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Tickets There Likes: Iron Maiden – Powerslave

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , , on September 1, 2009 by Tickets There

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I tried writing this review last night and have about three paragraphs done at home but I can’t stand the idea of that Radiohead chaps face at the top of my blog so I’m rushing through this one to replace his fecking hideously boring presence with the mighty Maiden’s Powerslave cover. I hope all of my readers are Iron Maiden fans because people, this is the real stuff right here. Forget the Kings of Leon, Killers and all that other rubbish, if you want to have fun, Maiden are the men (or AC/DC, but what ever).

I suppose being a TT Likes and all, I’d better bore you all with the usual speal of how I discovered the band. It was back in nineteen hundred and ninety three (1993). Roughly a year after the Leppard, Guns N Roses and Meatloaf phase had settled in. I saw a copy of their A Real Live One tape in the new release section of Sligo’s Record Room. I was completely taken with the cover and had to get it. In those days I didn’t buy many record because I had no money and not a lot of access to stores that sold them. I remember loving their sound as soon as I heard it and everything went from there. It’s not a very exciting story and I couldn’t be bothered trying to invent wacky stories and lies to keep yis entertained. I did managed to meet Dave Murray a few years ago but that’s not very exciting either, we were both hammered and nearly went for a drink in his hotel until I realized myself and my girlfriend would be stranded in town if we didn’t catch the night link and I had no other money for taxi’s. Thinking back that was a very, very stupid thing to do but it’s in the past.

I didn’t manage to get my hands of Powerslave until 98 when I picked a copy up in Athlone shopping center. They easily had the best Maiden section any shop can boast outside of Dublin (or at least they did in those days), and it’s remained my favorite Maiden album ever since. First of all you have Aces High , then 2 Minutes to Midnight which basically means it’s the greatest maiden album of all time two songs in. Then you have Losfer Words, a nice metal instrumental before Flash of the Blade which is a grand wee number similar to their earlier material. The Duellists is a savage typical Maiden number with a savage wee chorus as is Back in the Village (except this is probably my least favorite number ion the record) but the best is yet to come. The albums title track is one of the bands finest moments. One of the best riffs the band has ever written and some of their most surreal lyrics. It’s just such a grand and mighty anthem that adds that classic Maiden danger that makes their legacy as strong as it is. The album winds up with the incredible, riff filled Rime of the Ancient Mariner. A lengthy wee track but filled with surprises, changes, harmonies, melodies and everything else Maiden could squeeze in. Seeing this one live is real treat.

Well that’s it, short and sweet but I don’t like to repeat the exact same praises and such in every single review. Also, the album only has eight songs and as I’ve said before, this isn’t exactly an album review series, more of a ‘why I like this’ series 😀

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TICKETS THERE LIKES: AEROSMITH – AEROSMITH

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , on August 31, 2009 by Tickets There

Aerosmith - Aerosmith 1973

I’ve always been a part-time fan of the Smith. When I was younger I heard Walk This Way, Dude Looks Like a Lady and all those other hits everyone in the world heard many years ago. Their appearance in Wayne’s World II strengthened their image in my head (much like Alice Coopers in the first). However things took a turn for the worst when they released I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing before I ever got a chance to adopt them as a real favourite in the music books. This lack of Tyler, Perry and the boys continued until I decided to pick up a copy of their Devils Best of a couple of years ago. Listening to Love In an Elevator, Livin’ On The Edge, Sweet Emotion, Falling in Love and all the other hits was a nice little retro visit and the door was opened up again to truly appreciate Americas greatest hard rock band.

The first step of this revitalization was clear, start from the beginning so I picked up a copy of their self-titled debut album and it didn’t take long to get hooked in. Stephen Tyler’s voice was so simple in 1973. He had none of the cliché trademark he emphasise these days and the band’s sound was much more low-key. They could have been compared to the likes of AC/DC rather than Guns N Roses. There is also a distinct lack of ballads that bogged their later eighties, nineties and current career with one exception, Dream On. A powerful ballad styled song with a style all of its own, which stands out miles from the other tracks on this record.

Opening with the stripped back, riff filled Make It. Aerosmith dishes out one classic after another that puts many of their later work into a cold, dark shade. Somebody, One Way Street, Write Me and Movin’ Out provide the back bone of this album while a cover of Rufus Thomas‘ Walkin’ the Dog, Mama Kin and Dream On make it the classic it is. Mama Kin’s opening riff, blues rock piano melody and swagger is pure rock n roll and without a doubt the bands first definitive hard rock track.

If you’ve only ever heard the greatest hits and you want to find out more about Aerosmith, check this album out. Toys in the Attic and Pump can WAIT, trust me.

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TICKETS THERE LIKES: WHITESNAKE – WHITESNAKE (1987)

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , on August 30, 2009 by Tickets There

Whitesnake_(album)

Ya know, Tickets There were never fans of Whitesnake. Yep, it’s true I’m ashamed to say. We always thought they were cheesy, comical and too poppy, an idea shared by a lot of people it turns out and one thought by Def Leppard haters as well I’m sure. All that came to an abrupt end lat June however when yours truly got to see the mighty Whitesnake five times in the space of three weeks.

It all started in Holland at the Arrow Rock Festival. KISS and Leppard were there and so was Tickets There. Whitesnake were playing just before Motorhead and KISS and I remember being slightly surprised at the strength of pretty much their whole set. Even the classics like Here I Go Again and Is This Love was incredible and Whitesnake officially moved up a notch in my books. A few days later I was in Birmingham where Def Leppard and Whitesnake were on the second night of their co-headlining UK tour. My enthusiasm for the snake had diminished rapidly in a few days as the enthusiasm of seeing Leppard indoors for the first time in five years took hold. Again I was surprised and even found myself recognizing some of the material from Holland. Coverdale’s presence and voice should be more than enough to convince anyone and his tongue in check humour and mannerisms are all part of their really enjoyable show.

After another three nights around the UK, Tickets There returned to the emerald isle as a changed man. The first thing I did was get my hands on a copy of their 1987 self titled LP and the rest is (present) history.

Now I know some of you will find it very difficult to come to terms with a band who wear open shirts and actually move on stage and more than likely you wont be able to take any band that uses the word Love as often as the Snake do in their song titles but trust me, it’s worth it and 1987 is as good a place to start as any. You have everything here like Give me all your Love, Here I Go Again, Children of the Night, Straight from the Heart, Is this Love and my personal favourites from this record, Bad Boys and the mighty, the awesome, the mouth wateringly heavy and incredible Still of the Night.

Don’t turn your nose up at it, don’t dismiss it as cheap, stereotypical joke music. I did that and was very, very wrong. If you’re a fan of rock or metal. Whitesnake have something for you and it’s good!

