Magnum - The Robin2 5th December 2014

After a long wait, the time finally arrived, a sold out Magnum show at the 700 capacity Robin2.

What a show, I only snapped one or two photos as the show was just to good to miss anything.
The highlights for me were the crowd singing along to "The Spirit", which took me back to the 80's & I can't remember the crowd getting into the singing along at that level for many years. And the wife having her hand held by Bob Catley as he sang to her ( I won't go into all the rubbing & patting my head that he did lol )

Bob Catley singing to my wife.

Neonfly Album Launch - O2 Islington

A long drive down in to Islington was all worth it when we went to Neonfly's Album Launch Gig.
As usual we were at the front of the queue early to ensure a good spot, a few familiar faces from other gigs (Magnum gigs) appeared in the queue & these folks had also travelled long distances.

The first of 3 bands came on, they are called Night Screamer & were ok, they were followed by a band who I'd also not heard of called Night By Night & they were fantastic, another great find in 2014, during their set the guitarist (Tom) was playing a solo & during the solo he gave his guitar pick to one of my daughters & casually took another pick from his mic stand.
Later during the set, the singer stopped & said he had the 3 youngest metal fans he'd ever seen in front of him (our 3 kids) & proceeded to hand the microphone to them one at a time asking them to tell everyone in the crowd their names, a truely memorable night.

Then, if things couldn't get any better, The lights went down & the trademark intro music began, the moment we'd been waiting for... Neonfly

And it was certainly worth the wait, an outstanding performance & great to hear a few songs from the new album before it's official launch.

I didn't take my camera to this one as I wanted to enjoy the music as much as possible & I certainly wasn't disappointed.

After the show, I bought the new album ( about 12 days before it's release date I think ) & I have to say it's a brilliant album.

All I'm waiting for now is a few gigs to be announced........

BACK:N:BLACK November 2014

I photographed a couple of gigs for BACK:N:BLACK again, first the Queens Hall Nuneaton.
We took the kids to this one after the recent discovery that kids any age can go to gigs there as long as they're accompanied by an adult, the kids loved the show & I managed a few nice shots of the band.

BACK:N:BLACK Queens Hall - Nuneaton

BACK:N:BLACK Queens Hall - Nuneaton

The gig was great & after the show we got the kids in a photo with some of the band...

The kids with the ladies from Hades

The next night me & the wife went to see the band again, this time at my fav venue The Robin2.
A packed venue enjoyed a fantastic show, I managed a few more photos.

BACK:N:BLACK @ The Robin2

BACK:N:BLACK @ The Robin2

After the gig, we hung out with the band in their dressing room for a bit as you do ;)

Neonfly - Queens Hall, Nuneaton.

Well, the moment finally arrived, the kids were very excited...

#neonfly at The Queens Hall in Nuneaton.

We got there bright & early to ensure the kids got to the front.

Before the gig, we had a nice chat with Willy Norton (the singer) & also with Frederick Thunder II (guitarist / song writer)

The kids had made birthday cards for Fred & were eager to give them to him, it was lovely to see & Fred was genuinely touched that they had made cards for him.

Anyway, the doors opened & Neonfly were still doing their sound check, which was an added bonus & we positioned ourselves at the front.

Cue the intro music, it is in it's self fantastic & gives an immediate adrenalin rush

Ship with no sails follows the intro & the audience (90% who have probably never heard Neonfly before) seemed to be instantly fixated & realised they were witnessing a very special band.

The Enemy was next, then A Gift to remember, followed by "The" Medley of the revenent, the ornament (my favourite instrumental by any band) & spitting blood.

Then we were treated to 2 new songs; fierce battalions & heart of the sun.

finally, morning star, a quality tune, probably my fav song by them.

After Neonfly, we moved to the back of the room & we had a nice chat with the guys & they gave the kids drum sticks, set lists, guitar pics, a real gift to remember, what a great gig & what a great bunch of guys, can't wait for the new album & the next time :)

Paul Miller

Frederick Thunder II

Andy Midgley

Neonfly - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Went to see Neonfly support Dragonforce at the rescue rooms in Nottingham on weds.
Dragonforce are not our cup of tea, but we only went for the fly guys.

The weather was pants but luckily we were at the front of the queue due to getting there very very early & there's a canopy at the doors.

