Live Review: Robert Plant - Bluesfest, Byron Bay Saturday 30th March

Review: Bluesfest Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters 

As the last notes of the gospel group Blind Boys From Alabama rang out through the Mojo tent on a warm Saturday Night, a sudden feeling of pure ecstaticness ran through the audience like a current. The long wait for many fans was nearly coming to an end. Gracing the stage would be none other the Golden God of Rock Robert Plant himself. Whether you were a Hard core Led Zeppelin fan, a fan of Rock music in general, or a hipster that  thinks Stairway to Heaven is “so deep and meaningful”.  It didn’t matter, for everyone was ready to experience their own slice of Rock history right before their eyes. Even when the banner rolled down (featuring Plant in his 1970’s prime) an immediate yet powerful cheer runs through the Mojo tent. When Robert Plant finally took the stage everyone was in awe, witnessing a rock God in true shape and form.

Coming out dressed in casual wear yet still bearing the iconic golden locks, Plant seemed completely at home on stage. Starting off with the epic folk rock classic “Friends” from Zeppelin III, it was clear that Robert Plant no longer looked back with distain for his Zeppelin days (ala Band of Joy) and instead was ready to embrace the past yet look toward the future. Surprisingly it was the second song in (a non Zeppelin track by the way), that seemed to Rock the hardest. Tin Pan Alley began as a pseudo Psychedelic/Blues  fusion yet reached a riff heavy bridge which got the whole audience smiling from ear to ear (at least I was).

After the crowd calmed down a bit, we were all waiting for the next taste of Rock glory. After  a sombre rendition of “Another Tribe”. Plant began playing what almost no one in crowd (except those who actually  do research before going to  a gig)  could recognize until the line “Hey hey mama” was sung with the same fierceness and provocateur as Plants Zeppelin days. However “Black Dog” was given a new makeover  filled with African instruments, synths and an ensemble of percussion instruments (picture the breakdown in Whole lotta love going on for 6 minutes). Although some fans were clearly disappointed, overheard one groaning “what the F*ck is this!?” a fair question. But it was a bold move for Robert Plant to tinker with his Classics, and it gave a genuine sense that Robert Plant loves what he does and is in it all for the music.

“Spoonful” was yet another cover of a Blues standard, which actually to Plants credit actually made his music live up to the title of the festival (Paul Simon and Iggy Pop = Blues?). Then  came a faithful redition of “Going To California” another of Zeppelin IV. A highlight of many of Plants shows, the song showcased how strong of a voice Plant still has. The next trip down Zeppelin memory lane came in the form of the classic rock staples “Heartbreaker” and “Four Sticks”. Unlike the drastic changes to Black Dog, “Heartbreaker” and “Four Sticks”  sounded like the song had just been slowed down and given a more prominent blues feel. Jimmy Page is the pivotal key on the actual record, however Plant manages to still deliver the song, yet gaining the admiration for his voice. The song was the most Poignant song of the night. Jimmy Page was not there, John Paul Jones was not there, and Bonzo was not there. This was Robert Plant taking complete ownership of his material, and he plays it perfectly.

Finally the time came for the big finale, a final treat for those die hard Zeppelin fans. “Whole Lotta Love” reinforced the bond that Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin and Rock itself has had with the Blues.. Yet the song was played with the same classic Guitar riff and was finally a Zeppelin song that had some real crunch to it. The crowd had regained the same awe that was present at the beginning of the show. Of course an encore was inevitable,  Bron Y Aur  Stomp was a faithful rendition that fitted perfectly into the feel of the night. “Rock and Roll” was the most integral part of the show, watching Robert Plant completely own the stage, twirling the mike stand showcased that the Golden God was still with us. The song gave everyone in the audience to sing along to the famous “lonely, lonely time” line with Robert Plant himself. Then as Rock and Roll broke down into a swirl of many genres, everyone was captured on Plants every last word. After thanking his audience Robert Plant left the stage.

