After the dark depths of making the new record, Biffy Clyro look like they're heading for superstardom.
New double album Opposites had a problematic manufacturing process, as miscarraiges and alcoholism made life pretty depressing for camp Biffy - it almost drove them to a break-up. But after making it through that, they've done the full Shawshank Redemption and come out the sewer pipe smelling of roses.
A number one album and a UK arena tour that includes a sell-out night at the O2 in London are exceptional statuses for any of band, and the big league could well beckon if they play their cards right at this summer's Reading Festival headline slot.
Night two of their arena trip brings them to a shiny pink shed on the outskirts of Birmingham. Here is the test - to see if they can get an arena of over 11,000 shivering Brummies on their feet.
The show begun well-restrained, with just Simon Neil in front of a white curtain as the church organ intro of Different People reverberated around the room. Through the curtain the band's stage show began to glow through it until the curtain revealed the band and the huge skeleton tree looming large. This was a mightily impressive feature, with one similarly impressive touch being the sheer number of people with high-vis jackets, hard hates and drills taking it down after the show ended.
A rowdy crowd lapped it up, and then went into overdrive as the pummelling sensory assault of That Golden Rule almost blew the roof off the venue. Not bad for the 2nd song.
The song was also the only old song in the first six, with all the others coming off new double record Opposites. Not that the crowd seemed to care too much. Crowds can often be tempermental with new stuff but this crowd lapped up a smooth trio of heavy rockers and was also appreciative towards the title track - the evening's first slower song.
Predictably a rather rowdy crowd went truly epic for the hits. A one-two of Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies and Bubbles sent the standing section into a mood beyond overdrive. It helped the performances were similarly well done.
The band piled in songs, with new ones sharing time with old fan favourites like A Day Of... and There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake. More remarkable was the lack of a drop in quality, with the band sustaining a well oiled groove.
There was a brief period to chill too, with The Thaw accompanied by a blizzard visual that ironically predicted the weather forecast we were greeted with upon leaving the venue. This was sandwiched by solo performances of God & Satan and Machines, which both allowed the crowd to sing.
A final run through of all sort of music concluded the main set, with a euphoric Picture A Knife Fight and a well run rendition of The Captain closing things out. This preceded a well worked triple song encore, which ended the show.
This was a great show in every sense. There was a spectacular show that didn't provide an hold to a spontaneous show, while hits and fan favourites. The whole venue was able to slink off into the cold at the end of the gig sufficiently warmed by such a wonderful occasion.
4.5/5
Also in tow at the venue was City and Colour, which is the recording alias of Canadian singer/songwriter Dallas Green. They provided a 45 minute set of chilled out music which was reasonable, if a little bit forgettable. However the crowd was reasonably receptive and considering they'd just flown over from the USA they did well enough.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Monday, 18 March 2013
Referees, Referees, Referees
The referee in football is undoubtedly the main figure who get a kicking.
Games of high incident that involve controversial moments often result in mass scrutiny of the ref, hence why any ref will have other refs to analyse his performance in ridiculous detail.
Logic dictates refs should have more to help them make difficult calls, but with goal line technology still causing lots of debate the likelihood of it being applied pitch-wide is even more remote. It is also unhelpful if linesmen do not provide aid.
There is often complaints that the standard of refereeing is plummeting. But weekends like the one just gone do not help their cause at all.
The headline decision was the antics of Mark Halsey, who was referee during Sunday's Wigan vs Newcastle game. The big talking point came after a horrendous tackle from Wigan winger Callum McManaman left Newcastle full back Massadio Haidara requiring a stretcher and extra medical attention. At the time, the Wigan winger escaped with the eventual Newcastle free-kick having been awarded for handball by the same player.
The referee can fairly claim that his view was blocked by a retreating Newcatle player but there is no excuse for the assistant linesman, who had an almost head-on view of the incident and completley ignored it.
Toon fans have been here before, with Kyle Walker, Sebastian Larsson and Antonio Valencia all getting away with awful tackles this season and the headline example from 2010 when Nigel de Jong got away with a rotten tackle that almost forced Hatem Ben Arfa into retirement.
Of course opposition fans can mock given that Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye have reputations of their own for such challenges, plus an extremely idiotic Kevin Nolan challenge that led to Victor Anichebe - the recipient - sueing him.