The poor black veil brides fans round the corner at rock city weren't so lucky as to have shelter & there were some pretty heavy down pours ( oh well, should follow a decent band ;) - just kiding before a get a hard time for dissing the BVB , my daughter follows them to )

Anyway, Neonfly kicked butt. They were nothing short of amazing, sadly their set was only 30 minutes long, it'll be nice to see them headline a gig & play a long set :)

Neonfly

Frederick Thunder II

I was lucky enough to get my jacket autographed by the band :)

Neonfly signing my jacket

What a great bunch of guys, can't wait to see them again next week with the kids.
Looking forward to the new Neonfly album - Strangers in Paradise.

Meeting Neonfly in Birmingham

Frederick & the Neonfly guys kindly arranged for us to bring the kids to meet them at the Birmingham venue they were playing at today (the kids being to young to attend the gig)

Neonfly

What a top bunch of guys & fantastic band, looking forwards to taking the kids to see them at the Queens Hall in Nuneaton in October
**Edit: Me & the Wife will now be going to see them at the Rescue Rooms - Nottingham in just over a week's time, tickets bought tonight, happy days.

Took the Ice Bucket challenge...

So, today I took the challenge...

It was refreshing :)

BACK:N:BLACK - Queens Hall Nuneaton

The first tribute band that me & the wife have been to together & many years since i've seen a tribute band myself.

This was as the name suggests an AC/DC tribute band, but there was a twist with this one, they are a bunch of very talented ladies, they have a passion for AC/DC & they play the music amazingly well.

The ladies are fun, down to earth girls, who obviously love playing music (whether it be to a large crowd at a festival, or a small venue with a few people in it) & they kindly said i could photograph the gig (as it was half the people in there had some sort of camera on them)

They played for around 2 hours & it was quality rendition after quality rendition of AC/DC
I managed 619 photos, so knew i'd have a lot of work to do sorting through them afterwards, but thankfully i managed to get some cracking shots that i'm very happy with.

BB on guitar

BB on guitar

Kat on Bass Guitar

 

Helena, Angie & Kat

If you want to check out the band, their website is http://www.backnblackgirls.com/ or you can find them on facebook
We're going to see them again in November when they play The Robin2 in Bilston

Our Twin Girls received a Gift To Remember (literally) from Neonfly

The twins received signed photos through the post from Neonfly, to say they were excited would be an understatement...

These guys are such a decent bunch, if anyone deserves a break they do, if you want to check them out, then their website can be found here ----> http://www.neonfly.net/ <---

Neonfly - A Gig To Remember

Having seen Neonfly support Magnum twice during the same week, the day arrived that the kids were looking forwards to, their turn to see both bands at the Wulfren hall in Wolverhampton.

Wandering around the side of the venue with Taylor & we just happen to bump into Bob Catley, Taylor's face lit up & a quick word with Bob ensured a photo oppertunity...

The lads from Neonfly then pulled up in their van & came over to say hello & to thank me & the wife for our support on the tour, which I thought was really nice of them.

Before the doors opened, David Campbell handed me 5 red noses, these were to be worn during the Magnum song - Too Many Clowns (this was going to be a surprise to the band)

Neonfly performed amazingly on their set & our kids became instant fans, their set comprised of the following songs...

Ship With No Sails
The Enemy
A Gift To Remember
Better Angels
The Revenant / The Ornament / Spitting Blood (MEDLEY)
Heart Of The Sun
Morning Star

As to be expected Magnum were on fire, here's their set...

Live 'til You Die
Black Skies
Freedom Day
Dance of the Black Tattoo
Blood Red Laughter
Unwritten Sacrifice
How Far Jerusalem
Les Morts Dansants
Falling for the Big Plan
The Spirit
All My Bridges
All England's Eyes
Vigilante
Kingdom of Madness
       
Encore: Cue the Red Noses...
Too Many Clowns
Sacred Hour

After the gig we hung back to allow the crowds to leave & the kids to not get squashed, then we headed over to the guys from Neonfly & they joined our kids on a few photos & made a fuss of them.

 Delta took a shine to Paul - The bass player (seems to be a family thing fancying bass players)

The kids now listen to Neonfly every day, they've even sang their songs infront of the school & have videos on youtube of them singing at home.

Magnum - Holmfirth

We decided to make a day of it & do some sight seeing around this picturesque Yorkshire village,
It was a very chilly day & by 14:30 we had done 3 circuits of the village & had a pub lunch, this resulted in us forming a queue of 2, which we stood in for 5 hours (did i mention how chilly it was?)

Anyway, we eventually got into the venue & this time we stood dead centre at the front, once again a blinding set from Neonfly followed by a great show from Magnum.

