Stone Sour then came on an opened with ‘Mission Statement’. Corey then interacted with the crowd before playing ‘Reborn’. He then asked the crowd to go crazy for the next song; ‘Made of Scars’, which sounded very heavy and started many mosh-pits. Then, much to the joy of many screaming girls, Stone Sour played their beautiful recent single; ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’. They then continued the mix of old and new songs with ‘Get Inside’, ‘Unfinished’ and ‘Your God’. The rest of the band then left the stage whilst Corey stayed on to play the incredibly emotional song ‘Bother’ (which was written for his father as he only met him for the first time a few years ago). He also stayed alone on stage to play the most popular Stone Sour track; ‘Through the Glass’. Although this song is overplayed on many music channels it was extremely passionate and beautiful live.

The rest of the band then rejoined Corey back on stage to play ‘The Bitter End’. Corey then announced that he was going to play the next future single; ‘Digital (Did You Tell)’, which you could tell from the crowd’s reaction that it was going to be a very popular single and it should hopefully make Stone Sour make a high entry in the charts. They then played ‘Hell and Consequences’ and they finally finished with ’30/30-150′. At the end of their set, lots of confetti came out of huge cannons on either side of the stage and Corey promised that Stone Sour would be back to Birmingham soon.

As the first few notes of ‘Nightmare’ started to play, the tension was building higher and higher. As soon as the guitars kicked in the pyrotechnics started and the crowd went wild. M. Shadows has such an amazing stage presence that you cannot help but to have your eyes glued to him. They then played ‘Critical Acclaim’, which the lighting and pyrotechnics were even more impressive than for the opening.

The set was also amazing; the album cover for ‘Nightmare’ (with the bigger ‘rev’ in ‘forever’ on the gravestone for the late James Sullivan) and cemetery gates around the stage where fire came out. Before ‘Welcome to the Family’ M. Shadows asked who hadn’t seen Avenged Sevenfold before, heard many screams then replied with “Where the fuck have you guys been our whole lives? Welcome to the fucking family!” As this is many people’s favourite song from the album, the mosh-pits were insane. Well, thousands of people who had been waiting for so long to see Avenged Sevenfold, what do you expect other than complete craziness?

They then played the classic ‘Beast and the Harlot’ then ‘Buried Alive’. The set then changed to a beautiful picture of M.Shadows and The Rev and M. Shadows went into a heart-felt speech about The Rev and thanked the crowd for keeping Avenged Sevenfold strong and welcoming The Rev’s favourite drummer (Mike Portnoy – ex-Dream Theater) and went on to play ‘So Far Away’ as a tribute to The Rev. It was a beautiful moment and the raw emotion in the lyrics and M.Shadow’s voice was enough to bring the strongest of people to tears. Near the end of the song M.Shadows asked everyone to raise their lighters and mobiles to the sky to show The Rev; it was incredible.

They then played ‘Afterlife’, and the set went back to the album cover, then M.Shadows asked who in the crowd was religious. He then said that the next song was the most religious song he’d ever written; it was ‘God Hates Us’. M.Shadow’s screaming was actually very good, however it was not as heavy as it sounded on the album version. ‘Unholy Confessions’ was then played and as the circle pit was crazy, M.Shadow’s said that the audience could pick between ‘Almost Easy’ and ‘Bat Country’; it was a resounding vote for ‘Bat Country’ and it was an amazing song to finish their set with.

After what seemed like years of waiting, Hellyeah arrived on stage at around 7.30pm, greeted by many screaming fans. They opened with ‘Hellyeah’ which was so catchy that even people in the crowd that didn’t know who they were found themselves singing along. They then interacted with the crowd, then played ‘Matter of Time’ and ‘Cowboy Way’. They informed the audience that they loved to drink before playing ‘Hell of a Time’, ‘You Wouldn’t Know’ and ‘Stampede’.

