An ongoing, updated page on some music events I have been to. From bars and clubs to stadium shows, I'll write down here what I thought.
I didn't know (and still dont) much about the Stereophonics. They were always one of those cool bands that people at school would listen to and claim it to be the best thing ever. Having grown up in the 'Brit-pop' era, fortunately missing most of it, I can now see that they fit nicely into, in part, this category. Kelly Jones was more of a geezer than I expected. The soft, gravely, harmonics of his voice are lost when talking to the audience and screeching on some of the old hits which surprised me. The brit-pop within the majority of the set didn't really do much for me, I couldn't really fully relate to anything as I couldn't decipher the lyrics (maybe I should've brushed up before) and those that I did were fairly non-descriptive at best..
However, what really struck me was two songs (Graffiti on the Train, More life in a Tramps Vest) and a third, which was already aquainted with my ipod (I stopped to fill my car up). These songs showed a little maturity and direction away from beer chugging anthems of the late 90's, expressing darker and moodier undertones. But the band/writing is not quite there yet. Darker and more haunting work is needed to satisfy my cravings, he sure has the voice for it but maybe not reflective or observant enough just yet. Until then, I'll have to say I agree with 'Dakota' - 'I don't know where we are going now'.
3/5
Yes, Yes and more Yes. Well actually IMHO, Leeds was a little bit of a let down. If you missed the Cardiff show for the Leeds show on purpose you'll be reeming with yourself. Bruce went 100 mph at Cardiff and was a little lacklustre the following night. But this was still head and shoulders above the rest. I had selected my two shows this of year to queue up and both ended up being a long slog. 2012, you could turn up the morning of the day before and be guaranteed a front row (top 20) spot. The queue started for most 2013 shows at least 3-4 days before. Is the queue system fair?? Should it be a lottery?? another system perhaps??
Wembley was great, full run through of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' - my favourite album, but only contains 3 of my top 10 favourite Springsteen tracks (that's for another post). Filled with some other crackers 'Rosalita', 'Save My Love', 'This Hard Land' and 'Light of Day', the show was great, solid setlist and loads of fun with some old friends.
Come Cardiff... Well this was on a different level. No whole album this show (which I prefer - I think it's a bit lazy). This was the type of show I always hoped I'd be at. Songs which are rare enough to actually miss, but common enough you wish you had taken that flight to Germany to catch them. 'Summertime Blues', 'Boom Boom', 'Cynthia', 'TV Movie', 'I'm a Rocker' and 'Roulette'. Finally, I got ''Tougher Than the Rest', but the rarity of the night has to be a solo acoustic of 'Janey, Don't Lose Your Heart'. Usually that would be enough, but a guest appearance by one of Springsteens major influences (Eric Burdon - from the Animals) doing 'We've Gotta Get Out of This Place' really but this show into the stratosphere of shows not to miss. Having queued for 4 days, one really gets to know everyone who is also there early. In front of me was my friend Allan and his 7 year old son Ben. I spent many a roll calls playing top trumps and chatting about Dr Who (to which he would get confused with Dr Burton). I'm not going to dwell on a debate about whether Ben was queuing up on his own accord or whether it was more of a father-son thing but he was their pure and simply to get to the front for some attention from Bruce. So when he was brought up on stage to sing '...Sunny Day' - probably my least favourite part of any Springsteen show, it actually made it bearable if not slightly more fun. Of course, Ben was a true star in front of 30,000 people.
Now my final show, the following night in Leeds. I was confined to the seats for this one in the small venue, getting standing tickets were near impossible. However, it wasn't so bad being further away, just to be in the building was a score. Opening with a fist pumping 'Roulette' (fresh from the night before), a tour premier of 'Secret Garden' and 'Local Hero' (songs which never really make it on to any of my playlists), it was another great show but slightly lacking in energy and one could notably see Bruce was tired. Looking at the setlist after though, it's amazing the number of different songs performed and I always end up thinking 'oh yeah, he played that but missed out X, Y and Z'. The problem is is his back catelogue is huge, so I'm always going to feel a little underwhelmed, but that night I just felt there were 2 or 3 songs missing to complete the setlist.
5/5
By chance I came across this gig at the Glee club in Nottingham, and although it being a rearranged fixture due to ill health it turned out to be a popular gig.
3.5/5
Ahhh, The Killers, back in Nottingham doing there thing. From kick-off, opening with Mr Brightside with the lights still on, it was very noticible that Brandons voice was off. In fact it was particularly poor. The following shows in Manchester he pulled off from stage cause his voice was gone, burnt out maybe. But anyway, the Nottingham show went on.
4/5
Can I ever tire from seeing Springsteen play? Some of you probably know the answer is a resounding no. The 2012 european tour kicked off with the first UK show in Sunderland. I took myself up the day before and arrived in the queue at number 10! Yes there were 9 other nutters in front of me and at least a dozen Italians and Spaniards already queuing up outside the Manchester City stadium, presumably because Sunderland is too far to get to and get back from in 24 hours.
What a few days though! Met up with some of the usual suspects and met some new friends. The highlight has to be meeting Paul and Alison who both came up from Middlesborough and slept on hard concrete just so Paul could see his idol from the front row - fortunately I had a comfy materess setup in the back of the car 2 minutes away. Unfortunately, it started raining from about 10.00 am and didn't stop until the following day. It might have stopped when the band were on stage but who was checking?? Apart from some bollocks involving security at both venues UK venues, a little more shit at Manchester, the days queuing weren't so bad. There is always that lump in throat moment when there is a free-for-all through the gates and the whole queue goes to pot, but I managed to keep a clear head and get front row both nights. Highlights have to be strumming that fender twice in two days during 'Born to Run' and having a solo version of 'The Promise' performed at Manchester. I could go on...
The next available UK date I could go to would have been, what turned out to be, the iconic cut-off show at Hyde Park. Unfortunately, a certain wedding got in the way and so I took myself to the 4th of July show in Paris and another show in Prague. Both, I managed to be 1 and 2 rows back (Still able to strum that guitar in BtR) but what else did I get? 'Independence day' (almost a given), 'Born in the U.S.A', solo 'Ghost of Tom Joad'. The new album I actually like and some of those songs fit well into the show ('Death to my Hometown', 'Jack of all Trades'), much better than his las two shitty albums 'Magic' and incredibly shit 'Working on a Dream'. But even if he does play, say 5-6 shitty songs (fun, yet way over-used songs - DITD, WOASD etc', the rest of the set is as varied, electric and as exciting everytime I see him play.
I should mention, this was the first E street tour without Clarence Clemons. The story goes on but so does his legacy, as his shoes aren't filled by anyone new, instead we had a three piece horn section accompanying his nephew Jake Clemons on saxophone. There is even a touching tribute (during 'My City of Ruins') with an empty mic stand to Bruce's right and an empty organ with spotlights on each, shining where Clarence and Danny Federici used to stand on that stage.
5/5
Click here for pre-2012