Submerged in Sound

Coldplay - Live at the Etihad Stadium 9th June 2012

2012-06-26T14:33:00.001-07:00

Hey, well yes I'm back for the few if any people who read this page. If you do thanks but really it's not worth it. Anyhow, apologises for the absence and I shall attempt to post more shit from now on.

So yes, having travelled to the Etihad for a non-footballing occasion its needless to say that I was not let down having seen Coldplay.

With the gates opening at 4, I decided to get their nice and early for a good spot and to ensure that there was not a golden circle (Which there was not). Unfortunately, this meant that there was a 2 hour wait in the lovely Manchester summer i.e occasionally raining. When the first support did arrive, it happened to be a young British singer-songwriter Charli XCX of whom I have never heard and following her set have no desire to hear again. Don't get me wrong it wasn't that she was bad it just appeared a step too far for a young artist who hasn't had a single in the charts yet. This can be further highlighted when the last time Coldplay played a stadium in the UK they were supported by the likes of Jay-Z and Girls Aloud who could have been filling the stadiums on their own. Needless to say this lead to a portion of the disappointment the support acts filled me with. Following Charli's stint on the stage it was the turn of Swedish songstress Robyn who began to liven the crowd up. For me it was confusing,crazy and not for my tastes. However, no-one can fault the energy that Robyn brings to her performances.

After Robyn finished up her set of gyrating and springing about the stage it was time for Coldplay. Now, Coldplay as a band get a fair bit of grief from fans for being too middle of the road but for what I witnessed at the Etihad they are running the best live show at this time. Entering to the theme from Back to the Future, Martin and his fellow members began to the tune of Mylo Xyloto, which is one of the 30 second segments that fill the album of the same name whilst a series of fireworks leapt into the air before exploding into Hurts like heaven. Hurts Like Heaven is an example of the wonders of live music a track I previously didn't care for but after that night it has become a fave of mine. Following this the Classics started with In My Place bringing not only screams of song from the crowd but a flood of confetti from seemingly 20 confettis guns. Throughout the show the hits continued and it was clear that Coldplay have been watching some Flaming Lips live shows with the show becoming a spectacle involving the crowd. This of course being no more apparent than the use of the Xylobands which light up the stadium during songs Paradise and Charlie Brown. Needless to say they are worth the apparent cost to the band. Coldplay have also done well to revitilize the older songs in their set such as God Put A Smile On Your Face which is still getting the crowd as well as ever. Ending the set with Fix you and finally Every Teardrop is a waterfall Coldplay truely delivered a brilliant show. The only gripes I had with this show is that since the amazing Foo Fighters I always feel at a stadium gig the main act should be doing 2 hours minimum rather than the 1hr and 30 mins we were given also. Also, as an avid fan of the older Coldplay albums it'd have been nice to have had more songs from Parachutes such as Shiver and Spies although a plus note for the fact they played Warning Sign. All in all, Coldplay delivered a marvellous spectacle with fireworks throughout truly if Coldplay continue like this then there can be little argument about their talent and live abilities.

Coldplay Played

1. 1.      Back to the Future Theme
  
  (Intro)
  
  1.      Mylo Xyloto
  
  2.      Hurts Like Heaven
  
  3.      In My Place
  
  4.      Major Minus
  
  5.      Lovers In Japan
  
  6.      The Scientist
  
  (Dedicated to the Stone Roses)
  
  7.      Yellow
  
  8.      Violet Hill
  
  9.      God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
  
  10. B-Stage
  
  10. Princess of China
  
  11. Up in Flames
  
  12. Warning Sign
  
  13. Main Stage
  
  12. A Hopeful Transmission
  
  13. Don't Let It Break Your Heart
  
  14. Viva La Vida
  
  15. Charlie Brown
  
  16. Paradise
  
  17. C-stage
  
  17. Us Against the World
  
  18. Speed Of Sound
  
  19. Encore:
  
  19. Clocks
  
  20. Fix You
  
  (Songbird Intro)
  
  21. M.M.I.X.
  
  21. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

Album Review - Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

2011-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

So, Coldplay are back. Chris Martin & Co return with their latest effort following 2008's disappointing Viva la Vida. And once again they continue their trend of unusual album names, with Mylo Xyloto apparently meaning.....well nothing at all the words are complete nonsense. Fortunately, the music doesn't follow suit with this being Coldplay's best effort since the excellent A Rush of Blood to the Head.

