The gig reviews thread

AC/DC @ Punchestown 28 June 2009

Obviously, with AC/DC, you're going to get a show and a half. And they didn't disappoint. Started off with a cartoon playing on the screens of the band on a train, and the train crashed, then the screen split into two halves to reveal a large model of a train and the band bust into Rock N Roll Train to kick off the gig. From there, pretty standard AC/DC fare, busting out all the hits. Finished the normal set with Let There Be Rock, my favourite AC/DC song. I'm not kidding, one of the best moments of my life. After the normal song, Angus kept playing guitar, went to another platform in the middle of the crowd, playing a huge solo. Rain lashing, spotlight on Angus. Epic. F*cking epic.

Encore was Highway to Hell and For those about to rock. Again, didn't disappoint.

Highlight: Let There Be Rock and about 7 minute solo after
Lowlight: Seemed to be quite a large gap between songs. Close to a minute at some stages. They were a bit late taking the stage too.

Overall: 21 cannons out of 21. Or 10/10. Whatever. Best gig I've ever been to

Richmond Fontaine @ the New Roscoe 10/09/09

"Sorry, wrong band," laughs Willy Vlautin a couple of songs in, responding to a knowing heckler who suggests they play something happy. They're rockier live than their albums would suggest but the whole set, packed from start to finish with wonderful downbeat anthems, still oozes charm and drips with pathos. Vlautin's fractured voice with its tales of alcoholism and blue collar alienation makes them come across like Conor Oberst covering Nerbraska-era Springsteen and it's truly a sight to behold. Laudably, they play for over and hour and a half. The new songs sound fantastic, the old songs have accumlated true power over the years and a corruscating rendition of Western Skyline ensures there's not a dry eye in the house when the show finally comes to an end.

9 half-empty glasses out of ten.

The Only Ones @ Leeds Brudenell 10/12/09

Peter Perret is back with the original line-up of the post punk legends and first imprtessions aren't great. The man himself looks like Ronnie Wood's anorexic, crackhead love-child, the drummer looks more like he should be plastering ceilings than playing in a rock n roll band and the p*ssed up guitarist is so lardy it's a wonder he gets through the set without trying to eat his pork pie hat. All misgivings are blown clean out of the water when they start to play though - song after song of effortless, multi-melodied power-pop with some cheeky reggae thrown in for good measure. The old stuff sounds wonderful and the new songs, many of which are played for the first time, stand up to them admirably. They're not as tight as they could be, but that's all part of the charm. It's a great set, over two hours, and by the end they've sacked off what's left of the setlist and started taking requests from the audience. It's a packed house at the Brudenell and everyone - from the old punks to the students hanging around waiting for Another Girl Another Planet goes home well satisfied.

8 skeletal ex-junkies out of 10.

The Wildhearts @ Leeds Rios 19/12/09

With gigs and tours galore and a fantastic new album to boot 2009 has been a great year for Wildherats fans, and this special Christmas show is a great way to round it off. The venue's a sh*thole but they've got the best fans in the business and when they're on this kind of form there's not another band that can touch them for sheer communal joy. They tear through a blinding, career-spanning set in a little over an hour and a half, with Sick of Drugs, 29xthe Pain and the mighty Suckerpunch being the obvious highlights. The suitably drunken, rowdy crowd is bang up for it and it's mayhem down the front, with brief respite being offered by Ginger's typically beguilling between song banter. It's a flaweless performace from a group of supremely skilled musicians, brimming with confidence and playing right at the top of their game. The only letdown is that they don't play all night.

10 tattood drug-f*cked mentalists out of 10.

Here's me Fannies review from t'other week.

Fannies fans have learnt to be a patient lot over the last decade or so, with new releases thin on the ground and live appearances similarly scarce. They’re out in force tonight for the band’s first Leeds gig in five years and they certainly aren’t disappointed. The Cockpit is rammed and the atmosphere beforehand is one of eager anticipation. Shadows, their best album since Songs From Northern Britain, hasn’t even been out for a week but new songs are greeted enthusiastically and come across very well in a live setting. New single Baby Lee, possibly the catchiest thing they’ve ever written, goes down a storm and Shock and Awe and When I Still Have Thee fit seamlessly into the set alongside all the old favourites. What everyone really wants to hear, of course, are the hits, although ‘hits’ is something of a misnomer when you consider how little commercial success they’ve actually had over the years. The set is heavy on their mid-90s material with Ain’t That Enough, About You, Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From, Verisimilitude and Don’t Look Back being among the obvious highlights.

As far as slacker anthems go The Concept is pretty tough to beat and provokes the usual rapturous response. Bottles are thrust skyward, three hundred Northern voices sing themselves hoarse and it’s hugs and smiles aplenty as Sparky’s Dream rolls around towards the end, and by the time they finish with a blinding version of Everything Flows the noise from band and crowd alike is so loud it’s a wonder it doesn’t lift the roof off the place. It caps off what has been a truly excellent performance from a band with absolutely nothing left to prove and making music for the sheer joy of it.

Norman Blake takes to the stage with a sh*t-eating grin that grows wider and wider as the evening wears on, and the rest of the band look like they’re having a ball too. They’re not reinventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination but the simple truth of the matter is that no one does this kind of stuff better than they do. They’ve earned the right to take it easy as they grow old gracefully, and although no one present tonight will begrudge them that, you can bet your bottom dollar that none of them want to have to wait another five years before the Fannies come back to town.