Wednesday 29th November 2006 - Pink

Pink at the Birmingham's NEC..

Support act MudBone

Mudbone: Gary Cooper and others...

I drove and went with my mates Em and Jon...

Mudbone are a funk/rock band with a DJ scratching every now and again which I have to say did become very annoying... They were only on for half an hour but it seemed like much longer and I was willing them to get off the stage...

When Pink came on, she put on a great show and has a fantastic voice.. Well worth going! My mate especially liked when she was doing acrobats in what was basically a bra and knickers! ha ha ha.. Wearing pink underwear, and netting is spread like a web behind her, she winds herself into it and is raised into the air and then does some mid-air acrobatics, then drops into a net that catches her not far off the stage..

Did stuff from her old and new album ( I'm not dead) such as Cuz I Can, followed by Trouble, Just Like A Pill, Who Knew, Family Portrait and Party Started... Amongst others..

I'm not used to going to a gig that doesn't have a band as such on stage, so this was more of a dancy gig with lots of dancing and running around.
She did a bit where she came out onto the little stage in the middle of the audience and pretended to sit around a camp fire, at this point one of the fans on the floor had made a pretend camp fire and brought marsh mellows for her, which she thought was fantastic! She did some acoustic songs and that was pretty cool..

The highlight of the evening for me was Dear Mr President as I love that song and so does the rest of the crowd as it would appear as everyone was singing along at the top off their voices..

To finish off she had other acrobats winding them selves into long drapes and performing a dance of acrobats in the air...

All the girls enjoyed singing along and all the men enjoyed the view.. A very entertaining and full of energy show..

I give it a 3 star rating

Fiday 15th December 2006 - Iron Miaden

Now to go all the way back to last year...

On Friday 15th of December 2006 I Went to see Iron Maiden at the Manchester,MEN... They were supported by Trivium

Iron Maiden: Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain, Adgrian Smith, Janick Gers

Trivium:Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto, Travis Smi..

My mate Dave drove and we went with, Julia (who was very pregnant, Vic and Jon...

We were up near the top of the arena so there were plenty of stairs to climb with which me and Julia had to have a break to get up them all...

It was a really good gig... Now I don't really like Trivium as they seem pretty arrogant in interviews and I haven't really got into their music but they were ok and pretty entertaining....

They even dedicated it to one of their fans that they had been to see in hospital but had died...

Maiden did a 2 hour set and were unreal. One of the best gigs of the year! It was also one of the loudest gigs Ive ever been to, the robotic Eddie was very cool...They started off by playing straight through their new album then went on to play older stuff.

I think it may have been even better if they had mixed it up a little instead of playing all the way through the album but they have a great stage presence and the whole crowd went mad!!! Especially for Run to the Hills....

They had a massive tank on stage which was very cool...

I was definitely hoping for them to play a lot of their older stuff as it was the first time I had seen them I guess I will just have to hope that next time they tour it will include a lot more of the older stuff...

I give this gig 4 stars... Play a bit more old stuff and it would be 5...

Monay 12th March 2007 - Stone Sour

Back to the Monday 12th of March now... When I went to see Stonesour at Birmingham Academy..

I'm not to sure on what the support Acts were called...

Stonesour: Corey Taylor, Jim Root, Josh Rand, Shawn Economaki, Roy Mayorga

I went with Vic, Jon, and Duncan. Duncan drove there...

It was incredible, we stayed upstairs and the view wasn't bad... I like it on the balcony as I'm only small and the moshing is likely to kill me... Ha ha ha.. and from the view we had it I would have def needed a trip to A n E...
The two support groups were not bad but when Corey Taylor came on stage the crows went wild.. (I love the academy as its such a small venue it seems more personal..)
They started off with some of their heavier ones of the new album then did a couple of their slower ones, he was impressed how loud the crowd were for through glass but when he started to do bother he stopped half way through as he was taken back at the fact I think everyone in the place was singing to it... It was a great crowd and I don't think anyone was disappointed... Got myself a Tshirt and for one the girls tops have the tour dates on them... I will definitely go and see them again...

I really didn't expect to enjoy them as much as I did but I really did...
Favorite gig.. Was on such a high for hours afterwards...
I was even bouncing all the way through which I was impressed about as I don't normally have that much energy!!!!

It was one of my favorite gigs so I give it a 5 star rating and its listed my 3rd

Saturday 7th April 2007 - Barenaked Ladies

On Saturday 7th April 2007 I went to see the Barenaked Ladies at the Carling Academy in Birmingham...

Barenaked ladies: Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Steven Page, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart

I drove and took my mates Vic and Jon....

The support act was a music comedian but I cant remember his name, he was really funny though... The Barenaked Ladies were even his band at some points in his show..

Ive not been to a gig where there was a comedian on first... as that's what he really was, he just put his jokes to music...

