Last night marked the first time of me seeing the legendary comedian, Billy Connolly. I’ve been a fan since I was a young kid and my Dad had a “best of” tape in the car. It seemed like I was never going to see him either. Not because he doesn’t tour (because he does) but the tours would either fall when I had no money or when I was busy (I recall being offered tickets to a Portsmouth date just after I had booked tickets to see Dream Theater in London the same night). So when this tour was announced I figured I would go to Southampton and they wouldn’t sell out immediately. They went on-sale 9am on a Friday, I figured I should be able to book when I finished work. I was wrong; they did sell out super fast. He had 2 shows at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) which were a Wednesday and a Thursday (aka a pain in the arse nights for gigs out of town). There was a Brighton date on a Friday but that would have meant a hotel and suddenly it starts getting rather expensive. One day not long after resigning myself to not seeing him again, one of my co-workers alerted me to the fact he added a third date at the BIC and it was the Friday night. As soon as I heard it, I dropped everything and booked a ticket. I hit the jackpot in terms of seats as I got front row of the balcony and had an aisle seat.
As the day drew nearer, I started to read reviews. Mainly to see if someone could indicate how long he would be on stage for as I had to plan around travel and accepted that leaving early was a possibility. What I saw was a series of mixed reviews and even people complaining that due to hecklers (and people getting up to go to the toilet) – shows had been cut short. I won’t lie, I started to worry. I have been a fan of Billy Connolly since I can remember and didn’t entertain the idea that he wouldn’t be good live. When it comes to reviews though, you can only judge what you see. I hate movie reviews for that very reason. If a film interests me, I’ll go and see it, not if Empire magazine tells me it is good. I knew that I had to forget about these reviews and just go with a clear mind and enjoy the show (or not as the case may be). One review said he was on stage for about 2 hours which I thought was perfect. Start at 8, finish at 10. Sorted. Despite me just saying that you can’t trust reviews, here comes my review! (I don’t do it for a living and therefore don’t think it’s hypocritical for me to say not to trust them, and then write one).
It is difficult to review a comedy show without going through bit by bit which is almost a spoiler alert for anyone going to the Cardiff/Brighton shows. However, I will say that all fears I had that he wouldn’t be good and would leave early were wiped away early on. He addressed the reports saying that he was on stage for 2 hours before he left, and that on stage in a theatre, you can’t hear what the heckles are and so that’s why he usually responds by saying “fuck off” – even if it’s a compliment. Attacking the journalists, he said they would struggle to write home for money they were that shit at writing. It was a blistering start to a 2 hour plus show which was packed full of jokes, stories, rants and everything you would expect from a Billy Connolly show. I’m not over-exaggerating when I say that he was superb. One review suggested that he had “lost touch with the common man” as one of his long jokes involved a very posh hotel in Australia, right by the Sydney Opera House, where the room comes with a butler. I read that in the review and thought “that could be very bad” but it turned out to be the funniest part of the show for me. It isn’t like he is bragging about his life style, and when he does, he makes it funny. “I stay in the 3rd floor for VIP’s....because I’m a very important person” in a mimicking accent. On this topic, he had an off the cuff remark about cigars. “I love smoking cigars and let’s face it...can’t hide the profits forever!” On reflection, I feel that the reviewer who said that Connolly has lost touch with the common man doesn’t like him and was bitter about being assigned to cover him. Either that or was just looking to fill column inches.
I think if I say much more I will be bordering on going through each bit. I will say that sadly I had to leave early as he was on stage for 2hrs 25mins when I had to go to make sure I caught my train. Hopefully I didn’t miss that much and the last thing he discussed made me cry with laughter as well so that’s a plus. This gig was so worth the money and I’m glad I went. I will go again if the chance comes up (although next time, I may book a hotel!)
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Friday, 9 March 2012
Keep It On The D.L
A festival booker sounds like one of those jobs that can be so awesome, but so frustrating at times. When it comes to a festival like Download, the booker (Andy Copping) has got so many people to try and keep happy. On top of that, he and his team have got to do all they can to get people excited about the latest editions to the festival. Now, we all found out, thanks to their on stage announcement, that Shinedown were playing Download. This must be so frustrating for Andy as there is nothing he can do to stop bands from announcing their slots before he does. He can ask very nicely for them to keep quiet until they are announced, but if it slips out when a lead singer is talking to the crowd, who all go on to Facebook and Twitter and share the news...what can he do? In my eyes, there is nothing he can do. After the last announcement which came last week, I thought “most of the line up is shaped now, and I can’t imagine the rest of the announcements catching my attention”. This isn’t a bad thing as there are already so many bands that I want to see playing, that anymore announcements of bands I want to see could cause a real problem for me.
Terrorvision were announced a little while ago (I forget which announcement they formed and instead of looking back through my blog, I’m just going to leave it at that) and with the last announcement, they appeared on the poster playing Friday on the Second stage. Today, they have posted an update to their Facebook page which confirms the running order for that stage and where they fit in. Awkwardly for Andy though, they have listed two bands that have not been confirmed by the festival yet. As of typing, the update to their Facebook page has been removed but the damage is done. It is being discussed on the festival’s forums and people will have shared that update to their own Facebook pages (hell, I did). If I were to speculate, then I would say that the fact the update has been removed is confirmation that the two bands are indeed playing Download. After all, if it was false, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Download could just post of their social media pages “this leak ISN’T true” and that’s it dead. The two bands that Terrorvision have leaked are Europe and Symphony X. Both bands are absolutely quality and are also great live. This is excellent news as far as I am concerned.
I attempted to post stage times last time I blogged about Download and it was a complete mess if I’m honest. It was a complete ball ache to do but assuming this leak is correct, that would mean the Friday would have all the slots for Main and Second stage filled. Using last year’s times, this is how the stages are looking:
Main Stage
21.00 – 22.50 The Prodigy
19.20 – 20.20 Chase & Status
18.00 – 18.50 Machine Head
16.50 – 17.35 Billy Talent
15.40 – 16.25 NoFX
14.40 – 15.15 Fear Factory
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain
Second Stage
21.35 – 22.50 Slash
19.40 – 20.50 Nightwish
18.20 – 19.20 Opeth
17.15 – 17.55 Little Angels
16.10 – 16.50 Europe
15.20 – 15.50 Terrorvision
14.30 – 15.00 Symphony X
13.45 – 14.10 The Quireboys
13.00 – 13.25 Red, White & Blues
So my day would look like this:
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain (Main)
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats (Main)
14.40 – 15.15 Fear Factory (Main)
15.40 – 16.25 NoFX (Main)
16.25 – 16.50 Europe (2nd)
16.50 – 17.35 Billy Talent (Main)
18.00 – 18.50 Machine Head (Main)
18.50 – 19.20 Opeth (2nd)
19.40 – 20.50 Nightwish (2nd)
21.00 – 22.50 The Prodigy (Main)
Can’t complain about that day at all. Would have liked to have seen Slash but after much debate, I think that I’d prefer to see The Prodigy. I’m also a little bit gutted as I won’t be able to see Symphony X if I have those times right (or indeed close) but that happens at festivals sometimes. Just to finish off, apparently Theory of a Deadman confirmed on stage that they are also playing Download. I am interested to see what stage they are playing.
Terrorvision were announced a little while ago (I forget which announcement they formed and instead of looking back through my blog, I’m just going to leave it at that) and with the last announcement, they appeared on the poster playing Friday on the Second stage. Today, they have posted an update to their Facebook page which confirms the running order for that stage and where they fit in. Awkwardly for Andy though, they have listed two bands that have not been confirmed by the festival yet. As of typing, the update to their Facebook page has been removed but the damage is done. It is being discussed on the festival’s forums and people will have shared that update to their own Facebook pages (hell, I did). If I were to speculate, then I would say that the fact the update has been removed is confirmation that the two bands are indeed playing Download. After all, if it was false, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Download could just post of their social media pages “this leak ISN’T true” and that’s it dead. The two bands that Terrorvision have leaked are Europe and Symphony X. Both bands are absolutely quality and are also great live. This is excellent news as far as I am concerned.
I attempted to post stage times last time I blogged about Download and it was a complete mess if I’m honest. It was a complete ball ache to do but assuming this leak is correct, that would mean the Friday would have all the slots for Main and Second stage filled. Using last year’s times, this is how the stages are looking:
Main Stage
21.00 – 22.50 The Prodigy
19.20 – 20.20 Chase & Status
18.00 – 18.50 Machine Head
16.50 – 17.35 Billy Talent
15.40 – 16.25 NoFX
14.40 – 15.15 Fear Factory
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain
Second Stage
21.35 – 22.50 Slash
19.40 – 20.50 Nightwish
18.20 – 19.20 Opeth
17.15 – 17.55 Little Angels
16.10 – 16.50 Europe
15.20 – 15.50 Terrorvision
14.30 – 15.00 Symphony X
13.45 – 14.10 The Quireboys
13.00 – 13.25 Red, White & Blues
So my day would look like this:
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain (Main)
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats (Main)
14.40 – 15.15 Fear Factory (Main)
15.40 – 16.25 NoFX (Main)
16.25 – 16.50 Europe (2nd)
16.50 – 17.35 Billy Talent (Main)
18.00 – 18.50 Machine Head (Main)
18.50 – 19.20 Opeth (2nd)
19.40 – 20.50 Nightwish (2nd)
21.00 – 22.50 The Prodigy (Main)
Can’t complain about that day at all. Would have liked to have seen Slash but after much debate, I think that I’d prefer to see The Prodigy. I’m also a little bit gutted as I won’t be able to see Symphony X if I have those times right (or indeed close) but that happens at festivals sometimes. Just to finish off, apparently Theory of a Deadman confirmed on stage that they are also playing Download. I am interested to see what stage they are playing.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Further Additions
22 is a lucky number for some. For others it is just a number. What 22 actually means in the context of this blog though is the latest number of bands announced for the Download Festival. This is the poster where we can see not only the new additions but more of where bands fit on the line up. For the purposes of this post, I will discuss the 22 bands and then discuss the line up and how it looks for me.
