Leeds is a city known for it’s music scene - there is a vast array of music venues across the city, from little jazz clubs and indie bars, to the brand new First Direct arena. As well as there being hundreds of local bands that frequently play across Leeds, the city has produced many big-name artists over the years, including indie rockers The Pigeon Detectives and The Kaiser Chiefs. Another local band on the same path as these bands are Quentin’s Basement. The indie-rock four piece burst onto the scene in 2010, and have been making a name for themselves across the county ever since, including endorsement from fellow Yorkshireman Matt Bowman of the Pigeon Detectives, as well as both headline and support slots at the city’s most loved and now defunct rock venue, The Cockpit.
Quentin’s Basement are no strangers to the Leeds music scene. “I reckon since we started, we’ve played between 150 and 200 gigs.. I’d say we’ve played in maybe thirty venues, ranging from places that hold about fifty people, to the O2 Academy in Leeds”, Quentin’s Basement’s drummer Tom Hawran tells me. Having formed five years ago, they’ve already got a massive amount of shows under their belt, with plenty of stories to tell, both good and bad. “We supported bands like The View, The Strypes and General Fiasco.. but we played the O2 Academy which was a much bigger crowd, and we even played before the match at the Bradford Bulls stadium to thousands of people! There was probably about seven or eight thousand people there.. the nerves were kicking in beforehand, but luckily it all went well and was a good laugh!”
Not all gigs go as smoothly as that though - most bands have a disaster story to tell, and Quentin’s Basement are no different. Hawran tells of one gig that didn’t quite go to plan at Oporto. “Soundcheck went well, and we were ready to play, but as soon as we hit the first note, Ollie’s fuse went on his amp, and my cymbal was loose and falling over.. it was pretty annoying, but you just have to get on with it!”
Quentin’s Basement play Oporto once again next week, to promote their first new single in close to a year ‘Remiges’, which will be available to buy on CD at the gig on 22nd of April. (Let’s hope it goes better than last time..) Also on the CD will be another new track, ‘Fluoxetine’, as well as a range of new merchandise. Hawran hints that we could be hearing the Leeds indie-rockers moving in a new musical direction, away from their current sound. “I think we’ve got a slight bit heavier since this time last year. I think it’s down to Callum, who writes the songs.. He’s a fan of Drenge and similar bands like that, and I think it really reflects in our music.” Anyone who has heard Drenge’s music will know that their signature noisy, grungy, punk sound is a whole world away from that of Quentin’s Basement, so it’s interesting to see what the new songs will sound like.
For those fans who prefer Quentin’s Basement’s older, laddish indie rock sound however, there’s still something for you. Also available to buy at the Oporto show is another CD, featuring an alternative recording of their single ‘Good Books’ (which Hawran admits is probably better than the original), and a few demo’s of previously unrecorded songs only ever heard at live shows, including ‘Wish I Did’ and ‘You’d be a Fool’.
Quentin’s Basement are definitely the kind of band you want to see in concert. From the minute they step on stage they have the room in the palm of their hands, bantering with the audience before launching into a set packed with plenty of anthemic songs. As lively as their tracks seem on CD, they are nothing compared to the live performances. Hawran’s energetic rhythms along with frontman Callum Talbot’s roaring vocals, Ollie Grubb’s sleek guitar riffage and Martyn Alderman’s groovy bass lines always promise a real knee’s up.
For anyone unsure about their show next week, Hawran promises a great night. “We’ve been away from the Leeds music scene for a while now, working on our set and getting some new tunes together! We’ve got new songs, new CDs and new t-shirts.. it’s gonna be a top night.. and what else is there better to do on a Wednesday night anyway?!” He has a point. There’s not much better to do on a weeknight then have a few drinks and a dance at one of the cities best venues, listening to one of Yorkshire’s hottest bands, so why not get yourselves down to what is sure to be a brilliant night. Tickets are available from the band themselves, who are contactable on their Facebook page.
The future looks bright for Quentin’s Basement. Tickets are flying for the single release show, and their music will soon be available on music streaming services Spotify and iTunes. Hawran also mentions possible plans for a tour of the country in the coming year, as well as there being “a few exciting things in the pipeline”. Exactly what this means is unclear - a new album, another show, or something even bigger - but it certainly suggests that the band have a very exciting future.
Twitter: @Quentbasement
Facebook: facebook.com/quentinsbasement
Instagram: @quentinsbasement
Email: Quentins_basement@hotmail.co.uk
Showing posts with label Live Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Live Music. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
LIVE: The Skints + Support, Leeds Musiquarium, 25/05/13
After months of anticipation, I finally got to saw The Skints live again. This was the fourth time i've seen them, and it's probably my favourite. It's not my favourite set of theirs, or my favourite gig performance-wise (not that they weren't amazing) but the atmosphere at this gig was like no other. I've got a few videos of the night but you can barely see anything - im mainly posting them so you can hear! It was at a venue in Leeds called Musiquarium - it was quite a way out of the city centre, but it was a really cool place. You stepped through a little doorway and there was an outside area, with some wall art, fairy lights all over the ceiling, and a few sofas. When we arrived we chilled here with a pint, it was really relaxed and their was a few people from the support bands hanging around.
After we'd chilled out there for a bit, we went inside ready for the first bands. It was really warm which I thought was pretty normal for a gig but it got a lot worse. There was a bit of a delay - a lot of the gear had stopped working because it was so hot. We met the singer from Outl4w in the crowd aswell. He was a nice lad, we chatted to him for a few minutes.
The first band were Midnight Landing - a ska band who were a lot better than i expected. I'd only gone to the gig to see The Skints and Outl4w - I hadn't really listened to any of the other support bands. But these guys were really good, and we met them afterwards and talked to them for ages, they were really sound guys.
I'm pretty sure there was another band just after these, although I have no pics/videos of them, and can't remember what they were called - oooops. Outl4w played next, and they were sick. (I've written a bit of a post about them but I haven't actually posted it to the blog yet - I will in the next few days, it's got a few of their tunes on). Had a good old jump around to them, was screaming like a madman (I was a bit drunk at this point). They only played a short set, but they did all my favourites - Blackpool to Leeds, Thank Fuck for Randall and Ball and Chain.
After Outl4w, a band called Extra Curricular played. Again, a band i'd never heard of, but wow. Very, very good band. They sounded absolutely amazing, with live horns, and a great singer who really knew how to work the crowd. They weren't really the same as any other band there, but they were still very well recieved. They were Funk/Soul Jazz Blues? I have no idea haha. They had an AMAZING song that everyone there was singing called Last Day, which is ridiculously catchy and since the gig I've listened to it about 20 times. The dudes voice is just unreal. I didn't manage to get it in video, but I do have another video to post.
The crowd really started to build up by now. And it was getting really, really hot. The walls were all padded, which i guess was for soundproofing reasons, but it acted as an insulator too so it was like an oven in there - it got hotter and hotter all night. You can tell in those last pictures - Extra Curricular's singer was drenched in sweat! It only got worse through the night aswell. You can see in this picture that I was sweating buckets.
