Archive for the Music Category

WARPATH Win Irish Final for Wacken Metal Battle 2012

Posted in Gig Review, IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2012 by Tickets There

This is massively overdue but Tickets There would like to extend our congratulations to Dublin death metallers, Warpath, for securing the winning spot in the Irish leag of the 2012 Wacken Metal Battle. Competing against Exzeltic, Beltbuckle Overdrive (who both came joint second), Psykosis, Zealot Cult and Celtachor, Warpath stormed their way to victory and will crusade across the content to the world final @ W:O:A in August.

Winners aside, the competition really showcased the incredible talent that exists in this country’s metal scene. With Primordial and Darkest Era starting to hammer down the road to greatness, it seems there are many more bands waiting in the ranks for their chance to unleash hell, raise carnage and put some metal up your ass.

Congratulations to all who entered and best of luck to Warpath at Wacken this summer!

Review: Guns N’ Roses – Live @ The O2, Dublin (May 17th, 2012)

Posted in Gig Review, Music with tags , , , , , , , on May 22, 2012 by Tickets There

“Axl’s not coming, he fell off a table in Russia and isn’t allowed to fly at the moment”. Just leaving the central bar on O’Connell Street to catch the Luas down to the O2 and one waiter talks himself out of ever getting my custom again with that little comment. But then again, what’s a Guns N’ Roses gig without a little drama?

Entering the O2 tonight brings back some of those worries and dreads from 2010 (the elephant in the room), but these are dashed instantly as a completely different crowd and atmosphere await. There’s no-one falling over the place, spilling their blue WKD’s and roaring insults at everything in sight. There’s no booing, complaining or bickering. Instead there’s an excitement in the air and the sight of Thin Lizzy taking the stage only heightens that.

Anyone that’s caught the Irish legends over the past few years will attest that they are the strongest line-up of the band since their glory days with Philo. Brian Downey and Scott Gorham are still there, looking and sounding great but the show stealer is frontman, Ricky Warwick. He avoids the cliché of adopting Phil’s moves and style to the letter, choosing instead to inject his own road tested brand of rock n’ roll energy and deep vocals which boost the songs energy and the band’s performance. Tonight they magnetically blaze through classics such as ‘Emerald’, ‘Jailbreak’, ’Don’t Believe A Word’, ‘Cowboy Song’, ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ and ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ before finishing off with ‘Black Rose’, noted favourite of Guns singer Axl Rose. The announcement of a headlining show later in the year doubtfully went un-noted by tonight’s attendees. Now, on to the main event!

Lizzy leave the stage around 9:30 and it’s time to let the anticipation begin. Unlike Guns’s previous show in Dublin, the crowd tonight seem more than happy to wait things out as the bar queues extend, the smoking area expands and everyone kicks back and relaxes with good tunes coming from the PA. Before we know it, the house lights go dark and it’s time to rock n roll.

Under their massive video backdrop, guitarist DJ Ashba climbs on high to deliver the show’s signature opening of ‘Chinese Democracy’ before their legendary frontman explodes to life amidst a massive pyro display. The crowd give a rapturous welcome to the band as they commandeer every inch of the stage, taking no prisoners in their mission to give their fans the greatest show possible. Guitarists Ron Thal, Richard Fortus and especially DJ Asba barely stand still for a moment as they rocket from side to side, lapping up the crowds cheers and delivering note perfect performances while Axl’s razor sharp vocals and on stage magnetism conquers all. Despite persistent rumours that he’s gained hundreds of pounds in weight, lost his voice and is apparently stuck in Russia, he is on stage, looking incredible, sounding better than ever and 100% guaranteed – is not a hologram. Even with his very recent and very serious looking leg injury, Axl still dances and moves across the stage likes there’s no tomorrow, even climbing up to the podiums on either side to greet everyone.

Set classics such as ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, ‘It’s So Easy’, ‘Mr. Brownstone’ and ‘Rocket Queen’ electrify the crowd while Chinese Democracy heavyweights ‘Sorry’, ‘This I Love’, ‘Street of Dreams’ and ‘Better’ bellow through the audience with incredible energy and force.

The band appears in great spirits, obviously delighted with the change since their last performance. Axl interacts on several occasions with the crowd even quipping that despite his leg injury (I’m) “probably moving a lot more than the last time I was here” before grinning and carrying on. Solo’s from the band add refreshing breaks from the onslaught of heavyweight classics and Chinese Democracy juggernauts and give each of the guys a chance to show the fans why they’re members of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time. Tommy Stinson performs ‘Motivation’, a song from his previous band The replacements. DJ Ashba moves in with his own ‘Mi Amor’ solo. Dizzy Reed gives us a little ‘Baba O’Riley’ from The Who and Ron Thal knocks out his take on the Pink Panther theme before slipping in a little ‘Danny Boy’ for the crowd.

You Could Be Mine’, ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’, ‘November Rain’ (preceded by Axl Rose’s piano solo) and ‘Don’t Cry’ deliver hit after hit before the band kick back with a cover of AC/DC’sWhole Lotta Rosie’ – doing the DC proud! The mighty and rarely heard ‘Estranged’ adds a wave of euphoria to those in attendance who swear it’s the bands greatest recorded moment before the epic ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ and assaulting ‘Nightrain’ bring the main set to a close. Just when you think they’ve nothing left in them, the band return for a quick jam before launching into ‘There Was A Time’, one of the most accomplished songs in their arsenal before delivering ‘Civil War’ and one final blowout performance of ‘Paradise City’. With red confetti flying in the air, thousands of fans screaming and cheering the band on, Axl and co bow before their final signoff – three hours after walking on stage, “Thanks for coming out, thanks for putting up with my lame ass and thanks for not throwing shit”. Anytime Mr. Rose because good things come to those who wait – come back soon!

