David Giles @ The Railway Inn; Winchester 12/2/12

I had heard of Essex born singer songwriter David Giles via my boyfriend and I was told he was due to play in Winchester, the nearest town to home to watch him. I had heard his songs briefly and thought they were very cleverly written in the way they relate to modern day society. Particularly via the song Confessions Of A Facebook Stalker where I thought it was a great song to relate to a lot of people today who use Facebook on a day to day basis. I got there quite early since I had an interview set up with him; it was great watching soundcheck, I felt it was a fantastic opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes of gigs. The interview with Dave went splendidly and you will see this interview posted another day.

His set was particularly mesmerising and it was the busiest I had seen Winchester's Railway Inn for a while; entering the venue once it was a bit more full I got given a free shortbread biscuit from the merchandising team which is particularly unique and different to any other gig I have been to. I loved the happy go lucky vibe he brought to the venue; he looked rather fetching in a monkey hat combined with the English gentlemen look. Their cover of boyband Five's Keep On Moving was classic; it was fantastic to hear a completely different rendition of a song that was a big highlight of my childhood. Dave mentioned in his interview that he wants people to remember the gig and want to come back for more; can definitely say I will be making another trip to one of Dave's gigs again soon.

Here's a video from the gig that was filmed that he posted today; click here to view it

Kerrang! Tour @ Southampton Guildhall 7/2/2012

Wow it has been a while since I posted; well I'll tell you all about what I did last night.

I was familiar with how successful the Kerrang! Tour had been in the past and how people attend it every single year since it started in 2006. Last night I had experienced my first Kerrang! Tour gig at Southampton Guildhall where bands New Found Glory, The Blackout, Letlive and While She Sleeps were this years line up.

First entering the Guildhalls and vaguely hearing opening act While She Sleeps I wasn’t overly keen at first since it seemed more like noise than music. However as the set progressed their tunes began to grow on me a bit. Their energetic stage presence was a great crowd pleaser as it passes onto the crazy rockers, this performance definitely gave me a good insight of what was to come on this vastly popular tour.

I had heard of second Letlive via my boyfriend, Pete, and remember listening to the briefly but that’s all. As Pete and his best friend Chris ran into the crowd to watch them I took a step back just to watch from a distance what their stage presence consisted of. I was very taken by frontman Jason Butler’s stage presence entirely; pushing the boundaries by leaping into the crowd and standing on top of the speakers. I soon realised that I wanted to be a part of that experience so I went and joined the crowd which was the best place to be. Near the end of the set I was very taken aback when he went onto the balcony and walked across it; definitely one of the best live bands I have seen so far. 

I was very familiar of how popular The Blackout were; filling in for Sum 41 due to serious injury The Blackout stepped in as co-headliner that night for the Kerrang! tour. Being Pete’s favourite band of all time I think I definitely had my time listening to all sorts of songs by the Welsh rockers. Opening with the song I’m A Riot? You’re a F****** riot worked quite well; saying to the crowd beforehand ‘Sorry we’re not Sum 41’ amused me quite a bit. I was highly impressed with The Blackout’s performance; despite nearly getting beaten in the pits I was still able to enjoy their set. Performing personal favourites This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things and Save Ourselves (The Warning) put a smile on my face. One thing I have learned about The Blackout is that vocalist Gavin and drummer Snoz really like my strawberry hat.

Headliners New Found Glory, who are hailed the godfathers of pop punk by Letlive, from last night’s performance I can definitely see why. It was also a great introduction of this band that have made their mark in the Kerrang! history since I had not listened to them before last night. I loved their songs very muchly, I also enjoyed their covers of Kiss Me and Basket Case; will definitely start listening to New Found Glory after last night’s show.

I conclude that my first experience of the Kerrang! Tour was a rather enjoyable one indeed; the atmosphere, the bands and fans made the night worthwhile and I would love to go to another Kerrang! Tour.

Tuomaslotte Rating:  TTTTT