The Skints were almost an hour late on stage, through no fault of their own - the gear was breaking in the heat! But they took to the stage around 2:15am and they were incredible. As always. They've always sounded amazing every time i've seen them, and this time they didn't disappoint. They played a slightly shorter set than normal (and they didn't play the new single which I was gutted about) but it was still great. I even managed to snatch a setlist at the end which Josh signed.
Again, you can see how warm it was. I think they planned on playing for longer but they literally couldnt carry on with the heat. Afterwards I chugged lots of free ice cold water that the bar were leaving out, cos i was actually struggling to breathe. My lungs were killing, it was awful. We went outside afterwards and were lucky enough to have a chat with Josh for a bit! Then later on when they were loading their stuff into the van we got to talk to Jamie and Marci.
So thats about it. Great gig by one of my favourite bands, and I can't wait to see them again soon! Could be a year or so now :( But it'll be worth the wait!
After we'd chilled out there for a bit, we went inside ready for the first bands. It was really warm which I thought was pretty normal for a gig but it got a lot worse. There was a bit of a delay - a lot of the gear had stopped working because it was so hot. We met the singer from Outl4w in the crowd aswell. He was a nice lad, we chatted to him for a few minutes.
The first band were Midnight Landing - a ska band who were a lot better than i expected. I'd only gone to the gig to see The Skints and Outl4w - I hadn't really listened to any of the other support bands. But these guys were really good, and we met them afterwards and talked to them for ages, they were really sound guys.
I'm pretty sure there was another band just after these, although I have no pics/videos of them, and can't remember what they were called - oooops. Outl4w played next, and they were sick. (I've written a bit of a post about them but I haven't actually posted it to the blog yet - I will in the next few days, it's got a few of their tunes on). Had a good old jump around to them, was screaming like a madman (I was a bit drunk at this point). They only played a short set, but they did all my favourites - Blackpool to Leeds, Thank Fuck for Randall and Ball and Chain.
After Outl4w, a band called Extra Curricular played. Again, a band i'd never heard of, but wow. Very, very good band. They sounded absolutely amazing, with live horns, and a great singer who really knew how to work the crowd. They weren't really the same as any other band there, but they were still very well recieved. They were Funk/Soul Jazz Blues? I have no idea haha. They had an AMAZING song that everyone there was singing called Last Day, which is ridiculously catchy and since the gig I've listened to it about 20 times. The dudes voice is just unreal. I didn't manage to get it in video, but I do have another video to post.
The crowd really started to build up by now. And it was getting really, really hot. The walls were all padded, which i guess was for soundproofing reasons, but it acted as an insulator too so it was like an oven in there - it got hotter and hotter all night. You can tell in those last pictures - Extra Curricular's singer was drenched in sweat! It only got worse through the night aswell. You can see in this picture that I was sweating buckets.
The Skints were almost an hour late on stage, through no fault of their own - the gear was breaking in the heat! But they took to the stage around 2:15am and they were incredible. As always. They've always sounded amazing every time i've seen them, and this time they didn't disappoint. They played a slightly shorter set than normal (and they didn't play the new single which I was gutted about) but it was still great. I even managed to snatch a setlist at the end which Josh signed.
'Rise Up'
'Ratatat/No No No'
'Culture Vulture'
Again, you can see how warm it was. I think they planned on playing for longer but they literally couldnt carry on with the heat. Afterwards I chugged lots of free ice cold water that the bar were leaving out, cos i was actually struggling to breathe. My lungs were killing, it was awful. We went outside afterwards and were lucky enough to have a chat with Josh for a bit! Then later on when they were loading their stuff into the van we got to talk to Jamie and Marci.
So thats about it. Great gig by one of my favourite bands, and I can't wait to see them again soon! Could be a year or so now :( But it'll be worth the wait!
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
LCM Year One is Over!
The past month or so has been hectic! So much coursework to do - I've not had time to update here but it wasn't just laziness! My bad.
So my first year at Uni is over. Mental. I feel like i've only been here a few months. Time's gone too quick, its crazy to think im a third of the way through Uni already. It's dawned on me that I've wasted a lot of time this year, and I could have used the time a lot better and got a lot more done. I mean, i've still done quite a bit of music, but not nearly as much as i could have. I live in a city with an amazing music scene but i've still not started any bands or got any gigs or anything, which is what i really wanted to do! I now have close to 4 months with not a lot to do, so im going to make sure i get a decent bit of music made. A quick recap of what I've recorded or helped with recording this year..
Revenge
This was the first bit of coursework I did! I took an old piece that i'd done months ago, and took all the MIDI files and put them into logic, and did a lot of work on it. I extended it, added new parts, used better samples, mixed it all better. It sounds a hell of a lot better than the original.
Lots and Lots of Bedroom Recordings
Lots of bored nights in with my flatmate resulted in these. 5 songs recorded for Tom, 1 recorded with Tom and his mate for his LCM Audition (which he passed), and then 3 songs with me on guitar and Tom singing. Probably a lot more of these to come.
Crimestoppers Dub
I recorded this for the Crimestoppers assignment at LCM - this is the first of 2 pieces. This is one of my favourite pieces i've produced this year - It sounds great and I'm really wanting to make some reggae/dub kinda music soon. Its one of the projects that im hoping to start over the next 4 months.
Mugging
This was the second piece i produced for the Crimestoppers assignment. This came from an idea I had when listening to a song The Prodigy did with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello. I had this little guitar riff in Logic on a distorted guitar with a wah pedal, and some drums, and that developed into this.
Safari
This is a more recent one that I haven't shared on this blog yet! I had to create a 4 minute piece of music and write a 2000 word essay about it (and transcribe it!) This is what I made. I wanted to do music for a certain purpose so I had more i could write about in the essay. My dad suggested doing music for a David Attenborough programme which gave me the idea to use African instruments, however this is what came. It isnt actually for a nature programme, it just kinda.. tells a kind of story. There's a theme representing a herd of gazelle at the beginning which is repeated in a minor key later to show that something has happened to the herd, theres another theme to represent a predator.. it's all explained much better in the essay!
Babies
One of my studio assignments was to record a cover of a song as a group, and it had to fit into a certain category. Then we all had to do an individual remix. It had to:
Only use the original vocal track.
Use Found Sound Drums (the version i've posted doesnt use these).
Use a synth that we have made from scratch.
Write and Record 2 original instrumental parts.
I did another reggae style remix which I think turned out pretty well! It was pretty hard to do cos the acapella tempo fluctuates from 150 bpm to 160bpm. It sounds pretty good though, I think. I never recorded 2 instrumental parts, which I could lose marks on. But there is different instrumental lines on this so they could count, i'm not sure. For the Found Sound Drums, which I didn't use on this version as it sounds better with the proper kit, I used quite a few weird things around my room. The Hi-Hat was just me ripping up a takeaway menu, then I added a bit of noise, and a lot of reverb. The Snare was me hitting the bottom of a metal bucket, layered up with me hitting a bottle of salt. I added lots of reverb and delay onto to bucket sound so as to create the typical dub sound. The kick was me slamming a cardboard box over my knee, layered up with me punching myself in the stomach. I EQ'd these and raised the low ends so it was thumpier. One thing I didn't do which i didnt think of till after, was pitch shifting the sounds so they were lower. Still, it sounded ok.
