Well I make no secret & apologise at the shameful lateness of posting this journal - this seemed to take a lot longer than usual to come up with a definitive Top 10 with a lot of head-scratching, re-thinking & juggling around of the order - but finally, here it is - enjoy!!! :)

Album of the year - dEUS - Following Sea

I've been a huge fan of these Belgian alt-rock renegades since their inception 20 years ago & this year they released their second album in as many years & their seventh album of their career to date.…

It was another spectacular year for music & another hard fought battle to make it into my year end Top 10, not least because a slew of my fave artists returned with new albums. A lot of painstaking decision making later, I've finally arrived at my ultimate Top 10! The hardest fought battle was between two of my musical heavyweights - namely two of my three fave artists in the world & it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which two they are! It was a straight fight between the UK & the USA & this time, the…

It had been a loooong time since I last saw DCFC, a whole three years almost to the day, so I had a huge amount of expectation for this Brixton Academy gig. Incidentally, this seems to be the default venue of choice for the band when they come to London - including this gig, the last three times I've seen them have all been here & that's a very good thing as, happily Brixton Academy is one of my favourite venues! :) I know they have grown in popularity since their last visit here, but I was staggered to see…

Anything related to Elbow is always an event & this huge gig - the second of two sold out nights at the O2 Arena was no exception. This gig was the finale to their first ever arena tour & shows just how far they've come from their humble beginnings. The Seldom Seen Kid was the springboard that catapulted them into the big league with its brace of singles, the brutal Grounds For Divorce & the gloriously life-affirming One Day Like This (both present here tonight) & new album Build a Rocket Boys! looks set to keep them there.

Elbow gigs…

So finally, the year is at an end & the annual agonising (but pleasant!) decisions as to which albums of all those released in 2010 made it to my Top 10 albums of the year have finally been made! :) It's been a truly vintage year for music once again & this was the toughest Top 10 I've had to compile. At the end of this review, I'll give out some honourable mentions to albums that didn't quite make the cut & also, for the first time will be naming my favourite artist best of compilation of the year! So…

Any gig of Delays is always an event & as this was the first time I was gonna be hearing songs from their beautiful Star Tiger Star Ariel album live - this was extra special! :)

But before the gig I had my customary directional dysfunction, haha! Even though I knew the venue was pretty much opposite the tube station, I still managed to walk for 10 minutes in the wrong direction - just don't ask!!

But once I found the place, I got in, got a drink, made a little trip to the merchandise stall & then found a…

Well, this review is a little late in coming, but I hope it's worth the wait :)

I got to the Electric Ballroom in plenty of time & was greeted by the usual bunch of touts hanging around outside - quite worrying when they can't even pronounce the band's name right!! Also, plenty of people buzzing around the entrance like moths to a light & I was happy to be drawn into the light that is a gig of TNP! :D

Got inside with the minimum of security checks, got a drink & watched a little of support band Here…

So, my second gig in four days with my newest gig buddy again! :D This couldn't have been more different. The massive O2 arena had a very good crowd in for a Sunday night gig, but then again - how often do you get the chance to see a reclusive & true musical legend live? This promised to be spectacular & beautiful & it was all that & more. If you didn't know, Peter Gabriel has recently released an album of orchestral cover versions & this gig was the second of two consecutive nights here. The gig was divided into…

Well, believe it or not, but this was my first gig of 2010! Shocking, I know, but I fully intend to make up for lost time!

My newest gig buddy & I got to Brixton Academy about 8-ish, got in, got a drink & weaved our way down to as close as we could get to the front - only a few rows of heads separated us from the stage! :) But how is it that there were still taller people ahead of us??? My radical but frankly unworkable idea is that the shortest peeps should be allowed to go…

So this is a lot later than I'd planned to write this & already it seems like a distant memory, but I shall do my best to give you the highlights of my annual festival of fun in The Netherlands!

It started ominously before I had even left. I was still at my brothers place & it had been boiling hot (about 32 degrees), but that day, it suddenly got darker & darker & before long, we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm with torrential rain & pink lightning! I waited out the storm before I left on the Thursday…