As the crowd exited the Mojo tent, a sense of pride and pleasure had passed through all of us. Robert Plant delivered the Led Zeppelin material everyone wanted to hear, yet could play around artistically with each of the tracks. Watching Robert Plant gave me the answer as to why Zeppelin will never reform for a tour. Robert Plant gets up to the microphone and can sing Zeppelin tracks and escapes the pressure of taking on the Rock God title once again. Robert Plant seemed to have such a personal connection to almost his musicians and his audience, it was through his love of music that drew everyone together. Hardly any of the older generation of musicians can have the distinction of artistic freedom without disappointing his audience. Yet Robert Plants love for music and his flawless ease on stage and on his songs provide further evidence that Plant is a legend with or without Led Zeppelin.

9.5/10 

Music Review! UNO! - Green Day

Green Day - UNO!

2012 was a big year for Green Day. Three albums in the span of four months would be considered career suicide for any major label artist. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong promised that these would be purely stand alone albums an not in a grand Rock Opera scheme. 

Even though the album is not a 'rock opera' per se, it fits into the concept of the trilogy. UNO!  is the angst/excitement before the party. DOS! is the raw, hormonal driven party. And TRE! is the self reflective, hangover. The concept of the three albums has been executed perfectly. In almost the same manner as Dookie is a timeless passage for teenage life. 

Coming off the grandeur of their last two rock opera efforts American Idiot (2004) & 21st Century Breakdown (2009), UNO! feels like the much needed back to basics, raw energy sound that has been absent for over a decade. The Album is dawned not with Banksy style artwork but is instead sported by a devilish grin from "not f*cking Justin Bieber" frontman Billie Joe Armstrong backed by a groovy background. 

"Ill show you what one f*cking minute means!!"

The album begins with no hesitation with an ode to breaking away from domestic life, aply titled "Nuclear Family".  The band scorches through the opening to re-introduce you to the kick in the face Green Day of the mid 90's, while having some of the strongest melodies of the trilogy. The albums then almost descends with the slow, almost dull intro to Stay The Night. However when the song kicks off it presents yet another Nimrod style rocker. This time around the boys take aim at one of the massive themes of the trilogy, Sexual tension. Lyrics like "Well I haven't got much time so i'll get to the point. Do you want to share a ride and get the f*ck out of this joint" push the song to its climatic chorus cementing its place as a live staple for Green Day. 

The albums continues the high power energy however this time around takes more of a power pop Cheap Trick sound in Carpe Diem. The track has some of the tightest performances from the band on the album, however some of the lyrics about mundane situations are amusing it does eventually make the song fall into cliche'. The next track brings us the raw pop punk Green Day that is most associated with the band. Let Yourself Go takes the band into the territory of previous songs such as American Idiot and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, yet still retaining beautifully executed melodies that are hard not to whistle to. Personally the track is a favorite from the whole trilogy and makes you quite miss the bitter Green Day. 

After making the audience comfortable with four tracks of pure Green Day-Ness, the band hit hard with an experimental dance track Kill the DJ. Sounding like something off of The Clashes  "Sandinista!, the track is a pleasant fusion experiment for Green Day with some slick four on the floor drumming from Tre Cool. It seems that song earns more merit for being a dance song by Green Day rather than its surprisingly catchy chorus and bitter yet confusing lyrics. The albums then almost instantly drops down a peg. Fell For You is a catchy power pop track, but it really doesn't feel like this is the best Green Day have to offer. At best it is filler. 

The rest if the album continues with the themes established in Nuclear Family and Stay the Night. Loss Of Control starts sounding almost like a lost Black Sabbath track, however after the feedback clears and the power chords appear its pure Green Day. The song acts almost like a reflective middle aged version of school yard angst. "I'd rather go to a funeral then to this High school reunion!" Armstrong snarls with anger. The track just screams mosh pit favorite. The next song to appear is the high power, groovy TroubleMaker. Starting with muted strings and a slick drum beat, the song develops into one of the most anxious and uplifting of the album. Although some of the lyrics are somewhat goofy, the track along with the former is where the band truly start to have a bit of fun on the album. TroubleMaker also features one of the most impressive guitar solos in Green Days catalogue. Well done Billie. 

Angel Blue does provide some strong lyrics (Crush my heart like a stick in the mud. Cut my chest just to see the blood.) but the song just sounds too much like other tracks on the album. It has some strong verses but rhyming Teenage traces with Pretty faces is just corny. In saying that, the track isn't unlistenable and many fans do enjoy the song, but it just reaks filler. 

