Tuesday 27th November 2007 - Kaiser Chiefs

On Tuesday I went to see the Kaiser Chiefs at the NIA in Birmingham..

Support Acts, Pigeon Detectives

Kaiser Chiefs: Ricky Wilson, Andrew 'Whitey' White, Simon Rix, Nick 'Peanut' Baines, Nick Hodgson

Pigeon Detectives: Matt Bowman, Oliver Main, Ryan Wilson, Dave Best, Jimmi Naylor

Because my mate Vic only passed her driving test a month ago so I drove.

Our tickets didn't arrive so we went to the Box office to collect them.

I'm not sure what the first band was called it may be The Little ones but I'm not sure, all I know is I didn't really think they were very good...

The Pigeon Detectives were next and I thought they were really good, I only knew the songs that had been played on the radio and to be honest didn't expect much from them but they were great. My mate Vic went completely mental.... There set was just over half and hour playing songs like take her back and I'm not sorry, and they really got the crowd going, it was almost as if it was the headlining.. I would advise anyone to go and see them if you enjoy there album as they are even better live!

The Kaisers had a big see through curtain in front of them and then it dropped when they came on.... It was a brilliant gig and again didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did as I didn't think I knew to many of their songs but It turns out I knew more than I though I did!

They kicked off with Everything Is Average, Ricky jumped down to the front of the crowd and sang it while balanced on the railings... they played their chart hits, Everyday I Love You Less and Less, Ruby, Modern Way, I Predict A Riot. Ricky even came into the crowd halfway through the gig and sang a couple of songs on a little stage in the middle...

Then they disappeared after playing We are the angry Mob (and I have to say a lot of people left at this point, I cant understand why people leave before a gig finishes, seems sad to me just to miss the traffic).

In the encore they played Love’s Not A Competition, Thank You Very Much, and finished on Oh My God just before 11...

They were so good live, I really enjoyed it! The crowd was a complete mixed bunch as well, from kids to people in there 50s, everyone seemed to have a great time... I'm so glad I came on the Tuesday instead of the Monday and got to see The Pigeon Detectives...

It took ages to get out of the NIA car park as always but we were still back in Shrews just after 12...

I give this gig 4 stars

Tues 13th November 07 - Biffy Clyro

Last night me and Em went to seee Biffy Clyro at Birmingham Academy...

Biffy Clyro: Simon Neil, James Johnston, Ben Johnston

Support Acts: The Matches and Forward Russia

The Matches: Shawn Harris, Justin San, Souci, Jon Devoto, Matt Whalen

Forward Russia: Tom Woodhead, Rob Canning, Katie Nicholls Whiskas

We got there for about 5.15 as we thought the doors opened at 6pm and we wanted t get a good place but the doors didnt open till 7pm so we were very close to the front of the queue...

This meant we would be able to get a good place on the balcony..

The first support act came on at about 8pm and they were called The Matches, I cant say I liked there music much at all and they said who they were quite a few times..... (did they think we were stupid)... They had a random man that came on and played a triangle for a short while to, who later on took over the guitar so the lead singer could run about.... They did about a half hour set...

After a short break Forward Russia came on, I found there music a lot better and it was nice to see a female drummer..... although the lead singer constantly looked like he was fitting, but his vocals were quite good, the sound quality seemed to be a lot better for them to...

At 9.30pm, it was Biffys turn and the whole crowd erupted and the lower level turned into one big mosh pit, I was so glad we had decided not to stand down there as everyone was getting crushed at some point.... But as always if someone fell over then someone would always make sure they were picked up without being trampled on.... Ive really got into Biffy since seeing them do some live performances over the summer. I only own Puzzle but really enjoy their music and after that gig I will be getting some of their other 4 albums...

They played for well over an hour first with songs such as, Saturday Superhouse, Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies, Folding Stars, and now Im everyone, plus some traks off other albums then was my fav part of the night as Simon came on stage on his own with an acoustic and played machines, I love this song so much and it was a great moment of the gig with everyone stood still watching him and singing along... Then the rest of the band joined him again and they played a few more tracks before leaving the stage at around 11pm.... It was an awesome gig and I would definately see them again!

As we came out we saw the queue for the car park was huge so we went straight to the car and decided to pay for the parking at the barrier, It saved us about half an hour waiting in the cold and we were back in Shrewsbury for about 12pm....

I give it 5 stars

Sunday 11th November 07 - Stereophonics

On Sunday we went to see the Stereophonics at the NEC in Birmingham

I went with my mate Vic...

Stereophonics: Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Javier Weyler

When we got there we realised we had great seats, right near the stage!

