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

Sunday 23rd January - Greenday

Greenday at the NIA Birmingham

Support act was New Found Glory

Greenday: Billy Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt (Above )

New Found Glory: Jordan Pundik, Chad Gilbert, Steve Klein, Ian Grushka, Cyrus Bolooki ( Right)

This was a gig I was supposed to be going to with my Twin sister I had booked the tickets back October 2004 before she died... We were both big Greenday fans and weer both very excited about Greenday coming to Birmingham... But as she couldn't come I went with my brother Mike, Dan, and Vic....

We were all very excited about seeing them for the first time it was also my first visit to the NIA.... Once we had got there and found our seats the boys went to get drinks.. A little while later New Found Glory Came on.... They seemed more like a band practicing and didn't really take much notice of the crowd they just got through their set.. I quite like New Found Glory but we did find it hard to hear the songs, the noise level wasn't very high...

After they had left the stage a pink Rabbit came on stage which was very bizarre and he was there to get the crowd wound up... Next thing you knew here comes Greenday..... Going straight into American Idiot we in the tier seats and you could see all the mosh pits opening up below us.... Th crowd were going wild ( as were me and Vic) I could still hardly believe I was seeing them! Blaring out songs such as Jesus of Suburbia, St Jimmy, Long View, Basket Case, which at this point you could see all the younger kids did not have a clue about this song as they had only discovered the band because of American Idiot, Billy even did his own version of Lulus Shout, and Queens we are the champions, and dressing up for King for a day, on the encore they did Boulevard of Broken Dreams and finished with Time of your Life (Good Riddance) and it truly was a great song to finish on... My ears weer ringing and I had lost my voice but I was very happy! I had finally seen my Fav band, at the same time sad that I didn't do it with my best friend and soul mate, my twin sister Cazz... But I know she saw it and enjoyed it just as much as me.... We didn't park in the NIA parking we had parked nearer to town so we walked back into town and had a drink in the pub on the way home....

I give this Gig 5 stars

Wednesday 13th April 2005 - Terrorvision

Terrorvision at the Carling Academy, Birmingham

Terrorvision: Tony Wright, Ian "Shutty" Shuttleworth, Mark Yates, Leigh Marklew, Josephine Ellul

My sister was a big fan of theirs and played How to make friends and Influence people alot.. So when I found out they were touring I wanted to go and see them..
When we got to the Academy there wasnt much of a queue but it was pretty cold outside while we waited....

They played many from the said album including, Alice whats the matter, Stop the bus and What makes you Tick...

My favorite song by them has to be pretend best friend which they did.. I wasn't feeling to great and got a temperature half way through the gig, Luckily we were down stairs so I could sit down but I still enjoyed myself and still had a good view.
I even enjoyed the song "Tequila" which I did in fact think was a little to cheesy when they released it and it got to about number 2 in the charts...

There wasn't to many teenagers in the audience at this gig it was mainly people in their 20's and beyond....
Even though i was ill it was still a great gig and it didn't take to long to get home either..
I give this gig 3 stars

Sunday 19th June 2005 - Greenday

Greenday at Milton Keynes Bowl

Supported by

Jimmy Eat World , Taking Back Sunday and Hard-Fi

Greenday: Billie Joe Armstrong, Fred Dirnt, and Tre Cool

Jimmy Eat World: Jim Adkins, Tom Linton, Rick Burch, Zach, Lind

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

Hard-Fi: Richard Archer, Kai Stephens, Ross Phillips, Steve Kemp

This was one of the best days of my life!!

I went to this gig with my mates Dan, Jon, Dave and Paul, we also met a few others there, Tom, Dom, Ryan, and Joel... I drove us 4 down to Milton Keynes and we were all buzzing, I had seen Greenday earlier in the year but was still excited about seeing them again! Once we got there we parked up and started to walk to the main arena which wasn't open yet... It was a very hot day and there were thousands of people. One the Arena opened we found a spot that we were happy with and sat down.. Then the other boys turned up and we had a chat....

