GIG: Apocalyptica/Swallow the Sun

I won't lie - I knew little about this band before a mate got me into them and let me borrow an album (which still needs returning!). But I agreed to go along on this proposed five-band-weekend because it would probably be good and different. So we went along pretty early and got into the place before the support had come on. The support were supposedly a doom-metal band, but I'd thought the guitarists would at least be pretty sweet. Well...they disappointed. They were pants. Each to their own, fair enough - but all the songs sounded more or less the same to me, nothing different. I was relieved when they left and had to keep telling my mate that this WAS worth it! And then on came the cello-chairs! These skull-shaped chairs (why is there four? I asked!) were prepared and looked damned good. The lights went down and four cellists came on stage. FOUR!!?! Holy mother of music. Four cellists and a drummer are what consist of Apocalyptica. Originally a Metallica-covers-only band, they now do their own music and also cover some other stuff. Two minutes in and it was the weirdest band I've ever seen. But...it...was awesome. There's nothing like the sound of the cello version of For Whom the Bell Tolls, one of my favourite Metallica tracks. The guys seemed really relaxed and were talking often to the crowd in their Finnish accents. Funnily enough, one half of the crowd wanted to mosh the hell out of these songs and the other didn't, which made for some hilarious elbowing incidents. I was more or less stuck in the middle, but I really was enjoying it. The enthusiasm of the band reflected on the audience as they gave their versions of some really heavy stuff - some of it their own of course. Apocalyptica have been going since 1993 but only since 2005 have had a drummer. The fourth cellist, as I later discovered, is Antero Manninen, an original member who left but has rejoined as a sessions musician. He's the guy who sits with the sunglasses on looking unbelievably scary, or just cool. The other three danced about the stage like madmen, but it was all fun. When it comes down to it, Apocalyptica consists of classically-trained musicians who are bloody good. Not all was heavy cello, as they played us Metallica's Nothing Else Matters, One and their own beautifully moving Farewell. At the end Eicca Toppinen declared: "And now we will punish you by playing classical music!" before mastering their version of Hall of the Mountain King. Different? Definitely.

GIG: Black Stone Cherry/Stone Gods/Sevendust

Well my tickets for the Carling Academy said doors at 7, but I was chilling in a little bar in Pink Lane so I did not arrive until half an hour after the doors opened. When I got there it was to discover US rock band had already played their set - which must have been very small. I'm not a great fan, but I was a little surprised that they had already come and gone, which was a shame. Anyway the place felt pretty good when Stone Gods rocked their souls on stage. As all know, this band is formed from the remnants of love-them-or-hate-them-band The Darkness, with guitarist Dan Hawkins and former Darkness bassist Richie Edwards taking the mantle of frontman. I was eager to see how they performed, and if they would live up to their great debut album, Silver Spoons and Broken Bones. Well, they did. Being quite different from The Darkness' glam-rock sound, this was all rock n' roll. Opening with the epic Burn The Witch, Richie flaunted his guitar at myself and the crowd with brilliant enthusiasm. They powered through tracks such as I'm With The Band and Defend Or Die with mean vigor. At one crazy point in the set, Richie Edwards disappeared from view for a minute, only to reappear 2 feet in front of me, running through the crowd with his white guitar! Not half a month earlier, Stone Gods were at the Carling (soon to be O2-sponsored) Academy supporting another band of upcoming rockers, Airbourne, and have obviously built up a rapport with the Newcastle crowd - they've already booked a headlining tour for March '09! Safe to say I'll be attending. Phoenix from the flames.

I'm pretty biased here as Black Stone Cherry are one of my favourite current bands. Having seen them earlier with Whitesnake and Def Leppard, I was really anticipating seeing them in the flesh and not ten miles away (can you tell I prefer the Academy as a venue?). They kicked off with Rain Wizard not too long after Stone Gods had left. "Here comes the raiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!" - and there were the familiar tones of Chris Robertson. At this point I was once again in awe of the band who I think are one of the few who stand out from the mass of modern US rock bands. All four musicians of BSC are very talented and fit their own niche perfectly. Sounds like crap, but they're all great at what they do. I was particularly stunned by John Fred Young's five hour drum solo (ok, it was more like ten minutes, but it was superb), and at one point I looked around to find everyone with their eyes and mouths wide open. He even went on to play just with his hands. These guys don't mess about. Cherry played a good mix of stuff from the first and second albums, including Backwoods Gold, Long Sleeves, and the mind-blowing Lonely Train. My juices were flowing when they blasted out The Bitter End, a personal favourite. Chris Robertson showed just how much he meant the words he spoke when he introduced and sang Peace Is Free. It was difficult not to feel close to the band at that point!

All in all it was a fantastic night, topped off by shaking hands with John Fred Young and getting his signature after the finish. Hope they're back soon, what a great bunch of guys.