GUNS N’ ROSES LIVE IN DUBLIN TONIGHT

Posted in Gig Review, News with tags , , , , on May 17, 2012 by Tickets There

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The wait is almost over folks. Tonight, GUNS N’ ROSES return to the O2 arena, Dublin. With support from Thin Lizzy and Vengeance and the Panther Queen.

6.30: Doors
7.00: Vengeance and the Pantger Queen
8.30: Thin Lizzy
(times subject to change)
9.15: GUNS N’ ROSES

As we told you back when this show was announced, Guns may be late on stage do 1- pace your drinking, 2- take in the sights n sounds of the lovely O2 Arena, enjoy the hell out of Lizzy and 4 – BRING TAXI MONEY !!

Guns are playing roughly 23 songs in their set, including Chinese Democracy gems and greatest hits! Axl, DJ, Ron, Richard, Frank, Tommy, Chris and Dizzy have been enjoying the relaxing city of Dublin over the past few days, tone for us to have a good time.

If you’re going, have a great night. If you’re not, well – tickets are still on sale. Don’t miss you’re chance to catch these legends!

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18 Reasons Why Axl Rose Is The Biggest Legend In Rock

Posted in General Tickets There Blog, Music, News with tags , , , , , , on May 10, 2012 by Tickets There

Guns N’ Roses 2012 European Tour kicks off tomorrow night in Moscow and one week from today, they’ll take the stage at Dublin’s O2 Arena with Thin Lizzy and Vengeance & the Panther Queen as special guests. It’s been two long years since their last Irish shows and this writer for one is dying to welcome them back to the Emerald isle. Home of Paradise City, Guinness and a welcoming crowd.

Old Tickets There decided to celebrate and have a bit of fun with NME’s recent ’18 Reasons why Axl Rose is a….’ can’t actually remember what they were aiming at. Either way, let’s see why Axl Rose is as big a legend as he is.

18: His Attitude

Nuff said really – Axl’s attitude is second to none. He doesn’t let people push him around or tell him what to do, something the population of the Ireland (and indeed the world) could do with a little bit more if we’re ever to convince the courts to hang / castrate the remaining members of Finna Fail, the ‘bankers’ and Dana.

17: Tommy Hilfiger-gate

Axl Rose got into a fight with Tommy Hilfiger, do you care? It lasted all of two seconds in a pub. Imagine that, a small scuffle in a pub. Tisk, Tisk, Tisk!

16: He’s not a one-woman man

Axl Rose in proper rock star fashion sleeps with a lot of women. If you were single, had lots of money and were the front man of Guns N’ Roses, you’d do the same. If not, you’d still try your darndest!  Not NME though, they have a very strict Morrissey A-Sexual policy. Keep on keepin’  down the big fella lads, he’ll only land ye in trouble with mommy.

15: Bob Guccione Jr-gate

Axl Rose got into a fight with Bob Guccione Jr. Do you care? Yes you do because that fight got taken into the awesome ’Get In The Right’. Weighting in at 850 lbs, Guns N’ Roses’. How many of you have had fights turned in to savage songs?

14: Scared of seaweed? WTF?

Apparently Axl doesn’t like seaweed….do you care? Suppose, it’s horrible slimy sh*t. Some people like to bath in it, other people like to whip themselves in worship to God or the Gods of Berlin’s nightlife. Let the man have his pet-fear. Mine is rats, some people keep those as pets. Basic message, people like / hate random sh*t – except at NME where they favor A-sexual men and a confrontation free environment….except of course when they write hate blogs J

13: His non-existent sense of humor?

He told me this joke one time, you would have sh*t yourself. Prove me wrong!

12: He’s got no Patience

Miss-heading heading here, I believe it’s Slash’s fans that have no patience. Axl will distill his talent until it’s perfect.

11: Metallica-gate

Axl Rose and Metallica do not get along so well. Guess it just p*ssed off Metallica that they had to open for Guns way back in 1992. People think it’s because of Montreal, but Metallica’s ‘A Year and a Half In the Life of’ video will show otherwise.

10: He hates poodles

Cannot blame the man, what a waste of life. Silly looking dogs for Beverly Hill wannabes.

9: Not a fan of ‘fans’ …. getting this shit kicked out of them.

A few years back, Axl stopped a show to kick out three security guards after witnessing them getting extremely rough with fans in the front row. Axl stopped the show, pointed to the three men and demanded they be removed. Once they left, Guns carried on. Uncle Axl has your back! Watch the video below if you like (you won’t find this one on NME)

8: Velvet Revolver-gate

Band members fall out. One crowd starts a new band – they have a cyber-spat. Six trolls all doing their best.

Also, Scott Weiland did make that whole comment about being remorseful towards Axl once he learned firsthand what it was like to be in a band with certain old Guns…. Ahem (link – http://gnrdaily.com/news_detail.asp?id=1984  )

7: It’s hard enough remembering lyrics…

A lot of artists use monitors for lyrics. Legendary bands and those that can afford them of course. When you write songs and make a successful career out of that art it doesn’t suddenly mean you’re memory is gifted with the space of terabyte memory stick. When Axl sits in front of one with glasses on and reads them off, then we’ll worry.

6Nirvana-gate

Nirvana is a harsh word. Basically Axl Rose told Kurt Cobain to shut Courtney Love up. Now honestly, wouldn’t we all have loved if it had worked? Maybe Kurt wouldn’t … well, you know, and maybe Courtney Love would actually have shut the f**k up. If you’re listening love, do us all a favor and shut the f**k up you twisted, dried up *insert words commonly used aside ‘epidemic of the late 1980’s* *insert word often associated with degenerate scum who ((should resort to)) sell(ing) their body for sex and almost always follows the first expletive word*

5: White dreads

Axl is so cool he braved the media and put his head in dreads! Didn’t last long, but fair play for trying something new!

