The Gig Review Thread!

[Steve]

I don't know how popular this one will be but it's another conversation point. I though i would start a thread where punters can share thoughts on shows they have recently been to with everyone else for duscussion.

I'll get the ball rolling...

[Steve]

You Am I, 11th Nov, HQ (Formerly Heaven) supports - Spazzy's,Shaky Hands

Tim and co came back to Adelaide for one night only. After July's shows were more of a Convicts + Greatest Hits tour, they pulled out less of the commercial hits and replaced them with other solid YAI gems amongst new stuff. No Cathys Clown,Berlin Chair,Purple Sneakers,Heavy Heart etc...

Some technical problems, Davey was having trouble with his pedals, i'm a dumb drummer so i wouldn't really be able to tell you what was going on. Timmy broke a string, since HQ is a much larger venue, Tim felt as if there weren't too many people at the show, at times he seemed pretty pissed at this fact but in the end had a nit of a joke letting everybody know that they were the "elite" and also letting everyone know that he is "a considerate lover". Told everyone that if anyone can get him some drugs, his friend may come on stage who he revealed as "Missy Rogers" - that joke went down like a lead ballon.

Set:

Crash
Whatcha Doin' To Me
Plans
Moon Shines on Trubble
Cream and the Croc
My Own Hand
Gunslingers
Judge Roy
Friends Like You
It Ain't Funny
Secrets
Constance George
-----
Tim x3 (which ended up being 2 - Gray and Arse Kickin' Lady from the Northwest; he almost played Ordinary, but instead got the boys back out to finish the gig)
----
Wally Raffles
Baby Clothes
Junk
Billy
New Rose
Thank God I've Hit The Bottom
_____________________

(Gasoline 4 2 was on the setlist here, but they didn't play it, dammit!)
The Applecross Wing Commander

Great to see the boys again, i believe they jet off to the US and Europe after they wind up this tour.

[foxy]

cool idea steve... Last gig I went to was Sarah Blasko at stonefest, played alot of the new material it was a good show, reezing cold but. I was too drunk to remember specifics.

[toolgasm]

Yeah, cool idea Steve. Here's a review of the Little Birdy gig I went to recently that I wrote for BMA:

Little Birdy/Red Riders/Abbe Fuzz @ the ANU Bar, Friday 3 November

Soulful songstress Abbe Fuzz started off the night, impressing the early bird crowd with her catchy blues rock tunes. Though she might have only had an acoustic guitar to keep herself company onstage, her voice had enough character and reach to fill the entire room.

Baby-faced indie rockers Red Riders were up next, delivering a punchy and energetic set. By the time the boys finished up and Little Birdy were ready to take to the stage the crowd was swelling in anticipation within the confines of the ANU bar – it was time to rock!

With that thought in mind, the band began the main part of the show by belting out a stunning rendition of their latest hit single, Come On Come On, to a rapturous reception from the eager punters. Unfortunately this sort of enthusiasm was, for the most part, reserved solely for Little Birdy’s singles. It would have been nice to have seen some of the stellar non-commercial songs, Don’t and On And On for example, receiving a similar level of appreciation.

Crowd reactions aside, Little Birdy’s performance was right on the money. Though quite a small lass, singer Katy Steele managed to command an awesome stage presence. She charmed the audience with a combination of seductive poses and serenades fuelled by those trademark wispy pipes of hers. The rest of the band supported Katy with ease and churned out one polished pop rock number after another. It was a pleasure to witness Little Birdy’s transformation from the raw and emotional band of old to their new, more sophisticated sound. The songs from their latest album, Hollywood, sounded wonderful in a live setting and I look forward to seeing them tear up the Big Day Out stage in January. JOSH BROWN

[foxy]

yeah josh forgot to ask you about that, did you actually like red riders? i wish i went, stupid exams.

[toolgasm]

Yeah, they weren't bad... but to tell you the truth, I was so impressed by Abbe Fuzz that they didn't really stick out all that much after seeing her play.