Such a challenge can happen with any team and had the reverse happened few Newcastle fans could have complained if Haidara had been red carded, like Nolan was in 2009 and like Everton's Mirallas should have been for a poor tackle on Ryo Myiachi during the Everton-Wigan Cup game the week before. But all of this is beside the point - it happened here with these players and you would duly expect a red card.
But from the moment McManaman got away with it the game was immediately changed. No red card would have meant no half-time scuffle involving Newcastle assistant manager John Carver, a Wigan academy coach, several stewards and the last players to leave the pitch before half-time. It also would likely have meant Wigan would not have had the bodies to throw forward for a last minute winner that should have been chalked off anyway for a ridiculous handball.
If it had just been this game, the Referee Association could be purely concerned with what went on here and move on but aside from the long running threads of ineptitude all season long it was a pretty awful weekend all round for them.
Trouble began in the Saturday afternoon game between Everton and Manchester City, where Lee Probert got a number of decisions incorrect. Early on saw Everton get a goal incorrectly ruled out for an offside. While one player had been off, Marouane Fellaini was not when he received the ball moments before he fired it beyond Joe Hart.
Everton also had a valid penalty shout for a foul by Nastasic on Fellaini, and also felt aggrieved an unusually scrappy performance from James Milner did not receive the second yellow card some meaty challenges deserved.
But the most baffling decision came the other way when Fellaini handled five yards inside the box and Probert, somehow, awarded a free-kick outside the box. This decision defied logic, comprehension and general eyesight.
Sunderland-Norwich was the other game where the referee's decision making was integral to match reporting. This begun when away goalkeeper Mark Bunn was ruled to have handled the ball outside the box and duly earned a red card.
This is debatable because of the angle it hit the away keeper, and TV angles do not show it clearly hitting either his chest or his elbow. Based on this doubt, you can't be sure as to send the man off.
Already aggreived by this, Norwich then complained more with handballs at both ends. The first came when Sebastien Bassong's attempt to control the ball with his chest saw the ball hit his arm, and the second when Danny Rose was ruled to have punched the ball outside the box when he was about three or four yards in.
The bigger howler is the Rose one. Although not as clear as Fellaini's handball, it was definitley inside the box and it should have been a penalty to Norwich rather than a free-kick. However the penalty was one - it was unfortunate but it was a spot-kick for the hosts.
Norwich also could arguably have had Grant Holt sent off for a forceful dive into home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, which was punished with a yellow. Had Bunn not earlier been ejected or had Mignolet been seriously injured then he might well have been.
Fans are always happy and ready to moan about the performance of the referee but moreso than usual, referees have become painted as incompetent figures who can't control football. There was wall-to-wall condemnation of the Turkish referee who sent off Nani during the Manchester United-Real Madrid Champions League tie for what was at worst just a foul.
Naturally, things spiral out of control when such poor decision making is abound. It is ridiculous to say Bunn and Nani's offences were more than McManaman's tackle.
All season long there have been repeated howlers that have screwed things up, and it has been a lot more noticeable than in previous seasons. Ironically, the chief gripe of previous years - the goalline technology debate - has not been wheeled out as much as in previous seasons.
Other sports seem to have grasped better disciplinary concepts to control things when they go wrong. They also seem to have more control on referees when they go wrong. But in football whole games still revolve on the judgement on referees and when they get it wrong, games are distorted beyond recognition.
The FA's disciplinary proceedings are also remarkably poor. They leave referees out to dry, but also by protecting them accept their mistakes as genuine passages, which helps nobody either. It's all a mess that needs reform or else it leaves further trouble a guarantee.
At some point there will be an incident that leads to the whole house of cards caving in. But until then this structure will remain.
More needs to be done to stop what is arguably one of football's hardest jobs becoming not so much harder as impossible. Instead, referee standards are decreasing at an alarming rate, and refereeing howlers are becoming a weekly fiasco. Unfortunately, it seems a few more tackles like McManaman's will pass before something's done about it.
Games of high incident that involve controversial moments often result in mass scrutiny of the ref, hence why any ref will have other refs to analyse his performance in ridiculous detail.
Logic dictates refs should have more to help them make difficult calls, but with goal line technology still causing lots of debate the likelihood of it being applied pitch-wide is even more remote. It is also unhelpful if linesmen do not provide aid.
There is often complaints that the standard of refereeing is plummeting. But weekends like the one just gone do not help their cause at all.