So, that's pretty much all the music i've made in my first year at Uni. Expect some more coming over the next few months as I have a lot of free time! I've just bought a melodica, so I'm hoping to use that for a couple of acoustic recordings. I'm also gonna go acoustic guitar hunting this week, so I can record some much better songs. I'm also finally gonna get my electric guitar fixed and get it restrung so I can record some reggae vibes with that! Hoping to do some kind of Skints covers!
Thanks for reading - I'll be posting more regular again from now!
So my first year at Uni is over. Mental. I feel like i've only been here a few months. Time's gone too quick, its crazy to think im a third of the way through Uni already. It's dawned on me that I've wasted a lot of time this year, and I could have used the time a lot better and got a lot more done. I mean, i've still done quite a bit of music, but not nearly as much as i could have. I live in a city with an amazing music scene but i've still not started any bands or got any gigs or anything, which is what i really wanted to do! I now have close to 4 months with not a lot to do, so im going to make sure i get a decent bit of music made. A quick recap of what I've recorded or helped with recording this year..
Revenge
This was the first bit of coursework I did! I took an old piece that i'd done months ago, and took all the MIDI files and put them into logic, and did a lot of work on it. I extended it, added new parts, used better samples, mixed it all better. It sounds a hell of a lot better than the original.
Lots and Lots of Bedroom Recordings
Lots of bored nights in with my flatmate resulted in these. 5 songs recorded for Tom, 1 recorded with Tom and his mate for his LCM Audition (which he passed), and then 3 songs with me on guitar and Tom singing. Probably a lot more of these to come.
Crimestoppers Dub
I recorded this for the Crimestoppers assignment at LCM - this is the first of 2 pieces. This is one of my favourite pieces i've produced this year - It sounds great and I'm really wanting to make some reggae/dub kinda music soon. Its one of the projects that im hoping to start over the next 4 months.
Mugging
This was the second piece i produced for the Crimestoppers assignment. This came from an idea I had when listening to a song The Prodigy did with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello. I had this little guitar riff in Logic on a distorted guitar with a wah pedal, and some drums, and that developed into this.
Safari
This is a more recent one that I haven't shared on this blog yet! I had to create a 4 minute piece of music and write a 2000 word essay about it (and transcribe it!) This is what I made. I wanted to do music for a certain purpose so I had more i could write about in the essay. My dad suggested doing music for a David Attenborough programme which gave me the idea to use African instruments, however this is what came. It isnt actually for a nature programme, it just kinda.. tells a kind of story. There's a theme representing a herd of gazelle at the beginning which is repeated in a minor key later to show that something has happened to the herd, theres another theme to represent a predator.. it's all explained much better in the essay!
Babies
One of my studio assignments was to record a cover of a song as a group, and it had to fit into a certain category. Then we all had to do an individual remix. It had to:
Only use the original vocal track.
Use Found Sound Drums (the version i've posted doesnt use these).
Use a synth that we have made from scratch.
Write and Record 2 original instrumental parts.
I did another reggae style remix which I think turned out pretty well! It was pretty hard to do cos the acapella tempo fluctuates from 150 bpm to 160bpm. It sounds pretty good though, I think. I never recorded 2 instrumental parts, which I could lose marks on. But there is different instrumental lines on this so they could count, i'm not sure. For the Found Sound Drums, which I didn't use on this version as it sounds better with the proper kit, I used quite a few weird things around my room. The Hi-Hat was just me ripping up a takeaway menu, then I added a bit of noise, and a lot of reverb. The Snare was me hitting the bottom of a metal bucket, layered up with me hitting a bottle of salt. I added lots of reverb and delay onto to bucket sound so as to create the typical dub sound. The kick was me slamming a cardboard box over my knee, layered up with me punching myself in the stomach. I EQ'd these and raised the low ends so it was thumpier. One thing I didn't do which i didnt think of till after, was pitch shifting the sounds so they were lower. Still, it sounded ok.
So, that's pretty much all the music i've made in my first year at Uni. Expect some more coming over the next few months as I have a lot of free time! I've just bought a melodica, so I'm hoping to use that for a couple of acoustic recordings. I'm also gonna go acoustic guitar hunting this week, so I can record some much better songs. I'm also finally gonna get my electric guitar fixed and get it restrung so I can record some reggae vibes with that! Hoping to do some kind of Skints covers!
Thanks for reading - I'll be posting more regular again from now!
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Biffy Clyro for Leeds Festival
So, tonight, another announcement was made regarding Leeds festival. I tuned into Zane Lowe's show to hear them announce it live, but it was pretty obvious as so many rumours have been flying about for the past few days.
Biffy Clyro are the second headliner, along with Eminem. Eminem is a massive, strong headliner, and as much as I respect Biffy as a band and think they are good.. to me they don't feel like headline material. Headliners tend to have a much wider appeal, and have at least a few songs that everyone there is gonna know and love. I don't know that many Biffy Clyro songs, and I don't think a lot of festival goers will either. I know 'Many of Horror', aka 'When We Collide' which the X-factor ruined. I know 'Mountains', and maybe one or two others. I think they'd be a great sub-headliner to a much bigger rock band - someone like Foo Fighters or Muse from previous years.
It's also got me thinking about the third headliner. Hopefully they're saving the best till last, although Eminem seems to be the big shock of the year, so i don't know. I'm praying they haven't blown their budget on Eminem, meaning they have to settle for 2 sub-par headliners. The strongly rumoured bands are Blur, Arctic Monkeys, Black Sabbath.. personally, I don't think Sabbath belong at this festival. As much as they are a classic band, they just don't fit in with the general feel of the festival, and most Leeds goers wouldn't really want to see them particularly. Blur would much better fit in, however I've recently come to the epiphany that they're slightly over-rated, and apart from a few songs, I'd be a bit bored through their set. I would love Arctic Monkeys to headline as I haven't seen them live since November 2011. They also are reportedly working on a new album, but I don't think it'll be finished by the time the festival comes round, so I'm not sure whether they would headline. They did headline it fairly recently as well.. 2009 I think. Mumford and Sons are also rumoured - a band who I really dislike and will be more than pissed off if they are announced. They are sub-headliner at best, and still one I probably wouldn't see. I think they'd better suit headlining a smaller stage. If I could pick any headliner, it would be Red Hot Chilli Peppers, however i don't think it'll happen - apart from the general buzz that goes round every year, there are no strong rumours.
There were 5 other artists announced today: Jake Bugg, Foals, System of a Down, Bring Me The Horizon and the newly reformed Fall Out Boy. All in all, a pretty good announcement i'd say. I was kinda disappointed when Biffy were announced, so for 'Chop Suey' to be playing 5 minutes later.. well, I was more than excited. System of a Down are a quality band, and I am extremely excited to be seeing them live. They're definitely the act I'm most excited for out of all that were announced today. I'm also quite excited for Fall Out Boy - a band I used to love when I was about 12, It'll be a real nostalgic set to watch. Songs like 'Dance, Dance' and 'Sugar, We're Going Down' were the soundtrack of my Emo days. If they don't clash with anyone, I might go and see BMTH, just because again they're a band I used to love. Jake Bugg'll be nice to see too, if he doesn't clash with anyone. I like a few of his songs but he's a great artist and I'd love to see him live, I think there'd be a great atmosphere. I've never listened to Foals really, but I wasn't impressed by what I heard on the radio.
