GIG: Velvet Revolver/Year Long Disaster

Here was a gig I had been longing for. For a long time in high school I had maintained the opinion that I didn't really like much Guns N' Roses stuff, and that Velvet Revolver rocked the pants off them - an opinion I later went back on bigstyle, of course! All the same, I've been a long time fan of VR since I saw them on TV when they were playing at Live 8. I mean come on, they are 3/5ths Guns N'Roses for heaven's sake. Contraband was brilliant, and Libertad was the soundtrack to my summer in 2007. Of course I was going to go and see them, no question. I found out that a newish band called Year Long Disaster were supporting them, so I listened to some of their stuff before the gig too - mainly through MySpace - which was pretty good.

Well, the evening came and I was once more super energetic for this. This was Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Scott Weiland, and Dave Kushner. And possibly a support band I would really enjoy. Well, I was waiting in the cold queue outside when I happened to see two familiar faces from college, so we hung out while waiting for the music to start. This was a great start to the night, I thought. Then Year Long Disaster came on. Now support bands usually aren't always up to scratch, right? Well this trio of rockers were electric, they really left their mark. The guitarist was all over the stage, the drummer was solid, and personally I was really impressed with the bass playing. I'll just mention in passing that guitarist/vocalist Daniel Davies is the son of The Kinks' Dave Davies, and this has gathered them some attention, but that is not the reason they should be getting attention. They play solid rocking seventies stuff, and I was wondering who had chosen the trio for the support. Class choice - these guys should be big, and I made a mental note to buy their album.

We must have waited around nearly an hour after they went off for VR to appear, admiring the massive Marshall amplifiers and speakers. They were huuuge. Numerous tunes played, and we waited. And waited. Suddenly, NWA's rap song Straight Outta Compton blasted out from the speakers. For a nanosecond I thought I was at the wrong gig. But no...flashing lights betrayed a silhouetted presence...of the unmistakeable Duff. Soon Slash, Scott, Matt and Dave joined him, and they kicked off with Let It Roll. Boom. The place was alive. The setup of the mega-amps at front of the stage enabled a lot of awesome-guitar-stances by Slash and Duff, while Weiland played the textbook frontman, moving all over the place like...a skinny chicken? Whatever, it was rock at its best. Some of the new stuff such as She Mine, She Builds Quick Machines, Mary Mary, and American Man were played at full blast, the crowd swaying with the band. The stuff that made the crowd happy of course were songs from respective previous bands. It's So Easy was just the best...Axl or no, Scott pulled it off with his megaphone-actions. Amongst others were Mr Brownstone ("I get up around seven....get outta bed around nine...") and a few Stone Temple Pilots tunes - Sex Type Thing, Vaseline, and Interstate Love Song. I know many say bands shouldn't rely on their previous discography as backup, but I disagree, and so did everyone else that night. One of the best moments was when the stools were brought out for Patience, one of the only slow (GN'R) songs in the setlist, but one of the best. Between this they went back to the original VR stuff, making me go mental by playing Sucker Train Blues. Love that one. Set Me Free, Big Machine, and Dirty Little Thing and all the greats from Contraband were played. Slash, safe to say, was an absolute genius, a real rock god. At one point the other band members left the stage, and Slash played a ten-minute solo of epic proportions. The guy knows how to play frawkin' guitar, and you knew you were watching one of the best guitarists the world has to offer. He was typical Slash as well - top hat, cigarette in mouth, double-necked guitar etc. It made for one of the best nights ever. However, they saved the best til' last, with Slither - one of their heaviest songs - ending the night on a high. I lost my position as a sole entity and became a part of the moshing, swaying crowd. Helluva night!

GIG: Joe Bonamassa

The first time I heard Joe Bonamassa was Asking Around For You, on the cover disc of the first issue of Classic Rock magazine I bought (issue 94). However, I didn't immediately start getting into his albums or anything. It was a slow process, you see. After that, I started hearing more and more about this guy, and gradually became more intrigued. His cover of Zep's Tea For One has to be heard. Young guitar maestro? Opened for BB King when he was a wee bairn? Wow, thats some achievement. Luckily when my interest was beginning to peak, and I was listening more and more, he released a new album around the end of 2007 - Sloe Gin - which I duly bought. Then I was hooked. So you can imagine my wonderment when I heard he was coming to Newcastle!

After waiting a while once more near the front of the familiar-becoming Academy stage, on came Joe Bonamassa with his band. Looking around me, I could see he had great support. Fans of all ages had come to see him do his thing. I was happy to see him open with Bridge To Better Days, a great song. He continued to play some great new stuff from Sloe Gin, including Another Kind of Love, Dirt In My Pocket, and the emotional title song. The weird thing is, the new album seems to be a slower pace from his older albums. But holy mother of God, he plays the guitar FAST. My eyes were rooted to the man's fingers, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one stunned at how amazing Joe was. There's a mix of genres in his music, with a heavy blues influence, with a little light folk and rock stuff too. Songs such as One Of These Days and Woke Up Dreaming just left me stood there wondering if this guy was the guitar messiah. It's great seeing bands with fantastic guitarists - there are tons out there - but when you come to see one man, he has to do something special to persuade you of his greatness. Joe did it in style, playing Just Got Paid...with an additional solo from none other than Zep's Dazed and Confused. I roared with joy. He went off stage briefly, coming back on with an England football t-shirt on to perform footstompin' Highwater Everywhere. The best was for me a tie between A New Day Yesterday and Woke Up Dreaming, for sheer playing skill. I must say, I was flinching often during those ones, he was playing that damn fast. Some mention must go to his band, who are suitably great musicians to complement Joe.