This Saturday is one of my musical (and social) highlights of the year - the Trash-Stock festival in Nottingham. Once again it's a great bill of underground rock bands (and an established headliner) at a bargain price. Last year I went up with my good friends Honeykill but had to leave early as they were my ticket home. This year I was determined to make the most of it and actually put some planning in - transport has been arranged and hotel rooms booked. No having to drive home until the next day enables maximum drinking! Not that I'm a piss-artist or anything mind...

My motor is in dock and I'm supposed to be getting it back on Saturday morning. The grease monkeys haven't finished it and it's not ready in time. I have to borrow a Mondeo - oh the horror! I really don't want to become 'Mondeo Man' under any circumstances, but it's the only way we are going to get to Nottingham in time - I just have to hope no one spots me driving a Ford. Fortunately, the Dagenham Dustbin turns out to be a half-decent jamjar - it's a Gia and fully loaded. We make good time to Nottingham, and after a fashion find our cheap hotel and book in. The Stage hotel proves to be quite a find - only £29 a night including quite a good breakfast, and it's walking distance from the venue. And the hotel bar is open all night!

Unfortunately we don't manage to arrive at the venue in time to see the first band Society Crisis - a late addition to the bill. As usual with any show involving around ten bands, there have been some changes late in the day. Peepshow had split up in the week before the festival, although to be honest I wouldn't have been bothered about missing them anyway. The High Society (who I had been looking forward to seeing) had to pull out due to being a man down. However, this still leaves seven or eight bands who I want to see so it's still great value for money at only a tenner!

Nottingham's Seven is quite a small venue with only one stage, but there are bars upstairs and downstairs and a BBQ in the car park so it's all pretty self contained. The advantage to only having one stage is there are none of those annoying festival clashes where two bands you want to see are on at the same time. The changeover time between bands give you time to go to the bar and/or BBQ outside so it's all good!
 
Trashstock is also a great social event as well having loads of terrific bands - I meet far more friends from London at this event in Nottingham than I normally meet at London gigs!

The first band we manage to see are the ever rockin' Kitty Hudson from South London. They are highly entertaining as usual with their high powered Thunders/Ramones influenced rock 'n' roll - and some of the catchiest and most hook laden songs around. With songs this good they should be massive by now.

 
Next up are Obsessive Compulsive - proving not all bands from Manchester are trendy indie scenesters.

Their riffs are so heavy that if they dropped one it would take the whole band to pick it up again. Just as well they keep a firm grip on them as one carelessly handled riff could go straight though the stage if it slipped out of their hands - particularly the one from 'In Memory Of...'

It's another London band next - Shush also have a load of catchy and melodic pop/rock songs and deserve to be bigger than Katie Price's gob.

Shush knock out a great cover of Blondie's 'Call Me' as well, but their own songs are in the same league.

Then we have a top midlands band - the second time this week I get to see Teenage Casket Company. This is the last show and highlight of their comeback 'Road To Trashstock' mini-tour - Nottingham being virtually home ground for this lot. And look - it's that Rob Lane again! It seems to be some sort of rule for Trashstock that every year Rob has to be playing in at least one of the bands on the bill! In fact he was hear with his other main band DIP last year, and Teenage Casket Company played at the very first Trashstock festival. Promoter James Riot created a rather good spoof 'Lanestock' poster featuring Laney74 in the many other bands he has played/toured with over the last couple of years or so. It's good to see him back in one of 'his' bands though. In some bands there is a tension between certain members than can add to the interest or excitement of their live shows. This is one of those bands, or at least it has become so in more recent times.

Sometimes the banter and insults are just in jest - sometimes not. You decide. But maybe that's all part of the fun? Guitarist Jamie Derelict often rips the piss out of frontman Rob Wylde - his hair being a popular target. At this show he takes it a stage further with this infamous T-shirt!

Does he mean it? Again, you decide...

The next band come from a bit further North. Eureka Machines hail from Leeds and are without doubt one of the best and most entertaining live bands in the UK right now. Their album 'Do Or Die' is excellent, but you really have to experience them live - they are totally unique! They look different, and they sound different, but they have clever and catchy songs. They are highly rehearsed and play really well, but unlike many bands of tight and well drilled musicians they have charisma and personality in spades. Frontman Chris in particular is very funny and has a great line in banter between songs - his patter about a certain riff he wrote being very good.