Overall, I think today was a pretty good announcement. After the initial disappointment of Biffy Clyro headlining, announcing Fall Out Boy who have only just announced their reformation today, as well as Jake Bugg and System of a Down, well, it's really got me excited. Bring on Leeds Festival 2013.
Biffy Clyro are the second headliner, along with Eminem. Eminem is a massive, strong headliner, and as much as I respect Biffy as a band and think they are good.. to me they don't feel like headline material. Headliners tend to have a much wider appeal, and have at least a few songs that everyone there is gonna know and love. I don't know that many Biffy Clyro songs, and I don't think a lot of festival goers will either. I know 'Many of Horror', aka 'When We Collide' which the X-factor ruined. I know 'Mountains', and maybe one or two others. I think they'd be a great sub-headliner to a much bigger rock band - someone like Foo Fighters or Muse from previous years.
It's also got me thinking about the third headliner. Hopefully they're saving the best till last, although Eminem seems to be the big shock of the year, so i don't know. I'm praying they haven't blown their budget on Eminem, meaning they have to settle for 2 sub-par headliners. The strongly rumoured bands are Blur, Arctic Monkeys, Black Sabbath.. personally, I don't think Sabbath belong at this festival. As much as they are a classic band, they just don't fit in with the general feel of the festival, and most Leeds goers wouldn't really want to see them particularly. Blur would much better fit in, however I've recently come to the epiphany that they're slightly over-rated, and apart from a few songs, I'd be a bit bored through their set. I would love Arctic Monkeys to headline as I haven't seen them live since November 2011. They also are reportedly working on a new album, but I don't think it'll be finished by the time the festival comes round, so I'm not sure whether they would headline. They did headline it fairly recently as well.. 2009 I think. Mumford and Sons are also rumoured - a band who I really dislike and will be more than pissed off if they are announced. They are sub-headliner at best, and still one I probably wouldn't see. I think they'd better suit headlining a smaller stage. If I could pick any headliner, it would be Red Hot Chilli Peppers, however i don't think it'll happen - apart from the general buzz that goes round every year, there are no strong rumours.
There were 5 other artists announced today: Jake Bugg, Foals, System of a Down, Bring Me The Horizon and the newly reformed Fall Out Boy. All in all, a pretty good announcement i'd say. I was kinda disappointed when Biffy were announced, so for 'Chop Suey' to be playing 5 minutes later.. well, I was more than excited. System of a Down are a quality band, and I am extremely excited to be seeing them live. They're definitely the act I'm most excited for out of all that were announced today. I'm also quite excited for Fall Out Boy - a band I used to love when I was about 12, It'll be a real nostalgic set to watch. Songs like 'Dance, Dance' and 'Sugar, We're Going Down' were the soundtrack of my Emo days. If they don't clash with anyone, I might go and see BMTH, just because again they're a band I used to love. Jake Bugg'll be nice to see too, if he doesn't clash with anyone. I like a few of his songs but he's a great artist and I'd love to see him live, I think there'd be a great atmosphere. I've never listened to Foals really, but I wasn't impressed by what I heard on the radio.
Overall, I think today was a pretty good announcement. After the initial disappointment of Biffy Clyro headlining, announcing Fall Out Boy who have only just announced their reformation today, as well as Jake Bugg and System of a Down, well, it's really got me excited. Bring on Leeds Festival 2013.
Friday, 1 February 2013
The Who
Guess who got tickets to go see The Who in London?!?! They're playing the classic Quadrophenia album in its entirety, plus all the hits too. Its gonna be amazing!!
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Eminem to Headline Reading/Leeds Festival
This definitely took me by surprise a little bit! Leeds always seem to leave it a long time before they announce any acts, so to have already announced acts is weird enough for them. But they didn't even announce that they were gonna announce a headliner until the same day! I also think he's pretty good for Leeds Festival.. they've had some good bands but recently they aren't as big.. My Chemical Romance were not headline material in my eyes. Eminems one of the biggest artists on the planet. Now I don't listen to Eminem a lot, but I do like a lot of his songs so I think he'll be a good headliner. People are bitching that he doesn't fit into the festivals scene/genre.. well for one, he played over 10 years ago and apparently he got the crowd going a lot. And tbh, who doesn't like at least one Eminem song? The Real Slim Shady, We Made You, Lose Yourself.. or my personal favourite, Like Toy Soldiers.
So lately he's sold out a bit, done a few poppy tunes.. he's still done some ok stuff. Fast Lane with Bad Meets Evil, No Love with Lil Wayne was ok too. I think he'll be amazing and definitely can't wait to get my ticket. It's got me thinking who else could be headlining though? I definitely didnt expect Eminem, so will they pull another surprise out of the bag? They tend to have a fairly recent band, a classic band, and someone inbetween (This Year was Kasabian who are fairly recent, Foo Fighters who are a little older, then the Cure who are Classic, The Year before was MCR, Pulp and Muse.)
A few bands that I'd love to see headline.. Rage Against the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim. Other likely bands that could do it that I'm not particularly bothered about.. The Killers, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons. I've heard Green Day, who would be ok although I wouldn't be too excited. I really wanna see some other bands there like Frank Turner, Enter Shikari, The Skints. There's 3 new stages this year so there's gonna be more music. I Know Nick Cave has a new album out with the Bad Seeds next year.. they could headline one of the smaller stages? What do other people think, who will be the other 2 headliners, and who else do you wanna see at Leeds Festival?
So lately he's sold out a bit, done a few poppy tunes.. he's still done some ok stuff. Fast Lane with Bad Meets Evil, No Love with Lil Wayne was ok too. I think he'll be amazing and definitely can't wait to get my ticket. It's got me thinking who else could be headlining though? I definitely didnt expect Eminem, so will they pull another surprise out of the bag? They tend to have a fairly recent band, a classic band, and someone inbetween (This Year was Kasabian who are fairly recent, Foo Fighters who are a little older, then the Cure who are Classic, The Year before was MCR, Pulp and Muse.)
A few bands that I'd love to see headline.. Rage Against the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim. Other likely bands that could do it that I'm not particularly bothered about.. The Killers, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons. I've heard Green Day, who would be ok although I wouldn't be too excited. I really wanna see some other bands there like Frank Turner, Enter Shikari, The Skints. There's 3 new stages this year so there's gonna be more music. I Know Nick Cave has a new album out with the Bad Seeds next year.. they could headline one of the smaller stages? What do other people think, who will be the other 2 headliners, and who else do you wanna see at Leeds Festival?
