The Jesus And Mary Chain - Live at The Forum!

Who:  British Sea Power + The Jesus And Mary Chain

Where:  The Forum, Kentish Town

When:  27 Oct 2008

A lot of people highly recommended me British Sea Power.  I searched for their videos on YouTube.  I listened to their songs.  I went to their concerts.  But I still can't get myself to like them.  I think they're boring even though their intentions are good.  Their small set piece as the opening act for Jesus & Mary Chain was very poor, though part of it due to the (unusual) terrible sound in the Kentish Town Forum.  We could hardly hear the violin.

The Jesus And Mary Chain came onstage, to my great pleasure.  Enough of BSP, I really tried (but you still should check them out, opinions may differ). 

Anyway, JMC opened with a song I didn't know but then straight to "Head On".  That was a magical moment for me.  I've waited 30+ years to see that song live.  Shivers through my bones, jumping all over the place and shouting as loud as I could "... as soon as I get my head around you...".  Some new stuff was thrown in among the crowd favourites such as "Psycho Candy" and "Just Like Honey".  Towards the end:  "Happy When It Rains".

It seems the sound check had to be done really fast (if done at all) because, just as British Sea Power, the sound during JMC's performance wasn't all it could be.  The sound engineer was probably fresh out of sound 101 crash course.

There were 2 songs I missed:  "Darklands" and "April Skies".  Still, even with that crazy woman that climbed onstage to sing a couple of songs (and ruined them) and the poor sound quality, the words of "Head On" still echoed in my mind, with no surprise as it truly reflected how I felt after the concert was over: "... and the way I feel tonight, I could die and I wouldn't mind..."

Simply amazing, nostalgic magic!  A teenage dream come true.

Kaiser Chiefs Live!

Who:  Kaiser Chiefs

Where:  The Forum, Kentish Town

When:  21 Oct 2008

What can I say?  It was one of the best shows I've ever been to, Top 5 definitely.

A small venue, The Kentish Town Forum, was the perfect set for the Chiefs destructive performance.  Having just released a new album "Off With Their Heads", they went on tour on smaller venues to later on tackle the bigger arenas such as Wembley.  

This third album is definitely the weakest Kaiser so far.  But that didn't stop the gig from being amazing.  Didn't even feel like I was watching a concert in England.  The crowd went wild, the band went wild and it was just a perfect night.  Charismatic frontman Ricky Wilson sure knows how to win the crowd.

After opening the show with "Everyday I Love You Less And Less", they fired "Everything Is Average Nowadays".  But the Kentish Town Forum went really crazy at the first chords of "Ruby".  A few of the new songs were played, such as "Never Miss a Beat", "Half The Truth" and "You Want History", when singer Ricky Wilson decided to do some moshes and walk on the crowd.

The second time the forum went wild was during "The Angry Mob" and my personal favorite "Oh My God".  Some more old songs were played but then, when we thought we were having a great night at one of the best concerts ever, when nothing could possibly get better and wilder, came "I Predict a Riot".  Plastic glasses of beer started flying all around, people jumping on each other, singing along with Ricky.  The best ending I could hope for to one of the top 5 concerts of my life.

I was then left with the easy task of wearing an ear-to-ear smile, while in the tube back home everyone was sharing their photos and videos while singing "I Predict a Riot".  Too bad I went on the last of their 2 concerts otherwise I would have gone again.  It was that good!