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Took my 8yr old daughter to see Henge yesterday. Matinee show at band on the wall in MCR. Saw them for the first time at the ferret in Preston a few weeks ago, we had a great time at that so I thought we should go again.
She made a friend and the two of them stood up on the balcony, I kept an eye on her from downstairs, it was great to watch her singing and dancing along.
It you've not seen Henge, I highly recommend going along, it's a brilliant, good fun, show. And the kid friendly matinee show is genius.
Day was slightly ruined by train cancellation chaos which means we ended up getting a national express home, which in turn took 90 minutes just to get out of the city centre, total gridlock!
Henge are a lot of fun!
Have got Sleep Token on Tuesday, super excited, I'm taking the OH so sent her the supposed playlist and suddenly shes a fan, after never hearing of them, think it will be a special atmosphere...
Then to shake it up, Falling in Reverse next Sunday! if they don't cancel......
The Crescent, York... Back there again on Monday night to watch Echobelly supported by Blue Violet. One of the best gigs I’ve been to – both bands absolutely amazing…
I thought that was last Monday? (I was there last Tuesday to see Electric Six).
Edit: I think I mis-read your post 🙂
I can’t remember most of the gigs I’ve been to in my life. I kept tickets for a while then cleared them out. A mate (diagnosed ocd) has a notebook of everyone he’s seen.
Can I direct you to - https://www.concertarchives.org/ (there's even an app). Now you can log everything and enjoy the music without getting out your phone. I know, I'm lovely! Nearly all of mine are in there, I've missed ones where I'd lost the ticket or just forgotten to list it. Currently at 300 gigs in 112 venues. I'm a few short. The 80s and 90s were a blur 🙂
Fontaines D.C. at Leeds Arena tonight – really looking forward to this one – they are definitely my Favourite (see what I did there) right now.
Check out The Temperance Movement, reforming and touring next year (UK and Europe), saw them in Norwich (pre covid) with the Sheepdogs supporting, t'was a great night!
Great original stuff but I love this Led Zep cover:
Got tickets for Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew next year doing Talking Heads " Remain in Light " ... Cannae wait
It was a gig-tastic night in Manchester last night. We went to see 808 State at New Century Hall, but met up with some mates for beers beforehand who were off to see Shed Seven at Victoria Warehouse, then got the tram back afterwards with some other mates who'd been to see the Human League at the Arena
808 were awesome! The place was absolutely bouncing. Literally, as New Century Hall has a sprung dancefloor. First ever gig I've been to there and its a great venue. It was to mark the 35th anniversary of the release of 90. How old do you feel now? The place was full of old ravers and the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic!
That'd be quality. Did they invite Tunes this time?
“Anyone else getting completely hacked off with the amount of talking/SHOUTING at gigs?…
Most of the gigs I go to these days are either too loud for it to make a difference, or the audience are too respectful. There have been some in the past where I’ve told people to just shut the phük up, or leave, one gig in Bath, it was John Martyn playing*, and there was a group of four people who spent the whole time in a little square looking at each other and talking, so at the end I asked if they’d enjoyed it. When they said they had, I said, well that’s odd, because all evening you’ve done nothing but stand yakking and pissing off everyone else, turned and walked away. Assholes.
Next gig I’ve got tickets for is Throwing Muses at The Fleece in Bristol, next March; nice little venue, and they always put on a good show. I think I might make an exception to the unwritten rule of not wearing a tour tee shirt of the band your seeing, and dig out my ‘The Real Ramona’ tee from when I saw them in Bristol back in the 90’s.
* And he wasn’t completely shitfaced.
Jason Isbell
It was a few weeks ago now but over the course of a week I saw Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit in Antwerp, Edinburgh, and finally Stockton on tees. All fantastic gigs and the tightness you'd expect from Isbell and band.
However, the setlists were very similar and there was a sense that they were going through the motions with little dialogue throughout.
The difference between gigs came down to the venue and crowd........
- Antwerp De Roma - lovely 1930s cinema with great acoustics. However, for a Saturday night, the crowd were tame and talked over the support act (SG Goodman) which was somewhat rude. The band had minimal chat, started early, and left the stage having played one less song than every other date on the tour. I reckon they had a tight turnaround and needed to be on the road prompt after the show.
- Edinburgh Usher Hall giving the best sound, reception from the crowd, and feedback from the band, which was impressive given it was a wednesday night. The whole band seemed to enjoy this night so much more and really fed off the enthusiastic Scottish audience.
Stockton Globe Theatre - Lovely venue. Great performance and experience right at the front of the stage. Similar setlist to Antwerp but more responsive audience which made all the difference.
The setlists were roughly 3/4 the same for all 3 gigs with a rotation of other tracks on top. Sadly no covers.
Perhaps overkill, but an interesting experience to see the same band 3 times in a week, though I'm obviously something of a fan.