Monday, 6 August 2012
Sheftival 2012: Saturday 4th August
Words cannot describe how excited I was when I was told about Sheftival. I'd never heard anything about it, then my mate said 'oi raven, Toots and the Maytals are playing sheffield in a couple of weeks'. I couldn't believe it! Toots is a bloody legend, he is credited with inventing the word Reggae in the song Do The Reggay, he's one of the pioneers of reggae. To find out he's playing not far from me for only a tenner, was amazing! Couldn't miss it. There was loooads of people on the line-up, but I only went for Toots, and The Selecter.
I was very hungover from the night before - this was the day after the Skints, and I only ended up getting a couple of hours sleep anyway - so i almost, almost considered not going. But, I put Toots + the Maytals on the stereo, and it gave me the strength to power through my hangover and get the bus into town. I met Max and Alex, and we got the best hangover cure there is:
More Beer. Which quite frankly made me feel extremely ill, along with the train shaking about. But I just about managed 2 or 3. Anyway, we arrived at Don Valley Bowl where the festival was, about 6 o clock. It was the first time i'd been to DVB since the Arctic Monkeys homecoming gig last year (which was probably the best gig of my life).
It was weird seeing The Selecter. I saw them when I was about 3 years old, and it's probably my earliest memory. I remember being held by my mum whilst they were on stage - I don't remember the music, I just remember it being them. So to see them live nearly 15 years later was pretty weird! They managed to get the crowd going pretty well - lots of old Skinheads were skanking! A couple of people were definitely off their head aswell, haha. Their set was only short, 40 minutes at the most, but It was good. James Bond was probably the highlight of the set, along with On My Radio and Too Much Pressure.
After their set, we made it over to the Juju World Music stage. Macka B was on the stage, someone i'd never heard of, but was pretty good. He sang a song about what food he liked to eat, which was bizarre but pretty funny. There was a pretty long wait between Macka B and Toots, so we sat down for a bit and chilled. When he finally came on.. it was so so so so so good. He opened with Pressure Drop, which is a beautiful song!! One of my favourite Reggae songs ever. His set included the classics Monkey Man (famously covered by the Specials), 54-46 Was My Number, Louie Louie, Funky Kingston and many more. It was a great set and i'm so happy I can now say I've seen both The Wailers and Toots + The Maytals live. Arguably the 2 biggest reggae artists ever!
I was very hungover from the night before - this was the day after the Skints, and I only ended up getting a couple of hours sleep anyway - so i almost, almost considered not going. But, I put Toots + the Maytals on the stereo, and it gave me the strength to power through my hangover and get the bus into town. I met Max and Alex, and we got the best hangover cure there is:
More Beer. Which quite frankly made me feel extremely ill, along with the train shaking about. But I just about managed 2 or 3. Anyway, we arrived at Don Valley Bowl where the festival was, about 6 o clock. It was the first time i'd been to DVB since the Arctic Monkeys homecoming gig last year (which was probably the best gig of my life).
It was weird seeing The Selecter. I saw them when I was about 3 years old, and it's probably my earliest memory. I remember being held by my mum whilst they were on stage - I don't remember the music, I just remember it being them. So to see them live nearly 15 years later was pretty weird! They managed to get the crowd going pretty well - lots of old Skinheads were skanking! A couple of people were definitely off their head aswell, haha. Their set was only short, 40 minutes at the most, but It was good. James Bond was probably the highlight of the set, along with On My Radio and Too Much Pressure.
After their set, we made it over to the Juju World Music stage. Macka B was on the stage, someone i'd never heard of, but was pretty good. He sang a song about what food he liked to eat, which was bizarre but pretty funny. There was a pretty long wait between Macka B and Toots, so we sat down for a bit and chilled. When he finally came on.. it was so so so so so good. He opened with Pressure Drop, which is a beautiful song!! One of my favourite Reggae songs ever. His set included the classics Monkey Man (famously covered by the Specials), 54-46 Was My Number, Louie Louie, Funky Kingston and many more. It was a great set and i'm so happy I can now say I've seen both The Wailers and Toots + The Maytals live. Arguably the 2 biggest reggae artists ever!
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Friday 3rd August: The Skints @ The Leopard
This Friday was great. I got to see one of my favourite bands perform, which is always good. But they actually performed in my home town of Doncaster, which made it even more special. Doncaster rarely sees any big names play here - you could probably count the well known bands that have played here in the past few years on one hand. I've seen The Prodigy here, and Dizzee Rascal, and I think Plan B has played. But none of them were as good as this.
We started the day the same way most of my days out start - alcohol. 20 pack of Fosters, sat in the sun, listening to Reggae - it was good :)
After this we went straight to the venue, and just sat around chatting with people, having a couple of pints. It was fun, although i am having trouble piecing together exactly what happened, because I was pretty drunk. Anyway about half 7, 8, we went upstairs for the bands. This was my first time at The Leopard, which has been around for longer than I have I think. The upstairs part where the bands perform is tiny! But I loved it.. it was such a good atmosphere! The first band that were on are called The Beaus. They're a local band, i'd heard the name but never listened to them. But i'm definitely a fan, their set was pretty enjoyable and i've listened to a couple of their songs since and they're good.
Whilst we were watching these, Marcia and Jonathan from The Skints came out and watched them! I went over and got a photo with them, talked to them for a bit and then they left.
The Skints came on about half 9, and their set was amazing. Being so close to one of my favourite bands while they played live was just incredible! They played all their best songs (apart from Live East Die Young :( thats my favourite), including Roanna's Song, Rise Up, Culture Vulture, and Rubadub. They also played brilliant cover of Bob Marley + The Wailers classic Stir It Up. And, I think they filmed something there, part of a video or something. It was a great gig - they sound brilliant live and I was dancing nonstop all the way through. I'm jealous of their talent!
Afterwards, we hung around outside the back of the venue and just chilled, talked to a few people. Then we saw Jamie Kyriakides, the drummer, just chilling with his girlfriend! So we went over and had a chat - he was one of the nicest guys i've ever met!
We also got chatting to the guys from the Beaus, who were pretty sound, and they gave me a free t-shirt, woo. Me and my cousin Aiden decided to let ourselves backstage, which looking back probably was a bit out of order and I wouldn't have done If i was sober. But, it ended up in us meeting the guys and chatting with them for quite a while! We got a photo with them, but Aiden's camera was pretty blurry, so The Skints' photographer guy took one on his posh camera, and has said he'll email it to me! :D top bloke haha. All in all it was an amazing day, and I will definitely be buying tickets to see them again! They're playing Leeds Festival, so I'll see them there. And they're playing Leeds Cockpit in october - I should be going to University there hopefully, so i'll probably go to that too. I would definitely recommend their live gigs - it was bloody brilliant!
We started the day the same way most of my days out start - alcohol. 20 pack of Fosters, sat in the sun, listening to Reggae - it was good :)
After this we went straight to the venue, and just sat around chatting with people, having a couple of pints. It was fun, although i am having trouble piecing together exactly what happened, because I was pretty drunk. Anyway about half 7, 8, we went upstairs for the bands. This was my first time at The Leopard, which has been around for longer than I have I think. The upstairs part where the bands perform is tiny! But I loved it.. it was such a good atmosphere! The first band that were on are called The Beaus. They're a local band, i'd heard the name but never listened to them. But i'm definitely a fan, their set was pretty enjoyable and i've listened to a couple of their songs since and they're good.
