The Wildhearts

http://www.hardrockhouse.com/

and pretty accurate Newcastle review:
http://www.hardrockhouse.com/gigreviews ... olver2.htm

The situation is a mess and no mistake. I'm not a big fan, and oddly enough my brother isn't either but by virtue of having a new girlfriend he found himself going to see them in Manchester the other day. It was OK, apparently.

VR would be a fantastic band if they had a half decent vocalist.

Dont get me wrong i like scott in STP, but was just wrong in VR.

Perhaps a VH1 rockstar type show beckons,

Damian wrote:The situation is a mess and no mistake.

Seems Weiland isn't travelling with the band - he has his own bus.

VR do Meet & Greet tickets (At a mere £125) - meet the band, again, Weiland is the exception...

Damian wrote:It was OK, apparently.

Saw them in Glasgow, It was one of the best shows I've seen them do.

I feel sorry for Slash.

Such a talented musician but he always ends up with a massive dickhead for a lead singer.

chris cornell's doing fuck all worth bothering about at the minute, why not have him sing for them?

To be brutally honest I was just bored with VR in Newcastle. They just didn't seem like a band but rather five individuals who happened to be sharing the same stage.

If it hadn't been for the fact that I had the opportunity to photograph them I probably wouldn't have gone, after all Slash is one of these most iconic figures in rock music and he is most definitely a portfolio shot!

Hey Ste
Seen you at most of the gigs I've been to lately.
Do you need an apprentice (I'm sure I asked you this at Hanoi)

I have to admit any mention of VR smarts right now....just got back tired and out of pocket from a wasted 4 hour round trip to Brighton where my confirmed photo pass failed to materialise...majorly frustrating!!!

Trudi wrote:I have to admit any mention of VR smarts right now....just got back tired and out of pocket from a wasted 4 hour round trip to Brighton where my confirmed photo pass failed to materialise...majorly frustrating!!!

If it's any consolation, being near the band at the minute doesn't seem conducive to good vibes. That's horribly bad luck though.

A friend of mine who worked at a recording studio here gave me a lyric sheet he had when they were recording the first Stoned Pimpled Toilets record. Hands down, some of the worst bad poetry I have ever read. On top of that, he was trying to sing like Cobain. Yuk.

I think Scott has a fantastic voice, he's a perfect voice for the band in my opinion. Strong and quality sounding. His lyrics don't mean shit, which is a shame, but as a sound it's brilliant.

Someone mentioned Chris Cornell - that would be a big shame if he got in with them. or any band. I can't stand his voice, I cannot listen to Soundgarden, or that other one he was in, his voice just grates on me. He sounds like that mentalist out of Police Academy.

I love them and its sad to see Slash & co lumbered with another arsehole singer.

Please god don't get Chris Cornhole to replace Scott Weiland, I saw him support Aerosmith in Hyde Park last year and it was the most boring show I think i've ever seen. I hung out at the Margharita stand drinking limey tequila-y slush in the pissing rain instead

Replace him with Josh Todd from Buckcherry

Trudi, the same thing happened in Newcastle initially. They had us on the guest list but no photo pass. Ended up with a series of phone calls and txt to the PR company who blamed management, who blamed PR, who blamed management in a major pass the buck session.

All in all it took about an hour to sort out but eventually I got the pass. Main lesson, always take email confirmation that you have a photo pass and have the relevent PR/Tour manager's mobile phone number to hand. If you've got a mobile number they're at work whatever the time! Still thought the gig was pants though.

Trouble is it's the same PR company for Nightwish this weekend, here's hoping that one is slightly easier!

Yeah, I always take email confirmation if it's me arranging it (has saved the situation more than once!), but this was done by phone by the editor I was with so there was nothing in writing. We did spend quite a while trying to get it sorted with no joy (couldn't get through on the phone and we'd already overheard a kerfuffle between venue staff about a couple of mislaid working passes, so there had evidently been problems somewhere that night anyway). Not annoyed about VR so much but both supports would have been great to photograph...
Good luck with Nightwish!