Way's World

Sunday, 18 December 2005

Perfect Alibi at The Brook

I've just got in from yet another phenomenal gig of Perfect Alibi's, this time at The Brook in Southampton.

As the band stepped out on stage, my mate Rob turned to me and said, "I think this is going to be loud" - at which point, the band hit the first note of "Learning to Fly" and Rob jumped sky high! Standing near the front probably wasn't the ideal place for photos at this venue as the stage was about 5 feet off the ground, so I decided to just take a couple of atmospheric shots and then enjoy the rest of the gig.

Playing most of the "Dark Side" album and half of "Animals" (the best Floyd album by far in my opinion) the band still managed to squeeze in another dozen or so tracks, giving an absolutely fantastic 2.5 hours performance.

Coming back on stage for the encore the band launched into The Wall, getting all of us in the crowd singing along at the top of our voices! Having glanced at the set list earlier, I'd seen that this was the last planned song, but as this was the last gig for the year Rick (lead singer) asked if the crowd were up for one more tune, and of course we all shouted "Yes!"

 

Dave (lead guitar) then began playing the opening bars of "Run Like Hell"... and then the rest of the band joined in, but playing Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" instead - it was a pleasure to see the band enjoying themselves so much, and it was the perfect end to a brilliant gig.

That was Perfect Alibi's last gig of the year, and most likely my last gig of the year too - but I hope to see them again soon in the New Year!

Saturday, 03 December 2005

First Night Of The Progs

It's 2.30 in the morning and I'm buzzing! I've just got in from what has to be the best gig of the year!

Tonight my mate Rob & I headed off to Reading to see The First Night Of The Progs, featuring three tribute bands - The Logical Tramps (Supertramp), Perfect Alibi (Pink Floyd), and Boot Led Zeppelin (err... you should be able to work that one out yourself!)

First up were the Logical Tramps - I never considered myself a fan of Supertramp, but I was pleasantly surprised by how many of the tracks I knew.

 

They managed to squeeze in a fair few Supertramp hits, including "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America", and my favourite "Crime Of The Century".

Next up were Perfect Alibi, who were the main reason we'd gone to the gig. Once again they were absolutely fantastic - I've seen them three times so far this year and I think tonight was their best performance yet.

 

The only drawback to their performance was the fact that Frankie wasn't available to perform - not that I'm favouring any member of the band, of course... ;)

Last on were Boot Led Zeppelin - in full costume (ie, open shirts!) they gave what seemed to me to be an exact copy of a Led Zep gig - they looked like them, they sounded like them, and they even referred to each other using the original band members names!

 

I've always like Led Zeppelin, but this band took my appreciation to an entirely new level - although I've heard a lot of their music, I never truly appreciated how much of a rock band they really were. Particular highlights for me were "Kashmir", "Since I've Been Loving You", and the marvellous finale, "Whole Lotta Love" - never before have I been at the front of a rock gig, moshing (albeit gently!) to the music!

It wasa brilliant evening, and all credit to the Reading Hexagon and Marvellous Festivals (and of course, the bands) for putting on a truly magnificent show!

More photos from the evening can be seen here.