Whilst we were watching these, Marcia and Jonathan from The Skints came out and watched them! I went over and got a photo with them, talked to them for a bit and then they left.
The Skints came on about half 9, and their set was amazing. Being so close to one of my favourite bands while they played live was just incredible! They played all their best songs (apart from Live East Die Young :( thats my favourite), including Roanna's Song, Rise Up, Culture Vulture, and Rubadub. They also played brilliant cover of Bob Marley + The Wailers classic Stir It Up. And, I think they filmed something there, part of a video or something. It was a great gig - they sound brilliant live and I was dancing nonstop all the way through. I'm jealous of their talent!
Afterwards, we hung around outside the back of the venue and just chilled, talked to a few people. Then we saw Jamie Kyriakides, the drummer, just chilling with his girlfriend! So we went over and had a chat - he was one of the nicest guys i've ever met!
We also got chatting to the guys from the Beaus, who were pretty sound, and they gave me a free t-shirt, woo. Me and my cousin Aiden decided to let ourselves backstage, which looking back probably was a bit out of order and I wouldn't have done If i was sober. But, it ended up in us meeting the guys and chatting with them for quite a while! We got a photo with them, but Aiden's camera was pretty blurry, so The Skints' photographer guy took one on his posh camera, and has said he'll email it to me! :D top bloke haha. All in all it was an amazing day, and I will definitely be buying tickets to see them again! They're playing Leeds Festival, so I'll see them there. And they're playing Leeds Cockpit in october - I should be going to University there hopefully, so i'll probably go to that too. I would definitely recommend their live gigs - it was bloody brilliant!
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Tramlines Festival 2012
On Friday, Me, Max and Alex all trekked down to tramlines in sheffield. It's basically a free festival that pretty much every venue in sheffield takes part in, they all put bands on and stuff. And they always get a couple of well known band's/artists playing on the main stage, and a few local ones. Tbh, we only went for 2 bands, the day was more just about dossing in sheffield and having a day out. But it was well good.
We met up in town about 2 o clock. After my footlong bacon egg cheese and sausage subway (which is sort of becoming a regular thing for me now), we all went Tesco's to get our booze for the day. We ended up getting 24 can's of Carling for 16 quid. It.. wasn't very nice. Warm and flat, bloated you a lot, made you burp a lot, and we were all on the brink of vomiting at some point in the day.
Anyway we got our train and had a couple of cans each on there, then arrived in sheffield about half 3. None of us actually had a clue where we were going so we just wandered around. We got to Dev Green (main stage) about half 4ish, and they told us we'd have to drink all our booze before we went in. And we still had about 14, 15 cans left so we couldn't waste em. So we thought we'd just trek around sheff for a bit. We bumped into this guy called Slam - he was about 45, some old metalhead guy. But he was sound as a pound. We got chatting and he was like the coolest possible guy, he shared his vodka with us and everything. We literally just dossed around drinking with him until the gates opened at Dev Green, but we didn't even go in. We sat outside this bloody middle class bar finishing all our beer off. Don't think they liked us, we went in about 7 times to use their toilets. I had to run in at one point cos i almost threw up :( my mouth went watery and i went very light headed and my stomach was turning, it wasn't the nicest experience.
We went in Dev Green anyway, after we'd finished all but 3 of our beers., after that Violet May band which were a bit average by the sounds of it. We got approached by some very friendly lasses who Max was sure they fancied us, but they were definitely just blagging a pint off us because we had ID. Anyway, at this point we lost Slam :-( he said he felt like he was third wheeling so he left us. What a Lad. Anyway the ladies buggered off so we watched most of Dead Son's set - we missed most of it, but Shotgun Woman was amazing. I'll post a few links here now, they're a sheffield band, sound very Arctic Monkeys influenced.
very good. Great band and i proper wanna see em again. After about half hour, Reverend and the Makers were on. And they played an absolutely incredible set. I'd seen em before but they were a support act and i'd never really listened to em, so i didn't think it was great. But this was bloody amazing. Everyone there loved em, theyre a proper yorkshire band. Atmosphere was incredible, there was pits for every song. It was a bit rough but if anyone fell over everyone helped eachother up which was alrate. They opened with Bassline which is alrate but the rest of the set was so much better. You can see me bopping about in this video of it here!
They played so many good songs - I proper love 'Open your Window', and it was made even better cos Andy Nicholson came out and played bass on it! He used to be in Arctic blummin Monkeys! was so good. They filmed their new music video there aswell, so there's a chance we could be in the next Reverend and the Makers video! It's for Out of the Shadows, one of the best songs of their 3rd release.
They closed with Silence is Talking, which is a rate song. Everyone went mad for that, and these wristbands that theyd given out all flashed when it started, it was actually pretty amazing.
Quite frankly it was one of the best gigs of my life! Great atmosphere, can't believe this is the first time i've been to tramlines. Unfortunately we've not been off on the Saturday/Sunday because of either lack of money + throwing up :(. Missed a great band from Sheffield called Wet Nuns last night. Sort of really really heavy bluesy punky rock. They're good.
I will definitely come to Sheffield for Tramlines while i'm at uni. It was such a good experience and I can imagine it being even better when I'm old enough to legally buy a pint, rather than having to down warm beer :( Top Night.
We met up in town about 2 o clock. After my footlong bacon egg cheese and sausage subway (which is sort of becoming a regular thing for me now), we all went Tesco's to get our booze for the day. We ended up getting 24 can's of Carling for 16 quid. It.. wasn't very nice. Warm and flat, bloated you a lot, made you burp a lot, and we were all on the brink of vomiting at some point in the day.
Anyway we got our train and had a couple of cans each on there, then arrived in sheffield about half 3. None of us actually had a clue where we were going so we just wandered around. We got to Dev Green (main stage) about half 4ish, and they told us we'd have to drink all our booze before we went in. And we still had about 14, 15 cans left so we couldn't waste em. So we thought we'd just trek around sheff for a bit. We bumped into this guy called Slam - he was about 45, some old metalhead guy. But he was sound as a pound. We got chatting and he was like the coolest possible guy, he shared his vodka with us and everything. We literally just dossed around drinking with him until the gates opened at Dev Green, but we didn't even go in. We sat outside this bloody middle class bar finishing all our beer off. Don't think they liked us, we went in about 7 times to use their toilets. I had to run in at one point cos i almost threw up :( my mouth went watery and i went very light headed and my stomach was turning, it wasn't the nicest experience.
We went in Dev Green anyway, after we'd finished all but 3 of our beers., after that Violet May band which were a bit average by the sounds of it. We got approached by some very friendly lasses who Max was sure they fancied us, but they were definitely just blagging a pint off us because we had ID. Anyway, at this point we lost Slam :-( he said he felt like he was third wheeling so he left us. What a Lad. Anyway the ladies buggered off so we watched most of Dead Son's set - we missed most of it, but Shotgun Woman was amazing. I'll post a few links here now, they're a sheffield band, sound very Arctic Monkeys influenced.
very good. Great band and i proper wanna see em again. After about half hour, Reverend and the Makers were on. And they played an absolutely incredible set. I'd seen em before but they were a support act and i'd never really listened to em, so i didn't think it was great. But this was bloody amazing. Everyone there loved em, theyre a proper yorkshire band. Atmosphere was incredible, there was pits for every song. It was a bit rough but if anyone fell over everyone helped eachother up which was alrate. They opened with Bassline which is alrate but the rest of the set was so much better. You can see me bopping about in this video of it here!