UNO! then begins to wind down after chaotic energy burst of the previous tracks. A needed ballad chimes in with Sweet 16, but this isn't a 21 guns or a Good Riddance, it's still power pop. But dawn good power pop. The lyrics are about the relationship between Billie Joe and his wife of 16 years and while the lyrics are personal they seem to accompany 2000 Light Years Away brilliantly. The vocals are as clean and polished as Billie Joe's voice has ever been, providing the sweet aspect. Rearing off from Sweet 16 is the seminal Rusty James. Another personal chapter of not just Billies but the whole bands career is documented. While having some real power to the melody, its lyrics are what make the song. The song resurfaces the same themes as Insomniac's 86 however this time around its about looking back 20 years on at all the peers and fans who abandoned Green Day because they were 'sellouts'. The band all work together and provide one of the strongest tracks on the whole album and the whole trilogy. 

The album comes to a close with the single Oh Love. Starting off with a giant stadium riff that climaxes with the operatic chorus, Oh Love is the one song off of UNO! that would fit right at home on 21st Century Breakdown. As a single the song doesn't make much sense. Its dull and drags on for just too long, however as an album closer the song prepares you for the next ride. The sexual tension is becoming unbearable at this point in Armstrong's lyrics. Its a bomb thats going to detonate. All leading up to the sequel, DOS!  

Go Download! 

Nuclear Family 

Stay The Night

Let Yourself Go

Troublemaker 

Rusty James

Overall, Green Day have achieved exactly what they laid out for UNO!. It gets you amped  excited  exhilarated  its so much energy that you just want to unleash it. UNO! differs drastically to 21st Century Breakdown and American Idiot and it truly shows that even at 25 years of being a band Green Day can still surprise their fans. UNO! has its dull moments however it is raw and full of energy and overall a very solid album.


 I give this album three stars out of five. 

Now we are ready for the party in DOS! 

Review: Smallville Series Finale!

Smallville Season 10: Episodes 21/22 "Finale"


To be honest ive always been a big fan of smallville, the simple premise of a young clark kent going from man to superman was amazing, it was an idea that had never been told outside the pages of a comic book.

When this little show started on the WB in the fall of 2001 it gained a reputation as "Dawsons Creek with superpowers" that statement was true, however you can tell that Buffy and Lois and Clark were certainly an influence. But not only would we see the fun of Clark going through "super puberty" we saw the other side of the coin, Lex Luthor. 

We witnessed Lex go from Clarks best friend to his worst enemy, We were introduced to an array of DC heroes and villains, We all got annoyed with the dissapointment the show gave us, We all got sick of Lana, and we got to see the evolution from confused farm boy to man of steal. So here it is my review of the final episode of Smallville,

                                          "and now the series finale of Smallville"
Those were the words Tom Welling (Clark Kent) uttered as the final chapter in Clark's journey is coming to a close.To be honest this was a good finale and satisfying but now lets look and the good the bad and the ugly

The Good!

•  First and foremost the most consistent thing about the finale was the Lois and Clark relationship, it started the episode and finished it, and the scene with the door was pretty heart warming 
• Jonathan's (John Schneider) re-appearance: Ive gotta say seeing Jonathan guiding Clark again but this time for his final trial was magnificent, however it does feel like he could have done this in season 5 
• The scene with Lois (Erica Durence) and Clark with the door was in one word "breathtaking" 
• Apokolips: The shear magnitude of apokolips was amazing, it was refreshing to see Smallville's outer space again, and an even better treat to have it collide with earth.
• Lex: the last time we saw Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) was in the season 8 episode Requiem, and to actually see Michael Rosen baum in the flesh again was amazing and his scene with Clark officially made him the Lex Luthor he was destined to be 
• Flight: During a VERY brief fight with a darkseid possessed zombie Lionel (yeah that's not ridiculous but we will get to that later) Clark had a montage of his life in Smallville and woke mid air floating clark then super punched his way through zombie Lionsied. 
• Tess's redemption: When Tess (Cassidy Freeman) first appeared in Season 8 as an obvious replacement for Lex I always just hated her character, but through the course of season 10 i began to like her more and more and her last scene was certainly her greatest. Not only thwarting Lex Luthors evil plans but saving Clark and possibly the world. 
• Superman's screen time: I was amazed at the amount of time we actually got to see the man of steal (granted not Tom Welling but more on that soon). I was half expecting a 5 second blur then a brief shot of Clark in the suit then boom that was it, but Superman not only saved air-force one but pushed a whole plant away! if that isn't Superman like i don't know what is.
• The pending future: the last scene was perfect, it had everything a bumbling Clark Kent citing "sorry Miss Lane" a new and improved Jimmy Olsen (cameo by Aaron Ashmore), a bossy Lois Lane, a Lex Luthor president, and Superman on the roof of the daily planet ready to save the day! 

