So, About Friday Night...

Friday 28th February is going to be etched in my memory forever. 

All thanks to my mister, 3 good friends, and a band called Black Stone Cherry. 

OH.MY.GOD. 

It was a very very special gig, and I seriously can't wait for their UK tour in the Autumn. It was different to any usual gig - there were pauses between songs where the audience could ask questions. Which was so cool! I think my favourite was the guy who asked what he should name his daughter - whilst pointing at the very expanded womb of the woman next to him. With the first song to come out from their new album being called "Me and Mary Jane", there was only ever one answer. It was so funny- we bumped into them outside and it was a case of "oh hey Mary Jane and Mum and Dad!".  They were getting that from a lot of people I think. 

As always with Black Stone Cherry, every song they played was amazing. The setlist was chosen by the fans (which I didn't even realise was going on, what a spanner!), and it was cracking. I can't even tell you how much I love this band! The venue was Koko in Camden, and I was really surprised and pleased that once the security guard had escorted me and my wheels into place, with Uberman as my carer, she let the others stay with us, which was awesome. 

Mega highlights songwise - Ghost of Floyd Collins, In My Blood, Such A Shame, Soul Creek, and probably my favourite song to hear live ever - Things My Father Said. If you read my Download Festival review, you will know that that performance had me (and many others, including band members) in tears. It's a hugely powerful song, and to hear several hundred people singing every word is spine tingling. Goosebumps and hair raising, the works. It was just amazing. 

After it had finished, my amazing security lady/bodyguard, Sandra, refused to let us go until it had cleared down a bit. This was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I feel slightly really bad, because the Uberman had gone down to the merch stand to look for a hoodie for me, and they wouldn't let him back in. I was facing forwards in my wheels, when my friends started looking at me funny - almost like I'd grown a second head. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and when I looked round, John Fred Young, BSC's drummer was right there! I didn't know how to react at all, I was like a cat in headlights! He was lovely, asked us about the show, and then posed for a couple of pictures with us. Minus Uberman. Whoops. Az uploaded to Facebook, and everyone assumed he had taken the picture... I really do feel bad! 

*I may also have touched his hair. It was amazing!

We finally got to make our way down, and we still had quite a wait for our taxi home, so we waited by the tour bus. Which had a parking ticket. Haha! We were down by the front, whereas everyone else had crowded around the doors waiting for the band to come out. I get a bit freaked out being in a crowd when I'm in my wheels, so waiting by the front was the best solution. At that point, the drum tech appeared - and asked us if we wanted some signed drumsticks! We couldn't say no, so we came away with those and a drum skin for Mel. 

We stayed where we were, being thoroughly entertained by a man off his tits dancing with his reflection in the door of the Purple Turtle, when Chris Robertson, BSC's singer came by and got on the bus. He looked thoroughly exhausted, I did feel for him. He came back down off the bus, and asked us if we had enjoyed the show. We replied with a big yes, and told him he looked so tired, to which he agreed, and there was kind of an unspoken thing that we wouldn't ask for photos or autographs. He was then mobbed, and we just sat back chilling. There were two American ladies by us, and all of a sudden one of them asked us whether we'd had a picture with him, or gotten an autograph. We told her no, because he just looked shattered- and she just went and grabbed him and brought him over to us. He was lovely, posed for photos, and signed my ticket. So thank you, slightly bonkers American lady, and to John Fred, Chris and the drum tech for being bloody awesome. 

Just before our cab arrived, man off his tits decided to stand behind Chris who was posing for photos and things, and yell out some BSC lyrics. In the most drunken, drugged, London trash accent ever. It was the funniest thing! I didn't get to see the look on Chris' face, but it must have been classic, because another guy just said "Welcome to London!". Hilarious.

My body is thoroughly broken (thanks to hitting the most enormous fucking pothole in the world on the way there! GAH. On the way home, the road was closed, and there were two cars minus their front wheels. That gives you some idea of just how big it was. Grrrr. I HATE POTHOLES!!!), but it was worth it for a gig that I will always remember as one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of attending. So thank you to Uberman, Mel, Az, Carl, Black Stone Cherry, Random OffHisTitsMan, Crazy American Lady and Lunatic Taxi Driver for making it a bloody brilliant night. All I want to do is rewind and do it all again!

I will leave you with some pictures!

