Thursday 14th June 2007

Well it's all back to normal again this week. After my triumphant survival of the Download Festival, it appears that I have found a new zest for live music, and by that I mean ROCK! None of your namby pamby, here today gone tomorrow trash, playing in tiny venues to wanna be no-hopers, all claiming they have seen the next best thing, buying their albums only to find them in the £1 bucket in Woolworth's within six months! No I mean proper rock bands. This years gig run is now well under way, and with Aerosmith and The Stones just around the corner, things can only get better.
Download was a blast, and I think the review and Video links give you the readers a great insite into what a great day it was. Don't get me wrong I know these day's aren't for everyone, but I assure you that festivals that are that big are that big for a reason, and that is that they are well put together, organised and the bands that are on make it their mission to not make mistakes so they don't get ripped apart by the press, which can make or break a band. I think everyone should witness the festival atmosphere at least once in a lifetime, and what better way to spend a summer day rocking out with thousands of people where you are all there together to enjoy yourself.Anyway rant over now onto the karaoke.
Tonight wasn't a bad night. It was quite busy with a few singers in and a 21st Birthday for one of the locals, so plenty of beer was drank, and a party mood could be felt around the pub. So onto tonight songs. Two requests, one new song and a duet not done for ages, and my run of new songs every week (I think its around 60 now!) finally comes to an end!
Tonight's songs were as follows. 1. Unskinny Bop by Poison (SC8516-13) 2. Screamager by Therapy? (SFMW887-03) 3. What I've Done by Linkin Park (SF255-02) and 4. In The End by Linkin Park (SF185-14)


Unskinny Bop by Poison link

First request of the night (Thanks Tina!) and a forgotten gem I think. Poison were one of the eighties long haired rock bands that never really made it that big in the U.K. but were huge in the States. Much in the style of Bon Jovi and Guns & Roses, the band had a few hits over here, this one in 1990, Your Mama Don't Dance in 1988 and most famously Every Rose Has Its Thorn, also in 1988. By the end of 1989 they were the fourth highest selling rock band of the 80's behind Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses and Def Leppard. This led to one of the bands only U.K. appearances at the 1990 Monsters of Rock festival at Doninigton, lining up alongside Whitesnake, Aerosmith The Quireboys and Thunder. This track is a really catchy rock tracks, which shows the best of the bands guitar riffs and is pretty easy to sing. I never really understood why they didn't really make it in the U.K. as a lot of people seem to know their well known track's, and they always seem to go down well. Easy enough to sing and great to start my night off with. on the night rating 7/10

Screamager by Therapy? link

Well thanks to the guy's at Sunfly we get a classic Brit Rock track straight from the forgotten classic archive. Not many will of heard of Therapy? but I can tell you from experience these guys could rock a stage in their day. They did has some pretty good chart success, thanks mainly to regular airplay on Radio One, and during the early 90's made it quite big on the festival circuit, notably at Monsters Of Rock in 1994, where I first saw them live. The band, from Northern Ireland, had at times been labeled the British Nirvana, but in effect this seemed to be the bands downfall, and as with the grunge movement, they faded away from the music industries glare. They are still going today, having just announced a 2007 tour, and are still releasing albums, although to fans only via their website. It was a great track in its day, and although I'm not sure many had heard it before tonight, I enjoyed it nonetheless. on the night rating 6/10

What I've Done by Linkin Park link

Well this was the break in my long run of not duplicating songs, and what a belter to do it with. All thanks to Shaun as he was the one who requested the track, and after the blinding Download show they put on, I obliged without much fuss, although I left him dangling on the night and stuck it in as a last minute change. I probably said all their was to say about this track last week, but having now seen them live, Linkin Park are a band you must get to see live if you get the chance. The band are currently on tour in the U.S alongside My Chemical Romance, and currently have no plans to tour Europe as of yet, but this could all change, and hopefully by the end of 2007 a European tour could well be announced, well fingers crossed. on the night rating 10/10

In The End by Linkin Park link

Well we couldn't end the night without singing another Linkin Park track, and this one is one of the best. Yet again Shaun was my singing partner for this one, singing Mike's vocals with his usual ease. With the pub being quite full, this one yet again rocked the place at the end of the night, and with Shaun being off for a week also gave him a rousing send off for his break. I'm sure we will sing this one many more times in the future, as I'm pretty sure we will never get bored with this one, and for a duet, this one is the one track that mine and Shaun's style's compliment themselves on to the best of our capability's. Shaun can rap and I can belt out the rock vocals so it works for us both. on the night rating 10/10

So another week draws to a close at the Hotel. This was a great week for me personally, as Download was a great day out, and my blog report was the most in depth one I have done to date, and I am very proud of it. So enough of the self-gratification for now, but no seriously, I hope you all enjoy the read up. Now next week should be fun, as with Shaun being away, Captain Jack is taking on the role of Stat-master! So expect 20 Stones tracks Shaun!!!!
Also it will only be a few short days to the next big gig on the Summer gig list, as myself and Hayley venture down to London for Aerosmith at Hyde Park, so expect a detailed report from that one!. Also, in the next few weeks, with i being half way through the year, I will be putting together a list of my top ten tracks of the karaoke year so far, and hopefully be putting up a link so you can vote for the top one which I will of course sing again. Until the next time see you all soon.

" I've always wondered if there was a god. And now I know there is -- and it's me."
Homer J Simpson