The new announcement then:
Corey Taylor – This could be a quality announcement. I’ve only seen him the one time without Slipknot or Stone Sour and it wasn’t the best. The set was at Sonisphere 2009 and was rife with sound problems. That coupled with a mediocre set list meant I didn’t really enjoy it. The set in 2010 (which I didn’t see) had a far better set list and the shows he has done since releasing his book have looked phenomenal. If there is chance to see him, I may just.
Dropkick Murphys – I was really looking forward to seeing these guys at Reading in 2008 and then I discovered they were clashing with one of my favourite comedians, Adam Hills. Seeing as we still discuss Adam Hills’ set from that day, I feel like I made the right call. Doesn’t change the fact that I want to see Dropkicks and I am really happy with this announcement. Their stage positioning will be discussed later.
Cancer Bats – Cancer Bats being on the main stage sure is an interesting one but I reckon it will work. It is a quality announcement, of that there is no doubt. It will be a strange moment for me seeing them on the big stage, considering I am seeing them 3 times in April (all on one day) in venues smaller than one of my shoes*
*slight exaggeration
Rise To Remain – Seem to play all the festivals really but based on their set last year, they really deserve the bump to main stage and I will likely watch them again.
Saxon – This is a quality announcement. I’ve seen them twice at festivals and they always seem to bring it live so I imagine this will be no exception.
Gun – They seem fairly reasonable from what I’m hearing. I didn’t know of them before this announcement, and their cover of Cameo’s “Word Up” is certainly enjoyable.
Heaven’s Basement – I’ve seen this band live (supporting The Wildhearts if memory serves) and they were really good. I remember thinking they were a sure thing to make it big. They even played Sonisphere the year after which I thought was great (although I was unable to catch them). I heard they’ve had a few member changes since the time I saw them. I have no idea how that will affect them but I’d like to see them if the chance arises.
James Cleaver Quintet – They sound very noisy and that to me is a great thing. I’ve been listening to a song called Golfing Pros, Bitches and Hoes which I am in love with. Excellent booking here.
Kopek – I don’t know much about this band but I’ve just checked out a video of theirs on Facebook and it seems pretty good.
The Quireboys – They appear to be one of those bands that probably have the ability to make some people wet at the very mention of their name. They don’t do a massive amount for me personally and as a result, will probably be at another stage when they play. I’d only heard of them before this announcement because Ginger Wildheart used to be in the band (back in the day) and after he got fired, he formed The Wildhearts. Every cloud...
Sylosis – This is one of those bands that I really want to see but have never had the chance. They either clash with someone at a festival who I want to see more. Their UK tour didn’t come close to Portsmouth (which was a real shame considering Malefice were supporting). They are a good band though and this is a good announcement.
Butcher Babies – They sound really quite interesting. Almost like Korn or Biohazard mixed in with Arch Enemy. I’ve only heard the one song but it sounds quite good. The very shallow, male side of me wants to see them having a) seen a picture of the two female lead singers and b) seen a picture of their stage attire (the top half consisting of black tape in places). Musically though, they seem to be very interesting.
The Defiled – I was convinced I’d heard a bit of these guys at a previous festival I’d been to but can’t find their name on any of the reviews. Oh well! They seem pretty good and I am looking forward to seeing them open the night for Skindred in London.
Fozzy – Best band of the booking as far as I’m concerned. Seen them twice and they are just awesome live. They will be watched.
Sebastian Bach – This is a difficult one for me, only because I don’t know anything by him. I know he was in Skid Row but I don’t know what albums he released with them. I also don’t know any of his solo material. Chances are I’ll give him a miss.
Soil – Hey it’s the 2nd ever band I saw at Download 2006, my first festival. They’ve gone from main stage to 3rd stage, which is a little awkward but then their star has slightly faded since 2006 I’d say. They should be good in the little tent.
Red White & Blues – A repeat booking it would seem. They seem alright. Very much a classic rock sort of band.
Upon A Burning Body – OH SWEET LORD NO! They’re a bad band. In which I mean I dislike them quite a lot. I will aim to be very far away from them when they play. Can’t win them all...
While She Sleeps – I quite like what I’ve heard from them, which is a good thing because metalcore/hardcore can be very hit/miss with me.
We Are The Ocean – I saw them at Reading last year and gave them an 8. They are a good live band and given the chance I will see them again.
The Treatment – The Treatment are an absolutely quality band. Fantastic announcement from the Download guys I say.
Marmozets – They seem alright from what I’ve heard.
So that is the announcement in a 1000 word nutshell. Overall I am very positive towards it as it adds more bands I like to the line up while adding bands I won’t dream of seeing, reducing possible clashes. As you can see from the poster though, there is to be some clashes and I have a better idea of who I can and can’t see. One thing which is interesting is there are fewer bands on the main stage on Sat/Sun. I say fewer; there was one more in previous years. I don’t know if more are to be added but if not, I am going to have a guess at stage times from what I know.
Friday
Main Stage:
21.15 – 23.00 The Prodigy
19.30 – 20.30 Chase and Status
18.00 – 19.00 Machine Head
16.55 – 17.40 Billy Talent
15.45 – 16.30 NoFX
14.40 – 15.20 Fear Factory
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain
Second Stage:
21.30 – 22.45 Slash
20.00 – 21.00 Nightwish
18.30 – 19.30 Opeth
17.25 – 18.05 Little Angels
16.20 – 17.00 Terrorvision
15.30 – 15.55 The Quireboys
14.40 – 15.05 ?
13.50 – 14.15 ?
13.00 – 13.25 Red, White & Blues
Third Stage:
21.00 – 22.15 Devin Townsend Project
Saturday
Main Stage:
21.00 – 23.00 Metallica
19.00 – 20.15 Biffy Clyro
17.30 – 18.30 Tenacious D
16.10 – 17.00 Steel Panther
15.00 – 15.40 Trivium
14.00 – 14.30 Black Veil Brides
13.00 – 13.30 Saxon
12.00 – 12.30 As I Lay Dying
Second Stage:
21.00 – 22.15 You Me At Six
19.30 – 20.30 Killswitch Engage
(Ginger, Fozzy et al unknown)
Sunday
Main Stage:
21.00 – 22.30 Black Sabbath
19.00 – 20.15 Soundgarden
17.30 - 18.30 Megadeth
16.10 – 17.00 Lamb of God
14.55 – 15.40 Black Label Society
13.45 – 14.25 Kyuss Lives
12.45 – 13.15 Five Finger Death Punch
11.45 – 12.15 Devil Driver
Second Stage:
20.45 – 22.00 Rise Against
19.25 – 20.15 Dropkick Murphys
18.15 - 18.55 Shinedown
17.10 - 17.50 Anthrax
16.15 - 16.45 Ugly Kid Joe
15.20 - 15.50 Sebastian Bach
14.25 - 14.55 ?
13.35 – 14.00 We Are The Ocean
12.45 - 13.10 August Burns Red
11.55 - 12.20 ?
11.05 – 11.30 ?
Of course these are complete guesses but I think that’ll roughly be what’s going to happen. With my guesses in mind, my plan for the festival so far looks like this:
Friday – Rise To Remain, Cancer Bats, Fear Factory, NoFX, Billy Talent, Machine Head, Opeth (bit), Nightwish, The Prodigy/Slash (I still can’t decide)
Saturday – Main stage all day, but making room for Ginger, Fozzy and The Treatment if I can. Hopefully none of them clash with Tenacious D
Sunday – Devil Driver, FFDP, Kyuss, BLS, LoG, Anthrax, Shinedown, Dropkick Murphys, Black Sabbath
Amazing line up for me then. Something to keep me busy all day and the whole line up hasn’t been announced yet. Any further announcements really don’t need to contain anything I like and I will still be happy with the line up. In fact, anything more that I like and all of a sudden, I have a clash-tastic problem on my hands.
Excellent announcement Download. Sonisphere apparently have an announcement within the next week. Should be interesting.
The new announcement then:
Corey Taylor – This could be a quality announcement. I’ve only seen him the one time without Slipknot or Stone Sour and it wasn’t the best. The set was at Sonisphere 2009 and was rife with sound problems. That coupled with a mediocre set list meant I didn’t really enjoy it. The set in 2010 (which I didn’t see) had a far better set list and the shows he has done since releasing his book have looked phenomenal. If there is chance to see him, I may just.
Dropkick Murphys – I was really looking forward to seeing these guys at Reading in 2008 and then I discovered they were clashing with one of my favourite comedians, Adam Hills. Seeing as we still discuss Adam Hills’ set from that day, I feel like I made the right call. Doesn’t change the fact that I want to see Dropkicks and I am really happy with this announcement. Their stage positioning will be discussed later.