[Steve]

This is a bit of very quick, knock up stuff i wrote friday morning about the U2 gig in Adelaide:

I was impressed at the turnaround time because it was "lights out" at about 8:30 and the band hit the stage coming down from the players race . The group Ripped into the modern sound straight up with "City of blinding lights" which was a great opener, 60,000 South Australians with what seemed like a lot of Western Aussies came alive. Followed up with big hits "Vertigo" and "Elevation". Plenty of energy from Bono, lots of welcomes and banter early. At one point someone tossed a pillow onto the stage and he played up to it, laying down on stage before ripping into the chorus of "Elevation". The band were tight as and the production made for a great, clear sound. One of the highlights for me was during the outro to one of the opening tracks, he sang "We are SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, we hope that you enjoy the show" - not sure how many people heard or understood what he said since it didn't get a huge cheer but I thought was a fantastic Beatles reference.

The first of the "classics" came 5 songs on with "New Years Day" defiantly one of the highlights, fantastic song and played to perfection. Bono nailed it. Band still tight as ever and seemed like they were having a good time. "Beautiful Day" followed this and during the quiet bridge of that song, Bono changed the lyrics to references of Adelaide and SA, mentioning The Murray, Glenelg and South Australia before the song took off once again.

During the middle of the set, Bono spoke of harmony within the world, and end to hunger and peace on earth. He bought a young lad up from the crowd and told him "your generation is going to show us the way", "we are going to coexist" before singing his own version of a prayer while The rest of the group jammed in time. "COEXIST" was shown on the backdrop with a Crescent as the "C", the Jewish star as the "X" and the cross making up the "T". He also told everyone to pull out their mobile phones, and asked if the crowd could text their name to a number displayed on screens (A petition for interest in eliminating poverty) - A regular occurrence at all U2 shows.

The set took a turn with "Stuck In A Moment" and then once again the sound was changed with "Angel of Harlem". "Sometimes you can't make It on your own" saw Bono take the walk town the stage which was set up dividing fans on each side in a pretty good moment, he dedicated it to the people of Adelaide. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was next and although broken up in parts, a fantastic anthem that the crowd ate up. After "Bullet in the blue sky" the crowd was treated to a classic U2 quartet of "Miss Sarajevo", "Pride", "Where the streets have no name" and "One". Miss Sarajevo proved to have one of the most touching moments of the show for me, with Bono singing Pavarotti's verse and absolutely nailing it, great work. The band walked off stage and prepared for phase two of the show.

Encore one consisted of "Zoo Station" where some very ZOOTV like animations and actions were seen, this was followed by "The Wall" which was another great highlight for myself, these two songs had an almost Psychedelic feel about them, very good twist and unlike the U2 of this decade. "With or without you" followed, and what can I say? Everyone knows it, everyone loves it and the emotion seemed to wave across the stadium at this point. The band once again left the stage, but everyone know there was one more to come….

"The Saints Are Coming" kicked off encore number 2, Bono let us know that it is the number one single here at the moment, to be honest it was the first time I've heard it in full, not a bad place for it! Seemed pretty catchy, a bit of a different sound from their other recent hits. "Desire" was next, what a great track it is, they captured to "get up and go" feeling of it and it was every bit the rambling classic live as it has been for the last 20 years.

The band finished with "Kite" a softer farewell to the people of Adelaide, a few people I've read up with said the shed a tear at this point, was a touching end and capped off a night that I will never forget.

[Steve]

Band Of The Hour
In a time where music equals fashion and it seems the do it yourself attitude towards a career involves a bad haircut and a myspace account, It's comforting to see a band come to town and put on a show that can rekindle faith in rock and roll and remind you that everything is going to be alright. Pearl Jam were in town last night kicking off their 2 night stand in front of a packed Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Their first venture to our city since 2003's Riot Act tour.

Armed with some of the most dedicated and loyal fans in music, Pearl Jam didn't waste any time, opening the night with 1993 crowd pleaser "Elderly Woman…". Frontman Eddie Vedder not giving Adelaide the chance to catch it's collective breath as the group then ripped through rockers "Go" and "Do The Evolution". The entire audience on their feet as one from the very beginning. Something was in the air, rather than the usual banter Vedder was content to let the music do the talking, and didn't it speak volumes. "Once", the first track off the bands debut album Ten kicked off a run of Pearl Jam fan favorites which bought the Ten Club alive. The breathtaking "Immortality" and "State Of Love And Trust" from the Singles soundtrack followed, before Ed paid his own tribute to Adelaide during the outro to "Wishlist" - "I wish I lived in Adelaide, Take a break from my USA, Write some songs and catch some waves, Walk on the beach and get laid" sparking a huge crowd reaction.

