Gigs and concerts

[BomberPat]

speaking of folk, I got a ticket on the waiting list for the Martin Carthy gig in Hackney this weekend. Despite the Carthys living not far from where I grew up, and being pretty much a lifelong fan, I've missed every opportunity to see Martin live, and this one's a doozy - as well as the man himself, the line-up also features Billy Bragg, Graham Coxon, Angeline Morrison, several other past and present members of Steeleye Span, Marry Waterson, and Peggy Seeger, one of very few people you could argue have contributed more to the folk canon than Martin himself, and a rare instance of Martin not being the oldest performer on the bill!

[WyattSheepMask]

Iron Maiden have just announced a show at Knebworth next July (11th) as part of the ongoing ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour. Support comes in the form of The Darkness, The Hu, Airbourne and The Almighty

Presale begins on Friday at 10am, with General Sale beginning 10am Saturday.

So that’s Metallica, Iron Maiden and System of A Down all playing massive shows in & around the capital within 10 days of each other

Edited September 22, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[neil]

In a bit of a pure coincidence I ended up seeing Kula Shaker last night. They put on a great show I have to admit and it was also pure nostalgia for me as the last time I saw them was in 1996 at one of the first gigs I ever went to - Top of the Pops Evening Session at Wembley Arena! Featuring such acts as Terrorvision, Cast, Ocean Color Scene, Sleeper and Bjork...we fucked off before Bjork tho, which I still stand by tbh.

[Lorne Malvo]

8 hours ago, neil said:

Featuring such acts as Ocean Color Scene,

I heard @Carbomb was front row.

[Panhead]

I saw The Beths in Leeds on Monday night. An absolute joy of a band. 

[Rockbus2]

On 9/23/2025 at 1:57 AM, neil said:

In a bit of a pure coincidence I ended up seeing Kula Shaker last night. They put on a great show I have to admit and it was also pure nostalgia for me as the last time I saw them was in 1996 at one of the first gigs I ever went to - Top of the Pops Evening Session at Wembley Arena! Featuring such acts as Terrorvision, Cast, Ocean Color Scene, Sleeper and Bjork...we fucked off before Bjork tho, which I still stand by tbh.

I was at that Wembley show. Also left before Bjork but because the evening was running late and didn't want to miss the train. 

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Rockbus2 said:

the evening was running late and didn't want to miss the train. 

Oh-ohhhh la la! 

[Jesse]

Went to see Pierce The Veil last night in Manchester. Taken by a friend who had a spare ticket, ended up having a really fun night. It's a nice venue, and the first time I've been to a gig where I can buy a meal deal inside it.

Got there in time to see Hot Mulligan and Cavetown as openers, who were both decent enough, and Cavetown seemed to have a bunch of fans there, plenty of people singing along. Wasn't familiar with Pierce The Veil before the night but they had good energy throughout and the time flew past. Got excited when their final encore song was one I recognised (King For A Day).

Would go see them again in future for sure.

[SuperBacon]

13 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Cavetown seemed to have a bunch of fans there, plenty of people singing along.

Took my kids to see them a few years ago.

On 11/5/2022 at 11:54 PM, SuperBacon said:

Took my 9yo and 12yo to see Cavetown at Hammersmith Apollo. 

I don't really know him, but they are utterly obsessed.

He plays fairly innocent, inoffensive bedroom indie pop I suppose you would call it (my 12yo says he is a 'soft boi' so make of that what you will) but it's all quite engaging and inclusive. 

He was really good, and you can see why he is so popular but what was lovely was being in such an uncynical crowd.

Everyone was bellowing every word (he honestly might as well have not been singing) with such enthusiasm, using their phones as lights to hold up, and just in absolute adoration of him, it was really very sweet. I can't remember the last time I was at a gig like that.

The amount of pride flags was unbelievable as well, and very heartwarming for a crowd that was pretty much 8-18 (apart from all the perplexed, knackered parents like me)

Before he came on, they played Harry Styles As It Was (an absolute banger by the way) and I've genuinely never heard a louder crowd singing along. It was deafening.

