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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Kings of Leon @ Hyde Park Review


No rain (well not much), no mud, 4 bands....no doubt about it - I had an awesome night!!! 

I arrived at Hyde Park all kitted out for the heavens to open - as did the 60,000 other people attending the gig. Kings of Leon were playing their second night of the nine days of performances held at Hyde Park. Bands due to perform at Hyde Park over the next couple of days include Rod Stewart, the Killers, Arcade Fire, The Black Eyed Peas, Pulp and Bon Jovi. 

Sadly due to work I missed Zac Brown Band perform so I can't tell you anything about them. However bands I did get to see were The White Lies, Paul Weller and of course Kings of Leon. 

I thought the supports The White Lies and Paul Weller were both great. I am a big fan of the White Lies anyway, so I was excited when I head they were supporting. Although they have great songs and sang them all very well they didn't seem to work the crowd very well. After their performance I feel that The White lies would be more suited to smaller venues where I am sure they will be fantastic live.

Next, after the White Lies was Paul Weller - an English punk rocker who certainly knows how to get a crowd going. Some of the songs that he sang included Changing man, Broken Strings (my fav) and From the Floorboards Up. It was clear from his effortless performance that Paul Weller has played a few gigs in his time - rocking out on stage and getting the crowd pumped for the main act. 

Next were the headliners - Kings of Leon. They are truly fabulous. Their set list included Radioactive, Taper Jean Girl, Four Kicks,The Bucket, Pistol of Fire, The Immortals, Revelry, Fans, Back Down South, Crawl, No Money, Charmer, Milk, Mary, Notion, Closer, Manhattan, Pyro, California Waiting, Molly's Chambers, On Call and Sex on Fire.

During this set there were no gimmicks, just Kings of Leon singing their songs. There was one negative to their performance however, the time it took for them to really work the crowd. Although they are promoting their new album "Come Around Sundown' the crowd didn't seem to respond as well to their newer tracks. In addition to this I feel that Anthony Caleb (lead singer) could have done more in terms of including the crowd. Despite saying "this is the best night of my life" he said very little else other than "thank you" a few times. 

Although the crowd was slow to get going, there was no doubt that every single person was singing with their arms in the air by the time the band performed their number 1 hit single "Sex on  Fire." This, with their excellent encore performance was definitely the highlight for me. Their encore included Knocked Up, Use Somebody and Black Thumbnai.

The gig concluded with fireworks which for me drew a close to a great night of live music.

Although the people I went with felt the gig lacked any atmosphere I would have to disagree. I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening listening to an awesome band. Yes their show in Manchester two years ago was better, but I would still go and see them live again in a heart beat.  



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Ellie Goulding Music Gig (American tour dates)

I wrote the following post about Ellie Goulding
http://musicgigsnfestivals.blogspot.com/2011/04/ellie-goulding-music-gig.html


Well between the 11th Oct - 16th Oct Ellie Goulding will be playing in North America/ Canada. For ticket information check out: tour dates and tickets


Tour dates:
11th Oct. Santos Party House - NYC
14th Oct. Sound Academy - Toronto, Canada
16th Oct. West Hollywood, CA


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Sunday, June 19, 2011

I would like to apologize for the lack of entries this month! I have been traveling and interning so I have been extremely busy. However do not fret - not only will I be keeping you informed of any good bands playing soon but I will also be reviewing gigs that I am planning to attend over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks Lizzie

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Tori Amos Music Gig

Tori Amos is an American pianist and singer-songwriter that first hit the music scene in the 90s.

Artists similar to Tori Amos include Alanis Morissette, Ani DiFranco and Kate Bush, 

To date Tori Amos has released thirteen albums: Little Earthquakes, Under the Park, Boys for Pele, From the Choir girl Hotel, To Venus and Back, Strange Little Girls, The Beekeeper, American Doll Posse, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Midwinter Graces, Scarlets Walk, Tales of the Piano and Under the Pink.

As a singer who was huge in the 90s and sold over 12 million albums, Tori Amos has arguably become well known for her talented piano playing. She plays with so much passion and energy that you will be convinced that she will break the instrument during her show!

Well known songs released by Tori Amos include: 1000 Oceans, A Sorta Fairytale (see video below), Caught a Lite Sneeze and Cornflake Girl.

If you are unfamiliar with Tori Amos material than you should be warned it can be quite haunting. However don't be put off, it is only due to her ability to relive her own personal (painful and joyous) experiences and present them to you in song. Her openness to share her experiences certainly makes people feel they can relate to her in some way. This with her extraordinary talent of playing the piano is a huge factor to why she has such a large and loyal fan base today. 

The crowd to Tori Amos shows are usually aged around thirty and over however the beauty of her music is people of all ages can enjoy it. I would certainly suggest that you see Tori Amos live if you can.

Tour Dates: 
2nd Nov. Royal Albert Hall - London,UK
3rd Nov. HMV Hammersmith Apollo - London, UK
4th Nov. Manchester Apollo - Manchester, UK
6th Nov. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall - Glasgow, UK

For information regarding tickets or the rest of her European tour check out: http://www.songkick.com/artists/453601-tori-amos/calendar?page=3