Reviews and Recommendations: punk

If there was any band that had reason to be weary in the least of heading on stage it would be Limp Bizkit. For a few reasons, namely because of Machine Head (always a tough act to follow) fans chanting the expected "F*** Limp Bizkit" and possibly showering the band... [more]

Event Date: August 2, 2009
Event Venue: Knebworth House

If there was any band that had reason to be weary in the least of heading on stage it would be Limp Bizkit. For a few reasons, namely because of Machine Head (always a tough act to follow) fans chanting the expected "F*** Limp Bizkit" and possibly showering the band with an array of boos and bottles (remember Summer Sanitarium - Chicago?). But as soon as the music hit and the original line up began forming on stage starting with DJ Lethal, the total opposite had happened.

After their storming performance at Download this year, the band continued their momentum and high stakes energy at Sonisphere opening with 'My Generation' - a perfect hit for reacquainting with the fans. Wes Borland, one of the main creative forces within the band didn't miss a step with his white body paint, blue-dyed hair and effortless communication with the crowd. Sam Rivers played bass like his life depended on it and that's a compliment to his obvious dedication to every track played during the set. DJ Lethal remained flawless keeping the set intact with his scratch interludes and a focused John Otto on drums. Fred Durst was on top form and at one point coming off stage for the right reasons - joining the fans at the front row. He also took time to address his respect for Machine Head and Nine Inch Nails which was followed by the track 'Hot Dog'.

The set closed with a blistering performance of 'Take A Look Around' where Fred Durst asked the crowd to join in by kneeling or sitting down before the song would erupt for the final chorus. The crowd without hesitation did so, contributing to a great performance. A true highlight of the event along with perhaps the most emotional set from Nine Inch Nails. [less]

Supporting the excellent Ida Maria, VV Brown was a breath of fresh air after the first act, BirdPen's unedited navel gazing sub-thrash prog rock. Her energetic style and catchy tunes soon lifted the mood of the crowd and visibly swelled the numbers in the pit.  Dashing through her numbers... [more]

Event Date: November 27, 2008
Event Venue: Scala

Supporting the excellent Ida Maria, VV Brown was a breath of fresh air after the first act, BirdPen's unedited navel gazing sub-thrash prog rock. Her energetic style and catchy tunes soon lifted the mood of the crowd and visibly swelled the numbers in the pit.  Dashing through her numbers in the tiny 30 minute slot allocated VV even managed to cram in two versions of her then single, "Crying Blood", the second reggae version bringing whoops of joy from the crowd. Mention must also be made of her backing group, who manage to be the perfect foil for her energy and verve whilst holding out personalities of their own. On the whole a refreshing surprise as I had gone to see the headline act and had no expectations of the support. I'm now a confirmed fan. [less]

I am a massive fan of the Levellers, have been since the 90's but only really started to follow them this year.  Last night's performance at Jb's was fantastic, the atmosphere and crowd were amazing.  These guys are true performers and give their absolute all in all their... [more]

Event Date: September 18, 2009
Event Venue: Jb's Dudley

I am a massive fan of the Levellers, have been since the 90's but only really started to follow them this year.  Last night's performance at Jb's was fantastic, the atmosphere and crowd were amazing.  These guys are true performers and give their absolute all in all their performances.

Earlier in the year, I also saw them at the Civic in Wolverhampton - where I must admit, the crowd needed a bit of a shift to get them going.  To get a real taste of them though, you need to go to the Beautiful Days festival in Devon.  This year they opened with an acoustic set and finished the festival off with a foot stomping set from "A weapon called the world" ending with a huge fireworks display.  It was awesome.

I'm off to Brum to see them next at the new o2 and then onto the Cheltenham festival in June 2010, I really cannot get enough of them and my only gripe is that my albums now sound dull after hearing and seeing them in the flesh.  Give them a whirl, you won't be disappointed. [less]

I was one of a few fans to get a ticket to a private show which was being filmed for broadcast on TV.

