Browse 74309 Reviews & Comments (Page 3104)

Commenter   Comment   Posted On   Date  
 Alison Campbell We were at their 13 anniversary concert at the Barrowlands. Which was brilliant. Some of the fans were heckling Captain Sensible but singing "happy talky, happy talky" and calling him a wa**er" The Damned Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell Absolutely brilliant concert but then I am biased as I love this band The Damned Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell My friend Andy had the same birthday as me and we were fans of the band but we couldn't get o same time off so I Sent to the concert myself. Brilliant concert The Smiths Mar 27, 2023
 Megan Stratton VIP Early Entry, fourth row Joshua Bassett / Lindsey Lomis Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell I think it was this date Bad News / Def Leppard / Motörhead / Ozzy Osbourne / Scorpions / Warlock Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell This festival was brilliant my favourite band at the time was Metallica Metallica / Bon Jovi / Anthrax / Cinderella / W.A.S.P. / Dio Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell Had been a high fan of John Lyndon. But someone ruined the concert by throwing an empty bottle of vodka at him Public Image Ltd Mar 27, 2023
 Alison Campbell This festival was the best. It had some of my favourite bands at the time. Spear of Destiny was supposed to be on but they never turned up and The Fall came back on. Brilliant time Reading Festival 1987 Mar 27, 2023
 rbell777 Unbelievable! See how many Encores he performed! Neil Diamond Mar 27, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Alice Cooper - Enmore Theatre, 6 July 2007 An Alice Cooper show could comprise anything from music, murder and monsters, but who would've ever anticipated how utterly rocking it would be.† Cooper, clad in leather, studs and cold hard steel, is whippet thin and looms over a stage with a dark imposing presence. Tonight he surrounded himself with an intensely fierce young band, and the result had more leather-clad excitement and noise than a night at the Hellfire Club... er, I would imagine. Cooper is undeniably influential, leaving a mark on generations of musical trends and styles. But he also possesses such dynamic energy that the performance of his songs, some of which are almost three decades old, reduces most of today's pale imitators into a sooky pile of fringes and smeared eyeliner. While there is an ever-present sinister and sexual undertone to Cooper's songs, he also astutely observes and makes a mockery of modern life in tracks such as 'Woman of Mass Distraction' and 'Lost in America'. It was a performance in two halves. The first half was all about the music, a bludgeoning trawl through some of Cooper's searing '70s hits; the second more devoted to shock-rock, horror and theatrics. An epic 'Halo of Flies' ushered in the theatrical portion of the evening, featuring a lengthy, bombastic drum solo by ex-KISS drummer Eric Singer that would have made Neal Smith proud. 'Welcome to My Nightmare' saw a troop of masked, dancing goons invade the stage before Cooper serenaded a blonde dummy with the ridiculous ode to necrophilia that is 'Cold Ethel'. It seems not only women bleed - babies did too, after Alice had his way with them. But justice on the night was swift and Alice was confined to a straitjacket for the claustrophobic 'Ballad of Dwight Fry', then hung by his neck before our very eyes. But the show must go on, and 'School's Out!' and 'Billion Dollar Babies' lead into a deliriously received 'Poison'. And finally Cooper staked his political credentials with 'Elected', fronting his Wild Party as a troubled man for these troubled times. After 27 cracking songs in almost two hours, he won my vote. Alice Cooper Mar 27, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Rocket Science Annandale Hotel June 29 2007 Rocket Science relaunch for their first Sydney show in more than two years. While the supports Walrus and Front End Loader - who at one point downed tools in a Tequila demanding industrial action - were exceedingly solid and created a fair old ruckus, they were simply outgunned tonight. Within minutes Rocket Science reclaimed their mantle as on of the best live band’s in Australia. The band operate on the very fractious edge of music. The sound they create is almost organic in that it seethes, surges and pulses with an energised existence of its own. It is aural abduction, taking you to an otherworldly place not of this time. While their equipment and demeanour could best be tagged as ‘vintage’ they are no mere throwback sounding retro band. Rocket Science create the soundtrack to the looming frightful future, best shown by the disturbingly technical One Robot. The set is fuelled with a frantic urgency. The guitar rips and wails alongside the relentlessly throbbing bass and combustible drumming. The band providing a volatile stockpile of sound that is ignited by the searing bursts of organ and theremin and the manic howl of Roman Tucker up front. The whole effect is just all-encompassing, hypnotically drawing you in like a tractor-beam. The imposing Tucker is barely constrained by the edges of his instruments as he harnesses and conjures noises and transmissions from parts unknown while frothing forth and purging vivid bursts of vocals. The band’s recent return to the stage is accompanied by an imminent return to the recorded world. A swathe of new songs were sent swirling into the world including Alive, Sinful Cowboy, Weekly Dreams and Psychic Man before they delved back to the incendiary Burn in Hell from their nearly decade-old debut, which they would revisit for a devastating final coupling of 6 Foot 4 and Copycat. They left behind carnage. The guitarist was last seen as a pair of legs falling back over a stack of speakers and Rocket Science departed leaving a trail of instruments strewn across the stage. Nothing was left but the smoke, sweat and the ringing and an intact reputation as one of the finest live bands in the country. Set List Jet Set Run Like A Gun Alive One Robot Sinful cowboy Weekly Dreams Pop Lover Different Like people I Need your love Being followed Jet Lag Psychic Man Modern Life Burn in Hell -------------------- 6 Foot 4 Copy Cat Rocket Science / Front End Loader / Walrus Mar 27, 2023