Cancer Bats – Cancer Bats being on the main stage sure is an interesting one but I reckon it will work. It is a quality announcement, of that there is no doubt. It will be a strange moment for me seeing them on the big stage, considering I am seeing them 3 times in April (all on one day) in venues smaller than one of my shoes*
*slight exaggeration
Rise To Remain – Seem to play all the festivals really but based on their set last year, they really deserve the bump to main stage and I will likely watch them again.
Saxon – This is a quality announcement. I’ve seen them twice at festivals and they always seem to bring it live so I imagine this will be no exception.
Gun – They seem fairly reasonable from what I’m hearing. I didn’t know of them before this announcement, and their cover of Cameo’s “Word Up” is certainly enjoyable.
Heaven’s Basement – I’ve seen this band live (supporting The Wildhearts if memory serves) and they were really good. I remember thinking they were a sure thing to make it big. They even played Sonisphere the year after which I thought was great (although I was unable to catch them). I heard they’ve had a few member changes since the time I saw them. I have no idea how that will affect them but I’d like to see them if the chance arises.
James Cleaver Quintet – They sound very noisy and that to me is a great thing. I’ve been listening to a song called Golfing Pros, Bitches and Hoes which I am in love with. Excellent booking here.
Kopek – I don’t know much about this band but I’ve just checked out a video of theirs on Facebook and it seems pretty good.
The Quireboys – They appear to be one of those bands that probably have the ability to make some people wet at the very mention of their name. They don’t do a massive amount for me personally and as a result, will probably be at another stage when they play. I’d only heard of them before this announcement because Ginger Wildheart used to be in the band (back in the day) and after he got fired, he formed The Wildhearts. Every cloud...
Sylosis – This is one of those bands that I really want to see but have never had the chance. They either clash with someone at a festival who I want to see more. Their UK tour didn’t come close to Portsmouth (which was a real shame considering Malefice were supporting). They are a good band though and this is a good announcement.
Butcher Babies – They sound really quite interesting. Almost like Korn or Biohazard mixed in with Arch Enemy. I’ve only heard the one song but it sounds quite good. The very shallow, male side of me wants to see them having a) seen a picture of the two female lead singers and b) seen a picture of their stage attire (the top half consisting of black tape in places). Musically though, they seem to be very interesting.
The Defiled – I was convinced I’d heard a bit of these guys at a previous festival I’d been to but can’t find their name on any of the reviews. Oh well! They seem pretty good and I am looking forward to seeing them open the night for Skindred in London.
Fozzy – Best band of the booking as far as I’m concerned. Seen them twice and they are just awesome live. They will be watched.
Sebastian Bach – This is a difficult one for me, only because I don’t know anything by him. I know he was in Skid Row but I don’t know what albums he released with them. I also don’t know any of his solo material. Chances are I’ll give him a miss.
Soil – Hey it’s the 2nd ever band I saw at Download 2006, my first festival. They’ve gone from main stage to 3rd stage, which is a little awkward but then their star has slightly faded since 2006 I’d say. They should be good in the little tent.
Red White & Blues – A repeat booking it would seem. They seem alright. Very much a classic rock sort of band.
Upon A Burning Body – OH SWEET LORD NO! They’re a bad band. In which I mean I dislike them quite a lot. I will aim to be very far away from them when they play. Can’t win them all...
While She Sleeps – I quite like what I’ve heard from them, which is a good thing because metalcore/hardcore can be very hit/miss with me.
We Are The Ocean – I saw them at Reading last year and gave them an 8. They are a good live band and given the chance I will see them again.
The Treatment – The Treatment are an absolutely quality band. Fantastic announcement from the Download guys I say.
Marmozets – They seem alright from what I’ve heard.
So that is the announcement in a 1000 word nutshell. Overall I am very positive towards it as it adds more bands I like to the line up while adding bands I won’t dream of seeing, reducing possible clashes. As you can see from the poster though, there is to be some clashes and I have a better idea of who I can and can’t see. One thing which is interesting is there are fewer bands on the main stage on Sat/Sun. I say fewer; there was one more in previous years. I don’t know if more are to be added but if not, I am going to have a guess at stage times from what I know.
Friday
Main Stage:
21.15 – 23.00 The Prodigy
19.30 – 20.30 Chase and Status
18.00 – 19.00 Machine Head
16.55 – 17.40 Billy Talent
15.45 – 16.30 NoFX
14.40 – 15.20 Fear Factory
13.50 – 14.20 Cancer Bats
13.00 – 13.30 Rise To Remain
Second Stage:
21.30 – 22.45 Slash
20.00 – 21.00 Nightwish
18.30 – 19.30 Opeth
17.25 – 18.05 Little Angels
16.20 – 17.00 Terrorvision
15.30 – 15.55 The Quireboys
14.40 – 15.05 ?
13.50 – 14.15 ?
13.00 – 13.25 Red, White & Blues
Third Stage:
21.00 – 22.15 Devin Townsend Project
Saturday
Main Stage:
21.00 – 23.00 Metallica
19.00 – 20.15 Biffy Clyro
17.30 – 18.30 Tenacious D
16.10 – 17.00 Steel Panther
15.00 – 15.40 Trivium
14.00 – 14.30 Black Veil Brides
13.00 – 13.30 Saxon
12.00 – 12.30 As I Lay Dying
Second Stage:
21.00 – 22.15 You Me At Six
19.30 – 20.30 Killswitch Engage
(Ginger, Fozzy et al unknown)
Sunday
Main Stage:
21.00 – 22.30 Black Sabbath
19.00 – 20.15 Soundgarden
17.30 - 18.30 Megadeth
16.10 – 17.00 Lamb of God
14.55 – 15.40 Black Label Society
13.45 – 14.25 Kyuss Lives
12.45 – 13.15 Five Finger Death Punch
11.45 – 12.15 Devil Driver
Second Stage:
20.45 – 22.00 Rise Against
19.25 – 20.15 Dropkick Murphys
18.15 - 18.55 Shinedown
17.10 - 17.50 Anthrax
16.15 - 16.45 Ugly Kid Joe
15.20 - 15.50 Sebastian Bach
14.25 - 14.55 ?
13.35 – 14.00 We Are The Ocean
12.45 - 13.10 August Burns Red
11.55 - 12.20 ?
11.05 – 11.30 ?
Of course these are complete guesses but I think that’ll roughly be what’s going to happen. With my guesses in mind, my plan for the festival so far looks like this:
Friday – Rise To Remain, Cancer Bats, Fear Factory, NoFX, Billy Talent, Machine Head, Opeth (bit), Nightwish, The Prodigy/Slash (I still can’t decide)
Saturday – Main stage all day, but making room for Ginger, Fozzy and The Treatment if I can. Hopefully none of them clash with Tenacious D
Sunday – Devil Driver, FFDP, Kyuss, BLS, LoG, Anthrax, Shinedown, Dropkick Murphys, Black Sabbath
Amazing line up for me then. Something to keep me busy all day and the whole line up hasn’t been announced yet. Any further announcements really don’t need to contain anything I like and I will still be happy with the line up. In fact, anything more that I like and all of a sudden, I have a clash-tastic problem on my hands.
Excellent announcement Download. Sonisphere apparently have an announcement within the next week. Should be interesting.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Review: Rammstein @ O2 Arena, London
On Tuesday 21st February 2012, the O2 Arena played host to the Brit Awards, the UK award show honouring all things pop basically. Every now and then a surprise happens, like Iron Maiden winning Best Live Act in 2009 (although this was no shock to anyone who saw them on the Somewhere Back In Time tour) however this time around there were no real surprises. Apparently the biggest surprise was that One Direction won Best British Single. Now, this means nothing to me as I can't claim to have ever knowingly listened to one of their songs. News and chat shows were paralysed for the next day or two afterwards due to Adele's acceptance speech being cut off in order for ITV to broadcast Blur's set. Now, I am a fan of Blur but if this was the "highlight" of the biggest British celebration of music, then British (and indeed international) pop music is in danger. This happened on Tuesday. On Friday 24th February 2012, the O2 Arena played host to Rammstein, as the Made In Germany tour rolled into London.
As a fan, I am delighted to see Rammstein playing the O2 Arena as it is the biggest venue in London. Having seen them before, it is no surprise to me that they are not only playing this venue, but they have sold it out. As good as the music is though, it cannot be denied that part of the reason the O2 Arena is sold out is due to the world infamous show that comes along with a Rammstein gig. This tours show has received a lot of praise, including this from Ginger Wildheart: "Fucking Hell. Rammstein. There is no better live show on earth #insane" I will do my best to describe the show as it happened as I go on, along with the set list.
A quick word for the support band. For this tour, the support came from Deathstars and after a quick Google and Spotify, I came to the conclusion that I don't much like them, so I avoided them.
Upon entering the arena, I walked to about 2/3rds of the way to the front. This served me well at the M.E.N Arena when I first saw them as I got a great view of the entire stage. Looking above me, I can see a great metal walkway suspended above the crowd. I had heard rumours of this being part of the show so to see it in person made me somewhat more excited about what I was about to witness. At this stage, members of the arena staff started asking us to move as far forward as we could. We didn't get very far but they insisted it was important for us to keep going further forward, citing it was to get a bit of kit through and that "it is vital to the show!" Not long after we had moved, the lights went and the crowd roared. The walkway started to descend from above and suddenly, smoke bellowed from one of the entrances to the lower seating and the band walked out, lead by a flame carrying drummer. One member of the band was carrying a flag with the Rammstein logo on it and Flake was carrying a St George's Cross flag. They proceeded to walk slowly towards a small stage that was set up just in front of the sound/light desk. The stage rose to meet the stairs of the walkway and one by one, the band members walked across and took their place on stage. When everyone was in place, they kicked into the first song of the night, Sonne. With all this going on, you could be easily forgiven for forgetting you were here to see a metal gig.