The support act was The Enemy

The Enemy: Tom Clarke,Liam Watts, Andy Hopkins

The Enemy came on at 7.45, I enjoyed them actually, I had heard a lot of their music as they haven't long been discovered. They were on for about half an hour and seemed to get the crowd going.... They played "Had Enough" and "You're not alone" amongst other tracks...

The Stereophonics came on at 9pm and from the start got everyone going. They kicked off with "Bank Holiday Monday". Vic had seen them before at a couple of festivals but this was my first time seeing them live!

I really enjoyed them and Kelly kept making little jokes now and again, he even got confused by what day it was as he thought it was Friday until one of the band members set him straight!

Other songs they played included "Pick a part", "Mr Writer" and "Superman", then Kelly was left on his own while he played parts of "Hurry Up", Nice Day", "Traffic", "and most of "Maybe Tommorow", then the rest of the band joined him gain.. Before the Encore they finished on "Local Boy". I like the fact that they give details of what some of the songs are about and what the inspiration was... Even telling us what gigs they had been to the NEC to see.... For the Encore they played 2 songs. "It means nothing" and finishing on "Dakota".... Then they didn't seem to want to leave the stage!!!! They whole set was about 1 and 3/4 hours which is a pretty long time!

I really enjoyed the gig and it was a sold out event but for some reason didn't seem so big this time?

On the way out I was lucky enough to be given the set list too!!!!

It took a while to get home because of all the traffic leaving the NEC but were back in Shrewsbury by 12pm....

I give this gig 5 stars

Saturday October 27th 2007 - Ash

Went to see Ash at Birmingham Carling Academy.

Ash: Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray
They were supported by

The Dead 60s and The Dodgems
The Dead 60's: Ben Gordon, Charlie Turner, Matt McManamon, Bryan Johnson

The Dodgems: Phil Goodwin, Tom Goodwin, Chris Murray, Eric Miller

I went with my Em, it was a birthday present from her.

We got there an hour before the doors opened expecting quite a big queue but to out surprise there were only 4 other people queuing. Em went off and got us a Maccys and warm drinks.

The queue got a bit bigger before the gates opened but it wasn't that big! I wasn't a sell out event. When we got inside at about 6pm we noticed it was only the down stairs that was open for this gig...

We decided to stand at the front and watch the support acts.The ..... Came on just before 7 and did about half hour set, then the dead 60's came on and did about the same...

I enjoyed both the Dead 60s and The Dodgems

By this time the venue was starting to fill up but nothing like it has been in the past so we decided to stay at the front. (this being a very brave decision as I have never stood at the front of any gig before).

Being at the front we were only a few feet away from the stage, which was awesome!

When Ash came on the crowd did go a little mad a pushed a little bit but nothing I couldn't handle and it did calm down... (nothing like the moshing at greenday at milton keynes bowl).



They kicked off with Meltdown and the into cherry bomb. It was very different being right by the stage.. They played favorites such as Shinning Light, Sometimes, Angel, and Girl from Mars.

They then disappeared and for the encore did End of the Word, Pacific Palisades, Numb Skull and Baby Burn, for the encore there was a loot of pushing and I did get bruised but it was all worth it. As Ash had a great stage presents and seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the crowd did!



I give this gig a rating of 4 stars!

Friday 28th September 2007 - Madina Lake

Madina Lake at Birmingham Academy...

Support Acts: My American Heart, Halifax and Envy on the coast

Madina Lake: Nathan Leone, Mateo Camargo, Matthew Leone, Dan Torelli
My American Heart:Larry Soliman, Jesse Barrera, Dustin Hook, Steven Oira, Matthew Van Gasbeck
Halifax: Mike Hunau, Chris Brandt, Adam Charles, Eric Ivener, Tommy Guindon
Envy on the Coast: Ryan Hunter, Sal Bossio, Jeremy Velardi, Brian Byrne, Dan Gluszak

I went to this Gig with my mate Emily, We were meant to be going with Jon to as I got him a ticket but he went with his brother and met us outside to get the ticket...

We got to the academy at about 5.30 and the doors opened at 6... Most people were under the age of 18 and most were Emos...

We got a place on the balcony and My American Heart (Above top) started at about ten to 7... They were really good, playing, Boys Grab your Guns, The shake and Tired and Uninspired If you want to hear their music check out their myspace page.... They put on a good show and enjoyed themselves..

Next up was Halifax,Above Left these were my favorite out of all the support bands... They had a lot of energy and I enjoyed their music... With songs like: Nightmare, Under Fire, Our Revolution and Snow in Hollywood. I hadn't heard of them before so was very impressed with them (My American heart had been played on Kerrang..)