"Worldwide Suicide" and "Severed Hand" were served up as the first of the new material and sandwiched in between was 1991 superhit "Even Flow", guitarist Mike McCready and Matt Cameron on drums taking the song to another level with their phenomenal individual efforts. Vedder giving the band a chance to jam as he lit a cigarette and interacted with the crowd to his left, bottle of wine in hand. He finally said a few words prior to "Army Reserve" dedicating it to the people of the military, "wherever they may be", as well as the people at home waiting for them to return. "Daughter" followed up with a tease of Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" and Ed sparking a sing-along of Whitfield and Strong's "War". The crowd very vocal and embracing every moment. Notable differences from the last tour included Vedder contributing a third guitar for many more songs during this tour and Bassist Jeff Ament using a double Bass on more than one occasion which was unseen in 2003. The main set continued through the uplifting "Given to fly" from 1998's modern classic Yield and a cover of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" before "Corduroy" rounded out a fantastic opening. The band left the stage, amongst huge cheers from the Adelaide faithful. The night was young and both band and audience were only just getting warmed up.

Ed took the spotlight as the group returned for the first encore. "We don't know where we are taking you tonight, but, we aren't there yet" he said prior to a beautiful rendition of 2003's "Man Of The Hour" taken from the Big Fish soundtrack, this led into a small rendition of Marley's "No Woman No Cry", which was changed to "No Baby No Cry", Ed's tribute to "all the new parents". Amongst these tracks, the fans close to stage were throwing requests a the stage to give guitarist Stone Gossard a chance to sing, Ed letting everyone know that "This is a democracy, we will take a vote later!". "Betterman" was next on the bill, and as usual Vedder was happy to let the crowd steer the song and they didn't disappoint, in a touching moment with everyone singing along and hands in the air. "Black" surfaced and was the perfect song to follow, Vedder and his audience riding the emotion of the track as one amongst howling guitars from McCready and Gossard. Perhaps the most touching part of this show was as the song died down and the crowd over powered the group with backing melodies. The band faded out and let the fans finish the track for them in what was a true spur of the moment display that band and fans alike are certain not to forget in a hurry. Eddie clearly moved, mentioned that next time the group hit our shores, they may come to Adelaide first, sparking a huge collective response. Almost in awe and certainly in appreciation, the group closed the first encore with "Life Wasted" from this years self titled album, and then "Alive", Vedder's tale of his estranged father.

Although Eddie was physically unwell, the second encore was all about having fun. "Last Kiss", The groups Kosovo Benefit single kicked off with the crowd still as active as ever. Stone took the mic and praised Eddie, prior to introducing the lesser known B Side "Don't Gimmie No Lip" from 2003's Lost Dogs, a double disk collection of rarities. "Ed thinks we're going to fuck it up, but we're going to try anyway!" In what was obviously an unrehearsed moment, the band with Stone on lead vocals gave the track a solid rendition. The die hard fans in the Ten Club section as well as all over the arena in full appreciation to hear this catchy rocker live. Following up was "Sad", a request from the crowd and yet another B Side not often played. Although well into the beginning of the end, the bands enthusiasm failed to wane and the group again kicked it up a notch with more fan favorite's "Last Exit", the opening track from Vitalogy (1994) and classic "Jeremy". Eddie then commenced his goodbye's on behalf of the group, expressing appreciation with the nights events - "See You Next Time". The band finished the set with a cracking rendition of Baba O'Riley (Pete Townshend) with The fan club in full spirits, the houselights up and everybody out of their seats and dancing around. With that, the group waved goodbye and left the stage, the crowd taking full advantage of their final opportunity to show their appreciation for the collective efforts of this amazing act.