If you're vaguely into rock/Americana, or just seriously good guitar skills and song writing, I insist you give Isbell a go!
Hi all. I can't make the knife party gig in Bristol next Saturday (14th). I have 2x free tickets. Message me if you want them.
Northwind
That’d be quality. Did they invite Tunes this time?
yeah MC Tunes was there for the last tune of the night. Nice surprise to end a great gig. I drove down from Windermere with my brother in law and his lad just for this gig! A long night but well worth it 
anagallis_arvensis are you small or far away?
It's just that Miles Hunt is a giant amongst us!!
Last night in Bristol
Just back from Limehouse Lizzy.... distinctly average....one guitarist who wasn't really bothered and the other seems to be confused in that apparently Thin Lizzy were a shred metal band..........
Seeing El Hornet and Goldie tomorrow (Sat) in sunny Perf.
Well its into Kings Norton in Brum for what may be the last Draculas Garage at The Tower of Song.Bands there are Blank Generation and Spitting Feathers. Then into O Bar on Broad Street for The Fearless Scoundrels 6.30pm.
Other gigs are Dereck and The Checkmates at Chas Mann in Kings Norton 3pm, Taxi For Jesus at The Brasshouse 3.30pm and Just Doing It 6.30pm at Snobs.
Gigs of the year have been last months Draculas Garage with The Silhouettes,Boo Tikis and Mandelbrot Shakes. The other one was Tin Tent Festival at Rock and Roll Brewhouse in Jewellry Quarter, to many stunning sets to mention.
Slipknot last night. 25th anniversary tour for their self-titled debut. Brutal metal at its finest.
Had a comedy gig on Friday - Dylan Moran support was Scott Bennett and Ria Lina.
Scott Bennett was fab, but Dylan Moran, different type of set from one I've seen on TV, he was just rambling. Brilliantly. Surreal and hilarious. Highly recommended if he's coming to a school hall near you 🙂
Nothing lined up in December, but going to see an Iron Maiden tribute act (Ed Force One) in the new year.
If anyone likes gloomy, twangy, reverb-y southern-gothic & Nick Cave inspired post-punk then I would recommend going to watch Bambara on their UK tour next year. They're one of my favourite bands.
I saw them after 2 years of covid delays in 2022, in Sneaky Pete's (a tiny venue), and they were raucously intense. Really amped up the punk factor, the singer was diving around on stage like crazy and the guitars sounded like a wall of noise.
If anyone likes gloomy, twangy, reverb-y southern-gothic & Nick Cave inspired post-punk then I would recommend going to watch Bambara on their UK tour next year.
Hmmm - just listening to them now, they sound pretty decent and playing in Leeds next April.
For anyone in and around Edinburgh my friends Quiet Houses (not Quiet Horses as it says on the CV website) are playing at Cabaret Voltaire on Friday night. If you like catchy indie pop songs they are well worth seeing. It's a home gig just before Christmas so should be a great atmosphere too.
Lambrini Girls at Nottingham Rough Trade.
wanted to see these for some time now and wasnt disappointed. loud, fast, energetic, crowd loved em. i think phoebe spent more time in the crowd than on stage, crowd surfing while playing the guitar, laying on the floor, getting the crowd involved 😀
was a iittle surprised by just how political they were. i knew they were pro-gay/queer and they split the crowd at one stage for gays to come to the front and chant along. however, i had to question "who here hates the police?" *crowd roar* "pigs! filth!" and then leading the crowd into chants of "ACAB!". all seemed very outdated, the sort of thing us teenage punks used to say in the late 70s. "who hates the government?" *crowd roar* "who here thinks theres a toxic sexual culture at gigs?" *crowd roar* before a lecture on calling out sexual assaults at gigs. maybe its worse than i thought these days, maybe im an old fossil that doesnt see it as im not a young lass in a moshpit, but some of it just seemed a bit OTT. (awaits flaming). i mean obviously that needs calling out when it happens (and bands like Idles do it well), but perhaps it would have been a stronger message if it was just in isolation. chuck it in with hating the police, hating the government etc for me it just became a bit 'ok whats next?'
ill still go see them again when i can tho. theyre back in nottingham in a few months but already sold out.
1991 and Culture Shock in Perth on Sat 🙂
@Sadexpunk - I was there as well. Great little gig, agree about the f the police / government sentiment. Not sure what change they were wanting there - without the police / government in some form then society would be in an even worse state.
I saw Ed Force One (Iron Maiden tribute band) at The Cresent in York on Friday. It was a great night, and I was impressed that it wasn't just a 'Best of...' act as tribute bands often are – they had a good mix of the obvious covers (Run to the Hills and Fear of the Dark) to more unusual choices such as Wrathchild and The Prisoner. Pity we had to leave just before then end as we had to catch the last train home. Pigs x 7 up next.
@Sadexpunk – I was there as well. Great little gig, agree about the f the police / government sentiment. Not sure what change they were wanting there – without the police / government in some form then society would be in an even worse state.