With Sonne came the first of many uses of pyro. Following Sonne was Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen, Keine Lust and Sehnsucht. It was around this time that, along with more pyro and fireworks, the first backdrop change of the night happened. The band was now playing in front of what appeared to be a cell structure/beehive like backdrop. This being a best of tour, it shouldn't have been a surprise that one massive song from Rammstein's back catalogue would be followed by another, but the massive grin on mine and thousands of others were present throughout the entire gig, especially when hearing the opening bars of the next song.
Following Sehnsucht was Asche Zu Asche, Feuer Frei (which somewhat unsurprisingly came with a lot of pyro), Mutter and Mein Teil. An early part of this song was extended to increase crowd participation. After a short while the song kicked on as norm with Til Lindermann re-emerging on stage, wearing a bloodied chef's outfit and carrying a modified microphone which was also a butcher’s knife. There was now also a large pot on stage with Flake inside. Lindermann proceeded with the assistance of various flamethrowers to "cook" Flake until the pot exploded. Picking up yet another flame flower-looking device, Lindermann then fired fireworks into the crowd when from the crowd, more were launched at the stage. The show during Mein Teil alone justified the price of the ticket, it was outstanding. Following another backdrop change (a more factory looking backdrop was now there), the gig continued with Du Riechst So Gut, Links 2 3 4, Du Hast and Haifisch. During this song, Flake took to his famous dingy and sailed out into the crowd. When I previously saw Rammstein, Flake's turning circle was understandably quite short. However at this gig he sailed right to the back of the standing area before coming back to the stage. After Haifisch, the band disappeared aside from Richard who somehow got to the little stage (went to two shows on this tour and cannot work out how he got there!) who played a dance song on keyboard, mixing the words Buck Dich into the tune. It was fairly clear which song was coming next.
What was not expected was how the rest of the band would join him on the stage. The walkway descended again and attached to chains, 4 of the band members were being walked across the walkway (on all fours like dogs) by the drummer (now in drag) who whipped them as they crossed. About half way across the walkway, Lindermann appeared to mount Flake and was repeatedly whipped for this. When reaching the stage, the band members were unchained and pushed towards the little stage (other than Lindermann who was dragged). When the band was all set up, they launched into Buck Dich. It was a real treat seeing Rammstein perform on such a small stage as a part of this show. The size of this stage was no bigger than smaller club venues, so to witness Rammstein playing without many theatrics and letting the music do the talking was just immense. I say barely any theatrics as something occurred during Buck Dich. Flake at this stage had changed from his full body suit into leather pants with an arse flap. Lindermann bent him over in front of him and spanked him, and then took a fake penis out of his trousers and proceeded to fuck him with it. I think Rammstein are the only band where this can happen during the show and people generally think "sounds about right". I imagine the response would be quite different if such an act occurred during a One Direction gig. Anyway, Flake ran away from being fucked and Lindermann had a look on his face which said "but I was so close" and smacked the fake penis a few times. He then proceeded to reach orgasm, and spray the crowd in the liquid result of this throughout another rendition of the chorus. This is a review of the London gig, but for the record, I got caught by the water (or whatever it was spraying out the fake penis) at both London and Birmingham. After Buck Dich, they played Mann Gegen Mann and Ohne Dich on the little stage before the walkway came back down, and they thank everyone for coming. Had they actually ended the gig there, I would have got more than my monies worth, but there was an encore.
Back on the main stage now, a large fan which looked like a prop from a horror film started to lower from the ceiling (someone in Birmingham standing near me said "look, Rammstein's biggest fan!" and I laughed. So ashamed!) The band returned to the stage and Mein Herz Brennt kicked off the encore. After this it was Amerika which I was really happy to hear as it was one of the first Rammstein songs I heard when getting into them. During Amerika, tons of Red, White and Blue confetti was shot into the crowd. After Amerika, they played Ich Will which is always a crowd pleaser.
Following Ich Will, the stage was obscured by a bright light. Like if you are looking at a car that has its full beams on. Eventually the lights dimmed and the ever familiar whistling intro to Engel started. Much like the first time I saw Rammstein, Til Lindermann emerged wearing massive metal angel wings. About half way through the song the tips of the wings lit up and started shooting fire. It doesn't sound like much when reading that sentence back but it is truly an amazing sight. Following the song, the lights darkened as the drum beat for Pussy began. When the lights came back on, the band were there and the song started properly with Lindermann gesturing that the crowd sing the English lines in the song while he covered the German lines (nice of him I thought). With the lights dancing in the colours of the Germany flag, Lindermann made his way over to his penis cannon, and while singing the chorus, sprayed the crowd in foam. As the song ended, a tape of classical music played as the band thanked the crowd and left triumphantly.
This gig was nothing short of outstanding. From the opening entrance through the crowd to the very end it was stunning. The stage show I have done my best to describe (with certain pictures to give visuals) but my words alone cannot do it justice. Rammstein's show blows anything else on the live circuit out of the water. Performance wise they were tight as ever. Overall, tonight shows why Rammstein are selling out the O2 Arena. I am beyond happy to have seen this show and this setlist. I will close with some more pictures and the setlist, but first some well chosen words from The Quietus, who also discussed the week where the O2 hosted both The Brits and Rammstein (I hope their prediction is correct).
Sonne
Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen
Keine Lust
Sehnsucht
Asche Zu Asche
Feuer Frei
Mutter
Mein Teil
Du Riechst So Gut
Links 2 3 4
Du Hast
Haifisch
Buck Dich
Mann Gegen Mann
Ohne Dich
---------------------------------
Mein Herz Brennt
Amerika
Ich Will
Engel
Pussy
For all of the photos I took at this gig and the birmingham gig, click this button HERE!
As a fan, I am delighted to see Rammstein playing the O2 Arena as it is the biggest venue in London. Having seen them before, it is no surprise to me that they are not only playing this venue, but they have sold it out. As good as the music is though, it cannot be denied that part of the reason the O2 Arena is sold out is due to the world infamous show that comes along with a Rammstein gig. This tours show has received a lot of praise, including this from Ginger Wildheart: "Fucking Hell. Rammstein. There is no better live show on earth #insane" I will do my best to describe the show as it happened as I go on, along with the set list.
A quick word for the support band. For this tour, the support came from Deathstars and after a quick Google and Spotify, I came to the conclusion that I don't much like them, so I avoided them.
Upon entering the arena, I walked to about 2/3rds of the way to the front. This served me well at the M.E.N Arena when I first saw them as I got a great view of the entire stage. Looking above me, I can see a great metal walkway suspended above the crowd. I had heard rumours of this being part of the show so to see it in person made me somewhat more excited about what I was about to witness. At this stage, members of the arena staff started asking us to move as far forward as we could. We didn't get very far but they insisted it was important for us to keep going further forward, citing it was to get a bit of kit through and that "it is vital to the show!" Not long after we had moved, the lights went and the crowd roared. The walkway started to descend from above and suddenly, smoke bellowed from one of the entrances to the lower seating and the band walked out, lead by a flame carrying drummer. One member of the band was carrying a flag with the Rammstein logo on it and Flake was carrying a St George's Cross flag. They proceeded to walk slowly towards a small stage that was set up just in front of the sound/light desk. The stage rose to meet the stairs of the walkway and one by one, the band members walked across and took their place on stage. When everyone was in place, they kicked into the first song of the night, Sonne. With all this going on, you could be easily forgiven for forgetting you were here to see a metal gig.
With Sonne came the first of many uses of pyro. Following Sonne was Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen, Keine Lust and Sehnsucht. It was around this time that, along with more pyro and fireworks, the first backdrop change of the night happened. The band was now playing in front of what appeared to be a cell structure/beehive like backdrop. This being a best of tour, it shouldn't have been a surprise that one massive song from Rammstein's back catalogue would be followed by another, but the massive grin on mine and thousands of others were present throughout the entire gig, especially when hearing the opening bars of the next song.
Following Sehnsucht was Asche Zu Asche, Feuer Frei (which somewhat unsurprisingly came with a lot of pyro), Mutter and Mein Teil. An early part of this song was extended to increase crowd participation. After a short while the song kicked on as norm with Til Lindermann re-emerging on stage, wearing a bloodied chef's outfit and carrying a modified microphone which was also a butcher’s knife. There was now also a large pot on stage with Flake inside. Lindermann proceeded with the assistance of various flamethrowers to "cook" Flake until the pot exploded. Picking up yet another flame flower-looking device, Lindermann then fired fireworks into the crowd when from the crowd, more were launched at the stage. The show during Mein Teil alone justified the price of the ticket, it was outstanding. Following another backdrop change (a more factory looking backdrop was now there), the gig continued with Du Riechst So Gut, Links 2 3 4, Du Hast and Haifisch. During this song, Flake took to his famous dingy and sailed out into the crowd. When I previously saw Rammstein, Flake's turning circle was understandably quite short. However at this gig he sailed right to the back of the standing area before coming back to the stage. After Haifisch, the band disappeared aside from Richard who somehow got to the little stage (went to two shows on this tour and cannot work out how he got there!) who played a dance song on keyboard, mixing the words Buck Dich into the tune. It was fairly clear which song was coming next.
