Lordi

After wining the Eurovision song contest in 2006 with a record 292 points Lordi took the world by storm. Being possibly the most controversial contestant the contest has seen, meant they had lots of problems getting onto the show in the first place. Despite one of their best known songs being called "The Devil is a Loser" they still got called devil worshippers and satanists, by many religious societies as they dress up as monsters to sing.

The first time i saw them live was after their Eurovision win, when people turned up to see what all the fuss was about and hear them sing "Hard Rock Hallelujah". It was halloween 2006 and freezing. I had been waiting for 3 hours in near freezing temperatures when finally the doors openened. After waiting for turisas to stop screaming we waited until 9 o' clock and decided they would soon come on. But no. They waited until 9:30 before gracing us with their presence, but boy was it worth the wait! As soon as they came on stage i knew i was in for the greatest performance if my young life. I was only 15 at the time, so hadn't been to a great many gigs before. As they stomped onstage in their costumes everyone cheered and screamed and clapped and whatever else they do when something good happens. The stage was fantastic, the costumes were amazing and the songs were even better. Unfortunately, as they came on half an hour later than most bands i missed the end as i had to leave to get my train home, so i didn't hear "Hard Rock Hallelujah" anyway.

So when i heard they were playing again in London i figured i had to go. Unfortunately, the gig was either barely advertised, or in the wrong places as i only found out when my friends jokingly said we should go as it was on the next day. I did. Unfortunately, being the next day i had to go to London and hope tickets hadn't sold out. They hadn't. I was so happy. It was at the Islington Academy on Feb 12th 2009, and was once again, cold. When we got in i was amazed at a number of things. Firstly, the fact that they had decided to scrap tour shirts with dates on in prefernece of shirts that simply had a picture of either the group or individual members. I was also amazed at how small the venue was. The Forum only held about 2300 people, and i figured the band must still be at least that big, right? Well this venue held about 1000 people max and hadn't sold out. That gies to show how well it was advertised, right? Well after sitting through 2 bands i had never heard of and could barely understand i was about fed up. Until the singer said they had been out with Lordi the night before, which got me thinking about whether they wear their costumes to go out, because surely they want to keep their identies secret from people and stuff? That kept me thinking for the next half hour or so.

Along comes 9 o' clock, and i'm sat there thinking, they must come on soon, right? Alas, once again Lordi came on a half 9 and once again i missed the end, but it was well worth the £15 i paid for a ticket. Not only did they play some fantastic songs ranging from their oldest to their newest, but hey gave each member a little stage time to show their backstory kind of thing. Each of them came to the front of the stage and did something, which was both entertaining and fascinating. The amount of time and effort they put into their shows, especially when they're so small is phenominal. Most bands wouldn't bother with a stage show when playing to a crows of 800, but then you have to wonder if Lordi would be the same without the stage show and the costumes.

Lordi's live shows clearly have a very horror comedy mix to them, as while they are dressed up as monsters singing about monsters going and eating people and running around with homemade chainsaws, they are also quite silly. Not in a comical sense, mind. I'm not sure what it is about the show that makes it so entertaining, but it is one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. They played such a mix of songs, ranging from their well known songs like Blood Red Sandman and Bringing Back the Balls to Rock they also played some of their less known songs like Haunted Town. The song of the evening had to be It Snows In Hell, though. Not because it's their best, it's not. But because it's the song i had to leave through last time, and this time i got to hear it all the way through with the smoking skull and confetti and everything it was fantastic.

Even the songs from their new album were done with such perfection as if it was something they had done a million time before. Raise Hell in Heaven, Deadache, Devil Hides Behind her Smile and Bite it Like a Bulldog were simply perfect. Even people who didn't know the songs or the words were jumping around and joining in. It was one of those nights when you're just really happy to be a part of something. While i want the band to succeed, i also have to say i love their show, and it is so much better in a smaller venue as you can see everything much clearer. You can't please eveyone in a stadium if your performance relies on your stage show. If people can't see, they don't tend to care as much, which is why i think these guys are more suited to smaller venues.

