December 24, 2008
I first saw the Levellers live at T in the park festival a mere month after their now legendary performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival 1994. I’d been a fan of their music for a fair while beforehand and was never likely to be disappointed but the set, and in particular English Civil War
, is still one of my favourite memories from innumerable festival weekends over the years.
I’ve been at a fair number of Levellers gigs since and although the drink is dearer these days, my knees are never as keen on dancing all night as they were and, tonight, the ABC glitter ball is a poor substitute for the summer festival sun, there is still no fear of disappointment. With many bands who have as large a back catalogue of music as the Levellers there is often the concern whether they’ll play only to promote the new album, will they still keep the old singles & chart hits in the set list and will they play my own personal favourites.
The Levellers are masters at crowd pleasing though — one of the reasons they have the reputation as a great festival band — and they know exactly the balance to strike. The ABC gig leans heavily towards the current new album Letters from the Underground
which many have seen as more in touch with the band’s earlier albums such as Levelling The Land
& showing a drift away from more recent output — this is given proof as A Life Less Ordinary & Cholera Well lead into the manic paced Riverflow
before the encore break. Overall this bias means the band have played an almost non-stop fast & energetic set for this tour, throw in Carry Me
, Far From Home
and a little song called One Way
and they’ve also played my personal favourites. You just can’t get a better gig than that.
A regret? My intention had been to go watch the Levellers gig in Inverness the night before without camera with just the intention, and freedom, to enjoy every moment dancing and bouncing off the barrier in the front row. Maybe next tour I’ll organise both a photo gig and a dancing/drinking gig. I’m looking forward to it already …
[flickr tag=levellers]
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December 14, 2008
Ascension have taken the long way round from their beginnings in 2004 with only one original member remaining but they’ve never veered from the path of pure power metal. Having gigged extensively in previous years, 2008 has been a time of change with a whole new rhythm section being drafted in, David Wood playing bass since Spring and in September, Dick Gilchrist took over as the band’s pure metal drummer.
Power metal can be hit & miss if like myself you’re not a big listener of the genre, the good can be great but the bad can leave you wondering why anyone has the audacity to label it as music. Ascension instantly fall into the category of good power metal band as soon as Fraser Edwards and founding member Stuart Docherty plug in and stretch their fingers with almost faultless technical skill & speed. It’s the shredding guitars that drive Ascension into my head, each constantly playing off against the other. Any reckless tendencies are ably kept in check by the duality of the thrashing blur on drums and the calm-in-a-storm posturing of the solid bass. Vocalist Richard Carnie leads the band interaction with the crowd well – better than I had expected in fact – the straining to reach notes I had imagined on some of Ascension’s recorded material never apparent in the live show.
I’m not ready to change my favourite music genres on MySpace just yet but Ascension have rekindled my interest in metal bands, and I’d call that a successful metal gig.
With the 6 track Moongate EP currently in the works and a full UK tour with Broken Melody planned for April 2009 Ascension took a close fought second place at the Aberdeen regional final of The Red Battle.
[flickr tag=ascension]
June 17, 2008
Queensryche have taken their newest epic prog-metal show to the UK, starting a ten date tour at the Glasgow Carling Academy. These aren’t your normal rock show gigs though, totalling an astounding three hours of music the band are, for the first time in the UK, performing both the Operation: Mindrime concept albums in their entirety with full theatrical stage show. This involves not only video projections & stage props but also actors interacting with band members to tell the story behind the albums.
Operation: Mindcrime I follows an intriguing and complex plot that revolves around Dr. X, a political puppet master who brainwashes the story’s main character, Nikki, to assassinate corrupt public figures. The story also includes Nikki’s lover, Sister Mary. A former teenage prostitute who becomes a nun, Sister Mary is murdered mysteriously, leaving the cliffhanger “Who Killed Sister Mary?” Then, set twenty years after the original, Operation: Mindcrime II explores Nikki’s fate after being released from prison and reveals the identity of Mary’s killer. The album centers on revenge and what it does to people, their emotions and the choices they make. “This concert is the realisation of an idea that began nearly two decades ago” says lead singer Geoff Tate, “Between ritualistic execution, working prostitutes, motorcycle crashes and everything in between, we are able to really draw the audience in to the story.”
[flickr tag=queensryche]
June 3, 2008
Ministry are archetypal legends of industrial rock, Al Jougensen, responsible for not only Ministry but other genre defining moments of genius such as Revolting Cocks and 1000 Homo DJs, fronts the band in black frock coat, top hat & shades while swinging back and forth on his goat’s skull crucifix mic stand – occasionally leaning over the chain link fence that separates the band from the crowd on this tour. Joining him front of stage are moody guitar god cliche Sin Quirin (who also played in RevCo) and Prong’s very own Tommy Victor – strutting and running about in a kilt for the night – and “new boy” Tony Campos from Static X taking over bass duties after Paul Raven’s untimely death last year.
This is Ministry’s final tour and the set features songs from each of Ministry’s albums rather than concentrating on the hits, the second encore features cover versions ending the night rather disappointingly on Wonderful World. The general feeling being that a “Greatest Hits” show would have been enjoyed more on this farewell tour but then almost everyone here tonight has a “They were great the last time I saw them!” story to tell. From what I saw, the band and music are still as good as ever but apart from the dedicated pit mob the crowd has too many folk the wrong side of their youth to feedback the energy required to lift the band’s performance to the heights of yesteryear.
[flickr tag=ministry]