As a live act I really can't recommend Eureka Machines highly enough - they really are that good, and I suspect a lot of much bigger bands would be scared to take them out on tour as support. Seriously.

We've got another London(ish) band next: Drugdealer*Cheerleader - another band I'm seeing for the second time this week. (See previous blog)

This band have some good tunes, and some interesting (and sometimes challenging) contempory lyrics - there don't seem to be many bands around these days that actually have anything to say.

I really enjoy being able to go outside for a chat/beer/burger/hot dog between bands - if only more gigs could be like this! As well as being nice, the food is really cheap as well - what a refreshing change from being constantly ripped off in London for the most basic food. It's just a shame that the food runs out so early as they could have sold a lot more if only they had stocked up a bit more beforehand. A lesson to learn for next year maybe...
 
Then it's back to the Midlands again with New Generation Superstars.

They play well and throw everything into their performance. You can't knock them for giving less than 100% but they seem a bit generic to me compared to the other bands on the bill. I guess I'm just a jaded Londoner who's seen far too many very similar looking and sounding bands in every Camden sleazepit over the last few years.

Promoter James Riot has pulled something rather special out of the bag for this year's headliner. Apparently it took some doing and a lot of negotiation, but he has managed to book who many regard as the UK's finest songwriter - Ginger from the Wildhearts. I know a lot of people are particularly excited to see this man and his solo band at this event. With some artists you just know that when you go to one of their gigs there will be a great atmosphere - wether with the Wildhearts or on his own Ginger is one of those artists. With several very well critically recieved solo albums under his belt now, Ginger has a terrific catalogue of songs to pick from without having to dip into the Wildhearts repertoire at all - although he usually throws one or two or their songs in as well - why not as he wrote most of them. As expected, the atmosphere is terrific! Ginger has a cracking solo band at the moment, including Jase Edwards from Wolfsbane on guitar (also responsible for much of the production on Ginger's solo albums) and the popular Denzel on drums. No one seems to know who the new bass player is, but he's rather good.

The setlist is as good as expected and Ginger seems in good humour - he really seems to thrive on playing intimate shows to packed venues and he certainly seems to be enjoying himself tonight. So are we.

After thoroughly enjoying what has been a really great event we stagger back to the hotel and the open-all-night bar. Apparently I'm the last one in there and fall asleep on the sofa at about four in the morning.  I can't believe how good this hotel is for only £29 a night - my room is really nice and although it's not large it's clean, tidy, looks freshly decorated and has everything I want or need. Not that I see much of my room at all as I spend virtually all the time I'm in it asleep!

Amazingly, I just manage to get up in time to take advantage of the rather nice free breakfast that's included in the price. It's been a great Saturday/Sunday morning all round and feels like a whole weekend crammed into 24 hours! Same time next year then?

Another cracking bill at The Gaff tonight - top value for money! Jukebox Junkies open the procedings in fine style - these guys from Rugby play every gig as it may be their last.

It's quite an achievement them managing to play this gig at all as guitarist B-Bop is really ill, but being the troopers they are they pull it off pretty well.


The ever reliable Zen Motel are up next - proving that Essex is still capable of producing great rock bands in spite of being Chav Central. Maybe this band is partly a reaction to all the idiots that county seems to breed - indeed, one of their videos featured a chav being shot while their song 'Dress Code Violence' deals with small town thug culture.

Zen Motel have always been a quality live band, although recent changes to the lineup have confused people a bit.

A new drummer has added some punch and dynamics to what was already an excellent live band with some great songs.

Next up is a terrific band from the Derby area that have been conspicuous by their absence from the live scene for a couple of years.

The band members needed a bit of a break from each other after several years of touring to support their CDs. After some time off persuing their seperate projects and other bands Teenage Casket Company are back with a bang.

This is the first date of their 'Road To Trashstock' mini tour. These well seasoned road warriors turn in a top performance and you wouldn't know they had been away.