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Tickets There HY-GIY?: Turn – Forward

Posted in Album Review, Hy-Giy, Music with tags , , , , , on August 19, 2009 by Tickets There

forward

Without a doubt, this is Tickets There’s favorite Irish album of all time. Now, when it comes to Turn I will happily admit to being fully biased, as I am with almost everything I write except the majority of the MySpace reviews. As far as I’m concerned, Turn were one of the greatest Irish band ever to emerge from the great Emerald Isle in the last twenty years. Oliver Cole’s vocals, guitar melodies, riffs and songwriting talent, mixed with Gavin Fox’s force, energy and writing skills all backed by Ian Meldays forceful command of all things rhythm makes the Kell’s trio kings in my book. Now, that may seem a little over the top and dramatic but I’ve been watching a lot of ROME recently so forgive me.

I first discovered Turn around 2002, shortly after the released the Another Year Over / Summer Song single and within a few months that opened my eyes to an amazingly impressive Irish scene I knew nothing about before. I hadn’t even heard a whisper of bands like Bell X1, Berkeley, Paddy Casey or many of the other big names around the country at the time. For someone who was as devoted to music I found this a little odd and began a quest to seek out some of this country’s finest talent. After seven years I still haven’t found many bands that compare to the power of Turns records and even fewer that can match their amazing live shows.

When Forward came out in 2003 it was praised as the album everyone who’d been following them from the late nineties knew they had in them. In sharp contrast to their third and last album, Forward’s sound was generally down beat with very few exceptions. It saw them grow from the hard guitars sound of their debut (Antisocial) and move onto more melodic song structures. Opening song, You Got Style really captures the feel of the entire record. A slow bruising  piece that builds and builds as the song evolves. Dumb as it Is follows and adds some light after the darkness of You Got Style. A nice, upbeat with restrained bass lines thumping throughout with a sharp change to guitars for the chorus bursts. This is the second song written by Ian Melady to appear on a Turn record (the first being Queen of my Heart from Antisocial). Third track Harder is one of few heavy guitar tracks on the album and in comparison to the likes of Beretta, Beeswax or Too Much Makeup from the earlier outputs, it comes cross musically light but atmospherically heavy.

Summer Song gives the album a slower, more acoustic based before the bands legendary anthem, In Position comes in and blows everything away. One of the most perfectly composed songs the band have ever written and a solid fan favorite. Without You is more obviously a love song than any of the others on Forward with more harmony based melodies and upbeat guitar and piano’s rather than the down trodden sound that dominates the rest of the album. Another Year Over is another one of the albums upbeat anthems. Not much you can say about this except the fact that it’s fucking amazing and the chorus is so heavy live it’ll make your ears bleed. Ain’t it a Love is possibly the heaviest song on the album and it harks back to their earlier material without copying the same styles the band used before. Very fast, very heavy and very brilliant (Can you say very brilliant? Well I just did).

Can’t keep Waiting is similar in tones to You Got Style and at the same time, sounds nothing like it. It’s a little sadder in its tones and much more simplistic. Really atmospheric and well done. Like Never Needed from the bands Check my Ears EP, Can’t Keep Waiting doesn’t rely on several verses of poetry to carry it though, it’s a one liner folks and it works well. No More (I Close My Eyes) is another of those lovey songs, like most of Turn’s outputs. A lot of vocal stretches and a very low, smooth sound…until you get about half way in and the full guitars and vocal harmonies are released. Even Though is one of the nicest acoustic songs the band have ever written. Very emotionally based again and only listenable sometimes. Definitely not for people in a good mood. And finally we come to the album’s title song, Forward. It’s great as well 😉

Turn have been split up for over three years now though (god, it seems like a hell of a lot longer than that), but their music is still out there with new fans still discovering them. If you didn’t like Humanzi, make Forward the album you send your scouts out for this Christmas.

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Tickets There HY-GIY?: Humanzi – Tremors

Posted in Album Review, Hy-Giy, Music with tags , , , , , on August 18, 2009 by Tickets There

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Time for another dive into my MP3 player to pick one of my favorite Irish albums from my limited selection of what Tickets There calls good Irish music. One of the main reasons I’ve picked this album is because the boi’s have a second one coming out sometime in the near future (although I said that last year) and I’m really hoping the Irish don’t let this one get past them.

When Humanzi burst onto the scene a few years ago they were fairly unlikely candidates for the clientele of Whelan’s and the underground scene in general to endorse them. I put this down to the fact that Humanzi are one of very few bands that can play, write good music and put on a fantastic live performance. Unfortunately their success didn’t grow outside of the Dublin scene so they took the sensible option and left the country to tour around Europe and further afield in the hopes of establishing a fan base that might actually grow. I’m not sure how much this has worked but the band don’t seem to have had any bother getting gigs across the continent thus far so I imagine it’s all good.

So back to Tremors. The first time I heard this record, I wasn’t hugely impressed. I thought many of the tracks just seemed to run together and the album had an overall style with any deviation or diversity meaning the tracks all kind of ran together and came across weak. Then I gave it another go and for a couple of months I found it hard to listen to anything else. Diet Pills and Magazines is quite simply a brilliant Punk Rock track. The lyrics are clever and witty, the tone is aggressive and the song is constructed with pop sensibilities. You can ask for any more than that now, can ya? The beating keyboards, the stomping rhythm of the guitars, drums and bass and the Shaun’s vocals are so perfectly fitting it’s uncanny. 6 Gun has a great opening, really dramatic and simple, again classic punk. Like Diet Pill’s.. it has a really full on attack mode chorus and Shaun e..bla, bla, bla. You get the point. Out on a Wire is one of my personal favs’. Great bass line, great guitars and I love the vocals. If you’re sitting down listening to this track it’s hard not to tap your feet along with the drums and when you’re on a dart or bus that looks a little strange. Really, really, really great song. I Want Silence is another of my favorites. Really swash buckling, ship swaying music. You can almost see the stage swaying from side to side with the band on it. You couldn’t stand still to music like this, it’s just too full of beats and melody not too enjoy. The verse is quite stretched but the chorus is just an anthem any band could be proud to have in their collection.

Long Time Coming is another good track. It’s a bit quieter than the others and does change the tone of the album a little. The flow is fantastic and the energy is ever present. Tremors is more like a Nine Inch Nails track than a punk song. Really heavy, really loud and really fucking good. Want to hear the best in the country, stick it on. Industrious, infectious and full of little beats, nooks and crannies that lead the song down different paths from time to time giving all the meag-moshers in the their audience a few moments of peace before it all comes crashing back down again. Song for Understanding is another slowish one. Now when I say slow and Humanzi, don’t go expecting Phil Collins singing In the Air Tonight, think more along the lines of the Sex Pistols covering …the Sex Pistols. Anyways, this one is a little more pop than the others and not a personal fav of Tickets There.

Fix the Cracks is another of the albums singles and a cracking wee tune it is too. Well worth the hype and praise it initially received and a pity it didn’t break the band abroad. Catchy chorus, great riffs and all that guff. Help me in the Morning is more a dance track than the others and shows there is a basic dance foundation ion the groups sound. Maybe that’s why they sound fresher and more original than most Punk Rock acts out there who all just to try and sound like the Clash / The Ramones or Green Day. Get your Shit Together sounds exactly like what you’d expect. Dirty distorted guitars, a mother thumping drum beat and all the attitude four lads from da north side can muster. Great track unless you’re a prat. Mass Hypnosis is last but not least. Heavy, undistinguishable vocals and a lot going on…yet still great.

