the hatred was rife and if the crowd was to kick off against the security team they would have had serious trouble on their hands. Thankfully we were at ATP not Reading festival so everyone trotted off mumbling and grumbling about the appalling security operation and health & safety gone mad.
Atlas Sound
Saddened we headed upstairs to an extremely packed Centre stage where a lone American was onstage. Atlas Sound was an incredibly annoying, whiny, overly American youth who did little or nothing to impress any of the DiR.net posse. The atmosphere was weak and uninspiring almost as much as his in between song nonsense. A lacklustre showing which was one of the most dull of the weekend.
Still Flyin’
It’s 1am and the final band took to the stage. Still Flyin’ in more of a collective than a band. With 12 members on stage you get the jist why. They had 2 trumpeters, 2 percussion, 4 singers, a keyboardist, a guitarist, a bas player and a random guy whose job it was to shake a ball shaped maraca and bound about stage. It comes as no surprise then that they play pop. This was an extremely joyous set with a carnival atmosphere that had people bopping along into the wee hours. Their reggae influenced, almost ska-indie pop was great fun way to round off day 2.#
Biffy Clyro @ Hammersmith Apollo
Jun 7th
6th May 2010
With a huge Wembley arena show beckoning in the future of the hottest Scotsmen since Sean Connery, this was one of the last chances to see Biffy up close. Their support this evening came from a band I saw last week at The Camden Crawl RoloTomassi & fellow Scotsmen The Twilight Sad.
Rolo Tomassi I felt were a strange choice of support. Their in your face aggression and non-sensical yelping doesn’t sit with most rock fans, let alone pop fans! They got a warm reception, but that could be because the crowd were intimidated by their thrashy math-rock. They were better here in the indoor setting and armed with the epic swirling electro vibes at the heart of their new material they are onto something good.
Rolo Tomassi
With Rolo departed The Twlight Sad arrived. Personally I’d rather have listened to another hour of Rolo! These Scottish miserablists were pretentious and extremely boring. They sound like an chronically depressed Snow Patrol covering Sonic Youth. No real songs were to be found…just incessant noise and the occasional strong accent. They were aimless on stage, had very little presence and the biggest cheer came when they powered down their amps, bringing to a close the worst set I”ve witnessed for quite some time!
Biffy Clyro rode the wave of ovation to centre stage and begun wiping out the Twilight Sad induced trance by flying straight into That Golden Rule, setting the tone for a lively and accomplished performance. Their Prog gone Pop-Rock philosophy was ever present as their off kilter guitar licks and galloping bass lines proved their musical engine was revving in 5th gear.Not being the most chatty of frontmen, Simon Neil makes up for this with his powerful musical lust and enthusiasm (I could easily give or take the barechested-ness though).
The majority of tonight’s set list has come from their last two commercially successful albums, latest single Bubbles and radio pop classic Mountains were played remarkably early in the set. This only goes to prove their success and repertoire quality since ‘going mainstream‘. This is not to say they have totally abandoned their early works. They played a brilliantly creative version of Glitter & Trauma and the sublime Bodies In Flight to please the old guard.
Flying straight back into the newer material they played heavily upon their latest album and DiR.net album of 2009, Only Revolutions which made the DiR crew happy! The abundance of sky soaring choruses from their material was astonishing. Hammersmith witnessed a very vocal performance tonight from band and crowd alike.
Returning in a flurry of fireworks and a mighty morphing stage for their encore Biffy upped the ante once more with more big rock tunes. Saturday Superhouse sparked some lively dance moves, the beautiful acoustic version of Machines was solemn poignant and the biggest cheer of the night goes to the mighty Captain. As they faded into the night ready to take on bigger arenas in the winter. Biffy will no doubt become big arena stars as their music is already begging for the larger venue crowds. I’m just glad I caught them when I did!
Steel Panther @ Brixton Academy
Apr 15th
Friday 19th March 2010
Long permed hair, Bandana’s, skimpy jeans and torn t-shirts were to be spotted aplenty on Brixton high street this evening, something not too often to be said in these modern times. Of course they were heading to the academy to witness the heavy metal harking, power chord striking, split jumping retro rock of the 21st centuries premier 80′s hard rock throwbacks Steel Panther. They are indeed a big draw and the sold out crowd is proof that they are a force to be reckoned with in their own right.