4: Terrible dress sense

Terrible, sorry that’s an NME typo. Awesome was the word we were going for there. Axl’s dress sense on tour has always been something that gave Guns some of their character. Mixing and matching everything from SWAT gear, to kilts, to union jack jackets and bandanas. Axl has been at the forefront of everything that was cool about the late 80’s and 90’s and now he’s doing it for the new millennium. The infamous yellow jacket was worn at a very wet show and doesn’t make regular appearances so don’t judge an Axl by an NME.

3: ‘Chinese Democracy’

First they released the (arguably) biggest rock album in history, follow that with a massively successful EP and then two massive double albums that spawned numerous successful singles and were chock full of fan favorites. Then there was the covers album, live album, greatest hits and eventually, the most anticipated album in music history. Impressive?

During its conception, announcement and eventual release, Chinese Democracy amassed more stories than the folklore of a small European country, provided music analysts with world breaking stats (most expensive album in history..yaday..etc) and countless comparison arguments (Beatles entire recording career was completed in half the time of the recording of Chinese Democracy… Remember that?). Ex-members, managers, session players, friends and family of the band were inundated for a decade+ about the album. It’s been toured since 2002 and finally saw release in late 2008. Upon the album’s release, there were rumors that the record company had simply snapped the mix from Axl’s hand and gone ahead with the release he did not endorse. In response, Axl snubbed all partnerships and release hysteria and basically dropped off the face of the planet for several weeks before finally re-emerging to answer fans questions…directly. No middle man, nio pushy agenda ridden media drone – Axl went online directly to Guns N’ Roses fan forums and spent several hours a night for over a week talking to fans, answering their questions and giving his version of events for the first time in roughly two decades.

The album could have been the biggest seller of 2008, but due to Axl’s refusal to acknowledge its release, it managed the number 3 on the US Billboard Top 200 and debuted in the top 5 position of 26 different sales charts. In the four years since it’s release, Chinese Democracy has started to win original naysayers over with some critics begin to voice the opinion that it stands the test of time extremely well and the more you distance yourselves from the line-up controversy, the album stands out as the gem it truly is.

2: Cornrows

After trying the dreads, Axl went for cornrows and they actually looks pretty savage.

1: Guns N Roses

Love him, hate him – Axl is the spirit of Guns N’ Roses. After Izzy, Slash and Duff all quit, Axl was left without the core lineup that helped write those magic songs and make them famous. Fortunately, he was able to replace them all with extremely talented, sh*t coll musicians including Tommy Stinson from The Replacements. DJ Ashba from Sixx:AM and Beautiful Creatures. Guitar virtuoso, song writer, producer and all round legend – Ron Thal. The incredible Richard Fortus who doubles as lead and rhythm in Guns three guitar attack lineup. Richard has played The Psychedelic Furs and Thin Lizzy as well as Guns. Live drummer Frank Ferrer has been with the band since 2006 when he had to jump in to fill the gap left by Brian Mantia who left the tour after he became a father. Frank has since become the backbone to their powerful live sound and has extensive touring / recording experience. Dizzy Reed (Rock N’ Roll inductee and twenty two year Guns N’ Roses veteran) is still there providing backing vocals and keyboards with a little help from Chris Pitman who plays keyboards, bass, 12 string guitar and mellotron (sher why not?). Chris has also been involved in writing some of the highest profile tracks on Chinese Democracy as well as playing on them all.

Together they make up a band of younger, aggressive musicians who aren’t afraid to explore new sounds and shake up the confines that some fans wish to banish Guns to. Life changes, if you don’t change with it you gain two things – moss and guided tours. Guns N’ Roses are still fresh, still fighting fit and sounding better than ever. The man who wrote / co-wrote 46 of Guns N’ Roses 64 studio tracks still stands tall as leader of this great band and one of rock n’ roll’s greatest legends.

GUNS N’ ROSES: LIVE @ THE O2 DUBLIN – MAY 17th. TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Wacken Metal Battle: Final This Saturday

Posted in Gig Review, IRISH NOISE!, Music with tags , , , , , , , on April 19, 2012 by Tickets There

The Irish final of the Wacken Metal Battle takes place this Saturday, April 21st at The Pint on Eden Quay. The six finalists from around the country will take the stage and battle for a place in the world final which takes place at the W.O.A. (Wacken Open Air) Festival in August.

The six bands that will compete to represent Ireland at this long running battle are Warpath, Exzeltic, Psykosis, Zealot Cult, Beltbuckle Overdrive and Celtachor. With a helthy mic of thrash, death and Full on mother f**king metal, this is guaranteed to be one hell of a night. Tickets There would like to say we’re not bias, but our money goes on the mighty Exzeltic!

Feel like seeing one of your local head bangers showing Metallica how it should be done? Then pop on down to the Pint on Saturday night and show the colours.

The top prize includes 1, a gig at Wacken Open Air in August (the final – duh), a yearlong recording contract with Nuclear Blast Records (Anthrax, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, EXODUS, Hammerfall, Sepultura, Nile, Testament, VADER – frickin’ endless list of legends) and assorted endorsements from the festivals sponsors. Not too shabby eh?