They then paid tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell and played ‘Alcohaulin’ Ass’, inviting the crowd to sing along with them if they knew the words. As a couple of the members of Hellyeah were in bands with Dimebag Darrell, you could hear the pure emotion in Chad Gray’s voice as he paid tribute to the legend. As Chad is also the lead singer Mudvayne, it was amazing to hear how versatile his voice is and to see a different side to him than what is portrayed of him in Mudvayne (don’t get me wrong, I love Mudvayne, but I love singers who are versatile and can have completely different personas). All in all, they were an exciting live band and who sound a thousand times better live than on CD. Since seeing them live, I have become a big fan.

Last night I went to go and watch Hellyeah, Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour at the Birmingham N.I.A. It was an incredible gig, although it was a rather strange line-up. As much as I love Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour, I would have never imagined them playing a gig together a musically they are not that similar. However, I am glad that they did as the atmosphere was incredible. As it was a co-headline tour, Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour took it in turns to play last at each gig; tonight was Stone Sour’s turn.

The doors opened at 5.30pm, which is extremely early as doors usually open around 7.00pm. As they opened so early, anticipation seemed to build up very quickly amongst the crowd of thousands (I think I remember M. Shadows saying there were 13,000 people attending). After what seemed like years of waiting, Hellyeah arrived on stage at around 7.30pm, greeted by many screaming fans. They opened with ‘Hellyeah’ which was so catchy that even people in the crowd that didn’t know who they were found themselves singing along. They then interacted with the crowd, then played ‘Matter of Time’ and ‘Cowboy Way’. They informed the audience that they loved to drink before playing ‘Hell of a Time’, ‘You Wouldn’t Know’ and ‘Stampede’.

They then paid tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell and played ‘Alcohaulin’ Ass’, inviting the crowd to sing along with them if they knew the words. As a couple of the members of Hellyeah were in bands with Dimebag Darrell, you could hear the pure emotion in Chad Gray’s voice as he paid tribute to the legend. As Chad is also the lead singer Mudvayne, it was amazing to hear how versatile his voice is and to see a different side to him than what is portrayed of him in Mudvayne (don’t get me wrong, I love Mudvayne, but I love singers who are versatile and can have completely different personas). All in all, they were an exciting live band and who sound a thousand times better live than on CD. Since seeing them live, I have become a big fan.

After Hellyeah finished their set, the vibe in the crowd was extremely tense. You could tell what everyone was thinking; what would Avenged Sevenfold be like without The Rev? As the first few notes of ‘Nightmare’ started to play, the tension was building higher and higher. As soon as the guitars kicked in the pyrotechnics started and the crowd went wild. M. Shadows has such an amazing stage presence that you cannot help but to have your eyes glued to him. They then played ‘Critical Acclaim’, which the lighting and pyrotechnics were even more impressive than for the opening.

The set was also amazing; the album cover for ‘Nightmare’ (with the bigger ‘rev’ in ‘forever’ on the gravestone for the late James Sullivan) and cemetery gates around the stage where fire came out. Before ‘Welcome to the Family’ M. Shadows asked who hadn’t seen Avenged Sevenfold before, heard many screams then replied with “Where the fuck have you guys been our whole lives? Welcome to the fucking family!” As this is many people’s favourite song from the album, the mosh-pits were insane. Well, thousands of people who had been waiting for so long to see Avenged Sevenfold, what do you expect other than complete craziness?

They then played the classic ‘Beast and the Harlot’ then ‘Buried Alive’. The set then changed to a beautiful picture of M.Shadows and The Rev and M. Shadows went into a heart-felt speech about The Rev and thanked the crowd for keeping Avenged Sevenfold strong and welcoming The Rev’s favourite drummer (Mike Portnoy – ex-Dream Theater) and went on to play ‘So Far Away’ as a tribute to The Rev. It was a beautiful moment and the raw emotion in the lyrics and M.Shadow’s voice was enough to bring the strongest of people to tears. Near the end of the song M.Shadows asked everyone to raise their lighters and mobiles to the sky to show The Rev; it was incredible.

