Event Reviews

On the Ninth Day of Christmas PlanetMosh gave to me Nine Ladies Dancing and there were at least nine ladies dancing at Dirt Box Disco’s Sold Out (again) gig at the STP Records annual Christmas get together at the Star and Garter. Although I think the boss knows I like writing about …

With 2014 drawing rapidly towards its inexorable conclusion, the PM team found themselves braving the chilly December air for the first of two year-end gigs inside the space of slightly more than 48 hours… with the Distortion Project signing off on the inbound Saturday evening (see our review elsewhere), the …

The last of the Distortion Project’s (almost) weekly RocKD Saturday afternoon promotions of 2014 brought together two bands, one from either side of the Irish border, who really have made names for themselves over the past 12 months, with a headline act who have been relatively quiet in comparison but …

As the frontman of one of the biggest stadia-filling rock bands of their generation, it was perhaps fitting that Joe Elliott‘s self-described “little side project” should be born in a similar environment – in front of thousands of people supporting, and then emulating, in turn one of the most iconic …

To say 2014 has been a big year for Vardis and their patient fans is an understatement. Following their reformation in 2013 after an almost 30 year hiatus, they played their 5th gig of 2014 at the Unity Works in Wakefield. This was a homecoming gig at a venue they …

In between all the rush from one gig to another there was yet another one in the “must attend” list – Behemoth’s concert in Glasgow. Occupying the O2 ABC stage on the day after killer Morbid Angel show makes it a little different but the perfect continuation. These Polish blackened …

Tonight was my first time visiting Sub89 in Reading, and I have to say I was impressed. It’s right in the city centre, just a couple of minutes walk from the railway station.  The best part was when I get inside – the sound quality.  The volume was loud but …

There are so many things to do when December knocks on your door. One thing is a must – to check EBM masters Combichrist playing live, especially if you find yourself in Glasgow.  They were here exactly one year ago with their old school set and as promised they are …

It was a rainy night outside at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, but the fans still queued up until the doors were opened at bang on 19:00. The gathered masses then started to make their way inside for what we anticipated was going to be an epic night out! Everyone …

Apparently we are having a “weatherbomb” here in the UK this week. This means high winds, rain, hail, snow, basically the worst the sky can throw at us. So what else are you going to do on a cold Wednesday night in December than take a 150-mile round trip along …

The busiest time of the year has come. Yeah, when amazingly great bands have even more awesome gigs one after another and if you have to choose one it might become real torture. So many of us end up going to lots of them. Morbid Angel gig was one of …

At Rock City Nottingham, Michael Schenker and his Temple Of Rock Tour once again blew away the East Midlands fans with this “Bridge The Gap 2014” extravaganza!! He returned with a new support band Western Sand, who also put in a really good performance, airing their own catalogue of songs …

I have to admit that until a few years ago the only Marillion albums in my collection were Script for a Jester’s Tear  , Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws. The group have seemed to have by-passed me for a number of years and I have only recently been re-acquainted …

It was in the first two decades of the ninth century that the chroniclers of ancient Ulster first recorded the arrival of the fiercesome Norsemen, as they inflicted on this north-eastern corner of Ireland the same fate they had wrought elsewhere on the island and also across Britain and those …

British band Heart of a Coward were first up – going on stage just a couple of minutes after the doors opened, so very few fans were there at the start of the set, and since their set was a ridiculously short 15-20 minutes, the venue wasnt exactly busy by …

On a particularly wet and windy Glasgow evening the most anticipated gig of the year in Scotland (for me at least) is about to commence. The insane powerhouse of Death Metal that is Sweden’s At the Gates are in Glasgow once more and they do it like no other. With …

Rock City, the iconic rock venue in the heart of Nottingham, was the venue for the third night of the ‘Blast From the Past’ tour from the Fabulous, Flamboyant Finnish, Glam Rock Four, Reckless Love. I have seen them four times before and, so far, have always enjoyed their shows, …

On previous tours, Epica have skipped the UK when doing the European leg and instead done a separate UK tour of around half a dozen dates in small-medium sized venues, but this time they’ve included a single UK date on their European tour, and it’s here at the Forum, which …

Tonight’s show was the first of two to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary.  Time certainly flies as when I thought about it I realised the first time I saw Fields of the Nephilim was 26 years ago. The first act tonight was Dolomite minor, a Southampton based band.  I say …

Unless you’re a resident of Bristol, the novelty of a gig in the underbelly of a boat is something to behold – particularly when the Thekla is a wonderful little venue that has a fantastic sound system: the three bands on tonight benefit from it fantastically. On arrival, with twenty …