 gratefulseedsaver Bobby, Wolf Brothers and the Wolfpack ‘shook the house’ with 4 hours of ‘musical/family’ BLISS! Don’t miss this tour…it’s a STELLAR collective of musical talent!!! Bob Weir & Wolf Bros Mar 27, 2023
 Chris Kimpson Who’s drum stick is that? Clutch / Sevendust / Stuck Mojo / 8 Degrees / Ultraspank Mar 26, 2023
 Bill Cissna I attended this concert with anyone else who could get a ticket. This small college in NW Pennsylvania (1,500 students at that time) had booked the band's tour stop before the late October, 1975 Time and Newsweek cover articles. The group honored the lower price and gave a great concert. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Mar 26, 2023
 Wolf Alistair With Danny Cordiner Nadia Reid Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Wanda Jackson - Gaelic Theatre, 9 June 2007 "In 1954, one woman changed music history." A crowd resembling the extras for American Graffiti lapped up the enduring legacy of the queen of rock.† The souped-up Wes Pudsey and the Sonic Aces provided a smooth, streamlined entree to the evening (and would also return later to be the backing band for the lady of the hour). They got the slick-backed crowd swinging and twisting with abandon. The crowd warmly greeted the 69-year-old Wanda Jackson, who casually introduced herself as "the nice lady with the nasty voice". Jackson had a mischievous twinkle in her eye almost matched by the sparkle in her ears, and was quite happy to chat openly about her astounding career. The show was almost half-talking, half tunes, part performance, part biography, and when she did launch into song she amiably shimmied and shuffled about making slightly reserved - but still lavish - gestures that sent her tassles flying. Everybody was hooked on her every captivating word, and most were simply awed to be in the presence of such an influential and important figure in music. And really, who am I to attempt to review her, when Elvis Presley once praised her musical talents with a passing, "You got what it takes." Jackson unleashed her trademark growl for her breakthrough hit, 'Let's Have a Party', and revisited her time spent touring with Elvis - for whom she was once His Latest Flame - by covering 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On'. Jackson happily pointed out the folly of her song 'Fujiyama Mama' which was number one hit in Japan despite its mention of the wartime bombings. "I don't think they understood the lyrics," she explained. There was a touching gospel interlude as Jackson described and sang about her best day of all, the day "she saw the light". This pure moment contrasted with her waving off a slight technical hitch with a cheeky, "Oh, I've blown plenty of mics before." It was a night to marvel and admire this living embodiment of music history before us. Every song had a story, and every story contained a defining moment of modern music. Wanda Jackson / Wes Pudsey & The Sonic Aces Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Beasts of Bourbon - Metro Theatre, 2 June 2007 The Beasts return to the road and are back at their brooding best unleashing songs from their latest album Little Animals.† The edgy rock sounds of Melbourne's Children Collide got the majority of the crowd on their feet. The guitar-driven 'Brave Robot' was later followed by the slightly more ethereal 'Cannibal', complete with bassist Heath Crawley's emphatic contributions throughout. It only took one line from the Beasts, the bludgeoning "I don't care about nothing anymore", to scatter the chatter and envelop the crowd in a dark and depraved world. The Beasts of Bourbon are a chillingly capable band. Behind the menacing figure of snarling frontman Tex Perkins is a powerful pack of hardened musicians, who can intuitively lead the music down any stylistic path. The new songs interspersed through the set were played with a stinging freshness, as if they were thankful to get back out on the stage again. The band brutally ploughed through the opposing longings to drugs and revenge in 'Chase the Dragon' and 'Make 'Em Cry', going on to the brooding 'Low Road', the downright menacing 'Hard For You' and the intense 'Straight, Hard and Long', which took an extended detour into jazz territory. It felt like a reprieve when the Beasts later served up a dose of reggae, and even got down for some 'chugging' as they got funky. "Are you feeling funky, Spencer?" asked Perkins. "Not particularly," replied guitarist Spencer Jones, "but I've been going along with all your crazy schemes and ideas for the past 24 years, so no point stopping now." For all the brutality and aggression present within the Beasts there is still an almost cartoonish side to them. "We are releasing an exercise DVD," the band quipped. "This song is part of it, so if you want to lose weight just follow these simple 83 steps." Returning to the stage for one last tilt, the Beasts offered a particularly