The headline decision was the antics of Mark Halsey, who was referee during Sunday's Wigan vs Newcastle game. The big talking point came after a horrendous tackle from Wigan winger Callum McManaman left Newcastle full back Massadio Haidara requiring a stretcher and extra medical attention. At the time, the Wigan winger escaped with the eventual Newcastle free-kick having been awarded for handball by the same player.
The referee can fairly claim that his view was blocked by a retreating Newcatle player but there is no excuse for the assistant linesman, who had an almost head-on view of the incident and completley ignored it.
Toon fans have been here before, with Kyle Walker, Sebastian Larsson and Antonio Valencia all getting away with awful tackles this season and the headline example from 2010 when Nigel de Jong got away with a rotten tackle that almost forced Hatem Ben Arfa into retirement.
Of course opposition fans can mock given that Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye have reputations of their own for such challenges, plus an extremely idiotic Kevin Nolan challenge that led to Victor Anichebe - the recipient - sueing him.
Such a challenge can happen with any team and had the reverse happened few Newcastle fans could have complained if Haidara had been red carded, like Nolan was in 2009 and like Everton's Mirallas should have been for a poor tackle on Ryo Myiachi during the Everton-Wigan Cup game the week before. But all of this is beside the point - it happened here with these players and you would duly expect a red card.
But from the moment McManaman got away with it the game was immediately changed. No red card would have meant no half-time scuffle involving Newcastle assistant manager John Carver, a Wigan academy coach, several stewards and the last players to leave the pitch before half-time. It also would likely have meant Wigan would not have had the bodies to throw forward for a last minute winner that should have been chalked off anyway for a ridiculous handball.
If it had just been this game, the Referee Association could be purely concerned with what went on here and move on but aside from the long running threads of ineptitude all season long it was a pretty awful weekend all round for them.
Trouble began in the Saturday afternoon game between Everton and Manchester City, where Lee Probert got a number of decisions incorrect. Early on saw Everton get a goal incorrectly ruled out for an offside. While one player had been off, Marouane Fellaini was not when he received the ball moments before he fired it beyond Joe Hart.
Everton also had a valid penalty shout for a foul by Nastasic on Fellaini, and also felt aggrieved an unusually scrappy performance from James Milner did not receive the second yellow card some meaty challenges deserved.
But the most baffling decision came the other way when Fellaini handled five yards inside the box and Probert, somehow, awarded a free-kick outside the box. This decision defied logic, comprehension and general eyesight.
Sunderland-Norwich was the other game where the referee's decision making was integral to match reporting. This begun when away goalkeeper Mark Bunn was ruled to have handled the ball outside the box and duly earned a red card.
This is debatable because of the angle it hit the away keeper, and TV angles do not show it clearly hitting either his chest or his elbow. Based on this doubt, you can't be sure as to send the man off.
Already aggreived by this, Norwich then complained more with handballs at both ends. The first came when Sebastien Bassong's attempt to control the ball with his chest saw the ball hit his arm, and the second when Danny Rose was ruled to have punched the ball outside the box when he was about three or four yards in.
The bigger howler is the Rose one. Although not as clear as Fellaini's handball, it was definitley inside the box and it should have been a penalty to Norwich rather than a free-kick. However the penalty was one - it was unfortunate but it was a spot-kick for the hosts.
Norwich also could arguably have had Grant Holt sent off for a forceful dive into home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, which was punished with a yellow. Had Bunn not earlier been ejected or had Mignolet been seriously injured then he might well have been.
Fans are always happy and ready to moan about the performance of the referee but moreso than usual, referees have become painted as incompetent figures who can't control football. There was wall-to-wall condemnation of the Turkish referee who sent off Nani during the Manchester United-Real Madrid Champions League tie for what was at worst just a foul.
Naturally, things spiral out of control when such poor decision making is abound. It is ridiculous to say Bunn and Nani's offences were more than McManaman's tackle.
All season long there have been repeated howlers that have screwed things up, and it has been a lot more noticeable than in previous seasons. Ironically, the chief gripe of previous years - the goalline technology debate - has not been wheeled out as much as in previous seasons.
Other sports seem to have grasped better disciplinary concepts to control things when they go wrong. They also seem to have more control on referees when they go wrong. But in football whole games still revolve on the judgement on referees and when they get it wrong, games are distorted beyond recognition.