What was not expected was how the rest of the band would join him on the stage. The walkway descended again and attached to chains, 4 of the band members were being walked across the walkway (on all fours like dogs) by the drummer (now in drag) who whipped them as they crossed. About half way across the walkway, Lindermann appeared to mount Flake and was repeatedly whipped for this. When reaching the stage, the band members were unchained and pushed towards the little stage (other than Lindermann who was dragged). When the band was all set up, they launched into Buck Dich. It was a real treat seeing Rammstein perform on such a small stage as a part of this show. The size of this stage was no bigger than smaller club venues, so to witness Rammstein playing without many theatrics and letting the music do the talking was just immense. I say barely any theatrics as something occurred during Buck Dich. Flake at this stage had changed from his full body suit into leather pants with an arse flap. Lindermann bent him over in front of him and spanked him, and then took a fake penis out of his trousers and proceeded to fuck him with it. I think Rammstein are the only band where this can happen during the show and people generally think "sounds about right". I imagine the response would be quite different if such an act occurred during a One Direction gig. Anyway, Flake ran away from being fucked and Lindermann had a look on his face which said "but I was so close" and smacked the fake penis a few times. He then proceeded to reach orgasm, and spray the crowd in the liquid result of this throughout another rendition of the chorus. This is a review of the London gig, but for the record, I got caught by the water (or whatever it was spraying out the fake penis) at both London and Birmingham. After Buck Dich, they played Mann Gegen Mann and Ohne Dich on the little stage before the walkway came back down, and they thank everyone for coming. Had they actually ended the gig there, I would have got more than my monies worth, but there was an encore.
Back on the main stage now, a large fan which looked like a prop from a horror film started to lower from the ceiling (someone in Birmingham standing near me said "look, Rammstein's biggest fan!" and I laughed. So ashamed!) The band returned to the stage and Mein Herz Brennt kicked off the encore. After this it was Amerika which I was really happy to hear as it was one of the first Rammstein songs I heard when getting into them. During Amerika, tons of Red, White and Blue confetti was shot into the crowd. After Amerika, they played Ich Will which is always a crowd pleaser.
Following Ich Will, the stage was obscured by a bright light. Like if you are looking at a car that has its full beams on. Eventually the lights dimmed and the ever familiar whistling intro to Engel started. Much like the first time I saw Rammstein, Til Lindermann emerged wearing massive metal angel wings. About half way through the song the tips of the wings lit up and started shooting fire. It doesn't sound like much when reading that sentence back but it is truly an amazing sight. Following the song, the lights darkened as the drum beat for Pussy began. When the lights came back on, the band were there and the song started properly with Lindermann gesturing that the crowd sing the English lines in the song while he covered the German lines (nice of him I thought). With the lights dancing in the colours of the Germany flag, Lindermann made his way over to his penis cannon, and while singing the chorus, sprayed the crowd in foam. As the song ended, a tape of classical music played as the band thanked the crowd and left triumphantly.
This gig was nothing short of outstanding. From the opening entrance through the crowd to the very end it was stunning. The stage show I have done my best to describe (with certain pictures to give visuals) but my words alone cannot do it justice. Rammstein's show blows anything else on the live circuit out of the water. Performance wise they were tight as ever. Overall, tonight shows why Rammstein are selling out the O2 Arena. I am beyond happy to have seen this show and this setlist. I will close with some more pictures and the setlist, but first some well chosen words from The Quietus, who also discussed the week where the O2 hosted both The Brits and Rammstein (I hope their prediction is correct).
“Above all though, tonight - and indeed Rammstein’s very existence - proves ultimately that if you show people innovation, not contrived homogenised crap, if you show people dedication and talent, not auto-tuned flash-in-the-pans, you can make something of both commercial and artistic value. We won’t be staring at Ed Sheeran’s hair in 12 months time, but we’ll certainly be staring at Til Lindemann’s fake ejaculating penis for at least the next 10 to 15 years.”
Sonne
Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen
Keine Lust
Sehnsucht
Asche Zu Asche
Feuer Frei
Mutter
Mein Teil
Du Riechst So Gut
Links 2 3 4
Du Hast
Haifisch
Buck Dich
Mann Gegen Mann
Ohne Dich
---------------------------------
Mein Herz Brennt
Amerika
Ich Will
Engel
Pussy
For all of the photos I took at this gig and the birmingham gig, click this button HERE!
Monday, 20 February 2012
Sonisphere Starts Up
After weeks of speculation, rumours, leaks and general confusion, Sonisphere have announced the first batch of bands for their 2012 festival. Below is the poster and I’m going to review it day by day. I will also have a look at the latest Download announcement.
That is a pretty good start, it has to be said.
Kiss – Strong announcement in the context that it is their only European show of 2012. I find it hard to get excited about them though as there is only a handful of their songs I really like. I would watch them if I was going.
Special Guests TBA – I’m seeing a poster which suggests it is Skid Row. I really couldn’t care less about that if it is true. If it is Motley Crue as rumoured, well they were a bit boring at Soni 2010 so another proclamation of meh from me!
Within Temptation – Pretty cool announcement. I like some of their stuff so they would be worth watching.
Wolfmother – Urm, alright then. They were ok at Download 2007 but 5 years have passed, they’ve released nothing of note and changed their band members (other than the vocalist) – not interested. I might give them a “meh, there’s nowt else on” watch but they are certainly not a selling point.
Queen (w/ Adam Lambert) – This is an interesting announcement. Would I watch them if I was there? Yes absolutely. Would I pay to watch them? No. That for me personally is not a good thing when it comes to being a headliner.
Tim Minchin – Always funny. Pretty good booking and it will be interesting to see him try to replicate what Bill Bailey did in 2011. I’m told Bailey had really shit sound at the beginning though, so that could be a worry. Anyway, good booking.
Evanescence – They are a band who I would watch if there was no clash. From what I can see, they are sub headlining the main stage to Queen. Not sure why but that strikes me as odd.
The Darkness – Again, I would watch them but they really don’t do a lot for me.
Flogging Molly – I really need to see this band. I’m told they are so good live.
Fields Of The Nephilim – Well I don’t know anything by them. A brief Spotify did nothing to endear them to me.
Lacuna Coil – Excellent announcement as ever. Really hoped they’d be at Download so well played Sonisphere
Gojira – See Lacuna Coil!
Katatonia – Not bad at all. Decent booking
Ghost – Pretty solid booking
Faith No More – OH FUCK YOU FOR BOOKING THEM FOR THE SUNDAY! Now that I have calmed down – this is such a kick in the face. I really want to see FNM but unless I book the day off with flexi time long in advance I will miss them again. Boo-urns! Well done Sonisphere
Incubus – They do the squared root of zero for me. I almost died with boredom during their set at Rock AM Ring 2008. I wouldn’t watch them.
Marilyn Manson – This is an interesting one. I saw him at Download 2007 for the first 6 or so songs and I thought he was alright. The universal opinion of him though was he sucked balls. So, I dunno what happened after I left but yeah, not good apparently. Reviews of his 2009 set were completely scathing. Andy Copping, the Download Festival booker, said he will refuse to book him until he sorts himself out. That is why this is an interesting booking. Will he be shit again? Who knows?
Refused – I quite like Refused so I would watch them.
Mastodon (playing The Hunter) – I really can’t get into Mastodon. Now, I just gave The Hunter a quick blast through (not all the songs and not all the way through) and it’s alright. People talk of Mastodon as if they are the best thing to ever happen to metal – they aren’t.
Cypress Hill – Leftfield booking but a good one all the same. I bet they would be a lot of fun.
The Blackout – A mediocre man once said “The Blackout can suck on both of my testicles, and even then I still wouldn’t watch them”.
Andrew W.K – Strong booking. I would like to see him one day.
Switchfoot – They seem reasonable.
I Killed The Prom Queen – I got nothing.
So all in all - not bad. It is a fairly strong start in terms of a festival line up. I think considering the wait it could have been better. The big question for me is whether I am going. The simple answer at the moment is no. The complicated answer is two-fold. Firstly, I could book the Monday off work after Sonisphere and go to see Faith No More. This is the most likely option from where I am sitting now. The second part of the answer is that if I get the job I have an interview for next month, then I might just treat myself to a weekend ticket and hang out and watch all those “meh why not” bands while seeing Faith No More and the others who I really want to see. If that option happened though, I still wouldn’t watch Mastodon!
Anyway, Download did a mini announcement last week to fill out their line up a little more and to be honest, it was quality.
NoFX – Sounds like a great announcement to me.
Nightwish – Well, that’s awesome. Hoping they will be better than they were Brixton 2009
Opeth – Pretty strong announcement although not that bothered by them because I will likely see them do a longer/heavier set at Wacken.
Black Veil Brides – They sound pretty decent. I like what I’ve heard thus far and intend to see them.
Killswitch Engage – Superb announcement. I am interested to see them but I fear they will lose a clash.
Shinedown – Superb announcement. So happy they have been announced.