If you have to get one Irish album this Christmas, make it Humanzi – Tremors.

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Hy-Giy – Tickets There Very unsure

Posted in Hy-Giy on August 17, 2009 by Tickets There

Oh… really not sure about this series. Just did a quick draft of the artwork I was thinking of using and I dont get music from it. it seems to be asking a different kind of question. Prize for the funniest answer you can think of 🙂

ttgiy

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Tickets There HY GIY?: The Aftermath – Friendlier Up Here

Posted in Album Review, Hy-Giy, Music with tags , , , , , on August 17, 2009 by Tickets There

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I May have been a bit harsh on this new series, maybe it’ll work and here to help me road test its second outing is The Aftermath and their debut album Friendlier Up Here.  This is one of those albums I’m very surprised Tickets There hasn’t found a way to review before but first, a little bit of background.

Hailing from the fine towns of Longford, Leeds and Mullingar, The Aftermath have been working overtime for the last few years gigging every single chance they get in order to make a name for themselves. Their live performance is always fantastic and the Johnny Cronin is every bit a classic rock front man. Thankfully the band don’t sulk and stare down when on stage and they also don’t hide behind a pile of hats, masks, gimmick’s or any of the other shite most Irish bands try. It’s just them and the music and that’s all you need folks. Friendlier Up Here was released last year and has received a massive load of critical success. Unfortunately The Aftermath are one of those Irish bands that RTE scouts haven’t picked up yet (may your heads be struck from your shoulders) and this is one of the reasons the band haven’t achieved the commercial success they truly deserve.

Opening with the infectiously catchy Are You Not Wanting Me Yet?, the band explode into a semi-psychedelic/Beatles driven kind of sound that comes nicely packaged as a heavy, upbeat array of sounds. Really, really, really catchy. I Wish My Love Would Die is a strange choice for a second song after such a full on opener…but it works, works so well in fact that the massive difference in sounds highlights each other qualities and the bands ability to diversify their talent rather than play on one strength. Northern Lingerie is pure pop-rock at its finest. Another dance floor filling, slightly psychedelic riff’s played by a rock guitarist (of you catch my drift. Imagine Oasis playing The Velvet Underground). Nice, slow and once again, extremely catchy. All I Want For You Is To be Happy is one of the bands lead singles and a firm fan favorite. It’s a little slower than their other dancy songs and it’s just a lovely piece of music, probably because it’s clean cut and believable. There’s no bitches or bling bling. There’s also no decaying rats are antichrist mentions but it’s also not The Script.

Another single One is Fun is probably the bands best live track. Really upbeat, really melodic and full of crackin’ beats and changes. (Yes I’m rushing through this because my MP3 is about to die and I want to listen to each track while I’m writing about it). Overlooking Paris is the bands strongest love song. The style and tones are completely different to everything else on the album and the added accordion and string backing makes it all the more special. Haunting would be the best way to describe the atmosphere for this one. Up and Down with the Aftermath is a nice, short instrumental  that leads into another heavy number, Need. Really fast guitars and drums and a great hark back to the days of Brit-pop.  There’s a Darkness is another one of the albums strongest tracks and by this time you start to wonder how the hell this album hasn’t made it to number one? Hollywood Remake, Joyful Mystery, Tickets There’s personal favorite Six Days to Saturday and Song of a Graveyard follow  and expand the albums incredible stock pile of tracks.

If you haven’t bought it already, go and get it now.

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Tickets There: HY-GIY (Have You Got It Yet) Future Kings of Spain – Nervousystem

Posted in Album Review, Hy-Giy, Music with tags , , , on August 17, 2009 by Tickets There

future-kings-of-spain-nervousystem

Hmmm, not sure about the title for this series. I like the fact the initials spell Hy Giy (Hi Guy for all you slow folk) but I just don’t know. Wouldn’t mind if someone came on and said it sucks, then I could go back to the drawing board and dream it all up again.

Anyways, this series is similar to the Tickets There Likes one except it will focus solely on a handful of Irish albums we consider to be the best in the new millennium. First up is The Future Kings of Spain’s second output, Nervousystem. Now, personally I consider the Future Kings of Spain Irelands best act on the go at the moment. Closely followed by Jape, Humanzi, The Aftermath and Concerto for Constantine. I know I’ve made no secret of this but hey, if you want diversity and underground bla, bla, ego, go check out Una Rocks or Niallier9, plenty of pretention and nonsense over there to keep you occupied for the rest of your life. Anyways, enough bitching about other music blogs. They get a lot more hits and mentions than Tickets There so they must be doing something right.

So back to the Kings. Well, their debut came out in 2003 and it was great. Then they had record label issues which was shit. Then they nearly broke up which was even more shit. Finally they managed to pull things together, work out their issues and release their second album in 2007. Was it worth the four year wait? You’re damn right it was and I encourage any of you who bought album two years ago to take it of your shelf and give it another listen because it’s not a record that should be forgotten.

Kicking things of is Guess Again. Not a bad song, good riff but Tickets There got a little sick of this track a long time ago.  One More Mistake is next and it’s easily the closest thing to a grunge classic any Irish band I’ve heard has ever managed (except Ash’s A Life Less Ordinary which is, I’ll happily admit, a better tune). Vocals and guitars are nice and dirty during the verse and the constant bridges, breaks and extras all combine nicely in the ear drum shattering chorus. Joey Wilson has a savage voice that’s both believable and reckless.  I don’t like the very start of This Is the End but the song has a great overall feeling, nice anthem kind of tune. Lost and Found is a real smooth, atmospheric number with some lovely melodies, harmonies and changes. There’s a real air of restraint during the first part and you’re just waiting for the song to explode into its full form. Syndicate is has much the same feeling as Lost and Found except it’s on a much grander scale. Without a doubt the Kings flagship masterpiece. Simple, complex, light, heavy…everything really and a great video to accompany it. At nearly eight minutes in length, it’s astonishing the band manage to keep the song as interesting and evolving as it is.  Each verse and bridge brings something new into the fold and every chorus whips them all together to deliver the classic FKOS hard hitting style in as much force and energy as anything else out there.

Kick in the Teeth is another good, simple track. Slow, heavy and beating is the best thing I can say about it…in a good way. Another classic pops up next in the form of You Dream in Solid Gold. The Kings talent for writing this kind of track is unparalleled in this country and it’s a style that really can be attributed to them. Nineteen Eighty One brings more guitars and pounding drums back into the fold as melodic lead’s hover in the background behind one of the albums best chorus lines and a good heavy riff. Chemical Burn is one of the actual ‘album tracks’ on Nervousystem. Very simple and catchy but nothing too classic here except a great chorus. This Song is one of the slowest the band have ever done and sounds a little like something the Foo Fighters could come up with. In saying that, The Foo Fighters didn’t and the FKOS did so it’s there’s. Very moody and grungy and a nice penultimate number before I Disappear comes raging in to show Nervousystem isn’t one bit short of great tracks.

