Following the first leg of the tour for their 2013 release ‘Beautiful Curse’, The Quireboys have confirmed they’ll be kicking off 2014 with a selection of acoustic shows at intimate venues, including a set at London’s Borderline.
The acoustic dates are as follows:
When Iron Maiden headlined the UK leg of the Sonisphere Festival in 2011, it was a distinctly underwhelming experience. Not only were the band too quiet, but since they had a new product to promote (that year’s workmanlike ‘Final Frontier’ album), the setlist represented the rest of the ‘Final Frontier’ tour in that most of their near two hour set was culled from material from the band’s three most current releases. For those who’d never seen the band before, or the more casual admirer who’d have liked to hear a few more classics, the set was a colossal misfire. Sure, when you’re a band headlining your own ticketed gig at a large venue, the audience is your audience, they’ll go along for the ride no matter what; but a festival audience is an entirely different beast – much more demanding. From halfway through Maiden’s set on that particular occasion, people were leaving in droves, wandering off with casual indifference.
After being available as an import for a year, Ugly Kid Joe’s 2012 comeback release ‘Stairway To Hell’ is finally getting a UK release in October 2013. The new version of the release will also include a full-length DVD featuring a making of segment, two previously unavailable video clips and footage from the band’s appearance at the 2012 Download Festival.
As any metal fan knows, the first four Black Sabbath albums defined an entire musical genre. Four slabs of vinyl with monolithic riffs that inspired future generations; riffs which many emulated, but few matched – especially in terms of superb tone. From 1973 onward, Sabbath continued to make good music, but it didn’t always match the impact of their earliest work.
During Whitesnake’s 2013 co-headlining tour with Journey, the band were sloppy. Guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich bought a fair amount of weight to the live sound, but their constant gurning was a little embarrassing. Not as embarrassing as the vocal performance from David Coverdale, however, who – at least during their London show – failed to hit any big notes anywhere near in tune. During most of the ‘Forevermore’ songs he sounded like Cookie Monster, while on the squealier material (such as ‘Still of the Night’) hearing his cracked voice constantly struggling was just painful beyond belief. Thankfully, drummer Tommy Aldridge was an absolute powerhouse performer throughout; but despite previous claims made by Phil Collins that a bad band with a good drummer would still sound good, watching this once great band falter and fumble, you’d surely have to disagree.