passionate 'Saturated', dedicated to its late co-writer Ian Rilen, and staggered off with ramshackle parting ditty 'Thanks'. It was thanks for the memories and the real good times. Beasts Of Bourbon / Children Collide Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Gaslight Radio – Spectrum, May 5 2007 So apparently The Sway on first weren’t the denim-clad crotch fuelled rock gang of a few years back, I wasn’t about to take that chance though. If Starstream could be the answer to a musical cryptic crossword clue it would be something like - third spaceman leaves loveless vapour trail on ride to 500th Galaxie. They peddled and pedal-ed their droning guitar wares quite nicely. Gaslight Radio were pretty much beaten up and roughly ridden out of their home town of Burleigh Heads. The Gold Coast was no place for delicate layers of guitars and poignant purposeful lyrics, the band were pretty much anti everything the brash and superficial land of Surfers Paradise stood for. In fact Gaslight Radio are almost anti everything a normal band should be. The singer is gruff at best and overly curt in his banter and demeanour, then there’s the guitarist who’s performance is directed almost exclusively to his own speaker cabinet. They disappeared from the face of the earth for long spells with nary a peep then turned up with a new album after living on floors, line-ups and labels by the wayside. Their albums are almost impossible to find yet are possibly some of the most definitive Australian albums ever released. Taramac & Lime is merely a narrower, slightly less travelled Wide Open Road. While other bands have made their fame and fortune wistfully capturing the essence of the romanticised idealised version Australian life, Gaslight Radio writes and knows of the grittier, more realistic one. A life involving bus travel, public transport, layabouts, house painting, broken stuff, lost leases, graffiti, radio and t.v. It is music borne from and created within an inglorious and unglamorous life more touched by struggle than success. They play it with an honesty that has a whiff of desperation attached, as if the songs are all they have and they play them with the due respect and need of a life dependant on them. The greatest accolade to the influence and importance of the band is the fact that the crowd largely comprises members of this cities most successful and interesting bands of recent times, all gathered in hushed awkward awe. Gaslight Radio would feature in the Australian telling of that old Velvet Underground myth – only 20 people bought their album, but each of those 20 went on to form a band themselves. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Gaslight Radio / The Sway / Starstream Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Wilco - Enmore Theatre, April 21 2007 Wilco return with a reputation as one of the finest live bands in the world which they did nothing to diminish.† I have never been at a show comprised of so many people so deliriously happy to be seeing a band play. You'd have an easier time finding a flat spot on an echidna than in Wilco's set. From the opening glowing applause meeting their entry to the very last, the band held the crowd in an all-too-rare hushed attentive awe. One of the few interjections from the crowd was an all-encompassing "This Rules!" Wilco's current line-up features greatly accomplished musicians that masterfully enliven the ingenious songs of Jeff Tweedy. Glenn Kotche is one of the most unique and inventive drummers in contemporary music, taking songs in unheralded directions. It wasn't until about 10 songs in that Tweedy first addressed the crowd, inadvertently raising an interstate rivalry after which he soon sheepishly added: "That ends the rapport with you; it's for your own good". It wasn't to be though, in the first encore during 'Kingpin', Tweedy launched into a particularly expressive thought process that culminated in the crowd being prompted to 'Aargh' like a pirate at the appropriate juncture. The highlight of the night was the beguiling 'Misunderstood'. Whether you were in the front row or in the furthest back corner of the Enmore's mezzanine, you could block out the other few thousand odd people around you and feel that this song was being sung to you, and you alone. It was intense, epic and brilliant. While you were left pondering how they could possibly follow that, they unearthed another gem with their wistful interpretation of the Woodie Guthrie-penned 'California Stars'. No one at all minded when they came back yet again and asked nicely if "we could play a few more songs for you?" In fact they could've played all night and I doubt the devoted attention and euphoric applause would have ever wavered as this is a truly great band with a near-unassailable back catalogue. Tremendous. Set list You are my Face I am trying to Break your heart Muzzle of Bees Handshake Drugs A Shot in the Arm At least... One by One Impossible Germany Jesus War on War Via Chicago Walken Theologians I'm the Man Who Loves You Hummingbird ............ Hate it Here The Late Greats Kingpin I'm a Wheel ........... Misunderstood California Stars Airline Poor Places Spiders (Kidsmoke) (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Wilco / Glenn Richards Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Southern Roots Festival, Royal Hobart Showground, 7 April 2007 For a festival held on a trotting track, it was almost fitting that there were some late scratchings from the line up. The Magic Numbers and TnT wouldn’t be playing but a bundle of local acts were added to round out the bill. Many events and concerts claim to be “Just about the music” and in the Southern Roots Festival’s case, it was because there was very little else to do. Apart from the three stages of music there was a giraffe shaped jumping castle and two rides – ‘The Hurricane’ and the curiously named ‘Gee-Whizzer’. It was the inaugural Southern Roots Festival and the setting was quite spectacular. The plaintive acoustic shimmering lullabies of singing siblings Angus & Julia Stone went hand in hand with the early afternoon sun breaking through the sheer cloud-shrouded mountains that back-dropped the main stage. The Shitkicks belted out a few honest numbers on the “Atom Gleams Stage” up near the home turn. ‘Stage’ is being generous as it was really a few planks with a PA where the local bands spent the afternoon entertaining a few hardy souls and those lining up to buy a pie. Iain Archer provided to be an affably accented afternoon delight. While he previously performed as part of supergroup collective Snow Patrol, he just bought himself; an acoustic and some percussion on a tape for his first ever visit to Hobart. His delicately strummed tales of Northern Ireland, one he insisted would best be explained using a survey chart, still struck a chord with the crowd a half-a-world away. Xavier Rudd held up the ‘roots’ end of the bargain both musically and historically in his introduction involving the blessing of the traditional owners of the land. Toni Collette has surrounded herself with some wonderfully accomplished musicians ranging from Peter Fenton, the crackingly moustached Peter Farley, formerly of Gelbison, sometime Go Between Amanda Brown and hubby David Galafassi on drums. Look, she is utterly pleasant, very nice and effusive and can sing a bit (just a bit though) but unfortunately her songs, unlike her on screen characters, take no real dramatic twists, turns of journeys. Strangely, considering the calibre of musicians involved, the songs also tend to the sparser side of things leaving Collette’s voice largely left adrift out on its own here it sometimes gets a bit out of its depth. They wind up with a silly cover of T-Rex’s Children of the Revolution which cracks a few smiles. A band that has gone through a revolution of their own lately is The Vines. The stories surrounding the band and Craig in particular are well known and almost old hat as the band have been causing a stir on many a stage. Their first ever gig in Hobart gave the Apple Isle a virtual montage of their career thus far. Their set covered all albums and ranged from ragged profane filled garbled delivery to tight focused bursts. They dusted off the Miss Jackson cover and rounded it all off with a good ole fashioned instrument thrashing filled Fuck the World. Midnight Juggernauts played it hot, steamy and bouncy in the Pavilion Stage and were a most welcome respite from the icy night air. As the temperature further plummeted, through the retina unfriendly blinding array of lights on the main stage you could barely make out maybe a dozen or so people bashing, strumming and wailing some dreary cacophony of noise that was apparently Gomez, thought it was far too cold to stand about to confirm it as I sought the warming glow of the Pavilion Stage where Pnau caused quite a commotion. After a particularly exuberant introduction, by the hyped up announcer Wolfmother needed only to appear on stage to have the crowd baying as one. As the band unleashed their first big bloated monstrous riff the crowd were reduced to Nuremberg-esque unquestioning arm raising hysteria. While they sang of monsters, unicorns and the like Evan Dando and his Lemonheads were singing about love and drugs and girls and good wholesome stuff like that. It was a stark contrast, bright ringing guitars, melodies and harmonies and everyone, especially those on stage having just a great time. Dando was wearing a dandy brown suit accessorised with a construction worker’s helmet, perfect for when the Village People decided to add a slacker stoner member of the group. The ripping set was a perfect introduction for the jewel in the Southern Roots Crown – Pixies. Inexplicably some people left at the conclusion of Wolfmother’s set, but it was plain to see that this was the band that most everybody in attendance was there to see. The 3,000 odd people that had been in the drinking cages all day downed their tinnies and spilled out onto the infield in a Cascade fuelled wave of mutilation. The crowd rose in anticipation for the band some have been waiting a lifetime to see and from their first appearance on stage left the crowd nothing short of rapturous. They played not merely songs but a collection of life changing moments. Pixies refreshingly don’t carry the flag for any cause, flaunt any fashions nor have the need to win us over with any banter, they just play. The legacy and potency of their songs stand on their own. While this distant festival down where you can sense the proximity to Antarctica may’ve seemed quite distant and remote for the Boston band, the feelings their songs raise are incredibly intimate and close. Everyone present reveredly gracious and thankful to be able to see live songs that played a role in or sound-tracked so many influential and important times in their lives. For most it was more than just a set of songs, it was a stirring griping occasion. Music and moments, monkeys gone to heaven, minds lost and men on their way. Then all too soon it was “Goodnight Charles, Goodnight James, Goodnight Joey, Goodnight Dave, Goodnight Kim an Goodnight Hobart. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Southern Roots Festival 2007 Mar 26, 2023