\m/ Can it be tour time yet?! \m/ 

But At The Weekend, Everything Will Be Okay...

A lyric from a top tune by The Wildhearts there. The debate rages on as to which version is better - Weekend 96 or Weekend 98? 

Good ol' Smileybones. 

I'm feeling a bit better today. I'm up, dressed and in my comfy chair. It took a lot of spoons, so I'm a bit knackered now, but I'm pleased with myself. I'm still relying on liquids and cold things to soothe the soreness though. My voice is still AWOL too. If you see it, can you send it back my way? Ta! 

I've neglected music lately, which is something I'm trying to change. I've realized that one of the big loves in my life has been missing, and maybe it's a key to improving my happiness levels. My iPod is currently somewhere in the depths of my room upstairs, which I am quite sad about, as I can't get to it and give it an update. So I've taken to listening to Kerrang radio at night when I can't sleep. It's just nonstop music with no DJ at that time, so when I hear a song I like, I Google the lyrics to find out what it is and who it's by. Recently discovered songs for me are:

Volbeat - Lola Montez

Five Finger Death Punch - Battle Born

The Answer - Spectacular

Tonight Alive - Lonely Girl

Pearl Jam - Mind Your Manners

Heaven's Basement - Heartbreaking Son Of A Bitch

All pretty different, but equally awesome. Any suggestions on great new music to listen to are greatly appreciated!

I'm really liking the overnight stuff on Kerrang. There's a really good mix between new and old tracks, and it makes me smile and gets me relaxed all at once. My love for music is back, and it's stronger than ever. This is a very good thing! 

Post Download Review: Black Stone Cherry

Good Morning!

I thought that today would be a good day to bring you a more in depth review of some of the performances I saw at the mighty Download Festival this year! So without further ado...

Black Stone Cherry

I first heard about this band from the Uberman, after he went to see them with our friend Carl when a last minute ticket became available. I really liked them at the time, but when "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" came out, like blossomed into true love. I can listen to that album in full, over and over, with no track skipping.

Before this year, I had seen them once before, at Download Festival 2011, where they played the Main Stage in an early slot. They absolutely blew me away then, and the video for "Blame It On The Boom Boom" was shot from the live festival footage. I had hoped to see them last year, when they toured with Alter Bridge, but tickets sold out quicker than I could blink. 

So this year, when they were announced as part of the Download lineup, I knew I would most definitely be seeing them again. Even with the massive curveball Andy Copping threw, by clashing them with Slipknot, I wasn't going to miss them. 

I made the right decision. It seemed that a large majority of the festivalgoers were headed to the Main Stage to see Slipknot, which made me quite sad - this band deserve to be recognized! However, this was to my advantage, as the disabled viewing platform was almost empty. I was unable to get a ticket for the platforms in advance, as they had completely sold out, and sadly there were times when my view was very limited. If I wanted to see the perfomance of any band the most, this was it. So I asked the steward whether I could go up when the performance started, if the platform was still below capacity. She was absolutely my heroine that night. She said she wouldn't usually do so, but she could see I wanted to see this band, and the platform had had a mass exodus, so she would allow me up, on the condition that if the platform did get busy, I would come down. It didn't get busy, and I was sat at the front for what was one of my top 5 live sets ever. 

From the second Black Stone Cherry arrived on that stage, I was mesmerized. In their own words, they are "a band who don't have special effects or pyro, or any of that shit, they come with their instruments and play music". I can totally confirm that they do that spectacularly. From the second they opened to the second it was over, they were loud and proud. I experienced so many emotions watching this band, from pure excitement, through to bouncy happy, with ironic laughter, via tears. True story. I am not ashamed to admit that this was the first time I had ever cried during a performance. "Things My Father Said" is taken from the album "Folklore and Superstition", and has probably the most heartbreaking lyrics I have ever heard:

"Things My Father Said"

The things my father said would make me a better man
Hard work and the love of friends, a woman that understands

I hope my father knows the seeds we've sown still grow
At night I go to sleep and pray he's watching over me

Somewhere there's a star that's shining
So bright that I can see you smile
And all that I need is one last chance
Just to hear you say goodbye

Sometimes I remember, when you taught me to tie my shoes
One thing I will never forget, is the day that I lost you

I hope you always know the car that we built will always roll

Somewhere there's a star that's shining
So bright that I can see you smile
And all that I need is one last chance
Just to hear you say goodbye

And if you have a dream you better hang on for dear life
And when that cold wind blows, just let it pass you by

The things my father said

Somewhere there's a star that's shining
So bright that I can see you smile
And all that I need is one last chance
Just to hear you say goodbye

I am very close to my Dad, and the lyrics are both beautiful, and at the same time terrifying to me. 

