Hail to the sempiternal 30 seconds - Gig season 2013

This is Sempiternal!

So gig season is in full swing, the 1st of November, time to go into Birmingham to the 02 to see the illustrious Bring me the Horizon. These guys have come so far in only a few years, I remember seeing them back in 2009 when they supported Bullet for my Valentine on their Fever arena tour and actually hating them. however, that all changed this year when they exploded back onto the scene with Sempiternal, possibly the best album of their career, and of 2013. After waiting in the rain for about an hour and a half with my friend Tom, we finally got into the venue to dry off. First up was Pierce the Veil, a group I first saw back at Slam Dunk in April, a very good band, solid performance and some great tracks. Then came BMTH whose set exploded with the synth of Can you Feel my Heart. The majority of the set focused on Sempiternal, and rightly so. If you've made such a great collection of songs, show them off in all their glory. I was spellbound for practically the entire set, so no photos or videos I'm afraid, it was a pretty great night. For the first time I came out of a gig feeling as if I'd gotten rid of so much crap that had been infecting me recently. It really was something special, amazing what 90 odd minutes of screaming at the top of your lungs can do.

 This is War!

So Friday (15th) was another night I'll remember for a very long time. I finally got to see the one and only Thirty Seconds to Mars at the Birmingham NIA on the UK leg of the Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams World tour.

This is a moment I have waited a good few years for. Love or loath them, there is no denying that 30STM are one of the biggest bands in the world; they did not disappoint. I have been hugely inspired by their music for a long time so to get to hear the tunes that inspire me, to draw and to want to film, live was a surreal experience.

YM@6

Before 30STM graced the stage it was the time for their support band to shine, the great You Me @ Six, a band who I have only really gotten into, in the last year or so. They were pretty damn good, so confident on stage and really got the crowd going for the main event. It was good to finally hear them live and to know they are planning a UK tour in the new year, in support of their new album Cavalier Youth, an event I will certainly now be attending. The venue looked incredible when the vast majority of the audience held up their phones (with torches on) during Crash & to hear Josh actually scream during Bite my Tongue was unexpected! I was thinking Oli Sykes part would just be an audio track layered on top. One of the best support acts I have ever seen. 

'Triad' - Symbol of The Echelon

It was then time. A large curtain was placed at the front of the stage during the changeover, with a large image of the triad symbol, used to symbolise the echelon, projected onto it (Pic to the left). It was a pretty awesome sight. After a good half an hour, the room went black, the cheers filled the room and all of a sudden the curtain drops as Birth starts to echo around the arena. Wow. All i can say is "Dat Bass". Birth led into Night of the hunter and thus a set list of primarily This is War & Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams followed. Each song performed with equal energy and artistic flair from the whole band. Such inspiring songs, especially during this is war when you have the entire arena chanting the name of the song with fists in the air. The echelon had definitely converged in Birmingham.  A nice little acoustic set broke then night up nicely, allowing everyone catch their breath with a little bit of banter off Jared Leto. The highlight would have to be how with Jared only sung the first 3 words of The Kill before the whole crowd carried the entire song on their own with only him playing guitar. The set then picked up pace once more for the final third and ended the night with a bang by ending with Up in the Air. I was on cloud nine for the whole night, whilst BMTH was about letting go, 30STM was about finding hope, making you realise that no matter how alone you feel there will always be hope if you fight for it. It was a feeling I had experienced once before, when I saw Muse back in May. A spectacular night. A few videos of the night will be placed below.

Jared Leto of 30STM

Me (Middle), Stu & Alex on our way to the NIA

Me & Stu after the gig

  30STM - Birth & Night of the Hunter

30STM - This is War + Conquistador

30STM - Up in the Air

 

Hail to the King!

The last gig of the 2013 season, I'm off to see Avenged Sevenfold, supported by Avatar & the mighty Five Finger Death Punch.

FFDP

Rob Halford joining FFDP

Wow, what a show this was. The night started off with a Swedish metal band called Avatar. I personally thought they were some small relativity unknown band. WRONG! Turns out, to my pleasant surprise, they are pretty well established with 4 albums already released. They did a great job at getting the crowd moving with their typical cliched European metal band stereotype. They were good fun though. Next up was a huge treat, it was the turn of Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP) to cause some chaos. They are a band that I had never properly listened to before, even though my friend tom has been trying for 4 years! I can certainly say they have a new fan now, stunning performance, solid vocals and instrumentals along with a huge stage presence with a variety of their greatest hits, starting out with the epic Under and Over it. They continued their high energy and passion for the whole set and we even got a surprise. With it being the last night of the tour & with us being in Birmingham they managed to get the metal legend who is, Rob Halford from Judas Priest to come on stage and do his guest vocals on the song Lift me Up. I've never really gotten into Judas Priest and I don't really listen to them but there is no denying the status and prestige Rob carries with him. When their set ended with triumphant applause we got a 30 minute breather before the main event.

The venue went black, screaming ensued, then the church bells echoed around the arena and Avenged Sevenfold exploded back into Birmingham after a 3 year absence with Shepherd of Fire (See video below!). Damn it was good to see them again, Avenged have always been one of my favourite live bands, they come out all guns blazing leaving little room for you to catch your breath. They know how to put on one hell of a show. They do did a nice selection of songs, heavily focusing on the last 3 albums. Each song was belted out with equal passion and effort, never relenting. They were so gratious and complementary during their crowd interaction as well, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands and we were all to happy to be there throwing our fists in the air shouting "Hail". A lot of so called "metal heads" give Avenged Sevenfold a hard time but I can guarantee if they were all there last night, they would have been silenced. They even payed a lovely tribute to the late, great Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan and continued to play Fiction, which was haunting and beautiful with a darkened stage and ghostly white lights shining around the arena. The nicest touch was that throughout Fiction, Critical Acclaim and Afterlife they kept the Revs vocals on the track. They ended the night with 2 great songs off Waking the Fallen, Chapter Four and Unholy Confessions. Unbelievably good. I even managed to get my hands on their limited edition England 2013 tour t-shirt.
 Its very safe to say that Birmingham Hailed to the King last night!

 A7X - Shepherd of Fire

A7X - Afterlife

 

The Homefront

Where to start. Well the 16th November was certainly an interesting day. I got asked to help my friends band, called StakeOut in the filming of their new music video. They needed extras so I obliged. What a fun day, having a laugh with some friends and new people. Was also great just seeing & catching up with the band members who I have known from school. Got the shoot done in one afternoon and evening & I can't wait to see how it turns out. Check them out! Some quality local music from a great group of lads.

Lulu

In dog news, I think its pretty much confirmed. We had a house visit from he rescue center this very morning & it was a 100% off them. Just need to wait for her to be spayed & recover & then she is officially going to become part of the family. meet 3 year old Lulu! Also on the visit to the rescue center to see Lulu again I encountered a very awesome little Collared Dove who had been hand reared from a chick. She was called dot & she is fond of picking through peoples hair! She also helped bare fruit to my name of Birdman.