The Savior Of Rock n Roll LIVE!!!

[Guest Inno]

NME Carling Awards Tour, 27th Jan, Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow.

 

The night started badly, the 7:30pm door time being put back to 8pm for some unknown reason,and without telling anybody either. Being stood in a line in the dark, wet cold night while being pelted by 80mph winds does not bode well.

 

The Coral - had started just as people were being let in, and were halfway through their set when we got in. Influenced by anyone from The Beatles, The La's The Specials and Captain Beefheart, they seemed to lack one true direction - perhaps when they discover what kind of band they want to be, they'll be worth checking out.

 

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Visually, the most exciting band of the night, with a fantastic light show to back up the simplicity of the one bass, one guitar and drums set up. Churning out Jesus And Mary Chain meets Joy Division tunes, they were great to watch, and perhaps should have been higher up the bill. The fantastic light show, plunging them from darkness to full on strobe mania within the same song only served to make their set fly. Definitely worth checking out on record, something I intend to do.

 

Lostprophets - The major let down of the night for me... a ridiculous 45 minute set-up and soundcheck time, followed by more fiddling about on stage, and the front row telling the band how to set up the vocalist meant their set was cut to 5 songs. Well, I say 5 songs - I mean Shinobivsdragonninja and 4 sub-standard demo versions of it by the sound of things. Not at all impressed. I was looking forward to seeing them, too. Ho-Hum.

 

Andrew WK - the biggest cheer of the night so far was for the famous 'bloody nose' backdrop being lifted into place. Putting the lostprophets to shame, a 20 minute changeover and soundcheck was enough for the huge (and I mean HUGE) New Yorker to arrive and blow the place away. The 'no crowd surfing signs' were quickly discarded as body after body was lifted towards the stage, Andrew himself encouraging and congratulating every succesful trip with a high five. Not messing about in between songs as the lostprophets did, he tore through new single She Is Beautiful midway into the set, and saved the best for last - a pumped up, punked up, psychopathic rage through Party Hard nearly ripped the Union apart at the seams, sparking off the mosh pit from hell on the floor.

 

Basically playing the magnificent 'I Get Wet' CD in full, I was expecting to be disappointed by his live set, but left the QMU breathless, especially after one of the most insane stage dives I've seen, and an impromptu meet-n-greet session from Andrew himself - I have to admit fanboy tendencies, and say I got a hug from the Great Man himself... what can I say? 40 minutes that prove he is in fact the Saviour Of Rock And Roll...

[Guest Vampiro]

i phoned up to get tickets to that carling awards, thnking it was just lost prohpets and andrew wk playing. when i found out it wasnt i didnt bother to order. looks like i missed out on something good.