The Adelaide faithful must be applauded for their efforts on the night. While sometimes ridiculed for lack of passion during live shows (Even as recent as last weeks U2 concert) The crowd were in high spirits from beginning to finish, it seemed no one took a seat or perhaps even a breath for the shows entirety. Pearl Jam have a great relationship with our country, and it's clear that a soft spot for Adelaide is at the forefront. Vedder happily recalling the time in 2003 prior to their show how the group marched with 100,000 South Australians in the city during an anti war protest. Many of the faces in the crowd will once again converge the Entertainment Centre to watch the group for tonights second leg, but even for those who will have to wait for next time, one thing is for certain - Pearl Jam last night delivered a show just as much one of a kind as it was brilliant, and a performance nobody will forget.

____________________________________________________________
Set List: Elderly Woman Standing Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Go, Do The Evolution, God's Dice, Once, Immortality, State of Love and Trust, Wishlist, World Wide Suicide, Even Flow, Severed Hand, Army Reserve, Daughter/Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil)/War (Whitfield & Strong), Why Go, Given To Fly, Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd), Corduroy

1st encore: Man of the Hour, No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley & Vincent Ford), Better Man/Save It For Later (English Beat), Black, Life Wasted, Alive

2nd encore: Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran), Don't Gimme No Lip, Sad, Last Exit, Jeremy, Baba O'Riley (Pete Townshend)

[scotopic lux]

Is that your review? Its great...had a smile on my face the whole time i was reading it, remembering last night - Best. Show. This Year. haha

[Steve]

Yeah it is, thanks. I knocked that up the morning after the show.

Might do another one for last nights, it's a good way to relive the night.

[scotopic lux]

yeah! please do, i would be interested to read how the two shows differed.

[sunky]

Pearl Jam - 2006-11-25 Perth

Set 1
Go, Animal, Do The Evolution, Comatose, Corduroy, Severed Hand, Given To Fly, Marker In The Sand, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, World Wide Suicide, In Hiding, Even Flow, Daughter/(Mother), U, Insignificance, Jeremy, Big Wave, Lukin, Rearviewmirror

Encore 1
Throw Your Arms Around Me, Last Kiss, Better Man/(Save it for Later), State Of Love And Trust, Black, Alive

Encore 2
Wasted Reprise, Why Go, I Got You, Blood, Rockin' In The Free World

We got to Subiaco Oval about 8pm, doors opened at 7.30pm. We thought we would just catch the first part of Kings of Leon, but we were wrong. At about 8.15pm we started to hear the intro music for Pearl Jam. I think it caught most of the crowd by surprise, the band starting early could only mean one thing - we were in for something truly special.

Kicking off with a strong string of songs of GO, ANIMAL and DO THE EVOLUTION really got the crowd on their feet and excited. As mentioned in other reviews, the usually chatty Vedder kept the talking to a minimum while the band went through the setlist. New songs like COMATOSE and SEVERED HAND went together so well against classic's like CORDUROY. I could really see a different energy in the band that I hadn't seen since maybe the the Yield tour in 1998. When the band got to the always good "sing-along" Elderly Woman ... the crowd didn't let the band down, singing every word and screaming "Hello!" ... i always get shivers hearing that. In true Perth Pearl Jam tradition Eddie dedicated the song to the good people from Yallingup that they met on the 1995 World Tour.

Eddie made mention that his voice was starting to feel like it was going to go, no surprise after all the Australian show and plus the mention that he was feeling a bit sick. How ever, this didn't slow him down at all. The band ripped into an insane version of WORLD WIDE SUICIDE. Next was a crowd request, IN HIDING, I was so excited to hear this track as it is a personal favorite from Yield. I'll be honest the crowd around us did seem to think this was the perfect time to go get a drink ... but I guess that left us with a better view of the band to enjoy a wonderful performance. EVEN FLOW left me and the other thousands speechless, Mike's 3min solo playing the guitar behind his head got the crowd cheering and then having Matt doing an amazing drum solo and then for the band to come back on stage and finish the song in such a strong force it was something special.