They then played ‘Afterlife’, and the set went back to the album cover, then M.Shadows asked who in the crowd was religious. He then said that the next song was the most religious song he’d ever written; it was ‘God Hates Us’. M.Shadow’s screaming was actually very good, however it was not as heavy as it sounded on the album version. ‘Unholy Confessions’ was then played and as the circle pit was crazy, M.Shadow’s said that the audience could pick between ‘Almost Easy’ and ‘Bat Country’; it was a resounding vote for ‘Bat Country’ and it was an amazing song to finish their set with.

After another half an hour wait, the lights dimmed and an unexpected song played before Stone Sour came on; I think it was a song from Star Wars, however I’m not completely sure about that. Stone Sour then came on an opened with ‘Mission Statement’. Corey then interacted with the crowd before playing ‘Reborn’. He then asked the crowd to go crazy for the next song; ‘Made of Scars’, which sounded very heavy and started many mosh-pits. Then, much to the joy of many screaming girls, Stone Sour played their beautiful recent single; ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’. They then continued the mix of old and new songs with ‘Get Inside’, ‘Unfinished’ and ‘Your God’. The rest of the band then left the stage whilst Corey stayed on to play the incredibly emotional song ‘Bother’ (which was written for his father as he only met him for the first time a few years ago). He also stayed alone on stage to play the most popular Stone Sour track; ‘Through the Glass’. Although this song is overplayed on many music channels it was extremely passionate and beautiful live. The rest of the band then rejoined Corey back on stage to play ‘The Bitter End’. Corey then announced that he was going to play the next future single; ‘Digital (Did You Tell)’, which you could tell from the crowd’s reaction that it was going to be a very popular single and it should hopefully make Stone Sour make a high entry in the charts. They then played ‘Hell and Consequences’ and they finally finished with ’30/30-150′. At the end of their set, lots of confetti came out of huge cannons on either side of the stage and Corey promised that Stone Sour would be back to Birmingham soon.

All in all, it was an incredible concert and although the acts seemed unlikely to tour together, it actually worked really well and I did not see or speak to one disappointed person with any of the acts.

That was the first gig review that I’ve actually had the courage to put on the Internet, so I hope you enjoyed reading it and that it wasn’t too bad.

Margaret Cho herself observed that she gets more vulgar with age. That was in clear evidence when she stepped on the stage for her ninety-minute set at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. But whether she’s talking about sex with Sarah Palin, the virtues of olive oil lubricant (it’s not what you think and yet it’s exactly what you think), or lasting four days at Bonnaroo without taking a crap, she always manages to keep the audience over the edge with hysterical laughter. There’s something in her frank delivery that makes even sensitive subjects funny without treading too far into distasteful.

The thing about Margaret Cho, now 41, is that she is in great shape as a comedian (and thanks to the Dancing with the Stars, just in great shape). Having seen her stand up a few times before, this show, dubbed Cho Dependent, was far and away the best of them all.

Cho is promoting a new album of dirty pop music (well, maybe vulgar is a better word) and she played a few during the show. The delivery of the music was a little off, except for her encore acoustic performance of No Offense (sadly a non-album track because it’s amazing). Your Dick (originally featuring Ben Lee) was funny but she was on such a roll leading up to it, it just seemed out of place. And no offense to John Roberts, but My Puss was better when she performed it with comedian Diana Yanez 3 years ago.

Having said that, it’s clear that the music was largely besides the point, and more to the point, did not really detract a single speck from just how amazing her stand-up is. By now, certain topics are kind of routine for her, her mother especially, but by keeping a lot of her material topical (she touched on the recent suicides of gay teens as well as her stint on Dancing with the Stars) she keeps it all fresh and fantastic. Oh yeah, all around, she is pretty vulgar, and here’s hoping she stays that way.