So overall, I still think Download looks stronger of the two festivals. There of course will be more announcements for both so it will be interesting to see what happens next. If I do end up getting a ticket of some description for Sonisphere, I shall let y’all know. I don’t have any problem admitting though that I do not in the slightest regret getting a Download ticket instead of a Sonisphere ticket.
That is a pretty good start, it has to be said.
Kiss – Strong announcement in the context that it is their only European show of 2012. I find it hard to get excited about them though as there is only a handful of their songs I really like. I would watch them if I was going.
Special Guests TBA – I’m seeing a poster which suggests it is Skid Row. I really couldn’t care less about that if it is true. If it is Motley Crue as rumoured, well they were a bit boring at Soni 2010 so another proclamation of meh from me!
Within Temptation – Pretty cool announcement. I like some of their stuff so they would be worth watching.
Wolfmother – Urm, alright then. They were ok at Download 2007 but 5 years have passed, they’ve released nothing of note and changed their band members (other than the vocalist) – not interested. I might give them a “meh, there’s nowt else on” watch but they are certainly not a selling point.
Queen (w/ Adam Lambert) – This is an interesting announcement. Would I watch them if I was there? Yes absolutely. Would I pay to watch them? No. That for me personally is not a good thing when it comes to being a headliner.
Tim Minchin – Always funny. Pretty good booking and it will be interesting to see him try to replicate what Bill Bailey did in 2011. I’m told Bailey had really shit sound at the beginning though, so that could be a worry. Anyway, good booking.
Evanescence – They are a band who I would watch if there was no clash. From what I can see, they are sub headlining the main stage to Queen. Not sure why but that strikes me as odd.
The Darkness – Again, I would watch them but they really don’t do a lot for me.
Flogging Molly – I really need to see this band. I’m told they are so good live.
Fields Of The Nephilim – Well I don’t know anything by them. A brief Spotify did nothing to endear them to me.
Lacuna Coil – Excellent announcement as ever. Really hoped they’d be at Download so well played Sonisphere
Gojira – See Lacuna Coil!
Katatonia – Not bad at all. Decent booking
Ghost – Pretty solid booking
Faith No More – OH FUCK YOU FOR BOOKING THEM FOR THE SUNDAY! Now that I have calmed down – this is such a kick in the face. I really want to see FNM but unless I book the day off with flexi time long in advance I will miss them again. Boo-urns! Well done Sonisphere
Incubus – They do the squared root of zero for me. I almost died with boredom during their set at Rock AM Ring 2008. I wouldn’t watch them.
Marilyn Manson – This is an interesting one. I saw him at Download 2007 for the first 6 or so songs and I thought he was alright. The universal opinion of him though was he sucked balls. So, I dunno what happened after I left but yeah, not good apparently. Reviews of his 2009 set were completely scathing. Andy Copping, the Download Festival booker, said he will refuse to book him until he sorts himself out. That is why this is an interesting booking. Will he be shit again? Who knows?
Refused – I quite like Refused so I would watch them.
Mastodon (playing The Hunter) – I really can’t get into Mastodon. Now, I just gave The Hunter a quick blast through (not all the songs and not all the way through) and it’s alright. People talk of Mastodon as if they are the best thing to ever happen to metal – they aren’t.
Cypress Hill – Leftfield booking but a good one all the same. I bet they would be a lot of fun.
The Blackout – A mediocre man once said “The Blackout can suck on both of my testicles, and even then I still wouldn’t watch them”.
Andrew W.K – Strong booking. I would like to see him one day.
Switchfoot – They seem reasonable.
I Killed The Prom Queen – I got nothing.
So all in all - not bad. It is a fairly strong start in terms of a festival line up. I think considering the wait it could have been better. The big question for me is whether I am going. The simple answer at the moment is no. The complicated answer is two-fold. Firstly, I could book the Monday off work after Sonisphere and go to see Faith No More. This is the most likely option from where I am sitting now. The second part of the answer is that if I get the job I have an interview for next month, then I might just treat myself to a weekend ticket and hang out and watch all those “meh why not” bands while seeing Faith No More and the others who I really want to see. If that option happened though, I still wouldn’t watch Mastodon!
Anyway, Download did a mini announcement last week to fill out their line up a little more and to be honest, it was quality.
NoFX – Sounds like a great announcement to me.
Nightwish – Well, that’s awesome. Hoping they will be better than they were Brixton 2009
Opeth – Pretty strong announcement although not that bothered by them because I will likely see them do a longer/heavier set at Wacken.
Black Veil Brides – They sound pretty decent. I like what I’ve heard thus far and intend to see them.
Killswitch Engage – Superb announcement. I am interested to see them but I fear they will lose a clash.
Shinedown – Superb announcement. So happy they have been announced.
So overall, I still think Download looks stronger of the two festivals. There of course will be more announcements for both so it will be interesting to see what happens next. If I do end up getting a ticket of some description for Sonisphere, I shall let y’all know. I don’t have any problem admitting though that I do not in the slightest regret getting a Download ticket instead of a Sonisphere ticket.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Summer Shaping Up
This is another one of those posts about music festivals. If this bothers you in any way, I suggest this isn’t the post for you. I’m going to take a look at the latest announcements for Download, Sonisphere and Wacken as well as talk about some other music bits and pieces as well.
I’m going to start with Wacken as there isn’t a massive amount to say. I think since my last festivals blog, there have only been the two announcements which added 4 bands to the line up. Those bands are:
Aura Noir – At first listen to them I was put off, but revisiting them for the purposes of this blog, it would appear that first impressions are not everything. They appear to be a pretty decent black/thrash metal band that could be worth watching.
Manimals – I’m not sure what to say on this band. On Spotify, there is one song which is a short punk song. It is not bad but also, it is not great. On the MySpace page, there are completely different and much better sounding songs. The problem is that I’ve no idea if they are the same band. Helpfully, if you Google the new album name, it returns you to the Wacken 2012 bio page – which isn’t a lot of help. Bottom line, if the MySpace stuff is the band that is playing Wacken, I am definitely in favour.
Megaherz – German singing industrial metal band. They sound really quite good. I think they are rapidly joining the list of bands I have to watch. However if memory serves at one point Blowsight were a band I had to watch and then they clashed with Avantasia. Needless to say, they lost.
We Butter The Bread With Butter – I think I’ll give these a wide birth. I’m prepared to listen to any band with an open mind. It is hard to do that when a similar artist is “BrokenCYDE” but I honestly gave this lot a go and they aren’t for me...at all. They’re also compared with Suicide Silence, which I don’t believe to be a positive thing.
All in all though, the Wacken line up is starting to fill out quite nicely. So far, 75 acts have been confirmed. There were 126 acts confirmed for Wacken 2011 so there are plenty more to be announced, however I think most of the big acts are now confirmed. There are 30 or so Metal Battle bands that will need to be confirmed which takes the amount up to 105. After Mambo Kurt and WOA Fire-fighters, that is 107. I can’t think there will be many big acts left to be announced. That being said, I’m hoping to see Exodus and Devildriver announced as they were announced for 2011 and both cancelled. As far as I can see, Exodus are in Europe over the summer as they are playing Hellfest and Graspop. Devildriver are also in Europe so hopefully they will also be announced. I noticed today that they are playing the With Full Force festival. Now, there are a few bands shared between WOA and WFF (including a headliner in Machine Head), but I feel this could perhaps discount them from playing. I am hoping for Lamb of God but to my knowledge they’ve never played Wacken. I don’t know why that would stop them now – it could just be worth mentioning. Anyway, aside from them I would like to see Korpiklaani as I’ve not seen them and I’d quite like to. I can’t imagine there are many big names left to announce but a couple more surprises would be nice.
To the Download festival now and I said to myself “you can’t afford this festival for the weekend” but after the last announcement (before the one I am about to discuss) I decided to reappraise that decision. I was already going to get a Saturday day ticket but there was set to be an awful lot I would miss out on because I wasn’t going for the weekend. This decision was also aided by me revisiting Soundgarden and quite liking what I heard. I made the decision if I liked the majority of the next announcement that I would look to purchase a weekend ticket. 14 more bands were announced for Download last week and they were:
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy – This is a superb announcement to an extent as I’m somewhat favourable to Slash’s solo material but am always a fan of hearing GnR songs sung live (except by GnR oddly enough...) and Velvet Revolver material as well. The big fucker about this announcement is that they are headlining the second stage at the same time Prodigy are headlining the main stage. I may do a split watch, but I don’t know yet. It’s my first major clash.
Megadeth – Quality announcement. Saw them at Sonisphere 2011 of course as part of the Big Four and they were really good. I hope they will be just as good in the 3rd from top spot on the Sunday at Download.
Rise Against – It is an excellent announcement by Download but they are clashing with Black Sabbath which means they lose. Sorry Rise Against
Steel Panther – As much as I would like to get excited about this announcement, I’m not. I wouldn’t mind seeing the song “Death To All But Metal” live but other than that I have little interest in them and may find myself somewhere else. However, the fact they are on before Tenacious D could mean they’ll serve to be a good drink break band.
Billy Talent – I’m actually really happy they’ve been announced. They are a really good band who I’ve not seen live and would like to.
Black Label Society – This is one of those odd ones for me. I like some of their stuff and will probably watch them, but there is a lot of their stuff which just bores me. Seeing them will mostly be a chance to see Zakk Wylde live, which I haven’t done yet.
Kyuss Lives! – I am so happy to see these announced as I really wanted to see them at Wacken 2011 but I wanted to get a good spot for Skindred more. Anyway, they are really good and I think this is a strong booking.