The Album begins with 'Mylo Xyloto' which is basically an instrumental one of three which basically act as some sort of pointless longer introduction to the songs that follow them, there's no reason for these to be included. Prehaps its to make the album see longer on track listings who knows? The album continues into an energetic blast in 'Hurts Like Heaven' which outlines what is to come for the rest of the album with Coldplay's take on pop as they said that this was the 'pop' album. The album continues with second single 'Paradise' which well has it all strings, synths, falsetto and generally crappy lyrics but to be honest that what makes Coldplay so special it never really matters what crap Martins singing about as the majority of the time it will end up and as catchy as the best of their work. Paradise is one of those songs which will work brilliantly live especially with the already included 'woooaaah woooooooaahhhhh's included in almost as a guideline for the fans at Glastonbury or whereever the 4 piece may be playing next and Paradise is not the only song with this well....almost all of them do so your guarenteed your fair share of 'wooahhhs' and crowd interaction at a Coldplay gig. Next up is for me the highlight of the album 'Charlie Brown' put simply it's classic Coldplay with another catchy riff a la 'In My Place' by Johnny Buckland. It's no wonder the band decided to play 'Charlie Brown' throughout the summer festival dates as it is just a brilliant song. Another song which deserves an honourable mention as a highlight of the album is the more rockier, heavier 'Major Minus' which actually has a guitar solos and gives the listener a lovely return to the days of A Rush of Blood to the Head. The albums lead single 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' is a bit cheesy with its opening lyrics but all in all it's not a bad song however personally I wouldn't have chosen it as the lead single.

Also on the album is 'Primcess Of China' which features R&B goddess Rihanna which shows just how hard these Coldplay lads are going to work to make this 'pop' album work. The song for me just seems a bit throwaway and the inclusion of the Barbadian singer coming off the better from the song but it just seems a bit pointless and more of a marketing move then a dream collaboration. The albums low point comes with 'Up in Flames' which drags the album along before is it picked up by classic Coldplay sounds in 'Don't Let it Break Your Heart.' The Album finishes with 'Up With the Birds' which samples Leonard Cohen and ends the album without the bang it began with. All in all this is a fairly good album which is let down by poor lyrical work which I feel comes from the story the album is supposed to be telling a rather ambitious one, however with Coldplay visiting the sounds that remind us of their past works yet managing to make it seem like something completely different and continues bringing us the anthems the fans crave.

Kaiser Chiefs - The Future Is Medieval

2011-10-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

Recently The Kaiser Chief's Ricky Wilson stated that due to the way that they've approached the release of the Future is Medieval hardly anyone was aware that the Yorkshire band have released a new effort. In fairness to them the way that The Kaisers released their new attempt was a nice twist on the normal way of releasing albums by bands but it has dented their album sales in a time where sales of LPs aren't exactly high either. Rather than go through listening to all 20 songs available for me to create my album from I decided just to pick the most chosen and the singles. So to be fair I can't really review this album as it really is what you make of it. The songs and album cover another person picks could be totally different to mine.

From the outset of The Future is Medieval it is clear that the sound of Kaisers has changed gone are the catchy choruses and the 'na na na na naas' that had filled previous albums most memorably the 5 pieces breakthrough album Employment, replaced with a more mature feel and less upbeat sense to the songs. The album I was handed begins with lead single 'Little Shocks' which gives a feel to the darker mood that the Kaisers have taken with this new album. It's not hard to see why'Little Shocks' was the lead single as its one of only a few songs on this 'album' it combines a catchy chorus with interesting lyrics and the typical quick paced song we have come to expect from the Leeds quintet. Another standout song for me was 'Starts with nothing' which was particularly strong when I caught the band live at Kirkstall Abbey. 'Child of the Jago' begins with an I Predict a Riot like riff. There is also the synth filled catchyness of 'Heard it Break'

All in all it's hard to rate this album as the next person as me mightn't pick any of the songs that I have. However I will say that it was a nice twist by the Kaisers to make this type of album available, however it must be asked could the band not pick the songs themselves because to be honest a large amount of the songs on this 'album' (its more a mixtape) are throwaway and it will be a while before I become to like the new mature Kaisers

Stone Roses Returning for 2011 Homecoming Gigs?

2011-10-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Since last Friday, rumours have been rife that the Manchester legends The Stone Roses are going to be reforming for two homecoming gigs. Since then more information seems to be coming out from various sources about a full UK tour with Manchester's Heaton Park playing host to the homecoming gigs which look set to sell out in no time at all. Also rumoured is a headline appearance at V Festival lined up for the band.

Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head

2011-10-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Following a long absence from this blogging lark I had time to stumble upon one of my favourite all time albums. A Rush of Blood to the Head in my opinion captures Chris Martin and co just before their fair trade loving and grandiose selves found in their more recent albums and this can be said to be refreshing to say the least.