It is true they have taken the 80′s hair metal parody so far as to be off the scale it’s coming back round again for a second go. Their male dominated attitudes, liberal sexual views and beer driven antics are comical to the point of absurdity, which is why they are so loved. No other band could get away with writing an album full of dick jokes and sexual innuendo and still have a solitary fan. Of course the reason is their outstanding musicianship and their sublime live shows (with a little glazing of nostalgia thrown in for good measure).
Their support for this evening’s performance was far from ordinary. In fact they were stunning! All three of them were! The Sirens were to be perfectly honest 3 very hot & extremely agile strippers who danced provocatively is progressively less clothing for the crowd to the sounds of Slipknot and Lamb of God. It was totally shallow & male adjusted but who else are you expecting to perform when the headline band’s greatest ambition is to go one month without contracting an STD? Just made me wonder why more bands didn’t employ these tactics to get the crowds through the door.
The Sirens
After a substantial wait (probably due to setting up the camera crew who were filming this evening’s performance for a live DVD), Steel Panther emerged from the 80′s time machine and set up camp on their full 80’s stadium style stage setup complete with ramps, oversized drum kits and a mind blowing 24 full sized Marshall stacks!!!
Panther Look the part with typecast characters for each member Michael Starr the enigmatic lead singer who gets the girls, the hair preening, mirror obsessed bassist Lexxi Foxx, hard rock all night Guitarist Satchel and the dumb drummer Stix Zadinia. Self proclaiming that Heavy Metal is back is easy to understand once you have been panthered. Energy levels of this band are incredible, Starr, Satchel and Lexxi were constantly bounding round the stage, Starr even put in some impressive David Lee Roth style ball busting split jumps!
Vocals tonight were superb! Snows voice propels to the higher ranges of human hearing as well as having a great deep rock and rolling roar. Early set highlight came in the shape of Party All Day sparking a massive sing-a-long and thousands of fist pumps! The Devils Horns were brandished at every occasion by both crowd and band, sharing in the absurdity!
With only one albums worth of material it was always going to be a stretch to fill time. Good job they know a few jokes and are good storytellers! Each song was preceded with inter band banter of monologue length. This did begin to wear thin by the end, but again this wasn’t unexpected.
Top tunes from the set included the 2 fingers up to mainstream music in the shape of Death To All But Metal,the polygamous triumphing ballad Community Property and all out comedy of Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) each played extremely tightly with Satchels guitar skills showing great prowess!
A review of the show is not complete without mentioning their gimmicks which kept the show interesting. They recruited a bunch of strippers from the local joint to gyrate onstage during Stripper Girl, handed out foam Shocker hands for the song of the same name and I mustn’t forget the blow up dolls or confetti!
After exhausting their repertoire the encore had to include the one thing they can do better than anyone else…80’s covers! Two of them in fact, both note perfect homage’s to days gone by. Avoiding as many clichéd bands as possible they settled on the great Motley Cru’s Shout At The Devil & an absolutely amazing version of Gun’s & Roses paradise city which really blew the roof off!
A brilliant night of ‘Heavy Metal’ drew to a close and the Steel Panther boys they promised to be back and confirmed they’d be playing Download Festival in the summer (oh yeah!). This is one promise I hope they keep as tonight was man rock fun at its peak!
Hot Hot Heat, Official Secrets Act @ Scala, Kings Cross
Mar 23rd
Hot Hot Heat, Official Secrets Act @ Scala, Kings Cross , 02 March 2010
Coming to Scala for a show is never a chore and as we bustled our way into the crowd after enjoying quite a few beverages (thus neatly avoiding the extortionate bar price situation) we were greeted by the sounds of Official Secrets Act.
Official Secrets Act sound like they have just stepped off the 80’s express with their prominent keyboards, wavy hair and pop mentality. Comparisons to bands such as Duran Duran and The Human League were tossed about aplenty between the DiR gang. However with it not being the 80’s anymore, they had limited appeal. Some good tunes were present into the set with quirky electro melodies and inescapable catchiness. Not too long after they began, the lead singers comic book character, high pitched started to get irritating.
A solid opening band and with a niche appeal, one feels they need some more material to make a big splash in the rapidly filling electro-pop genre of the noughties.