They played so many good songs - I proper love 'Open your Window', and it was made even better cos Andy Nicholson came out and played bass on it! He used to be in Arctic blummin Monkeys! was so good. They filmed their new music video there aswell, so there's a chance we could be in the next Reverend and the Makers video! It's for Out of the Shadows, one of the best songs of their 3rd release.
They closed with Silence is Talking, which is a rate song. Everyone went mad for that, and these wristbands that theyd given out all flashed when it started, it was actually pretty amazing.
Quite frankly it was one of the best gigs of my life! Great atmosphere, can't believe this is the first time i've been to tramlines. Unfortunately we've not been off on the Saturday/Sunday because of either lack of money + throwing up :(. Missed a great band from Sheffield called Wet Nuns last night. Sort of really really heavy bluesy punky rock. They're good.
I will definitely come to Sheffield for Tramlines while i'm at uni. It was such a good experience and I can imagine it being even better when I'm old enough to legally buy a pint, rather than having to down warm beer :( Top Night.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
The Stone Roses @ Heaton Park, 1st July 2012
I bought the tickets for this gig SOOO long ago. Like October or something stupid. I can't remember exactly when. I paid 120 pound for 2 tickets, and the next day, they were on ebay for £10,000. EVERYONE told me to sell them, to just do it, and that I was stupid for not doing it. But I knew it'd be worth it. These concerts were going to be incredible, and I was gonna be one of the lucky few that got to go. I say few - about 225,000 people got tickets - it was the fastest selling gig in history I think! It was a bit disappointing that they announced loads of European gigs before it - i mean these were meant to be the reunion shows - but nevertheless, I couldn't wait.
It was an amazing day. We got the bus into town about 10, got a McDonalds breakfast and then got on our coach. Apart from me and Daisy, everyone on that coach was at least 30 years old. It was clear these were original Roses fans from back in the day. Everyone was drinking, laughing, anticipating the days events.. It was a sick atmosphere! Eventually we arrived at Heaton Park - along with about 40 other coaches. There were Hundreds of people, and a fair few were wearing Reni Hats! Hehe. I remember walking to the queue, and that queue was one of the longest of my life. We were only actually stoof in it for about an hour and a half, but we were SO excited! I was also pretty nervous that we'd get searched and they'd find the vodka stuffed down me wellies. When those gates opened, us and thousands of other people LEGGED IT in. It was pretty funny seeing all these grown adults excited like little kids. We got a wristband that got us into the front pit, then went for a pint. The bar staff that served us were nice - I told them I was underage, and they just said for Daisy to give me her pint, and then for her to buy another one - so that was drinks sorted :P. We went into the front pit, sat down and chilled in the glorious sun, and waited for the first band.
By the time they came on, I was already pretty tipsy! Was on my third pint by this point. Had just enough to be able to dance like a dickhead to the band. They're a pretty unknown band, from manchester, called Dirty North. Reni namedropped them at the reunion press conference. They're an alright band, and they've got one song that sticks in my head so much! It's called Take Me Away.
Although no-one really knew who they were, they entertained everyone. There was a fair few people dancing, which can often be unusual for a support band haha. They were definitely a good opener!
Anyway, they finished their set, we went for what was probably the 5th piss of the day - Because i was drinking so fast I was pissing a lot. Must have been for 15 pisses while we were there. Got another 2 pints, and by the time we were back, The Justice Tonight Band were on. I was looking forward to these, because Mick Jones from The Clash plays with them! Was amazing to see such a legend on stage. Jon Mclure from Reverend and the Makers came on aswell, and they sung Should I Stay or Should I Go - one of The Clash's biggest tunes. Everyone was going mental for that one.
The atmosphere was getting even better at this point - possibly because everyone, including me, was getting more drunk. Infact, my memory after this part of the gig is a lot less clear. We went for 2 more pints and multiple more pisses at this point! I met a fellow Liverpool FC supported by the toilets and we had a good old conversation about all sorts. I remember being annoyed, because the music they'd been playing between bands wasn't that good - then they played True Faith by New Order while we were at the toilets, and I couldn't have a proper dance to it! Hehe. Anyway, we got back to the pit, ready for the third band of the day - The Wailers.
The sun came out as soon as they came on, was great! Of all the support bands, this is the one i was looking forward to the most - I've ALWAYS liked Bob Marley, so to see his band playing all his classics was amazing. I can't actually remember the setlist, but I remember them playing my favourites - Jammin, One Love, Three Little Birds, Exodus, and the highlight of their set, Buffalo Soldier. They were great - the first band of the night which engaged everybody for their entire set. I was definitely drunk at this point too - so I was dancing and singing without caring what other people thought, hehe.
After this, I don't remember what happened. We went for another drink + toilet break I think.. idk, it's a blur. But the main support act for the night, Plan B, really impressed! I was surprised at how good his voice was live - he's really talented! He opened with The Recluse, which is one of my favourites, and he did Prayin, and Stay Too Long. So that was my 3 favourites covered straight away! Then he went offstage, and some beatboxer came on.. and then Plan B and his band came back, theyd had a costume change, and they played some newer stuff - including Ill Manors, which is an absolute BANGER! Went a bit mad for that one.
So he went off.. and then that was it. No more support bands. Forget going for another pint/toilet break, we had to keep our spot, it was a good spot. And the crowd was getting tighter now. Now, and this is why I regret drinking.. I can't remember them walking on stage, which is always a great moment at any gig, but at a gig this monumental.. i wish i could remember it! But I do remember when Mani started playing I Wanna Be Adored.. that amazing bassline, followed by the amazing guitar skills of John Squire.. EVERYBODY was jumping up and down for that song!
Their setlist was amazing. Every song you could have wanted them to play, was played.
"I Wanna Be Adored"
"Mersey Paradise"
"(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister"
"Sally Cinnamon"
"Where Angels Play"
"Shoot You Down"
"Bye Bye Badman"
"Ten Storey Love Song"
"Standing Here"
"Fools Gold"
"Something's Burning"
"Waterfall"
"Don't Stop"
"Love Spreads"
"Made Of Stone"
"This Is The One"
"She Bangs The Drums"
"Elizabeth My Dear"
"I Am The Resurrection"
I already believed it, but after this gig it was cemented into my mind that The Stone Roses are one of the best bands of all time, and are have THE most talented musicians! John Squire is insane at the guitar - yet so cool. He stands there, not a smile on his face, and plays the funkiest riffs. Mani has written half of the top 10 basslines ever - I Wanna Be Adored, I Am The Ressurection, She Bangs The Drums and Fool's Gold are 4 of the best basslines ever! And Reni - aswell as being an amazing drummer, his voice is amazing too, and paired with Ians it just sounds mindblowing. Ian isn't the best singer in the world - he's not even the best singer in The Stone Roses - but he is one of the best frontmen in rock n roll history. He just has a cool feel about him, the way he swaggers around the stage and doesnt give a shit about anything.