This album is in my opinion is the best of all of Coldplay’s albums. Quite simply many if not all of the songs are good to brilliant with many notable standout points. The album opens with ‘Politik’ which has Chris imploring people to ‘open up your eyes’ at the poor fair trade policies in countries around the world (perhaps this was the start of Chris and the boy’s influences for future albums). Next comes ‘In My Place ‘which for me is arguably the standout track of the album along with Clocks and The Scientist. ‘In My Place’ blends brilliant lyrics conveying emotion with a catchy guitar riff and that’s all you really need isn’t it? This has ultimately lead to the song being an anthem in live performances and one of the bands most recognizable songs. Further Standout points in the album come with Martin’s piano skills especially on the song ‘Clocks’ which has given us one of the most memorable piano riffs of the past 20 years if not longer. Also on ‘The Scientist’ which continues the albums generally relaxing and slow mood. Furthermore, on a song called ‘Amsterdam’ which closes the album fantastically, truly one of Coldplay’s underrated if not recognised pieces of work.

As previously stated this album doesn’t really harbour a bad song. However some songs just don’t seem to belong either in the running they are on the album or on the album at all. One song that springs to mind when mentioning this is ‘A Whisper ‘which comes between 2 smooth, relaxed songs (Green eyes and A Rush of Blood to the head) and offers little more than a break from the calm you will find yourself in when listening to the album.

In all honesty this was the only fault I could find with this album. A Rush of Blood to the Head offers up a brilliant album which will have you returning to listen many times with some songs fully appreciated on one of these return listens.

Live Review : Arcade Fire @ The M.E.N

2011-09-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire last night proved that they deserve their standing as one of the top bands around today with an explosive 90 minute performance that wowed all at the M.E.N.

Arcade Fire are not your normal kind of live act for starters there's eight of them and at times I had to question to myself if they had snuck another person on as the drummer who is generally hidden by the hoard of band members would emerge from his kit to play guitar as the multi-instrument band ran around changing who played what at different songs and with the bodies and sheer energy each member brings you can't help but be captivated by the bands performance.
Following on from the release the simply brilliant The Suburbs, Arcade Fire's songs are seemlessly transformed from the studio to stage with perfomances of songs such as 'Rococo,' 'Ready To Start' and 'The Suburbs' with songs such as 'Wake Up,' 'No Cars Go' and 'Rebellion (Lies)' already classics for the band with Wake up demanding woahs from the crowd. With each song being met with raptorous roars of approval Arcade Fire truely rocked the M.E.N.

Entering to an array of movie trailers including an inspired part of 1979 film 'The Warriors' Arcade Fire immeditately jumped into Ready to Start. One thing that impressed me about the Canadian based group was their non-stop attitude, there was rarely a chance to breathe after one song before Win and Co have started another hit. As the set continues the energy rises and the members way of playing their instruments with an appetite of destruction toward them invites the crowd to go crazy which they dualy oblige. Theres no doubt about it Arcade Fire pack anthems into their live perfomances 'No Cars Go' and 'Rococo' just two of these with the latter including a homage to the Manchester supergroup Oasis with Win singing 'Champagne Supernova'

The hits continue until a break in which another film trailer is shown from 'Camelot' in which Vanessa Redgrave sings about the lusty month of May, following this the band re-enter playing their nod to the same month. Next is one of their all time best songs Rebellion (Lies) and finally ending with The Suburbs which for me was the only bad choice with the setlist as personally I prefer gigs to end with a bang whereas this was a more gentle approach. Upon research I saw that this is not usually the way the band ends and they normally end with the biggest band they have in their arsenal (Wake Up) however I think the change may have been due to the fact that these are the final shows on The Suburbs tour and may be a goodbye to the album. Also, this gig got a marked down due to the subdued nature of the people around me but I cannot blame the band for that as it was only the people around me who seemed more content not moving to the music but oh well.

All in all this gig was right up there with the best I have seen amazing musically and energetic to the full. Outside on the Merch stand there were t-shirts bearing "Who The Fuck is Arcade Fire?" a reference to the storm that surrounded the bands storming wins at the Grammys and with performances like the one I witnessed it surely cannot be long until the world knows who the fuck Arcade Fire is!

What is Wrong With the World?

2011-08-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, with the recent events going on it's given me a lovely chance to have a nice rant about life and things in general. And in the firing line in this edition of me ripping the piss out of something is :

Swagger Jagger being number 1 and The UK Riots, Personally I think they may be connected.

So, Where to start. Well, This week we saw the scum of the UK plastered all over the TV and Radio. Yes! Cher/Shit Lloyd has managed to bag itself a number one. What is wrong with the UK public! I have previously discuss my pure hatred for this disgrace for this noise (It's not allowed the classification of song) yet the retarded people that now buy the music that makes up the majority of chart music 99% of which is all repetitive,boring crap have propeled Lloyd's disgrace to godlike status and dizzying heights for the train-wreck of a song and artist involved. Now if it had charted at a deserved position of about 38 then fair enough that was to be expected due to the type of audience she attracts (They're currently out on the streets rioting) that wouldn't be too bad but now with Lloyd getting the number one spot we the knowledgeable people who listen to decent music will be forced to put up with the girl all over our TVs, papers and radios. Godhelp us no wander people want to Riot. Which leads me onto my next point.