Five Finger Death Punch – Before this announcement, if someone asked me about FFDP, I said I wasn’t fussed and that they bored me. This is no longer the case as I have revisited them and actually quite like what I have heard. So there is a good chance I will check them out.
Fear Factory – This is a cool announcement for me as it has given me reason to go back through their discography and discover some gems. They weren’t the best at Sonisphere 2010 so I am hoping for something more at Download 2012 (that thing being Linchpin, hopefully).
Periphery – They sound really good. They are Dream Theater approved as well which is cool. I missed them at Sonisphere last year due to a clash so I will try and catch them this time around.
Terrorvision – Tequila! It makes me happy! That is all I know by this band and truth be told I probably won’t watch them.
Ginger Wildheart – Best part of the announcement for me. I didn’t think he would be playing live all year. Then I saw suggestions there might be a pledge show. Then this was announced. Ginger always brings it live and I can’t wait to see him again. Short of Metallica/Tenacious D/Black Sabbath, there is no-one who will clash with Ginger, and win.
As I Lay Dying – ALID have been amazing the last two times I’ve seen them at Wacken, so seeing them in this country will be a nice treat. They are opening the main stage on Saturday so they’ll get no more than 30mins, but that is ok. I’ve seen them do an hour twice.
Reckless Love – I’ve got nothing on this. Sorry.
So, another superb announcement from the Download guys. I have purchased a weekend ticket. This is turning into a cracking festival. A healthy balance between awesome headliners and a great under card.
Right, let’s talk about Sonisphere. In the last festivals post, I talked about how it was strange that they had not announced anything yet. I also said I thought it was strange that they hadn’t even commented on the lack of an announcement yet. There was a little splash in the back of a recent Kerrang saying “Next Week: Sonisphere! You Won’t Believe Who They’ve Booked!” which to everyone suggested there would be an announcement. The night before, on a Facebook wall post on the Sonisphere page, the Sonisphere guys said “think Kerrang jumped the gun”. Since then, there has literally been nothing official. An account was made on twitter called SonisphereLeak which claimed to leak the first Sonisphere announcement. Since then two of the bands they leaked have been confirmed for Download (Slash and AILD) which completely destroys any credibility they had (which was very little in the first place). Just recently, there has been a leak to the Daily Star (of all fucking papers) to say that Queen with Adam Lambert (me neither) and Faith No More are headlining. That would be interesting to see how well that sells. All I know is that I’d be tempted by a FNM day ticket if the undercard was excellent. However, all we know about Sonisphere UK officially at the moment is nothing.
That’s all for festival talk for now. I’ll likely be back after more announcements.
I’m going to start with Wacken as there isn’t a massive amount to say. I think since my last festivals blog, there have only been the two announcements which added 4 bands to the line up. Those bands are:
Aura Noir – At first listen to them I was put off, but revisiting them for the purposes of this blog, it would appear that first impressions are not everything. They appear to be a pretty decent black/thrash metal band that could be worth watching.
Manimals – I’m not sure what to say on this band. On Spotify, there is one song which is a short punk song. It is not bad but also, it is not great. On the MySpace page, there are completely different and much better sounding songs. The problem is that I’ve no idea if they are the same band. Helpfully, if you Google the new album name, it returns you to the Wacken 2012 bio page – which isn’t a lot of help. Bottom line, if the MySpace stuff is the band that is playing Wacken, I am definitely in favour.
Megaherz – German singing industrial metal band. They sound really quite good. I think they are rapidly joining the list of bands I have to watch. However if memory serves at one point Blowsight were a band I had to watch and then they clashed with Avantasia. Needless to say, they lost.
We Butter The Bread With Butter – I think I’ll give these a wide birth. I’m prepared to listen to any band with an open mind. It is hard to do that when a similar artist is “BrokenCYDE” but I honestly gave this lot a go and they aren’t for me...at all. They’re also compared with Suicide Silence, which I don’t believe to be a positive thing.
All in all though, the Wacken line up is starting to fill out quite nicely. So far, 75 acts have been confirmed. There were 126 acts confirmed for Wacken 2011 so there are plenty more to be announced, however I think most of the big acts are now confirmed. There are 30 or so Metal Battle bands that will need to be confirmed which takes the amount up to 105. After Mambo Kurt and WOA Fire-fighters, that is 107. I can’t think there will be many big acts left to be announced. That being said, I’m hoping to see Exodus and Devildriver announced as they were announced for 2011 and both cancelled. As far as I can see, Exodus are in Europe over the summer as they are playing Hellfest and Graspop. Devildriver are also in Europe so hopefully they will also be announced. I noticed today that they are playing the With Full Force festival. Now, there are a few bands shared between WOA and WFF (including a headliner in Machine Head), but I feel this could perhaps discount them from playing. I am hoping for Lamb of God but to my knowledge they’ve never played Wacken. I don’t know why that would stop them now – it could just be worth mentioning. Anyway, aside from them I would like to see Korpiklaani as I’ve not seen them and I’d quite like to. I can’t imagine there are many big names left to announce but a couple more surprises would be nice.
To the Download festival now and I said to myself “you can’t afford this festival for the weekend” but after the last announcement (before the one I am about to discuss) I decided to reappraise that decision. I was already going to get a Saturday day ticket but there was set to be an awful lot I would miss out on because I wasn’t going for the weekend. This decision was also aided by me revisiting Soundgarden and quite liking what I heard. I made the decision if I liked the majority of the next announcement that I would look to purchase a weekend ticket. 14 more bands were announced for Download last week and they were:
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy – This is a superb announcement to an extent as I’m somewhat favourable to Slash’s solo material but am always a fan of hearing GnR songs sung live (except by GnR oddly enough...) and Velvet Revolver material as well. The big fucker about this announcement is that they are headlining the second stage at the same time Prodigy are headlining the main stage. I may do a split watch, but I don’t know yet. It’s my first major clash.
Megadeth – Quality announcement. Saw them at Sonisphere 2011 of course as part of the Big Four and they were really good. I hope they will be just as good in the 3rd from top spot on the Sunday at Download.
Rise Against – It is an excellent announcement by Download but they are clashing with Black Sabbath which means they lose. Sorry Rise Against
Steel Panther – As much as I would like to get excited about this announcement, I’m not. I wouldn’t mind seeing the song “Death To All But Metal” live but other than that I have little interest in them and may find myself somewhere else. However, the fact they are on before Tenacious D could mean they’ll serve to be a good drink break band.
Billy Talent – I’m actually really happy they’ve been announced. They are a really good band who I’ve not seen live and would like to.
Black Label Society – This is one of those odd ones for me. I like some of their stuff and will probably watch them, but there is a lot of their stuff which just bores me. Seeing them will mostly be a chance to see Zakk Wylde live, which I haven’t done yet.
Kyuss Lives! – I am so happy to see these announced as I really wanted to see them at Wacken 2011 but I wanted to get a good spot for Skindred more. Anyway, they are really good and I think this is a strong booking.
Five Finger Death Punch – Before this announcement, if someone asked me about FFDP, I said I wasn’t fussed and that they bored me. This is no longer the case as I have revisited them and actually quite like what I have heard. So there is a good chance I will check them out.
Fear Factory – This is a cool announcement for me as it has given me reason to go back through their discography and discover some gems. They weren’t the best at Sonisphere 2010 so I am hoping for something more at Download 2012 (that thing being Linchpin, hopefully).
Periphery – They sound really good. They are Dream Theater approved as well which is cool. I missed them at Sonisphere last year due to a clash so I will try and catch them this time around.
Terrorvision – Tequila! It makes me happy! That is all I know by this band and truth be told I probably won’t watch them.
Ginger Wildheart – Best part of the announcement for me. I didn’t think he would be playing live all year. Then I saw suggestions there might be a pledge show. Then this was announced. Ginger always brings it live and I can’t wait to see him again. Short of Metallica/Tenacious D/Black Sabbath, there is no-one who will clash with Ginger, and win.
As I Lay Dying – ALID have been amazing the last two times I’ve seen them at Wacken, so seeing them in this country will be a nice treat. They are opening the main stage on Saturday so they’ll get no more than 30mins, but that is ok. I’ve seen them do an hour twice.
Reckless Love – I’ve got nothing on this. Sorry.
So, another superb announcement from the Download guys. I have purchased a weekend ticket. This is turning into a cracking festival. A healthy balance between awesome headliners and a great under card.
Right, let’s talk about Sonisphere. In the last festivals post, I talked about how it was strange that they had not announced anything yet. I also said I thought it was strange that they hadn’t even commented on the lack of an announcement yet. There was a little splash in the back of a recent Kerrang saying “Next Week: Sonisphere! You Won’t Believe Who They’ve Booked!” which to everyone suggested there would be an announcement. The night before, on a Facebook wall post on the Sonisphere page, the Sonisphere guys said “think Kerrang jumped the gun”. Since then, there has literally been nothing official. An account was made on twitter called SonisphereLeak which claimed to leak the first Sonisphere announcement. Since then two of the bands they leaked have been confirmed for Download (Slash and AILD) which completely destroys any credibility they had (which was very little in the first place). Just recently, there has been a leak to the Daily Star (of all fucking papers) to say that Queen with Adam Lambert (me neither) and Faith No More are headlining. That would be interesting to see how well that sells. All I know is that I’d be tempted by a FNM day ticket if the undercard was excellent. However, all we know about Sonisphere UK officially at the moment is nothing.
