One of the things that really infuriates me - and shows my age too, I guess - is when a cover version of a perfectly good classic rock track is released and all the kids immediately refer to the latest song as the definitive track.
A good example of this for me is when Joe McElderry sang a version of Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey on the X Factor. Okay, he didn’t release it officially as such - mainly because Journey wouldn’t let him - but he still made most people I spoke to think of the song as his own.
I did like Metallica’s version of Whisky in the Jar, however, so it goes to show that it is not always bad - just when the song is covered by a pop star or band!
Are you one of those who are angry about the continued success of Canadian rockers Nickelback, or are you one of its many fans across the globe ready to stick up for the much maligned band?
If they haven’t done anything else, the band have certainly gained coverage for dividing opinion amongst rock fans everywhere. Their legion of fans can’t get enough of them while their detractors hate the very mention of their name alongside the term ‘rock’.
The Facebook group set up to prove that there are many in both camps has gained almost one million members. The protest group against the music churned out by the soft rockers is called ‘Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback?’
Well, it may not have more fans on Facebook than the band just yet (913,000 to Nickelback’s 1.4million), but it is certainly closing the gap…
This may seem like an unusual topic at first for a rock blog, but there have been many festivals down the years that have produced some major carnage. At most major concerts and festivals it requires a huge clean up and rubbish removal operation at the end of the night or weekend. However, there are certain events that go beyond the usual paper cups and remains of fires after the festivals have ended. Here are just a few:
Glastonbury
Every year this festival leaves the farm in a right state but back in 2008, 140,000 revellers left it looking like a rubbish tip. There was not as much rain this year and ticket sales were lower following the announcement that rapper Jay-Z would be headlining.
Bonnaroo Festival
The clean-up operation after this year’s Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee, US, turned up the dead body of a male in his mid-20s (though no foul play was suspected)! As well as this extraordinary find, there were discarded mobile phones and lots of shoes!
Woodstock
Back in 1969 this legendary hippie festival produced mounds and mounds of litter-filled ground. The clean-up operation was epic and many festival-goers stayed behind to help with the carnage left behind.
We’ve had the Isle of Wight Festival; we’ve had T in the Park, Download and Glastonbury. Now, it’s the turn of the legendary Leeds Festival in the north and the Reading Festival in the south, both held across the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The line up this year is strong as always, despite the lack of hard rock acts – see my previous post on the subject. For indie and alternative music fans, this event is eagerly anticipated.
On the Friday there’s the Arctic Monkeys and The Prodigy. Saturday’s line up sees the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Bloc Party and the mighty Radiohead. The festival closes with a bang on the Sunday with Kings of Leon following Placebo and the Kaiser Chiefs.
If you are going to it, let us know what you are most looking forward to seeing.
See the full line-up here: http://www.leedsfestival.com/home/
As for me this year, I have Pearl Jam in a few weeks, followed by Green Day in October.
If you do have to pay over the odds for tickets to get to see your favourite band play live then there are ticket exchange sites as an alternative to eBay.
One site which is often described as an “official partner” of ticketing agents such as Ticketmaster is Viagogo. The site is set up to securely transfer money from the buyer to the seller via credit card or bank transfer, with Viagogo as the middle man, so to speak. The seller posts the tickets Royal Mail Special Delivery “from Viagogo” to the buyer. It works well, although the prices set by sellers can be astronomical at times.
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I maybe should have done this review when the game first came out, but I’ve been busy playing it over the past few weeks.
I am a big Metallica fan, and after buying my PS3 only a month or so ago, I hadn’t played a PS3 version of Guitar Hero before – but had all the other versions on my PS2 including the full World Tour Band set.
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In the last blog post I was explaining that buying tickets from eBay is sometimes one of those things you have to do if you really want to go to a concert and the tickets are now sold out. Over the past few years an alternative way to get tickets has sprung up; ticket exchanges where fans can exchange ticket. Sometimes the seller is encouraged to sell the tickets at face value whereas on some sites the seller sets a price and they pay the fees to the ticketing exchange host once the tickets are sold.
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In the last blog post I was listing the places I go to when tickets for my favourite bands go on sale. There is no tried and tested formula as sometimes you can even get tickets by winning them in a text lottery, like I did for Live8 held a few years back in London’s Hyde Park. I got to see Pink Floyd, The Who and REM…
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Like I was saying in the previous blog article, the best way to ensure you get the best seats or those rare standing tickets is to purchase tickets from the promoter’s chosen ticketing agents. The ones that I generally use are;
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If you have just read in the music press that your favourite rock band or music act such as Iron Maiden, Nine Inch Nails or Kings of Leon are coming to town and you desperately want tickets, then the best way to get tickets is of course to purchase tickets from the official tour promoter. Even better is to get the tickets in a pre-sale for dedicated fans before the general sale – but you may have to pay to become a member of the fan club. I am currently a member of Green Day’s Idiot Club and Pearl Jam’s Ten Club.
Becoming a member of the fan club may cost you a yearly membership but it also gives you peace of mind that you’ll be in with a much better chance to get those sought-after standing tickets to the gig.
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