As you all know the UK is currently in a state. Simple as that. All because a few chavs have felt the need to jump onto what began as a peaceful protest about the death of a man shot dead by police. One thing is clear and needs to be confirmed. The people currently roaming the streets and looting our shops are not protesting about anything. Too often are so called experts or youth workers are appearing on Sky News claiming that this is all a fightback about the cuts and rise in finances. This is Bollocks. Pure and simple, chances are that many of the delinquents have no intention of going to higher education let alone be protesting about the cuts if any of them knew about them. These are just people willing to take a chance to get some free loot and unfortunatly many are getting away with it due to the laxness of the police. Now don't get me wrong, the police have done brilliantly with the tasks facing them with many working non-stop for numerous hours but I personally feel that a more forceful approach needs to be taken. After the promise of 'robust' policing there wasn't that much difference from the tactics that had been used the previous night. Let us hope for the safety of our cities and the other chains of Foot Asylum and suprisingly Carpet Right that these police can step it up and step out the scum invading our city.

RANT OVER!

Album Review - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

2011-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire appear to be music's very own version of Marmite. You either love them or hate them or in many circumstances the reply you will get is "Arcade Who?" Following the Montreal Based band winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, it was met with online disapproval with people not knowing who they are. Quite simply this shocks me as The Suburbs was number one in both the UK and US charts.

The Suburbs is the bands third album and for me is my personal favorite of the lot. The Suburbs has no stand out vocal point such as Funeral's 'Wake up' and 'Rebellion' or Neon Bible's 'Keep the Car Running' and 'No Cars Go'

The Suburbs rightly begins with a song of the same name. The song rightly starts with the ongoing themes of what would be expected in suburban life that weaves itself throughout the album. 'Ready to Start' explodes with lyrics portraying disappointment and anguish balanced with an air of triumph thrown in for good measure. The first two songs set the scene for what is to follow and without a doubt are two of the best songs on the album. 'Modern Man' brings a more relaxed feel from Ready to start and gently caresses the listener. 'Rococo' is a seeming live anthem with it's booming chorus and explosion from a relatively relaxed start. This is Arcade Fire at their grandiose best pounding drums and catchy chorus. 'Half Light' is the first of two, two part songs on the album. Part one takes the more soft approach and easy on the ears with the main portion of the singing being done by Regine (Arcade Fire's second vocalist and Lead singer Win's wife.) Part two offers more guitars and vocals by Win. 'Month of May' returns to the upbeat tempo from 'Ready to Start' and is the main frantic song in The Suburbs. Both 'Wasted Hours' and 'Deep Blue' gives the listener a more gentle break before the album picks up again with the brilliant 'We Used To Wait' The plinking pianos begin this song and continue throughout the song with Win lamenting about writing letters to a true love and waiting for a reply. This song is one of the gems that gets uncovered as the album continues and rightly is the song used for the interactive experiment 'The Wilderness Downtown' (Link Below). The penultimate songs are Sprawl I & II the first being a gentle piano song with the latter being a synth filled poppy tune being sang by Regine. The Album ends where it began with Win and Regine singing acapella the chorus of Suburbs.

All in all The Suburbs is a brilliant album no two ways about it. Sure there are some filler songs but even these remain at a consistantly high standards. No doubt about it, Arcade Fire are getting better, there are not many bands who can consistantly make brilliant albums one after the other. Arcade Fire are doing this and with The Suburbs they are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

Swede Mason - Masterchef Synesthesia (Buttery Biscuit Base)

2011-07-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Quite simply put this is a piece of genius that looks set to invade the charts following a Facebook campaign and over 1 million views on Youtube. Buttery Biscuit Base combines edited pieces of Masterchef's Gregg Wallace and John Torode and comes up with something amazingly catchy. Personally I hope Buttery Biscuit Base will assault the UK charts and provide a welcome change from the trash that currently sits there.

I urge you to buy the song from iTunes and have a listen from the video link below.

Buy Buttery Biscuit Base

Kings of Leon - A Band in Crisis?

2011-07-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

Following the cancelation of another one of their gigs following lead singer Caleb storming off stage in search for a beer and not returning. The Kings of Leon bassist Jared was forced to admit that the band has "big problems" to deal with.

The problems had begun the previous night in Dallas with Caleb complaining about problems with his voice he went in search for a beer and to vomit he told the crowd that he would return afterward. Unfortunatly for the thousands of fans this didn't materialise (Video of this below).

There has been no word on whether or not this will have an effect on the rest of the dates on the bands US tour all we can do is wait.

Album Review - Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

2011-07-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Beastie Boys are finally back. Following the long delay on this album after MCA got cancer, the trio have finally finished what was supposed to be a 2 part project and have only released Part Two. With this being the 8th Studio album from the New York collective I'm pleased to announce that with the previous 7 the Beastie boys have managed to keep the fun feelings and distinctive sound that have ran throughout previous albums such as the seminal Check your Head and Paul's Boutique. Back are the Vocoders and the vocals are distorted and dipped in reverb at many stages. Simply if your a fan of early Beastie Boys then this album should be enough to please you.

