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

[benali]

Saw Dry Cleaning and PVA tonight at the Wedgewood Rooms. Was very good. 

 

[Riggins]

Supposed to be seeing Big Thief on Saturday, but alas I think I got COVID from the brilliant Wolf Alice gig. 

 

So have two to sell for Big Thief on the off chance anyone in this forum wants them

[found home in 2009]

Went to see Self Esteem at the QMU in Glasgow on Tuesday. Getting in was a bit of a farce, massive queue and turned out it was because rather than scanning the QR code on your ticket they were just asking everyone their name and address and ticking them off from a list. 

Gig itself was brilliant. Really good atmosphere. She said Glasgow was one of the first gigs on the tour to sell out and she'd been really looking forward to it. Always a bit sceptical artists say that every where, but they did all come across like they were really enjoying themselves. 

Loved the harmonies between her and her backing singers and thought the drummer was fantastic. Could be doing without the 90s boy band style synchronised dancing, but overall thought it was a fantastic show.

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, found home in 2009 said:

Went to see Self Esteem at the QMU in Glasgow on Tuesday. Getting in was a bit of a farce, massive queue and turned out it was because rather than scanning the QR code on your ticket they were just asking everyone their name and address and ticking them off from a list. 

Gig itself was brilliant. Really good atmosphere. She said Glasgow was one of the first gigs on the tour to sell out and she'd been really looking forward to it. Always a bit sceptical artists say that every where, but they did all come across like they were really enjoying themselves. 

Loved the harmonies between her and her backing singers and thought the drummer was fantastic. Could be doing without the 90s boy band style synchronised dancing, but overall thought it was a fantastic show.

It's my next gig and I'm really excited. Also excited to see the dancing given how much she enjoys doing it. It's very much part of her reclaiming herself which I am here for. 

[Memory Man]

Went to self esteem in leeds last night, absolutely fantastic show. Absolute must see!! Simply outstanding, they have thought of every tiny detail and its wonderful

[TheWaters]

Saw Sons of Kemet in Bristol last week. Forgot to post at the time but they were excellent. Very much on the wishlist for Glasto this year

[found home in 2009]

3 hours ago, gigpusher said:

It's my next gig and I'm really excited. Also excited to see the dancing given how much she enjoys doing it. It's very much part of her reclaiming herself which I am here for. 

Didn't realise that. Now I feel a dick for criticising the dancing 🙈

Hope you enjoy the show. I'm sure you will to be honest, they were great.

[spg]

Saw chameleons supported by the membranes recently, both brilliant! 

[John the Moth]

3 hours ago, spg said:

Saw chameleons supported by the membranes recently, both brilliant! 

Nice avatar, nearly put my Mission T shirt with that design on today 🙂

[coma girl]

Saw Yard Act last night, they were excellent. 

[Losing my hair]

Dry Cleaning and PVA in London last night. Two great bands (plus another whose name I've forgotten, Woozer?) , great crowd - excellent night out. 

[Padjeq]

Went down the Institute Monday just gone, for YONAKA. Third time seeing them now. Wasn't exactly packed, but there were more punters in there than would fit in any other smaller venue in Brum, so it was the right decision. I don't think you get enough bands booking slightly too large rooms any more. Missed the supports so had to catch up on the drinking and discovered it's £6.90 for a pint of San Miguel in here now. Couldn't believe it, so I only had 4.

YONAKA and the crowd were all really into it. A mosh pit was stretched out but no one knew what to do with it. It was the wrong song for it to be fair. The singer and guitarist are a real life couple of about a decade, which is pretty cute.

 

[Stretlow]

Took the eldest (13) to see Wolf Alice last night at the Apollo. We were both big fans before we went but Ellie Rowsell's voice is brilliant imo.

Loads of energy, daughter come home beaming, shes only been to a handful of gigs so far but shes really taking to it at the moment..

Of course she has her first ticket to the big one in June, cant wait to take her...

[waynewdk]

Other than festivals and and big DJ in clubs abroad, the only sole concerts I’ve been to see are :

David Essex - Really Good

Belinda Carlisle - Really Good

Eminem - Superb

Bohemians ( Queen Tribute) -Superb

The Killers - Epic

Kaiser Chiefs - Brilliant

Stevie McCrorie- Really Good

Edited March 5, 2022 by waynewdk

[blutarsky]

Reading this thread makes me wish I lived in a city. Relatively few opportunities for gigs when you live in the arse end of Devon - and the ones we do go to are expensive because of travel. 
We saw Benjamin Francis Leftwich on Friday at the Phoenix in Exeter - an hour drive for us. More Mrs B’s thing than mine - the tickets were her Valentine’s Day present. She found him very moving. I enjoyed the artistry but it was a bit dull and slow paced for my liking. Not enough variety in his songwriting to keep my interest. As he said himself between songs, he does sad, slow songs that reference god. I’ll enjoy the occasional song like that but not 15 in a row. I wasn’t helped by the fact Baby B is teething and not sleeping at the moment - felt like I might nod off standing up 😂 

the atmosphere was great though. Audience very quiet and appreciative which BFL kept saying thank you for. I wasn’t keen on him describing us as “respectful” though. That’s more about the anti-authoritarian anarchist streak in me though - I hate the thought of being seen as compliant 😂 