First band are on stage @ 21:00 sharp. Tickets can be bought on the door for E5,

21:00 – 21:22 Warpath 21:37 – 21:59 Exzeltic 22:14 – 22:36 Psykosis … 22:51 – 23.13 Zealot Cult 23:28 – 23:50 Beltbuckle Overdrive 00:05 – 00:27 Celtachor

 

The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock Release New AlbumTomorrow

Posted in Gig Listing, IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , on April 12, 2012 by Tickets There

Dublin trad/rock quintet, The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock will officially release the follow up to their highly praised debut album tomorrow night in Whelan’s. ‘The Brutal Here and Now’  has been picking up rave reviews recently with Hot Press even hailing it as a contender for Irish Album of 2012. The album is streaming over on Harmlessnoise for a limited time and gets its official release tomorrow night, April 13th in Whelan’s Dublin. This will be followed by several dates nationwide. Please see below for details.

Whelan’s tickets are on sale now priced €12 (plus booking fee)

12/04 Triskel Arts Centre, Cork
13/04 Whelan’s, Dublin
14/04 Bridge Brook Arms, Thomastown, Kilkenny
19/04 Boyle’s, Navan
21/04 Brandon’s, Ennis
26/04 The Róisín Dubh with Windings, Galway
27/04 Joe Lee’s with Glimmermen, Tullamore

03/05 The Menagerie with Mudbitch, Béal Feirste, Belfast
06/05 Vantastival, Louth

Guns N’ Roses: No Appetite for Induction

Posted in Music, News with tags , , , on April 12, 2012 by Tickets There

Guns N’ Roses will not be re-uniting for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Despite early hopes from fans (ourselves included) that that classic Appetite for Destruction line-up may get up on stage for a couple of tunes at this Saturday’s ceremony, it is now confirmed this will not happen. In what can only be described as a couple of turbulent weeks of scathing comments (thank you Steve – the Knob – Adler) and suggestive stabs (good man Slash), lead singer Axl Rose has finally broken his silence and confirmed he will not only refuse his invite to the ceremony, but has also refused induction, even by another member of the band.

In an open letter sent to several media outlets, Axl Rose has refused to be inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. In 2006, notorious punk rockers The Sex Pistols refused to attend the ceremony, even going as far to call the museum a ‘piss stain’. Now Axl has refused not only his invite, but the (so called) honour of induction which, according to reports this morning, the Hall are refusing to acknowledge and will continue with the induction of Axl, Slash, Steven, Duff, Izzy, Matt and Dizzy.

Axl Rose Letter (April 11th): I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of ‘GUNS N’ ROSES.’

Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Statement (April 12th) :”We are sorry Axl will not be able to accept his induction in person,” Lauren Bishop, a spokeswoman for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, said in a statement.

The news will no doubt be a blow to any hangers on who expected the band to drop the anger and move on together. For the rest of us, Guns N’ Roses kick off theior 2012 European Tour next month in Russia and hits Ireland on May 17th, O2 Arena with Thin Lizzy as support. For all the latest Guns news, check out out Guns N Roses 2012 Tour Page (Click Here)

Axl Rose Full Open Letter

Original – http://www.facebook.com/notes/guns-n-roses/axls-letter-to-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-guns-n-roses-fans-and-whom-it-may-/10150928055678222  

“When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced, I had mixed emotions, but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if GUNS N’ ROSES were to be inducted, it’d be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

“Since then we’ve listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of GUNS N’ ROSES, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists’ comments weighing in publicly on GUNS and the Hall with their thoughts.

“Under the circumstances, I feel we’ve been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of GUNS N’ ROSES, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in ‘our’ induction (that, for the record, are decisions I don’t agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things… no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony doesn’t appear to be somewhere I’m actually wanted or respected.

“For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from GUNS their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It’s their show not mine.

“That said, I won’t be attending the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction 2012 ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of GUNS N’ ROSES to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

“I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of ‘GUNS N’ ROSES.’

“This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp’s perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I’m sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I’ll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don’t intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we’ve actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, ‘damned if I do, damned if I don’t’ scenario all the way around.

“In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the ‘Appetite’ or ‘Illusion’ lineups, I’ve publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing’s changed.

“The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of ‘for the fans’ or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in ’06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in ’06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in ’11 along with his band, LOADED, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that’s enough.

“There’s a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn’t room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

“Maybe if it were you it’d be different. Maybe you’d do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We’re there for each other when the going get’s rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

“So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn’t owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another’s, or in this case several others’, expense.

“But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the ‘no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn’t care about the fans’ crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let’s move on. No one’s taking the ball and going home. Don’t get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we’ve endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball’s never been in our court.

“In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I’d like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for GUNS‘ induction. More importantly I’d like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we’ve had possible and for enjoying and supporting GUNS N’ ROSES music.

“I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

“Sincerely,

Axl Rose

“P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III”

Guns N’ Roses Announce Thin Lizzy as Dublin support

Posted in Gig Listing, Music, News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2012 by Tickets There

Can I get ‘ah hell yes’? Legendary rock band, Guns N’ Roses have just announced fellow legends Thin Lizzy as special guests for the latter’s Dublin O2 show on May 17th. The bands won’t be strangers on the night as Gun’s guitarist, Richard Fortus, toured with Lizzy last summer including the band’s support slot at Def Leppard and Alice Cooper’s O2 arena show last June.

The current Lizzy line-up includes old names Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton as well as new comers Rick Warwich (The Almighty), Damon Johnson (Alice Cooper / Sammy Hagar) and Marco Mendoza (the most awesome name in the band). Anyone that caught their show last year will pounce at the chance of catching them in May.

Tickets for the show are on sale now from €64.50 and available from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy two incredible bands on one stage this year.

GunsNRoses.com

MCD (GN’R @ MCD)

Jape Win Meteor Choice Award….again!