Overall a great album (that’s why I’m writing about it). If you want to hear a great Irish band playing great music, you could do a hell of a lot worse than the FKOS. Readi ng over this piece, I’m not entirely happy with it so I’m not sure how many more I’ll do. Thankfully, Tickets There isn’t one to waste over 800 words so this one’s going up anyways.

All the best, Tickets There

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MYSPACE REVIEW – CLASS OF 1984

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , on August 15, 2009 by Tickets There

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Finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for, Class of 1984 have added some tracks to their MySpace. I remember hearing a few before and they weren’t bad, weren’t bad at all so without the usual never ending string of bullshit, you know the ‘oh god it’s so late’ or ‘Tickets There is happy today’. Who cares if Tickets There is happy, who cares if he’s jacking off, just shut the fuck up about the grammar and spelling mistakes, the tired old style of writing and your loathing for all things Fight Like Apes and get the fuck on with it. Ehm…well excuse me, but my die-hard fans (mum) happen to like all that so back off!!

Haven’t heard EP or seen. You know the drill.

Yes! Lights Out is first and a nice heavy guitar riff gets things going. Vocals are fairly high pitched (not Muse or Cheech and Chong high, but good). Things are a little slow when nothing really changes after a minute and 30 seconds but then the drums kick in a little more to liven things up. This sounds like a nice album opener but wont look as promising unless (oh, badly out of tune sounding solo burst, yikes) if they cant follow with something alot better. All eyes fall on second track Honey to pick the initial enthusiasm back up. Well it’s better, not too fast but the mildish heavy. Think of the Strokes meets the Stooges and it’s nothing like that. Ah honestly it’s not that exciting but I know they have better in tem. The chorus is fairly catchy and the riff is a good beating type of one. Still though, interest isn’t being held.

Now, third track X It Out sounds like a piece of music on a mission of Leon proportions. A good riff with alot more character than any of the others out together. Good catchy chorus that sounds like an eighties classic covered by a punk band. Nit bad, certainly top of the list so far. Forth and final track Big Time is alot more composed. There’s more melody and the singer vocals stand out much better here tan any where else. Good stompy kind of beat to it, nice. This is one of those tracks I actually sat back and listened to and it’s damn fine, very very good. Long but holds it’s strength all the way through which is more than you can say for most of the acts out there.

Overall not bad. The last two songs are te strongest te band have posted but I remember hearing much better ones before. Ah well, just means I may have to go out and buy an album. That’ll make a nice change.

Check Out their MySpace HERE

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Tickets There Likes: Def Leppard – Adrenalize

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , on August 9, 2009 by Tickets There

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What? You were expecting the third Def Leppard Likes to be about Hysteria? Sorry, one more to cover first. Adrenalize gets a very special place in my heart as it’s the very first album I ever owned. This is the mother of all my music tastes and the big bang that caused the chain of events that have shaped the way I live my life ever since. Although the album isn’t generally regarded by fans as one of the bands best, it is. Think I’m a little biased saying that? Well I quite obviously am but I also truly believe it.

I was being driven back to boarding school by my mum one day in March 1992, just after my eighth birthday. It was a dark, wintery Sunday night and out of no where my mum produced this cassette and asked me what I thought of it. She put it on the stereo and we listened to it the whole way up to Dublin. The cassette was (quite obviously) Adrenalize and I loved every bit of it. Let’s Get Rocked what so full of attitude and so cool how could you not love it at eight years old. Leppard were also an interesting choice for first band. They had a drummer with one arm and that seemed very normal for some reason. At the time I imagined that metal bands were so hard most of them probably had missing limbs and it didn’t bother them (eight people, don’t judge). They had a legendary guitarist that had just died the year before and a back catalogue so juicy it was unrealistic. Over the next three months, my mum bought copies of Hysteria and Pyromania and every week we’d listen to Leppard solidly for the three and a half hour drive to Dublin and home on Fridays. I also managed to get a walk man and a copy of all three albums to keep a school where I quickly became the coolest kid in class for about a month because I had a tiny little leather jacket (which I still have) and listened to rock bands.

After three months of almost solid Leppard devotion (Meatloaf had managed to slip in aswell, not to mention the awesome Guns N Roses), I was brought to the Point Depot to see my very first rock concert. Def Leppard’s 7-Day-Weekend tour came to the Ireland and it saw the band play completely in the round. You can read more about that here – Click Here

Anyways, Adrenalize. If you didn’t like it or haven’t heard it, I suggest sitting down and listening to the mighty Personal Property (that guitar solo ugh!!), Stand Up, Tear It Down, Heaven is or I Wanna Touch You and experience pop rock at it’s very finest. Hard n loud guitars, monster riffs and anthems enough to win a war.

Then there’s White Lightening, the bands tribute to the late Steamin’ Steve Clark. Steve died in January 1991 and his death marked a major shift in Leppards sound and song writing. Adrenalize is the last Leppard record of it’s kind and White Lightening is a great tribute to the man who made their early albums so special.

I stick Adrenalize on now knowing it’s not as great as I praise it to be, but listening to those songs brings back memories of the early days of discovering music and discovering a new band you can still love as much as ever seventeen years later is a very special thing for everyone.

What’s yours?

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Tickets There Likes: Guns N Roses – Use Your Illusion I

Posted in Album Review, Music, Ranting, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , on August 8, 2009 by Tickets There

GnR--UseYourIllusion1

There is one band in the world that has always come close to beating Def Leppard to the top spot in my all time favorites.  A band that I consider to be the greatest hard rock band of all time. I first discovered Guns N Roses in 1992, just a couple of months after Def Leppard when an older brother of one of my friends leant me the Use Your Illusion 1I& II albums in boarding school. Knowing that I was a Leppard and Meatloaf fan, I think he wanted someone else to share the mighty Guns with since everyone else had never heard of any rock bands. I remember trying Use Your Illusion I first because I preferred the cover and was instantly blown away by the sher force of the Axl’s voice and the guitars. I’d never heard anything like this and all of a sudden Leppard didn’t hold the holier than though pedestal I’d placed them on. Shortly after I managed to get copies of the alums from a traveller outside Mullingar at a wee market at some roadside restaurant like the covert and Guns were firmly brought into my life.

Aside from Adrenalize, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an album so much in my life. Use Your Illusion I oozes sleazy Rock N Roll and as I got older, I understood more and more of the ands lyrics an hidden connotations. It was like an album that grew more and more mature with age and that’s the prime reason it never got left on the shelf when new bands came into my life. Despite being as big of a fan as I was, I’d never even heard about Appetite for Destruction or Lies and wouldn’t discover them for another  eight or nine years. Even when Appetite did come along, it’s never managed to replace Illusion 1 as my favorites; even now I can listen to that album and enjoy it as much as I ever did.