Next on the hit parade was DAUGHTER, yet again another crowd sing-a-long. Next was another surprise with U, left majority of the crowd going "Huh?" but personally I was stoked to hear this track live - just a pure fast pop-esque song. Few tracks later they played JEREMY, a track I used to love when I was younger and hearing it played live again reminded why that song is so special. Hearing Jeff play that bass line so perfectly was just amazing and for the first time in a long time the lyrics really hit me, seriousness of the song and I had flashes of the filmclip running through my head.

Eddie dedicated BIG WAVE to all the surfers out there and made mention that he hoped everybody caught that perfect wave one day soon. LUKIN and RVM where amazing again and the perfect way to finish what had been an amazing set list. With the crowd left cheering the lights went down and we all waited.

Few minutes later Eddie walked out, armed with a guitar and 2 bottles of Margaret River wines. He began to talk about how beautiful it was to be playing on such a great warm night outside, under the stars. He thanked the young lady Margaret for making such wonderful wines and then he did something amazing. He told the story of how he met a young guy that was going to be at tonight's show and he had been asked by that guy to do a favour for him. I forget the guys name, but he asked on that guys behalf for his girlfriend to marry him. The crowd went nuts, over to the left of us the crowd seemed to be cheering a bit more than usual ... we figured out this was were the couple was sitting. It was really something special to witness and then to have Eddie dedicate THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND ME to the couple was just cool - he played without the band, just him on his guitar with the crowd singing along to every word.

Next came two songs, which were amazing, but Bree and I thought the subject matter wasn't the best choice after such a romantic thing happening, LAST KISS and BETTERMAN .... dying in a car crash? wife not loving her man? ... anyway Last Kiss got the crowd singing again and gave the gig an added burst of energy and a huge party like feel. Betterman was just special, the crowd sung the entire first half of the song leaving Eddie with the biggest smile on his face. Then came my highlight, hearing my favourite song by Pearl Jam played live - STATE OF LOVE AND TRUST. Awesome just awesome. Finishing the set with an amazing version of ALIVE i seriously thought that was it for the night ... however when the house lights didn't go up I thought - shit - there will be more.

At this point the bogan woman next to me started saying, they can't come back can they? they don't have anymore songs to play do they? I was like WTF?!?!? i said they have about 200 or more songs to choose from ... she was like Oh i thought they would come back and play the song they opened with again. This made me realise that some of the people witnessing this show had no idea how lucky they actually were.

Eddie came back on stage with the WASTED REPRISE piano part playing in the background and he began to thank everybody on the tour and the crowd. The band then let rip into WHY GO. Then another surprise was the band playing, for the 4th time ever i think, I GOT YOU by Split Enz. I had joked with Bree on the way there that since she is a huge Enz/House/Finn fan that I had asked Eddie to play it for her. When he started to play the opening chords we lost it laughing. It was a really awesome version and really got the crowd excited. When the band started to play BLOOD i was in shock more than anything, Eddie had only said an hour before that his throat and voice were going ... yet he was singing one of the songs that involves the most screaming ... his voice showed no signs of failing him.

Then the house lights went up and it was time for ROCKIN IN THE FREE WORLD. Eddie walked off stage and came back on with an Australian flag wrapped around him and ran around that stage like he would have 15 years ago. Jumping from PA stacks, jumping down to the crowd and running back and forth giving everybody high-fives. After finishing Rockin' the band were on stage just clapping the crowd and the crowd cheering them. Jeff and Stone brought out some footy's on stage and starting kicking them out to the crowd. Jeff managed to kick one into the rafters, Stone can't kick at all, Mike tried his best to handball but just couldn't do it and Eddie then did a perfect drop-punt into the crowd. Everybody was cheering so loud. The band where on stage for about 5mins just walking around and kicking footy's and clapping. They finished with one final bow and left the stage.

All in all after seeing PJ many times before, this goes down as the best show. Not just for the songs played, not just for seeing the band happiest in the along time on stage but also for having my wife (a non-PJ fan) say to me that she really enjoyed the gig. I think I may have finally turned Bree into a PJ convert.

So now after writing this Im going to go download the show. Im so excited to hear it all again.

[scotopic lux]

Sounds like a fantastic gig Simon. The way the band has been playing (and the audiences reacting) there was no way Bree could not be impressed by the gig as a whole.