That’s all for festival talk for now. I’ll likely be back after more announcements.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Nothing To See Here
This is one of those posts that doesn't really have an overriding theme as such, but is more a number of things I want to talk about smashed together to form one decent sized blog. Starting with the strongest foot first, I'm going to talk about Bath.
"Strongest foot first" is not something I ever thought I would be able to say about Bath Rugby this season but January was a relatively good month for Bath. It started off with a New Years Day win over London Irish 30-3 but from all reports that result came with a cracking performance - something which has been lacking this season. The next two results were disappointments, losing 26-19 to Saracens and losing 24-22 to Montpellier. Losing away to Saracens is nothing to be ashamed about (they are, after all, Premiership champions) and from what I read, Bath played well. On top of everything else, a losing bonus point was earned as well - so at least the game wasn't completely fruitless. The Montpellier defeat was a tough one to take as it was another last move/kick defeat. That's now happened 3/4 times this season, and Bath have lost after taking the lead more than that. That result pretty much ended all hopes of further European Rugby action but it was nice in the next game (and my first one of 2012) to sign off the Heineken Cup campaign with a 23-18 win. I thought when Glasgow went 18-17 ahead that it would be yet another game that Bath had started strong but eventually lost. Thankfully this was not the case. The final game of the month (which I was at again) was in the LV= Cup against Northampton. That tournament is one area where Bath have been doing very well this season with 2 games played and 10 points on the board. I had little hope Bath would beat Northampton, but was astonished to not only see Bath win, but to crush the Saints 46-14. The final pool game is Sunday away to Exeter. We beat them earlier in the season at home and I am hopeful the same result will be achieved in this meeting. The next two games for Bath after that are fairly crucial league meetings against Newcastle Falcons and Gloucester. Both games are vital to push further away from relegation and closer towards the top 6. I will be at both and will likely report back on them another day. At the moment though, with back to back home victories, it is not all doom and gloom coming from Bath for the first time in a while, which is nice.
Moving from positivity to Portsmouth, it has been another dull week for Portsmouth. So much so, that there's nothing to say...
Oh, aside from the fact that it really doesn't look good for the future of the club. I know that has been said a lot on here by me, as well as other people (I believe there are posts about Pompey's 99 problems, 101 problems and even more problems which weren't assigned a code number). What we knew was that the parent company had gone into administration, the chairman of the club arrested and cash flow for PFC coming to a grinding halt. Now, the executive officer, David Lampitt said we had enough money to keep the club running in the short term, but for long term survival to be assured, more investment would be needed. All sounds wonderful as ever. Recently news came out that the club had failed to pay its tax bill for 2 months, owing the HMRC £1.6m. Now, one can only assume that bill will continue to increase month on month which is why the club have been issued a winding up order. We had this before so obviously a second one being issued is of course a massive worry.
On the pitch at the weekend, we were away to Peterborough. A team who we should be beating but who beat us at Fratton Park. Taking into account performances generally this season haven't been wonderful and now the added off-field pressures, I think it would have been a fair move to write off Pompey in this one. However, according to friends who were there, the performance from Pompey matched the score line as we won the game 3-0. Swept up in the victory, Pompey fans such as me may have just forgotten the off-field issues temporarily to enjoy the victory and how much it meant to the club. And then the clubs bank accounts got frozen, which meant that cash flow has come to a complete halt. It also means the players and staff of Portsmouth will not receive their January wages. This appears to be a vital blow right before we go back to court against the HMRC and I honestly don't know what will happen. If the worst happens, I'll be sure to dedicate a post to it then, but I hope I don't have to. This week during Prime Ministers Questions, our local MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, raised the issue and asked the Prime Minister to back her in getting the HMRC to meet with the club, rather than just go straight to court, which he said he would. This is promising stuff but it is hard to get overly excited about it. After all, you know it’s a shit situation when it gets talked about in the House of Commons!
Anyway, I recently got invited to a St Patrick’s event on Facebook, which I declined as I’m not Irish. Why does England embrace St Patrick’s Day so much?
Perhaps I am missing out of some real enjoyment in life but I really don’t understand the need to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint to the degree that we do. Almost every bar becomes Irish for the day and a lot of people drink Guinness. It could be because I don’t like Guinness which is my whole reason behind me not celebrating St Patrick’s Day. The seemingly obvious answer is that it is an excuse to get completely and utterly shit-faced and write off this country-wide session of binge-drinking to celebrating St Patrick. Now, I enjoy the occasional drink these days (nowhere near as much as I used to) and even on the occasions when I have too many and I get drunk – I don’t feel the need to write it off to anything other than “I got drunk”. Someone actually said to me last year “Oh come on man, you have to celebrate St Paddy’s day” and had no answer when I asked why. Perhaps I am just being a killjoy but I don’t see why England celebrates St Patrick’s Day.
"Strongest foot first" is not something I ever thought I would be able to say about Bath Rugby this season but January was a relatively good month for Bath. It started off with a New Years Day win over London Irish 30-3 but from all reports that result came with a cracking performance - something which has been lacking this season. The next two results were disappointments, losing 26-19 to Saracens and losing 24-22 to Montpellier. Losing away to Saracens is nothing to be ashamed about (they are, after all, Premiership champions) and from what I read, Bath played well. On top of everything else, a losing bonus point was earned as well - so at least the game wasn't completely fruitless. The Montpellier defeat was a tough one to take as it was another last move/kick defeat. That's now happened 3/4 times this season, and Bath have lost after taking the lead more than that. That result pretty much ended all hopes of further European Rugby action but it was nice in the next game (and my first one of 2012) to sign off the Heineken Cup campaign with a 23-18 win. I thought when Glasgow went 18-17 ahead that it would be yet another game that Bath had started strong but eventually lost. Thankfully this was not the case. The final game of the month (which I was at again) was in the LV= Cup against Northampton. That tournament is one area where Bath have been doing very well this season with 2 games played and 10 points on the board. I had little hope Bath would beat Northampton, but was astonished to not only see Bath win, but to crush the Saints 46-14. The final pool game is Sunday away to Exeter. We beat them earlier in the season at home and I am hopeful the same result will be achieved in this meeting. The next two games for Bath after that are fairly crucial league meetings against Newcastle Falcons and Gloucester. Both games are vital to push further away from relegation and closer towards the top 6. I will be at both and will likely report back on them another day. At the moment though, with back to back home victories, it is not all doom and gloom coming from Bath for the first time in a while, which is nice.
Moving from positivity to Portsmouth, it has been another dull week for Portsmouth. So much so, that there's nothing to say...
Oh, aside from the fact that it really doesn't look good for the future of the club. I know that has been said a lot on here by me, as well as other people (I believe there are posts about Pompey's 99 problems, 101 problems and even more problems which weren't assigned a code number). What we knew was that the parent company had gone into administration, the chairman of the club arrested and cash flow for PFC coming to a grinding halt. Now, the executive officer, David Lampitt said we had enough money to keep the club running in the short term, but for long term survival to be assured, more investment would be needed. All sounds wonderful as ever. Recently news came out that the club had failed to pay its tax bill for 2 months, owing the HMRC £1.6m. Now, one can only assume that bill will continue to increase month on month which is why the club have been issued a winding up order. We had this before so obviously a second one being issued is of course a massive worry.
On the pitch at the weekend, we were away to Peterborough. A team who we should be beating but who beat us at Fratton Park. Taking into account performances generally this season haven't been wonderful and now the added off-field pressures, I think it would have been a fair move to write off Pompey in this one. However, according to friends who were there, the performance from Pompey matched the score line as we won the game 3-0. Swept up in the victory, Pompey fans such as me may have just forgotten the off-field issues temporarily to enjoy the victory and how much it meant to the club. And then the clubs bank accounts got frozen, which meant that cash flow has come to a complete halt. It also means the players and staff of Portsmouth will not receive their January wages. This appears to be a vital blow right before we go back to court against the HMRC and I honestly don't know what will happen. If the worst happens, I'll be sure to dedicate a post to it then, but I hope I don't have to. This week during Prime Ministers Questions, our local MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, raised the issue and asked the Prime Minister to back her in getting the HMRC to meet with the club, rather than just go straight to court, which he said he would. This is promising stuff but it is hard to get overly excited about it. After all, you know it’s a shit situation when it gets talked about in the House of Commons!
Anyway, I recently got invited to a St Patrick’s event on Facebook, which I declined as I’m not Irish. Why does England embrace St Patrick’s Day so much?
Perhaps I am missing out of some real enjoyment in life but I really don’t understand the need to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint to the degree that we do. Almost every bar becomes Irish for the day and a lot of people drink Guinness. It could be because I don’t like Guinness which is my whole reason behind me not celebrating St Patrick’s Day. The seemingly obvious answer is that it is an excuse to get completely and utterly shit-faced and write off this country-wide session of binge-drinking to celebrating St Patrick. Now, I enjoy the occasional drink these days (nowhere near as much as I used to) and even on the occasions when I have too many and I get drunk – I don’t feel the need to write it off to anything other than “I got drunk”. Someone actually said to me last year “Oh come on man, you have to celebrate St Paddy’s day” and had no answer when I asked why. Perhaps I am just being a killjoy but I don’t see why England celebrates St Patrick’s Day.
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