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Tickets There

Tickets There extends a hearty congratulations to Richie Egan and the guys in Jape for winning the Choice Award for the second time. In 2008 the band scooped the prize for their incredible ‘Ritual’ album and now they’ve gotten it for the follow up,Ocean of Frequency’.

Jape are one of Ireland’s most exciting bands and Tickets There have been firm fans for a very long time. l’m delighted to see the award go to Richie and extend a congrats to all the other nominees who qualified for the award including the excellent And So I Watch You From Afar, Bell X1 and Lisa Hannigan who all put out excellent albums last year.

Seriously though Choice lads, he’s just a ‘man who plays the bass from Crumlin’!

The Walls – Stop The Lights (Album Review)

Posted in Album Review, IRISH NOISE!, Music with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2012 by Tickets There

If there’s one thing The Walls can never be accused of, it’s rushing things. It’s been a seven long years since the release of their last album, ‘New Dawn Breaking’, but the brothers haven’t been hanging on their laurels. They’ve toured, both as the Walls and The Stunning, released singles, an EP; all the while working away on their third release. It’s been a long time coming and no easy feat to accomplish, but finally ‘Stop The Lights’ is ready.

People who’ve seen the band live over the past two years will be very familiar with some of the material on Stop The Lights, but it still manages to sound as fresh and enticing on record as it did on stage. ‘Bird In A Cage’ opens the album with it’s wonderful gentle rhetoric and infectious poppy groove. Advance singles ‘Phantom Power’, ‘Carrying the Fire’ and ‘Stop The Lights’ sound reinvigorated and inviting; but the real focus for Tickets is on the more unheard material.

The Great Escape’ and ‘It Goes Without Saying’ are excellent pieces of music. ‘The Great Escape’ is stripped back, lasting and lonely, while ‘It Goes Without Saying’ delivers one of those catchy as a cold choruses the Walls have built their reputation on.  ‘Dead Flowers’ delivers a little rumpus into the room with heavier guitars and keyboards. Not quite ‘Drowning Pool’ but everything you could want. ‘All A Blur’ and ‘Doodlesque’ continue the positive flow before the album reaches its peak with ‘Thanks For The Photographs’ and ‘May The Road Rise’, which are both crowning achievements of the album. Equally they express the passion, honesty and incredible grasp the Wall brothers have for song writing.

Stop The Lights is out officially released on Friday, March 9th from retailers and online stores. It gets its release party in Whelan’s on March 29th before the lads hit the road for shows in Limerick and Galway. Stand by for more dates over the coming weeks.

Hellfire()Sounds Review: Summoner (‘Infernal Incantations’ Demo)

Posted in EP Review, Hellfire()Sounds : REVIEWS, Music, New Music with tags , , , , on March 6, 2012 by Tickets There

Looking for a little Black metal meets thrash? Well no need to go scraping the bay of California or digging through the abandoned grave years on Norway – Ireland’s got you sorted. Summoner  are an Irish band (possibly from the late 200 BC) who dress like demonic druids and play extremely heavy, yet surprisingly accessible tunes. While some find the likes of Mayhem, Emperor and Venom hard to listen to, Summoner have added in a little bit of raunchiness into the typical bleak black metal soundscape which ends up as a thrashy, death metal fusing of the sounds.  They released their ‘Infernal Incantations’ demo in October 2011 so time to give it a spin.

Well it’s short. In total the demo comes in at 1.18 seconds with two tunes. ‘Into Mine Unseen Barrier Shall Thy Flesh Be Wrought’ kicks things off and acts as the demo’s opus clocking up an impressive 00:51 seconds on the clock. It still managed a fairly awesome intro, nice bit of riffage and lead and fairly full on, bleaker than black vocals. Don’t judge a man by his height, book by it’s cover or song by it’s length!. Final song, ‘Premature Incineration’ has all the hallmarks of a AAA VIP pass into hell. Short, bitter and brutal. While it may not be the most radio friendly genre out there, Summoner do it well but know this – we are keeping a closer eye on church fires from now on!

Check out the band’s ‘Infernal Incantations’ demo now on Bandcamp (Click here).

Hellfire()Sounds Review: Psykosis (‘Toxic Terror Storm’ Demo)

Posted in EP Review, Hellfire()Sounds : REVIEWS, IRISH NOISE!, Music, New Music with tags , , , , , , on March 5, 2012 by Tickets There


It’s Monday, it’s sunny and that means thrash metal is needed! Rather that rooting through the American bands for some tunage, why not try some local home-grown boys who are just as good. Psykosis are a Dublin born ‘n’ bred, God honest thrash band with killer riffs, no quarter lyrics and blistering solos. Oh yes, welcome home!

The band has one demo to their name and are looking to get their debut album out and onto your stereos as soon as possible. In the meantime the demo, ‘Toxic Terror Storm’ will be enough to keep your going. Opening with the rampaging ‘Toxic Fugitive’, the tune immediately blasts you into a no-holes barred, thrash world of carnage. Sneering lyrics overlapped with shredding guitar leads and riffs so forceful you’ll think you’re having a seizure.  ‘Terror At 3 A.M.’ turns things up a few notches with thundering drums/riffs creating a wall of power behind Grant Walsh’s vocals and guitars. Powerful chorus, savage solos – everything a good healthy dose of metal can deliver really.

The Demo closes with the fearsome ‘Bonestorm’ which starts off with one solid riff that pounds its way through the track. If you’re into mind-numbing riff ‘n’ solo style metal, then this is your baby. Dense, hard and heavy and a crackin’ tune to finish the demo of with. In short, Psykosis are a formidable force on the Irish metal scene. Well worth checking out and another band you’ll be hearing more about on Tickets There in the future.

All tracks on the demo are available on their MySpace Page (Click Here) and they play the Wacken Metal Battle Semi-Final II on March 24th @ The Pint, Dublin.

