KILBURNFLYER

Have been badly neglecting the Fleyer - it is the only way I can keep track of gig activity.

Since the summer festivals have seen:

Echo and the Bunneymey at the Palladium - absolutely first class gig - the whole of Ocean rain with an orchestra and a greatest hits set. What's not to love.

Pop Will Eat Itself at O2 Academy Islington - great fun as usual but with Clint poppy no longer with them felt a bit odd.

Volbeat at the Forum - absolutely magnificent - really got the bug for them over the summer and bought their entire back catalogue. First time I have seen them when I knew all the songs they played - Evelyn was a particular highlight - not one ofmy favourite songs but what I didn't know was that the 2nd vocalist is Mark "Barney" Greenaway from Napalm Death - he came on for that song - brilliant.

Motorhead, UK Subs and Anti Nowhere League at Hammersmith - Subs were great - indeed much better than back in the day - basically Charlie Harper and a half decent young metal band supporting him. ANL - all good but a bit going through the motions. Motorhead were back on form - they were poor at Sonisphere - and did a great set.

Hard Rock Hell V at Prestatyn - the greatest weekend of the year as usual but that down to the people not the bands - most of whom were a bit average except Girlschool, Reckless Love, Ginger Wildheart and the magnificent SSS.

Def Leppard, Motley Crue at Wembley Arena - sadly got there late and missed Steel Panther but great sets from both as usual.

GingerWildheart at the Garage Islington - exactly the same as Prestatyn - good but not great.

Saxon at Koko - fucking brilliant show. Full of energy, great setlist - well done chaps you really try hard and it shows.

KILBURNFLYER

Has been mental busy at work so not had the chance to update on lots of festivals. Highlights of the last few months:

Hard Rock Road Trip - an metal endurance test in Ibiza - great fun but not too many great bands. Spirytus were awesome as they were last year and some great virtuoso guitarists but nothing that memorable.

Download - shit weather but some fantastic performances- Def Leppard, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper were all great headliners. Saw the Rods for the first time in 30 years (bloody disgrace that they only got 1/2 hour at 11am when Al Murray's shit pub covers band got a good afternoon slot just because he's famous) with notable mentions for the Cult (Astbury did his best to fuck it up but Billy Duffy is godlike and kept the whole thing together) Disturbed, A7X and Down. But the whole show was stolen by Bring Me The Horizon who were fantastic.

Ozzy at Hammersmith - bloody excellent -in great voice and great set list. Sadly I was supposed to see him a few days later at Graspop but he cried off with Laryngitis - a shame.


Graspop- the best organised festival I have ever been to - One main stage and three enormous tents - everyone got at least an hour -loads of bars, toilets and food outlets - sound was good even if the weather was a bit patchy. Scorpions, Judas Priest, Slipknot and Volbeat were all good top of the bill bands - had only seen Volbeat in a short set at download or supporting Metallica the previous year and was great to see them do a fullshow (booked to see them at the Forum later this year). Bring me The Horizon were also brilliant....again. Only sad bit was Whitesnake - a once great band now utter shite.

Sonisphere - the Big 4 were great to see - Slayer won the showdown I think but all my mates would vote for Metallica. The Wildhearts and the Sisters of Mercy in the tent were the only reason to bother with Saturday. Volbeat were again great on Sunday morning and Slipknot splendid headliners but the whole day (nay the whole weekend) was probably nicked by Limp Bizkit who were absolutely fantastic.

KILBURNFLYER

A very busy few days started with Muse at the O2. Every time I see this band I am always enormously impressed - they are just so tight - they almost seem to be trying so hard because they can't quite believe they are there. They always seem to put 100% into every show - wish I could say that about evry band I see - and are always looking at how to make the show visually more interesting. As ever a great show - from what I can recall pretty similar to Teignmouth show with the new songs blending with the old effortlessly.

Stupidly early the next morning was on a flight to NYC to see Metallica at Madison Square Garden - twice. Yes, yes I know it is a stupidly expensive thing to do but fuck me was it worth it. Metallica were supported by Volbeat - as good as I remember them from Download but more enjoyable now that I know some of their stuff. Lamb of God from "Richmond Motherfuckin Virginia" (all the 15 year olds in the audience love this way of talking but I am a bit old for that) as I fear I might be for Lamb of God - they were, well, a bit dull. Seen them support Heaven and Hell as well as at Sonisphere and a few flashes of good stuff but mainly dull. I hope I change my mind as they are clearly in this for the long haul - not sure what it is - I should like them but Lamb of God, Trivium and most surprisingly Machine Head - none of them do it for me.

Metallica on the other hand were a different class - back to the more familiar Death Magnetic set list - even on consecutive nights they managed to mix up the order and swop a few sings in and out to always keep me interested. Diamond Head's The Prince on Saturday and the Misfits' Last Caress on Sunday were the added bonus songs. They were just so professional - although still not convinced that the "in the round" show is as good as an old fashioned stage at one end. Funniest thing of the night was my wife (not a big Metallica fan) mishearing the lyrics to Master of Puppets - she was convinced one of the the lines was something like "save your badger" - well it made me laugh. Fucking superb - and worth every penny!!

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.