Before getting into the songs (and honestly, I don’t write these to try and review the greatest songs in my life. If you don’t know them there isn’t much point in you reading these), I should say that to appreciate the Guns, you really need to look at their career rather than just their music. Think of them like The Sex Pistols and you will understand Rock N Roll like the Pistols make you understand the true meaning of punk. Rock n Roll is meant to be an attitude more than the music. It’s that attitude that defines real rock n roll rebellion. It’s not anarchy, it’s lazy. It’s about doing what ever you like and not letting anyone tell you otherwise. Yeah it sounds cliché but that’s what it’s all about and if there is one man in rock who lives up to every single word of that, it’s W. Axl Rose.

Axl has never and will never do what record companies, fans, and mates, family or the press expect, pressure or beg him to do. Yes I’m sure there are all these underground guys who do the same but I’m sorry, Axl is the one with the millions under his belt and he still does what he likes and makes it work at his level. He didn’t give up after the Illusion and release one watered down alum after another for the following twenty years. He also didn’t go out of his way to keep the classic line-up happy and he continued Guns N Roses in his own way with the whole world laughing at him. Even the rock press and diehard fans failed to see the brilliance behind his methods and still today the fans that claimed to stand behind him still bitch log and beg for tours, special edition albums and music videos all the while their forgetting that none of these things will make the bands latest album Chinese Democracy any better. Axl is a musician who’s quite happy to let the music speak for its’ self. If anyone else did it and said that’s what they were doing, the world would cherish them and praise their musical integrity but unfortunately for Axl, they lampoon him.

Well I hope you will read this and look on Axl more favorably. He is not a front man interested in keeping old fans happy by travelling the world selling a decaying shell of a once great line-up, who’s former members have gone on to destroy their legacy’s and tarnished their images as the rocks leading hell raisers (except Izzy). He’s doing what he wants, how he wants to do it and any fan of rock n roll out there who criticizes, laughs or attacks him for this hasn’t got  fucking clue what rock n roll is all about. You’d be better of buying your Motorhead t-shirts in Top Shop and singing along with Summer of 69 when it’s one and leave it at that because Rock has enough posers already.

Anyways, Use Your Illusion I eh, great album. What else can I say?

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Tickets There Likes: KISS – KISS

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2009 by Tickets There

Kiss_first_album_cover

“Turn it up, this is my attitude, take it or leave it”

OK, this is the third time I’ve tried writing this introduction. The first 1,000 word draft will now go towards a politics in music blog I’ll try and publish this weekend. The second was 500 words that took the quote above and harped on and on about the underlining simplicity in Rock n Roll and the destruction caused by ego’s and money. Those words have now been deleted and it’s time to talk about the hottest band in the world, KISS.

I first discovered them while watching a wee film called Detroit Rock City in 1999. I had heard of the seven foot icons from magazines and seen pictures but didn’t actually know what they sounded like until I’d seen the movie. Ninety minutes later I was on the phone to the Record Room in Sligo asking them to order in KISS and Destroyer. When I picked up the albums I could hardly contain myself. Fortunately I had taped DRC and spent a week watching it over and over again, thanking god for opening my eyes to one of the greatest bands I’d heard in years. Everything about KISS became appealing. They weren’t pushing politics, they weren’t preaching about charities and they weren’t Radiohead. They dressed up in black costumes, make-up and blew their stages to pieces during live shows. On top of that they played bad ass, catchy as hell rock n roll, sold almost everything in the world as a KISS product and had a bass player who is so full of himself and honest about his views on the world, you’d be foolish not to admire him.

So how should one go about starting their love for the America’s greatest rock n roll band? By buying their debut album off course.

KISS is without a shadow of a doubt one of the bands strongest albums. Opening with the dirty styled Strutter, the band display their talent for catchy hooks, duel guitar leads and riffs, high piercing vocals and lyrics that only grow as the album progresses. Nothin’ to Lose and Firehouse are great little numbers that carry their own little iconic place in KISS’s history and live in Firehouse’s case.  The mighty Cold Gin is one of the bands masterpieces. Pure rock n roll that personifies the bands characters and gives them their true sound. Let me know chirps things up abit while the anathematic Kissin’ Time might act as a deterrent for those of you who don’t already love KISS..so skip that one. Fortunately the best is still to come.

The incredible Deuce brings to a high very few bands can keep going but 100,00 Years and the enormous Black Diamond manage to keep them on a high to close the album with a balanced mix of heavy guitars, perfectly suited solo’s, theatrics in the lyrics and more control over song writing and melody than most bands can only wet-dream about.

KISS are more than a band, they’re a life-style. Get into them quick is my advice and ‘baby get ready, because they’ll be KISSin’ you’ next year!

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Tickets There Likes: Def Leppard – High ‘N’ Dry

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , on July 30, 2009 by Tickets There

Def_Leppard_-_High_'n'_Dry

Hopefully you’ve gone out and bought Pyromania, if not…..like I said, you’re a sap. Or, maybe it’s because you haven’t read the review so go do it now https://ticketsthere.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/tickets-there-likes-def-leppard-pyromania 

Good, now you’re back. So The Mighty Leppard exploded in the states with that album, made them the biggest band in the world…etc. Now it’s time to find out what they were like before all the mega stardom. Well, to start with they always had the harmonies and relied upon catchy vocal hooks to sell their songs to the general public, but before Pyromania, they used a lot more guitars to back everything up. High N Dry was the bands second album and an unbelievable leap forward from their first. While On Through The Night has some fearsome tracks on it, it’s nothing compared to HND.

Any listener will be convinced of this when they hear the opening notes of Let It Go, the albums first track. The song has a killer duel guitar riff and tonnes of sporadic/bluesy solo’s that would put any musician in their h’penny place. Not because they’re extremely difficult, but because they are so perfectly placed its mind bending. Enough shite, it’s just a savage track. This is followed by the shredding, although slower at first, Another Hit and Run which is as foot stomping, head banging friendly and face melting as anything else out there…..except Heavy Metal :p. Unfortunately I refuse to discuss the albums title track because I used it as my alarm for over a year and now I cant stand to listen to it, but I should mention it was on the infamous PRMC’s Filthy Fifteen list in 1985. This was a list made up by that Tipper Gore bitch and her cronies of the fifteen songs they found most offensive in the world. HND gets a mention due to ‘excessive drinking references in the lyrics.

Things turn around completely with Leppard’s first proper ballad, Bringin’ on the Heartbreak. The video may be as cheesy as KISS in the eighties but it’s fun people, relax. Not everything can be the White album. Steve Clarks legendary Switch 625 follows and shows Leppard’s raw, danger afloat guitars with some fierce drumming to boot. That riff is just incredible and well worth seeing live if you can. You Got Me Runnin’ is more of a filler song, but on this album that means it kicks ass. It’s just pure, down to earth rock n rollll!!! Love it! Classic stomping song with a good dose of Joe’s swagger. Same thing again for Lady Strange. These are songs you grow to love after the hits. On through the Night is faster, more full on balls while second last song Mirror, Mirror has one of the bands definitive chorus’s. No, No, No, finishes things off and without the excessive repeats of the word No at the end it’s just great 😀

Well that’s it in a very hastily written nut shell. Now, what album to do next? This Tickets There Likes series wont last forever so I’ll be choosy but you can damn well bet Guns N Roses – Use Your Illusion I, Weezer – The Blue Album, Metallica – …and Justice For All and the big one of them all, Def Leppard’s Hysteria will all feature over the coming weeks.

