šŸ—£ Gigs

Fooā€™s in Edinburgh tonightā€¦ Cannot wait!

Foos were immense at Milton Keynes (I was at the first of their two dates there - Saturday).

Avert your eyes if you know nothing about their current stage show!

They put up a giant, all-consuming ā€˜FFā€™ curtain while the crew set up. After the band started playing and it finally dropped, Dave Grohl - still pretty broken in the leg area - emerged on a FF-themed throneā€¦ A throne complete with no less than its own lightshow, with guitar necks attached at the base (presumably those of his vanquished foes) and the ability to move along the stage into the centre of the crowd. Epic!

I reckon the set lasted about 2h 15m, which (bearing in mind Royal Blood and Iggy Pop played full sets too) made the horrendous cost worth it. We were also fortunate enough that they brought out Roger Taylor and John Paul Jones to play a cover of ā€˜Under Pressureā€™.

Foo Fighters donā€™t really ā€˜doā€™ adequate or bog-standard, do they? :laughing:

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I was also at the Foo Fighters on Saturday night. My partner managed to get into the pen at the front to be nearer the stage whilst I stood on the hill at the back. Great view if my eyesight was better. I sort of saw them at Reading a few years ago (I have a tendancy to wander off at festivals unless itā€™s something I absolutely love). I donā€™t know any names of their songs but enjoyed it a lot. To the point that I would have considred going the Sunday and trying to get in the pen to experience it a bit more close up.

But hate Milton Keynes bowl.

Originally posted by @Intiniki

But hate Milton Keynes bowl.

For a custom-built venue in a custom-built town, itā€™s terrible in several ways.

I mean I like that the groundā€™s sloped down towards the stage; you get a better view that way. Plus their sound system was solid enough. However the infrastructure isnā€™t there for that many attendees. Between Royal Blood and Iggy Pop we attempted to do a loo break/food run. With the toilets right opposite the food stands and only a narrow walkway between, absolute everywhere around the main bowl got completely jammed.

Pathetic really. They either need to widen that area or use barriers to divide it into three - a loo queueing area, a food queueing area and a general walkway between.

Thankfully we parked a way away and walked in, because Iā€™ve heard horror stories of the main car park being such a bottleneck that people got stuck for 1-2 hours afterwards!

Also my group got there for dead-on 4pm so luckily we were able to get down the front and secure wristbands for the inner circle. Much better views and atmosphere, plus it was actually less crammed then the area behind the second barrier. Wouldā€™ve been nice if this was advertised properly as we only happened upon there being wristbands to get down the front by chance.

Utterly fantastic performance but yeah - shame about the venue.

Yeah my partner got into the inner circle by chance wristband free just before Foos came on. Heā€™s jammy like that. He then told me how it wasnā€™t crowded. I just cannot do sardine like in crowds anymore. But it would have been good to know about the wrist bands beforehand. We may check more now.

I cannot believe it was purpose built, itā€™s so badly designed. It wasan old clay pit so maybe they just thought it was a grand idea to use it that way. I saw one woman in front of me trying to call her partner who had gone for a wee / drink / food as he had been for ages. He eventually came back. Other people around me were also bemoaning the queues and crush. I didnā€™t have a single drink or loo break so thankfully avoided it. It took ages for everyone to leave via one (?) exit. We were lucky on the carpark front as they suddenly opened another exit we were near. We were home before we had expected.

But I donā€™t really want to repeat it. Itā€™s going to have to be a pretty unmissable band for me to go back.

I was at the Foo Fighters Saturday as well. Ā£5 for a beer, not even a pint, just a bottle of beer, what a rip off. Seen the Foos before and not a ā€˜massiveā€™ fan, but theyā€™re alright so went with some mates as one of them had a spare ticket. You know what youā€™re getting with them, they are always good. Thought Royal Blood were good, not heard them before, sat on the bank at the back & enjoyed them. Missed Iggy Pop as went for a mooch about.