The Riptide Movement Confirm Album Release Date

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , on March 3, 2012 by Tickets There

One of Tickets There’s favourite Irish bands, The Riptide Movement have confirmed their second album, ‘Keep on keppin’ on’ is finally finished and will be released …(drum roll please) – April 20th 2012!! A post from the band confirmed every thing’s ready to go, but it wasn’t easy or fast to get them to this stage.

“They say good things come to those who wait…. its only taken us 2 years, €40,000, 1 Orchestra, 4 studios, a clatter of musicians and a crazy dude on a didgeridoo..but like a fine pint of Guinness this beast is ready to be enjoyed. Our 2nd album Keep on, Keepin on’ is due for release Fri April 20th. Are you ready? Thank you all for your support, big, big love. T.R.M”

The bands début, ‘What About the Tip Jars?‘ was released in 2009 and this follow up has been highly anticipated, a lot of that thanks to their tireless touring, hit single – ‘Hot Tramp an of course that good ol Cajun sound. Bring on 2012!

Thin Lizzy Announce 2012 Dublin Gig

Posted in Gig Listing, IRISH NOISE!, Music with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 2, 2012 by Tickets There

Thin Lizzy will return to their spiritual homeland this August with a freshly announced show at Dublin’s Olympia. The show takes place on 16th of August with tickets going on sale Friday, march 9th priced €35.50.

The current line-up of the band features classic members Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, as well as Rick Warwick on vocals, Darren Wharton on Keyboards, Damon Johnson on guitars and Marco Mendoza on bass. They last played Ireland in June 2010 when they opened for Alice Cooper and Def Leppard at the O2. If that show was anything to go by, this date will be a blinder.

DATE: August 16th VENUE: The Olympia TICKETS: €35.50 – on sale March 9th @ 09:00 from Ticketmaster outlets

Guns N’ Roses Officially Confirm Full 2012 European Tour

Posted in Gig Listing, Music, News with tags , , , , , , on March 2, 2012 by Tickets There

That’s right, Guns N’ Roses have officially confirmed 29 dates of their 2012 European tour which will seen the band playing extensively in France and England as well as stopping by Ireland, Spain, Germany, Turkey, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Italy and more. The full list of dates can be viewed below or on Guns N’ Roses official website – www.gunsnroses.com

Guns are currently in the middle of their critically claimed Up Close and Peronal Tour across the East and West coast of the states which sees the bands announced small club/theatre shows and play the hell out of them. For more details of their tour and all the latest news, please visit out Guns N Roses 2012 Tour Dates Page which we regularly update with all the latest news from their 2012 goings on.

05/17 – Dublin, Ireland @ The O2
05/19 – Nottingham @ Capital FM Arena
05/20 – Liverpool @ Echo Arena
05/23 – Newcastle Upon Tyne @ Metro Radio Arena
05/25 – Glasgow, Scotland @ SECC Arena
05/26 – Birmingham @ LG Arena
05/29 – Manchester @ MEN Arena
05/31 – London @ The O2

06/01 – London @ The O2
06/04 – Rotterdam, Holland @ Ahoy Stadium
06/05 – Paris @ Palais Omnisports De Paris Bercy
06/08 – Mönchengladbach, Germany @ Warsteiner Hockeypark,
06/10 – Lyon FR @ Halle Tony Garnier
06/11 – Strasbourg FR @ Zenith
06/14 – Toulouse FR @ Zenith
06/16 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
06/18 – Montoellier FR @ Parks & Suites Arena
06/19 – Toulon FR @ Zenith
06/22 – Milan, Italy @ Arena Fiera (Gods of Metal)
06/24 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting
06/27 – Basel, Switzerland @ St. Jakobshalle,
06/29 – Graz, Austria @ See-Rock Festiaval 2012

07/06 – Istanbul @ Vasil Levski National Stadium
07/08 – Sofia, Blugaria @ Sofia Rocks
07/11 – Rybnik, Poland @ Mosir Stadium
07/13 – Piešťany, Slovakia @ Letisko (Airport) (Topfest PLUS)
07/15 – Serbia @ The Exit Festival
07/17 – Split HR – Spaladium Arena
07/21 – Benicassim, Spain @ Costa De Fuego Festival

Hellfire()Sounds Review: Zealot Cult

Posted in Hellfire()Sounds : REVIEWS, Music, MySpace Review, Special Features with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2012 by Tickets There


In fairness, this should be flagged more as a ‘traditional music’ review than a metal one. Like in the bay area of San Francisco, they don’t call Metallica ‘heavy metal’, they call them ‘heritage music’ and ‘traditional bay area folk’. Same can be said the Zealot Cult and Limerick. If Limerick was allowed revamp and update its traditional music, Tickets There would push for insane, gore oozing, gut punching death metal. The tracksuits would probably win out and you’d end up with the Rubberbandits, but what can ya do?  

Zealot Cult are on the bill for the Wacken Metal Battle Semi-Final II so we decided we’d give them a spin and all we can say is, ‘Warpath – watch yourselves’. We’ve been spending some quality time on their MySpace player for the past couple of days and while death metal may not be TT’s forte, we can’t help but enjoy the hell out of it.  Did the use of the word forte give it away?

‘Killing Spree’ kicks things off and ..yup, that’s what you’d imagine it sounds like. What you do is take two slices of hell, spread a little pain on there. Cut thick slices of punishment and drizzle it with doom. Make sense? If not, you just don’t get metal. ‘Knives of the Zealots’ (knife title)…..(sorry), is a little more up front. Have no idea what’s going on here, but someone’s pissed. Another few lashings of doom and you’re done.

