Event Reviews

After some overnight rain, the forecast for the day (and indeed the entire weekend) was for dry weather. Knowing I’d be at Download festival though I had my waterproofs with me – after all, a dry Download seems too good to hope for, but that’s exactly what we got – …

A very hot, very close day in Manchester led into a very hot and close evening at the sold out Gorilla when Monster Magnet came to play! Bang on time opening act iPendej0 took to the stage, they’re from Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, but their lyrics are Urban Spanish hence …

Friday night in London, and there is nothing better to do than heading to enjoy two of the world’s greatest AOR bands, FM and Dare, joining forces to start their co-headlining tour across the UK. The first support one-man band, Toby Jepson, came on stage just after 7 in a …

Jamming jamming jamming! Sky Valley Mistress jammed more than Hartley’s during their seventeen song marathon set at Percy’s last night. A little gem of a venue with corrugated iron walls and roof providing great acoustics for the seismic music the band create. Forget Marvels Fantastic Four, these are the real …

First up was Steve Hill – a one man blues rock act. He really has to be seen to be believed – he not only sings and plays guitar, but also plays drums at the same time. He stands and plays guitar, using pedals to drum and one of the …

If you said Indonesian music to me my first thought would have been the Gamelan, it’s not a country I really associate with rock music. A fortnight ago I had never even heard of the band Speaker First, that was until I got a press release through announcing their debut …

Tonight was the final night of the G3 tour which has played around 70 dates in the US and UK. It’s a celebration of the electric guitar, so as well as Joe Satriani there are two other guitar masters on the bill – Uli Jon Roth and Dream Theater’s John …

Almanac were up first. They’re slightly unusual in that while having one male vocalist and one female vocalist isn’t that strange these days, the way they work is. Rather than having separate vocal parts, with the male vocals doing one part and female vocals another part, for most of the …

Support on Beth hart’s current tour comes from The Kris Barras band. I’ve seen Kris Barras and his band play an electric set before, but tonight is my first time seeing them do an acoustic set (it’s also the first time they’ve done a tour playing acoustic sets). The venue …

On a  rare hot evening in April, what do you do? Yup, head off to a packed venue and check out the hype that is ‘Wayward Sons’  with  their debut album Ghosts of yet to come! Now, normally you’d expect another rock band to warm up the crowd before the …

When a tour contains two of the biggest band names in the metal scene, you know it’s going to be good. Primordial and Moonsorrow teamed up for the Heathens Crusade tour around Europe, and along with German new-borns Der Weg Einer Freiheit, visited the oddly sunny London on a Monday …

Tonight’s gig was set to be a good one – not only were Testament headlining Koko, but they had Vader and Annihilator on the bill too, so it’s no surprise there was a long queue outside before doors opened. Vader are on very early but the security team have got …

First up tonight were The Amorettes. I’ve seen this all-female trio before and enjoyed their sets, but tonight was rather different – they’ve really lifted their performance a lot in the last year or two and as a result they’re far more impressive than they’ve ever been before. Musically they …

Tonight, rock n roll was well and truly alive in the picturesque village of Holmfirth.  The Quireboys, currently touring their latest album ‘’White Trash Blues’’ have brought with them Australian rockers Black Aces as their main support band and The Picturedrome was the host for the nights event! Ripping open their set …

Tonight’s gig had an early start (normal for a Friday or saturday night at Rock city and many other venues these days), and with three bands on the bill then Oceans of Slumber were due on stage just 15 minutes after doors opened. It soon became clear that things were …

Tonight was Cellar Darling’s first London headline show, having previously only been here supporting Delain. The venue was a lot busier than I’d expected – if not sold out, it was certainly close to sold out, which is good news for a band with only one album and which only …

Tonight’s gig is a great lineup – not only do we have the legendary Stiff Little Fingers, we have a great support act in the form of Ruts DC. Born out of the ashes of The Ruts, they split at the start of the 80s before reforming in 2007 and …

Tonight’s gig was at the Thousand Island venue. If you’re wondering where that is, the old name is far easier – “Upstairs at the garage”. Yes it’s the small room at the garage, that’s been done up with dozens of glitter balls hanging from the ceiling. Sadly they seem to …

Tonight’s gig at the Craufurd arms is another visit from Canadian band Sumo Cyco. Support tonight comes from Uk band Skarlett riot. For this tour they’re without their usual bassist, Martin Shepherd so have got Tim Chambers from Sister Shotgun helping them out by taking his place till his return. …

Tonight is a punk night – two punk bands and one punk/steampunk band. The night opened with Jonny and the mental breakdowns, a local band who were a late addition to the lineup. That meant that they were a man short, so the singer had to play bass, which he …