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Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Great pics, it looks like a great venue. Beautiful colours.
It reminds me of the Haddington Acoustic gigs by Fish at St. Maryâs Church in 2010.
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beautiful colors and beautiful pictures 
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Country to Country - O2 London - 8th March
I went to see the wonderful Lady Antebellum yesterday but I got quite a surprise.
The âsupport bandsâ got full stage shows with lights, projects and pyro technics and great sound and they were far more rock than country. So we basically got 3 headline acts that sell millions and play to areanas in the States
First off Brantley Gilbert. A self professed bad boy - all tattoos, guns and motorcycles
Jeez did his band rock ! It was like a heavy rock gig. Guitars blazing. He even threw in some Guns n Roses and Metallica! I think some of the audience was shocked by how heavy it was.
Then a brief interlude as The Shires did a short acoustic set on a satellite stage in the main arena. Probably the day of their lives as as they played they found out that their debut album has entered the UK album chart at number 10. No British country act has ever been that successful. A great duo from my home county of Bedfordshire. Really good songs beautifully sung.
Next. Back to the flames and explosions and rock with Jason Aldean who had a superb band that would be equal to any major rock band. Surprisingly impressive. The only thing country is the lyrics which have a lot to do with pick up trucks, drinking beer, small town parties and women in blue jeans !
Lady Antebellum had two tough acts to follow however they managed it with ease. Their singing is just pure perfection backed by a fantastic band. They had 20,000 people in the palm of their hands.
I love them as much as I love Queen, Genesis and Rush ! Thats how good they are. They should be as popular as Fleetwood Mac.
Country 2 Country was a weekend long festival with various pop up stages, films, interviews, presentations and market stalls running all weekend as well as the big gigs in teh main arena,
More enjoyable than I expected.
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Halestorm last night, supported by Nothing More (nope Iâd never heard of them either) who did this as an unusual bass solo
Just home from Steven Wilson in Cardiff - really enjoyed, fantastic show. Musically and visually a huge step up over the âRavenâ show. If youâve got tickets for the remaining shows then i think youâll enjoy, if not, then buy some before itâs too late.
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Thunder on Friday at the NIA. Missed Tax the Heat, saw Reef (very ho-hum) but Thunder were excellent and great to see Ben so much better after his chemo. Lost a lot of weight and looks better for it!
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Photos of Steven Wilsons London show :-
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Saturday 21st March
Black Star Riders & Europe
Shepherds Bush Empire
This was billed as a double header. Both bands were supposed to have equal length sets, lights and sound.
But I should have known better. Every time I go to a gig like this the first band on always gets bad sound and this was no different.
I had seen BSR twice before this gig. Both times they were outstanding and the time before as Thin Lizzy at the Hammersmith Odeon when they were awesome. Quite simply one of the best live rock bandsâŚ
However the sound was poor, muddy and lacked any balance and so absolute classics like Boys are Back in Town, Emerald, Jailbreak etc were just poor by their very high standards. The band were playing their hearts out. I struggled to hear the guitar solos which are usually so good and the vocals were poor. You couldnt hear what Ricky Warwick was saying between songs never mind what he was singing. The drums were just too loud and reverberated. It was a mess.
I thought that maybe I was imagining things but as soon as Europe came on it was as though some one had flicked a switch as the sound was perfect right from the start. The drums were toned down, the guitars were crisp, the vocals were spot on. It was perfectly balancedâŚand so their set was very good.
So I had never seen Europe before and i wasnt really that keen on seeing them however I was very impressed. Joey Tempest is a great show man and he gave it 110%. I prefer some of their newer songs like Last Look at Eden but even their 80s songs sounded good like Rock the Night, Carrie and the inevitable Final Countdown, Really excellent. It just shows you what can be achieved by a good band with good sound.
When I turned round to look at the sound desk it was the same guy mixing it as was on during BSR. It was the Europe sound man !
So I was disappointed with BSR as I know how good they can be and I know how hard they work.
But I went away with a much higher opinion of Europe.
It just shows you that the most important person at any concert is the sound man.
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STEVEN WILSON March 25th Olympia-Paris
what a gig last nightâŚan amazing sound,a beautiful lightshow and some great videos on screen during the whole showâŚ
Steven Wilson was very voluble and happy to be there in this beautiful venue and most of all,the last album is gorgeous on stage
tops:âancestralâ,âsectarianâ,âsleep togetherââŚabsolutely awesome 
less:the interlude at the middle of the show impose by the direction of the Olympia
great show nevertheless!!!
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Glad you enjoyed, plus you had the bonus of Sectarian as an extra song which wasnât in the UK gigs.
Tickets on sale tomorrow for Royal Albert Hall gigs. Iâm driving to a work meeting when they go on sale so relying on a friend to buy them. I wonât be able to think straight until i get the call saying tickets are sorted.
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hope youâll have one
and yes,the âsectarianâ version was fantastic!!!
Some pics taken after the ARENA gig in Poznan, 11th April 2015.
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Great pics 
How was the gig Ulli?
The gig was the best gig of the three Polish gigs (told me Sven, he was with me there and had the chance to visit all the three gigs in Poland). A small venue, not really sold out, more long than wide 
. A tiny stage! Most of the people in the crowd were Prog supporters, not a surprise 
. And I think the Polish Progers are a special bunch. ARENA played songs from all the 20 years of its existence (set list below, the encore isnât on the list). A special one was a cover version of âThe Show Must Go Onâ by Queen. Clive Nolan on keyboards as good as every time. John Mitchel with a great guitar play.
A gig in Poland is a good way to save money. Cheap accommodation, cheap drinks .
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German Marillion Cover Band Forgotten sons celebrating Misplaced Childhood anniversary tonight in Bensheim.
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Is that your claw, Ulli?
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Has Ulli gone all goth !?
Either that or heâs been hammering nails again.
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