Architects of Carnage’ (another bitching title) is faster, more aggressive and more violent than the other tunes. The kind of tune that makes you push the guys in front of you, no matter where you are and force them all into a pit. ‘Portraits in Blood’ is probably the radio single here. Much tamer and a lot more mainstream than the other tracks in the player. Fairly catchy chorus and a savage solo. Of course I’m joking, about everything but the solo! Alas, ‘Homicide’ brings us to an end. Another spree of rabies infected death metal over and nowhere to go. These guys are going to go far in the Wacken Metal Battle if they’re as good live as they are on record. Should make for an interesting final if they go through.

Check out their tunes @ MySpace. Apologies for references to Metallica in two consecutive posts, TT knows other bands but they just seemed to fit so back off.

Hellfire()Sounds Review: Exzeltic (Ground Zero EP)

Posted in EP Review, Hellfire()Sounds : REVIEWS, Music with tags , , , , , , , on March 1, 2012 by Tickets There


After seeing these guys on Saturday night at the Wacken Metal battle semi-finals, we’re confident there’s a future for thrash metal in Ireland. Taking their influence from Megadeth, ‘Kill Em All’ era Metallica (when they were actually thrash, like) and the Priest (Judas, not the other kind), the band play fast, heavy metal with riffs, solos and glass cutting vocals. Their second EP, Ground Zero, came out last year and it’s about time you heard it. Welcome to EXZELTIC

Kicking off with ‘Devastator’, the EP launches into raw thrash, under produced but sounding great. The solos are killer, the lyrics are brutal and the singing, well the singing unfortunately falls into the production problem but that doesn’t last and dramatically improves on the second track – ‘Infinity Crisis’..but first you need to get past the monster solo on Devastator, incredible stuff.

Infinity Crisis kicks off with some pounding drumming before the dual lead guitars launch the song to its feet. The riff is catchy as hell, classic crunchy riffs. Singing dramatically improves and the solos agghh. It’s hard to find an Irish band that have a grasp of this style, but Exzeltic have it by the bucket load and these recordings still pale in comparison to their live performance. Another ranging battle of riffs and major soloing later – you have one hell a tune to get through. Raging rampage of carnage, if nothing else.

The EP closes out with a head banging ballad of world ending proportions. Now of course when we say ballad for thrash metal, we do of course mean a clean guitar intro and then open the void and jump. ‘Agent of Chaos’ is one of those frighteningly fast metal anthems that could fire itself onto any decent thrash record and still kick the other tunes asses. This is the moment on the EP where everything falls into place to deliver a 100% bonafide piece of classic music…except that one bit at 04:15, drop that tiny little guitar thing and all is well.

If you like your trash or just like all metal, Exzeltic are the band to check out as soon as you can. Normally Tickets There doesn’t do this, but we’ve included all three of their tunes below because we firmly believe this is one of the most exciting old-skool bands in Ireland at the moment…that we’ve heard.



Lemmy Kilmister to release solo Album in 2013

Posted in Music, News with tags , , , , , , , on March 1, 2012 by Tickets There

The legendary Lemmy Kilmister is currently working on a solo album that’ll feature collaborations with legends such as Joan Jett, Skew Siskin, The Damned, Reverend Horton Heat and Dave Grohl.  Speaking to the San Francisco Weekly, Lemmy confirmed he’s already three quarters of the way through the record and hopes to have it out by 2013.

Lemmy reports that the idea for a solo record came from legendary guitarist Jeff Beck who Lemmy is currently trying to nail down for a guest appearance. “..typical of Jeff. He’s always the same. He’d rather be under a car covered in gasoline than playing his guitar.”

We all hail Lemmy, bow to his mercy and wish him well for the record. Guaranteed it’s going to kick ass!

Electric Picnic 2012 – Line-Up Announced

Posted in Gig Listing, Music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2012 by Tickets There

This year’s much anticipated Electric Picnic Line-up has been announced and there’s a few gems in there to keep all happy. With the cancelation of this year’s Oxegen Festival, music heads around the country have been hoping for a saving grace from the eclectic lads, but have POD delivered?

The Cure, Sigur Rós, Elbow, Grizzly Bear, Orbital, Christy Moore, The Roots, Hot Chip, Glen Hansard, The xx, Metronomy, The Horrors, Azealia Banks, Roots Manuva, Bell X1, Staff Benda Bilili, Milagers, Ed Sheeran, Alabama Shakes, Cranes, Little Roy, Land Lovers, Baxter Dury, Jonathan Wilson, Solar Bears, Fatoumata Diawara, Willis Earl Beal, Lanterns on the Lake plus many many more to be announced.

The Cure have been a front runner for this festival, but add in Christy Moore, Orbital, Bell X1, Glen Hansard and you’ve got yourself a cosy little festival! Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. We’ll be back with price details shortly.

Review: Rammstein – Live @ The O2, Dublin (February 27th, 2012)

Posted in Gig Review, Music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 29, 2012 by Tickets There

They came with fire, brimstone, explosions and blood; to lay waste to a sold out crowd in Ireland’s largest indoor arena. For their first ever Irish show, Rammstein came to conquer and that is exactly what they did. Not for a long time has a ‘gig’ generated so much excitement and hype amongst an audience. Maybe the almost eight month wait been its announcement and  the actual event helped, but more so it is Rammstein’s long standing and well-earned reputation for delivering one of the most spectacular live shows on the road today.

Standing outside the O2 on a warm Monday night, it’s almost impossible not to notice the very diverse crowd. Everyone’s here from skinheads in black bomber jackets, green combats and jackboots, long haired metal fans, punks, emo’s, indie kids and even hundreds of trendies – all aged between 10 and 60. It seems Rammstein’s appeal crosses all music genres, or maybe it’s a case of sever curiosity.

