Live gigs - Who you've seen were they good, bad etc.

[TheSheriff]

The amazing CVC in Cardiff tonight, what a great band they are

[Badlands]

8 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Reckon you have a decent chance of Wonderful Christmastime.  I saw him in mid December a few years back and he delivered it right on cue.

He even brought on a kids choir for it.

 

Magic night

[Dales]

5 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

In that photo he looks like Garth Brooks 

 

Just a bit 😆

[CaledonianGonzo]

28 minutes ago, Badlands said:

He even brought on a kids choir for it.

 

Magic night

 

Yep. A genuine king.

[NorthernSoul52]

On 12/10/2024 at 9:04 AM, Nobody Interesting said:

 

They have changed the set list as last night Karma was last in 2nd half. Loved it all, but then I knew both albums really well.

Tony Hadley was epic as were Heaven 17.

Would love to see Culture Club on the Pyramid.

Oh, have they? Thank goodness for that - obviously realised they'd lost the casuals there.

 

Hadley very much still got those pipes, even if his crooner schtick on Through the Barricades was a bit tiring.

[NorthernSoul52]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:07 PM, efcfanwirral said:

I don't think I've been as excited for a gig as I am for Paul McCartney on Sunday for years. It feels like a proper big one

Was chatting with a friend last night who was at McCartney #1. Sounds like the sauce is flowing, so have a great one!

[NorthernSoul52]

Two gigs in quick succession here for me: While She Sleeps on Thursday evening at O2 Academy Leeds, and then Slipknot last night at First Direct Arena.

 

Very impressed by the former, who I have typically found to be mostly trapped in a muddy dirge of their own making when I saw them last the best part of a decade ago. They've come on in leaps and bounds.

 

The latter are absolutely stealing a living on this tour. Eighty-minute sets, including an encore break, with just fourteen tunes and a good bit of speech-padding. But they are sounding great still. Have my reservations on Eloy Casagrande at the back still - know Jay Weinberg wasn't immensely popular among fans, but struggling to see how this is a particular upgrade.

[henry bear]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:07 PM, efcfanwirral said:

I don't think I've been as excited for a gig as I am for Paul McCartney on Sunday for years. It feels like a proper big one

I’m going to London #2, and I feel the same - safe in the knowledge that everytime I’ve seen him it tends to go into my top 20 gigs 

[henry bear]

On 12/7/2024 at 10:00 AM, NorthernSoul52 said:

Culture Club's big eighties tour yesterday was fun, but with a pretty major disadvantage. Playing their first two records sequentially, which has the misfortune to mean Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? and Karma Chameleon arrive back-to-back at the end of the first half, which does leave the audience restless for the remaining forty-five minutes or so.

That’s the trouble with such gigs. They can look good on paper, but that doesn’t always translate onto the stage. I remember a sense of being underwhelmed after Blur’s 1999 singles concert at Wembley Arena. No drama, little excitement, all my favourites played early doors (apart from a few), no natural climax to the gig.

[Dales]

Shed Seven at Brixton last night, great fun and looking forward to catching them at a few festivals next year. Loads of good tunes, one of those few acts that the later stuff is just as good as when they started.

 

Also enjoyed The Sherlocks who supported.

[NorthernSoul52]

Shed Seven are going to be everywhere next summer up north. 

 

@efcfanwirral - spill the beans. How was the magic man? 

[radioahed]

On 12/15/2024 at 8:33 AM, NorthernSoul52 said:

The latter are absolutely stealing a living on this tour. Eighty-minute sets, including an encore break, with just fourteen tunes and a good bit of speech-padding. But they are sounding great still. Have my reservations on Eloy Casagrande at the back still - know Jay Weinberg wasn't immensely popular among fans, but struggling to see how this is a particular upgrade.

 

I was also at this gig. It was my first time seeing them and thought the sound was incredible. Wall of sound. But yeah even though I knew what to expect with just 14 songs you feel a bit cheated for an arena tour. At least I got home at a sensible time ha 

It just means when they tour again with a new album i'll have to go to see all the other hits. 

[Gejonimo]

Was at the Macca gig last night and have come away in awe. I'd say the first hour was great. But the latter half/two-thirds is possibly my favourite ever performance. 

 

The John and George odes were emotional, the solo songs were beautiful, the party tunes were fantastic, the sing-a-longs were magical. Almost teared up a couple of times. The run from Blackbird to the final song is ridiculous, no person should be able to wield that much back-catalogue power, and yet I'm very thankful someone can. 

 

It truly felt like an "I was there" moment, and the best thing was that everyone in that arena shared the sentiment. A proper come together (pardon the pun) evening. Speechless. 

[Badlands]

I 

33 minutes ago, Gejonimo said:

Was at the Macca gig last night and have come away in awe. I'd say the first hour was great. But the latter half/two-thirds is possibly my favourite ever performance. 