It's good to have these boys back with their distinctive brand of 'punk rock Bon Jovi' style.


They are a particularly good band to watch as every member is like a rock star in his own right and there is always plenty happening on stage.

Even on the first date of the tour they are on fine form and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again in a couple of days when they are really warmed up for the Trash-Stock festival in Nottingham.


Finishing matters up tonight is a band with more of a London flavour, although their singer Hilda is originally from oop north.

The last two or three times I've seen Drugdealer*Cheerleader they have had bass-whore Rob Lane (Teenage Casket Co/DIP/Let Loose/Bullet Boys, ect) helping them out on four string duties, but now they have finally found a new bass player. Bomber fits in well - not suprising as he is an old mate of the band.

This is a band with a strong and powerful sound as well as some catchy tunes.

They are always quality live and their shows usually feature some extra eye-candy in the form of cheerleaders and/or extra backing vocalists to bolster the sound.

It all makes for an entertaining package and this is another band I always look forward to seeing live.

They have another album on the way which apparently is rather a progression so it will be interesting to see what the future holds, but in the shorter term I'm looking forward to seeing them again in Nottingham in a couple of days.


It's been another top night at what has become one of my favourite venues. A couple of years of so ago I seemed to me at the Purple Turtle or Bar Monsta all the time, but one of those venues no longer exists and the other only rarely seems to put on bands I actually want to see these days, but The Gaff has filled that void very nicely and is a venue I actually look forward to visiting in it's own right as well as now regularly putting on bands I really like. The cheap admission and drinks prices (particularly with a members card) don't hurt either, as well as being one of the easiest and cheapest venues to get to for me personally. What with Big Red being just over the road and being well served by night buses Holloway Road is becoming 'the New Camden' for me!

After recovering from Sonisphere it's off to a midweek gig at the intimate 12 Bar Club. London is experiencing a rare bit of warm summer weather so I leave my jacket and camera at home and you'll have to make do with pictures from my phone. I'm down in the West End to see Shush. I think this is their third different drummer in as many gigs - but this one might actually be a new member as opposed to a stand-in like Jake from TAT or ex-AntiProduct sticksman Simon Gonk who have helped out at other recent shows.

Shush are excellent as usual, and enjoy playing to quite a full room - their cover of Blondie's 'Call Me' goes down particularly well tonight.

Unfortunately I can't remember much else about the night - not because I'd drunk too much beer, but simply because I'm trying to write this over three months after the actual gig...

Even when I'm camping, crawling out of my pit tends to be a struggle - and this Sunday morning in a Knebworth field is no exception.  However, Buckcherry are due on stage at 11.20 so I have to make an effort. A sandwich washed down with apple juice (I don't only drink it in it's fermented form) makes a decent breakfast and the first band of the day are just starting as I enter the arena. I've seen Buckcherry a few times now and they have always been very good live - particularly with the current lineup. However, this morning they don't seem to really get going. They play solidly enough, but their usual spark is missing.  Maybe they've only just crawled out of their hotel beds, and they have certainly drawn the short straw going on before anyone else on Sunday morning. And lets face it - can there be any worse time to climb on stage and attempt to play a high powered rock 'n' roll show than a Sunday morning?

The band trot out a fair selection of their best songs, but they have to leave a lot out as they are only allowed to play for 30 minutes. It doesn't help that they have to fit in a song or two from their lacklustre recent album 'Black Butterfly' - an album somewhat lacking in the hard rockers that this band do best. Even their anthem 'Lit Up' doesn't have quite it's usual fire today and to me the band just don't seem to have their hearts in it this morning.

Next it's time to head over to the other stage to see Paradise Lost. They aren't the liveliest or most cheerful souls at the best of times.  However, they are bopping arounnd in quite a lively manner and actually seem quite cheerful. Which is unexpected, and a little disturbing!

Soundwise, they are like a less good Metallica - nothing wrong with the musicianship on display but they don't have much in the way of memorable songs.

After the Northern doomsters have finished it's time to head back to the other stage to watch the legendary Killing Joke. They have better songs than the gloomy (or not these days) black clad mob that have just played on the other stage, and also a much more distinctive sound and style of their own.

