Concert reviews

Here's part one of the review I wrote about Rock Werchter on my own blog:
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A big line-up and four days of lots of sun shine definitely made me looking forward to this edition of Rock Werchter. To avoid traffic jams we did the whole trip in two parts and left early for the final stage.

Thursday July 2
And eventually...we ended up being stuck in traffic only 16 kms from the festival. After 2 hours we decided to take our changes and relied on the car navigation to lead us around the traffic jam and what do you know? It got us to the festival in no time instead of the 6 hours we heard it took some people to get there. After another long wait in the burning hot sun to enter the festival area we finally made it in. Unfortunately we already missed Eagles of Death Metal, sorry guys. By then we knew he big golden ball was gonna be ruthless this weekend. But then we met Mr. Joe Piler who was gonna try to make it easier for us. Thanks Joe! On to the first band!

Fleet Foxes (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
These guys can sing very nice harmonies and it all sounRAB great. But it does get a bit boring for me in the end. Also there's not a lot happening on stage. Still not a bad performance though. But I enjoyed it the most while sitting outside the Pyramid Marquee and getting to know Mr Joe Piler better.

Placebo (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Their new album "Battle for the Sun" is pretty good and the songs fit in nicely with their big hits like "Every You Every Me" and "The Bitter End". But we've seen Brian Molko more active in the past. They played a solid set but it needed some salt and pepper.

Oasis (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I don't know what to think of Oasis. I never really got into their music and they haven't done anything new for the past ten years. I also don't like the brothers Gallagher's attitude. But on stage it sure works and kind of comes together. They play a solid greatest hits rock show that warms everyone up for closing act "The Prodigy".

The Prodigy (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Of course their music is perfect for jumping around and dance away the last bit of energy. But we've seen it all before and it does get a bit old in the end. The stage act isn't really exciting either. Keith Flint and Maxim Reality walk and jump around the stage and scream into their mics now and then. Time for something new? But fortunately good frienRAB including Joe Piler were keeping me company.

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Friday July 3
He was all nice the day before but Joe Piler hit me hard today. However the big golden ball burned us out of our tents so we made it to the field in time easily. Time for coffee and some music.

White Lies (Ronald Says 5 out of 10)
I like some of their hit songs and they sound okay on their album. But the main stage was too big for them. Very static performance and Harry McVeigh's voice just didn't sound good live. Bummer since it could have been nice.

Elbow (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I have mentioned before that I gave them a shot a couple of times but somehow it doesn't work for me. So I tried really hard this time and I get it now. I'm still not into their music but Guy Garvey is a great singer with a fantastic voice and they kind of suck you into their world of sweet elf songs. Even on the main stage they managed to put down an intimate performance without getting boring which is quite an achievement on a hot afternoon.

Bloc Party (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I saw Bloc Party earlier this year and noticed how their stage performance improved. Last time on Werchter it seemed the main stage was a bit too big. This time it fit them extremely well. I think you really have to dig their music to appreciate this the most. And since I like their music a lot I could definitely do so. The fine beats by Matt Tong were powerful and you can't but like singer Kele Okereke who looked like he was having a lot of fun up there. Especially during their hits like "Banquet", "Hunting for Witches" and recent hit "Mercury" the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves as well and were jumping to all the way in the back.

The Killers (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
With The Killers I just don't know what to expect. I liked them in the beginning and after that not so much anymore. Their sets becoming to pompous. But lately I seem to like them more than ever. Not so much their latest album but their performances have improved a lot. And this time was no exception. They played a strong sets with lots of their hits including many of their first album which I like the most. Singer Brandon Flowers seems to have loosened up a lot and was enjoying himself. Moving around the stage and smiling he certainly has grown bigger lately. Maybe they will finally grow into the big rock act they want to be so much.

Coldplay (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Let me start by saying I don't like Coldplay's music. Their first album was alright but after that it all sounded too sweet and polished (someone once said it is music for bed-wetters and I agree). But fair is fair they proved why they are one of the biggest band at the moment. Chris Martin was running across the stage and was already sweating after two songs. Of course the rest of the band is fairly invisible but they played all the hits and the crowd loved it. I kind of lost interest halfway and got more interested in Joe Piler since I'm no bed-wetter.
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Concert Review:

Thee Summer Bailout Tour 2009
SOMA San Diego - 25 July 2009
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Lineup:

Emery
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster
Closure in Moscow
Secret in Whisper
Kiros​

Kiros played first, the typical opening band. Noone was really into these guys, and for good reason, they played some politically infuenced, save the trees pop-punk. They even took 10 minutes to tell everyone they should sponsor an African orphan. Exactly what I didn't pay to see. Painfully rated 4/10.