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Tickets There Likes: The Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , on July 28, 2009 by Tickets There

Never_Mind_the_Bollocks

Tickets There has had a deep rooted fascination with God’s filthiest hooligans. Ever since I first saw the wax work of Johnny Rotten in London’s Rock Circus in the early nineties, I’ve been fascinated. His appearance was so shocking and so different to anything I was used to and the fact that his name was Johnny Rotten only added to my enthusiasm to find out more. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long as the Rock Circus had another exhibition that featured infamous video’s (I think) and this included Sid Vicious’ video for My Way that shows him shooting several audience members. To yours truly, this was a real event and I was captivated. First you have this sneering, red haired maniac called Johnny Rotten and next you have a murdering psycho Sid Vicious. I was officially hooked…..and then it was back to Ireland where there was no such thing as the Sex Pistols.

I don’t remember when I got the album. I do recall it was several years later but I can’t actually remember the first time I heard it. In fact, I find it very hard to remember a time in my life without it. Never Mind the Bollocks is the ultimate outburst of anger and sarcasm for young people. The music is basic pop with none of the frills the likes of Pink Floyd indulge in, with lyrics so scornful British monarchs and politicians must have thanked god they weren’t handed picked for any tracks…except the Queen of course.

There basically isn’t one song on this album that couldn’t be considered a classic. The opening track Holidays In The Sun is an upbeat pop number with an attacking message on holiday goers taking advantage of other countries problems and misfortunes. In contrast, the angry, hate fueled Bodies rips in straight afterwards with vulgar lyrics and a commonly interoperated message of Pro-Life, which Lydon now denies. Knowing Johnny Rotten, this song is hardly likely to be a simple story. No Feelings is another full on attack of guitars n drums about …well, what’s the point in me describing these things? I think everybody knows exactly what this album is all about. Anyone reading this is more than fully aware what the Sex Pistols stood for and what they accomplished. If you don’t, there are some great things in store for you..Unless you’re one of those soulless weirdo’s I’ve mentioned before.

I think kids would do well to have this album drilled into them. The fight seems to have left their hearts all together and they’ve become to bogged down in the rap/hip-hop/Paris Hilton nonsense. It just seems to be destroying their creativity, their originality and their minds. I’m sure many would disagree with this next statement, but Tickets There firmly believes that Never Mind the Bollocks was a peak that has barley been reached since of youthful aggression, intelligence and makes more of a statement that any other punk album ever released…even more so than the Clash!

What amd I talking about? I don’t know, kind of rushed this one so ShutD-Up!

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Tickets There Likes: Def Leppard – Pyromania

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2009 by Tickets There

Def_Leppard_-_Pyromania

If there is one band on God’s green earth that has meant more to Tickets there, and the man behind Tickets There (no, not the guys in Eyebrowy, me ya knob!), it has to be Def Leppard. Despite Guns N Roses, Marilyn Manson, Elvis Presley, Turn, Metallica and many, many, many others over the years coming close, Leppard are and always have been the clear frontrunners of my personal favorite artists. They are the band that thought me the key core values of good music, Talent, Entertainment and Performance. Leppard may have become the arse end of most music related jokes in the nineties but they are finally clawing their way back to their former heights and slowly rebuilding their credibility around the world. For those of us who stood by them after their career nosedived after Adrenalize, this is like the second coming because if there is one band in the world who deserves to have an album in everyone’s collection, it’s Leppard, and if you’re going to start anywhere, it might as well be Pyromania.

In 1983, Leppard could barley fill a town hall in England as headliner, but in the US, people were flocking to their support shows to catch a glimpse of England’s hottest new act. After successful introductions with their debut On through The Night and it’s follow up, High N Dry, the band finally had a ready and willing fan base to unleash their full potential onto. Pyromania became one of the biggest selling albums of the eighties and the only thing that stopped it reaching number one was the biggest selling album of all time, Thriller. The combination of Leppard and renowned AC/DC producer Mutt Lange producing the album together paid off in bucket loads as the band became mega stars in the States almost overnight. The mix of catchy, riff driven anthems and Joe’s raw yet piercing voice painted a new coat on the aging rock machine and gave the whole genre a new lease of life.

Opening with the first of many anthems Pyromania has to offer, Rock Rock Till You Drop, the album is immediately given an upbeat, captivating feel as the band deliver what are essentially pop songs with much, much more of an edge……. and a lot more guitars. The massively successful Photograph follows and up’s the bands’ sound several notches which seems to be the trend of Pyromania, make each song bigger, better and more enthralling than the last one. Stagefright gives the band one of its most iconic opening live songs before the haunting Too Late For Love offers a new kind of Love songs with more attitude than Bon Jovi could ever offer.

Die Hard The Hunter brings the rock swagger back to the album before the mighty Foolin’ stampedes across everything and gives the album one of its greatest building, atmospheric compositions. Where the hell can you go from there? Well, they have an answer. It’s called Rock of Ages. One of the Rock N Metal’s greatest assets and one that even non-Leppard fans will admit to loving. Does it draw the line between cheese and music? No it certainly does not because most people these days think anything Tom Yorke, Frank Black or Chris Martin didn’t write isn’t music. Unfortunately for you lot, while you are watching the blandest, most self-indulgent, over hyped musical farces on the planet crying and preaching at you, us folk who appreciate the fun, the attitude and the full on rock n roll spirit of ‘real bands’ will be having a blast and won’t be reminded about starving kids in Africa or today’s popular disease.

Back from my rant, Comin’ Under Fire and Action Not Words bring the album near it’s close with another few bursts of catchy riffs that constantly change and include small guitar spirals and heavy bass that constantly compete with each other for melodies, harmonies and cutting edge vocals and solos. The fearsome Billy’s Got a Gun gives the album one of its most unappreciated moments and unfortunately, ends the Pyromania.

More than any album I can think off, Tickets There Suggests you go and buy this one immediately and if you don’t like it well, you’re really thick and it’s more than likely you don’t have a soul. If you do, come back and see my review of High N Dry (Which I’ll do when I’m damn well ready). Don’t jump straight into Hysteria, it’s too soon 😉

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Tickets There Likes: Judas Priest – British Steel

Posted in Album Review, Music, Tickets There Likes: with tags , , , , , , on July 27, 2009 by Tickets There

Judas_Priest_British_Steel

If there’s one album that’s had my attention more than any other in the last six months, it’s the mighty British Steel. I think I bought it about six years ago, put it on a shelf and never bothered to actually listen to it. Other things just kept getting in the way. It wasn’t until I saw them live in February that I realized just how good they are. So, after the gig I went straight home, found the album and stuck it on. Five months later and I’m still listening to it almost every day (well….that’s a big almost). The ferocious power and energy in their lyrics, vocals and playing is mind crushing and becomes more and more piercing with time.