They closed with the best song - I Am The Resurrection. What a way to end a brilliant night. 3 Verses building up to that epic chorus - all 75,000 people there were screaming their hearts out to that song. There are no words to describe the atmosphere when that chorus hits - but its one of the best feelings i've ever experienced! They hugged at the end of the night, and stood on the stage in each others arms. As they walked off, Bob Marley and The Wailer's classic Redemption Song played, as a massive fireworks display went off. We watched that, then walked back to the coach. The atmosphere still felt great - and i was pumped full of adrenaline and alcohol which enhanced this feeling! As we got back onto the coach and slept on the journey back, I knew that that had to be one of the best gigs in history. It completely lived up to the hype and was completely worth the money and the wait. I know if I ever do see em live again, it will not be able to match that. Incredible.
It was an amazing day. We got the bus into town about 10, got a McDonalds breakfast and then got on our coach. Apart from me and Daisy, everyone on that coach was at least 30 years old. It was clear these were original Roses fans from back in the day. Everyone was drinking, laughing, anticipating the days events.. It was a sick atmosphere! Eventually we arrived at Heaton Park - along with about 40 other coaches. There were Hundreds of people, and a fair few were wearing Reni Hats! Hehe. I remember walking to the queue, and that queue was one of the longest of my life. We were only actually stoof in it for about an hour and a half, but we were SO excited! I was also pretty nervous that we'd get searched and they'd find the vodka stuffed down me wellies. When those gates opened, us and thousands of other people LEGGED IT in. It was pretty funny seeing all these grown adults excited like little kids. We got a wristband that got us into the front pit, then went for a pint. The bar staff that served us were nice - I told them I was underage, and they just said for Daisy to give me her pint, and then for her to buy another one - so that was drinks sorted :P. We went into the front pit, sat down and chilled in the glorious sun, and waited for the first band.
By the time they came on, I was already pretty tipsy! Was on my third pint by this point. Had just enough to be able to dance like a dickhead to the band. They're a pretty unknown band, from manchester, called Dirty North. Reni namedropped them at the reunion press conference. They're an alright band, and they've got one song that sticks in my head so much! It's called Take Me Away.
Although no-one really knew who they were, they entertained everyone. There was a fair few people dancing, which can often be unusual for a support band haha. They were definitely a good opener!
Anyway, they finished their set, we went for what was probably the 5th piss of the day - Because i was drinking so fast I was pissing a lot. Must have been for 15 pisses while we were there. Got another 2 pints, and by the time we were back, The Justice Tonight Band were on. I was looking forward to these, because Mick Jones from The Clash plays with them! Was amazing to see such a legend on stage. Jon Mclure from Reverend and the Makers came on aswell, and they sung Should I Stay or Should I Go - one of The Clash's biggest tunes. Everyone was going mental for that one.
The atmosphere was getting even better at this point - possibly because everyone, including me, was getting more drunk. Infact, my memory after this part of the gig is a lot less clear. We went for 2 more pints and multiple more pisses at this point! I met a fellow Liverpool FC supported by the toilets and we had a good old conversation about all sorts. I remember being annoyed, because the music they'd been playing between bands wasn't that good - then they played True Faith by New Order while we were at the toilets, and I couldn't have a proper dance to it! Hehe. Anyway, we got back to the pit, ready for the third band of the day - The Wailers.
The sun came out as soon as they came on, was great! Of all the support bands, this is the one i was looking forward to the most - I've ALWAYS liked Bob Marley, so to see his band playing all his classics was amazing. I can't actually remember the setlist, but I remember them playing my favourites - Jammin, One Love, Three Little Birds, Exodus, and the highlight of their set, Buffalo Soldier. They were great - the first band of the night which engaged everybody for their entire set. I was definitely drunk at this point too - so I was dancing and singing without caring what other people thought, hehe.
After this, I don't remember what happened. We went for another drink + toilet break I think.. idk, it's a blur. But the main support act for the night, Plan B, really impressed! I was surprised at how good his voice was live - he's really talented! He opened with The Recluse, which is one of my favourites, and he did Prayin, and Stay Too Long. So that was my 3 favourites covered straight away! Then he went offstage, and some beatboxer came on.. and then Plan B and his band came back, theyd had a costume change, and they played some newer stuff - including Ill Manors, which is an absolute BANGER! Went a bit mad for that one.
So he went off.. and then that was it. No more support bands. Forget going for another pint/toilet break, we had to keep our spot, it was a good spot. And the crowd was getting tighter now. Now, and this is why I regret drinking.. I can't remember them walking on stage, which is always a great moment at any gig, but at a gig this monumental.. i wish i could remember it! But I do remember when Mani started playing I Wanna Be Adored.. that amazing bassline, followed by the amazing guitar skills of John Squire.. EVERYBODY was jumping up and down for that song!
Their setlist was amazing. Every song you could have wanted them to play, was played.
"I Wanna Be Adored"
"Mersey Paradise"
"(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister"
"Sally Cinnamon"
"Where Angels Play"
"Shoot You Down"
"Bye Bye Badman"
"Ten Storey Love Song"
"Standing Here"
"Fools Gold"
"Something's Burning"
"Waterfall"
"Don't Stop"
"Love Spreads"
"Made Of Stone"
"This Is The One"
"She Bangs The Drums"
"Elizabeth My Dear"
"I Am The Resurrection"
I already believed it, but after this gig it was cemented into my mind that The Stone Roses are one of the best bands of all time, and are have THE most talented musicians! John Squire is insane at the guitar - yet so cool. He stands there, not a smile on his face, and plays the funkiest riffs. Mani has written half of the top 10 basslines ever - I Wanna Be Adored, I Am The Ressurection, She Bangs The Drums and Fool's Gold are 4 of the best basslines ever! And Reni - aswell as being an amazing drummer, his voice is amazing too, and paired with Ians it just sounds mindblowing. Ian isn't the best singer in the world - he's not even the best singer in The Stone Roses - but he is one of the best frontmen in rock n roll history. He just has a cool feel about him, the way he swaggers around the stage and doesnt give a shit about anything.
They closed with the best song - I Am The Resurrection. What a way to end a brilliant night. 3 Verses building up to that epic chorus - all 75,000 people there were screaming their hearts out to that song. There are no words to describe the atmosphere when that chorus hits - but its one of the best feelings i've ever experienced! They hugged at the end of the night, and stood on the stage in each others arms. As they walked off, Bob Marley and The Wailer's classic Redemption Song played, as a massive fireworks display went off. We watched that, then walked back to the coach. The atmosphere still felt great - and i was pumped full of adrenaline and alcohol which enhanced this feeling! As we got back onto the coach and slept on the journey back, I knew that that had to be one of the best gigs in history. It completely lived up to the hype and was completely worth the money and the wait. I know if I ever do see em live again, it will not be able to match that. Incredible.
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