One thing i do know though, is that Mr Lordi and the gang really know how to make a memorable night. He can command a crowd to do practically anything he wants to do, be it jumps, clap, be quiet, or just go nuts, it's just such a happy atmosphere, which is odd for a horror themed event, but fantastic nonetheless. If i had any way to improve on the gig though, i would recommend them to come on at 9 so i don't miss as much next time.

Reel Big Fish

I had been to gigs at the Junction before and not really enjoyed it, and therefore had my reservations about returning.. As you are not allowed to smoke in the venue they decided to try and keep the 'smokey bar' atmosphere by pumping loads of smoke into the room with smoke machines. Not only was this annoying, but it stank and really ruined pictures. Which always annoys me, as that is pretty much all i do at gigs now.

So i walked in and looked at the merch stands, wishing they had a black T-shirt with tour dates on, though wishing i had money slightly more. When we decided to go and stand in front of the stage. So we walk over to the fron, but we are right on one corner because there are less people around. Unfortunately, there is a giant, seemingly unnecessary light pole thing right in the way, but we decided to let it slide and just have a laugh. Which was easyier than ithough it would be.

First of all Random Hand came onstage. I was little concerned because they guy who wandered onstage was a skinhead type fellow in shorts and a t-shirt. I was slightly taken aback as this wasn't what i was expecting. Now, thi smay be slightly stereotypical but i was kind of expecting either some dodgey screamo (gallows) or hiphop (any white guy trying to rap). Though the guy was white so the latter seemed unlikely. Then, surprisingly, the guy pulled out a trombone and started playing it. It turns out, that band was actually very good - which goes to show you shouldn't judge a band by their image, unless that's what they want you to do. So when they had finished i decided it was already worth the £13.70 i paid for a ticket and could leave then, quite content. I didn't because that wasn't what i'd paid for. I casually walked back to our spot behind the light bar and waited for the next band - Suburban Legends.

These guy were different. Each and every one of them apart from the singer looked incredibly gay. Not that i have any problems with this, but i was like "what the hell is this going to be". Then the singer walked on, and i was a little concerned. I decidedi probably wasn't going to like this band as the only band i could think to compare it to would be Melt Banana, plainly because they are Japanese, and no offense to any fans, but they're terrible. Obviously at this point i had forgotten that support acts are generally a similar music style to the actual band and was thinking worst case scenario - but that was soon forgotten. This band was amazing.

Trumpets and tromones and those kind of instruments just make everything seem much happier and more lively, and this band clearly knew that. From the moment they came on they had the audience hooked and were just so friendly. Anyone who stops halfway through the set to give people rounds of applause is great, but generally it's just the band - though these guys were getting people to cheer the security guards - much to their discomfort, which made it that little bit funnier as you could just see they wanted to get up or do something, but knew they weren't allowed so simply grinned to themselves.

The songs were brilliant, and the band were really nice. Halfway through one of the songs "High Fives" the singer jumped off the stage and 'high fived' as many people as he could before needed to hop back and and keep singing. You could tell they were one of those bands that really appreciated playing live and loved the fans and were really enjoying themselves. So i was sat there thinking, "How could RBF possibly top these two? Tehy were phenominal" It was the first time i had heard a support act get such a loud encore scream. Unfortunately, they were unable to give an encore as there was time limits to how long each band got so they could meet curfue.

So after going to have another look around the merch stall and getting a drink i pushed my way back to my position only to find the only person in the room taller than me just infront of me. Typical i thought. So i moved to the side slightly and had a much better view. I had never seen Reel Big Fish live before, nor had i seen any of their videos or anything so had no idea what to expect when they came onstage. Well when you see someone walk on in shorts, a leather jacket and flying goggles, you know you're in for a good night so i just sat back and enjoyed it - even though i was standing at the time.