Next was Secret & Whisper. Well the secret is that these guys are terrible, and it's not being very well kept apparently. This band was a chore, that's all I can really say. A Saosin meets Chiodos soprano fest, with sloppy instrumentals and pretentious band merabers. Not clicking here with me. Performance rated 5.5/10

Closure in Moscow was the next band up, and they started out on the right foot and left a good first impression that soon went sour. If there was ever a band I've seen that you could tell they all hated each other, it was this band. The vocalist was a complete *******, destroying not one, but two house mics (the sound man was PISSED) and just being an all around douchebag, all but refusing to leave the stage after the performance even after all the other band merabers had dismissed themselves, singing acapella on stage for a good 3 minutes of incoherent crap that noone wanted to hear before finally storming off without so much as a thank you to the crowd. The drummer didn't even wait for the song to end before leaving the stage and the lead guitarist played the outro from backstage, fairly obvious these guys just didn't want to be there. Performance rated an all time low 3.5/10.

And then...

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Up next, the mighty Maylene & The Sons of Disaster. This is one band I always know I can count on, the stage presence was there as usual, the set list was top notch, the sound was near perfect, and of course Dallas was a complete madman. This performance tonight has set aside all doubt for me that Dallas Taylor is the single best frontman playing metal music right now, talk about whom ever you like, but noone, and I mean NOONE gets a crowd moving like Dallas does, and mind you, this was a crowd of Emery fans we're talking about. The show blew me away completely, just when I thought the band might be slipping after suffering the loss of 3 original band merabers prior to this last album, MATSOD has figured a way to maintain their high level of performance on stage and haven't backed off an inch from their high-powered 3 guitar southern metalcore attack that keeps the fans coming back for more. This is one band I think I will be sticking with for quite some time. Thanks for being awesome Maylene. Performance rated 9.6/10.

Emery played last. I did not stay to watch Emery, their music irritates me almost as must as their pussy little fans do. Performance not rated.


Overall, Maylene was the only reason anyone should go to this show. The other banRAB don't live up, and touring under Emery is a slap in the face. The same thing happened 2 years ago when I saw Maylene open for He Is Legend, Maylene steals the show. Tickets were well priced at $15.

p.s. All photos done by me.
 
Saturday July 4
I was able to sleep a little more and definitely felt better this day. So after coffee, a bacon and egg roll and a 50 cent toilet festival dump it was time to rock!

Triggerfinger (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Hooray for good old honest rock to wake you up. And Triggerfinger did exactly that. They were the opening act today and sure opened my eyes and ears again. All dressed in black this not so young band (bass player Paul Van Bruystegem even played Werchter in 1975) sure kicked ass. Singer Ruben Block looks pretty comfortable on stage. Although some of his little speeches didn't really seem to go anywhere he looked pretty relaxed. Good music did the rest.

Social Distortion (Ronald Says 2 out of 10)
I'm not even going to write a lot about this. Just horrible. Go away and never come back. They did the worst Johnny Cash cover ever.

Rodrigo y Gabriela (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
A man and a woman with flamenco guitars on a big stage. Now that must be hard to entertain around 50.000 people (I assume not all 80.000 were there). But Rodrigo y Gabriela had no problems with that at all. Playing heavy metal riRAB mixed with flamenco sure caught everyone's attention and then never let go.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
It's back to the 80s for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their older albums leaned heavily on guitars but their latest one is mixed with a lot of electronics. And this works well on stage. Especially with a singer like Karen O. in her colourful outfit. Although it becomes a bit too arty farty sometimes their energetic performance sure is great to experience.

Franz Ferdinand (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
If you need the crowd to get fired up get these guys. With their no nonsense songs and easy to sing choruses they sure have the crowd jumping in no time. Going through all their hits they played a nice festival set. However I've seen them doing better. They played their best songs in the beginning of the set and I've seen Alex Kapranos looking more relaxed. And what happened at the end of the set? They were all banging the drums in a song at the end of the set that abruptly ended. After a short discussion Kapranos then sang a few lines of 'Jacqueline' before seemingly angry leaving the stage. If you know leave a comment.

