Queens of the Stone Age - makers of magic. My goodness. Seven albums later and almost twenty years on, they're still giving us a lesson in badassery. After their last album ...Like Clockwork (my number one album of 2013) I wasn't too sure whether they'd be making another record and to be honest, I was worried that if they did, it might be the album that made them fall from grace. Oh, how naive I was. QOTSA in at number 6 with Villains.

This was actually the first album this year that I listened to the minute that it was released. My initial feelings when listening ranged from pure giddiness to underlying nostalgia. Watching an interview of Josh talking through Villains one thing he said really stuck out to me. He said "I don't understand why the dance-ability has left rock and roll music" and he's right! Rock music in recent years has been slowly shimmy-ing away from "dance-y" music, lest it be compared to pop music. I think we forgot that you can still make music that hits hard without losing a beat that can make you do more than just nod your head. QOTSA have 100% hit the nail on the head with this album, and oh so effortlessly.

My favourites that have stuck since first listen have got to be "Fortress", "The Evil Has Landed" and "Feet Don't Fail Me". Josh's voice is ageless. One song that embarassingly crept up on me - and I say embarassingly, because it should've never had to creep - is "Domesticated Animals". What a gem! Possibly my current favourite to be honest.  The levels to this song are something else. The thumping beat almost makes you miss how melodic Josh's voice is here. A skulking rhythm with a positively chipper vocal - it's this combo that make QOTSA such a force to be reckoned with.

Check out what I had to say about 2016's number six choice here.

If you've been following my blog, you'll already know how much I adore Florence and the Machine (exhibits A, B and C), but I have to say this time seeing them live I was surprisingly, considerably underwhelmed. There were several contributing factors to be honest but here goes...

First up was Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders. I'd never heard anything about them before this show, and so didn't know what to expect. As a band they weren't my cup of tea but on the one hand I could see why they'd been chosen to support. The set definitely improved as it went along - the first song was terrible in my opinion, heavily due to the addition of techno/electronic keys (I have nothing against them but these sounded annoying). The second song was more bearable but less engaging - a strong case of background music syndrome. The third song "Her Hands" however was really good! This got my hopes up for the rest of the set. The next song - "Reputation Amputation" piqued my interest simply because of the name - it did slightly fall short of my expectations but I feel like QOTSA could've given it the kick up the butt that it needed. As a whole I don't think I'll be keeping track of them in the future but perhaps they'll pop up elsewhere and re-engage me.

Now for the main event. Thoroughly ruined by the choice of venue and surprisingly so because Sidney Myer Music Bowl aesthetically is gorgeous but for a performer like Florence and the Machine, it was guaranteed to leave the majority of the crowd (including me) feeling left out. Those in the standing area behind the barriers were so disconnected from the stage and the performance that I might as well have been watching it on TV at home. Big kudos to the girl who jumped the barriers and ran into the crowd - I hope that security never caught you. At one point during the set Florence even ran out into the crowd and stood on the barrier to try and engage those standing. I'm sure that those seated in front had a different experience to myself and this definitely taught me a lesson about forking out for the more expensive ticket in the future. Bigger anthems like "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", "Shake It Out" and "Dog Days Are Over" managed to stretch their way over the barrier and get a few people moving but some of the newer songs that I was really looking forward to seeing live like "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful", "What Kind Of Man" and "Delilah", unfortunately didn't quite affect me in the way that I'd hoped and expected. This has in no way affected my views of fatm as artists, I was just a little disappointed that I wasn't more connected to the show itself. There's definitely always next time.

Overall Rating - 6/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

I actually initially only bought a ticket to this show because it had been a while since I'd been to a gig and I hadn't seen As It Is headline since they dropped their debut. I wasn't over the moon but I was definitely intrigued.

The first band up was Breakaway from Sydney. I really liked their songs, pretty catchy and the band was definitely talented. The only thing that brough them down sadly was their lead vocalist. As a vocalist he sounded weak, his scream was okay but everything outside of that was below average. His poor vocals particularly shone through during their cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and also when he bravely stood alone to sing their song "Memories" from their EP. After seeing them live, I think I'll be sticking to their studio tracks.

