What was the last concert you went in 2015?

EppyFest 4 Tickets -  http://www.eppyfest.co.uk/ 

Actually, this is my next concert I'm going to and I've been looking forward to it since last July's EppyFest 3 . I met people from Holland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norwich & people from around the UK, at the friendliest festival I have ever attended

If you live close enough to Stroud, Gloucestershire and fancy seeing 6 bands for £20 (adv), an eclectic day of music awaits.

In order of appearance are:

Death In Texas - http://deathintexas.bandcamp.c...ause-between-breaths 

Firefly Burning - http://fireflyburning.bandcamp.../album/skeleton-hill 

Trojan Horse - http://trojanhorse.bandcamp.co...d-turned-upside-down 

Unto Us - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/untous 

Arch Garrison - https://soundcloud.com/arch-ga.../i-will-be-a-pilgrim 

The Korgis vs. Stackridge appear in the EppyFest 4 preview podcast #150 -

https://www.mixcloud.com/ianfa...-eppyfest-4-preview/ 

It would be great to meet up with anyone from this Forum, so see you there if you are tempted

Opera North semi-staged version of The Flying Dutchman at Symphony Hall Birmingham.

A very fine performance with no mad producer to ruin the experience!

Alwyn Mellor particularly fine as Senta.

Emily Sun playing Barber's Violin Concerto at the Royal College of Music with the RCM Philharmonic conducted by Michael Seal on Wednesday evening. She's definitely a star in ascendent who rose magnificently  to the difficult challenge of the famously tricky final movement with a virtuoso performance. The evening was concluded with a rousing performance of Neilsen's 4th Symphony and the awesome Tympani duel between two sets of kettle drums on either side of the concert hall.  Great stuff.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters at Cannock Chase, part of the Forest Live series run by the Forestry Commission.

Second time I have seen him play and both were outdoors. Played a range of material from his solo years interspersed with many Led Zep tunes. Seemed delighted to be performing so close to his Black Country roots and in turn the crowd showed their adoration.

I commented to Mrs S that it must be a sure sign of middle age when the queue for coffee is far longer than that for the bar.

Kudos to the Forestry Commission for such excellent traffic management; I have never got out of a large outdoor venue anywhere near as fast.

Naomi Shelton and The Gospel Queens with the Daptone house band last night at Under the Bridge. Wonderful.

Ditto, to @Richard S - Planty in the Forest, on Cannock Chase.

Surprised - and delighted - by the amount of Zepp he played.  He opened with Trampled Under Foot, and included Black Dog, Rock & Roll, The Rain Song, The Wanton Song and finally Whole Lotta Love.  Lots of Plantations (Robert's stories) between songs - including name checks for Tipton and Stourbridge...!

My non-Zepp fan partner also enjoyed herself - and agree the exit from the venue was efficient & speedy. 

Fabulous.... 

PS. Here is the Set List - http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/...ngland-3bf680a8.html

And a Review - http://nativemonster.com/music...t-live-cannock-chase

John Mellencamp at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, July 19, 2015.

Carlene Carter was the opening guest, playing solo. Not a country music listener I was unfamiliar with anything she played, but she presented herself well as an accomplished entertainer with a confident stage presence. She played six or seven songs on acoustic six-string guitar, two on piano, and spoke endearingly of her lineage in the Carter-Cash family. I thought she was impressive on both instruments and had a lovely, commanding voice, per her genre. Great SQ in the 2,500 seat venue.

Then came Mellencamp; an indomitable stage presence with an extensive discography of emotion-driven songs that tug at the heart strings of all things Americana. Musically, he did not disappoint and his most familiar hits had the crowd on their feet, clapping hands and singing along with lyrics that seemed culturally engrained to most of us fifty-something year old gray-hairs that dominated the audience. A very professional performance from the gravelly-voiced old salt. I had previewed some of Mellencamp's concert footage from Nashville and anticipated a country bend to his performance, but this was honed more true to his electric rock originals, as appropriate for a Seattle audience. Strong fiddle playing by Miriam Sturm provided cohesion to the overall concert, tying the individual songs together as a whole.

My only complaint was Mellencamp's SQ. Carter's performance had a volume and acoustic quality appropriate for the concert hall venue and I enjoyed it sans earplugs. Mellencamp's was raucous loud with overbearing percussion, especially the bass drum; the kind of bass akin to a rumbling sound effect from a movie more than a musical instrument. Whether vocals or lead guitar, everything was diluted within the heavy mix. Like listening to an overly compressed CD with no dynamic range. I thought the sound was unfitting for a venue with finely tuned acoustics. I guess that's the modern sound folks expect at a rock concert, but in went my earplugs, likely saving me from a post-concert headache.

I wouldn't discourage any Mellencamp fans from buying a ticket for his Plain Spoken tour as you'll get an electric performance, just don't forget your earplugs for the main event.