 Before they played this, Chris Robertson (lead singer) dedicated this to a friend who had lost their father the previous week, and also said it would mean a lot to him, as it was the first time he had been on an extended trip away from his baby son, who had been born in October. Someone has had the courtesy to upload the footage to YouTube - and hopefully I will get his permission to embed the video soon. If not, I would recommend you search for Black Stone Cherry "Things My Father Said" (Download Festival 2013). The sound quality is not ideal, but live footage rarely is. Watching it again still gets me, especially when the crowd are singing alone. I have never experienced such an emotional performance; everywhere you looked, people had arms round shoulders, lighters were in the air, there were strangers hugging and crying, members of the band were crying, and I had turned into a sobbing wreck. But it was phenomenal, and I will never forget how special it was.

A major highlight was the first ever live performance of a song that hasn't yet been recorded for the new album. "Me and Mary Jane" is instantly recognizable as Black Stone Cherry - catchy lyrics, punchy riffs... absolute rock and roll. If it is a sign of things to come, the next album is going to be a corker. Something I love about music, and how I tend to rate a song, is by how easy it is to sing along, particularly for a chorus. BSC are the perfect example of how to do this, and "Me and Mary Jane" did not disappoint. We were able to join in with the second chorus, and you could see how much the band enjoyed that - it was written all over their faces.

"Rain Wizard" delivered the most ironic and hilarious moment of the set. From the album "Black Stone Cherry", it is a firm fan favourite and opens with the line "Here Comes The Rain...". So naturally, as soon as the words were sung, the heavens chose to open. You could not have asked for more perfect timing. Did the rain put a dampener on things? Not at all. The total opposite. People were dancing, singing their hearts out, and having a damn good time. I've been to outdoor gigs where the rain has made everybody bloody miserable, so this made a refreshing change. 

I wish I could give an in depth review of every single song, but a) I don't wish to bore you, and b) I've slept a bit since then and would hate to do the songs any injustice by missing things out. So notable mentions go out to "White Trash Millionaire", "Blame It On The Boom Boom", "In My Blood" and "Soul Creek". All major singalongs, and the crowd lapped them up. 

Despite me really not wanting it to, the set had to come to an end, and did so on a major high, with "Lonely Train". During the set, Chris told the crowd how they had been asked to play due to the massive demand on social media. This  shows just how popular they are - it is very rare that a band are booked on advice of the fans (a good example is Rammstein - people have been asking for them for bloody years!). Also, their management initially said no, as they weren't touring Europe or promoting an album. But they dug their heels in, and said they'd pay for it themselves if they had to, but either way they were coming, and that was that. 

They are an incredibly likeable group of guys. There's no inflated egos, no arrogance, no bullshit. Black Stone Cherry are a group who come on stage to play amazing music and have fun doing it. And that is something more bands should take note of. It is interesting to hear them say that they are more popular in the UK than they are at home, in the USA. It makes you question whether USA rock fans prefer major SFX or theatrical extravaganzas, or us Brits prefer straight music. If I was to choose between BSC being as they are now, or performing with a show like Rammstein did (please note that I bloody loved Rammstein's show, it was phenomenal), I'd go for the first option every time. They are a band who don't need any extras- they put on a brilliant show just with what they do.

It was very satisfying to note that by the end of the set, the crowd had grown considerably. I honestly couldn't recommend a band to you more.This is a band that deserve recognition, and with each album, they are getting it more and more. Roll on 2014 for the next chapter in the Black Stone Cherry story!

Setlist:

1. Maybe Someday

2. Change

3.Blind Man

4. In My Blood

5. Me and Mary Jane

6. Like I Roll

7. Rain Wizard

8. Things My Father Said

9. White Trash Millionaire

10. Soul Creek

11. Blame It On The Boom Boom

12. Lonely Train

The Aporia Rating - 10/10

If you were at Download this year, or enjoyed this review, please leave me a comment - I love to read your opinions!