Did you try and bluff that you really DID ask eddie to play I GOT YOU when it started? or did you just crack up and miss your chance?? hehe

[sunky]

totally missed my chance.

oh it was such a great night. im still on such a high.

[Steve]

admin said:

This made me realise that some of the people witnessing this show had no idea how lucky they actually were.

Isn't that the truth?

RVM, In Hiding, U,Comatose, I Got You would have been fantastic, i guess the band pulled something special out for each show. Good to hear Eddies voice didn't give way.

[boelsen]

admin said:

but also for having my wife (a non-PJ fan) say to me that she really enjoyed the gig. I think I may have finally turned Bree into a PJ convert.

I wont believe that until bree writes it, after the hating in the pearl jam thread (i think) i just couldnt believe she was converted

ok, so maybe it wasnt that thread... but yeah!

[foxy]

On a non Pearly Jame note.

John Butler Trio (i dont know if anyone here likes them, but i dont care)

I hadn’t seen jbt since big day out in 2002 and even then I wasn’t entirely sure of what was going on at the time, they were just that band that does that better man song. I thought I knew what to expect, having heard a lot of boots and their live albums, but I was still presently surprised. While they didn’t play some songs that I really wanted to hear (sometimes, spring, take and some other hits like pickapart or what you want) the show was still very memorable. My highlights were old man (one of my favourites from sunrise), betterman (which keeps on evolving, they kinda do another verse/chorus after the solo which was different and had great harmonies), treat yo mamma (simply because of the drum and bas solo’s). The new material he played was great too (although I don’t like the new single a great deal) its a lot better than most of the stuff on sunruse, he played some song on the banjo that was really cool. There was some cool banter going on too, some recently married couple got a heap of attention at the start of peaches and cream and then the whole audience go involved at the end of that song. The undisputed highlight though was a 15 minute version of ocean. I know this song tends to drag a lot on the album but he was really exploring what that song could do and was absolutely shredding on his guitar. Bought the whole crowd to their feet, which is some feat for a bunch of stiff Canberrans. Overall a great show, disappointed that it ended after 2 hours but it was awesome to see them, they are all really talented musicians.

[Josh]

i wish TMV didn't postpone, tonight would of been awesome

[boelsen]

nah, dont think it would have they're doing you a favour

[Steve]

Yeah last night would have been great - Am forced to sell my ticket by the way, if anyone from Adelaide wants it for cost, pm me. The shows will be in March.

[Steve]

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS - GOV HINDMARSH SUNDAY DEC 10th

Couple days on now, but what a fantastic show. 7 people on stage (Yep, Neko is there! and the 7th is Kathryn Calder on Keyboards) and a damn fun gig. Here is a setlist which is no way in order except for the opener and closer....

sing me spanish techno
twin cinema
use it
the bleeding heart show
jackie, dressed in cobras
the jessica numbers
these are the fables
three or four
from blown speakers
the laws have changed
the end of medicine
all for swinging you around
testament to youth in verse
it's only divine right
mass romantic

the slow descent into alcoholism
execution day
letter from an occupant

Newman and Neko work so well together live and the band seeme to have a lot of fun. Poor turnout by the Adelaide crowd as it only seemed half full, but for those there, it was well worth it. A.C. told everyone that the band had a bet on how many people would come and "they all betted zero". They didn't even prepare an encore (A.C. a the requests being thrown - "Cool, we have some ideas for an encore now") so they basically played their best songs to date and then closed with an encore of requests.

They hung A LOT of shit on The Tea Party. Light hearted but it went on for a little while.

Got to say hello to Calder afterwards, passed on my thanks for the Australian tour and all that....$50 well spent. God Bless The New Porno's, Great show.

[toolgasm]

Yay! I'm so glad to hear they played the Bleeding Heart Show... I'm really looking forward to hearing that in Sydney on Friday night.

So did the band hang out much before/after the gig Steve? I wanna try and meet Neko...

[Steve]

Well....i left about 15 mins after they left the stage so i couldn't really tell you mate!

Hope you do though, she looks like she is getting on a little but vocals sounded great, her and A.C. together, fantastic!

[belfczar]

gig review #736 - tapes n tapes were ace.