The Next Support Band were Envy on the Coast (no pic) but I have to say I wasn't over keen on them at all and the crowd didn't seem to be either....

Madina Lake came on just after 9... They had some totally random moments in their show near the start confetti fell from the ceiling, Then a little while later huge balloons full of confetti fell... (see pic)


As they have only released one album, "From them, Through us to You"

They played all the songs off the album... So I knew all the songs...

This was their first time in the main room at the academy and it was full.... I had this girl next to me who kept screaming and one of my ears is still buzzing 14 hours later....

They disappeared and came back on with masks on (see pic) and played here I stand.... They seem to have a brilliant time and the lead singer kept diving into the crowd to sing which they loved down stairs! He disappeared twice... He also kept throwing bottles of water into the crowd..

In their last song the lead guitarist jumped onto the drummer sending the drum kit everywhere.... It was a crazy but brilliant show!

I give it 4 stars....

Friday 25th June 2004 - Metallica

Metallica at the RDS, Dublin, Ireland

Supported by Slipknot and LostProphets.


Metallica: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo

Slipknot: Nathan "Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Corey Taylor, Chris Fehn, James Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thompson, Sid Wilson

LostProphets: Ian Watkins, Jamie Oliver, Stuart Richardson. Lee Gaze, Mike Lewis. Ilan Rubin


This would be my first Metal gig so I didn't know what to expect, when we saw the gig advertised we thought it would be a great reason to go to Dublin as I had fallen in love with the City earlier in the year... We flew over to Dublin on the Friday morning from Birmingham which involved a train from Shrewsbury.. We got to Dublin and got a bus to the city centre and checked into our hotel. We then wandered around the city and then had some Guinness before catching a bus to the RDS, we weren't sure where to go so we followed the crowd of Metallers... ON the bus you could see thousands of metallers making their way there to and I have to admit I was a little scared... But was comforted and told it will be great...

When we got there we got a drink and there was already music playing and I recognised it so we rushed to out seat and Lostprophets were already playing... They were really good and It gave me a great taste of what was to come! They played "Last Train Home" which was really the song that attracted my attention to the band... I was really pleased we didn't miss them...
After they had finished their set we went to get drinks..

We got back to our seats before Slipknot (pictured left) came on but to be honest I don't like this band at all so we sat through one or two songs, I couldn't tell you what hey were as I was trying not to listen....
We left them to finish the set and had a wonder around the merchandise stalls and got another drink...


We made it back to our seats with plenty of time before Metallica came on... at about 8.30pm When they came on the crowd went mad.... It was a crowd of 35,000 and everyone was excited!

They played the favorites such as Fuel, Sad but True, King Nothing, Battery, No leaf Clover, (one of my favorite songs), Nothing Else matters (this is another of my favorites, so much so it was my wedding march) One, Enter Sandman.

It was really loud! Even though it was an outdoor event..

There were fireworks and flames and you could feel the heat from the stand so I cant imagine how hot it was on the stage or close to the stage!

I had never seen mosh pits before and they looked a pretty scary place to be... Esp to someone built as I was! But if someone fell they were helped up....

Because Metallica were in Ireland they played Whiskey in jar, which the Irish loved! and finished on Seek and Destroy....

There was a girl aged about 6 sat in front of us and she seemed to love it as did her parents!

I went away buzzing, what a first gig to go to! Metallica in Dublin, wow! We walked back into the city centre and had a couple of drinks before we headed to our Hotel....

What a great weekend!

I give this gig 5 stars.....

Friday 8th October 2004 - The Wonderstuff

The Wonderstuff at The Carling Academy, Birmingham

The Wonderstuff; Miles Hunti, Malcolm Treece, Andres Karu, Mark McCarthy, Erica Nockalls(not on the tour, joined 2005)

I didnt really know much about the Wonderstuff, I knew they had recorded the song Dizzy will Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer but I didnt know much more about them.... So before we wnet I listened to the Album "Never Loved Elvis" and realised I did know A few of their songs..

When we got to the academy it was a cold night and it was quite windy luckily there wasn't much of a queue so we were close to the doors, We managed to get a good position inside once the doors opened.. Almost in the middle of the balcony which was also close to the bar....

They put on a great performance and I enjoyed myself even though I wasn't a big fan... They played songs like "Size of a cow" (which I love), "Sleep Alone", and "Welcome to the cheap seats" and their single that had not long been released"Better Get Ready For A Fist Fight" ... I thought it was great and it was my first time going to a gig at the Academy... Well in fact it was only my third gig ever! A good night out

We got home very quick as there wasn't to much traffic...
I give this gig a 3 star rating