Tag: Wembley Arena

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Live Reviews

YUNGBLUD

YUNGBLUD

OVO Wembley Arena, London

Saturday 25th February 2023

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YUNGBLUD – LONDON – LIVE REVIEW

Anticipation is high around Wembley tonight, and not just because the League Cup final is tomorrow! Tonight, the famous Wembley Arena in London plays host to a sold out show from alt rock anarchist YUNGBLUD, and it’s his fans that make their mark around Wembley Way.

Soon enough the hordes of brightly coloured fans file into the venue and await their hero. First up though they are treated the special guests Neck Deep, who could under the right circumstances probably make a go of headlining this venue themselves.

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Neck Deep – ‘In Bloom

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The mission for the Welsh rockers this evening is to win over a new cross-section of the rock audience and make a load of new fans. Through openers ‘Motion Sickness’ and ‘Lowlife’, it’s clear that whilst there are some existing fans in attendance, the work will need to be done to get the whole arena on board.

Thankfully for Neck Deep, they are a well rehearsed touring machine and they are well versed in winning over audiences. As their time on stage progresses the audience becomes more engaged and by the time we get to mid-set sing-a-long ‘December’, they have an open goal to score in.

While they round out their set with the hat-trick of ‘Can’t Kick Up the Roots’, ‘Gold Steps’ and ‘In Bloom’, it’s obvious that it’s victory and mission achieved for Neck Deep. As singer Ben Barlow delivers his final team-talk to the crowd, the response is affirmative and perhaps soon the band will be on their way to Wembley for their own show.

Attention is then turned back to YUNGBLUD who is set for his biggest headline show to date following his meteoric rise over the past few years. If we are sticking with the football analogies then YUNGBLUD has been fast-tracked from the youth team to the first team and is now making his international breakthrough. As such anticipation is at a fever-pitch as the packed Wembley wait to see if he can deliver the goods!

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YUNGBLUD – ‘The Funeral’

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If there are any doubts in this venue, which you get the sense there isn’t, then it only takes mere moments for YUNGBLUD to dispel them. Kicking off with ‘21st Century Liability’, ‘The Funeral’ and ‘parents’, the crowd are instantly in awe of the raw talent on display.

The quality of the music is great tonight, but it’s the incredible stage presence of YUNGBLUD and the stunning presentation of the show which makes this an elite level concert. All the bells and whistles are here as the likes of ‘fleabag’, ‘California’ and ‘mars’ are interspersed by some dramatic imagery.

To his credit YUNGBLUD is able to make this rather large venue feel as intimate as possible. His charisma has many of the audience members zombified as they take in the spectacular experience that is created tonight. Even an enforced break due to an emergency in the crowd can’t dampen the atmosphere.

By the time the show closes with ‘Loner’, you’d think YUNGBLUD had just won the World Cup! Even if we strip away the football theme, what is clear on tonight’s showing is that YUNGBLUD is here to take over the world as one of rocks next superstars!

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Read our review of YUNGBLUD’s self-titled new album

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Live Reviews

Shinedown

Shinedown

Wembley Arena, London

Thursday 1st December 2022

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SHINEDOWN – WEMBLEY ARENA – LIVE REVIEW

Shinedown fans have long wondered why the band had yet to progress to Arena’s in the UK. Having grown exponentially in this region over the past decade, recent tour expectations had been larger venues for the group, only for the band to opt again for academies. Not this time though, welcome Shinedown fans to Wembley Arena!

The final date of their first full arena tour, tonight feels like a big moment for the band and the atmosphere in London echoes this. Outside may be a Christmas wonderland but inside the venue rock fans are more than ready for an evening of entertainment.

Opening proceedings on this run of dates is rapper Zero 9:36 who does well to warm up the early attendees with his brand of rock. Next up, Asking Alexandria get a hero’s welcome as they arrive onstage and they return the favour with a solid set featuring a number of clear fan favourites which really ramps up the energy levels.