The "Ladies" were really good, they played a variety of songs from a lot of their albums... They made me happy as they played a few songs from stunt which include, One Week and If I had a million Dollars.
They even played requests.... It was a good crowd and everyone joined in...
They were on for over an hour and a half and did two encores which I didn't expect....

They did a really funny dance in the first encore and they all took part and were all foot perfect...
Traffic wasn't to bad which is always a bonus... and we had a great view as we got there quite early to queue.. so i got some great piccys... We stood on the balcony at the front in clear view....

We were expecting it to be pretty busy so that's why we got there in plenty of time... I was very pleased to be right in front of the stage on the balcony..

Bit different to what I'm used to seeing but not a bad change!

All in all a very good night out!!!!

I would give this 4 star performance...

On Friday 20th April 2007 I went to see Lostprophets at the NIA Birmingham, they were being supported by Aiden and Taking Back Sunday...

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

Aiden: Wil Francis, Angel Ibarra, Nick Wiggins, Jake Wambold, Jake Davison

Taking Back Sunday: Adam Lazzara, Fred Mascherino, Eddie Reyes, Mark O Connell, Matt Rubano

This time i went to the gig with Jon, Duncan and Vic.. Duncan drove but as it was in Birmingham we didn't really have far to go... Ive only been to the NIA once before to see Greenday.

Not heard Aiden before so I have to say I was nicely surprised by them, its a shame the sound level wasn't that high as I found it a little hard to hear in places but they performed well..

As expected Taking Back Sunday were great and the crowd got behind them, Again though there sound level was a little low.. They did quite a few tracks and had a great stage presents..

When LostProphets came on the sound level was great and very loud (which is always good) Ive seen them once before supporting Metallica but they were brilliant tonight...

They had the best stage entrance I have seen, with a big sheet up in front of them and all you could see was there solutes enlarges behind it... It looked really good!

They played a variety of there music and having a laugh at the same time..... They were on for about 1 half hours and were fully entertaining for the whole time...

The whole arena was buzzing... (we were sat in front of two 8 yr old that really enjoyed it, we think it was there first gig) Was on a high for hours afterwards, which is always annoying when you want to sleep, it took us an hour to get out of the car park but that didn't matter... Would definitely recommend anyone to go and see them...

5 start rating for this gig

Saturday 19th May 2007 - Funeral for a Friend

Gig in May....

On Saturday 19th May 2007 I went to see Funeral For a Friend at Manchester Apollo Support Acts: The Receiving End Of Sirens, Haunts

Funeral for a friend: Kris Coombs-Roberts, Gareth Davies, Matt Davies, Ryan Richards, Darren Smith

The Recieving End of Sirens: Alex Bars, Brendan Brown, Nate Patterson, Andrew Cook, Brian Southall

I went to this gig with my mate Emily and she drove, we got a little lost in Manchester but got to the Apollo before the doors opened.

We were in the standing stalls so decided to stand towards the back near the bar, this is a small venue so you get a good view from where ever you are.. I have to say we were surrounded my little Emos... he he he

First support act started just before 8,"Haunts", They were a little bit quiet and couldnt quite hear much of their music but I did like a few songs, The second act "The Recieving End of Sirens" from America were pretty good, they did sound a little like the view in a couple of songs...But they enjoyed themselves although at one point had a bit of a status quo guitar thing going on...
Then Funeral For a Friend came on at 9.30, they went straight into Oblivion which is my fav song by them at the moment, They were very loud and very good, the whole crowd got going and everyone seemed to have a good time. They did 4 tracks from there new album and lots from there two older albums. They did 2 songs for the encore and finished at about 10.45..

I really like this venue as its so small and easy to get out of afterwards... We had left the venue car park by 11.00.. So we got home in quick time..

I give this gig 4 stars

Tuesday 22nd May 2007 - Good Charlotte

Gig from May


On 22nd May 2007 I went to see Good Charlotte at Birmingham Academy, they were supported by Beat Union..



Good Charlotte: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Billy Martin, Paul Thomas, Dean Butterworth.
Beat Union: Dave Warsop, Ashton, Luke Johnson, Ade Preston

My friends dad drives a mini bus so we all got a life there and back which meant everyone could have a few drinks....

We got there for about 5.30 and as expected the queue was pretty huge already... So we queued for about 1 and half hours..
Beat Union came on at 7.50pm and they were pretty good, I had already checked them out on myspace.... As they came from Birmingham I think they really enjoyed themselves... So did the crowd, I would describe their sound as a cross between The View and The Fratellers (sp)...
Good Charolotte came on at 9.15pm and the crowd went mental.. For the first time since going to see Terrovison we decided to watch from downsatirs and we had a good view, but still stayed out of the way of the mosh pits... One of the girls we went with had never been to a gig and really liked Good Charolotte and she really enjoyed herself..

