Just the three gigs coming up this year so far, one I've been dreaming of seeing since I saw the VHS of their live concert in Wembley in 1995 (Bon Jovi!) and one band that I've started to get into over the last year, Crashdiet. And it's always a pleasure to see The Darkness.
The Darkness (+ Ginger & the Wildhearts) Hammersmith Apollo, London 7th March 2013
Crashdiet (+ Jettblack and others) O2 Islington, London 27th April 2013
Bon Jovi Hyde Park, London 7th July 2013
Mercury (Queen Tribute Band) Some small hall somewhere 23rd October 2004
Queen + Paul Rodgers Wembley, London 11th May 2005
Queen + Paul Rodgers Hyde Park, London 15th July 2005
Shed Seven Shepherd's Bush Empire, London 15th December 2007
Queen + Paul Rodgers O2 Arena, London 13th October 2008
Queen + Paul Rodgers Wembley, London 8th November 2008
Ankkarock Metal Festival Korso, Finland 14th August 2010
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroe Shepherd's Bush Empire, London 30th August 2011
The Union (+ 36 Crazy Fists) O2 Islington, London 21st October 2011
The Darkness (+ Foxy Shazam/Crown Jewel Defense) Hammersmith Apollo, London 25th November 2011
The Treatment (+ Sons Of Icarus/New Device/Motherload) Underworld, Camden, London 8th December 2011
Thunder Rock City, Nottingham 20th December 2011
Reckless Love (+ The Treatment/Jettblack) The Garage, London 2nd February 2012
Black Keys (+ Band Of Skulls) Alexandra Palace, London 9th February 2012
Jettblack (+ Barbe-Q-Barbies/Night By Night/Meansteed) The Borderline, London 30th May 2012
Gods Of Metal Festival Milan, Italy 22nd/23rd June 2012
Queen + Adam Lambert Hammersmith Apollo, London 12th July 2012
The Darkness (+ Black Stone Cherry/Walkway) Thetford Forest, Surrey 14 July 2012
Fatal Smile (+ Crazy Lixx) Underworld, Camden, London 7th September 2012
Reckless Love (+ Voodoo Six) Barfly, Camden 4th October 2012
Reckless Love (+ BlackRain) Barfly, Camden 18th October 2012
Firefest AOR Festival Rock City, Nottingham 21st October 2012
Jettblack (+ Sondura/The Mercy House/Night By Night) Underworld, Camden, London 26th October 2012
Steel Panther Hammersmith Apollo, London 15th November 2012
The Treatment (+ Vega/Four Wheel Drive/Curran) Underworld, Camden, London 15th December 2012
Thunder Manchester Academy, Manchester 22nd December 2012
Probably the most appropriate thread for this seeing as it relates to a concert I was at, back in 1988.
I found someone had uploaded a concert I went to many years ago at 'the Palace' in St Kilda. I knew the girl with white jacket who makes the intro at the start, (she was a friend of my wife, from school I think). Anyway Wife and I went, and I remember that she left before it finished and I stayed until stumps and beyond, going home as it got light, in a taxi. We had different musical tastes.
The band, TISM, (This Is Serious Mum) wont be everyones cup of tea, but they were vaguely (even fairly) talented, quite educated, quite controversial, quite cynical, quite satirical etc etc.... all values that with the exception of talent, that I seem to share.
They start this concert clip off with a rant about Derryn Hinch, a well known Melbourne Media presenter of many years who used to make comment about people who had done the wrong thing and guys who chase young girls. One he exposed in a manner that destroyed the police case against the offender, and he ended up copping a short stay at 'Her Majesties Pleasure' and a large fine for unethical broadcasting.
Then Hinch himself wrote a book boasting in it of a relationship he had had with a underage teen for quite some time. Go figure.... anyway Hinch and TISM were from opposite worlds and there was a mutual dislike which shows with an anti Hinch rant to start proceedings with.... This starts off before the music starts 'proper' in the clip. You might want to skip to 6:00 minutes in for when music starts. I dont even remember that part of the night really but know from other concerts of theirs that was part of the show for something similar.
They might not have been to all musical tastes, but I have to say they were a great band to go and watch live, with a brilliant atmosphere, and an audience that was generally 'off their faces'. Although I cant specifically see myself in the video, I am in the mix of madmen thrashing around on the dancefloor / moshpit, up the front, off my own face. I had a ball though
Some of their album and song titles were erm, quite descriptive and risque for the timewould appeal to some of us here....
By 1985 the band was playing regularly around Melbourne and soon released a 10-track demo composed of selections from their recordings followed by their début single, "Defecate on My Face" (1986), a 7" vinyl packaged in a 12" sleeve with all four sides glued shut. Their next single, "40 Years - Then Death" (1987), was released on transparent vinyl in a clear plastic sleeve with no cover art or labels. TISM's first radio-friendly single, despite the obscure packaging, was received well.
The début album, Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance (1988), is a double vinyl release in an embossed gatefold sleeve.
Phonogram Records signed the band in 1989 and with producer Lawrence Maddy, began work on their follow-up album. The band soon lost interest and channelled its remaining funds into The TISM Guide To Little Aesthetics, a book compiling lyrics, interviews and press releases. When Phonogram released Hot Dogma (1990) it failed to reach the commercial charts, and TISM were fired six months later, despite owing the label tens of thousands of dollars.