The night kicks off with the less than impressive Deathstars. Basically a mesh of Marilyn Manson and poor industrial metal. You can see their point, but as singer Andreas Bernadotte struts up and down the stage for 30 minutes, fist raised and army hat firmly perched, you can’t help but notice the fact they have one song and they insist on making a whole show out of it. You wouldn’t mind if the song was actually decent, but there’s very little here to get too excited about. Still, it can’t be easy supporting tonight’s headliners and they manage to complete their set without driving too many away. Now for the big guns!

With Deathstar’s banners and such removed, the stage falls into darkness and as the house lights go off and the screams rise; the PA erupts with industrial sync sounds and the ceiling of the O2 becomes the focal point as a giant gangway begins to lower above the crowd. Smoke blasts from all sides as lights flicker around it. When it’s finally lowered above the crowd’s heads, the band appears at the back of the arena and rise up to the gangways steps on a smaller platform stage. One by one they walk towards the main stage holding torches and flags, the Irish flag gaining the most excitement from the audience. They spread out, lighting giant Olympic stadium style fires on each side. As the intro music cuts out, the band instantly pound into ‘Sonne’, easily their most known hit in this country. Along with the massive lighting display, the song is accompanied by a massive pyro display. The flames àre so hot the heat hits the back of the crowd and sees hundreds of fans pour in from the front, all of them drenched in sweat. This is going to be fun..

‘Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen’ follows hard and the band are well in control. More flames for this, but this time they go off around the drums and just in front of singer Till Lindemann who, as always is unfazed by the wall of death going off around him. ‘Keine Lust’ (Towers of smoke), ‘Sehnsucht’ (pots of smoke/fire at the front of the stage) and ‘Asche Zu Asche’ all follow, each delivering their own unique theatrical display and an ever changing lighting rig and stage backdrops. The heat goes up immensely for their brusing hit, ‘Feuer Frei’ With Till, Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers all donning flame thrower masks and that send to towers of flame into the air during the chorus. For ‘Mutter’ the stage goes green and the band rely on the songs own excellent charm to satisfy the crowd, until the end when Till stands arms stretchered as a shower of sparks falls from the ceiling. ‘Mein Teil’ won this writers highlight of the night, as Keyboardist Christian Lorenz is wheeled out in a giant cooking pot by Till, and placed stage right as the band kick into the song. Towards the end, Till discards his machete microphone and grabs an nearby flame thrower and proceeds to douse the pot with flames…with Christian still inside. Failing to cook Christina, Till swaps the flame thrower for an even larger one and again engulfs the pot in flames, promoting the singed keyboardist to pop out with red sparks exploding from the back of his suit.

Du Riechst So Gut’ (giant twirling sparks) and ‘Links 2 3 4’ (stomping death!) follow before the machine heavy ‘Du Hast’ causes mass eruption from the crowd and further spills towards the back as 12 flame throwers mounted to the lighting rig and stage fire back at each other. How the band don’t drop with the heat or even bat an eyelid is beyond comprehension. It’s an amazing spectacle to say the least though. The band finish the main show with ‘Haifisch’ which sees Christian take the literal plunge and travel out into the crowd in a row boat – I shit you not! Taking a sail over everyone’s heads, the fairly mental keyboardist gets up close and personal with fans, before returning to the stage for the band’s exit. Thanking the audience, Till and the lads disappear under the stage.

Yeah, they’re not done yet. Leaving the crowd with a very rare interaction – not a hope. Rammstein return! Decked out in chains, leather, whips (general Berlin nightlife attire), the band crawl across the re-lowered gangway, whipped all the way as they make their way towards the miniature stage at the back before pounding into ‘Buch Dich’, ‘Mann Gegen Mann’ and ‘Ohne Dich’. After which they walk back to the main stage and continue with ‘Mein Herz Brennt’ (fire cane & fan) which sees a giant industrial style fan lowered from the roof centred under the four incredible round lights that alone make the stage show worth seeing.  With the fan lit up, ‘Amerika’ follows and the stage proceeds to fire confetti all around the venue with towers of smoke whooshing it around. The sing along ‘Ich Will’ brings things near close with towers of sparks exploding everywhere. The band finish and walk off one by one.

With hundreds leaving to catch trains and such, the band return for one final visual onslaught. The sparsely melancholic ‘Engel’ is first and sees Till decked out with wings that open during the performance before fire sparks at the top of each wing, eventually spouting flame thrower style fire into the air. I swear I’m not making this up, wings of fire! And the band bring the night to a rather less serious close, performing ‘Pussy’ (“You’ve got a pussy, I’ve got a dick so what’s the problem”) which sees Till straddles a giant phallus on wheels, rides it up and down the stage spraying the crowd with mountains of….white liquid foam. Amazing finish to an amazing night.

Whether or not Rammstein were expecting it, the sold out crowd was a shock to several people. No-body this writer has spoken to thought they’d manage it in Dublin for their first gig, but they did (if seating wasn’t sold-out I don’t care – standing is where it’s at). With people hailing this show as one the best they’ve ever seen, it will hopefully entice the band to return to these shores in the not too distant future so all our friends can see for themselves what we’re talking about.

Setlist (thanks to Dextrimental  @ Metalsetlists.com

Sonne
Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen
Keine Lust
Sehnsucht
Asche Zu Asche
Feuer Frei!
Mutter
Mein Teil
Du Riechst So Gut
Links 2 3 4
Du Hast
Haifisch
————–
Buch Dich
Mann Gegen Mann
Ohne Dich

————–

Mein Herz Brennt
Amerika
Ich Will
————–
Engel
Pussy