Your last gig.

  • I put this up having just come back from Whitesnake / Foreigner / Europe at the Birmingham Arena. I quite like Whitesnake Mrs Farmer is a big fan. Never liked Foreigner or Europe. Funny how music affects us all differently . We were bored by the first two bands in amongst a crowd of very enthusiastic people , so that felt odd. As performers though they were good . Whitesnake were very good although David Coverdale can't sing like he used to. He moved the mike away from mouth for the high notes and the band made up for much of it, but not as much as the crowd who David got to sing along as much as possible. Did Burn to finish , really good. A great atmosphere. Really enjoyed it. Seats taken out. I much prefer standing . Last time I went to that venue was Genesis. Would have preferred no seat then, it makes for a much better atmosphere. Seats still sides and back for that want to sit down .

  • Whitesnake's best era for me was the early years when the blues was strong in them and the hairspray and leather hadn't showed up. I still listen to Live In The Heart of the City, a great live album. That line up (the one with Ian Paice on drums) was brilliant.


    Then I saw them at Donington in 1990. WAY too OTT; the worst excesses of 1980s hard rock but after the 80s had closed out and others had recognised that times were changing. Abiding memories of that day were the opening band, the then little-known Thunder, blowing everyone else away (including Aerosmith and Whitesnake) and the Hells Angels at the back throwing drinks bottles of p1ss over the rest of us.


    The last live show I went to was Tool at O2 on 10 May. I barely knew anything abut them beforehand and I wasn't expecting much when I arrived, but it turned out to be the best gig I've ever attended. Incredible band, superhuman drummer and the trippiest visuals. Great also that cameras were banned from the main show and only allowed on the encore which, whilst fantastic, was more straight up in format. It made the main show a sort of secret ultra special event. More of an experience than just a gig.

  • The Charlatans, Aberdeen Music Hall, last week. I've been missing out on seeing them since I became a fan over 20 years ago - their closest gigs to me always clashed with other things. Even this one was scheduled for last December, I was poised to go but it was postponed due to some virus or other. I thought, the universe really doesn't want me to see this band!


    So I'm glad I finally did and it was worth the wait, I enjoyed it very much. I also added an extra day to give me some time to enjoy Aberdeen, a city I've previously been a bit ambivalent about. On this trip I started to warm to it a bit more and look forward to my next chance to visit.

    Abandon all reason

  • Midnight Oil, the first time I've ever seen them, and they were brilliant. I'm not good at writing reviews. I tend to list songs played and say 'that was great' and 'so was that'. They have always been the standard bearers for indigenous rights and climate change issues in this country. Hence the profile photo is still Peter Garrett & drummer Rob Hirst.

  • Whitesnake's best era for me was the early years when the blues was strong in them and the hairspray and leather hadn't showed up. I still listen to Live In The Heart of the City, a great live album. That line up (the one with Ian Paice on drums) was brilliant.


    Then I saw them at Donington in 1990. WAY too OTT; the worst excesses of 1980s hard rock but after the 80s had closed out and others had recognised that times were changing. Abiding memories of that day were the opening band, the then little-known Thunder, blowing everyone else away (including Aerosmith and Whitesnake) and the Hells Angels at the back throwing drinks bottles of p1ss over the rest of us.


    The last live show I went to was Tool at O2 on 10 May. I barely knew anything abut them beforehand and I wasn't expecting much when I arrived, but it turned out to be the best gig I've ever attended. Incredible band, superhuman drummer and the trippiest visuals. Great also that cameras were banned from the main show and only allowed on the encore which, whilst fantastic, was more straight up in format. It made the main show a sort of secret ultra special event. More of an experience than just a gig.

    I feel the same about Whitesnake. Saw them in the early 80s and just the other day wqs the second time! Farewell tour. I know nothing of Tool you make want to check them out.

  • The Charlatans, Aberdeen Music Hall, last week. I've been missing out on seeing them since I became a fan over 20 years ago - their closest gigs to me always clashed with other things. Even this one was scheduled for last December, I was poised to go but it was postponed due to some virus or other. I thought, the universe really doesn't want me to see this band!


    So I'm glad I finally did and it was worth the wait, I enjoyed it very much. I also added an extra day to give me some time to enjoy Aberdeen, a city I've previously been a bit ambivalent about. On this trip I started to warm to it a bit more and look forward to my next chance to visit.

    I've followed them on and off since Some Friendly, which I used to play to death. Only seen them live once though, at V Festival (2007 I think

  • I feel the same about Whitesnake. Saw them in the early 80s and just the other day wqs the second time! Farewell tour. I know nothing of Tool you make want to check them out.

    Lucky man if you saw Whitesnake in the early days. That early line up with the Deep Purple backbone was a really strong band.


    Confession - I saw someone's YouTube upload of their recent O2 gig and I thought it wasn't bad, but David Coverdale's voice is (inevitably) not a patch on his younger days and the band still seem to think it's 1987. I'm sure I'd have sung along if I was there though and I have a renewed appreciation of their bass lines!


    I'm a Tool convert now, but they're infinitely better live than they are in the studio. Their sound needs a big live PA and I have truly never seen such an effective use of lights, screens etc with the sound. It's like a two hour trip.

  • Just saw the Rock Orchestra last night play the Duke and Abacab albums in their entirety. WOW! Amazing musicians and an amazing night of music. My longer review is on the Rock Orchestra thread on this board.

