This is in roughly chronological order:
Ray Charles with Pat Kane and the BBC big band - I was far too young to appreciate it, but it's cool that I saw the man. The supports were dire though.
Wheatus with Halo - Was fun at the time. Wheatus knew how to work the crowd, and Halo were not that bad.
Tori Amos with Howie Day - Seeing my favourite artist of all time was a high point of life so far for me. She was astounding. Matt Chamberlain is awesome behid the kit. I was gutted that I couldn't see her again last year (I was out of the country)
Marilyn Manson with Queen Adreena - Queen Adreena were completely appalling. Dire, truely. And then we had to wait for over an hour for Manson to come on and be totaly mediocre for 1 hour 15
Deftones with The Revolution Smile - The support band were actually ok, but I was jealous because Londoners got A Perfect Circle instead. Deftones were good, but there was terrible crushing, which was kinda uncomfortable. 'Minerva' blew me away, totally.
Machine Head with Breed 77 and Sikth - I thought Breed 77 were good at the time, and that Sikth sucked. WOuld probably think the other way round now. Machine Head blew my mind. Definately a live force to be eckoned with.
Evanescence with Finger Eleven and Appartment 26 - Supports sucked, and Evanescence were disappointing even by their standards because they were a guitarist short. Unimpressive gig.
Him with Viking Skull - Viking Skull were abhorrent, and HIM weren't that good themselves. Very poor sound. Ville Vallo was stoned out of his face.
A Perfect Circle with Auf Der Maur - Auf Der Maur disappointed me. The first song was good, but after that it was pretty poor. APC were very good, despite Maynard James Keenan's on stage masturbation being ever so slightly disturbing
Elbow with Longview (as they were called at the time) - Longview were very good, underrated band in my opinion. Elbow were stately as ever, despite the building being evacuated during their intro music! Guy Garvey has excellent stage banter. It disgusts me that they are now without a record deal
Incubus with Brand New - Excellent concert on one of the worst days of my life
. Both bands were very good though, and Incubus surprised me with their awesome-ness.
The Flaming Lips with Steve Burns and Alfie - This show was very visual. Which was excellent. Each band had their own little videos set to music. Both supports were ace, and the Lips performance was just as celebratory as it was hyped up to be. Loved every minute of it
Breed 77 with <209> and Hellhouse - Hellhouse may have been local, but they were shite regardless ('WHO LIKES WHITE ZOMBIE?!?!?!?!', 'WE'RE THE MOST EVIL BAND ON THE PLANET!!!! etc. :Smug: ). <209> were ok for a rap-metal band. Thought they were pretty cool guys. Breed 77 weren't very good, disappointed me.
Muse with Elbow and The Needles - The Needles were the worst support I've ever seen. Elbow got a poor reception, but were actually very good. Muse are nearly the best live band ever, so that rocked. Not their best, i don't think though. Crowd were awful.
Slipknot/Slayer with Hatebreed and Mastodon - Slayer pwned everyone else. Slipknot and Mastodon were pretty good. Hatebreed sucked balls.
Hope Of The States with The Upper Room - Hope Of The States are the best thing to happen to British music for a long time. This gig floored me. Everyone should check out this band.
36 Crazyfists with Bullet For My Valentine and 18 Visions - BFMV were really good. 18 Visions were awful. 36 Crazyfists surprised me by being bearable
Coheed And Cambria with Mewithoutyou and Mae - Possibly the worst gig ever.
Machine Head with God Forbid and Caliban - Machine Head were just as good as when I first saw them, but this time the supports were much better. Brilliant gig, great atmosphere. Absolutely loved it!
Paradise Lost with Octavia Sperati and Leave's Eyes - Liv Kristine is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen (she looks much better in the flesh), and Leave's eyes surprised me by actually being quite good. Octavia were ok, but nothing particularly special. Paradise Lost were incredible, but had a major sound problem. You couldn't hear Nick Holmes. You just couldn't. e repeatedly asked to be turned up, but no joy. the band sounded awesome though, and Nick's banter in between songs was great. Tightest band I've seen live.
Martha Wainwright with Lou Hickey and Teddy Thompson - Lou Hickey was like a less polished Fiona Apple. Lots of potential, and a nice lassie, but not quite there yet. Good use of a 'cello though. Teddy Thompson sucked. Martha was awesome, she is a total star. So charismatic. She sang in French and it gave me shivers!
Opeth with Burst - I
finally got to see them!!! I actually quite enjoyed Burst, I think people give them a hard time. Opeth were great, but I wish I had seen them 2 years ago. that might have been even better. Because of the shitty venue curfew, they had to cut their set short, which sucked (no Baying Of the Hounds!!!). And I kinda wish I had seen lopez. It was a shame, because Mikael was sick on that day, but his banter was still marvellous ('hush now, children...we are Opeth, we have released many albums.....and we are legends. You do realise that's sarcasm, right? Good....but we
are legends!'
)
Rufus Wainright with The Guillemots - The Guillemots made quite good, happy music. But they weren't quite up to the hype they had been given. Rufus himself was excellent. Voice was in top form, and his banter was hilarious. If that man isn't the gayest thing alive, I don't know what is... The best thing was that, about an hour and a half into the set, he and his band went off stage in the middle of a song. they returned dressed in white robes to do the funniest piss-take dance routine I've ever seen. I've never laughed so hard at a gig, ever. He then was 'crucufied' while singing a song called 'Gay Messiah'. It was pure genius.
Arch Enemy/Strapping Young Lad with Throwdown - Throwdown sucked, like a shitty, cheap-ass Pantera. SYL, on the ther had, were possible the best live experience I've ever had. Funny, watchable, and heavy as fuck! Devin talks sooooo much shit on stage ('my 2 inch penis is as hard as its gonna get!', 'we are Strapping Young Lad from Canada, and YOU...... ARE.......
NOT!!!!!!!). Arch Enemy would probably have been band of the night if they had played with anyone else. Blinding set, great atmosphere. But SYL
PWNED them!!!!
I may have forgotten some gigs. As you can see, I have waaaaaaaay too much time on my hands