Both bands have done a great job, but tonight is really about one band and there isn’t long before Shinedown make their big entrance. The band have a new album out, ‘Planet Zero’, which is incidentally their highest UK charting album; so it’s fitting that they open with new track, ‘The Saints of Violence and Innuendo’, as they begin their biggest UK show to date.

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Shinedown – ‘The Saints of Violence and Innuendo’

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‘Devil’, ‘Planet Zero’ and ‘How Did You Love’ all follow as they band stamp their authority on the stage. For their biggest UK shows, they’ve brought their biggest ever production to these shores and the visuals tonight are just as stunning as the music.

Amongst the newer material of the last decade or so, we get a splattering of early material such as ‘45’, which is up next and helps elicit just one of many huge sing-a-long moments.

The band have amassed a seriously deep back catalogue and the setlist tonight is well curated to showcase all the talents of the group from the heavy to the heartfelt. The juxtaposition of ‘Cut the Cord’ straight into ‘Second Chance’ really highlights their dexterity.

By the time ‘Sound of Madness’ brings the show to a close, there can be no doubters that Shinedown absolutely belong on the biggest stages. There are many Download Festival t-shirts in the audience tonight and it’s fitting because this was a performance worthy of headlining the UK’s premier rock festival!

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Read our review of ‘Planet Zero’ from Shinedown

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Live Reviews

The Offspring

Wembley Arena

Friday 26th November 2021

The Offspring

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THE OFFSPRING – WEMBLEY ARENA – LIVE REVIEW

As soon as The Offspring announced an arena tour with The Hives in tow, an evening of early 2000’s rock scene nostalgia was destined. With the walk down Wembley Way lit with Christmas lights, with festive music playing, a fantastic Friday night in London is in store. We just won’t mention the tube strike!

Whilst nostalgia is at the heart of the evening, we start off with something new, vital and refreshing. Bob Vylan are earning their stripes. They’ve jumped onto this tour straight from supporting Biffy Clyro last month, and they’ve just announced a headline tour for next year.

Our advice following their performance tonight is to get your tickets for said headline tour as soon as possible. Enjoy them in small venues while you can, because they belong on stages like Wembley Arena. Their politically charged punk ruckus is guaranteed to elicit a reaction one way or the other. Tonight the overwhelming majority are on board and the likes of ‘Pretty Songs’ and ‘GDP’ showcase a band with a big future.

Main support for this tour comes from The Hives, generally understood to be an incredible live act. Thankfully nothing has changed during the enforced lay-off of the past two years.

With their time on stage relatively short the band blast out their biggest hits such as ‘Main Offender’, ‘Walk Idiot Walk’, ‘Hate to Say I Told You So’ and ‘Tick Tick Boom’ to the delight of the crowd. Our headliners will need to be at the top of their game in order to match the brilliance of The Hives.

Read our review of ‘Let the Bad Times Roll’ from The Offspring

Things start well for The Offspring with ‘Staring at the Sun’, ‘Come Out and Play’ and ‘Want You Bad’ immediately getting the audience riled up. A visually simple yet stunning stage show also helps to fill the huge space of Wembley Arena and make the band seem at home on such a stage.

Whilst that word nostalgia keeps coming up, The Offspring are actually touring a new album and up next two new tracks demonstrate the quality that the band is still putting out. ‘The Opioid Diaries’ and title track ‘Let the Bad Times Roll’ are received just as well as the older tracks ‘Hit That’, ‘Hammerhead’ and ‘Bad Habit’ that follow.

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The Offspring – ‘Let The Bad Times Roll

The question of whether The Offspring can match or eclipse The Hives is already positively answered by the time we are treated to an incredible piano version of fan favourite ‘Gone Away’.

The closing run of ‘Why Don’t You Get a Job?’, ‘Original Prankster’, ‘(Can’t Get My) Head Around You’, ‘Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)’ and ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ is as good as it gets and vindicates the bands decision to play arenas on this tour.

The encore of ‘You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid’ and ‘Self Esteem’ is the cherry on the icing of a beautiful cake that is made from three superb performances from Bob Vylan, The Hives and The Offspring. This was a thoroughly enjoyable show, which celebrates both the present and future of punk rock.

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