Bands/Artists who have surprised you live

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Carvalho Diablo said:

Electric Six are brilliant.

 

Was at the Monsters of Rock festival about 20 years ago and popped into one of the side tents to see what was going on.

 

Electric Six were about to start their set and  they came out to a hail of bottles and boos. However they put on a brilliant set of about 60 minutes, the band were brilliant and the frontman, Dicky Valentine, was a fucking nutter. Just really, really funny, and at the end of the set they had a few hundred hairy bikers and metal heads clapping along to Radio Gaga.

 

I've seen them a 2nd time, up in Newcastle, around 6 years ago, in a much smaller venue and they were even better.

 

Just got tickets to see them in fucking Stockton, in a couple of months. A Sunday night in the middle of summer, should be a lot of fun.

 

I didn't realise they had more than one song.

[Bjornebye]

6 minutes ago, Shooter in the Motor said:

All on the same show?

 

No. 

 

 

Ian Brown (Solo) - Absolute dogshit. He had fell off a stage the night before so had a black eye. 

 

The Kooks 2006 when they were all over the charts, fucking crap but probably buzzing off their tits. Saw them two years later and they were very good. 

[Juniper]

17 hours ago, Skidfingers McGonical said:

 

I got to see Iggy at Finsbury Park about 5 years ago. 
 

I feared he was going to be exiting this world in the very near future, as he couldn’t move one of his legs properly and was talking, in a positive accepting kind of way,  like he knew the end was creeping up on him. 
 

He was a sentimental sod being extremely grateful that loads of people had gathered to come and see him (and other bands as well) 

 

I was glad I got to experience seeing him (even as a old as he was then) and hearing “I Wanna Be Your Dog” live was something that I’ll never forget (even if it wasn’t all

of The Stooges performing it) 
 

 

Also, if I remember correctly @Juniper was at the same gig,

You have a good memory Mate 
 

Cracking day, that 

[ZonkoVille77]

Rudimental - not my thing but they were brilliant. 

 

My wife dragged me to see James Bay - he was very good too. Very capable guitar player.

 

[Poor Scouser T]

Not a band as such but one guy with a guitar.

Was in a bar in Key West and a guy sat on a stool with a guitar and started playing tunes and was top drawer. He then started taking requests and the whole place was trying to catch him out with the most obscure and bizarre songs imaginable. Guy played every single one without missing a beat. Best night out ever.

[Bjornebye]

Pendulum - Same as Zonk with Rudimental, not my thing but they were superb. The chemicals in my body at the time undoubtedly helped. 

[VladimirIlyich]

1 hour ago, Poor Scouser T said:

Not a band as such but one guy with a guitar.

Was in a bar in Key West and a guy sat on a stool with a guitar and started playing tunes and was top drawer. He then started taking requests and the whole place was trying to catch him out with the most obscure and bizarre songs imaginable. Guy played every single one without missing a beat. Best night out ever.

There is a 'trick' to that if you are half decent at music theory.

That said,anybody able to do this gets my admiration.

[Preston Red]

Jamiroquai.

 

Fucking superb. Saw them at Ministry of Sound festival in 2000.

[Mook]

6 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

There is a 'trick' to that if you are half decent at music theory.

That said,anybody able to do this gets my admiration.

 

What's the trick?

 

I'm assuming these were not instrumental cover versions so surely the only trick would be knowing the chords, rough arrangements, melodies & lyrics of each song requested.

[Poor Scouser T]

4 minutes ago, Mook said:

 

What's the trick?

 

I'm assuming these were not instrumental cover versions so surely the only trick would be knowing the chords, rough arrangements, melodies & lyrics of each song requested.

I think you can blag certain chords and leave out the lifts and peaks but this guy was on a different level and sang every fucking word. From Oasis when they weren't even in the US to the Bee Gees.

[Mook]

20 minutes ago, Poor Scouser T said:

I think you can blag certain chords and leave out the lifts and peaks but this guy was on a different level and sang every fucking word. From Oasis when they weren't even in the US to the Bee Gees.

 

I'm genuinely interested in what the trick is. I played in covers bands for years with people who were music teachers and things like that & have never heard of it.

 

Anyone singing Bee Gees songs deserves serious credit. Fuck that.

[Poor Scouser T]

4 minutes ago, Mook said:

 

I'm genuinely interested in what the trick is. I played in covers bands for years with people who were music teachers and things like that & have never heard of it.

