Gig Going Thread.

[Kieran76]

Well up for Pearl Jam on Friday, I think this will be the 6th or 7th time I have seen them. Also, just got 2 tickets to see Jeff Tweedy playing at the Union Chapel next Wednesday. So excited!

[Brats]

Off to Glastonbury tomorrow. We get to go a day early as we are camping with friends in the Campervan area. The weather forecast is awesome - it's going to be a good one.

[QualityChimp]

I know it's not a gig gig, but I'm off to the cinema tonight to see the live broadcast of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax!

https://www.thebigfourlive.com

[CMcK]

Just saw the Gaslight Anthem at the Academy in Glasgow. Really good set although not much material from the first album. Crowd were really good and the band fed off it. The singer could hardly keep the smile off his face all night!

[Lime-01R]

Got to go to a private pre-glastonbury rehearsal of Gorillaz today, very upclose and personal with only about 70 fanclub members there. I was sitting on the floor with Damon singing literally about 4ft in front of me with no kinds of barriers in the way. They might not be everyones cup of tea but by god can they perform well live

[QualityChimp]

I was sitting on the floor with Damon singing literally about 4ft in front of me with no kinds of barriers in the way.

Reading between the lines, it looks like you were saying:
"I could kill him. I could kill him and nobody could stop me." Maniacal giggle...

You sicken me, Lime.

[Nisa]

I know it's not a gig gig, but I'm off to the cinema tonight to see the live broadcast of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax!

www.thebigfourlive.com

I saw this at the cinema the other night as well, was an odd but enjoyable experience. Seeing Dave Mustaine playing next to James Hetfield for the first time in about 30 years was great.

[Colin]

Just saw the Gaslight Anthem at the Academy in Glasgow. Really good set although not much material from the first album. Crowd were really good and the band fed off it. The singer could hardly keep the smile off his face all night!

Shame they weren't doing more stuff from the first, it's a great album. Seeing them today supporting pearl jam, if they're only doing the new stuff it might not be great for me as I haven't bought the new album yet, and I think they're only doing something like a 30 minute set. It's all about pearl jam though, can't wait!

(oh, and i'd have gone with the kill Damon option, god I hate him! )

[Lime-01R]

Reading between the lines, it looks like you were saying:
"I could kill him. I could kill him and nobody could stop me." Maniacal giggle...

You sicken me, Lime.

Well... a fair few conversations of that context have indeed taken place since He was a top fella though, he even stopped to come and check we wernt being deafened by the proximity of the speakers and took time to stop and chat with fans personally during the 5mins rest they had in the middle. Cant complain for free!

[CMcK]

Shame they weren't doing more stuff from the first, it's a great album. Seeing them today supporting pearl jam, if they're only doing the new stuff it might not be great for me as I haven't bought the new album yet, and I think they're only doing something like a 30 minute set. It's all about pearl jam though, can't wait!

(oh, and i'd have gone with the kill Damon option, god I hate him! )

I'm so jealous. It would be great to see Pearl Jam again.

The Gaslight Anthem did a great cover of Baba O Reily which I hope you get to hear.

[Kieran76]

Pearl Jam rocked. It was an amazing gig as although The Hard Rock Calling is like a 3 day festival, yesterday was all about Pearl Jam. The crowd was massive and I was surrounded by a good crowd of people. Highlights for me were Black, Red Mosquito (with Ben Harper on slide guitar) and the huge crowd sing-a-long on Betterman. The band seemd genuinely touched by the warmth of the crowd and the Ben Harper and Vedder Under Pressure cover was cool.
Only slight complaint was I don't think the sound was too good for Ben Harper, his vocals needed to be louder in my opinion.
Top night. Felt like I was part of something special.

[Colin]

Was an awesome night, can't believe it's taken me this long to see them as i've always been a fan. There's something about Tuborg that get's me especially deliriously happy at gigs too.........................

[ShadowDancer]

Tuborg is a lovely drink. They were giving it away in Somerfield and Bargain booze..2 for £16 or £8 for one (15 Bottles) This was before the World cup offers.

A nice crisp lager and lovely ice cold.