He came down into the audience with his guitar and sang the final song of his encore from the middle of the crowd stood right in front of us. Great to see his finger-picking close up - not so great for people on the other side of the room. 
Still - went down very well with the crowd, big ovation at the end. Mrs B really loved it. 
I found BFL quite charming. He had a gentle and vulnerable nature and seemed a sad soul to his core. When he first spoke he seemed terrified of being on stage, seemed to get confident later but then seemed nervous again for a bit before visibly relaxing. He said himself, “I’m trying to speak more between songs as my manager says I make it so awkward when I just play and stand in silence between songs”. Listing every venue he played on this tour seemed to be going a bit far the other way though 😂 

Support was Wounded Bear. Nice enough and very relaxing. I’ve listened to him while falling asleep at night since Friday. Which maybe isn’t a ringing endorsement… 

 

tl;dr - decent artistry, relaxing, too downtempo for me, especially on a Friday night when I need a kick up the arse and a dance 

[jump]

On 3/4/2022 at 1:56 PM, Padjeq said:

Went down the Institute Monday just gone, for YONAKA. Third time seeing them now. Wasn't exactly packed, but there were more punters in there than would fit in any other smaller venue in Brum, so it was the right decision. I don't think you get enough bands booking slightly too large rooms any more. Missed the supports so had to catch up on the drinking and discovered it's £6.90 for a pint of San Miguel in here now. Couldn't believe it, so I only had 4.

YONAKA and the crowd were all really into it. A mosh pit was stretched out but no one knew what to do with it. It was the wrong song for it to be fair. The singer and guitarist are a real life couple of about a decade, which is pretty cute.

 

What did you think of Yonaka then?

I've seen them a couple of times supporting other bands or on a small slot at a festival but they never connected with me despite being something I'd normally like and I'm not sure if they just not brilliant live or if it's just having too short of a set which prevents me getting into them.

[Gnomicide]

The Hold Steady in Camden Electric Ballroom last night. They were the last pre-lockdown gig I went to almost 2 years ago to the day. It felt kind if special, like things have come full circle. 

[gingerevans84]

Saw Tom Odell last night at Rock City. First time I've seen him live, unbelievable voice and a good band with him. 18 song set with 2 covers is unacceptable mind. Felt like folk were there just for Another Love. 

[kabillion]

Anyone seeing Working Mens Club on Wednesday in Manchester (Yes - Basement)

[MrZigster]

17 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Reading this thread makes me wish I lived in a city. Relatively few opportunities for gigs when you live in the arse end of Devon - and the ones we do go to are expensive because of travel...

Yeah I feel you. Arse end of Kent here.

Went to Tommy Emmanuel in London last Friday. Decided to make an evening of it and got there early to have a bit of a wander. Overwhelmed by feelings of, "I've really missed out on a certain type of life, being from where I'm from", with the busyness and, well, just so much stuff. Plus it's been a few years since a London visit. I get the same feeling with local bigger places such as Canterbury or Maidstone. Lived in Canterbury for a few years but was a worse than skint student at the time so couldn't really take advantage of it. And that thought brings me back to earth. City living? At those prices?

The train ticket was almost as much as the gig (fuck driving into London. Seriously? Plus I like a pint). Spent hours researching prices and times and best options etc. Waterloo East was a direct line and turns out a five minute walk to the gig if that (google maps was telling me over twice that) but the last train back was 22:46. A bit tight. HS1 to St Pancras was nine quid more but last train home is gone midnight and gets back home about the same time. Train changing involved though. Plus the price for the tubes. Lots of faffing about. Got to the station and the ticket seller informs me that the last train home from WE is at 22:30. That really is deffo too tight. So I pay the extra nine quid to be safe so if it finishes late I can get home (work the next day) but get the straight line to WE.

A great gig (here comes the review):

We basically got his YouTube greatest hits, an acceptable amount of new numbers, intimate chit chat about rehab (Didn't know that. He didn't strike me as the type to be honest, but as he said, "like so many people in my industry..."). Special guest from that story.

I didn't think it was possible to play Classical Gas sooo fast!

A wonderful venue as well (Royal Festival Hall at The Southbank (which coincidently rhymes with pretentious w*nk). Those boxes. Seated gig, so a bit less lively than his Acoustic Tent performance at Glastonbury that I was privileged enough to be on the rail for.

Great support from Jerry Douglas (love a bit of slide on a dobro) who came on for a duo at the end.

Well, I'm guessing it was the end.

