Sebastian Early Anthony Payne

Bands I've Seen Live

• Jet (Newcastle Carling Academy) - 31st October 2006. Standing around third from front. Taken to this gig by the persuasion of a friend. Not a big fan of Jet and still not that enthused. Their second album is better musically then their first but lacks the raw passion and energy found in the first. I got several tones of beer split over me. Being my first gig, I was shocked at how loud the thing was and how much fun everyone was having. Support acts were Captain and +44 if my memory serves me right. Captain were quite good but +44 were pretty awful.
• The Feeling (Newcastle Caring Academy) - 19th November 2006. Standing right at front. A very memorable gig that was less violent that Jet - didn't get hit around as much. The audience was slightly older but I enjoyed this one more, knowing the music and the band really helps. Played all their big hits and managed to get signed set-list that's hanging in my room. Played Join With Us, which eventually appeared on their sophomore album in different form.
• Bob Dylan (Newcastle Metro Radio Arena) - 12th April 2007. Seating, stage left, first level. What a difference compared to the other gigs. The acoustics were terrible and it was very hard to exactly what Dylan was playing. It was a fantastic feeling to have *the* Bob Dylan in the same room as you are. The setlist included some old, lots of new and obscure numbers. My cousin and myself spent the whole show doing the guessing game - working out what each number is, since they were so unrecognisable from the originals were are all used to. I have a bootleg of this show so it's quite fresh in my mind. Bob's guitar licks were great but the keyboards not so.
• James Taylor (Newcastle City Hall) - 29th April 2007. As I commented to people when I came out, this is what Bob Dylan should have been like. A small venue with great acoustics, great view of the stage and good banter the audience. Bob is known for not talking to his audiences but for his style of music, I would strongly questions why they chose the Arena bu the perfectly good City Hall was available. Sure, it is 2,000 vs. 10,000 people but I doubt many had as good as time. James was fantastic - his voice in top form. The songs sounded as fresh as they do on the records and his voice has not chance one iota since his heydays of the 70s. The long hair may be gone but a drum machine and help from pianist Larry Goldings made this a fantastic concert. All his hits were played - Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain, You've Got a Friend, Copperline and Something In The Way - as well as some more modern and less-known material. I have found a new love for the album October Road after seeing James perform some songs live. The friendliness with the audience and stories of his life were fantastic. His children, home life, experiences and music all got a showing in this concert. I would not hesitate to go and see him live again.
• Roger Waters (Earl's Court) - 11th May 2007. The first time I was a concert specular! Beyond the music, there were pyrotechnics, videos and of course, an inflatable pig! The setlist was the same for all shows and mixed in solo, early Floyd and late Pink Floyd with a new song too. The second half was a run through of Pink Floyd's 1973 magnus opus Dark Side of The Moon. Waters was the bass player and sometimes vocalist for the band, meaning plenty of support was needed from his backing band. A collection of true musicians, they did a fantastic job and the music was awfully good. Waters said he attacks playing the music 'like playing a classical piece' - making it coincidential that he wrote most of it. If you look at the show this way, it was a job well done, if you look at it as Pink Floyd, it wasn't. I was sitting stage right in the rafters but moved to stage left, near the floor for the second half. Earl's Court isn't a great venue but this didn't disappoint. Pink Floyd are my favourite band and this was a great chance to see my favourite music performed live! Unfortunatly, Nick Mason featured on the second night so I missed seeing 'half of Pink Floyd' by one night. My first time travelling to London indepently too.
• The Kooks (O2 Arena) - 29th August 2007. Although they were a support band, the Kooks are big enough on their own to warrant a small entry. Doing a support for the Rolling Stones isn't an easy task, especially with minimal equipment and no theatrics. The auditorium was half full but I enjoyed their set - Ooh La was a highlight. I don't think they have an awful lot of experience playing such large venues but they did a good job. Support acts are meant to get people enthused for the main act and the Kooks succeed in this role. I don't have any need to see them again. To me, their music goes under the rule of 'generic indie' - especially Konk.