I cant remember what order the support acts came on but Hard- Fi weer there instead of Simple Plan and the crowd didn't give them a too warm welcome but once they started they proved themselves... They put on a great show... with songs like Cash Machine and Living for the Weekend... I didn't know anything about them until that day but thoroughly enjoyed their music!

Jimmy Eat World were great too... I had heard there music before as Dom and Jon were fans, they played songs such as Stay on my side tonight which was released later in the year...

I was already a fan of Taking Back Sunday and the crowd really got behind them... everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves... The song Decade under the influence went down very well.....

By the time the 3rd support band had come on we had moved pretty closed to the stage with the crowd.. Once they had finished it was still light and most people had, had quite a lot to drink...

We had a little sit down of about 45 mins before we could see the Greenday Helicopter bring them in so the crowd cheered!

When they came on stage and went straight into American Idiot.... Every body and I mean everybody had gone mental! It was a very scary but great time for me as I got dragged into a mosh pit that had opened up in front of me and it took my mates till half way through Boulevard of Broken Dreams to drag me out of it.... and one point I thought I was going to get killed as being 5ft 2 and 6 Stone I wasn't really built for mosh pits! But I loved it... For the rest of the time my mates acted like body guards and made sure I didn't get dragged in again.... They played songs from all the albums and you could really tell the old and new fans by how excited the fans got for songs off Dookie as this was the album back in 94 that got my attention to this band! Everybody knew Basket Case.... But they just sang hit after hit and it was great. When Billy sang Wake me up when September ends you could feel the emotions coming from him it was a very personal song to him and it means a lot to me as I always wanted to go to a Greenday gig with my twin sis but she had died in the Nov before....

Getting some people up on stage to be part of the band was great esp for this little lad that played lead.. He will never forget it!

There were fire works once it got dark and it was still boiling hot! They finished on Time of your life and that summed up the night it truly was the time of my life!

To get out the car park took about 2 hours so we didn't get home until about 4am and I had to work the next day but it was all worth it! I Love GreenDay!

Give this 5 stars and more...........

Monday 17th October 2005 - Bowling For Soup

Bowling For Soup, Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Bowling For Soup: Jaret, Reddick, Erik Chandler, Chris Burney, Gary Wiseman

I'm not a big fan of theirs but my mate Vic is so i said I would go with her....

I didn't know where to park so ended up parking on a street near to the venue..

There were a few support bands but I wouldn't say any of them were any good really..

Bowling for soup were good and the crowd enjoyed themselves.. It was full of young teenagers.. "Girl all the Bad Guys Want" seemed to be the favorite which as it goes is my favorite by the band to.... Vic had a great time and we both enjoyed ourselves.. We made in back to Shrewsbury before 12....

Rating of 2 stars

Sunday 11th December 2005 - Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters at The NEC in Birmingham

Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hakins, Chris Shiflett

We nearly didnt get to go to this gig as I was stuck in hospital in Birmingham so we had to come up with some careful planning.... This involved Vics Dad taking, her, DJ and Jon to Birmingham and coming to the hospital to pick me up for "Dinner" and then going off to the gig..... It was great because we got dropped off out the NEC we had a little walk around the Merchandise and then went to find our seats... I cant remember who the support act was but I dont think I thought much of them....

When the Foos came on the place went mad! To see Dave Grohl and the crew on stage was brilliant.... They did songs from all their albums, such as: DOA and One by One and even Monkey Wrench and a gfew from their new album at the time "In your Honour"... Dave had a go on the drums and also at one point came out onto and Little stage in the middle of the crowd and did a bit of a solo on his guitar, it was really good as the fans could touch him esp as he ran through the crowd to get to this little stage..... It was a great gig!

I got back to the hospital for about 11pm and the nurses didn't mind and I was a very happy chappy that I didn't miss it....

I give this gig a 5 star rating

Saturday 10th June 06 - Bonjovi/Nickelback

Bon Jovi and Nickelback at Milton Keynes Bowl

Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres

Nickelback: Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger, Danial Adair

I drove, Me Jon and Vic down to Milton Keynes and we met our mate Emily at Milton Keynes as she works in Andover.