The album opens with 'Make Some Noise' which must surely be a single from this album. Its catchy. It's energetic and for me is one of , if not the best song on the album. The organ throughout will remain in your head all day after hearing it. 'Too Many Rappers' which features a cameo from NAS is another pick of best song from the album with an excellent cameo from the fellow New York MC. 'Say it' features a very catch and anthemic chorus which one can envision being screened at many of the Beastie's concerts for years to come aswell as an video game noise inspired outro.

Also, Hot Sauce Committee gives us a little taste of a more reggae feel type song in 'Don't play No Game That I Can't Win' featuring the soulful vocals of Santigold. Again when we talk about the fun side that finds itself in the Beasties noise. This is no more apparent than the songs 'Funky Donkey' and the short piece'The Larry Rountine.'

Unfortunatly, the second half of the album passes without much note and is fairly dissapointing in comparision to the first. 'Lee Majors Come Again' gives us a look back at the Beasties in their original punk ways with a brilliant bassline thrown in. There is also the instrumental track 'Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament'. For me after this the album wanes. The album ends with 'The Lisa Lisa' on a bit of a throwaway note for me.

All in all as previously stated, this album is enough to satisfy Beastie Boy fans and for the much part is a very enjoyable listen full of catchy tunes. The second half of the album lets the overall album down, however it must be said that Hot Sauce Committee part 2 is a successful return for the Beasties.

Red Hot Chili Peppers UK Tour announced!

2011-07-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced an 10 date UK tour in support of their upcoming album 'I'm with you.' The November dates are as followed

4th – Dublin, O2
7th – London, O2
9th – London, O2
10th – London, O2
12th – Glasgow, SECC Hall 4
14th – Manchester Evening News Arena
15th – Manchester Evening News Arena
17th – Sheffield, Motorpoint Arena
19th – Birmingham, LG Arena
20th – Birmingham, LG Arena

Fool's Gold will provide support for all dates.

For a listen and review of the Chili Peppers latest single then click here : The Adventures of Raindance Maggie

Amy Winehouse - Another member of the 27 Club.

2011-07-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

And so with the untimely but to be frank expected death of Amy Winehouse, she joins the elite club of unfortunate yet amazingly talented musicians who have died at the age of 27. Her name will now be strung with the likes of Hendrix,Joplin,Morrison,Jones and Cobain all of whom died well before their time and will be forever 27.

Winehouse like the names listed above lived fast and now has died young. Unfortunatly for her, it is unlikely that her legacy will allow her to be remembered in such high regard with her only releasing two studio albums. Albeit one being the simply fantastic Back to Black. Many peoples feelings on the death of Winehouse is that it is simply a waste of such wonderful talents. A woman who willingly diminished her own health .Simply it was a matter of time.

Therefore, hopefully Winehouse will be remembered more for her quite simply astounding voice rather than her well publicised,troubled life. The decisions she made and the people she acquainted ultimately lead to her tragic demise.

R.I.P Amy Winehouse

Liam Gallagher Barks up Thom's Tree

2011-07-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

With the ex-Oasis man having picked another feud with Radiohead having told them to 'go fuck yourselves' following the release of their latest effort 'The King of Limbs' the name of which deriving from a 1000 year old tree in Wiltshire. Gallagher took exception to this and had this to say : "I like to think that what we do, we do fucking well. Them writing a song about a fucking tree? Give me a fucking break! A thousand year old tree? Go fuck yourself!"

To spectators such as myself it continually appears that continuous hellraiser Gallagher now is just crying out for press attention as he continues to release and perform with the imitation Oasis - Beady Eye. He also seemingly enjoy gunning for the bands gaining bigger attention and being generally better than Gallaghers latest attempt.

Rather than go into detail about Gallaghers insults and pops at other bands i decided to list a few of his more humorous quotes

"People like 'em. They at least play guitars, but when I hear his voice I'm like, 'Ah, fuck him'." Liam on Muse.

"Mumford and Sons look like amish people."

"Bright colours and fucking weirdos on stilts? I'm more entertaining than that shit" Liam on Scissor sistors

"Fuck right off. I'm not having him. I just don't like his head." Liam on Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong

"No way, mate. She's got man hands." Liam on La Roux

And with his constant bickering with his brother, I don't think i'm the first person hoping Liam can shut up for long enough to put out a decent album or make up with his brother!

Foo Fighters @ Mk Bowl

2011-07-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

Firstly, before I delve into this review. I must admit that I am and already was a huge Foo Fighters fan before seeing them and at times it may seem that I am arselicking them a tad. This is because they were simply that good.