Next up - Mae Fire. The first thing I thought when they stepped on stage was that they had a great image. After the over the top theatrics in the first couple of songs that they played I must admit that I wasn't very impressed - I just felt like it was a little unoriginal. However, all of a sudden, after they played their current single "Sole Desire", they really came into their own. As well as being a rock band, they had a kind of groove to them - somewhere in between QOTSA and Don Broco. The band were solid musicians, the lead singer was a little bit "take it or leave it" in my opinion, but overall not a bad set.

And finally, the last support act - With Confidence. You know what they say, "save the best 'til last". I felt like they should have been the only support act - they absolutely smashed it. The whole band had awesome and engaging stage presence, jovial but at the same time focused and excited to just be playing. I really enjoyed their cover of "A Thousand Miles" too. Knowledge of this band was definitely my biggest take away from the night. I also just recently found out that they're playing Warped Tour this summer so keep an eye out because I reckon you'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming months.

After seeing As It Is support Save Your Breath here, I thought I had a pretty good idea of how the set would go and how the crowd would react. I actually expected the crowd to be a little less enthusiastic, simply because the boys were playing in  Australia rather than the UK this time but this didn't dim the fan-girls' enthusiasm. The guys came on stage and immediately their confidence shone through as they punched in with "Cheap Shots & Setbacks". As always Patty's energy was inescapably contagious, bringing the whole crowd up with him. Even though I'd heard a few of the tracks from the new album when they supported SYB, it was awesome to hear the tracks live having listened to the record in full - it made me realize just how good a debut it was. Stand-outs for me were "Speak Soft", "Concrete" and of course "Dial Tones". All in all this was just a really fun show, it just felt like a celebration - of what, I don't know - but I left feeling super happy and I know that this was felt unanimously.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

Okay so it's been just over a week now so I think that I've had enough time to gather myself and get back involved with the real world after one of the best weeks of my life. This year for Reading Festival I decided to volunteer with Hotbox Events. It was definitely worth it I would say. The shifts were tiring and painful and made me regret it at times but I met some awesome people, got some great perks and got to watch mindblowing shows, for free. YES.

However, this did mean that I had to miss a few acts when I was on shift so first I'll talk about the acts that I would've seen had I not been working and then I'll let you know about the ones I actually caught.


GERARD WAY
So I was never really a big MCR fan back in the day but I was slightly intrigued to see what a solo Gerard set would sound like. I would've gone along just out of curiosity. I heard a little bit of it from outside the arena and it seemed to sound a lot like MCR's old stuff anyway.

WE WERE EVERGREEN
A friend that I made volunteering at Hotbox was telling me about this band and she actually happened to know them personally. From what she said, they sounded like a good group of guys and just an interesting band. It would've been nice to check them out.

LA DISPUTE
I've been wanting to see this band live for a while. They're one of the more different artists that I listen to and if memory serves I don't think that I've ever seen a show like I'm sure theirs would've been. One day, I suppose.

DARLIA
Every time I've been near this band I haven't been able to see them, for one reason or another. Missed them in Birmingham, in London, at Glastonbury and now Reading. It's becoming tiresome. I just want to see some good grunge music, is that too much to ask!!

MALLORY KNOX
Another band that has managed to escape me somehow. Even after meeting their lead singer, I haven't managed to catch them live yet. After learning all of the lyrics in their debut record Signals I've been waiting for the chance to scream them with other fans, looks like I'll have to wait until their sophomore album Asymmetry...

JIMMY EAT WORLD
SO MANY GOOD ROCK SHOWS! I love when Reading & Leeds comes around because it's every Pop Punk/Rock/Hardcore/Post-Hardcore/Dance fan's dream. Great line up. I would've loved to see Jimmy Eat World after their latest album, but would obviously have been excited for the older hits.

ENTER SHIKARI
If I'm honest, I'm not even into them much any more but I would love to see them just because of the pure carnage. These guys really know how to put on a show.  I didn't feel too bad about missing them since I saw them at Reading in 2012 but, it would've been fun nonetheless.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND
So this is where my day started. In fairness, I actually wanted to see Brody Dalle instead but, after just coming off my shift the first instinct was just to run straight to main stage. Vampire Weekend were okay but it wasn't the most spectacular way to start the weekend (no pun intended).

SBTRKT
I caught a little bit of a his set before running off to Paramore. IT. WAS. BRILLIANT. Such a good vibe in the tent. He played a few new songs to start off with but luckily just before we left he played "Wildfire". If this upcoming album is anywhere near that calibre; I am beyond stoked.

