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Being a big John Mayer fan for a long time it was a great pleasure to be able to finally get to one of his gigs. The anticipation had set in earlier in the day and I was "up for it". Awesome seats, 3rd row middle balcony gave a great view of the stage. I've never sat down at a gig but I was liking the feeling of a Roman Emperor at the Colosseum (in my strange fantasy world). A great night was to be had. |
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There aren’t many superlatives that haven’t been used to describe Kasabian over the past year, especially when it comes to their live performance. In our last review of them at their De Montfort Hall gig we described them as “an enormous sound and euphoric uplifting performances combining the pomp of the Stone Roses and Primal Scream and the showmanship of Faithless” We were in for a treat. |
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Isn’t it strange how the nights you’re not overly excited about are always the ones that knock you sideways and imprint strong memories that you know will stay with you forever. Well that is exactly what happened at this gig and god I love it when that happens. |
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A large crowd of sweaty, friendly, enthusiastic fans were there to greet him and his 2 supports of the night. The first, a comedy-musician going by the name of ‘Beans on Toast’ warmed the crowd up nicely with a fantastic blend of gritty, down to earth comedy and some truly melodic songs, a lot of which echoed the semi-anarchic folk-punk we were all waiting to hear from Frank. |
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Perhaps a torrential downpour is not exactly what you would wish for on your way to a gig in a garden! Thankfully the garden in question belongs to The Rainbow pub in Digbeth with its marquee-style courtyard and I am here to see what I would term a line-up of bands with a neo-punk persuasion – not so much emulating the good old punk of yore but certainly a genre of music having its roots firmly planted there. |
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Walking into tonight's gig I am certainly amazed by the amount of teenage girls wandering about, the average age of tonight's crowd seems to be around 15 years old and as I look around I see that many of them have parents with them standing around looking out of place... |
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“We're not doing this for the money – we're doing it because we love playing for you guys” - a good job too because it takes dedication to put in a blistering performance on one of the hottest days of the year. The Academy 2 is like a reverse TARDIS; it always seems smaller on the inside and gets hot and sweaty very quickly and tonight was no exception. |
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I am a big Steely Dan fan. I think Fagen and Becker are amongst the greatest songwriters of our generation, who are often overlooked and underrated. Their recorded work of the 1970’s is timeless, edgy, well-crafted and beautifully produced, the albums that followed that along with Fagen’s solo work is clever and polished. I suppose you are waiting for a but… well I guess there is: I am not convinced this genius translates especially well to the stage.. |
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Entry to tonight’s gig was difficult, due to the box office staff trying to force me to have both a ticket and photo-pass (which I had to sign for). After some considerable explanation the photo-pass was taken back and I made my way to my seat, which was centre-stage and offering a superb view. The stage had been brought forward making the NIA quite cosy, but even so there were empty seats. |
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Considering Lenny Kravitz seems to be out of favour with the British music industry at the moment and the price of the tickets seems expensive for the Civic Hall; there is a great turnout for the show. There is nearly an hour’s pause between the support act and the start of Kravitz’s performance, but when the show kicks off, the memory of waiting around is soon wiped. The darkness is lit up with an excessive display of strobes, whilst the audience erupt into cheers and shouts of Lenny. Then, the band launch into Freedom Train, with its pounding introduction, and you can tell, instantly, that Kravitz has collected together a fine ensemble of musicians. The appearance of Lenny Kravitz, sends the crowd into a frenzy, his vocals sounding fantastic and his charismatic presence oozes sexuality and musical prowess. |
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Jeff Beck seems quite laid back and unassuming for a guitar god, but despite this and against the wealth of talent in his band, he cuts an imposing figure and you know that this is his show. Even the stage lay out seemed to emphasise this with bass drums and keyboards laid out in a rhythm section format very much to the right of the stage leaving a wide open space for the guitarist to exploit. |
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Unfortunately I arrived at the Birmingham’s Bar Academy too late for the full set of tonight’s first act, Sunset Cinema Club. It wouldn’t be fair to give an opinion on one and a half songs so I’d just say check their Myspace if Hardcore / Post Punk / Funk is your thing... |
