KILBURNFLYER

A very enjoyable evening watching Soil (don't recall seeing them before - may have at a festival but no memory) support Shinedown. Was pleasantly surprised how full the Forum was - must be Shinedown's biggest headline show in the UK - last time they played London was in June at the Electric Ballroom. The whole of the Sound of Madness got an airing plus a few standards from the earlier album (not get yet). All very good. Am incredibly impressed by this lot - especially the drummer - just wish the singer would shut the fuck up between songs. He is more verbose than Bono was in the 90s. If he cut it down a bit we could have had 2 more songs - maybe that explains it - not enough material yet. That said, still had a great time and will definitely see this lot again and again.

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

A big thank you to Dave Ling for his tip on the Classic Rock website about the first UK gig by a band called Shinedown. Was absolutely gagging for a gig - did not have one booked until the Answer in Feb - and Dave has a good track record of recommending decent bands - he put me onto Pride tiger. Shinedown did not disappoint. Their new Album the Sound of Madness is a class product with some great rock songs and a few decent EMO type slower songs. A sell out show on their first gig at the Academy Islington must have pleased them and they rattled through a good set in about 80 mins. Devour and the Sound of Madness were my particular faves. A tight band (particularly impressed by the drummer) but bit too American at times for my tastes - asking the crowd to hold up their lighters/mobiles might work at the O2 but a bit cheesy at such a small venue - if he was being ironic it passed me by. Suspect these will go onto bigger and better venues very quickly so glad I caught them at the beginning.