Another fine set from Mr Prophet & The Mission Express in Oxford last night. Pretty much the same basic set, with encores of John Cale's Fear Is A Man's Best Friend and the Flamin' Groovies' Shake Some Action. Went with a couple of friends of mine, one who's seen Chuck a couple of times before, and was even more impressed this time, and one who was a newbie to the Prophet experience but was straight off to the merch table afterwards.

Frank Turner, more used to intimate venues, largely filled Wembley Arena last night. Supported by the Billy Bragg, and the ghost of Woody Guthrie. A great evening marred only by the astonishing cost of refreshments.

Nick Lowe and his band, night before last (4/18) @ the historic First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis MN.

Not much I can add to Tom C's review from last month... another great show by Nick, my first time seeing him with the full band... Geraint Watkins is a pleasure to watch on piano and organ, appearing to improvise his parts like a little kid with a new toy... and the acoustic bass fits perfectly with all these songs. The uptempo numbers were the high point ('Raging Eyes' and 'Without Love')... and an unexpected surprise was 'Raining Raining' from the 'Nick The Knife' album. My only small complaint was the somewhat short length of the set... under 80 minutes including both encores... but that's probably more me whinging about the 7+ hour drive each way to get to the gig.

This was the first night of the North American leg of his tour... he's in Toronto, NYC and Boston next week... highly recommended if you can make it out to one of those shows.

Couldn't have put it better if I tried .

Have been listening to Nick's latest CD which arrived earlier this week. Very laid back and cruisy and sounds better with each hearing. Together with the double CD and DVD 'Quiet Please: The New Best Of Nick Lowe' I have been enjoying a lot of the songs I saw Nick sing last month. The DVD features about half a dozen of his old film clips plus a one hour live concert from Belgium (I think) in 2008 featuring the same band line-up as last month and most of the songs they played excluding the brand new ones. It's a great value package that covers his earlier hits plus his more laid back recent material - but be warned there is a CD only version around as well if you are after the concert.

The Mick Ralphs Blues Band gig at the Tabard,Turnham Green was the best show of their's I've seen.They were all relaxed,their musicianship was amazing and the set was over too quick.If you enjoy a bit of blues go and see this band!

May 3rd

The Brains, great pump up band, coming to the U.K. shortly (check dates on their facebook page) worth a look.

The Real Mckenzies, blown away by their set, high energy from start to finish. Didn't realize they were Canadian until we were having a beer with Paul Mckenzie after the show, big big fan of SAHB and Mott the Hopple go figure.

The Reverend Horton Heat set was everything I expected and more, he actually tossed the set list half way through and started playing the songs the crowd were calling for. If you haven't seen him, do yourself a favor.

Hello all,

Foxy Shazam, the Portland Music Hall. Below is a shot of lead singer Eric Nally preparing to enjoy a handful of lit cigarettes.



Justin
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Saw Roger Waters at AT&T Park on Friday night. Excellent eye candy show; 10 times larger than any IMAX screen.

A moment of silence for Roger Water's, pig.

During Run Like Hell, Roger in arena shows has a giant pig fly around by remote control with corporate logos all over it. In stadium shows he has the pig tethered and a crew walk it around the field. A gust of wind twisted the pig into a 180 sudden turn and the pig began to deflate. An executive decision was made to get the pig off the field asap and use the shortest rout possible which meant going in front of the light and project tower. The crew pulled the pig down to the ground and crashed into the audience. I was in the section where the first pig crash occurred. As fans we tried to grab it but the pig still had a good fight left in him to keep moving to the end of the field. Finally the pig couldn't stay afloat any longer and security couldn't keep fans away and Roger Water's pig was ripped to shreds by rabid fans.

For the rest of the tour does Roger have a backup pig or did the fans retire the corporate pig? I'll find out on Saturday when I travel down to LA to see The Wall again at the LA Coliseum.

Great show, set list exactly as the album. The march of the Hammers at the end is stunning.

Does he use the pig to advertise the $600 "VIP Party Package" tickets to his shows? That would be funny.

Justin
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he'll have another one.....another pig in the wall.

G

If it crashes down the front it would be another pig in the stalls.

Mick

"that will do pig"..........

No, but the people who paid $600 for the VIP Wall seats missed most of the show. All they got was a plastic lam to remind them how much they paid for a seat that included a $40 tee shirt that says: Are You Paranoid? I would recommend seeing this show to anyone if they have a chance. The eye candy visuals alone will leave anyone in awe. The cheap seats in the back are the best seats in the house for this tour.

Another interesting thing about Roger Waters tickets is the San Francisco field seats were $100 more than the LA Coliseum show next Saturday. When tickets went on sale for the Wall tour last year I managed to get a ticket in back of the soundboard with what I considered a good sight line. Last month Ticketmaster informed me they were changing my seat because a production change obstructed my view of the stage. My new seat is on a riser in front of the soundboard and lighting tower. So I'm in a prime location for sight and sound.

http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k274/ ... =slideshow

You get what you pay for.

Kevin,

I can only imagine what an amazing spectacle those shows are. But I'm someone who just never got into the whole Roger Waters thing; the whole Wall bit and most of what followed never really moved me the way it clearly has move plenty of others. I get all the symbolism and metaphor and all that; but it's just too paranoid and self-absorbed for me.

And when you start talking about the DIFFERENCE in ticket prices being $100, you've lost me. I'll take a $12 club show with Eric Nally eating lit cigarettes anytime

Justin
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