Over two nights in May 1991, the band released the video Incontinent in Ten Continents (1991).Shock Records signed TISM and re-issued Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance, as well as the EP Gentlemen, Start Your Egos (1991), a compilation of tracks previously unavailable on CD. TISM, with producer Tony Cohen, then released Beasts of Suburban (1992).
A new guitarist, 'Tony Coitus' (later 'Tokin' Blackman') joined the group onstage for the first time in January 1992.
The next EP, Australia The Lucky Cunt (1993) was TISM's most controversial release to date. Courts issued an injunction order of the CD when the Ken Done Society threatened legal action over the artwork, which parodied Done's signature style and depicted a koala sucking a syringe. The album was re-released with new cover art and the title: Censored Due to Legal Advice.
(Everso comment: They did however release a video for the album which they appropriately called "I Might Be A Cunt, But I'm Not A Fucking Cunt")
Anyway, this is the concert from 1988 that I went to.... As I said skip the first six minutes.
'Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance' TISM Live concert from The Palace, St Kilda.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
I saw Rammstein at 'Rock the Beach' last night. I'm not a massive fan of the band but they sure make an awesome spectacle. A great show.
Queens of the Stone Age, Enter Shikari and Airbourne were also awesome, but Green Day was slightly odd... They seemed to be going for a Queen-esque rock opera thing but couldn't quite pull it off.
Everso Biggyballies wrote:
.... and one other Festival I remember well was Glastonbury in 1985, when it also pissed with rain. I was on a visit home to the UK from my at the time new life in Aus . I went with my best mate in England who was going anyway, (and had been in the Reading trip a few years earlier) and I tagged along at the last minute. We were sleeping / camping in a Transit van that he had borrowed from a friend of his for a few days, and again we were parked in a camping zone not too far from the main stage. I remember that there were Rastas openly selling ganja or whatever you wanted, standing there unashamedly, calling out like a street salesman flogging newspapers, calling out the headlines to attract a few extra punters. Skunk Heads £5 Festival Special being spruiked and openly sold like the Evening Standard. It was all very Amsterdam like.
I also have a photo I took that shows a BMW 5 series (of the time) that had been adorned minutes before by a Rasta guy sat on the bonnet of his car selling his wares quite openly and parked (or bogged as it turned out) in the middle of the spectator areas in amongst the sideshows .... with a Supermarket grocery bag wrapped over the reg plate. The picture I have is of it being towed out of where it had bogged, by a tractor. Rather than towing him to a dry area with traction, he towed the BMW into even deeper mud, albeit in a more discreet position and where the dealer had been trying to get to when he got bogged. Despite being towed into a more difficult position that would need another tow without doubt, Rasta was immediately out of the car happy with the site, and setting up stall again to market his wares.
It was a brilliant atmosphere, and one sadly is no longer seen, and the Police I saw there were never hassling or searching dealers or punters. Unlike the much more obvious and over zealous Police presence at Reading Festival, where a quick search was routine with every trip for a piss or whatever.
I remember at Glastonbury, being woken up one morning by the sound of Peter Garrett (Midnight Oils).... an Aussie band I had only known of since going to Oz a year or so before.... and here I was in the UK with them on stage at Glastonbury. I didnt even know he was playing. It was all a bit surreal at the time, no doubt enhanced by the products of the on site 'street vendors' I had shopped with..
I have some photos from that which I will scan and post.
Other Bands on the bill were: Echo & the Bunnymen, Midnight Oils, Joe Cocker, Boomtown Rats, Style Council, The Cure, The Pogues, Ian Dury & Blockheads, Madness, Aswad, Jonathon Richmond (Modern Lovers)
[/nostalgic ramble]
re. that weekend I just found some photos I took of the weekend, so thought you might be interested. As I said before it was very wet.
I love the guy walking around on stilts, the trippy bus is sensational.... anyway here they are:
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
PTRACER wrote:With all that mud around, the guy on stilts probably looked no taller than the average guy depending on where he stepped.
Hehehehe.... you would have needed stilts to stand at the food counter in the pic, without sinking into the depths. That is where we queued to buy our staple food for the weekend. It did not seem to matter whether it was breakfast lunch or dinner time, it was always a spicy goat curry that seemed best. After a few days of nothing but goat curry, washed down with local cider, well let us just say it was not nice round the toilet blocks. Not to mention the back of the transit van in which we were camping. The couple standing in one of the pics were both selling their ganja deals quite openly without being troubled. It was a great weekend though.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Oh god, spicy curry. I'm at Download Festival next week (held in the grounds of Donington Park), I know what food I'll be looking out for haha! I dunno about goat curry though I'm taking a load of cider up, Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime to be exact, and a bottle of whiskey.
What the hell is that bus btw? Looks like it's been on fire!
PTRACER wrote: I'm taking a load of cider up, Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime to be exact .
We were all drinking some local brew of cider. Some sort of Zummerzet moonshine probably.
PT wrote:What the hell is that bus btw? Looks like it's been on fire!
I guess it the sort of bus you take a trip in.
I seem to recall it was basically a bus with most of the body cut away, with what was left of the framework shrouded in polystyrene blocks carved and painted to look like some undetermined 'thing'.
Looks like it was devised and designed during a previous trip.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
I'll review this one, never done a concert review before. May as well, it'll be my last gig. Support: Girlschool and Saxon. It had better be good, at nearly £60 admish.