The Latitude Festival. Caribou and Tom Robinson were good. Also the Booka Brass Band.

I just secured tickets to see Robert Plant here in Boston towards the end of September.  I thought that his last album was fabulous; I hope that this show is, too. 

Nice one, Bart.  I'll look forward to your thoughts on the show.

Mike

Secured tickets for a couple of "cover" bands , Los Endos  PG era Genesis who we have seen several times always very good, and a new one for us Purple Zeppelin. No idea who they cover ! 

Oi! This is the concert review thread - not the what am I looking forward to thread!

He started it!!!! 

Foo Fighters in Manchester Cricket Ground.  A good gig but the ground was far too full and it was dangerously busy on the floor towards the front.  The group were superb though and well worth watching

Bad Religion, Wed 5th August, The Institute in Birmingham.

Its been 5 years since I last saw them, and the last gig the band seemed to be just going through the motions, all a bit disappointing from one of my favourite bands.

But last night they were fully back on form, had a zip to their performance and genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves.

With 30+ years of back catalogue to dip into there was no shortage of classics from all through the ages.

Great gig, thoroughly recommended, and my ears are really good this morning too!

Archive, last night in Nice. Theatre Verdure, a small outdoor arena right on the prom.

VERY loud (which is surprising given the proximity of so many hotels, although it did start and finish promptly (9 - 11.30, inc support). Will have to give Restriction another listen today. Really good gig.

This morning I didn't know, but a very unique opportunity. A friend asked me if I would care to join a concert, and I did. It's basically an interesting concept two takes with different jazz oriented artist in a chamber type of atmosphere and that for a whole week long with the same artists. I of course only saw them now on one evening, but nevertheless interesting concept.

the first artist was Rayka Wehner. She has a magical voice and comes to a unique program which is not comparable with anything I heard before and sometimes gives us a fkavor of a Norma Winstone type of sound...

The second take was even more interesting for me. It was the piano trio called Turn. Three young guys which sometimes gave a hint of the famous Brad Mehldau Trio. Very entertaining and melodic program, we heard them for about a good hour, but it could have been much longer for me. So I also bought the cd...

Ryley Walker - Hoxton Bar and Kitchen last Wednesday. Really enjoyed this one. Played a few tracks from Primrose Green including a storming version of the title track. He also played 3 solo numbers one being a Van Morrison track called Fair Play which I had not heard. Must try and find a copy of Veedon Fleece now!!

Mr Gilmour's tour preview show in Brighton, last night.

The show was held at the Brighton Centre, a 1970s brutalist monstrosity situated on the seasfront, which is often used for concerts despite it being woefully unsuited for such events. Fortunately Gilmour had a superb stereo (rather than the customary Floydian quad) PA, provided by Britannia Row, and which was very loud but as clear as a bell.

We had excellent seats, dead centre in row FF of the rear stalls so had a great view.

The setlist was as follows:

Intro
5AM
Rattle That Lock
Faces Of Stone
Wish You Were Here
A Boat Lies Waiting
The Blue
Money
Us And Them
In Any Tongue
High Hopes

Astronomy Domine
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pts. 1-5
Band Introductions
Fat Old Sun
On An Island
The Girl In The Yellow Dress
Today
Sorrow

Run Like Hell

Intro
Time->Breathe (Reprise)
Comfortably Numb

Some observations:

1. I am really bored of hearing WYWH and Comfy Numb;

2. The new material - apart from the jazzy "Girl in the Yellow Dress" - is very mediocre;

3. DG was a bit rusty (particularly vocally) and, I thought, nervous;

4. The first set was a bit stodgy - it took a while for the band to get into gear;

5. DG's solo on "The Blue" was extraordinary - lyrical, liquid, sublime. When he is at the top of his game no living guitarist can touch him - simply beautiful;

6. "Money" was a surprise - DG solo has played it only very infrequently, and not since his 1984 "About Face" tour. It was actually really good - he played it straight, as a rocker (as opposed to how the post-Waters Floyd used to play it, which was to add faux-soulful "oohs" and "aahs", slap bass and even reggae beats - the horror!) and it worked really well;

7. The very old oldies - "Fat Old Sun", "Astronomy Domine" - were my highlights;

8. "On A Island" really missed Crosby and Nash's harmonies;

9. A lot of pyrotechnics - in contrast to the last tour. Most of them were very effective, although some of the new films were a bit naff. The LEDs on "RLH" were amazing.

10. Everyone really, really wanted "Echoes" - maybe he'll slip it in as the tour progresses.

Kevin, I agree with a lot of what you said. We were in row FF too. Overall I really enjoyed it but being a preview show I could feel they needed a little more match practice. I really disliked The Girl in the Yellow Dress!

Us and Them was a real highlight for me. Roll on the Albert Hall gigs.........

We went to Robert Glasper trio. It was really good.

Get off your phone and enjoy the concert!