They may not be wearing black or playing metal, but Killing Joke have far more of an edge to them than most the other bands playing this weekend. And no one else has a frontman as scary as the infamous nutter Jazz Coleman!

We manage to catch some of the set from the 'Barnsley Big Teaser' AKA Biff Byford and the band he calls Saxon. To be fair, there in one member more of the old band in this lineup than Mad Axl has in the band he currently calls 'Guns 'N' Roses'. And this Saxon sounds more like the old Saxon than Axl's new G'N'R sounds like the old one. A few of the old classics are trotted out as you'd expect, and Biff's distinctive voice lets you know this can only be Saxon. Does exactly what it says on the tin.

After the NWOBHM outbreak there isn't much else I want to see for a while, so I wander round a little before heading back to my tent for some liquid refreshment in the form of more apple juice - fermented to 8.4% this time.  During this interlude I randomly stumble upon one of the most entertaining acts of the whole weekend. I observe a crowd forming around some characters who appear to be busking in the 'Bohemia' area. Closer investigation reveals a motley crew dressed in 80's glam/hair band style regalia playing acoustic(ish) versions of rock classics. They are bloody great!

They play things like 'Highway To Hell' and 'Run To The Hills', 'Ace Of Spades' - all the standards you'd expect a hard rock cover band to play in your local - but in an acoustic almost 'Hey-nonny-no' morris dancing style, while giving it the big one and throwing shapes, etc.

This is all highly entertaining and one of the best things I see all weekend! I don't really know anything about them apart from they seem to be called Blaas Of Glory and I think they are Dutch. I strongly recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance. Brilliant!
 
Meanwhile, there are rockstar ego games going on.  Machine Head were originally booked to play this festival. Then when they found out they were being billed under Limp Bizkit they pulled out! Make of that what you will, but I guess if I was in a proper 'Heavy fuckin' metal band' and I was asked to go on before Fred Durst's fakers I'd be pissed off too. So instead we have a secret 'Special Guest' band on before Limp Bizkit. So who does this mystery band turn out to be? Machine Head!

Then it's into the gloom of the 'Bohemia' tent to see Lauren Harris. I saw Steve 'arris's daughter play at Hertford Marquee a couple of years ago - it looked like her dad had picked the band for her from his mates as they all looked like 80's throwbacks. This looks like a different band, and a very polished and professional one. Much the same can be said of Ms Harris herself. She's a good singer and performer, but it all looks a bit too polished for comfort - she looks very 'trained' - like a lot of time and money has been spent at stage school on singing and acting lessons.

It looks like a lot of time has been spent practicing all the moves and shapes in front of a mirror and there is very little spontenaiety. That said, she looks and sounds good and makes an effort to draw you in to her performance - and there are some half decent songs too.


It's back out into daylight and I head over to the Jager Truck stage to catch The Crave next. They are new to me, but turn out to be really good - in spite of apparently having Russell Brand on guitar.

They seem to have a few things going on and have the look of a band who might actually be going places...

I caught the last part of Feeder's set. An odd addition to the bill I thought - but they sounded good and had a large crowd watching them so maybe not? After Feeder I head back to my tent for a while for a bite to eat and some liquid refreshment - I have a can or two of K and a kip in preferrence to subjecting myself to seeing a middle aged record company CEO getting 'down with the kids' with his resurrected Limp Bizkit.

I head back to the Jager stage to see Heaven's Basement. This is a band who've gone through a lot of changes since I first saw them - they are now on at least their third singer and their third name. Back when I saw them as Hurricane Party they were a pure 1984 timewarp style retro band - both in image and sound. So much so in fact that it was like watching a hard rock covers band. They've always been entertaining to watch - with hair flying everywhere with the whole band doing sychronised headbanging. After a change of name and singer they carried on in much the same style as Roadstar. Then it all went a bit tits up and they split up to escape the controlling grip of their manager - who was involved in everything from songwriting to production. They were soon back with three new members and all new songs. They are still a very good live band as far as their performance goes and the sound is much the same, but seem to have lost their way a bit in the image department - and I think they may have changed singers yet again since I last saw them about a year ago?