 

The John and George odes were emotional, the solo songs were beautiful, the party tunes were fantastic, the sing-a-longs were magical. Almost teared up a couple of times. The run from Blackbird to the final song is ridiculous, no person should be able to wield that much back-catalogue power, and yet I'm very thankful someone can. 

 

It truly felt like an "I was there" moment, and the best thing was that everyone in that arena shared the sentiment. A proper come together (pardon the pun) evening. Speechless. 

I lost it so many times I can barely recall - Getting Better, Something, Maybe, Golden Slumbers at least - I was a mess.

Just an unforgettable privilege to be with the man who wrote them, belting them out one last time

[Gejonimo]

14 minutes ago, Badlands said:

I 

I lost it so many times I can barely recall - Getting Better, Something, Maybe, Golden Slumbers at least - I was a mess.

Just an unforgettable privilege to be with the man who wrote them, belting them out one last time

Privilege is a good word. So many times I caught myself feeling incredibly lucky. His reaction to the "hearts" during Now & Then was very moving too, feel like it genuinely meant something to him. 

[ClementsMike]

I was at Macca last night. Absolutely wonderful. For me it completely eclipsed the 2022 headline set. Just blows my mind he’s knocking out ‘She loves you’ and talking about Sgt Pepper and you realise . He actually wrote those. Amazing. Golden Slumbers broke me a bit. 

[NorthernSoul52]

Must admit, I'm delighted to hear all these lovely verdicts and enjoyment at Macca.

 

@Gejonimo, @Badlands, @ClementsMike - glad you all had a great time!

[Gejonimo]

2 hours ago, ClementsMike said:

I was at Macca last night. Absolutely wonderful. For me it completely eclipsed the 2022 headline set. Just blows my mind he’s knocking out ‘She loves you’ and talking about Sgt Pepper and you realise . He actually wrote those. Amazing. Golden Slumbers broke me a bit. 

There was a moment where I thought, you know what, scrap the tunes, just tell me stories for the next half an hour please. 

[NorthernSoul52]

46 minutes ago, Gejonimo said:

There was a moment where I thought, you know what, scrap the tunes, just tell me stories for the next half an hour please. 

He has some tales.

 

Gutted to have missed these shows - just couldn't get a ticket for love nor money - but fell exceedingly lucky by catching him in Adelaide last year.

[Gejonimo]

36 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

He has some tales.

 

Gutted to have missed these shows - just couldn't get a ticket for love nor money - but fell exceedingly lucky by catching him in Adelaide last year.

Judging by that review the show is exactly the same, so seems we can share the memory. 

[henry bear]

Think the show is more or less the same as Glasto, with a handful of changes, pretty much for the better (Fuh You and New out, Jet, Now and Then and Wonderful Christmas Time in). No doubt the same anecdotes, but then we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The only gripe I have is with some of his choices of Wings songs. Always feel Letting Go and Let Me Roll It are a bit clunky, when we could have had likes of Listen To What The Man Said, but it’s a minor one given he gives us circa 36 songs a night. 

[MEGABOWL]

Was at McCartney night 1 and I think it’s going to land very high up in my all time list. Third time seeing him including Glastonbury 2022 and that was the best one. It was just utterly magical. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it.

[NorthernSoul52]

1 hour ago, Gejonimo said:

Judging by that review the show is exactly the same, so seems we can share the memory. 

Aye, very few differences! 

[Looother]

I've had many fleeting musical obsessions in my time, but only a few artists have been long-term favourites and of those about half happen to have played London last week or to be playing in the next few days. So I'm having a pretty joyful, concert-heavy time of it.

 

Vampire Weekend got the ball rolling at Brixton Academy last Tuesday

 

 

This was just a phenomenal evening, with a band whose musicianship was on full display and whose back catalogue is rich enough for them to leave out loads of great songs while still stuffing their set with quality (and a great SBTRKT cover). I wasn't sold on the encore conceit, though - taking random requests from the audience is fun, and impressive when it works out, but it also means that just as the evening should have been peaking momentum kept being stalled. For all that, I was exhilarated at the end and would absolutely have gone back the following night if work hadn't got in the way. I booked for their day at Victorious instead.

 

Then Saturday at the Roundhouse for Fat Freddy's Drop, probably my all-time favourite live band, just pure joy on a stage. It wasn't the perfect set: their latest album isn't their best, and there was a bit too much of it here, and that led to periods when the crowd weren't fully engaged. Plus my decision to sit wasn't the best - from the balcony I always feel I'm watching a concert rather than part of it - but it was the strong preference of my companion, and it was great to see the crowd go off when the music peaked. When they dropped the classics the energy was just immense, and Joe Lindsay, their wildly charismatic trombonist, was on great form. I'd say it wasn't in my top five FFD concerts, but it was a great night out.

 

 

 

Three more before the run ends: Stornoway tonight, Wonder Stuff on Wednesday, Macca Thursday.

[Badlands]

I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as Glastonbury, Hey Jude especially on the pyramid was transcendental. Still, arguably a top 10 of all time.