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Tag: concert

  • Photos // George Michael – 25 Live Tour

    Photos // George Michael – 25 Live Tour

    On what have been George Michael’s 55th birthday, I’ve decided to share some of the photos I took of George in 2006 / 2007 in Dublin and Belfast during his 25 Live Tour.

    Being a huge George fan, these photos have been precious commodities to me over the past decade. Looking at them now, even though the cameras / phones were terrible in comparison to today’s standard, I’m thrilled that I have these personal memories of George.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    I saw George six times during the 25 Live Tour, twice in December 2006 in The Point Depot in Dublin, once in the RDS in Dublin in June 2007, I also saw him twice in The Point Depot in and the last night of the tour in Belfast in August 2007. Yes, that’s three times in one week.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    The very first night in Dublin was amazing. Myself and my sister, Cory, went. I’ll never forget the bass kick in during the second song of the night, Flawless. Steve’s live bass over the programming was just insane. I can still feel it pounding in my chest.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    Over the course of the tour, there were songs that grew on me even more. I guess this was because of the audience reactions and interactions. The singalong during ‘Amazing’, the arm waving throughout ‘Spinning The Wheel’. I didn’t think ‘Freedom 90’ could get any better, George adds a riff from Michael Jackson’s ‘Will you be there?’ during some of the shows.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    I bought a t-shirt at every show I went to. The one with the Shoot the Dog, George Bush style. A Listen Without Prejudice album cover t-shirt, 4 t-shirts with different dates on them, the dates being added as the tour got longer and longer. I bought 2 versions of the tour programme and a George keyring that still comes with me everywhere.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    When George died, I cried my eyes out. I never met the man but he had such a profound effect on me since the age of 11 or 12. I’ve never visited his house, I kinda wanted to but he was such a private person, I would’ve hated to have invaded his personal space like that. The last thing I would have ever wanted to do was piss him off after all the joy his music has brought me.

    George Michael - 25 Live Tour - © nessymon.com

    I’m so glad I got to see George during the 25 Live Tour and once during The Symphonica Tour. I loved each night and I loved seeing how happy George was on stage, smiling and putting every ounce of energy into each song. He got buzzed off the crowd and the crowd got buzzed thanks to him. So lucky to have seen him live. George was one of the last great musical icons.

  • Diary: Avec Sans // Live at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen

    Diary: Avec Sans // Live at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen

    AvecSans_nessymon_feature © Copyright nessymon

    Avec Sans // Live at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen // June 9 2016

    Hoxton Square Bar was the venue for Avec Sans album launch on June 9th, following the release of ‘Heartbreak Hi’ on June 3rd.

    I’ve been a fan of the duo since I heard them first in 2012 and have played them on the radio but tonight was my first time seeing them live.

    The duo, Alice Fox and Jack St James, have a pretty slick live set up. Fox provides the vocals while St James, has a keyboard and three Novation launchpads on stage which face the audience. Apart from letting the audience actually see that you’re hitting a few buttons and triggers, the Launchpads also provide a pretty cool visual, with a preprogrammed light show accompanying each song.

    Those familiar with the pair, will recognise, Shiver, The Answer, When You Go and current single Heartbreak Hi, which to be honest is so bloody catchy, it’s a crying shame it’s not blowing up on every radio station right now.

    Avec Sans describe themselves as an electro pop group. In the past there seems to have been a little bit of snobbery with being called a pop group, of any sort, but these guys have nailed that. They produce really great pop songs, songs that we should be hearing on the radio, songs that have the potential to be very popular.

    The pair are quite a visual band, always appearing in monochrome, and the lengths they go to to maintain the detail is immense, down to having a white microphone cable for contrast.

    The night is finished off with an encore rendition of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which is simply spectacular.(Listen and Download the studio version here).

    Visually striking, sonically beautiful, the world needs a bit more Avec Sans in their lives.

    Get the album

    Watch the video for Heartbreak Hi.