The previous versions of the band had a very strong and well defined image - everybody appeared to be on the same page. However, things now look rather confused with it looking like members of three seperate bands all thrown together onto the stage - a couple of old school 1980's rockers, a skinny emo kid who's totally in love with himself on lead guitar, and a singer who really fancies himself and looks like a refugee from Linkin Park.


There was time after Heaven's Basement to catch the last part of Nine Inch Nails set. It seemed rather a lacklustre affair from the legendary Trent Reznor - the skinny lank haired mastermind of the past having now turned into a short haired slightly musclebound looking guy who didn't seem all that interested in his performance.
 
The skies start to darken and things start to look appropriately stormy as the time for the mighty Metallica to take to the stage approaches - fortunately the rain holds off.

The band come on to a huge and expectant crowd. Their stage set is quite plain and minimal in comparison to Heaven & Hell, but it really doesn't matter at all as Metallica are awesome tonight!

The setlist is a fairly predictable mixture of 'Greatest hits' style old stuff and a few songs from their latest 'Death Magnetic' album. Fairly obviously we get 'One', 'Seek & Destroy', 'Enter Sandman', 'For Whom The Bell Tolls', 'Fuel', and 'Master Of Puppets' etc, but I wouldn't have it any other way. In a nice touch, the band pay tribute to Queen who have also played at Knebworth in the past and knock out a crushing 'Stone Cold Crazy'. Metallica's set certainly ticked all the boxes for me and they were worthy headliners.

The music is finished on the two main stages for the weekend, but things carry on winding down for those who aren't ready to sleep yet in the 'Bohemia' tent. The two final bands of the festival are supposed to be playing in there, but the Ataris pulled out due to a member coming down with swine flu - which leaves Hundred Reasons to finish things off. I used to think they were OK but I'm not really getting into it. I stick it out until the end of their set. It's not until about quarter to midnight that I spot person of challenged taste wearing a Limp Bizit T-shirt with the day's date on - and I realise for the first time since I got up this morning that it's my birthday - and there's only 15 minutes left of it. Actually, I'm quite pleased that I managed to go virtually the whole day without even realising it's my birthday. I'm happy enough - I've had a good day, seen some great bands, and things have gone well. I head back to the comfort of my tent where I have some nice sandwiches and cider waiting to help me chill out - it's all good.

I woke up quite late on the Monday morning. I emerged from my tent to find that most the tents had already been packed away - I guess most of their occupants had much further to travel than me and wanted to make an early start. I had a leisurely breakfast of my last sandwich and (unfermented) apple juice as I surveyed the scene. It looked not unlike a battlefield with all the debri strewn as far as the eye could see - fortunately without all the blood and guts, but with some rather unpleasant smells. There seemed to be a surprisingly large amount of camping gear including whole tents abandonned - the security staff clearing the site pulling tent poles out to make sure there was no one still inside. A lot of this gear is so cheap to buy these days I guess some people regard it as disposable - or they just couldn't be bothered to pack it up and cart it all the way back to their cars or the train/bus journey home. Some of it was obviously wrecked, but they seemed to be a lot of perfectly good kit left behind. As for myself, I wasn't relishing the prospect of having to carry all my camping gear the mile and a half back to my car after a weekend of not particularly good quality sleep and meagre nutrition. I thought I'd probably have to stop for a rest halfway back to the car, but to my surprise made it quite quickly and easily in one go.

All in all a pretty good weekend at Knebworth - especially considering it didn't look like I'd be able to afford to go at all. Many many thanks to Helen T (who I unfortunately didn't see very much of) for letting me have her spare free ticket and enabling to go.  Plenty of highlights to remember - great music and some good friends (who I also didn't see enough of - my fault!) as well as Saturday being hard work carrying all my camping gear for miles - but it was all worthwhile - and a surprisingly cheap weekend (apart from the parking!) as I brought all my own supplies with me and didn't have to buy anything to eat or drink the whole time I was there.