[foxy]

If i didnt write this now to recap i doubt i would have been able to sleep tonight, just buzzing.This gig kicked ass, heres the setlist:

Stinkfist
46 and 2
Jambi
Schism
Lost Key/ Rosetta Stoned
drum Solo
Swamp Song
Wings for Marie/ 10 000 Days
Lateralus
Vicarious
Aenima

my seats were on first impression pretty crappy, but it turned out pretty good. I was on the side of the stage, half way back, but anyhow it was a Great crowd, there was no support act and it took like forever for the lights to come down. The crowd did a few chants and the mexican wave for a bit before the lights finally went off...

The band walked out to the sound of Adam's feedback, Danny came straight from the basketball court (judging by the way he was dressed), maynard came from a rodeo (wearing a cowboy hat) and adam and justing seemed normal.

So the feedback could have been the start to anything (i thought lost keys for sure) but then it was stinkfist. The sound was perfect from where i was and i was really enjoying this. Little interlude during the breakdown of this song which was pretty cool. Maynard said goodevening everyone, ohh and you too sydney after this. the band seemed pretty relaxed like a well oiled machine.

46 and 2 had the introduction provided by adam on the synth, and on this song i was really starting to enjoy my seats. Forgetting the fact that i could see none of the screen behind the band it was actually a great spot to view the band do their thing, especially danny. The drum solo in 46&2 witnessed so clearly is pretty special. after this Maynard told of the word of the day, to be spoken pee Wee Herman style 'holyfuckinshit'

Jambi was really rockin, i love the way this song ends, but the highlight for me was Adam using his mouth box thingo to get that effect in the solo, very very cool.

Schism was cool, they sped up the middle part and Danny laid down some killer chops.

Feedback wailed and this time it was Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned, i really enjoy this song and it didnt disappoint live either, Josh said he couldnt hear Maynard on his megaphone but i could, and i must say he raps good for a fly white guy. The climax of this song (overwhlemed...) was really really good.

Then some more feedback before Danny started to unleash on the Drums, at some stages i thought he was gonna bust into reflection (Josh thought maybe Ticks and Leeches) but man this guy is something to witness. While this was going on the lighting rig changed positions.

Then a HUGE suprise, Swamp Song. This kicked ass, great suprise, Maynard teased the band before giving them the cues to get back into it after the silent part.

Then the band fiddled around with some synths and took a breather for a bit. Maynard asked that out of curtousy that there not be the use of flash photography and then proceeded to start Wings for Marie. Justin sat down for this one as i'd imagine it would be heaps hard for him to play, but they did not miss a note. This was a huge highlight for me as its my favourite song(s) on 10000 Days. it was saw the commencement of the lazer show. Green lazers made shapes and reflected from prisims on the stage to create something truely special. The light show was pretty sweet up into now, but this really kicked some serious ass. Its hard to describe but its amazing. The lazers were used in every song after this.

Lateralus started off with danny and justin before adam decided to join in and extended the intro. Very tight performance, and i must again mention lazers.

after this i though surely it was time for a break, but they got on the synths again and then busted out Vicarious. not only mentioning the lazers here, but the album art was projected onto the floor of the stage and spun around and whatnot and was very very cool. good performance of this song, however maynard didnt sing all of the last chorus, leaving it to the crowd which was cool, not not at the same time.

After vicarious Maynard chanted CU at BDO. PEACE OUT and started panting. Aenim was awesome and after it they threw some shit into the stage and took a bow and a group hug and the lights came on.

Visually one of the greatest concerts ive seen, very pink floydesque, and i think they take into account seats such as mine that could not see the screen and still put on a great visual production. Great setlist too. GOOD TIMES.

[toolgasm]

Haha great summary Foxy... lasers lasers LASERS!!!

I was so excited after the show... my bro and I got front row spots, between Adam and Maynard. Perfect view, really good sound (except Maynard was a bit quiet in the parts he sang into the megaphone in Rosetta Stoned, like Foxy said) and AMAZING visuals and laser effects.

So impressed! It's gonna be hard to top that gig this year...

[boelsen]

not gonna see them in december?

