The band have been termed as “genre blurring” by some members of the music press and it’s easy to see why; not only do you get the visual of early rock bands plying their trade and some guitar riffs that would make any self respecting rocker proud to call their own but you get the disco prog, high camp feel of Mott The Hoople infused with parts of metal, Garage and new wave. Certainly a band that covers every taste!
Category Archives: Live
Metallica, Gig Review. o2 Arena, London.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 30th 2009.
For a time it looked as though the band that had spawned classic albums such as Master of Puppets, …And Justice for All and Ride the Lightning had reached a dead end, in the studio and on tour. So much so that even loyal fans and critics started questioning the band’s future when they released St. Anger in 2003.
With the release of Death Magnetic last year, all of that has been forgiven and forgotten. This album has transferred so well to the live show that the band have largely, (with a couple of exceptions) scrubbed clean the years 1993 to 2007 off their set list.
Asia, Gig Review. Floral Pavilions, New Brighton.
Originally published by l.S. Media. April 24th 2009.
Opening the set with Only Time Will Tell and Wildest Dreams from their 1982 debut album Asia, the stage was set for the four men to provide one of their great shows that they are famous for; and as ever they didn’t disappoint.
As always, Asia started the gig as consummate professionals and as always never relaxed the tone as they turned back the clock to play The Smile Has Left Your Eyes.
Eric Clapton, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 14th 2009.
With over fifty years of experience of playing on stage and a song book that most bands would kill for, it is with no small wonder that Eric Clapton still manages to make the art of playing guitar look so incredibly simple. Even appearing on stage to no fanfare and looking more dishevelled than a tumble dryer full of wet clothes, he still manages to look the coolest man in the world.
War Of The Worlds Musical By Jeff Wayne. Theatre/Musical Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 15th 2009.
Cast; The voice of Richard Burton, Shannon Noll, Justin Hayward, Chris Thompson, Anna-Marie Wayne.
“No one would have believed…”
…that thirty years ago an album would come out that blew its initial budget within weeks of starting recording. An album that used some of the greatest musical talent ever and one of the most iconic and greatest of British actors to grace stage and screen. An album that was based upon the book by the “father of science fiction” H. G Wells!
Hippy’s On The Hill, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 23rd 2009.
From time to time if you are lucky, you get to see a young band on stage who just simply blow you away. Sometimes you think they might be a flash in the pan, that you just got fortunate enough to catch them on a good night. Not so with Hippy’s on the Hill.
These four local lads have got talent by the bucket load and an attitude that is refreshing and unexpected, especially when you see that that the average age of the foursome is just 16.
The Australian Pink Floyd Show, Gig Review. Liverpool Echo Arena.
Originally published by L.S.Media. July 6th 2009.
For all Pink Floyd fans, the lack of news concerning any type of gig celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of one of the best selling albums of all time is a bit too much to bear. What with the untimely death of keyboard player Richard Wright within the last year and the still apparent animosity between Roger Waters and David Gilmour, the next reunion might well be when they all take part in the Great Gig in the Sky.
Thankfully the opening act of this years Liverpool Summer Pops at the Echo Arena had it covered and then some!
Idlewild, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 6th 2009.
Another band to make this years Summer Pops is Idlewild, with six studio albums already behind them and a recording history of over 10 years, Idlewild took the brave decision to play a city that they don’t traditionally do well in, especially when you compare the fan base nationally.
The lads from Scotland opened the set with I Don’t Have a Map from 100 Broken Windows and the bouncy In Competition for the Worst Time from the 2007 studio album Make Another World before showcasing one of the new songs from the soon to be released studio album Post Electric Blues, the very enjoyable City Hall.
Thunder, Gig Review. Hammersmith Apollo, London.
Originally published by L.S.Media. July 14th 2009.
The tour has been billed as twenty years and out! A commemoration and a memorial for one of the most consistent rock acts of the last two decades deciding for the second and final time to bow out from recording and touring. The previous night had seen the band greeted with some incredible emotion by a pumped up Wolverhampton crowd. On the last night of the tour and with only an outside appearance at Sonasphere for their faithful fans to look forward to, the Hammersmith Apollo played host to the final indoors gig by this great British band.
Simple Minds, Gig Review. Liverpool Echo Arena.
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 22nd 2009.
With a brand new album fresh out of the packaging to showcase to the loyal fans at the Liverpool Echo Arena, it was perhaps unavoidable and surprising for Jim Kerr and the band to dip their toes into nostalgia and open the show with the bass driven Waterfront, which from the very start had the assembled crowd on their feet dancing away and they didn’t let up till the very end of the show.