When the Sonisphere festival was first announced the lineup didn't look that great so I wasn't really interested - especially at nearly £200 a ticket!  It seemed very poor value for money compared to the also very expensive Download. However, as more and more bands were added to the bill over the next few months it started to look really good - especially when Thin Lizzy were (originally) on the bill! However, with my current very uncertain financial position there was no way I could afford it. Probably because it's the first year of this new festival, there seemed to be a lot of tickets getting given away in competitions, etc. Unfortunately my efforts to win a ticket came to naught. I discovered that virtually everyone I knew who was going had got free tickets from one source or another. I was lucky enough to join their ranks when the lovely Helen offered me one of the spare tickets she had won.

Luckilly for me, Knebworth is only a few miles up the A1 so I got there in no time. However, on arrival at the site what was looking like a remarkably cheap festival weekend suddenly wasn't so cheap - I got stung for £20 just to park my car in a field!  I thought this was fucking outrageous and a totally unjustified rip-off. I told the girl selling the parking passes that for that price I expected to have a security guard standing by my car 24 hours a day!  To add insult to injury, where I had to leave my car was a bloody long way from the main festival area. I left all my camping gear, etc in the car and set off to hook up with Helen and the others and find out where everybody was camped - I didn't want to be carrying a ton of gear around with me while trying to see the first few bands. I met Helen at the gate with my ticket, got into the main site and had a general recce of the area. I met up with Jason & Trudi, Little Hell and Helen-T again before heading off to the campsite to find a suitable place to pitch my tent - and establishing what proved to be a repeating routine for the rest of the weekend of meeting up with my friends and then getting seperated for long periods of time.

By the time I had established a suitable spot to base myself for the weekend it was time to rush back to see Airbourne. This Aussie crew were one of the acts I had been particularly looking forward to seeing as their Astoria show last year was probably the best gig I went to all year. Airbourne certainly didn't disappoint at Sonisphere! There are quite simply one of the most exciting live bands I've ever seen. I never saw AC/DC in their early days, but I imagine the vibe must have been very similar to that generated by Airbourne.  There are no fancy stage sets or anything with this lot - they don't need it. They just explode onto the stage and tear it up! I don't think I've ever seen a band with so much energy on stage - and it doesn't let up all the way through their set, with frontman Joel tearing around non stop and cracking open cans of beer on his head before hurling them into the crowd. The band haven't got far into the show before the heavens opened, but if anything this only made Airbourne crank up the intensity! Then Joel goes and does the craziest thing I've ever seen at a gig - he starts climbing up one of the rigs that is supporting a load of P.A. speakers - with his guitar still strapped on! It's still raining, and the painted tubular framework of the P.A. rig must have been really wet and slippery. Our hero climbs as high as he can get, and then lets rip with a guitar solo while below a roadie stands with arms outstretched ready to catch and an "Oh shit!" look on his face. If he had actually tried to catch Joel or the guitar falling from that height either would probably have killed him!

Some rock stars talk about being 'dangerous' or putting their lives on the line, but this guy is doing it for real right in front of our eyes - really putting his life on the line for rock 'n' roll. At one point he is dangling from the top of the slippery wet metalwork of the P.A. rig by one hand! I've never seen anything like it, and the whole crowd seem to be hold their breath - one slip would almost certainly have cost him his life.

Even without all this drama up in the air, this was easily the most exciting set of the weekend as far as I'm concerned - even the festivals biggest guns couldn't match it!

Drying off a bit after the downpour during Airbourne's set, there is only a few minutes to head over to the other main stage to catch one of the other bands I'd been particularly looking forward to seeing. Heaven & Hell are effectively the Dio fronted lineup of Black Sabbath that recorded the 'Heaven & Hell' abum back in the day. Now Ozzy and Iommi (or their managers?) seem to have fallen out again and the Ozzy fronted reformed original Sabbath appears to be over this is the nearest you are likely to get to seeing 'Black Sabbath'. That said, it's a bloody good lineup and they have recently released a very good album in 'The Devil You Know'.  The weather is deteriorating noticably and things are starting to get dark and stormy - which is kind of appropriate for this band.

