KILBURNFLYER

Hard Rock Hell IV was as good as the previous three - a great line up, a great laugh and splendid to meet so many friends from Ibiza and previous events. Highlights not in any particular order:

MSG - great to see Schenker has turned himself around. Got a great band together and he was godlike in his playing. All the obvious MSG songs from the first two albums plus Lights Out and Rock Bottom which UFO had omitted the previous day.

Airbourne - they play with such energy that they are always exciting but first time I had seen them indoors and they were just excellent - probably the band of the weekend - diamond in the rough was their best song.

UFO - Mogg in great voice and they played well. Short set but very enjoyable with Shoot Shoot a highlight.

Di'Anno - first saw him front Maiden at the Ruskin so always a big fan. Voice was patchy and his mobility limited by a back problem but still largely enjoyable. Murders in the Rue Morgue, Phantom of the Opera and Iron Maiden the highlights. No Running Free which was a surprise.

Viking Skull - trad metal done extremely well - will def get some of their material.

Scutty Neighbours - met two of these lads at Sonisphere - was impressed by their raw energy and the confidence of their front man. They really had a lot of fun - both on and off the stage - oh to be in my twenties again - wish them very well. Bought their CD.

Attica Rage - great bunch of lads - new material sounds good. 2011 a big year for them - hope they get the breaks they deserve.

Diamond Head - decent but not the best I have seen them.

Uriah Heep and Helloween both ok - not a big fan of either band but they were fine.

KILBURNFLYER

The inaugural High Voltage Festival was great fun. Good layout and some great bands A few minor niggles - a few mates complained that the prog and metal stages were too close together and the metal interfered with the purity of the prog sound. Didn't matter to me as I was usually at the metal stage anyway. A few notables:

Saturday

Focus - only saw a few songs but a quite gentle remnder of former greatness

The Answer - great show as usual and a fantastic cover of an old Rose Tattoo song Rock n Roll Outlaw

Saxon - a relatively short but well delivered set - 747, Motorcycle Man, Pricess of the night and Wheels of Steel all got in there - not loud enough but you can's have it all.

Gary Moore - frankly a bit pants (dull set delivered in a half hearted way) and fuck me has he piled on the pounds. Line of the weekend delivered by a lovely lady we met at the Ibiza festival called Rebecca (can't rememebr surname but her boyfriend Graham and his mate Tony the T-Shirt fiend were all very nice) when Moore said "this song is empty rooms" "empty fridge more like" came Rebecca's retort. I almost choked on my beer.

Heaven and Hell tribute - a bit sad a R J-D was one of my favourite singers. Glenn Hughes and another guy who's name I cant remember were decent. The Younger guy being more powerful and would be a very good long term replacement if they wanted to carry on. Die Young, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules and Neon Knights were all great.

ZZ Top - awesome set, awesome performance. These guys are just a magnificent live band. First saw the over 30 years ago and they still excite me. Jesus Just Left Chicago always a fave of mine.

Sunday

Wishbone Ash - only saw a few but nice to see the Turners back together

Lethargy - fucking superb - first saw these at HRH 2 and then at Camden Barfly and met them in Ibiza. Great bunch of lads and did extremely well - they attracted quite a lot of interest in spite of the fact they were up against Wishbone Ash and the Quireboys

UFO - terrible slow song to start with and it just got worse when the guitar kept cutting out. Best forgotten.

Joe Elliott - sorry bored the arse off me - fell asleep

Down - absolutely fucking superb in spite of the fact that I didn't know any of their songs. Very energetic and engaged with the audience - will be buying some of their material.

ELP - better not say what I really think or Nigel will not speak to me - just say not my thing.

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

A very busy few days. The Pistols were far better than I had feared they might be - they are clearly a bit of a parody and doing it simply for the money but what's wrong with that. I think people can take music a bit too seriously sometimes with a few overheard comments of "not what they were" "this not what they stood for" - they stood for nothing and as a band they were as tight as two coats of paint and simply reeled off never mind .... with stepping stone thrown in for good measure. Not a classic but a very enjoyable show.

The weekender at Minehead was just such great fun. Got about 6 hopurs sleep over 2 days. Met lots of interesting people, had many pissed conversations and did not see any evidence of any trouble whatsoever. The whole thing was well organised and most bands gave it their all. A few highlights for me were Twisted Sister who were billed as headliners and didn't disappoint - last time I saw them was at the Marquee when I was about 15. Zodiac Mindwarp were great - I may have a blindspot here as when I suggested this to Dave Ling in one of my pissed conversations he said they did ok for a band who only have one song - bit of a shame he has that view as I have always loved them and think they havbbe a good number of good songs. Saxon were very good. I loved UFO - me and a mate spent the whole gig bouncing around down the front in stupid shaped cheap sunglasses (I looked like Elton John's fat brother) screaming out the lyrics. Everyone else I spoke to thought they were a bit crap because they were clearly somewhat pissed - Phil Mogg could barely stand but still sung beautifully if bizarrely he could barely speak. Tesla and Diamond Head were very professional even though they had to contend with graveyard slots. Missed Turismas (sic) and Raven which was a bit irritating cos I was dealing with a work issue and there was a unanimous view that they were both very good. The last band on were Beyond the Grave who I had never heard of but was very impressed by - think they will become well known shortly as they have a good sound. All in all a fantastic event.

Heaven and Hell rounded off the weekend nicely at the Brighton Centre - very crisp, very professional but only managed an hour and a half.