There are not many things that I am willing to wake up at 6.30am for not many at all, especially on a Sunday morning. However, I found myself dragging my broken body up to travel to the National Bowl in Milton Keynes. Having previously been to the Bowl for The Prodigy concert, I knew what to expect and knew that it would be essential to travel from Manchester early in order to get one of the coverted Front Pit wristbands and with the Bowl holding 65,000 people we were eager to make sure we got one! We arrived at The Bowl around 12 collected our green wristbands and went to find a place to kill some time. Myself and my mate Tom managed to find a pub just over the road from the Bowl selling two meals for £10 (much better value than the burger vans outside and in the bowl £4.50 for a burger!) and ate and had a few beers whilst we waited for the gates to open.

When we arrived back at the Bowl the gates had opened earlier than anticipated and it was filling up quite nicely. We sorted ourselves with some merchandise and took our place in the front pit and attempted to make ourselves as comfy as possible for the many hours wait before the Foos came on.

The First act to come on stage was the DJ for the day and member of Husker Du Bob Mould. This was going to be the first of many times Bob was going to come on stage and play some songs for us. He managed to raise a few laughs with his comical dancing and moving around whilst he blasted out some tunes. Overall the crowd seem a bit flat as for many of the people Bob was not playing tunes that they knew and apart from the occasional huge hit there was very little appreciation for him from the crowd. Also, Mould didn't have a mic for some unknown reason so there was little chance for him to engage the crowd either.

The Hot Rats -5/10

The Hot Rats are half of the popular British rock pop group Supergrass. This project combines the Lead singer Gaz Coombes and the drummer Danny Goffey. The duos sideproject is a coverband and therefore we were treated to covers such as "Queen Bitch" made famous by David Bowie amongst many others. The Hot Rats weren't necessarily bad so to speak but they just lacked the prescence needed to get myself or the rest of the croud going. Their covers were polished but nothing special and I would have much prefered if Gaz and Danny had been doing Supergrass covers as I feel the two would have been best suited to staying in the band that gave them their name

Jimmy Eat World -7/10

Jimmy Eat World manage to liven the crowd up after the flatness following The Hot Rats. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Jimmy Eat world and their set therefore failed to liven me up apart from what felt obligitary involvement in their most famous song 'The Middle' In conclusion, Jimmy Eat World appear to be a good live act if your into that kinda music, they managed to interact with the crowd fairly well. Personally it just wasn't for me.

Biffy Clyro -9/10

I was eager to see how Biffy would be live as I'd previously missed out on seeing them before and this was the weekend before their headline slot at Sonisphere. All I can say is that they didn't dissapoint. As soon as the opening strains from 'The Captain' went up the crowd went mental. I was taken aback with how much energy and stage prescence Biffy had. Their setlist was the perfect mix of heavy stuff such as 'That Golden' Rules and powerful singalongs such as 'Mountains', 'Many of Horror', 'Bubbles' and 'Who's got a match?' Quite simply Biffy were awesome. They managed to get the croud going so much that unfortunatly in one of the pits a lad managed to break his leg. This was the only downside of what for me was a brilliant set. Truely the best support act I've ever seen! I hope that this followed by their Sonisphere headlining slot may be the start of a huge rise for Biffy as they have all the ingredients to make it to the top. I will be suprised if within the next 4-5 years they will not be doing their own stadium shows. I urge any of you if you get the chance to see Biffy then do!

Foo Fighters - 10/10

Well Quite simply put the Foo Fighters are the best live act I've ever seen. From the moment Dave ran on stage to a tsunami of clapping,screaming and craziness from the crowd he and the rest of the band never looked back. Sprinting down the runway which lead out into the audience to acknowledge them and imploring them for more pandemonium. The Foos began their set with two songs from latest album 'Wasting Light' and let me tell you from the moment the pounding of the drums on opening song 'Bridges Burning' 2 hours and 45 minutes of mayhem,singalongs and beer chugging had begun. The Foos ensured that despite a back catalogue of over 100 songs encompassing 7 studio albums, The Foo Fighters play all the croud pleasers that you'd expect to hear such as 'The Pretender,' 'Breakout,' 'My Hero' and 'Monkey Wrench' amongst many more whilst giving the more clued up fans some lesser known songs such as 'Generator,' 'Skin and Bones' and 'This is a Call.'

As the Foos continue to smash out the hits, they have all 65,000 people eating out of the palm of their hands hanging on the every last word of Dave and going metal for each song (special mention to the guy croudsurfing in a dinghy who got White Limo dedicated to him video below) each song turned into a mass sing-a-long most notably 'Best of You' in which the fans continued to sing the 'Woahs' long after the band had finished playing the song. Leaving the stage after the riotous performance of 'All My Life,' the crowd were treated to a live back stage video of the fans with Grohl using his fingers to indicate how many songs he was going to play in the encore with cheers getting loud with the more fingers he put up. We were promised 5. We got 6.