Got to Milton Keynes in time to watch England play so we found a pub and sat and watched the game after that we drove to the bowl and parked up... It was a very hot day which was good as its an outdoor event...

They had a local band on that had won a competition to be there with the local radio station, they were ok and they crowd showed their support, we couldn't help but think what a gig for the band, that have prob just been doing local pubs in the area....

I love both band so couldn't wait for Nickelback to come on... They sang songs from their first album and of course sang how you remind me... Which broke them into the uk.. Then songs such as Photograph (My fave), If everyone cared and Rockstar of the album " All the right reasons", they also threw t-shirts out into the crowd they were on for I think about 45 mins but it could have been nearer an hour.. You wouldn't have thought that they were the Support Act...

Then it was Bon Jovis turn..... And they did about 1 1/2 hour set with songs such as...... Livin on a prayer (of course), Bad Medicine, Always, Its my Life, Have a nice day, Anted Dead or Alive and many many more.... Some that were released before I was even born... That shows how long they have been going and what a varied crowd there was there...

Then we began the journey home.. It didn't take to long to get out the car park as we parked in the disabled part.. But it had been a long day and even with the adrenaline running through me we had to stop for food and caffeine to keep me awake... Got home about 2am...

An amazing day.... I give this gig 5 star rating

Sunday 23rd July 06, Guns and Roses

We went to see Guns and Roses at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

Supporting Act Bullet for my Valentine

Guns and Roses: Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed, Robin Finck, Tommy Stinson, Chris Pitman, Richard Fortus, Bryan ,amtia, Bumblefoot, Frank Ferrer.

Bullet for my Valentine: Matthew Tuck, Micheal Paget, Jason James and Michael Thomas

Duncan drove, Karl, Me and Jon to Manchester and the MEN is really easy to find..

I was nicely surprised by Bullet for my Valentine as I'm not sure what I was expecting... I didn't know much about the band.

I have to say I was very unimpressed with Guns and Roses (should I say Axl and his band) They had already said no to photography, and then they were over an hour late coming onto stage. This to me shows a complete lack of respect to their fans.... They played all the old favorites, Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City etc but I have to say I was so unimpressed with the fact they were late I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have....

They are a good live band but I wouldn't go and see them again!

I give this a 2 Star rating....

Saturday 9th Spetember 2006 - Robbie Williams

This was a gig that I had been
looking forward to for about 10 months.... It was to see Robbie Williams at Roundhay Park.

Suppoerted by Orson and Basement Jaxx


Orson: J., George, Kevin Roentgen, Johnny Lonely & Chris Cano
Basement Jaxx: Felix Buxton, Simon Ratcliffe & a cast of thousands...



As it was in Leeds and thats quite a drive from Shrewsbury we decided to stay in a hotel over night... It was Tracy, Jon, Vic and Me...
Tracy drove which was good as it meant that I had more energy for the day... We set off pretty early as we knew there would be alot of people there .. Tickets sold out so 90,000 and the gates opened at 2pm... and we had to check into our hotel first then find Roundhay Park.


We got the hotel in plenty of time prob just after 12 and booked in and set off.. We actually decided to follow coaches full of Robbie fans through Leeds until we saw signs for the park..
Once we had parked up we walked around to the entrance and they had already started to let people in eatlier than 2 so we found a space and sat down, enjoying the sun!

Orson came on first and the whole crowd moved forward. They were great, Tracy really likes them and as it wsa her first gig she got very excited! I actually knew more of their songs than I realised. Then came Basement Jax it was great to hear them play their old stuff.. Then after a little while it was Robbies turn..

As I knew he wouldnt he didnt disappoint! We moved forward quite alot just before he came on so we werent that far from the inner circle by that point! The view wasnt to bad... The atmosphere was great... With songs like, Back for Good which he actually sang right, normally he takes the mickey out of the words, When he came back on for the encore he was right at the top of the stage and startedoff with rudebox which wasnt that bad... And as always finishing with Angels....
I dont really need to say to much about it as it was on Sky and its been on t.v since. To get out the car park took hours and I actually fell asleep on the way home. I also slept very well at the hotel..

This gig gets a 5 star rating