Panicked a bit about trains and the changes and negotiating the new to me monster that is Waterloo that was unavoidable however I played it (Oh. So Waterloo and Waterloo East are basically the same station? OK. Typical tourist). So I left during the second TE and JD tune. Massively disrespectful and I feel a bit ashamed tbh. Apologies to anyone who was also there if it was distracting (and do you know if that was the last tune?). Massive credit to the couple sat next to me who shuffled up a seat each at the interval so I could sit at the end after I explained my possible predicament (I was centre block Row C Seat 3. Privileged again).

And the direct train home from Waterloo East was at 22:46.

Lying ticket selling bastard.

A waste of the extra nine quid, which only bought me about five minutes of extra leeway anyway.

You live and learn.

Tl;dr: No. That took ages to type.

[Simpo]

The Cribs, Manchester Academy last night

Clearly loving being back playing live, the Jarmans tore through a great setlist, book ended with blocks of live staples and new songs, with a luxury filling of dynamite choices from older albums.

These included My Life Flashed Before My Eyes and Baby Don't Sweat, which went down almost as well as everything else. Shows how many absolute tunes they have in their back pocket this far down the line.

With the negative laddish kinda element now almost completely shorn off from Cribs shows, you're left with what is a mostly mega loyal fanbase (12th Cribs gig for me, a number which I felt was dwarfed by most around me). So it's still loud and raucous down the front, but it's all love.

While the twins cut their usual figures, Gary really getting into what he was playing and singing, Ryan hunched over and round his mic with the occasional Rockstar pose, Ross was really feeling it, his drums coming through good and loud, and driving home how great everything sounds with live Cribs.

I can never quite make out a lot of what band say between songs at Academy, but of what little they spoke included Ryan simply saying "I love it man" in his typical, almost shy manner and asking those chanting Yorkshire to be careful about starting a war of the Roses. But even those chants didn't draw any ire. Like I say, it was only love.

If anyone was ever in any doubt during the long break between their tours, Cribs gigs always deliver, and leave you waiting for the next time you can feel that life affirming energy.

 

 

[Padjeq]

20 hours ago, jump said:

What did you think of Yonaka then?

I've seen them a couple of times supporting other bands or on a small slot at a festival but they never connected with me despite being something I'd normally like and I'm not sure if they just not brilliant live or if it's just having too short of a set which prevents me getting into them.

I like them a lot. Good live, but I love the songs. Hard for me to be objective with them.

Didn't realise all the photos I'd been putting on were linking to email attachments. They look like actual images on my work pc. Cookies you've hurt me for the last time!!!!

 

[Padjeq]

On 2/28/2022 at 10:46 AM, Padjeq said:

Saw IDLES in january. Tried to write about it in this thread a few times, then thought better of it.

 

We were itching for something to do saturday just gone when we saw online Orchards were playing at the Sunflower Lounge. Figured there'd be tickets on the door, so we went down in time for the second support, Petrie. A male duo comprising of a singer who complained he was hoarse today, but he'd persevere (for whose benefit, I do not know), and a multi-instrumentalist who should really master one instrument before deciding to play a few all within the same song. I remember the songs as sounding like a plinky Curiosity Killed The Cat, but I was drifting off in all honestly, asking myself questions like 'do I like music? do I like gigs? was it always this way?'. They cut their set short due to the medical issue (not sure if there's an airborne virus going around with symptoms including a sore throat. Might want to get a test), as he wanted to save his voice (got more important crowds have we)

Any doubt I had about enjoyment of gigs was blasted against the back wall the moment Orchards took to the stage. Imagine Pretty Girls Make Graves were on the DIY scene and influenced by Paramore's 'After Laughter'. On one early song the instruments converged into a wall of pure leg shaking sound that physically reminded me of the day I was electrocuted at work just prior to a Slipknot gig, which I spent the entirety of Behemoth's supporting set at trying not to shit myself.

The singer was a confident and charismatic presence, kicking her way through the songs. Could barely hear her through the unstoppable force of the guitar though. Sound guy did her a disservice there. Whole team played well, and I'd be interested to hear what they sound like in a field.

can't believe what a mess I've been making of these photos all along haha

[fred quimby]

Went to See Yin Yin last night.

Was at the Jam Jar in Bristol. Never been but a great place for sure. All craft beers on tap. 

Hippo supported them who are from Bristol. Someone recommended them on here. They were good  not sure I really connected with them but will give them another go

Yin Yin were superb. Such a great set of disco/funk/prog. Seemed to be loving their first time in the UK. Got to meet the keyboardist after as he was selling the merchandise, great chat with a few of us, no Glastonbury. I asked for the vinyl to be signed and I appeared to be the only one do that for some reason. Now normally folk will ask your name add that and then sign,no not him he wrote about how great it was we came out to see them and what a great time they had. Lovely stuff

 

[gingerevans84]

Franz Ferdinand in Kingston last night was top notch. Just over an hour playing a greatest hits set. Think Ill buy a ticket to see them on their proper tour.