• The Rolling Stones (O2 Arena) - 29th August 2007. I was browsing the internet, and found a press release, announcing that the Stones would be doing a few more dates to round off their Bigger Bang tour. I spoke to a friend friends and found a little party that would be willing to make the trip to London. The concert was phenomenal, in different ways to Roger Waters. Waters has never been about enthusiasm or fast music, allowing his words and lyrics to do work. The Stones are different, right from the beginning it was a fast paced concert. For a band that has a collective age of 255 years, their energy was fantastic. Jumpin' Jack Flash, Brown Sugar and Start Me Up sound as vibrant as they do on record. Another nice touch is that everything has been extended or evolved slightly from the original version. The highlight was a 10 minute+ rendition of Can't You Hear Me Knocking, the jazz-blues-fusion masterpiece from Sticky Fingers. Playing a mix of material from 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s, the concert provided a great spectrum of their whole career. If you haven't already seen them, the Rolling Stones are a band you must see before their retire (if that ever happens).
• The Police (Wembley Arena) - 20th October 2007. The first gig after I arrived at university, I missed The Police at Twickenham several months previous to this concert. Another friend said his bandmate had seen them at Twickenham and was very impressed as another train ride later and I was at Wembley Arena. The arena isn't terribly big and it raised a question - why didn't they play Newcastle Arena? Sting is very popular in the North East and tickets would have sold very quickly. Instead, we had to spent £40.00 each travelling to London. Aside from this, the concert impressed me in a different way. The musicianship of these three gentlemen was impeccable. Sting's vocals and bass work, Andy's guitar lines and Stewart Copeland's drumming. He was the star of the show in my opinion - the rhythms he kept were unlike anything I have seen before, although he had a look of pure concentration on his face for the whole show. Playing material from all their albums, there was nothing missed out. Roxanne and Can't Stand Loosing You were the highlights for me. Beyond, Don't Stand So Close, the songs sounded very similar to the studio versions. Sting had previously said there would be few special effects, allowing the audience to focus on the music. They were right, none were needed. I am very glad I saw the band - my interest in New Wave music has increased since then and it seems the band will be calling it a day by the end of this year. I had an interesting train ride, which may be written about in a future post that made the trip that little more interesting.
• The Eagles (O2 Arena) - 26th April 2008. I'd been keeping my eye on the Eagles' website as there had been rumours they would be touring in 2008. The first dates to be announced were the O2 Arena and I bought two tickets, although only one of them ended up being used. The same train ride to Kings Cross and I was outside the O2. I ended up in the rafters of the O2 and felt distinctly sick at the thought of sitting that far up so had a chat and the very kind staff found a seat nearer the ground - and the stage too! The setlist was a healthy mix of new and old - plenty of songs from their new album as well as classics like Hotel California, One Of These Nights and Take It Easy. A few Don Henley and Joe Walsh solo songs made it into the list, although I was slightly disappointed at the lack of Rocky Mountain Way. However, the fellows put on a fantastic show and the traditional the 'five part harmonies' were present as expected. The touring band consists of an extra guitarist, pianist, percussionist and horns outfit, so the songs tended to have an extra zaz added to them, with variations on the studio versions. Watching Don Henley drum and sing on Hotel California is fantastic and the guitar solo has reached legendary status. At times, the set felt like pure perfection - the acoustics of the O2 were ideally suited to this sort of music finally. If you are in any doubt of their new material, How Long and Long Road Out Of Eden will change your mind. One being a cover of a song by J. D. Souther and the other being a 10 minute epic commentary on the Iraq war. With the Stones, another band I recommend you really see if you can.
• Mark Knopfler (Newcastle City Hall) - 21st May 2008
• Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Emirates Stadium) - 30th May 2008. Fresh in my mind, this was the longest gig of the tour so far. Bruce and the band played 28 songs and the set neared around three hours of playing time. A sound limit didn't seem to bother. Thanks to the help of my cousin, I managed to get a 'yellow band' - this gave me access to the front section and managed to get some excellent views of the stage and the band. The gig had a mixture of old, oldish, newish and new - playing material from Magic, The Rising, Born In The USA, The River, Darkness, Born To Run and The Wild/Innocent. Previous to this, I have never been to a stadium gig and it was a wild experience. My feet were killing but it was fantastic fun. Take a look at the full set list here on Bruce's website. Defiantly one of the best I've been to - it amazed me how intimate Bruce could be with a crowd of 60,000 and somehow taking song requests too!

Bands Still To See Live

There are plenty of bands I'd like to see but these are the ones who have a chance of touring in the next year (or so).

• John Mayer
• Amy Winehouse
• The Zutons
• Coldplay
• Radiohead
• U2
• Van Halen
• MGMT
• David Byrne