I was up in the balcony where I guess there were around 60 people in single rows on three sides. Down below there were probably not many more... [more]

Event Date: February 18, 2009
Event Venue: LSO St. Luke’s, London

I was one of a few fans to get a ticket to a private show which was being filmed for broadcast on TV.

I was up in the balcony where I guess there were around 60 people in single rows on three sides. Down below there were probably not many more than 100 people seated among tables – special guests such as Marianne’s friends and family, record company execs, press etc. The stage was 3 or 4 steps up, quite wide and had the imposing church windows up behind it.

There were 11 musicians - organ/piano, 4 x string section, guitar, drums, bass, brass/woodwind, brass/woodwind/accordion/piano, guitar/ukulele/mandolin/viola/saw. And, of course, one Marianne Faithfull dressed in a black suit and white blouse, mostly standing but sometimes seated on a stall. This was the first time she had performed the new songs in front of people and she said she was a bit nervous to start with.

I won’t go into detail about every song - I’ll just pick out some highlights. She started with a nice rendition of the familiar ‘Times Square’ and then quickly into the songs from the new album with ‘Down From Dover’, the merits of the large band already showing with brass, strings and organ all adding their bit to create a rich backing track. ‘Children of Stone’ included some marvellous flute playing – I’m quite partial to a bit of flute. One of my favourites from the new album ‘Hold On Hold On’ moved along at pace and ended in a great fuzz viola solo (or was it violin?). Another of my favourites ‘The Crane Wife’ started up to a shout of “I love you” from the balcony, building to a crescendo of vocals, drums, guitar and accordion. ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ appeared to be a favourite of Marianne’s and her voice was a superb match for it.

Back to an old song with ‘Broken English’, not as raucous as usual but a more sinister, rumbling sound with an appropriate sounding sax solo. It was nice to hear a different arrangement which took advantage of the big band. Possibly my favourite of the new tracks on the night was ‘Kimbie’, with Marianne’s excellent vocals accompanied by guitar and accordion. It seemed like the whole audience was holding it’s breath throughout the song. Then, my most definite favourite new one, the Morrissey song ‘Dear God Please Help Me’. It was every bit as good as I hoped, with the strings really coming to the fore.

Then followed ‘Sister Morphine’ with Marianne doing a very good impersonation of Bob Dylan and threatening to do the whole song that way sometime, ‘The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan’ with an appropriate accordion accompaniment, ‘Why’d Ya Do It’, as good as ever but again a bit different with organ and sax prominent, and a special arrangement of ‘As Tears Go By’. It was apparently the first time Marianne has sung it live to the original backing arrangement, including the Cor Anglais played by one of the very versatile musicians. Strings and piano were added to make it a very special performance indeed.

‘Sing Me Back Home’ was performed as the encore and seemed an apt winding up, going home kind of song.

This was the end of a very special and intimate performance, the likes of which most of us will never see again, and I felt quite privileged to be there. I hope, for the sake of those that weren’t as lucky as me, that there will be a tour later in the year with the same band and similar set list, as I’m sure you’ll think it’s great.

Thanks to Marianne for making some tickets available to her fans and for a night I won’t forget. [less]

Anyone who has heard her recorded work will know that she is sublimely gifted as a writer and singer, but there's a certain distancing effect there that renders her admirable rather than likeable.
Live on Friday, though, she was warm and funny and elegantly sexy. And still sublimely gifted - To... [more]

Event Date: December 5, 2008
Event Venue: Brudenell Leeds

Anyone who has heard her recorded work will know that she is sublimely gifted as a writer and singer, but there's a certain distancing effect there that renders her admirable rather than likeable.
Live on Friday, though, she was warm and funny and elegantly sexy. And still sublimely gifted - To Be Lonely brought a sometimes-rowdy venue to breath-bated silence. Appearing with just a drummer and a bassist (both of whom were wonderful) gave her voice all the room it needed to sound even more expressive and rich-toned than it is on record. If you were looking for faults, the first part of Anyone, which sounds better the slower it's sung, was a little rushed, but even so it was still like heaven for ears; this is the best female artist working in popular music today. [less]