Nick Cave and the Bad SeeRAB (Ronald Says 10 out of 10)
Oh yes! By far the best concert of the festival. They were playing very aggressively like they had the devil on their backs. Nick Cave (without mustache) was looking like the devil himself now and then with piercing eyes and angry looks. They played a great set with songs of their latest album "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" that is by far one of their best albums lately. Someone holding a sign saying "Give me your guitar". Nick answering "I'm not giving you my ****ing guitar!". The last song of the set "Stagger Lee" never sounded more frightening and better. A well earned 10!

Kings of Leon (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
I kind of had to get into Kings of Leon. Saw them twice before on this stage and wasn't impressed. But then I listened to their albums and liked it a lot. And now they had their major break through so what would their performance be like? Well it was definitely a lot better. They played a strong set and they looked a lot more convincing than the previous times. They could do a lot more about their appearance though. It's all a bit static. And what's up with drum player Nathan Followill? He's playing without emotion and looks like a cold blooded psycho who drowns kittens for fun.

2ManyDJs (Ronald Says 9 out of 10)
If the Dewaele brothers show up you know that you will have a great time and people will go wild. Great set with unexpected and original tunes mixed in a crazy blender (including Sepultura's "Roots Bloody Roots"). Great visuals of the record covers with crazy hilarious animation. It didn't take long before everyone was jumping including Joe.



Sunday July 5
Three days of burning hot sun, sweat, lack of decent showering and too much hanging out with Joe was getting the best of us. Time to take it slow and fortunately we could hang out with Seasick Steve to start our day.

Seasick Steve (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
An old guy in a chair and a drummer on a big stage. What to expect? Well, good old honest blues and rock. Maybe the stage was a bit too much but still a good performance. Steve is a nice man who plays great blues songs. Not a bad way to start the day at all.

The Mars Volta (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Whoa! I never made it through any of their albums and was curious if I could make it through their concert. From the moment they clirabed the stage they went full-force and never looked back. Lots of noise and heavy rock tunes. They even unleashed the anger of the rain goRAB that poured heavy rains on our burnt faces. But even that couldn't stop them and neither did it stop me.

The Script (Ronald Says 5 out of 10)
Choosing between this band or Limp Bizkit was easy. I don't wanna see Fred Durst with his head up his ass ever again. But this show wasn't going down easy either. Kind of your regular boy band with instruments. Soft poppie tunes that are just too slick. I guess I will just spend some time with Joe next time.

Kaiser Chiefs (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
If you wanna have fun get these guys on stage. So they did for the fourth time in a row. Everyone having a good time, jumping, singing the easy lalala chorus lines and a slimmed down Ricky Wilson bouncing up and down the stage. But this time it did get a bit old. Even Ricky clirabing the light pole was copied from last year. Like their latest album nothing changed so it's time for something new. At first I was in doubt but in the end I chose to see this performance. Big mistake because I heard Ghinzu playing the Marquee at the same time turned out to be the revelation of Werchter. Ouch!

Nine Inch Nails(Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I'm not a huge fan of Trent Reznor's NIN projects. But you know he's good for a testosterone packed rock show and this was no exception. He brought a ceiling filled with lights and rocked everyone's socks off like a rock truck running you over. It was rough, it was sweaty and it was good. Apparently for the last time as well.

Metallica (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Metallica loves Werchter and Werchter loves Metallica so they were here for the 7th time. I think it was my 4th time and I have mixed feelings about the previous times. Sometimes very good sometimes a bit too much leaning on routine. This time it kind of fell into the last category. Of course they always are true professionals and probably never will play a bad gig. They have enough good songs to choose from and their last album has some great songs that work well live. It was just all too much prepared and not really spontaneous. For the real fireworks we had to wait until after their performance.



So that was it for Rock Werchter 2009. Another good edition with lots of good music. I think that they should play a bit less safe next time. With big banRAB you can please a lot of people and sell out the festival anytime but it doesn't really result in many surprises. Next year better traffic control and maybe a little less sunshine. But make sure Joe Piler is there again. I like him...
 