PARAMORE
So this was either the fourth or fifth time that I've seen them live and probably the strangest experience. Basically, Paramore was perfect, the set was perfect but the crowd was abysmal, absolutely shocking. Although the sound cut out, it was just before "The Only Exception" so they started singing it acappella then it came back seamlessly in the middle - beautiful. Then it started raining a little as the sun was setting and they played "Let The Flames Begin" followed by "Part II" - PERFECT. The crowd was just unreceptive.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
READING 2014 WAS HEADLINER HEAVEN FOR ME. I was ridiculously buzzed for this set. Josh Homme in the flesh and if I'm honest, Michael Shuman in the flesh too! I was giddy. Their setlist surprised me though, a few of the songs that they played I wasn't really expecting at all. Like "Do It Again" or "Burn The Witch" but it was an amazing set either way. It actually got better and better as it went on and obviously "Song For The Dead" made for an enormously erratic finale.

Safe to say it was an entertaining Friday night..

It's no secret that Queens Of The Stone Age are one of my favourite bands (especially seeing as I wrote about them here just yesterday), but I was listening through their albums again a few days ago, and rediscovered this banger...

QOTSA - First It Giveth

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS VIDEO! It is just perfect for what the song portrays. Josh Homme is a marvel and director Hiro Murai has managed to put together a fantastic video, for a fantastic song...

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Smooth Sailing

Had a huge number of tunes from records out in March here and it's time for April to give us some more! Seeing as we're already a week into April, I've definitely missed a couple of good releases, but here are some others that you can expect later this month...



SOHN - TREMORS
I haven't really kept track of SOHN since seeing him at Latitude last year, and if I'm honest, it's because I wasn't that impressed. However, I'm all for second chances and so look forward to giving this new album a chance later today now that it's been released.






THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS - AMPHETAMINE BALLADS
I've been talking about these lads for quite a while now since discovering them here and when I initially heard of them, nothing could be found about or by them except the one song "Tesitfying Time". Now, finally, it seems that we might have a whole album's worth of music to listen to. Get excited for the 14th of April.






THE BIRDS OF SATAN - THE BIRDS OF SATAN
Foo Fighters are one of my favourite bands and Taylor Hawkins is one of my favourite drummers Therefore, anything with either of these components in it - I am guaranteed to make an effort to listen to. Taylor has started this side project with Wiley Hodgden and Mick Murphy and I suspect that it will melt faces. Have a listen on the 15th of April.





KELIS - FOOD
I have been hearing things about this album since summer last year and it's finally here!! After all of this waiting and speculating, I'm interested to hear what this record actually sounds like. I wasn't too sure about the single "Jerk Ribs" at first but I've come to like it. Hopefully when the album drops on the 21st of April I'll like it from the get-go.





BRODY DALLE - DIPLOID LOVE
Again, favour by association. Another one of my favourite bands - QOTSA happen to be associated with Brody and I've actually been hearing quite a lot about her of late, so of course it makes sense to check her out! If she's anything like I've heard, I think I'm going to like this album on the 28th of April.







DAMON ALBARN - EVERYDAY ROBOTS
I've always kind of regretted never really listening to much of Blur's material back when they were still active. However, now that frontman Damon Albarn is moving in a solo direction, I'm using this as my chance to experience a little bit of what I've missed. Damon's solo album hits shelves on the 28th of April.





PIXIES - INDIE CINDY
YES! IT'S TRUE! Pixies' first record in over two decades is coming out this month. It's been a long journey for the group but I have no doubts that they've come out with some brilliant songs because of it. Excited would be an understatement. I expect to overplay this quite a bit when it comes out on the 28th of April.






LAYLA - BLACK MUD EP
After just talking about her in this week's music news, here, I've found out that she is set to release a new EP later this month on the 28th of April. This girl is most definitely one to watch, her songs are beautifully produced, her vocals are enchanting and she's just completely in love with music. Absolutely ecstatic about this release.





Here's a look at some other musical gems that you can catch later this month:

Animal Collective - Enter The Slasher House, Iggy Azalea - The New Classic, Odonis Odonis - Hard Boiled Soft Boiled, Fear Of Men - Loom, Eels - The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett, Thee Oh Sees - Drop, Mac DeMarco - Salad Days, Playlounge - Pilot, Rat King - So It Goes and Neon Trees - Pop Psychology.