[corgancobain]

I saw Muse last night at festival hall. It was amazing, they played most of black holes and revelations, some absolution, plug in baby and citizen erased from origin of symetary and sunburn from the first album. They had 2 encors, and during the first encore they threw about 15 massive balloons into the crowd, filled with confeti, which bounced around abit before they were all popped.

They finished the night with knights of cydonia, which was fantastic. During one of the songs matt even played a solo on his distorted accoustic.

[Steve]

I was meant to go to the second muse show but a guy on e-bay stiched me up (First said he had sent when he clearly had not then offered me a ticket to the first show)

Not happy at all.

[Steve]

I was front and centre about 5 people deep when the time was 7:20pm - It was going to be a long wait - You never get used to it.

With no DJ to be found, The band hit the stage - albiet a good Ten minutes past their timing, and as expected, belted into Rapid Fire Tollbooth. A good track to stat with - it's a new track to the fans and gives the band a good chance to get into the show. The atmosphere up front was crazy, there was no room at all to move if you were in the first 4 or 5 rows of people, it was so hot and i can't remember a standing room crowd quite like it. The amazing Roulette Dares followed, and was certainly a highlight and seems to be one of few regulars in the live history of The Mars Volta - towards the end of this track, i pushed back about five metres which would prove to be a good move to get an overall scope of all band members (There are 8 don't forget).

Cygnus - The opener from 2005's Frances The Mute, was next on the set. This is where the band seemed to reach the next level. I was amazed by how tight the band was, especially during a song like this. The sax and bass lines were spot on, and it gave Pridgen a chance to take center stage - his hands are electric working around the kit

I would rate him Theodore's equal at least - he is perhaps even better. As the show went on, i realised it would be hard to push any case againt this. Even the band, who usually show the crowd very little apart from 100% focus on the music, seem amazed by the skills of this man. It was his third date with the band and it seems that he may have stolen the show in many fans eyes...

Cedric seems to be enjoying himself on this tour. he is a man of few words outside of the music, but his movement around the stage, which he made his own - and his staggered dancing, which i could only discribe as "Hispanic-Sexual", were testements to this. His voice was pretty good for the most part, but i thought his mike could have been turned up a little more. He even managed to put a hole in the front of his pants - likely from climbling the stack of amps to Pridgen's right.

Viscera Eyes was up next, it was a great version but was marred briefly when Omar had some sound problems - Nothing major. The next song was a new one - Idle Tooth, which went for only 3 or 4 minutes. It sounded promising and i hope a studio version is tracked down soon.

I was about at this time that i feel the band kicked it up a notch - don't get me wrong, it was a sensational first half of the show. But from here on in would be where the band took the show to new heights - Starting with Drunkship Of Lanterns from the debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium, a lot of energy in this track and the crowd were definately feeling it. Some newer songs in Vermicide (was nice) and Tetragrammaton (personal highlight) were followed by a definate suprise and one of the best parts of the show - Cicatriz ESP.

While the crowd were definately hanging on every note, you couldn't help but notice the large amount of tools in attendence. It in no way spoiled the show, but there was definately some seperation in the air between the pure music lovers, the people that think standing room (or a so called" mosh") means pushing everyone around them, and the people who simply couldn't handle their alcohol or drugs. To the people who were too out of it to fully appreciate this show, it's your own fault and you have definately missed out.


A lot of people have shown disappointment in the choice for the closing songs on this tour (Meccamputechture and Day of the Baphomets - both off Amputechture from last year) - but for me, these were definately the best part (i know, i have about 15 "best parts" ths far). They really put their heart and soul into the closing moments of the show. A highlight to seperate the tracks was the staged "blackout" where the band, in full rock mode, came to a synchronised stop, co-ordinated with the lights being killed. The roar from the now darkness clad crowd, arguable the biggest of the show.

All up the band played for around 2 and a half hours - A time filled with so much variety. Progressive Rock and Roll, Latin, Jazz Fusion, Salsa - you name it.

The band was filmed by the crew for the entire performance, and with this being the sole Sydney date on tour, the people who have missed out will have to make do in the hope that this footage is made available sooner rather than later. For those in attendence, it was a night to remember - a performance to never forget.