RBF were simply amazing. The songs, while using funny lyrics, can convey some quite sad stories, though in very funny ways. Such as somebody girlfriend dumping them (She's got a girlfriend now) or even talking about how being in a band isn't as easy as it looks (Don't start a band)(The kids don't like it). Other songs they have written simply for entertainment (I want your girlfriend to be my girlfriend) and others i can't decide upon (Trendy). However the meaning behind the songs is nowhere near as important as the way the band fire them off one after the other never missing a beat. Apart from during one of the solos that goes wrong. Though this was very nicely corrected after the song when Barrett turned to the crowd and apologised. Then proceeded to play the chorus again so we "got our money's worth".

Most bands wouldn't do this if they played anywhere let alone an 800 capacity venue, which is a nice change. After playing through more songs than i can remember they player "Beer". Now, for some reason this sent the crowd nuts. This was great fun, and generally quite interesting as i have never seen people moshing to trumpets before. They then walked off stage, only to be dragged back by a constant screaming of "Sell Out" a song Barrett seems to dislike playing - probably as it is their most well known and therefore most overplayed on their part, but they played it and it was amazing. Everyone knew the words and screamed along to it, to the point where you could feel the building shake, not because of the amps, either.

Metallica

So i've never been a very big Metallica fan, to be honest i don't think they're that great. I've listened to some of their CD's and nothig jumps out at me, personally. However, when i saw a competition to go see them live for some BBC Radio thing, i though "Sure, why not?" So i ended up winning two tickets to go and see them play to about 400 people, the day before they played the Sold Out O2 Arena gig. We got to london, and got completely lost trying to find the place, but fafter wandering around and finally deciding to ask somebody we got pointed in the right direction and found our way there. In the queue we were asked for our names and given wristbands so everyone knew we were meant to be there. I took one of my friends who loves Metallica so he got chatting away to people around us in the queue about how many times they had seen the band and what their favourite album was and all that jazz. Now i can barely name a Metallica album let alone the tracks off it, so i kept relatively quiet.

At about half 6 or something we started to walk into the venue. Whilst being nosey and looking through windows we watched as peoples bags got taken through their airport style x-ray machines and people got searched - which was suprisingly funny. It came to my go, and i wandered up and gave them my bag and trenchcoat that they put through the machine. They then told me to empty my pockets - so i took out my wallet and phone and some loose change. I proceeded to walk past the x-ray machine and collect my stuff. It wasn't until i got into the actual room after walking through many twisty corridors that i realised i actually had quite a lot of stuff in my other pockets that nbody asked about. Good security, eh?

But anyway, my friend ran off to the front so he could get the best view he could and i kicked back to the side as i was there more because it was free than because i wanted to be. Just so i didn't feel completely left out i borrowd the new album Deatyh Magnetic from my front and stuck it on my iPod and listened to it on repeat until i forced myself to like at least one song so i could sing along to something they did. We were hanging around til about 9 o'clock when they finally walked out onstage quite happily and started talking. The usual "Hey guys thanks for coming" lines and then started playing. As i previously said, i'm not much of a fan of their CD's but after hearing them play live i realised that they totally deserve the fame and fortune (maybe not the fortune) that they have collected over the years. Honestly, i was blown away.The set list was very god (That Was Just Your Life, The End Of The Line, Until It Sleeps, Broken, Beat And Scarred, Cyanide, Frantic, For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Day That Never Comes, Master Of Puppets, Blackened). I knew a couple of words to the chorus' so i started singing along, but mianly i was taking pictures - as this was the biggest band i was ever going to see in such a small venue.

What surprised me most, though was that they just looked like they were enjoying it so much. A band that can sell out a 20,000 capacity venue without a second though suddenly playing to 500? It must be a strange feeling - and yet they seemed to be having such a great time playing to so few people - though smaller gigs are always the best in my opinion. They seemed to put all their effort into it and the result was fantastic. As it was a sort of warm up gig to their new tour, they were messing around a little bit and showing off, but it was i really insightful gig. I'm still not much of a fan, but if they ever come back i may consider going. If the tickets are free, though? I'm there!