Yep, they did the same last night. It was all worth it to see my 7 year oldā€™s (Olivia) face. I love these moments. It was priceless. For me the 7th time, but they still blow me away!

Yes MK Bowl is terrible. I have only been there twice for Bon Jovi and Green Day, but the sound was also terrible.

Just got my MUSE tickets for Manchester. Sold out in 10 minutes so well chuffed as this is an arena tour.

The 7 times I have seen them have all been festival or stadiums!

Was kind of tempted to get Muse tickets, like you I have only seen them at festivals. They totally blew me away when I first saw them headline Reading ('06). Although, I didnā€™t really know much about them then.

Was a bit disappointed when they played Glastonbury 2010.

Iā€™d be interested to see them in an arena with all their own set up, they do seem the sort of band that would excel in that setting. The thing that holds me back is that they have gotten a bit lost up their own behinds, I fear. Iā€™ve not really liked any of their output for about 10 years. Theyā€™ve just turned into Queen do do Conspiracy theories.

I half expect their next album to be called Chemtrails Illuminati Steel Beams.

Muse was my first evar gig. It was at Astoria in London. I think that is closed down now. Muse was Quite Good, I remember liking a song they done about anal sex which was called Cave. They had another upcoming band doing support tho who was called Coldplay, who was awful. I remember thinking that Muse would prob eek out a living, but deffo not those Coldplay bros.

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One of our offices is right by where the Astoria used to be, made me sad every morning when I got off at TCR and it wasnā€™t there :frowning:

RIP Astoria. I loved that shit hole that left you with tinnitus for days, you didnā€™t know whether you were walking or wading and served you Red Stripe in tins, even if you were clearly only 16.

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I saw Muse at Wembley in 2010. The support was Biffy Clyro and frankly it was tough to call who was best, but both blew me away. Wembley is far from my favourite but it was full and rocking.

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Originally posted by @KRG

Theyā€™ve just turned into Queen do do Conspiracy theories.

True of ā€˜The Resistanceā€™ and the virtually-unlistenable ā€˜The 2nd Lawā€™, but ā€˜Dronesā€™ has won me back.

Muse were my favourite band for a good decade or so. Probably saw them circa 8 or 10 times. Given how strong their latest album is, I secured presale tickets for one of the 2016 gigs at The O2. Will be the first time Iā€™ve seen them in quite a stretch!

Got some Muse tickets today as well and we briefly considered a trip up to Edinburgh for the Biffy Clyro on NYE.

I won some tickets for the itunes festival this weekend. Probably best to let people guess which singer/band. Althogh if you guess right and like them, and live in London you may be lucky as I have spare.

Have seen some cracking stuff at the itunes festival but feel itā€™s a shame theyā€™ve now gone to 2 weeks in september instead of 4 weeks in the summer.

I also now have a spare for Ride at Brixton.

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if you are interested in behind the scenes of a music venue I recommend:

Live at Brixton academy

Having worked in much tamer venues it still made me a bit nostaligic.

Went and saw Wolf Alice at Brixton on Saturday. Only really went as a mate is quite into them, and I like Drenge* who were support.

I went in a bit baffled at Wolf Aliceā€™s success. I donā€™t think they are bad at all, just a bit average, though I suppose fairly radio-friendly. I guess having a few plays on Radio 1 can really make a huge difference.

I came out, pretty much feeling the same. I enjoyed Wolf Alice, they were decent enough. But still donā€™t get the hype, couldnā€™t help but feel thereā€™s just something Iā€™m missing.

Drenge were cracking, and unbelievably loud, as always.

*Edit: Just realised, going to a gig for the supprot act is a bit Hipster, isnā€™t it? Probably shouldnā€™t mention the long hair, beard or that Iā€™m an East London resident. Iā€™m going to get a whole load of hate thrown my way.

No, just corn flakes.

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WP, Fowllyd. WP.

I have an extensive range of reasonably-priced cereals on offer should you feel the need to arrive early enough to watch the support again.

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