Returning to the stage Grohl ran down the run way to a smaller stage behind the sound desk to play for the fans who weren't lucky enough to get into the front pit. What followed what an solo version by Grohl of 'Wheels' during which he paid homage to the UK fans and talked about how much the moment meant to him. Then a half solo version of 'Times like these' followed. The Foos then preceded to roll out the red carpet with special guest appearances from Seasick Steve and John Paul Jones. This lead to Grohl going on the drums for a cover of Seasick Steve's 'Back in the dog house' The Foos then ended their set with one final singalong of their timeless classic 'Everlong.'

What made this gig so special for me apart from the hoards of hits and the crowd atmosphere being orchestrated by Grohl was that you can see that the Foo Fighters love what they are doing and this is no more evident then in their frontman. Every word uttered by Grohl is followed by a huge grin that says that he is just as happy to see the fans as they are to see him and he is more than willing to please them in any way possible (one instance being him egged on by the crowd to chug a bottle of beer any time he attempted to take a drink.) As the gig went on I found myself developing more and more love for Grohl and the band as they strived to please everyone present. One way of doing this was by jamming throughout the gig meaning songs like Stacked Actors that are 4 minutes long on the studio album become 10 minute long masterpieces.

In conclusion The Foos were everything I expected and more, despite the introduction of special guests being a nice touch, I personally would have much prefered it if the Foos would have reeled more songs off their own. All in all an amazing night. Not even the woeful wait to get out of the Bowl could dampen my mood as I await for more Foo Fighters dates to see them again

Foo Fighters Played :

1. Bridge Burning
2. Rope
3. The Pretender
4. My Hero

5.Learn to Fly
6, White Limo
7.Arlandria
8. Breakout
9. Cold Day in the Sun (Taylor Hawkins on Vocals)
10.Long Road to Ruin
11. Stacked Actors
12. Walk
13. Dear Rosemary (with Bob Mould)
14. Monkey Wrench
15. Let it Die
16. These Days
17. Generator
18. Best of You
19. Skin and Bones
20. All My Life
Encore
21.Wheels (Dave Solo)
22. Times like These (Dave Solo for beginning)
23. Young Man Blues
24. Back in the Dog House (Seasick Steve Cover) (with seasick steve and John Paul Jones)
25. This is a Call
26. Everlong

Single Review - Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger

2011-07-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cher Lloyd or Shit Lloyd?

Needless to say when I decided to write this review I was sceptical about the potential of a X-factor contestant who didn't even win that shambles of a show is releasing a song entitled 'Swagger Jagger'. Cher Lloyd's first single from her debut album attempts to merge a whole host of musical styles together. There is rapping a la Pitbull and some trance beats thrown in too. What results is well lets just say the scepticism was correct.

This song or noise as I'd be more inclined to call it is one of the worse I've ever heard. In my eyes it's a disgrace. It begs the question why are the people who aren't even winning the X factor being allowed to release this shit! Remember Daniel DeBourg? No me neither, needless to say that after this song I hope Cher Lloyd ends up the same way.

The song itself has a chorus which samples from the American western ballad Oh My Darling, Clementine with the repetition of "swagger jagger" and "get your game on" and for heavens sake what is a jagger? Mick Jagger? Google doesn't know. It appears that Lloyd has been taking lessons from Pitbull (Rhyming Kodak with Kodak truly a lyrical genius) with such wonderful lines. The verses follow a repetitive theme also with lines such as "you can't stop lookin at me" and "you can't stop tweetin 'bout me" . This may be true Cher but as yourself why? The looks may be due to the fact that in the video to this noise shes in some sort of retarded ensemble of clothes sure to make her stand out. Onto the Tweets, for the record if u do search Cher Lloyd's name on Twitter you will see a lot of tweets related to her. From the first page I didn't see a complimentary one lets leave it at that. As the song plods along in its continually annoying way Lloyd then begins to demand the listener to "get on the floor, get,get ,get on the floor." The way I feel about this is best summed up by Lloyd's peer rapper Example who said 'Everytime I hear the line "get on the floor" in a modern pop song I think to myself "that's genius, how do they come up with this stuff?" This is pretty much my attitude to the song and sort of the whole of chart music in general but thats another rant! Later in the song Lloyd sings "Hi haters, kiss kiss I see you later." Now, I'm glad Lloyd has comprehended that she will get haters for this song so why do it why? I attempted to find any good points about this song, still nothing springs to mind, sure Lloyd has a half-decent voice but this song does nothing more than irritate more than a rash.

In conclusion this song would be best off if it didn't exist, I can honestly say I prefered Rebecca Blacks 'Friday' to this woeful racket.Cher Lloyd might as well swagger off with her jagger (whatever one of those is!)

If any of you are feeling like depressing and annoying yourself then the link to the video is at the bottom of the page!