Afterwards we went & met the guys from Neonfly, I bought their CD & a T-Shirt & got their autographs. The wife got them together & had a photo taken with them :)

Then we made the long journey home, before it was time to do it all over again the next day in Wolverhampton. It's only Rock N Roll, but i like it ;)

Magnum - Rock City Nottingham

The first gig on our mini tour of the week started by us joining the queue outside Rock City at the front.
We made a bee-line to the usual front left section & the long wait was finally over.
Not long & then Neonfly graced the stage, it was touch & go as to if they would be there, as over the weekend they had their tour van broken into & all their gear robbed by some toe rags.
However a lot of people rallied together & provided them with instruments to use, most bands would be down beat & reflect that in their performance, but these guys absolutely kicked butt.

Instantly, Neonfly became one of the best bands i have ever seen support Magnum, their set wasn't mega long, infact it left me wishing that it hadn't ended when it did, which considering how much i'd been looking forwards to Magnum taking to the stage must be a sign of how good a support they were.

Then it was time...

The lights dropped & the intro to Live 'Till You Die started...
It seems like the perfect intro song to get everyone fired up, probably almost as good an intro as Back To Earth, although I would still love to see that re-introduced as an opener.
Next came Black Skies... Freedom Day... Dance of the Black Tattoo...
Blood Red Laughter... then the next of the new songs, an instant classic Unwritten Sacrifice... was followed by How Far Jerusalem... & Les Morts Dansants... which were obviously outstanding.
Next followed my personal favourite track off the new album Falling for the Big Plan... then it was time for goose bumps... The Spirit... All My Bridges... All England's Eyes... Vigilante... Kingdom of Madness...

Could they have any more left in the tank? Damn right they could...

Too Many Clowns... what a Rock'n'Roll tune
And, just as you thought the gig couldn't possibly couldn't get any better, the closing song...
Sacred Hour! the end to a fantastic gig, ear ache, a sore throat & sore hands, the tell tale sign of a quality concert & it was all to come again at the end of the week at Holmfirth.

Foreigner, Europe & FM - Wolverhampton Civic

We managed to get to the front of the queue & were deliberating whether to go to the balcony or where to stand, but then we decided to make a dash for the front & so ended up right at the front.

I must admit i was only looking forwards to FM (who we follow around at many gigs & have a few more of their's to go to yet this year)

FM's set was to short IMO & before we knew it, it was over.
Europe didn't float my boat (many people may well enjoy them, but they just don't do it for me)
Foreigner i was expecting to be all ballady & really didn't expect them to be any good......

How wrong was I about Foreigner? They absolutely Rocked with a capital R, I can honestly say there wasn't one song that I thought "oh that wasn't so good", every song was a cracker.

If I had to pick a stand out song that blew me away, it was Starrider, the blend of lights, music & song that was like going on a progressive rock style time warp, out of this world.

After the gig, the wife managed to aquire a set list & a guitar pick from Foreigner....

Lets hope they play over here again, because i need another fix :)

Magnum Album Launch Party

This is the 2nd Magnum album launch party that we've been to, both being held at The Robin2 in Bilston. Not many bands would put on something like this for their fans & at the same time not charge anything, But Magnum have always kept their fans close to their hearts.

The album was played, The band were there, mixing with everyone & letting people have their photos taken with them, there were also prize draws (last time my wife won a signed CD)
A friend said if his ticket got drawn out, he would give his prize to me, his ticket did get pulled out & he handed me a signed print of the new album cover, I tried to refuse & insisted that he'd won it & should keep it, but he was adamant that I take it, it's now proudly hanging on my living room wall.

Me with Rodney Matthews

My Wife with Al Barrow

Magnum Album listening party @ their recording studio

We got to go to Magnum's recording studio & listen to the new album "Escape From The Shadow Garden" prior to it's release & in the presence of the band, thanks to Planet Rock Radio.

It was quite surreal being sat in the studio with probably 10 other people who we'd never met before, listening to this fantastic new album, everyone was completely silent, between songs there was this urge to cheer.

After the playback of the album, the band came out & mingled, signed stuff, joined people on photographs & then we went outside for a few snapshots & headed off home, in 9 days we would be doing it all again at the Album launch party in Bilston. The Rock N Roll life hey!

My Wife with Mark Stanway

Me with Mark Stanway

My Wife with Al Barrow

Me, Al Barrow & my son's Jacket