The fearsome Rapid Fire opens proceedings with lyrics cast from the bowls of metal and slow, yet thundering guitars to whip it along. Rob’s powerful voice bleeds through the headphones as the guitars and drums push a slow, steady riff along like crippling waves in the back ground. Solo bursts or frequent and you kind of feel like a geek because you aren’t out eating iron rods and anvils for a living. The grandness and slowly building Metal Gods is next and this notches the album into second gear. The band once again display a steady, repetitive riffs that introduces slight changes as the song gathers momentum before crashing down and grabbing you by the neck for the slow, grueling chorus. Metal Gods is a true metal classic and the opening riff of Breaking the Law almost pales in comparison. Not that any sign of weakness lasts long here. The incredible force of Grinder brings, in my opinion, British Steel to its peak of perfection. It’s intensely driven raw power is so dominating and raw, it’s hard not to jump on your desk and not thrash your head rapidly during its verse. It’s a song begging to be played on every Harley Davidson spiraling towards hell and one that would scare the devil himself out of reprimanding you for doing so.

United changes the direction of the album entirely. Rob’s vocals become more relaxed and the riffs drop much of their punishing characteristics. United is quite simply an upbeat sing along that adds a new sound to the album. You Don’t Have to be Old to be Wise and Living After Midnight are more like rock classics rather than the metal anthems at the start of the album. They’re fast, loud and just F**king brilliant. Second last song, The Rage opens with a slow bass and drum intro before the guitars slide in with Rob’s voice back in full teeth cutting metal glory. The final Steeler finishes the album in much the same style it started in. Fast riffs that plunge into bellowing storm bringers. Shredding solo’s and bursts of booming drums and delayed guitars plough together before reforming to add a sense of darkness and danger behind Rob’s mighty instrument (no pun intended).

On the re-release, the album comes with a bonus track of Grinder Live and it is quite simply one of the best live metal recordings ever. If you haven’t got this album yet, go and buy it now and get some metal up yer ass!!

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MYSPACE REVIEW – THE DELORENTOS

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , on July 2, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_thedelorentos

Keeping the momentum going for the special 100th post announcement, here’s Tickets There’s second MySpace Review of the day. The Hassel Merchants weren’t too bad so let’s see how The Delorentos work out.

I haven’t seen them live and haven’t heard their album.

Right, gonna start by apologizing to readers outside Dublin, I picked four names randomly this morning and am determined to get through them all. I only just thought it might have been cool to pick an act from each province Ah well, I’m set in my ways now but may do that again some day. Actually, it might be cool if I cut back to using just to frames on the image. Ya know, one for positive reviews and one for bad ones so you know by the picture what I thought. Nah, on second thoughts that’s not a good idea. Lets move on.

First up is a nice little indie number, You Can Make Sound. It doesn’t waste much time jumping into things and actually sounds quite professional. Honestly I didn’t this band were going to be worth mentioning but a minute into the first track and I’m intrigued. Sounds a little like a band trying to find that idie/hookey pop sound that the Killers and The Flaws strive for (Yes I know there’s no comparison, fuck off. Tickets There doesn’t like either of them anyway).  

All This Time is up next and instead of writing and listening; I kicked back for this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. At first I was preparing for another boring indie/love/wank wanna be but was proved ever so wrong. A good, quiet little number. Two good tracks in a row, I think this may be unchartered territory for Tickets There. I’m not a huge fan of the Coldplay sounding vocals but it isn’t prominent all the way through the song and they sound believable enough to pull it off. Do You Realize brings things back to the dance floor style. Again, that Killers kind of riff is there but fuck it, it’s Sunday and they’re fun. Time to kick back and listen again.

Basis of Everything brings us past the half way mark and once again the band go for the up beat sound. The opening riff is pretty catchy and the only criticism I can make is that they still opt for that generic pop/rock feel that’s everywhere at the moment. Think of the Future Kings of Spain in a reallly good mood. Still though, when a band does something well they deserve credit and the Delorentos do it well. I’d be willing to bet they’re a great act to catch live.

Eustace Street is second last and the intro has that great, bare but full sound I love (Jape – Nothing Lasts Forever kind of thing…without the Piano and samples). Nice simple bass riff and pretty good. I think the main thing making them stand out from most of the other rubbish out there is their ability to construct a song really well. I’m so sick of all the acts in this country who wouldn’t know a melody ..oh, never mind. About three minutes into Eustace Street, a great guitar riff kicks into overdrive. Really good. Shame we’re onto the last song. Stop closes things of and again, it’s a track designed for dance floors. Snare drum and bass offer a gentle frame before the guitar kicks in. Very happy musically and a good un for tapping your foot too.

Tickets There is impressed. As I said, I was pretty sure they were going to be crap and even though it’s not my particular brand of musical enjoyment, they are pretty good at what their doing. Hopefully they’ll mix things up in the future and invest themselves into offering something new. It’s the only way to stand out lads.

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MYSPACE REVIEW – THE HASSLE MERCHANTS

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , on July 1, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_thehasslemerchants

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time again. Welcome to another Tickets There MySpace Review. The Blog that searches through Irish bands, picks one and random and lets you know if their worth checking out or just another over hyped, under talented pile of wasters. Today’s choice is Dublin locals, The Hassle Merchants. They describe themselves as Energetic alternative puck and apparently won Connected Magazine’s Band of the Year award in 2007. So, with the bullshit PR out of the way, lets get down to brace taxes.

As almost usual with these reviews, I haven’t seen them live (that I know off, don’t remember them anyway) and haven’t heard their album (if they have one).

OK, first song on their MySpace is Friendly Neighbourhood Scumbag. I won’t lie, I like this song title. I also like the intro. Nice acoustic downer in little bursts with a good bass’ed up kick drum, pounding away slowly. Oh, things go a little way wire about a minute into the song and things start to sound a little scattered. The verse is pretty good but the bridge is a little too familiar for my tastes and the chorus starts well but then goes into a nah, nah, nah kind of bollocks and won’t just let loose. An amateur lead guitar and bad production really shit on things more and more towards the end. Little boring and not what I was hoping for. Still a good title though.

Boy Go Home’s up next. Very empty sounding but that’s just the affects. Vocals sound a bit better, kind of a Drop Kick Murphy’s number but not as good. Ah, there’s the bridge again, boring. Chorus sounds like a thousand other bad punk songs so that kind of gives the game away. I can see what they’re trying to do but it aint working.

The worst thing about modern punk bands is that they still try and recreate that anger, angst, rebellion and anarchist spirit kids in the mid seventies harnessed and made work, without trying to develop it. How can a music that’s over thirty years old revolutionize anything? You didn’t see the Sid Vicious sweating about reproducing Frank Sinatra did ya? Sun of A Nun is next. Again, not a bad intro. Even when things kick in it’s not too bad. Very simple and nothing worth shouting about but definitely a marked improvement after the other two songs. They actually manage to make the whole thing sound planned out on this one. The title is probably meant to be their ‘Shocking Number’ but Tickets There see’s no such infamy. Even the guitar solo manages to sound a little more polished and rehearsed this time. Yep, Tickets There is finally enjoying the Hassle Merchants. Let’s hope it carries on because I have another five reviews to write today and I don’t want to lose my caffeine buzz.  