  • Diary: Shura // Live at KOKO, Camden

    Diary: Shura // Live at KOKO, Camden

    Shura_nessymon_Main

    Shura // Live at KOKO, Camden // Jun 1 2016

    It’s a while since I’ve seen Shura live, last time was the Electric Brixton in September of last year. This gig was originally supposed to be in Shepherd’s Bush Empire but due to renovations, was moved to KOKO. A fact I was kinda happy with, especially as it takes over an hour and a half to get home from Shepherd’s Bush.

    Pumarosa did a fine job of warming up the crowd as they filtered in, but really all 1400 people in the venue wanted to see Shura.

    First stand out of the night for these ears were the choice of pre-gig tunes, 80’s rock galore, Don Henley’s Boys of Summer, Toto’s Africa, Billy Idol’s White Wedding. If this was Dublin, the party would have already started.

    I’m not going to do a song by song review. Shura is really good at what she does. The sound in the venue was a lot better than it had been in Brixton. The band are tight and Shura’s voice seems to be growing in strength. And, to cap it all off, we get every track from Shura’s upcoming album ‘Nothing’s Real’.

    All these mixed with great lights, both from the stage and the trippy house discoball lights that filled the venue, make it all a special night.

    Personally, this was a major pick me up in a week that was pretty shit (more of that to come later), I danced and sang the night away with new best friends. It was also the day that Shura unveiled the new video for ‘What’s it Gonna Be?’ and everyone was feeling the love.

    Highlights – you could tell the tracks people really liked. The phones came out. ‘2Shy’ and ‘Touch’ led the charge. ‘Indecision’ has always been a fave of mine but the more I listen to the Extended Mix of White Light and then hearing it here live, just take it out of this world.

    Everyone needs a night like this at least once a week. Can’t wait for the album.

    …

  • Shura: Live at Electric, Brixton // Review

    Shura: Live at Electric, Brixton // Review

    Shura, Live at Electric Brixton

    Shura, Live at Electric, Brixton, September 17 2015

    It’s been a little over three months since I headed to Brighton to see Shura. In that time, Aleksandra Denton and her band have been honing their set, with a never ending string of dates and festivals. In front of the 1400 punters at Electric Brixton, it’s paying dividends.

    The night was opened by Roseau and Clean Cut Kid. If my information is correct, Roseau hasn’t done that many gigs, but her electronic soul vibes fit in beautifully and Roseau proves herself to be an artist to watch. Onstage, Roseau and her band are visually striking and her use on an old style Shure 55SH microphone, (like the one Elvis used) adds a timeless edge to her set. Check out her album, it’s out now.

    Next up where Clean Cut Kid, known for ‘Vitamin C’. The Liverpool quartet play a solid set, with some great guitar work from the lead singer, who also possesses one of the finest beards I’ve seen this year. Clean Cut Kid are really good at what they do, they have a good rock grounding, layered with melodic instrumentation and vocal lines. At times, it does seem like it could be a slightly odd choice for an opener for the more electronic, Shura but they work well and your scribe would definitely go see them again.

    Shura and her three piece band take to the stage and the growth in confidence is easily seen. Shura is now also playing guitar and seems to like rocking out a bit, duelling with her guitarist. She also seems like she’s now really enjoying what she’s doing and that’s rubbing off on the crowd. For these ears though, I’d cut back on the rubbling bass a little and bring Shura’s voice a little more to the fore in the front of house music mix.

    For a hot sweaty crowd, a reworked down tempo 2Shy, provides a breather. All the tracks we know from Shura are included in tonight’s set, Kids n Stuff, Indecision, Touch, and an epic set ending ‘White Light’. It’s pretty awesome to see an artist grow in stature, and throughout the night, Shura reaffirms her importance on the music scene. The sold out Electric crowd also bear witness to rather awesome, sometimes blindly beautiful lighting.

    Shura is obviously still working on different mixes and structure of songs, which versions make it to an album and which stay only in a live format remains to be seen. Shura, herself, is now playing guitar and dancing around the stage. Her set has grown at an immense rate since last time. This bodes extremely well for the future. I wonder what size venue she’ll play next?