This is a big production, featuring easily the biggest and most expensive looking stage set I see all weekend - Metallica's looks very plain in comparison. However, it's highly dramatic and certainly enhances the dark and moody vibe the band's music creates. The band emerge onto the stage to a thundrous cheer and launch into a set featuring a mixture of material from the current album and Dio era Sabbath. They don't even attempt to match the energy of the band much of the crowd was watching previously, but then Airbourne are less than half their age so you can hardly expect them to. However, Heaven & Hell are very good!

I saw the original Black Sabbath lineup play at Download four years ago but was disappointed by what I thought was a dull and plodding run through their classics - this is a far better performance from a band who still seem to have a lot to give. To me the Sabbath lineup I saw at Download seemed just they there just going through the motions, but Heaven & Hell seem far more vital and look like they are genuinely enjoying themselves. Their set is certainly one of the highlights of the weekend for me in spite of another heavy downpour during their set.

By the time Heaven & Hell finish there isn't much daylight left. I've found what looks like a suitable spot to throw my tent down. There's one problem - the tent and all my camping gear is still in my car. My car is a mile and a half away. So after a three mile round trip - half of which has me weighed down by tent, other camping gear, and my food and drink supplies for the weekend I find myself putting my tent up as it gets dark. This is not particularly helped by the fact that I haven't actually seen my tent for four years and can't even remember what it looks like or how to set it up.  However, I manage to erect it surprisingly quickly. It's only when I've thrown all my kit inside that I realise my sleeping bag is still in the car!  Another three mile round trip later (this time across the mostly unlit fields in pitch darkness while Linkin Park provide the distant soundtrack) and I finally get to relax in my tent for a while and crack open a well earned can or two of K before heading into a rather larger tent to catch the last couple of bands of the day.

Over in the 'Bohemia' tent there is a little bit of history being made - Thunder playing their last ever(?) show. The tent is absolutely rammed for the occasion.

The band turn in what is effectively a 'Greatest Hits' set - it had to be really. They do throw in some more recent tunes as well. The band play excellently as ever and Danny Bowes is on good form, but somehow it all seems a bit of an anti-climax to me. Maybe a lot of other people in the tent are thinking the same as me? - give it five or ten years and when they are all skint and some promoter makes them a good enough offer they'll be back like nearly every other band...

The last band of the night is a band who have come back after splitting up, and had various lineup changes since reforming. However, the Wildhearts seem to be building in strength and have a new found optimism - and a forthcoming new album. This being the Wildhearts, things don't run smoothly of course - but these days it tends to be due to technical problems rather than the band themselves. Ginger and CJ are trying out a new brand of amplifiers - the problem being that the crew have difficulty getting the bloody things to actually work! Probably not the best time to try out new gear? One of the reasons a lot of bands stick to Marshall amps instead of fancy new makes is that they tend to actually work!

The problems with the shiny new stacks are eventually resolved and McGinger and the lads launch into a storming set. It consists mostly of the old classics - like Thunder before them playing a 'Greatest Hits' style set so even the audience members who don't know the band will hopefully recognise a few tunes. We are only treated to one taster from the forthcoming album 'Chutzpah!' - a song called 'The Jackson Whites'. It sounds rather good - especially considering we are hearing it for the first time. In spite of the technical problems the band really are on fire - and Ginger in particular looks like he's enjoying himself more on stage than he has in years! With a hint of strong new material on the forthcoming album and great live performances like this the future is looking unusually bright for the Wildhearts.

After spending most of the day on my feet, plus a total of seven and a half miles walking to and from my car across the fields on top of all the general walking around the site I am quite glad to retire and crack open another couple of cans of K before crashing. On the morrow I am hoping to catch Buckcherry, Killing Joke, Paradise Lost, Saxon, Feeder, Alice In Chains, Lauren Harris, The Crave, Hundred Reasons, Heavens Basement, and Metallica - but will I actually manage to see all of them.......?

A couple of decent bands at The Gaff tonight, although the real ale is off which is disappointing.

South London's punk heroes Dead Identities are on first and give a good account of themselves.

This band continue to improve, and their songwriting is definitely getting better as well - which bodes well for their forthcoming album.


Next are old stalwarts of the Nottingham glam/sleaze scene New Generation Superstars - another band with a forthcoming album.