  • Last night. Alice Cooper and The Cult at the NEC. Mrs Farmer was so exited to see The Cult . We had the tickets for months she knew someone else was on but couldn't remember who and was astonished to find out they weren't the main headliner.

    Anyway , for me although The Cult were great Alice was the best show I've been to this year ( out of 6 ) and the best I've seen him ( out of 4) . A great gothic castle set , the expected theatrics , big dollops of humour. Great sound , very very loud. Tremendous band. They literally didn't stop playing for the whole set, one song ran into another . Loved the outro, he introduced the band right at the end and said " and playing Alice Cooper .........me!"

  • Last night. Alice Cooper and The Cult at the NEC. Mrs Farmer was so exited to see The Cult . We had the tickets for months she knew someone else was on but couldn't remember who and was astonished to find out they weren't the main headliner.

    Anyway , for me although The Cult were great Alice was the best show I've been to this year ( out of 6 ) and the best I've seen him ( out of 4) . A great gothic castle set , the expected theatrics , big dollops of humour. Great sound , very very loud. Tremendous band. They literally didn't stop playing for the whole set, one song ran into another . Loved the outro, he introduced the band right at the end and said " and playing Alice Cooper .........me!"

    Great to read your summary. AC isn't someone I'd think of seeing but I can well imagine he does a terrific show. He also always comes across well in interviews.

    Abandon all reason

  • Ok, technically this will be the next gig I see. The Whitetop Mountain Band at the Rex Theater in Galax, VA, while vacationing at a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains.


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  • The Levellers on Friday just gone at Coventry Empire . They were great and are truly a mighty band. So full of energy. It's been a while since I saw them last. Tremendous fun. I can't jump like I used to anymore. On the plus side I can actually still jump! ( Had my credit card ready to take, but left it. Fortunately Mrs Farmer had some cash. It felt strange and old fashioned having to budget a night out and work out the pennies, literally. Just as well , I had a sore head Saturday. )

  • Well, mine was Liam Gallagher last month.


    He had a mosh pit - at my age I would never be involved in that. So I was up in the balcony and trying to see Liam through an almost dark set. You had to look at the big screen in order to see him, because there was no light show at all, no spotlights, nothing. He is a commanding presence & he sang really well, but the whole thing was somewhat bemusing. He is a millionaire who can afford to give his fans a decent stage show.

  • Well, mine was Liam Gallagher last month.


    He had a mosh pit - at my age I would never be involved in that. So I was up in the balcony and trying to see Liam through an almost dark set. You had to look at the big screen in order to see him, because there was no light show at all, no spotlights, nothing. He is a commanding presence & he sang really well, but the whole thing was somewhat bemusing. He is a millionaire who can afford to give his fans a decent stage show.

    Hope you enjoyed it despite the lack of show. I'm a big Oasis fan, but only really of their albums, I saw them a few times, don't like them live. My step son saw LG recently and said he was great.

    • Official Post

    Coldplay a few weeks ago in Berlin … good show, too many gimmicks for my taste and the tracks from the new album are not really my cup of tea

    cheers

    Christian


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  • Hope you enjoyed it despite the lack of show. I'm a big Oasis fan, but only really of their albums, I saw them a few times, don't like them live. My step son saw LG recently and said he was great.

    I did enjoy it - don't get me wrong. The man has a mighty catalogue, even if his brother wrote most of it. The strange thing is his solo albums are better than Noel's.

  • Last week I saw Elvis Costello at Toronto's Massey Hall. It was a great gig. He was backed up by The Imposters, who are two-thirds of the Attractions (Steve Nieve on keyboards and Pete Thomas on drums) plus Charlie Sexton on guitar and Davey Faragher on bass. The setlist was a nice mix of classics plus a selection from recent albums, all performed with lots of verve and enthusiasm. He engaged very well with the crowd, telling stories and chatting with the crowd. New Jersey singer Nicole Atkins joined him for 4 songs, trading lead vocals and providing sweet harmonies. The opening set by Nick Lowe was also excellent and then Nick joined Elvis for a couple of songs, including (fittingly since Nick Lowe wrote it) What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding. Having front row seats also didn't hurt the experience.


    Here is someone else's video from the show:

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  • Justin Hayward, New Brighton Floral Pavilion last night. Nearest thing I'm going to get to a Moody Blues gig now, unless John Lodge tours here again. Lots more Moodies content than last time, 2017, I guess due to the demise of the band following longest-term member Graeme Edge's death last November. Only 4 solo songs, The Eastern Sun, The Western Sky, Forever Autumn and Blue Guitar as a final encore (Some may think "that's not a solo track, it was Hayward and Lodge", but no, it was actually Hayward and an uncredited 10cc)


    Lots of Moodies songs though, Tuesday Afternoon, Nights in White Satin, The Actor (a nice surprise) Never Comes the Day, Question, Story in Your Eyes, The Voice, Wildest Dreams, I Know You're Out There Somewhere, Driftwood, and Hope And Pray. I think I've remembered them all.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Just back from the Symphony Hall and seeing Steve. Absolutely great. Really enjoyed it.Great sound, great atmosphere. The band are top notch. They did Firth of Fith. No one can play that solo like Steve. Loved Suppers Ready including and especially the extended guitar solo at the end. Not for the purists I know , but sounded brilliant. I've never heard Timetable, GEOBF or Can Utility live before , so a real treat