My thoughts on the Phoenix and Ice Hockey in general. Along with random input on my musical tastes!
Remember....Hockey ain't just a game....its a way of life!
So a treat for you now, last friday the Phoenix went off to the Manchester Apollo to see a pretty metal gig! We had Bleeding Through, Hatebreed and then Machine Head. The Apollo is a great venue for gigs, and we had some excellent seats near the stage. The gig would prove to be one of, if not the, loudest gigs I have ever been to!
Anyway onto the gig......
Bleeding Through: I do like Bleeding Through but my girlfriend is the big fan! They didn't have long on stage but with the time they did have, they rocked hard and, im sure, converted a few fans in the Apollo! The obvious attraction is the raaaaather lovely Marta on keyboards, but the rest of the band are ok too! :) Of the whole set I think it was the closer I liked the best, Kill To Believe.
Hatebreed: Those of you who read my posts from Download 2009, will know I declared Hatebreed my band of the festival. Well with the 45min or so they had they did not disappoint. Many people will call them boring, and ill admit they have a formula and they stick to it But i say, is that so bad? They are so damn heavy, each song is like 3 mins of pure heavy metal. Starting, rather surprisingly, with I Will Be Heard, though you could argue, what a song to start with! That song is like a signal, you better be ready to rock hard! Another highlight for me is Perseverance, that song is so damn good, and really really heavy live! They finished off the set with a song that is to become a new anthem for Hatebreed, ladies and gentlemen I give you.....Destroy Everything!
Machine Head: There is not much that needs to be said about Machine Head! One of the best live bands going, and a band that consistently deliver epic performances. Tonight they owned the Apollo, pulling off a superb 1 hour 40 min set. Even inducing a young chap to jump from the upper seating to the pit below!! You know your in for a great performance when the set opens up with Clenching the Fists of Dissent and Imperium! Imperium showcasing Dave McClain's epic drumming. The headline set also saw the volume get cranked up, my ears have only just now recovered from friday night!! When they eventually went off for the encore, everyone knew what song was left to play! The band came on and played Halo followed by the epic Davidian. If ever one song sum up a band it is Davidian......enjoy......
So last Thursday saw a busy night for me, attending the Metallica gig and hoping the Phoenix would do the job against Newcastle! The game review will follow, but for now onto the Metallica gig:
The Sword: Its always tought for the first act of the night to come on in an Arena gig. While there were a couple of hundred people in the arena come 7pm when The Sword took to the stage, bear in mind that’s a couple hundred people in a 20,000 seat arena! Despite this they ploughed on with a good sound, but un-intelligible vocals. Plus I swear they had been taken straight from the 70’s! The lead guitarist/singer had some lovely flared jeans on! It may be because im not a fan but the music was good, it just sounded like one 45min song! It’s a shame the sound for the vocals was so poor I could hardly tell what he was singing about! Having said all that those that were in attendance responded well and those 45mins did seem to pass pretty darn quick!
Machine Head: Machine Head were a big reason I bought tickets for this gig, I did also want to see Metallica but I do love Machine Head. Id say the arena was probably 60% full, with a packed out standing floor for Machine Head. Highlights of the set were Imperium and Davidian for me! Two songs, which showcase the heavy and the fast that MH, do so well! Each song has crunching guitars and a constant beating from the Drums. That’s pretty much how I like my Metal! Rob Flyn is a great front man and took every opportunity to profess his love for the crowd and city, and that love was and is returned right back at Machine Head. Ive seen them three times now and every time am blown away by their live performance. The only slight downsides for me, again, concerned the vocals, they wernt very clear for me! Plus as a support band, it kind of limits what you can do in terms of length/composition of the set list and what you can do with the lights! Even so a great performance from the MH boys! A perfect warm up for Metallica!
Metallica: So onto the main act of the night, a full to bursting arena exploded when Kirk Hammet took to the stage, shortly followed by Rob Trujillo, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield. What followed was a masterly 2 and a bit hours of metal perfection. This was my first time seeing Metallica, I knew they would be good, but crikey they were awesome! The music sounded perfect, James vocals sounded perfect and the light show was awesome! The first couple of songs saw a mad lazer show lighting up the centre stage. For the rest of the set the massive lighting rig moved up/down/sideways and created some perfect lights! Coupled with copious use of flames all over the stage whipped the crowd into a frenzy! All the usual hits were played including: Master/The Unforgiven 2/Enter Sandman and many others! Plus some great songs off Death Magnetic: Cyanide/That Was Just Your Life and a future Metallica classic (in my eyes) The Day That Never Comes. It was truly an amazing site when the house lights were put up and you could then see 20,000 screaming fans!
So an amazing show, Metallica are fantastic and im now glad to say ive seen them Live. Defiantly worth the entry fee! I only hope that my naff phone pictures give a small glimpse as to what it was like Thursday night!
As always rock on people!
p.s. I have a review of the Phoenix v Vipers game also played on the 26th February prepared. This will be posted tomorrow (Monday), along with the usual game review of the Phoenix v Coventry game from Saturday, which will be posted on Tuesday.
Ok so this is my first deviation from anything hockey related on this blog, but its something exciting I wanted to share.
Im a fan of metal, punk and ska, always have been, always will be! Last year I had the pleasure of going to the most metal gig (IMO) I have ever been to! Location: MEN Arena Bands: Machine Head, Trivium, DragonForce, Arch Enemy and Shadows Fall. Result: Simple metal mayhem!
During 2007, I think?, I had the opportunity to see Iron Maiden at the MEN Arena, they were simply amazing! From that moment I decided to make an effort and see some of the most legendary rock bands live. That quest has continued from that gig, to the Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium and, on the 26th February 2009 brings me to the mighty Metallica, with the always-awesome Machine Head at the MEN Arena! Now if only I can get my arse into gear and go see Status Quo, ill be happy!