They turn in a tight and polished performance, with 'Do It 'Cus I Can' being probably their most memorable song.

 
Another good value for money night at one of London's better small venues - although it could easily be improved by getting the real ale sorted out, and also that useless LED stage lighting!

A different venue to check out tonight, and a new one to me. Centro is tucked away in
West Central Street and not the easiest place to find. However, it's worth seeking out
as it's free on this occasion and Shush are playing. I think Komodo Rock are the
promoters behind this gig. It's more of a club venue than a live music venue, but it's
certainly better than a few places I've been. It's a reasonable size with good service
from a bar that much to my surprise stocks Newcastle Brown!  However, I am less
pleased when I find out it's £4 a bottle - still cheaper than the Underworld though!
Another downer is that there is an attendant in the toilet - everybody hates these
fuckers and I'm sure a lot of people who would otherwise have washed their hands
rush past without doing so just to get away from these creepy guys as quickly as possible.

There are several bands on so it would have been good value for money even if we
had to pay a fiver to get in. I can't remember the name of the first band but they were
OK.

Sorry for the shite quality phone pics, but you'll just have to put up with it
while we have the odd summer night that's actually warm.

Next were Riot Noise. They played well enough but failed to really impress
me with any of their songs.


Shush are always good, and tonight was no exception - although the sound
quality wasn't that amazing.

They had Simon Gonk back on drums for tonight which is always a bonus!

Certainly not a bad night - especially for free.

A cheap night out at the Purple Turtle - three bands for a fiver! I managed to miss the first one, but I arrived in time for Skintight Jaguars.

They seem to be settling down into their new slimmed down 3 piece lineup, and to be honest don't sound much different to when there were four of them.

I think I detect a more considered approach to songwriting with their new songs, but all the old in your face attitude and energy is still there.

The last band are new to me. The look like some sort of boring indie band, but actually the sound they make is pretty good and they seem to have some decent songs too.

If only I could remember their name! It's difficult being able to remember much about gigs when trying to write about them five weeks after they actually happened (also bearing in mind that I'll have had a few beers on the night) but I've got a lot on my plate at the moment and it's difficult to find time to write these things at all!

I find myself heading off to see the Cherry Brakewells again - in Islington this time.
The Zenith Bar turns out to be a pub really, but it's not a bad place. It's free to get in
on this 'Chicks Rock!!' night and it soon becomes apparent that it is in fact a gay night -
with blokes supposedly there by invitation only. No one seems bothered though, and
the atmosphere is good and the drinks reasonably priced.

The Cherry Brakewells play well and are certainly appreciated by the club's clientelle.

The band are obviously enjoying themselves, and the sound mix is surpisingly good for
such a basic setup - well worth a trip out on a Thursday night.


Next on the bill is Sharron Levy who I missed when she played first on the bill with the
Cherrys at The Gaff a few weeks ago.

Her solo acoustic seems quite good, although not really my thing and I miss most of it
while chatting to the Cherrys outside. Still, it's been an interesting night with a good
vibe and I'd certainly come to another 'Chicks Rock!!' night if there was a band playing
I liked.

One of my favourite bands at what has become one of my least favourite venues.
Every time I visit 93 Feet East the selection of beers becomes poorer - particularly
ironic as the venue is sited in a former brewery. Tonight there is only one beer
available on draught from the many different taps on the two bars - pathetic!

I arrive when the first band is playing. They are a girl trio called Tiny Tigers.

They are a bit too indie for my tastes, but worth seeing I guess.

Cherry Brakewells turn in a good performance as usual. Which is more than can be
said for my phography skills (or lack of) but the lighting is as shite as the bar selection
in this increasingly shabby venue and it's hard to get decent pictures in the gloom -
especially with the poorly placed lighting at the back of the stage shining into your
lense.

At least the sound mix isn't as poor as the lighting on this occasion, and the audience
seem to like what they are hearing.

The band have brought a few followers along to see them, and they seem to win over
the handful of people the other bands have drawn for this midweek gig as well.

The Cherrys look to be enjoying themselves and there seems to be more jamming
going on than usual.

This band always look like they absolutely love what they are doing, which is exactly
how it should be and audiences pick up on this.