And I got to see the Rik Mayall bench. Lovely stuff. 

 

I really love this song by them.

 

[Panhead]

On 9/26/2025 at 11:14 AM, Jesse said:

Went to see Pierce The Veil last night in Manchester. Taken by a friend who had a spare ticket, ended up having a really fun night. It's a nice venue, and the first time I've been to a gig where I can buy a meal deal inside it.

Got there in time to see Hot Mulligan and Cavetown as openers, who were both decent enough, and Cavetown seemed to have a bunch of fans there, plenty of people singing along. Wasn't familiar with Pierce The Veil before the night but they had good energy throughout and the time flew past. Got excited when their final encore song was one I recognised (King For A Day).

Would go see them again in future for sure.

I went to this as well! I'm not a massive fan of PTV but I like Crawlers and Hot Mulligan. I thought Cavetown were dreadful but plenty of people there seemed to love them. I got my tickets for free through Sky VIP. Definitely worth looking into if you're a Sky customer. 

[BomberPat]

On 9/22/2025 at 1:54 PM, BomberPat said:

speaking of folk, I got a ticket on the waiting list for the Martin Carthy gig in Hackney this weekend. Despite the Carthys living not far from where I grew up, and being pretty much a lifelong fan, I've missed every opportunity to see Martin live, and this one's a doozy - as well as the man himself, the line-up also features Billy Bragg, Graham Coxon, Angeline Morrison, several other past and present members of Steeleye Span, Marry Waterson, and Peggy Seeger, one of very few people you could argue have contributed more to the folk canon than Martin himself, and a rare instance of Martin not being the oldest performer on the bill!

This was, if not the best gig I've ever been to, certainly one of the most unique, and definitely in the running for best. People around me are probably already sick of me talking about it, but I'm still buzzing.

It was absolutely brilliant. The stage was done up as a working pub, with musicians milling around and drinking and chatting, before stepping up to collaborate on different songs. It was broken into three acts, one celebrating Martin as a traditional folk singer, one as a collaborator and innovator, and one about him still working and still evolving. Seeing Martin sat happily singing along while Billy Bragg played a Lonnie Donegan track, or looking in awe at Graham Coxon playing a really haunting version of Scarborough Fair, or holding his daughter Eliza's hand while people performed an unaccompanied Watersons song that was originally sung by his late wife...just incredibly moving. Every bit of it was brilliant.

[neil]

On 9/24/2025 at 9:39 AM, Rockbus2 said:

I was at that Wembley show. Also left before Bjork but because the evening was running late and didn't want to miss the train. 

That may have been a bit of it for us too, my mates dad picked us up from there. I do remember it taking fucking ages between bands, and honestly that is a thing I remember seeing bands in the 90s/00s is that it took an hour for changeover. To add to the boomer sounding bastard I am couldn't help but notice in the video how much fun people were having in the crowd compared to taking the worst video of all time on their phone these days.

[The Gaffer]

The Cure are doing a run of shows next year:

I've seen them before - always a treat - but Slowdive are big on me and my partner's to-do list and direct from Cork to Manchester is usually quite cheap so we're going to zip across for that one for sure. 

Edited September 30, 2025 by The Gaffer

[Panhead]

I went to see Ellur and Fright Years at the Deaf Institute in Manchester, a few nights ago. Fright Years are a brilliant band. They're going to blow up once they get their break. They've just recorded a Maida Vale session, so hopefully that'll get their music out there more.

[Jesse]

Saw Ethel Cain at the Apollo last night. Love her music, and I think she's amazing live so was well worth it but I've seen ehr twice now (once in London, once in Manchester) and it's by far the worst gig audience I've ever experienced.

I feel like I've been lucky to not see the complaints people have about modern audiences when I go see films or gigs, I think likely because I'm a tight arse who won't generally pay the money for bigger artists/venues. Two or three times she had to stop a song because of issues in the Stalls, people around us were constantly talking through songs or fucking about during the slower instrumentals to make themselves laugh. Felt like an audience that were largely there to hear her play Crush and American Teenager and weren't too arsed about the rest.