Hey, thanks for reading the review, and the responses you guys! :) Sorry I couldn’t be more detailed about which songs he played. But if y’all ever get a chance to see him, you have to do it. It’ll most definitely be worth it.

And yes, storymilo, he was very comfortable on stage and with the crowd. He really did seem like a pretty down to earth, working man's kinda person.
 
A few years ago the North Sea Jazz festival moved from The Hague to Rotterdam. Some said that it never got the same but I liked it. Better ways to move from one gig to the other and you were able to do some band hopping. But things changed...

North Sea Jazz at Ahoy Rotterdam, 12 July 2009

Another festival another traffic jam. That seems to be the trend this year: stuck in traffic for Pinkpop, Rock Werchter and now North Sea Jazz. But after some driving around we somehow managed to park our car and it was time to meet our frienRAB and to check out the performances.

We wanted to start it off with the Chucho Vald
 
I keep meaning to check out those guys. I heard one song ages ago, and it's been nothing since then.

They sound great, from what I keep hearing.
 
Coldplay, Udine, Italy, 31.8. 2009.
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Well, it finally happened and it was better than I could have imagined. We came a few hours earlier and just in time to see the first support group which is hardly worth mentioning and I felt played totally inappropriate hard rock (or whatever the hell that was, there was a lot of screaming). Then White Lies came on and played a decent short (35 minutes?) set. I loved their songs but it's not something you wanna experience on a giant stadium. It was a full hour between the While Lies set and the start of the main show. Even though we had tickets for the furthermost bleachers it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, we could sit down and take in 40+ thousand people and all 5 giant screens. Of course, we couldn't actually see the performers, but at a stadium gig it doesn't really matter, as long as the sound is great, which it was, and there's plenty of spectacular imagery, which there was plenty of. Chris Martin is a great entertainer, he has a sense of humor and is super nice so even the mistakes they made turned out to be really charming. It lasted exactly 2 hours. The highlight for me was Glass of water with the spectacular trippy animation which perfectly captures the positive spirit of this tour and the Viva la vida album (with the accompanying Prospekt's march EP), but I loved every minute of it. And it was a really nice surprise when they got down in the center of the crowd and did an acoustic version of Billy Jean with thousanRAB of cell phone lights replacing lighters. I feel very privileged to have been able to see them at the height of their creative power and popularity. Definitely worth every cent and hours spent on the road to see them. Great night from a great band. (:

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Foreigner​
2009 Tour
Quapaw, Oklahoma​

:clap::clap::clap::clap:
Best concert I have been to hanRAB down. They put on an very exciting performance. Lou Gramm sounded exactly the same as he did 30 years ago. He hit every high note, low note and everything inbetween flawlessly. He sang the songs and the band played the music the way you wanted to hear it: what you are used to hearing on the albums. They never changed the worRAB, and their guitar playing was spot on. All the '80s effects were playing at full blast too, so it was a very satisfying listening experience.

I would say "Juke Box Hero" was their best performance, even though it was never my favorite song, they were really hitting this one hard. The crowd was going wild, since, well, most everyone was pretty boozed up long before the concert even started. The band was very young at heart especially Lou. He clirabed up on the stage and was prancing around non stop the whole concert. You could really tell the band had their heart in it that night and that is what makes all the difference between a good concert and a bad one.
 
SounRAB the complete opposite to watching Porcupine Tree on Saturday. Everyone was sat down (wtf?) and it was almost TOO polished. A little let down I have to say. Just got the nod this afternoon for seeing Slayer in a few weeks which has certainly made up for it :D

Glad you enjoyed the gig. No matter if you are a big fan of an artist. Good shows with lots of atmosphere are still magical.
 
PICTURES

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It was an outdoor concert as you can see.

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Thats me. Proof I was there

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Right off the bat, he clirabed up the stage like a wild man

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I have made no secret of not liking Coldplay but certain gigs always stick in the mind and especially travelling to see your fave band creates great memories. Glad you enjoyed the gig.
 
Between the Buried and Me, Devin Townsend Project- Houston Texas, January 11, 2010
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Alright...so I've only heard one album from either of these banRAB, but the tickets to this show were only $15.00 so I figured, hell, why not? I've been itching to go to a gig and this should be a high-energy, ass-kicking good time. The Meridian (the venue) is a great little place. Basically an old warehouse looking building in a bad part of town, standing room only on the inside, stage in front of you, a full bar on either side. Always a good crowd. Well, normally.