Echoes in Empty Hall’s is next and another good intro, best yet actually. Agh God, until that fucking stupid low toned riff comes in. Bands, stop using that, it’s fucking sickening. (Anyways, In the mean time) things are going pretty well. The Libertines keep popping into my mind for some reason, even though this crowd don’t really sound much like them, I’m just getting this kind of FAKE buzz from their sound. Like their good songs are only good by accident. You can hear the Clash pouring through on this track and that only makes things worse because now I want to listen to them instead. Agh, I’m a little bored.  

Get Your Finger Out brings us to our second last track and it’s pretty bad. The main Riff is so used before, I’m pretty sure they collected the insurance payout. They’ve gone from having two relatively well constructed songs to the standards of the first two and made it a little more childish. It’s short but still manages to drag on longer than Lord of the Rings. Waiter, next song please. The final track is called Acoustic Dublin’s Screaming Murder Live (I’m sure the words Acoustic and Live were added due to this being an acoustic song preformed live. Ya see, Math and Physics mixed with logic does get you places). Now this is alright. Pretty much about people in Dublin getting shot and not much happening about it. I’m not 100% sure, but their blaming it on some pretentious cunts. Not sure if they’re talking about the Whelan’s or Odessa Club crowd on a Saturday night but I hope so. All shit aside, it’s not a bad song. Worth checking out if you’re bored and one of the three half decent tracks here.

Overall…not too bad. As you probably noticed my enthusiasm is waning a little but they definitely aren’t the worst lot out there but also haven’t matured enough yet to deserve the worlds attention. Maybe in a couple of years.

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MYSPACE REVIEW – BOCS SOCIAL

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags on July 1, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_bocssocial

OK, we’re at number four of the five reviews in one day countdown. Now, this next bunch of lads are from Wicklow which breaks today’s trend of Dublin acts which is nice. Hopefully you haven’t felt too inundated today with all the non stop blogging and have the patience to stick it out for another few. Who knows, I may keep doing them until I collapse with exhaustion at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Before I use up all my intros for the day, let’s get to business and check out Bocs Social.

I’ve never seen the band live or heard their Album (if they have one)

Starting things off is the very badly named, Toasted Luv Sandwich. I’m sorry to say, this would not be top of the list of today’s tracks. Vocals are a little weak and the overall, the track doesn’t pack much of a punch. It’s quite hard to imagine anyone running about taking about how great this is but it could just be the production. Took a wee break there to see if there was anything deeper I was missing but it’s just too wishy/washy for Tickets There’s taste. Bland indie in on the way out so lets not start endorsing it now. Second track, Whoa has a much liver starts and comes across like a Madness number….and this continues as the song progresses. I should point out that Tickets There is not a reggae or Ska fan. I don’t there’s a genre I can’t stand more and this was even highlighted to Sinead O’Connor. In my defence I was set up. I was sitting with my back to her in one of my locals in Dun Laoghaire and one of the lads who knows my hatred of all things Reggae brought the subject up and watched with great amusement while I rated on and on about how crap I think reggae music is, (For those who don’t get the Sinead O’Connor element of the story, she had just released an all reggae album). Anyways, annoying song, thank god the next has started.  

24 Hours (oops, skipped one, will back track afterwards) drops the ska style and goes for a kind of Beta Band feel. My favourite of the bunch so far and it’s nice to hear one of those sixties style organs in the background. Vocals are also alot better with some good harmonies in the chorus. Always nice when a band manages to surprise me half way through a review. Right, back tracking to You Said It All (which isn’t working at the moment.…give me a sec….ok, waited long enough, will try again at the end. Fucking internet!). Aggressive Broccoli (god lads, what’s with the names eh? (Oh, and you’re one to talk TICKETS THERE? – Ed.). Again with the fecking Ska guitars. Don’t want to be too negative today and also, I think I’ve typed the words reggae and ska enough in this review so I will say that the chorus isn’t too bad. There’s a nice drive …until the verse comes back. Not too bad for a ska track but not my thing, not my thing at all. Maybe they’ll say the same about my review.

Unfortunately You Said It All doesn’t want to work for me today which is a little annoying because I was hoping it would..Oh, and it’s just kicked in. Right, no sign’s of Madness or Sinead O’Connor. We’re safe, let’s move in for a listen. You Said It All turns out to be a quieter number. Nice enough guitar picking, little summary. Not a fan of the singing, it sounds a little soulless and light and there’s too much of it. Slow moving and the fact that it’s the last one of the review doesn’t stand in it’s favour.

Would I recommend them? No, honestly there isn’t much substance here. What’s that you said, you’ve read that several times before in my reviews? Well, it’s true. Why have the Lidl brand when you can get M&S for the same price.

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MYSPACE REVIEW – STILLROOM

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , , on July 1, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_stillroom

Well it’s Monday. The worst day of the week and a time when music heads need a good, hard fucking dose if Rock N Roll!. I don’t know about you guys how there, but sub-par indie just inst enough this early in the day and hopefully Dublin act, Stillroom, can knock the depression of these reviews. As the Ramones would say, Hey Ho, LETS GO!

As usual, I haven’t seen the band live or heard their album.

Well, well, well. A decent rock band from Ireland, isn’t that nice. The whole sleaze scene is currently buzzing with a handful of hopefuls from the UK who are proving that Rock certainly isn’t dead and Stillroom are definitely a candidate for Irish competition/ First song Alright, oozes with AC/DC influence, something that can only stand to the band due to the Auzzie lads revival in popular culture. It opens with a Let there be Rock style riff. Pounding drum and shreds clanging together in the back ground while the pace picks up before bursting into hard guitar riffs and hooks, the likes Damien Rice will never see. Nothing hugely powerful but pretty strong, will more than likely improve with some stage time. Musically the song is everything a Les Paul can promise ad the only let down are the Bryan McFadden style vocals. Imagine one of the Your A Star males singing AC/DC and you’ve got it. Maybe he’ll work out after a few more Bourbons under his belt. The chorus is catchy and the shredding guitar solo is fantastic. Then things start to slow down before blowing back up with a foot stomping chorus. Really good hard pop rock. (it’s not quite hard rock and it definitely aint pop rock).

Second and final track, Addicted to Sin has more of a Guns N Roses/Aerosmith feel…without the blues. The verse starts off a little quiet before the band all rumble in with pedals on full. Another catchy chorus (and a pretty good title to boot). The bass also stands out more in this song and another ripping solo from the guitar seals the deal. Those vocals though, having a little problem with how clean they are. He’s good on the chorus’s but just sounds too fresh or something and you defiantly can believe a guy with a fresh voice is addicted to anything, especially Sin.

Overall I have to say that it’s a shame they only have two songs up. It’s great to know there’s a decent rock band playing a shit load of shows around the city. Stay tuned for a live review in the coming weeks.

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