Scouting For Girls - Thursday 11th February - Scala, London

No gigs in January, so this was my first one of 2010. And a new venue for me too. Not quite sure how I'm managed to avoid the Scala for so long, but I was quite impressed. I was also impressed by Scouting For Girls, whose brand of catchy pop songs seems set to continue into their second album, some of which was showcased here. A lively and packed audience seemed to lap it up. I particularly enjoyed the traditional "Bond" cover - Live and Let Die which followed "I wish I was James Bond"!

Anyone got the setlist?

Best and Worst 2009

My annual look back over the year from a "best of" and "worst of" perspective of the 31 gigs seen during 2009 

Best Gig 2009 

1: AC/DC- O2 Classic set and a great view on the first night 

2: Quireboys - Sheffield O2 Academy Great band playing a great album in its entirety. 

3: Per Gessle - Islington O2 Academy No, O2 aren't sponsoring this! Classic set with all the hits you could ask for.

Honourable mentions to Thunder and Mott The Hoople at Hammersmith and Quo at Brighton.

Most Disappointing Gig 2009 
1: The Answer - Dingwalls By no means awful, just not as entertaining as most of the other shows this year, hence the reason I decided to skip their December date 

I can't really describe any of the others as disappointing - Again , the quality has been really good. That's probably down to me being very selective and refusing to pay ridiculous money for the likes of Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, The Eagles etc 

Best Venue 2009 
1: Hammersmith Apollo
2: Indigo2 Same as last year then! 

Worst Venue 2009
1: O2 Arena
2: Wembley Arena 

Good in 2009
1: Another decline in drunks at gigs. Maybe the recession is kicking in on people's drinking habits.
2: Small gigs - this year has re-affirmed that there is fun to be had seeing less well known artists in smaller (and cheaper!) intimate venues.
3: Quality. Pretty much all the gigs have been enjoyable this year. 

Bad In 2009
1: Prices for some major artists still over £100 for a decent seat. No thanks!
2: Tfl / Tubelines incompetence on the Jubilee Line meaning regular no trains to the O2.
3: Drink prices at venues. Outrageous in many cases (Yes, Hammersmith & O2 - that's you)
4: Merchandise. Besides a programme for Bryan Adams and "show-only" Thunder, Mott The Hoople and Quireboys CDs, I can't remember buying any again this year. Prices are too high and the quality just isn't tempting enough.
5: Support bands. Once upon a time, I would always make the point of seeing the support band. Now I rarely bother unless it's a name I know and like. That's probably my loss, but there's a lot of very average acts out there. 

Enjoy 2010 and get out there and listen to some live music!

Quireboys - Saturday 19th December - O2 Academy, Sheffield

The last gig of 2009 for me and a night away in Sheffield. Richard and I had been seeing Quo in Brighton when the Quireboys played London, so in the absence of any Thunder Christmas shows this year, we took a weekend break to Yorkshire. This meant the (freezing) delights of Leeds United (baaa!) v Southampton at Elland Road earlier in the day and an evening of classic rock in the evening.

We caught the end of Wolfsbane's set and positioned ourselves for the main event. The QB's were on top form, ripping through the whole of their classic 1989/90 debut album "A Bit of What You Fancy" and numerous other fan favourites. This is one band I am happy to see time and time again.

Rather predictably having visited a few bars on the way home and with the best intentions of calling it a night, in true Quireboys fashion we found the hotel bar open. This meant an "early night" of around 3am. Eeek!

Setlist 
Mayfair
Don't Bite The Hand
The Finer Stuff
Tramps And Thieves
This Is Rock 'N' Roll
Mona Lisa Smiled
7 O'Clock
Man on the Loose
Whippin' Boy
Sweet Mary Ann
I Don't Love You Anymore
Hey You
Misled
Long Time Comin'
Roses & Rings
There She Goes Again
Take Me Home
+
I Love This Dirty Town
Sex Party (with Blaze Bayley from Wolfsbane)

The Union - Tuesday 15th December - Relentless Garage, Islington

The first ever gig from the Union. Thunder's Luke Morley joins forces with long-time guitar/vocalist mate, Peter Shoulder. This was at the "Relentless Garage" which used to be the plain old "Garage" at Highbury and Islington. I'm really not into this constant renaming of venues any more than I am renaming of pubs. 

We managed to get returns on the "lottery only" style of ticket allocation, but weren't totally shocked to find the venue not full!

The bar was expensive (and provoked a few comments from the punters) and the headline act played a short but accomplished bluesy set - all filmed for a DVD release next year. It'll be interesting to see how the album turns out too.

Photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/katharinahaack/4271996636/ 

Setlist Easy Street You Know My Name Black Monday Come Rain or Shine Holy Roller This Time Next Year Saviour Watch the River Flow + Lilies Proud Mary

Status Quo - Friday 11th December - Brighton Centre

Much better than Croydon! And the bonus of the legendary Roy Wood as support. Marvellous! 9/10.

Taylor Swift - Monday 23rd November - Wembley Arena

OK, so we booked this on the strength of the "Fearless" album which is really good. Actually, so is the first one "Taylor Swift". And whilst aware that Taylor was a young up and coming artist, until the tickets were booked and we checked her website, we were not aware of her typical fanbase. Young teenage girls. Oh dear! 

This meant 3 things:- 1) The bar was empty and easily accessible! 2) In our whole block of seats (200+) we were the oldest there. 3) In our whole block of seats we were 2 of only 5 blokes. 

Putting aside the above, the show was good - full of catchy pop songs. The screaming between songs got a bit much and during one costume change gap I headed to the bar. On my return, I passed Ms Swift herself on the way to a "B Stage" at the back of the Arena with a security guard and we nodded acknowledgement. I bet she was thinking that I was a bit old to be there! 

She seems a young lady who could go far.

Setlist You Belong With Me Our Song Tell Me Why Teardrops On My Guitar Fearless Forever & Always Hey Stephen Fifteen Tim McGraw White Horse Love Story The Way I Loved You You're Not Sorry Picture To Burn Should've Said No

Status Quo - Wednesday 18th November - Croydon Fairfield Halls

Regular readers will have read enough reviews of Quo on this site to last them a while, so I'll be brief. Pretty good, but not quite up to their highest standards. 7/10.

[later note: It turns out Francis was ill around this time, which may explain the lack of spark]

Rock-Ola - Wednesday 11th November - Eel Pie Club, Twickenham

A first ever visit for us to the "Eel Pie" club in Twickenham. Not the original, this is in the top floor of the Cabbage Patch pub. Rock-Ola are Pete French (who we knew little about) and Bernie Marsden (ex Whitesnake). The first person we saw at the bar on the way in was Neil Murray (Rock bass player extraordinaire) which led us to think it should be good. 

Someone else in front of us signed a few autographs, but we couldn't work out who he was, despite looking familiar (think a cross between Bernie Ecclestone and Ian MacLagen!) 

And guess what? It was good. It's always nice when you take a gamble on some of these shows and it pay off. The set was basically blues-driven with some Whitesnake / Led Zep stuff thrown in. Couldn't tell you what all the songs were, but all were listenable to and the instruments and vocals were performed with passion. And it's not often you get to stand next to an 8/10 lookalike for Avram Grant!

Magnum - Friday 6th November - O2 Academy, Islington

Rammed, rammed rammed!

Yep, it was packed.. could barely get through the door. Once we did (upsetting several people), we squeezed over to the bar (where you could actually breathe and get served!). The show was good (complete setlist change) and featured many songs from the excellent "Into The Valley of The Moonking" album (rubbish title, great music!). Only complaint (besides the crush) was that the show could have been a bit longer.

We walked up past the Union Chapel on the way out. Attempted to gate-crash the last few minutes of the show - I've even forgotten the artists name (I know it's someone Richard likes!) Blagged our way in through an exit, but got in just as she'd left the stage. Unfortunately, no encore, but a nice try!

Oh and I should also mention the torrential rain (we got soaked!) and the very pleasant delights of the Baverian Brewhouse near Old Street.

Setlist
Cry To Yourself
Take Me To The Edge
Brand New Morning
The Moon King
When We Were Younger
No One Knows His Name
Dragons Are Real
A Face In The Crowd
We All Run
Les Morts Dansant
All My Bridges
All Englands Eyes
Vigilante
+
Don't Wake The Lion
The Kingdom Of Madness

Photo - ALX PIX http://www.flickr.com/photos/alxpix/4237450817/

The Mods - Friday 23rd October - Tooting & Mitcham FC

Continuing our regular visits to see Johnny Warman and the boys - this time at the home of Tooting & Mitcham FC - a new venue for me. Pre show, we checked out the delights of Mitcham - the best pub by some distance was the "Hooden On The Green" with excellent darts facilities and attractive staff. Some of the others were a bit rough and ready, but by no means unfriendly. 

The gig itself was of the normal excellent standard. It appears (unfortunately) that guitarist Steve Byrd has been permanently replaced which is a shame. He's even been removed from their website, so I wonder if there was a falling out? That said, his replacement - Gary Grainger - is also one hell of a guitar player, so it was interesting to check out his playing and try to pick up a few tips! We'll look forward to seeing the band again in 2010.