The Bad!

• Chloe and the comic book: OK so not only is Chloe reading a story to her son whose father is none other than Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) (which breaks the mythos of Green Arrow/Black Canary *sigh typical Smallville) she may have revealed to her son Superman's secret identity (its not like he will tell everyone at school) and the comic has the DC comics logo on it, basically breaking the fourth wall
• The Wedding: im sorry but this is ridiculous, the thing that really annoyed me is how they degraded Lois Lanes character by not only showing her having cold feet but also having a Lana type drama. Not to mention the party is ruined by a Gold Kryptonite ring and an evil super powered Oliver. 
• Lionel 2: even Lionel 2 said it himself "im not the Lionel you knew" but for some reason both Tess and Lex not only call Lionel 2 their father but fully except that this is Lionel. They do know this guy is from another reality and is just a guy that looks and sounds the same.
• Frankenstein Lex Luthor: So this was the most confusing part of the finale for me. Did the producers mean that Lex was alive the whole time he just recovered from his wounds via clones, or are they saying this is a completely new Lex who has been brought back through Darkseid. But i guess the couldn't mess his character up even more (foreshadowing)

 The Ugly!!!
                       

•   Oliver taking down the prophets WITH 3 ARROWS!!!:  thats right these guys who have been going round all season showing off there power were defeated by none other then the green arrow(oliver) and how did he do it. 3 plain old arrows. 

•  LEX LUTHOR LOSES ALL HIS MEMORIES!!: After 10 years of watching that amazing change from good to evil, from being clarks friend to foe, from watching his relationship with his abusive father, and from watching him turn into the Lex we all know what happens? HE LOSES ALL OF HIS MEMORIES!!!. Thats right the biggest middle finger to the fans was having to watch as Tess put a chemical on Lexs face and him forgetting everything, yet somehow he is still evil. One thing i can hope is that Lex maybe went back to one of those memory tanks from season 3 and is getting his memories back but we will never know.  

• We only see a cgi Superman: For me this isn't nearly as bad as the last 2 but still how hard would it have been for tom welling to wear the suit for one scene?, he claims its because he doesn't want to be typecast and he is afraid of the superman curse. Are you kidding? you work on a show for 10 years and that's basically your resume, and seriously dude you signed up for a show about Superman and your afraid of the curse. 

Overall, this was an amazing episode even though it did have its flaws like any Smallville episode i though it was an appropriate and satisfying sendoff for a show that told the decade long story about how the man of steel came to be. And it left me in wonder about the future of Clark, I can imagine him meeting the likes of Batman and Wonder Woman, I can imagine Lex releasing Doomsday to fight Superman to the death, I can imagine Darkseid coming back in full form, I can imagine Zod and his minions getting released from the phantom zone and attacking the world just like Superman 2, and I can imagine a middle aged Superman forming The Justice League based on the previous one. This episode made me realize he is no longer the Clark Kent we all used to know, he will now start the second journey in his life, his life of saving the day as.... Superman!


 I give this episode 3 and a half Cgi supermen out of 5

Goodbye Smallville!

So with this review i say goodbye Smallville, you were there with me through my childhood/teenagehood, you helped curb my imagination, you got me into comics, and you really did make me believe that a man could ..ahhh..... Super Jump, and now that im on the verge of becoming a man my self I will always look back and remember the time i spent on you. So Smallville I loved you, I hated you but overall thank you for 10 great years!!!!!