The Who rocked Hyde Park in front of thousands of people and lifted London into another level. As the sun baked down on a very well organised Hard Rock festival, remaining members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey had put together a new look line up that included a replacement bass player for John Entwistle, who died of an apparent heart attack on June 27, 2002 in a Las Vegas Hotel Room, reportedly with 2 hookers and a massive load of chore on the bedside table the day before The Who were to begin a U.S. Tour.
Myself and James Sherry had Access all Areas passes and managed to meet Pete Townshend backstage. Now, myself and James love our music and our tastes are actually quite similar, so it’s not a secret to mention that we both agree that The Who are a band that sits at the top of the pile as our most influential band ever. So meeting Townshend in the flesh after so many years of hearing his music was one of the best moments on record. In fact, we were so happy about it that we decided to sneak into the restaurant area and eat Who-food! And what do The Who eat on a Sunday afternoon? A full Lamb roast, with all the trimmings, profiteroles and merangue of course! Take that! On the way out i managed to bump into Paul Weller whose “Setting Sons” album was my first ever, so the day was going to plan somewhat! We saw a new band called “Rose Hill Drive” support earlier on, definitely ones to watch out for..
With Zak Starkey taking care of Keith Moons most famous drum stool and some wonderfully crafted photgraphy and animated sequences, The Who got off to a fabulous start roaring through classic tracks “I Can’t Explain”, “The Seeker”, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere”, “Who are You?”, “Baba O’Riley”, and “Bargain” from Who’s Next?.
Visually, the show was as good as the musicianship, constantly changing, inviting the audience to soak up the good old days of good old fashioned punch ups, Mods on scooters filling the streets dressed stylishly on trips down to Brighton which became a legendary seaside town from that era from the scene alone.
Tonight, The Who played a bit of everything, with Townshend in between making sure that the message was clear to youth culture – basically write better songs and you will become more famous. It’s true to say though that no bands of this generation will ever play, write or record music at this level, but they also dropped a couple of newer numbers into the classics like “Real Good Looking Boy” – a new song from 2004 and a brand new song whose title evaded us as we were so high on the whole thing.
The wonderful “My Generation” came with an extended jam on the backend, the crowd were going mental where we were standing! But there was room for more and the set also was made up of “Drowned” and the wonderful “Love…Reign Over Me” from Quadrophenia, “Kids are Alright”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, and “Substitute”, until the final crescendo of “See Me Feel Me”, “Pinball Wizard” and “Amazing Journey” that represented the tunes from Tommy.
It was a magnificant show and you could tell that Daltery and Townshend were in their element here. This will go down as one fo the best shows ever, and if you did not manager to get there, you can tune into www.thewholive.tv and watch thier shows whenever you want.
Check them out as these guys are fully webbed up and waiting for you to drop by.
Z-Ed
The opening band theme of the night seems to be blood. A far cry from metal, the venue is in the heart of Shoreditch, unusually hosted at 93 Feet East. The Blood Arm which we already know to be great, is followed by Blood Red Shoes. An energetic sounding 2-piece, all guitar, drums, and shouting which steers them away from the usual melodic duo formula. I like them already!
What the band lacks in bass they make up for in backing tracks, and playful energy. Alana looks like a sweetly smiling little girl, as she bangs on her drums with percussion diligence. Predominantly they are a visual band, which encompasses many influences. From the ska feel of “Silence is Golden“, and the contagious Rock ‘n Roll vibrations of “192020“, the audience gets swung round to the Country-esque feel of “Sukkafish“. They have clearly learnt a lot from working closely with producer Brian Deck, who has also worked with the well acclaimed Secret Machines, and Iron and Wine.
How many times can a 5’1″ British MC shout to an already drunk Boulder, Colorado crowd that she herself is “soooooo drunk”? Five. Five times. One can imagine that any alcohol in her small body with the Rocky Mountain elevation would put this girl on the floor. Well, almost. It at least made her stumble, ramble, and go hoarse. This is pure entertainment considering us silly Americans have a hard enough time understanding Lady Sovereign’s quick-paced lyrics, let alone drunk.