It got really really hot in there so it was nice to get out in the cool air afterwards ...
They were on for about 1 1/2 hours... A very enjoyable show and they played quiet a few songs from Morning Revival as well as a few of their classics, like life styles of the rich and famous....

Four star Gig.....

Monday 11th June 2007 - Velvet Revolver

Ok here is a gig I went to in June.........

On Monday 11th June I went to see Velvet Revolver at Manchester Apollo.
They were supported by Zuco Chain (at least I think thats what they are called)..

Velvet Revolver: Scot Weiland, Slash, Duff, Matt Sorum

My friend Emily drove which meant I could relax abit on the journey and save all my energy for the gig.
We had seats to this gig, The support band were pretty good and really enjoyed them especially there new song, cant remmber what its called. The Drummer, looked like animal from the muppets when he drums... They came on at abot 8.15 and were on for about half an hour..
Then Velvet Revolver came on at 9.15 and they were great, they played a few songs from there new album ( Libertad) which isnt out yet and alot of stuff from there last album (Contraband) ... In the encore they did a few of the favorites from their first album such as Slither..
They had such a stage presence and to see Slash play the guitar was awesom! I didnt appreciate how well he can play his guitar!!! Scott has a fantastic voice and really gets the crowd behind him...They left the stage at about 10.45pm
It was strange to be in manchester and not have lots of littel Emos at a gig, this time it was just Metallers and rockers...
Really enjoyed it, but it was so hot in the Apollo... A very Sticky nite... But I have to say so much better than Guns and Roses were!

The parking is never to crazy at the Apollo so we made it out and home within 2 hours..

A 4 star rating for this gig

Sunday 8th July 2007 - Metallica

On Sunday 8th of July 2007, I went to see Metallica at Wembley Stadium...
Metallica: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammett

We left Shrewsbury at 9.30 and got to the stadium for 2pm, this includes getting stopped for speeding, stopping for lunch and then checking into our hotel...... So we even manged to get to the stadium before the gates opened..... I used my wheel chair as I knew with such a big venue teher would be a lot of walking, I was a bit worried about using it but it turned out to be a lot of fun!!!!

The supporting Acts were, Mastodon, Machine Head and HIM
Mastodon: Brann Dailor, Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher, Troy Sanders
Machine Head: Robert Flynn, Adam Duce, Dave McClain, Phil Demmel
HIM: Ville Valo, Mikko Lindstorm, Miko Paananen, Janne "Burton" Puurtinen, Mika "Gas" Karppinen


The first act to come on in this massive stadium was Mastodon, they kicked off witha pretty heavy set and dispite the stadium not being very full at 4.30pm everyone seemed to enjoy the music, They did just over a half hour set.





Then after about a half hour wait was Machines Heads turn, Now this band is a bit better known to me soI enjoyed it a bit more and they did a 45 minute set and the crowd on the floor went mad with a few mosh pits opening up....




Then it was HIMs turn, they did a good set with a few covers and again they were on for a bout 45 minutes, they were definately the softer set of the day and to show this instead of a mosh pit there wasa massive conga line going on....




Then just before 8 was Metallica.... The one everyone was waiting for.... They kicked off with The Unforgiven and everyone went mental.... They have such a great stage presence and are all completely mental its brilliant to watch and you dont want to miss a moment of it....

You could hear the crowd sing all the words to every song.... Thern when nothing else matters came on a little later, the lighters came out (luckily by this time it was starting to get dark) and it looked incredible around the stadium....That was the highlight of the day for me..... Hetfield stopped to hear the crowd singing it back to him..

They did all my favs, Master of Puppets, Enter Sandman, No leaf Clover, Fade to Black, amongst others, they did and incredible 2 1/2 hour set with fire works and flames in parts and some amazing guitar solos, of which we come to expect of Metallica...




As always they did a dedication to Cliff Burton which is always nice to hear....


They seem to really enjoy themselves as much as the crowd did, and I dont think anyone went away diappointed!!!! What a day, What a Night, I cant wait for the new album next year and the tour to go with it!!!! Metallica rules!!!!


After the gig it took about an 1 1/2 hours to get back to our hotel, when we got back we had a drink then off to bed.... Was hard to sleep with so much adrenaline running through you...





This gig gets a 5 star rating

Hello

Well I thought I would compose a blog and bore people with my life and especially my gigging habbits...
I love going to see live bands with my friends, if its been a good gig then you can be buzzing for days later... Ive been to quite a few in the last couple of years and in time will tell you about them all.. (told you I would bore you)
I mainly go to rock/metal gigs so If you like that sort of thing then maybe my reviews will help you decide wherther to go and have a look for yourself...
Well thats about it for now.. Im going to see Metallica on Sunday at Wembley stadium and I cant wait!!!!