 

Anyone singing Bee Gees songs deserves serious credit. Fuck that.

I can knock out a bit of Fake Plastic Trees and I'm leaving all sorts of stuff out but it sounds just like it. A musician or guitar guy would know straight away.

[Mook]

11 minutes ago, Poor Scouser T said:

I can knock out a bit of Fake Plastic Trees and I'm leaving all sorts of stuff out but it sounds just like it. A musician or guitar guy would know straight away.

 

I assume you have heard the song though.

 

What I mean is, the only trick is surely to know (to a certain degree) the songs being requested.

[Poor Scouser T]

Yeah true that and 100 hours practice. So valid point

[Carvalho Diablo]

Ignite are supposed to be a killer live band and a bunch of trusted mates had seen them before and also said the same.

 

However when I saw them at Newcastle Think Tank about 5 years ago I was massively disappointed. Don't know whether it'd been a marathon tour or what, but they looked and sounded like a bunch of knackered homesick blokes who were just going through the motions.

 

A really disappointing night.

[Bjornebye]

25 minutes ago, Poor Scouser T said:

Yeah true that and 100 hours practice. So valid point

 

So the trick is 100 hours practice on every song ever? 

 

Piece of piss this. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

8 hours ago, Bjornebye said:

Ian Brown (Solo) - Absolute dogshit. 

 

The Kooks 2006 when they were all over the charts, fucking crap 

I'm not sure how these were a surprise.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

When I saw BB King at the Empire (in about 89/90, I think) I was prepared for how good his guitar playing was, but had no idea about the incomparable power of his voice.

[Bjornebye]

1 minute ago, AngryOfTuebrook said:

I'm not sure how these were a surprise.

 

I'm a big Stone Roses fan, expected to enjoy Ian Brown.

 

I liked the Kooks stuff they had out at the time and it was at a festival in the blazing sun, should have been ace. It wasn't. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

1 minute ago, Bjornebye said:

 

I'm a big Stone Roses fan, expected to enjoy Ian Brown.

 

I liked the Kooks stuff they had out at the time and it was at a festival in the blazing sun, should have been ace. It wasn't. 

I'm just being a snarky prick. The forum's missing a bit of that knee-jerk arsiness.

[sir roger]

At the risk of taking a trip to Negsville, Arizona, the wife got let down by her sister on the night they were due to see that James Arthur from one of the TV talent shows. I grudgingly said I would go, as she wouldn't have gone on her own, and while he will never be my choice of music, he came across really well, his voice were excellent and some of the songs were quite decent. 

 

Never told her that obviously , said he was shite and asked where the nearest pub was for afterwards.

[stringvest]

Ian Brown is infamously shite at doing the singing thing.  Always has been.  I've seen loads of bands phoning their performances in, but at least you go there thinking they may be actually good.  No such expectations with that simian gobshite.

 

 

[Bjornebye]

28 minutes ago, AngryOfTuebrook said:

I'm just being a snarky prick. The forum's missing a bit of that knee-jerk arsiness.

You always are. Cunt 

[Skidfingers McGonical]

4 hours ago, Juniper said:

You have a good memory Mate 
 

Cracking day, that 

I wasn’t drinking (too much) as the wife was 5 months pregnant with our second. 
 

Miles Kane was the comedic highlight of the day. Still baffles me how got a slot. Absolute turgid shite. 
 

I think he did ‘Hot Stuff’ as well. 

[GR10 LFC]

49 minutes ago, sir roger said:

At the risk of taking a trip to Negsville, Arizona, the wife got let down by her sister on the night they were due to see that James Arthur from one of the TV talent shows. I grudgingly said I would go, as she wouldn't have gone on her own, and while he will never be my choice of music, he came across really well, his voice were excellent and some of the songs were quite decent. 

 

Never told her that obviously , said he was shite and asked where the nearest pub was for afterwards.

In a similar vein, my missus is a nurse and was given some tickets for a Gary Barlow show at the arena as NHS thank you and she took me along. Thought I’d hate it but it wasn’t that bad at all. 
 

In general answer to the question, I went to see Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott in Glastonbury last year. Always liked the odd Beautiful South song the but the gig from start to finish was superb, was proper blown away by it to the point I went to see them 4 weeks later in St Helens and the set list from that show is one of my post played Spotify playlists now