KILBURNFLYER

Three gigs in three days - two absolute belters and one (could do better)

UFO - Shepherds Bush Empire were excellent. Even the new songs - not a fan of the new album - sounded good and the band were tight and seemed to be enjoying it. I did miss Pete Way - he is such a great performer - but the replacement was very good. AM getting used to the guitarist but I really wish Mogg and Schenker would make up - Mogg has never found a guitarist as good and Schenker has never found such a good singer. Also between them they actually write better songs than they do apart. Fucking idiots !! Here’s the set-list - again blagged from the Ling diary: ‘Saving Me’, ‘When Daylight Goes To Town’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘I’m A Loser’, ‘This kids’, ‘Cherry’, ‘Helldriver’, ‘Baby Blue’, ‘Ain’t No Baby’, ‘Only You Can Rock Me’, ‘Love To Love’, ‘Lights Out’, ‘Too Hot To Handle’ and ‘Rock Bottom’, with encores of ‘Doctor Doctor’ and ‘Shoot Shoot’.

Chickenfoot - also at Shepherds Bush Empire were magnificent. It is really strange to see four legendary figures from the rock world on such a small stage and playing together in a band that is as tight as two coats of paint. Again not a huge fan of the album but live the material takes on a completely different dimension. Best version of Highway Star I have ever seen performed live and that includes the Purple reunion at Knebworth back in the day.

AC/DC - I have been a massive fan since I was about 12 and seen them more times than I can remember but sadly I was a bit disappointed by this gig. They were as good as they were at the O2 - virtually the same set with Dog Eat Dog thrown in as an extra - but this was Wembley Fucking Stadium for fucks sake so they should have pulled out all the stops and played a better and longer set. This was AC/DC's equivalent of Download or Sonisphere and they should have had the set to match the venue. Frankly I expected more - I do not expect Metallica to do the same set as they did at the O2 when I see them at Knebworth in August and I doubt I will come away from that one with a tinge of disappointment.

KILBURNFLYER

One of the great joys in life is seeing Suicidal Tendencies in rip roaring form. Last night's gig at the Electric Ballrood was one such event. From the blistering opening "You Can't Bring Me Down" to "Pledge Your Allegiance" when half the crowd seemed to be on stage it was just magnificent. The sound was a bit crap at times and Mike Muir's vocals occassionally muffled but the sheer energy they generated made up for that. They played a great set with War Inside My Head, Send Me Your Money and Lost It being particular highlights. A fantastic band who really do deserve more success.

Am back there tonight to see Shinedown - had tickets for Steel Panther but have to go with Shinedown who I suspect will be huge one day.

KILBURNFLYER

I regret that I am one of the many Anvil fans who deserted them when they needed us the most. The renewed interest in them following their film exploits (still not seen it) made me regret that I have only seen them a handful of times in the last 20 years or so. Tonight (Thur 11 Jun) they were as good as I always remember them - tight, energetic and they clearly enjoy playing. A mix of regret and joy. Sorry lads! We let you down - we won't do it again.

Sunday at Download was a great day out. Def Leppard were superb - crisp, tight and great song selection. LAst time I saw them here was 23 years ago - a comeback gig following the horrific injury to their drummer - was mentioned to an emotional crowd. Any band that can get me to sing out loud "make love like a man" has got to be good.

Whitsnake on the other hand were not good. In fact they were very poor bordering on downright awfu - the worst show I have ever seen from them. Sound was dreadful and Coverdale's voice was generally bad when he tried to over extend his range. To add to the controversy there was clearly a backing track being used on his vocal for a couple of songs - I know he has denied this previously but I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. Song selection was also rubbish - Whitesnake have got some fantastic songs Lovehunter, walking in the shadow of the blues, Come on, Sweet talker and can draw on Purple classics such as Burn and Mistreated - none of them got a look in - very disappointing.

ZZ Top - absolutely top notch. So many great songs crammed into a very strong set.

Journey - not really my thing but very professional and greatly enjoyable.

Shinedown - fucking great but sadly I had to cut short to go see ZZ Top. Will get to see them many times in the future I hope but ZZ could call it a day at any time so didn't want to miss them.

Volbeat - a new discovery for me. Never heard of them before - they were hugely enjoyable and hope to download some of their stuff in the next day or so.

KILBURNFLYER

I regret that I am one of the many Anvil fans who deserted them when they needed us the most. The renewed interest in them following their film exploits (still not seen it) made me regret that I have only seen them a handful of times in the last 20 years or so. Tonight they were as good as I always remember them - tight, energetic and they clearly enjoy playing. A mix of regret and joy. Sorry lads we let you down - we won't do it again.

Sunday at Download was a great day out. Def Leppard were superb - crisp, tight and great song selection. LAst time I saw them here was 23 years ago - a comeback gig following the horrific injury to their drummer - was mentioned to an emotional crowd.

Whitsnake on the other hand were not good. Sound was dreadful and Coverdale's voice was generally poor when he tried to over extend his range. To add to the controversy there was clearly a backing track being used on his vocal for a couple of songs - I know he has denied this previously but I saw it with my own eyes yesterday.

ZZ Top - absolutely top notch. So many great songs crammed into a very strong set.

Journey - not really my thing but very professional and greatly enjoyable.

Shinedown - fucking great but sadly I had to cut short to go see ZZ Top. Will get to see them many times in the future I hope but ZZ could call it a day at any time so didn't want to miss them.

KILBURNFLYER

As I left Brixton Academy last night after Faith No More I thought about whether the gig was worth the ridiculous price I paid for a ticket on E-Bay, the hideous journey there and the even longer journey home thanks to that cunt Bob Crow. On balance it wasn't.

Back in the day, Faith No More were polished, exciting and highly energetic. Last night they were none of the above. They were a bit dreary. Sound was bad - Pattons mic was massively overloaded in the mix, left out too many good songs (We Care a Lot, War Pigs etc) so the whole thing was a big disappointment.

Starting with Reunited - the nonsense from peaches and herb - wearing hideous pink and lilac suits was quite funny but did they have to do all of it? Headlining the first night of Download is a big gig - on this evidence they are not up to it. Hope they have shaken out the ring rust and do better for the bigger audience.

Anvil tonight at the underworld - a fraction of the price and I expect a whole lot better

KILBURNFLYER

Lynyrd Skynyrd at Brixton Academy. TfL did their best to spoil the night by not running the Victoria Line but I managed to get there in time - just. With only Gary Rossington as a surviving original member it could be argued they they are a bit of a tribute band but they are nonetheless brilliant. Nothing even remotely new on the setlist (will blag it off Dave Ling if he was there) but every decent song they every recorded was played from a great opener of Working for MCA to the obligatory Freebird as the encore. Donny Van Zandt has a good voice and the cool persona of his older brother and Ricky Medlock playing the Allan Collins lead guitar role was as good a substitute as I could want. Wish he would hit the road again with Blackfoot. A brilliant evening with a brilliant band.

Update: the very excellent Mr Ling has provided a set list - ‘Workin’ For MCA’, ‘I Ain’t The One’, ‘Saturday Night Special’, ‘Gimme Back My Bullets’, ‘What’s Your Name?’, ‘That Smell’, ‘Simple Man’, Medley: ‘Whiskey Rock-A-Roller’/‘Down South Jukin’’/‘The Needle And The Spoon’/‘Double Trouble’/‘Tuesday’s Gone’, ‘Gimme Three Steps’, ‘Call Me The Breeze’, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and the perennial ‘Free Bird’.