Notoriety follows The Brian Jonestown Massacre as surely as night follows day and Muttley follows Dastardly. Or, specifically, said notoriety follows BJM front man Anton Newcombe. Frequently feted (usually by himself, truth be told) as musical genius and genuine messiah, Mr Newcombe and his ever shifting line-up of cohorts peddle an admittedly fine take on the evergreen, West Coast psychedelic power-pop thang. Yet despite this superb aural output, it’s his ‘personality-led’ incidents that have led to a recent increase in fame, most notably in the superb ‘Dig!‘ documentary DVD (sample line: “fucking broke my sitar, motherfucker.”)
Sharing the same Beggars Banquet label as The National, The Devastations are not surprisingly a great introduction to the evening. With songs like “Sex and Mayhem” the 4 piece have an instrumental/melodic feel, with a distinct western lead. With the singer slapping his bass, old-school finger style, they hold your attention enough to fill the room within seconds.The National were originally set to play at Scala. After selling out the first venue, they decided to move the show to Koko, and still managed a Sell Out show! Their awkwardly intimate live performances have spread far and wide. From the release of their self titled album in 2001, they have captured a cult following, leaving behind memories of conventional good jobs. Their 1st album was released before ever playing live. A high standard to follow, but they have cultivated their sound over a further 2 albums. Their sound is big, honest and raw!
Matt holds the mic so tightly you almost wait for his hands to bleed. Tensing all the veins in his arms he screams “I won’t fuck us over, I’m Mr. November, I’m Mr. November, I won’t fuck us over” from the anthem of the night “Mr November“. He bizarrly hugs his ear to keep check on his own voice, making him look as vulnerable and open as his lyrics. From the pinnacle point in the set, he reaches for a well deserved smoke break…and from that point chain smokes. With mic in one hand, and contantly lit fags in the other he doesn’t miss a note, even as he exhales some of the lyrics. Fitting for his track “Lit up“.
The cream of UK hip hop came together in Nottingham on Bank Holiday Monday to put one of the most mouth-watering line ups seen in a long, long time at Nottingham’s Rock City. Bigger names and less mainstream acts played on the same bill with the same message – You don’t need be American to make good hip hop – and they did a sterling job proving it.
Professor Green’s Stereotypical Man got laughs from the crowd, as did his other clever one liners and wit, but he was wrestled offstage, albeit in good nature, by hosts Rodney P and Mistajam, for telling the crowd about having sex with his dick wrapped in cling film.
Klashnekoff and Terra Firma ran him a close second, proving to previous crews on the bill that when all three members can stand alone as good rappers, it makes for a much better show. The anthem Its Murda was perhaps the most well received song of the entire night and justifiably so as the 3 of them bust out the verses with perfect ability, as the rest of his seemingly ever growing group of mates on stage bopped around.
Each track by the Portland, Oregon sextet is completely unique, and strong enough to stand alone and hold a rooms attention. The Decemberists open into California One/Youth And Beauty Brigade. They slip into The Infanta, all while the crowd stops talking, and the only sound you hear besides the music is the applause and cheering. A band that demands respect from the very beginning!
There are arguably few bands around today that enjoy the same level of devotion from their fans as AFI do. Tickets for this one-off intimate show – a precursor to the release of new album ‘Decemberunderground‘ – sold out within minutes of going on sale last month, with the few remaining spares currently fetching a black market price of around £60. The ridiculously long queue was allegedly started at around 3am this morning, and now consists of a thousand-odd punks, goths and metalheads, several sporting AFI tattoos, and all united in excited anticipation of what the evening holds in store.
It was almost exactly one year ago today that Still Remains took to the Zodiac’s stage as the opening act of the annual Roadrunner Roadrage tour, alongside a then little known act by the name of Trivium. For the most part it was a less than enthralling affair, the band appearing utterly shell shocked – stunned into a half hour set of uninspiring metal-by-numbers drivel performed with all the visual energy of a week old corpse.
The Swedish support band, Dungen, reminded me of a Jethro Tull / The Doors with a sprinkle of Jimmy on the guitar. Not that compartmentalising this band sells their talent, but to give you an idea of how unusual they were, it seems the only way. It is impossible to label them, other than to broaden it to surf rock. Bouncing between elevator music, up to the inclusion of a psychedelic flute! The crowd was…errr…stunned?