Been a while since I wrote about any music on here; as previously mentioned on this site I see a lot of live rock gigs. It’s early in 2010 still, but last week I saw what I think could be the gig of the year for me already: Delain.

They’re a band that are new to me still; I only heard of them last winter when they visited this country as support to the Finnish band Sonata Arctica. I missed the chance to see them at that time, but when they announced they were to play a handful of dates in the UK again in March, I was keen to see them having by this time heard their latest album ‘April Rain’. Hailing from the Netherlands, they’re led by their keyboard player Martijn Westerholt. He originally envisaged the band as a studio-based project, based around himself and singer Charlotte Wessels, with guest musicians used as required. However as the project took off, they found themselves being urged to go out and play live, so a band was assembled for the road.

The nearest show to me on this tour was in Leeds, about an hour away from me and not a city I know well. Nevertheless I ventured across the Pennines, having never seen this band before I was unsure if their material would transfer across to the live setting well, especially since they used a number of guests. (‘April Rain’ was recorded by the new band, it must be pointed out). I need not have worried; despite the fact that both their guitarist and bassist from that album have since been replaced by new musicians, the band played a terrific set, with their young singer turning out to be a complete revelation. She really can sing live wonderfully well, and I genuinely believe I’ve seen a new superstar in the making.

The gig was so good I wanted to go and see another show – sadly that date was their final one in the UK for now so it will have to wait until next time. Once again, for a fuller write-up on this gig see my live reviews blog here.

I have seen many live gigs over the years and can count on one hand the times a new band has left such a strong impression on me; this band will go far – provided they can hold on to their singer.

Here is a live picture of the band which will give some idea of how small-scale their gig was; I predict they won’t be this small scale for long.

I’m indebted to youtube user ‘DEWEYJOVI’ for this clip, from this concert here is the track ‘Come Closer’:

I’ve had a few requests from friends of mine to put these photos back up on my new site; they are of Whitesnake guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich when they appeared at a ‘guitar clinic’ (a public demonstration) organised by the music store Sounds Great Music, just before the band played their 2006 UK tour. The event took place at the Holiday Inn near Manchester Airport, and a substantial number of fans showed up for this chance to see the two guitarists in a more personal setting than the normal concert. The pictures were put on my site when it was on the previous host, when I transferred providers at the end of last year the catalogue was lost. I have found the original catalogue on my hard drive and resubmitted it, it is a basic web layout as created by Picasa and I have changed nothing else. Here then, for my Whitesnake fan friends, is the restored picture gallery of Doug and Reb playing at the guitar clinic.

Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich Guitar Clinic pictures – click to view

I’m a big fan of live gigs, although my musical taste veers towards the heavier side of things. I like to attend as many as I can, nothing really beats a live performance from your favourite band, and all the better if they have brought along a big stage show for the occasion!

Earlier this week I saw the German band Rammstein play at the MEN Arena in Manchester; it’s not the first time I’ve seen them but they never disappoint, as well as loud music they always pack their show with scary-looking stunts, mostly involving pyrotechnics. How they can play as they do with a near-constant inferno going on onstage beats me, but they really do spare no expense in making their show as loud, as spectacular, and as memorable as possible.

Here are three pictures from the show; my seat was at a 90 degree angle to the stage so it was an unusual view I had, but it did mean we could see a lot of the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that went on, and see how much work goes into putting on such a huge production.

I do occasional write-ups for gigs also; you’ll find a fuller write-up of this gig by clicking here.