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9th July 2007
You can't help but feel disappointed when Courtney Love says she can't smoke in the venue because of the laws. This is the new Courtney Love. She is still the punk/rock/grunge icon but she has grown up.
On her birthday Courtney Love was in London to perform a secret gig to about 250+ people. The reason behind was probably to test the waters for her new songs from her new album scheduled to be released in Spring 2008. I can't wait that long, as Love, who's been to hell and back in the last couple of years appears to have written an album of such beauty it hurts.
She opened her set with a song called Samantha (not Maloney) which is 1 of the 3 "rockin" songs that might end up on the album. Alongside the new songs, she squeezed some Hole classics from Live Through This (Doll Parts, Miss World) and Celebrity Skin (Malibu, Celebrity Skin and Northern Star). Her new material tells the story of someone looking at her life, acknowledging her wrongs and looking for redemption (Letter to God, Happy Ending Story, Once In Your Life, Never Go Hungry) and revenge (Stand Up Motherfucker, Sunset Marquis) and better than anything she can sing these songs live. It is a fact that she ran out of breath in some songs and ruined the intro to Miss World but to cut her some slack she has not played live (and with her new band) for years. And if her performance is like this at the beginning of the road I am looking forward to the next occasion.
Check out Courtney's new website, Courtney Love
Her Myspace for informative and amusing blog entries
and YouNeedToSeeThese for photos from Bush Hall
3rd & 4th July 2007
After 2 years of stage absence Tori stopped at London, at her home Hammersmith Apollo in her American Doll Posse tour. She had some surprises, 4 in fact, namely Pip, Santa, Clyde and Isabel. Along with Tori they make up the doll posse. With the exception of "Tori", on eof these characters is selected every night to open the show. For her London shows the honors were given to Santa and Isabel (sarcastically put on 4th of July).
The band was there to liven up the songs, there was a stage set up, the lights were pretty much amazing and the set lists, the set lists were to die for. Tori as herself sang the hits and b-sides off her back catalogue in both nights. Here she was fucking her piano stool during Crucify and Bliss, near tears during China, thoughtful during Putting the Damage on and Cool On Your Island. Cornflake Girl, God, Caught A Light Sneeze, Hey Jupiter, Tear in Your Hand, Winter, Waitress, Sorta Fairytale...the songs kept coming. Sweet Dreams, Siren, Home On The Range and Cooling, some of her best b-sides and rarities. She even had a remixed Professional Widow section giving her time to change.
Unfortunately not everything was amazing. To begin with none of the ADP tracks stand out when performed live, maybe realizing that most of the new tracks were performed at the beginning of the show with only Big Wheel and Code Red from ADP remain permanent in the main set. Secondly and I think this was the main issue this is not the 90s and it seemed even though Tori tried to capture the audience's attention with the 90s well known songs somehow it felt, especially on the first night, she was not feeling them.
Tori Amos Official Website, Myspace
for more photos from both nights, check YouNeedToSeeThese
19th June 2007In the awake of the new "Smashing Pumpkins" album Zeitgeist, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain along with newly recruited members reminded us why SP was once the world's best band.
Taking the stage at 8pm without any support acts, the band performed for 3 hours. There was moshing, real moshing among crowd shouting the names of billy and jimmy then there were cool downs with acoustic songs and ballads and sing-a-longs. We also got a taste of Zeitgeist which sees Billy going back to raw guitars and drums instead of synths and keyboards. The setlist consisted of Cherub Rock, Disarm, Today, Shame, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 33, Zero, Silverfuck, Stand Inside Your Love, 1979, Tonight Tonight, Rocket and many others while playing Zeitgeist in full. It is a welcome return of the band. Even though it's not the original line up as long as you have Billy singing like an innocent child one minute and the howl in a way that gives you goosebumps you know you are in safe hands.
Catch The Smashing Pumpkins headlining at Carling Reading/Leeds Festival in August.
For more info check out the Official Site and Myspace
for more photos of the band, see YouNeedToSeeThese
6th April 2007
9th July 2007