John Roberts’ act, opening for Margaret Cho, was pretty straightforward. Throw on a wig, add an accent, tell a joke playing a “persona.” Most of them were stereotypical – the beauty queen, the Jersey housewife, the jock – but for the most part, the act worked. With self-deprecating asides inserted while he re-wigged, he kept the pace moving and ably demonstrated his comic skills. In other words, he was the perfect opener.

seems this band opens for half the shows in Austin and I had never ever seen them – their sound wasn’t new but it was good – raucous well-crafted garage rock – chatty clean-cut boys – they drew a diverse crowd of old and young, hip and not – the super-60s keyboard woman teaches preschool and had a whole slew of her students dancing in front of the stage – best part was when a scary tattooed guy retrieved the dropped beaded bracelet of a little girl dressed up like a princess

starting with the unnecessary apostrophe, this band irritates me – they have a song here or there that sticks in my head (Designs on You – which they did not play) but there’s a general earnest blandness about them that makes me tune out – their show was lively and we did have the good fortune to run into the WittyDrummer – not to mention it was a $20 show for which we’d won free tickets so there really wasn’t a question of whether or not we were going – the peak of my irritation was probably when the song Question came on with all its cutesy pseudo-witticisms: “someday somebody’s gonna ask you, the question that you should say yes to, once in your life, maybe tonight I’ve got a question” – I’m telling you, if anyone ever proposed to me with that sort of a lead-in, I never would have been dating them to start with – I also enjoyed watching the guy in the beret with the wacky face hair who did a drunken interpretive dance to every single song and was eventually shirtless and spinning any nearby female around in the middle of a very packed crowd

[Atlanta, GA] I had never heard a lick of music from this band before the show but it was love at first sight – everyone else I ran into before this show had seen them like 5 times and had stories about spitting on the crowd, spitting into each others’ mouths, and kissing each other – I didn’t see any of that but they did have tribal drums, tight jangle pop guitar, and a punk ethic – some spaghetti western and even hints of O’Death – bit of psychedelia – some surf rock – they were pretty much The Strange Boys (local) perfected – like being in a Robert Rodriguez movie – some of their songs were more rowdy pop punk (like Redd Kross, as Rockboy pointed out) – the building was so moved that the Emo’s employee who was trying to stop the crowd surfers ended up giving up and jumping in himself

[New York, NY] only saw them for a few songs but they were striking – really pretty soul rock – like Jackson 5 on acid – every band member had long hair that was parted in the middle – and they would engage in moments of thrash like the kids do nowadays to pretend that their pop bands are hardcore

[Nashville, TN] these girls went and broke my heart. I had a hard enough time adapting to their new meaner attitudes the last time I saw them but I accepted that they had to grow up and that it was the result of being surrounded by all sorts of temptation, AND their music still had some resemblance to what it used to sound like – at this show, they were a totally different band: in sound, attitude, and fun – they’ve taken their rowdy bad-girl honky tonk and turned it into hard cool Runaways rock – BORING – they didn’t look like they were having fun and I certainly wasn’t – there was no band-audience connection and their genuine spunk was gone – we assume some evil manager has convinced them they have to go electric in order to make it as a band – I couldn’t watch more than a few songs, it was that sad

[Nashville, TN] clean driving garage punk – precision and darkness – doll voiced lead singer and female drummer with a cloud of hair were the visual highlights – I kept feeing like the lead singer was French but not for any valid reason – cacophonous coolness (whatever that means – I was a little note-happy that night) – kind of a classic rock element – reminded me of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs or a harder CocoRosie (at least the voice on the latter)

[Austin, TX] slow earnest rock – lead singer was a dead ringer for Colin Firth as he appeared in Bridget Jones’ Diary – 2 guitars, 1 bass, keyboard, drums – their sound was hard to pin down from the live show, I thought they were moderate shoegaze with songs that were structured like pop rock from YouTube, they sound like really good post-punk with gothic undertones