Barely Makes:

Single Review - Red Hot Chili Peppers -The Adventures of Raindance Maggie

2011-07-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

Four years after their last album the Red Hot Chili Peppers are back with the first single from their upcoming album I'm With You. As a keen fan of the Chili Peppers I was eager to see what the future would hold for them having lost their guitarist and one of my musical heros John Frusciante. However, this single has left me with mixed emotions about the future of one of my favorite bands.

The word that sprang to mind when I thought about the track in general was average. For me the song just didn't pack the punch that i'd expected from the Chilis. Gone are the strains of Flea's bass slapping, replaced with funkier strains particularly the opening of the song and an excellent bassline. Chad Smith's drumming is as perfect as ever with added cowbell for good measure spread throughout the song. Kiedis lyrics are what are expected from any Chili Peppers song. Even new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer gives enough guitar lines to satisfy his most ardent of critics (one being me!) However, the undoing for this song in my opinion lay in the chorus which in general feels far too poppy for the Chilis. For me this is the down fall of the song it is bland and repetitive and gives the song a rather boring and for me too relaxed feel.

All in all this song is enough to keep hopes relatively high for the upcoming album but I do feel that this is a single that could have been so much more

Is there a future for The Great British Music Festival?

2011-07-19T03:54:00.000-07:00

Mud,music,madness(no not the baggy trousers kind!) the British music festival is engrained in our society. However, a problem appears to be growing for the organisers of these getaways for a large majority of the nations public. In a recent interview with The Times, festival guru Michael Evis (Owner of the farm in which Glastonbury is held) expressed his concerns about the future of the iconic festival saying "it may only have three years left."
Why is this?

One reason this may be is simply the fans attending these festivals have seen it all before. It's now seeming that only a certain number of acts are considered good enough to headline the top festivals and consistently these bands are appearing on festival line-ups after only a year or two of having previously headlining, one example of this is Def Leppard at Download headlining again this year having done so in 2009. This repetition must be beginning to bore the fans having to watch the same bands over and over. It appears that there are very few festivals willing to give up and coming acts their chance of headlining. One example of a festival inclined to do this was Sonisphere giving Biffy Clyro a headline slot, which was met positively by fans and reviewers alike. However, giving these acts the opportunity is not without its risks which may be putting may festivals off doing so. This can be seen with Eavis being quoted as saying that Glasto almost went bankrupt in 2008 when the festival controversially booked Jay-Z. The problem may however lie not in the festival organisers but in the bands themselves. Prehaps their albums have not skyrocketed them to the success of deserving to top the bill on the main stage of a festival. One band that springs to mind when thinking of this is Queens of the Stone Age. Despite having hugely recogniseable anthems (No One Knows, 3's and 7's) and having been around for over a decade, they have never headlined a British festival. Until the continuous recycling of artists of headliners is fixed then the interest in the major festivals will continue to drain.

Another reason why these festivals could be at risk of dissapearing is the huge inflation of the ticket prices in recent years. It is no longer cheap to attend these festivals. A ticket for one of the major festivals will set you back upwards of £190 for a weekend ticket. Using the Reading and Leeds Festivals as an example in 1989 a weekend ticket was a modest £32.50, In 2000 this had doubled to £80 and this years price being a huge £192.50. Clearly as festivals were growing more popular the organisers capitalised upon the loyalty of the patrons attending the festivals. However, it has reached a point where their greed has outgrown their justification for purchasing a ticket, many fans mindset is "why spend £190 on a festival where you can go and see many more music acts at stadium shows for a small fraction of that fee?" It is these unjustifiable prices that are affecting the major festivals with many of them failing to sell out and putting them in risk of extinction.

Also, with the influx of smaller festivals coming on the scene, this is causing more difficulty for many of these minnows of the festival world with many of them just not selling enough tickets in the current recession. This is resulting in many casualties dying a death without the transfusion of ticket money to keep them afloat. Casualties include Glade Festival and Northern Lights Festival. Also, these smaller festivals find themselves being muscled out of the business by the financial might of companies such as Festival Republic who own numerous festivals and therefore book the best acts due to their high bank balances. However, with these major festivals not selling out this will limit their expendatures in the coming years.

A further problem is the number of previously loyal festivalgoers choosing to travel abroad for music festivals. Festivals such as Benicassim and Coachella have seen a huge increase in the amount of Brits coming to soak up the music,atmosphere and sun! The appeal of these festivals is easy to see with the mix of a holiday and a festival with the tickets to these festivals being cheaper or the same price as their British counterparts. Also, these foreign festivals also can guarentee a brilliant line-up due to there being no exclusivity of certain bands being only able to play certain festivals like there is in this country. These foreign festivals are contrubuting to the seeming slow death of the British Music Festival.

And so with the festival season in full swing the problems are there for all to see with Reading and Leeds still having 40% of their overall tickets to sell and being sold for below face value and Latitude,Download and WOMAD all failing to sell out. It may be a time for those attending to savour the moment as it may be one of the last