@StuF shame i didnt know, we could have met for a drink. you going to see them again in a few months time at rescue rooms? already sold out so ill have to look out on twickets.
ive messaged you but dont know whether youll get a notification or not, messages seem to be borked at the mo.
A new gig popped up this evening that I’ve grabbed a couple of tickets for - Miki Berenyi, formerly of Lush and Piroshka, now performing as the Miki Berenyi Trio with her husband Moose McKillop and Oliver Cherer. Now without a drummer, they’ve had to bring in electronic beats, but there’s still the Lush sound there, from what I’ve heard so far.
Looking forward to it, on 30 January literally fifteen days time!
I'm really looking forward to the MBT album - if the Piroshka album is anything to go by then it'll be great!
Miki Berenyi, formerly of Lush
Came down one morning in my uni house to find her sleeping on my sofa.......Emma was in one of the other rooms (!) would have been 1989.
But anyway not a gig but the next best thing, I'm going to see A Complete Unknown on Saturday at a small 'arty' cinema where you can take beer in etc so should be pretty good
I'll be going to see Brant Bjork (ex Kyuss) in a couple of weeks, and looks like 2025 is turning into a desert metal type year as Alain Johannes is due to play a tiny back of the pub type venue in May. I'm mystified by this. He's well known enough to play with QOTSA, Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Grohl, etc, seems to be a sucessful engineer/producer, but will be playing to about 50 people in Swansea. I wonder why?
Spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening at Beat the Streets festival in Nottingham - loads of small bands (rap / punk / ska / acoustic / spoken word) in different venues across the city. Bargin price and all takings going to a local homeless charity.
Highlights were probably Jayahadadream, Brad Dear, Pet Needs and The Hoplites. Will definately be going again next year.
Couple of good ones recently - last Saturday was corto.alto at a SOLD OUT Glasgow Barrowland, not bad for young folks from Glasgow playing pretty 'proper' jazz! It was brilliant, also enjoyed by Tyred Jr the Younger who plays in the jazz band at school ("the main guy needs to stop talking so much but the drummer is amazing" was his verdict), a little less so by Mrs Tyred ("just too much noodling"). But a class night out with friends, met an old friend there unexpectedly who I've not seen in ages, so it was great. Part of Celtic Connections, but not too many people in the crowd wearing full winter mountaineering gear.
Saturday there - an appropriate one given it was Burns night - saw LYR in the town hall in Darvel, a pretty grim wee village in darkest Ayrshire (apologies to any Ayrshire locals but it is a hole). The poet laureate's band! They were fantastic, all the more so because there were about 30 people in the hall, half of whom were either the support acts or their families. I could listen to Simon Armitage read his poetry all day, it was beautiful. They were all happy to hang around and chat for ages afterwards, total dream fulfillment stuff for my friend who's a HUGE fan. Felt like a real treat.
Not much for a couple of weeks now, in fact I think the next thing I've a ticket for is Spiritualized, who are playing their best album (Pure Phase, obvs) in full at the Theatre Royal in March, really looking forward to that. Will be introducing Tyred Jr the Younger, guitar player who's recently started playing electric, to the world of Jason Pierce. Ahhhh.
Two upcoming gigs in Brum Feb 23rd a charity acoustic punk afternoon at Draculas Garage.Tower of Song in Kings Norton 4 or 5 bands. March 9th its Hard Headed Woman Fest at Night Owl in Digbeth 6 Bands including 2 who I've seen, Boo Tickis and Mandelbrot Shakes.
Saw Djabbic 3 and Modern literature saturday at Rock n Roll Brewhouse in Jewellry Quarter and both were brilliant and on sunday it was James Oliver at Brasshouse and Three Mile Island at O Bar both on Broard Street,really impressed with the last ones, original indie guitar rock.
and looks like 2025 is turning into a desert metal type year
1000 Mods ended up on my YouTube feed, their song Vidage will get right into your head, and they're playing Glasgow Feb 11th. Enough to even tempt me out on a weeknight 😆
Just managed to get some tickets to see Kublai Khan TX in Leeds on Thursday. Very happy chappy!
oooh just booked Rival Schools in Glasgow. Good things are coming our way
And managed to snag a ticket for Pantera in February. Tonight has been a good night.
Alain Johannes is due to play a tiny back of the pub type venue in May
Saw him last year in Trillians a small rock bar in Newcastle and he was brilliant, got to meet him after the show and he is such a great guy! Gonna catch him again this year.
He's also touring with Masters of Reality in early april which I intend going to. Would be worth catching them while you can as Chris Goss doesn't look a well man to me.
Anyone seen Mogwai in recent years? They're playing Leeds in Feb - I've been listening to a lot of their older stuff recently, so fancy going. Never really listened to anything post Mr Beast, though, which was 2006. So they must be a completely different band now. Do they typically play some of the older songs?