This tour has been billed as their last ever tour, so there really was no excuse for me to miss these godfathers of industrial music, particularly as I'd never actually seen them live before. Also, I'd never seen either of the support bands live before either & after tonight, I still hadn't! What can I say? I got there too late - in fact I only got in there about 10 minutes before NIN took to the stage! Well, I did have to buy a wee drink & a souvenir T-shirt first of course! So, humble apologies to anyone who…

Well, I'd been waiting a long time to see these guys & tonight was the night! :D A few hiccups on the way here - helped by London Underground kindly deciding to close Brixton tube station - but luckily they were the only problems I encountered tonight!

With a little Jack Daniels & Southern Comfort coursing through my veins, the lights darkened at about 9.30pm &, to the metallic clatter of the intro to Jetstream, they walked onstage. I just had a feeling they'd start with this song & they didn't disappoint me! In fact, this was one of the…

Well, they're the best British band & have garnered fully deserved awards all over the place recently in the wake of the phemomenal The Seldom Seen Kid album & tonight they played their biggest ever gig, in front of 12,000 people. When they started out, did they ever think that one day they'd be playing Wembley Arena? Well, here they were & blimey, did they put on one hell of a show!

Guy Garvey is the only frontman I know who can make the biggest of venues seem like an intimate gig. They walked onto the stage at 8.45pm to…

Just what makes the perfect album? Well great songs obviously. Most albums have at least a handful of great songs but an album where there isn't a single skippable track is a rarity. I have a lot of albums that are dear to my heart but even they have their token filler tracks. For a long time, I've been mulling over in my head the question as to just what is my favourite album? Anyone who knows my tastes knows that I always gravitate towards sad songs - I must have a kind of masochistic streak in me. I have…

It has been so long since I've been to Alexandra Palace & I'd clearly forgotten how huge this place is. A very apt venue for the music of Sigur Ros, a band whose music is so massive it is hard for the skies to contain their music, let alone this huge venue. Just to say that their wonderful, other-worldly soundscapes filled this venue with warmth & utter beauty.

At just after 9pm, the lights suddenly flicked off & a huge cheer went up from the enormous crowd. Then these unassuming Icelanders walked onto the stage & took us on…

So, 5th time seeing this wondrous band this year & this gig served as the climax to what has been an extraordinary year for them. Releasing the universally acclaimed album The Seldom Seen Kid, a stream of sold out gigs, festival appearances all over the place & the icing on the cake - winning the Mercury Music Prize. This gig was the last of a three night residency at the beautiful Roundhouse in Camden - the biggest gigs they have played in their lives. It felt like tonight was gonna be a celebration (then again every Elbow gig feels like…

Before I say anything, just let the record show that this festival is my absolute baby - my fave festival ever, in other words! :D I have been here about 10 times in the last 13 years & as long as I am still breathing, I will keep coming back year after year! :D

Now I've got that out of the way, on with the review! Arrived at about 8 in the evening on the Thursday, got in with the minimum of queueing & managed to find a tent-sized space, two minutes walk from the festival entrance & settled down…

Apologies for this journal title - a friend suggested it & it was too good to pass up!

Death Cab for Cutie are one of the most precious bands in the world to me & this gig at Brixton Academy just set that in stone. What helped to make this gig so perfect was the presence of a dear friend of mine. :D

We actually got carried away chatting in the pub &, as I found out later, missed the first two songs, Bixby Canyon Bridge & The New Year - gutted as neither of us had heard either song…

I know I reviewed their last gig which was just magical, but my Band of Horses gig at Shepherds Bush Empire the other day was magic of an even higher order - of a level that I can even begin to compute, but I'll try & put it into words.

Whoever decided to close the station nearest the venue - damn you! It meant a lengthy detour on the tube, but I got there eventually.

I don't know what it was but I just had a feeling that something special was gonna happen tonight & it did - read on…

Why write two journals when I can just write one epic one? This was a stunning long weekend of pure awesomeness. So here we go…

First time seeing Radiohead for me & in the wonderful green space in the heart of east London that is Victoria Park, the setting couldn't be bettered. The place had the air of a mini festival with a liberal sprinkling of fast food places & bars. For the first time ever I think, I watched this gig with no alcoholic enhancements - I had a feeling I should rest my liver for Glasto, but more…