[spagmasterswift]

Pearl Jam were fantastic, great festival vibe with loads of boobies being flashed (Ed seemed proper thrown during Betterman when the crowed went nuts at the bikini show on the big screens). Of the earth sounded great, can't wait to hear a quality boot of that from last night or Dublin. Off to Berlin next week, its lucky I'm getting married after that as I'd be on one hell of a come down otherwise!

[Brats]

Came back from Glastonbury yesterday. I took today off to recover and boy do I need it, my body aches with so much hoofing.

Was a bit different this year for me as it was the first time I took my wife - so no Dance Village this year as she can't stand most dance and electronica. However it was still excellent. Here are my favourite performances.

Femi Kuti
Saw him last year as the Sunday headline act on the Park stage and he was wonderful. This year he was second act on the Pyramid stage and headlining the West Holts (nee Jazz World) stage on the Friday. Early on the bill is kind of the death slot, especially as he followed Rolf Harris and most people cleared off rather than see some African they'd never heard off, but his set was full of typical flair and by the end he had most those that did stay up and dancing.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
A hip-hop jazz act that uses brass instruments and a real drummer. These guys were excellent on the Park Stage and got the crowd really going. Imagine a ripped black guy dressed in baseball cap, no top and a gold chain....blowing a tuba.

Mumford & Sons
There's always one act who is booked on a small stage and then grows much bigger than the stage can handle (last year it was La Roux). This year there were crowds way outside the John Peel tent for Mumford and they were excellent, although their big hooks in their songs made them feel like the Simple Minds of folk, what with the sing-alongs and clapping.

The Black Keys
There's always at least one act where I come away from a festival and order all their back catalogue. This year it was the Black Keys. Awesome deep blues that satisfied the small but hardcore crowd.

Gorillaz
An amazing performance....to the wrong crowd. The problem with the Pyramid stage is that the crowd wants either songs it knows or songs it can bounce along to. The crowd expected a set full of Clint Eastwoods, but that's not what Gorillaz are about. Instead we got a mix of songs including superb versions of Kids With Guns and El Manana and even a Syrian music instrumental, but the crowd left in droves. The plethora of cameos were handled brilliantly with star after star just coming on stage and leaving, the best being Mark E Smith barking 'SCRUB THE DECKS-AH!' at the utterly perplexed audience.

Jerry Dammers and the Spatial AKA Orchestra
Jerry Dammers is a hero of mine and after seeing The Specials last year, I was doubly interested in this. Despite technical issues they rocked the place with an almighty funky noise. A mixture of Sun Ra covers, Reggae classics (with Johnny Clarke and Rico Rodriguez) and Specials originals (with their version of Ghost Town far surpassing The Specials' version last year), they were also the only act (apart from Stevie) to properly acknowledge the 40th anniversary by bringing on Arthur Brown (who was at the very first festival in 1970) to perform Fire. At the end they left the stage and carried on playing chanting through the crowd followed by a barrage of converts.

George Clinton and Funkadelic
I've always wanted to see George Clinton live...and he was amazing. Headlining the West Holts stage on the Saturday, from the first bassline (after an extended guitar intro) not a single soul in the packed West Holts stage was not dancing like a nutter. Interesting with Snoop Dogg and Del La Soul both being present as both owe so much to George. He must be in his seventies now, but he's still got it. All our other friends went to see Muse, but we didn't regret our choice one bit.

Toots and the Maytals
Sunday evening on the West Holts stage with the sun going down, the reggae master starts the party. It was a choice between Toots or the last chance I'll ever have to see LCD Soundsystem. There was no contest. This time I convinced my friends to come and they loved it.

Stevie Wonder
I love Stevie's early seventies albums, but I'd never seen him live. I'd seen some stuff on TV and it didn't look good, lots of chatting with the audience and little music.

I needn't have worried......he was amazing. He pumped out classic after classic including Higher Ground, Living for the City, Uptight, Superstition and Sign, Sealed Delivered. I've never seen the Pyramid stage so packed and so happy. Everyone was dancing, the atmosphere was amazing and the tunes were completely out of this world.

We even got a comedy finish with a super cheesey sing-along version of I've Just Called to Say I Love You and Happy Birthday, which Stevie got Michael Eavis to sing (very badly) on stage. A great festival that finished with the best act of the weekend. What more could you want?