Hot Hot Heat are a band who never disappoint with their live performances. This, the third time I have seen them finds them a tighter sound unit, one which has pushed down the boundaries of piano power pop. They played a pretty even spread of material covering the best bits of their 3 album back catalogue. Kicking off the evening their infectious stage energy had the crowd waving arms and pogo’ing along with front man, Steve Bays leading them like the Pied Piper.
Steve Bays
Their new material (self produced in their own recording studio no less) sounded excellent with a lot more cutting edge weirdness while retaining their characteristic quirk filled pop mentality. In fact everything sound better here this evening with the pick of the set list being No, Not Now, the rapidfire lyrics of Island Of The Honest Man and the hometown celcbration Get In Or Get Out.
Hot Hot Heat
Their infectious energy (down in most part to Bays stage bounding) reached an epic crescendo as they blasted their way through their magnificent pop anthem Bandages before darting off stage to recover. Returning for a short encore they finally took their bows and said farewell, safe in the knowledge they are fine exponents of live entertainment and a cracking band!
Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck @ The O2 Arena
Mar 12th
Saturday 13th February 2010
Settling down in my seat, bursting with excitement at the prospect of the evening ahead I could not wait for the show to get underway. Not being in the seats which come with warnings for those who suffer from Vertigo was a pleasant surprise and also showcased just how much money there is to be made from playing the O2 arena.
After what felt like ice ages (actually 45 minutes) of eager anticipation. Jeff Beck, the 60’s Legend and guitar virtuoso strode confidently to centre stage to the rapture of the sell out crowd. He proceeded to mesmerize and shine with what can only be described as totally bonkers guitar playing technique.
Using only his thumb and his whammy bar he casts a spell of absolutely beautiful melodies, unknown to most but still incredibly melodic and impressive. In fact the only songs easily recognisable from his entire set was the soul classic I Put A Spell on You, with guest vocalist Joss Stone and a magnificant cover of The Beatles A Day In The Life with his guitar singing the pitch perfect vocal harmonies.
Beck has always been a master at warping the guitar sound into new and exciting directions. His mastery of the whammy bar is unparalleled producing the most emotionally resonating melodies I’ve heard outside of a full orchestral swell (he also had his own small string section backing for most of the set).
This was a tough act to follow but who better to take the task than another 60’s legend, blues guitar virtuoso and songwriter of some of the 20th century’s finest songs…old slow hand himself, Eric Clapton. Taking stage suited and booted he lookedalmost exactly the same as 30 years previous only with greyer hair.
Taking a seat he made a lot of fans happy by starting out on his trusty acoustic guitar. His skills are still impeccable as he played though classic tunes including the mellow tones of Nobody Knows When You’re Down And Out and a poignant Runnin’ On Faith. An early show stopping tune arrived in the shape of Layla, played with such fragile beauty and an awesome bluesy swagger. Standing up he switched to his signature Fender Stratocaster, ready to amp up proceedings.
Upping the stakes as well as the sound, the plugged set was just as impressive as the unplugged with highlights coming thick and fast, most notably in the shape of the reggae cover of I Shot The Sherriff and the uber-ballad Wonderful Tonight But the pinnacle of the set was when he really turned back the clock to reprise some of his Cream days. Absolute classic guitar tracks Cocaine and Crossroads captured the spirit of 60’s rock and roll with plenty of blues aura, psychadelic pianos and nifty guitar runs to boot. With these tunes he exited on a high…not for long though.
With the apart section of the show done, Eric & Jeff banded together for the last segment of the show. This can only be described as awe inspiring! Seeing 2 of the globe’s finest guitar exponents, innovators and genre defining artists on the same stage is impressive in itself. The only measure of age visible was the creases in Becks precious hands and Clapton’s slowly greying mane. They traded guitar lines and jammed over some true old school bluesy numbers including Shake Your Money Maker and a stunning cover of Sinatra’s Moon River. Beck despite his departure from the blues scene can still mix it with Clapton and the combo was breathtaking.
For a brief encore both Eric & Jeff returned to perform Jeff’s most famous tune! For which he apologised to the crowd by saying “Eric made me do this!” before launching the O2 into song with Hi Ho Silver Lining. A cheesy by fun ending to a staggering show
