FRAMING HANLEY plus MY PASSION

Wednesday June 1st 2011

FRAMING HANLEY plus MY PASSION

Wolverhampton Slade Rooms

I had been looking forward to seeing Framing Hanley again as I really love their music.  We had seen them on the Kerrang Tour and they were fab, but this time they were headlining.

My two cherubs and I headed off to Wolverhampton and we had a nice quick trip with no problems.  I parked in my usual place which is a multi storey car park right next to the Civic Hall.  I had assumed that the Slade Rooms were in the same building as the Wulfrun Hall ... I was wrong.  There were lots of other people milling around looking for the place too so I clearly wasn't the only one who had made that mistake.

We wandered off into town before deciding to head back to where we started.  There we saw a map on the door telling us where the Slade Rooms were and Aimee directed us via her mobile phone.  We would never have found it otherwise - it felt like miles away and the kids were not particularly impressed.

We joined the back of the (by now) huge queue and as usual I got picked on and abused while we waited ... well it keeps them amused I suppose.  Once inside I paid my regular visit to the ladies and both of the kids disappeared inside.  I reckon the Slade Rooms are similar in size to the Sugarmill ... a little wider but not as far back.

First on were My Passion.  Aimee had seen them before at her first unsupervised gig and she had her photo taken with each of the band members outside the venue.  I had only seen one of their videos and I like their stuff but I wasn't sure Luke would. 

We took up our usual places - Aimee at the front, me at the side and Luke somewhere in between.  There was lots of raucous screaming as soon as they appeared.  The first thing I noticed was a bleached mohawk.  The singer was chatting away to the crowd and I thought he sounded just like Olly Murs of X-Factor fame ... he didn't sound like him when he sang though.

They were very good indeed.  My initial thoughts were that they were a bit camp (having seen their gold-plated video) but they were really quite heavy.  A couple of songs in and the singer removed his shirt and he had obviously been working out!!  Excellent stuff, and I think even Luke approved.

Framing Hanley were simply brilliant.  I remember thinking that Wolverhampton was probably as far removed from Nashville as you could get, but having never been to Nashville, who knows!

The crowd went mental, everyone was jumping up and down and singing along to everything. 

I'm surprised they're not more well known really - I would expect them to be performing at bigger venues, but I'm glad they don't.  I would definitely see them again given the chance.
Filming as usual was done by Aimee >>Aimee's Videography

Once the music had finished, the lights went up and I noticed the hall had some spectacular chandeliers, which I thought odd.  The kids decided to head off to the merch desk and see if they could get more pictures taken with My Passion.  I bought Aimee a tote bag and got out of the way as it was a bit of a crush.

Their waiting was well worth it though as they both met the band and had photos with them so they were happy.  I was happy too until I tried to get onto the M6 to go home and it was closed ... why me?  It always happens to me!  Ggrrrr...

OK so my next review is of the Download Festival which may take a while...

TTFN x

PANIC! AT THE DISCO plus LOVE LETTERS

Monday May 16th 2011

PANIC! AT THE DISCO plus LOVE LETTERS

Manchester Academy

Back to Manchester again and this time Aimee's friend Jess and my friend's son Sam came with us.  We had a good journey but when we got there, there was already a massive queue.

Sam was a bit nervous to say the least - he said he didn't like crowds!  Perhaps a gig wasn't really the place for him. 

I tried to calm him down by telling him that actually this queue looked quite safe compared to some of the crowds I'd seen ... I don't think it helped!  What really didn't help was the homeless guy accosting us for cash with the fabulous quote of the night
"Put a smile on a homeless person's face?"
I apologised to him and said I didn't carry cash, and when he'd gone I told the kids that homeless people really shouldn't be smiling anyway!  They all laughed ... teenagers are so heartless.

Love Letters were on first and sadly I haven't managed to find a picture of them ... I did Google 'Love Letters' but I could have been on there days before the right picture appeared.  I also don't remember them, especially as I have no picture to remind me...sorry!  I was spending most of this time trying to keep Sam calm.  I have never met anyone quite so stressed in a crowd of people.  He was desperate for a cigarette but didn't have any, and I was convinced he was going to hyperventilate.

I bought him a drink and we both stood at the side by the wall, as far away from people as we could get.  We had been given some leaflets showing forthcoming gigs and I folded these up beautifully to create a couple of handy fans for us to waft ourselves.  It was incredibly hot in there.

By the time Panic! At The Disco came on Sam wanted to leave, bless him.  I managed to get him to stay and I think he enjoyed it.  Both of the girls loved it - no surprise there.  I would have enjoyed it far more if I didn't have Sam to worry about, but I still sang along and they were brilliant.  They hadn't been to the UK for ages and their fans were really excited to see them.

Aimee did her job brilliantly as usual - see her footage here>>Aimee's Videography

It has become tradition now that when we exit the Academy we head straight to the Sainsburys Express across the road to get cold drinks.  Despite hating the idea, I bought Sam a pack of ciggies in the hope it would stop him from keeling over.  He had a smoke on the way back to the car and I could tell it had helped.  Shame..  Somehow I don't think he'll come to another gig with us.

Framing Hanley in Wolverhampton is next.
TTFN x

TWIN ATLANTIC plus FIGHTING WITH WIRE and LAFONTAINES

Thursday May 5th 2011

TWIN ATLANTIC plus FIGHTING WITH WIRE and LAFONTAINES

Manchester Academy 3

Wow its been far too long since I last updated my blog, and we have been to a few gigs during my absence.  I know I should really do a write up the day following a gig as my memory isn't what it was - sadly this means that the next few reviews will be shorter than normal.

First up were the Lafontaines, and when Aimee told me it was a Scottish rapper I thought 'Oh dear...'  I think the rest of the crowd thought the same before they came out too.  The frontman started by having a bit of a chat to the audience, which included him taking the mickey out of his own accent.  That helped them warm to him.

Someone threw a silver thong onto the stage which he then put on his head ... as you do ... and suddenly everybody loved him!  Everyone started to bounce around and there was even a bit of a mosh.  Two girls crowdsurfed all the way onto the stage ... I plan to do that someday.  Anyway, I thought they were great and was very impressed at how they won the crowd over.

Second on were Fighting With Wire who are from Derry in Northern Ireland.  I am very sorry to say that I don't remember very much about this band, but it has been a while and I'm afraid the umpteen million bands I've seen in between have blurred my memories.  I'm sure they were very good though ...

Finally Twin Atlantic appeared.  I have seen them before supporting My Chemical Romance, and I wasn't sure about them.  However, as headliners in a small cosy venue they were amazing.  They were heavier than I expected and extremely Scottish, and very good looking!

Aimee, as ever, has done some filming here>>Aimee's Videography  so you can check them out.  Plenty of crowdsurfers again, and just great music.

Next on the agenda is Panic! At The Disco.
TTFN x