First off, there were two other banRAB (Cynic and Scale the Summit) that played before the two headliners. Show was supposed to start at 8:00 pm. We got there right at 8...Cynic had already played and Scale the Summit was on their last song. ??? No matter...I didn't go to see them anyways. Although that last song by Scale the Summit was decent. Too bad I can't remeraber the name of it (maybe it was "Omni"? Not sure).

Then it was time for Devin Townsend Project. Devin came out and the crowd started cheering, and I thought 'Good, now the fun starts". I've only had two beers at this point, but I'm ready for some action. And for the next 20 minutes we waited, because the sound guy couldn't get his shit together. Meantime, Devin's talking to the crowd, seems a great guy, down to earth, a little nerdy but secure with that. Finally everything was in order...He opened with "Disruptr" and there were apparently still some sound issues, but they were worked out quickly and the song went on, and everyone was happy. He was awesome and I was finally starting to get into the show. As the show progressed though, I noticed that the crowd wasn't really getting into it. I chocked it up to them all being there for BTBAM and not really caring about DTP. Except this one guy standing right next to me who was throwing them devil horns and banging his head like he was the only person in the room. I liked that guy. Sadly, DTP only got to play about 5 songs, I'm guessing because of all the initial sound problems. They closed the set with "Ziltoidia Attaxx!", which was amusing but surprisingly good. The friend I was with kept commenting on how great Devin's voice was, and I have to agree with her. Just as good live as on the album. I was sad when he and the band left the stage. So sad I switched from beer to rum and Coke.

Between the Buried and Me finally got on stage. Opened with a song I didn't know, the beginning of it sounded kind of middle eastern. It was enough to keep me interested anyway. They finished the first song and it was alright, but still I noticed the crowd was just standing there, not really doing anything. Not moshing, not head-banging...nothing. I started on my second rum and Coke, but it didn't really help me either. After the third song, I turned to my friend and asked her if she wanted to leave...yes.

Unfortunately, I didn't really care for what I heard of BTBAM. I left the show wishing that Devin Townsend had played last, and cursing the sound guys for screwing up their set. It was worth the money to go see him. At the end of the night, we ended up in a little dive of a bar, talking about how much we liked DTP and drinking more rum and Coke (and drunkenly comparing the new Star Trek movie to the original series, but that's besides the point. And shows how big of a nerd I am).
 
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This drummer was unbelievable. He did this solo and it was like nothing I have ever seen. He hit his sticks on the drums and launched them up to the very top of the stage and they came down and he caught them like 10 times in a row. Yeah, I was pretty impressed.

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Beginning of Juke Box Hero


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At the very end, that guy started playing behind his head
 
I saw Sonic Youth in massey hall. Best time of my life other than car ride there and back from my friend's mom's friend. The car had dog hair all over and the lady who drove dragged me into the Condom Shack so she could buy a ***** modled after a carrot. Than I had to lsiten to her blab on about her idea of good music, Bob Noxios, Posion, and Kiss, Than she critized me for listening to Public Enemy and Techno music, because the electric guitar is the only means of making good music. THAN! She called her boyfriend to cast him about Sonic Youth... He replied "Durrr' I saw dem on the Simpsons. Hick Hick!" But uhh yeh the concert itself was great. Front row! At one point our arms were right on the stage than the securities guarRAB told us to '**** off', but than during the enchore everyone went back up for the rest of the show. I don't really remeber the setlist, The irish guy I sat beside managed to nab 1/3 setlists that were being handed out by a rody... Than nearing the end the bearded fella' from Broken Social Scene shuved past me to get to his backstage seat. Great time.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoJPXIntyjM&feature=channel_page[/YOUTUBE]
 
Alrighty, nonsubmissive. Nice review. I've not heard any of The DTP that I know of, but I've seen Strapping Young Lad, and I know that Devin Townsend is a very talented man.

The BTBAM song you're referring to sounRAB like it might be "Informal Gluttony". One of my favorite BTBAM songs. I'm sorry your BTBAM experience was not a particularly pleasant one. And I'm really surprised that no one was doing anything throughout. That's fuckin' lame.
 
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