The FA's disciplinary proceedings are also remarkably poor. They leave referees out to dry, but also by protecting them accept their mistakes as genuine passages, which helps nobody either. It's all a mess that needs reform or else it leaves further trouble a guarantee.
At some point there will be an incident that leads to the whole house of cards caving in. But until then this structure will remain.
More needs to be done to stop what is arguably one of football's hardest jobs becoming not so much harder as impossible. Instead, referee standards are decreasing at an alarming rate, and refereeing howlers are becoming a weekly fiasco. Unfortunately, it seems a few more tackles like McManaman's will pass before something's done about it.
Monday, 11 March 2013
The Repetitive Case Of Justin Bieber
When you want to avoid certain items in the news they seem to jump out even more.
Modern news is particularly notorious at creating firestorms of publicity. Whenever a story is big and the editors think it might get them attention they duly create some more leads on it. It also helps when the story gives them further cause to do so.
The case of everyone's favourite pop prat Justin Bieber can, at first glance, be filed under one favourite story - the stalking of gossip celebs as they implode. This was its worst when Britney Spears had an almost complete breakdown and everyone followed her with cameras, if not quite to the extent to the episode of South Park where she's actively hunted by paps to help the harvest.
His attention is amplified by his fanbase, who regularly pollute Twitter with vapid meaningless nonsense. All pop music fanbases have segments that act like cult worship, but the sheer numbers means other fanbases.
Until last Sunday, Bieber was enjoying a fairly straight forward tour on these shores. His fans were going home from arenas up and down the land happy, reviews were reasonable and it was all going incident free as he prepared for his birthday. Then, as the news and Twitter have been at pains to discuss, it all imploded from there.
In case you don't know what happened next, he then got turned away from a posh London nightclub for trying to bring in his 14 year old friends, turned up somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours late to his first show at the O2 Arena, fainted on stage during the 3rd night, got accused of faking fainting on stage and then got caught swearing at paps outside his hotel while dressed like an idiot.
He was due to appear on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on Saturday but pulled out, choosing instead to mope round Harrod's about how he's never gonna return to our country. This has been predictably met with Twitter reaction, albeit more of the good riddance variety.
Sadly for them their hopes of a Bieber no-show have gone unheeded as it appears he will return to our country. He also denied rumours he skipped out on the TV appearance but at this rate it's all unknown how much of this is true and false, as it always is in matters like this.
Far from being content to have a nightmare jaunt on our shores he's continued apace in Europe, preferring to spend time in Amsterdam than actually preparing for two concerts in Lisbon, and then duly cancelling one due to 'unforseen circumstances' - those circumstancs presumably being no one bought any tickets.
It does feel like we've heard this song before, a bit like with Bieber's music. There are stroppy sides to pop stars and to teenagers, of which Bieber fits in both categories.
It's unverified if he was being a diva but it would make sense given that pop stars are known for sulking when their outrageous demands aren't met, and teenagers are also privy to doing that same thing.
Pop stars are always in that situation of being love-or-hate figures that seem to struggle with success. They may well have money to burn and the adoration of millions but it can be a solitary lifestyle, not least the shallow nature of people who want you for the celebrity rather than the real person.
Obviously we all think pop stardom is a pretty sweet life, then duly watch the whole artifice collapse. Michael Jackson, an idol to billions, was the case in point as he changed beyond all recognition from being a teen star into a drug-induced plastic shell. It's cliche that pop stars go from fresh-faced cherub to posturing drug-addicted arses that the gossip pages attempt to stalk to the grave. But of course, if you sell 35 million records, you're bound to get attention.
Being famous is a strange case and it can fuck with your head. Certainly, being loaded skews your viewpoint on the world - hence trying to bring underage kids into nightclubs. It also doesn't help when there's a horde of paparazzi photographers, agents, minders, helpers and fans all following your every move like a real life TV show, and making sure that the show continuously moves on the road.
Bieber's annoying fanbase are also not helpful by constantly demanding more from their idol. This in turns means he gives them more, and in turn means more is wanted, leading to stalking for more information.
It's a long from the mystique of when idols like Jagger and Bowie were secretly (and not-so-secretly) on the drug wagon. It also means all melodramatic instances are playing out in public, leading to public meltdowns like last week.
Of course it could all be an act to drive publicity. I've never met Justin Bieber and for all the posturing and terrible music he's probably a reasonable chap underneath, even if some of his antics are the kind of acts a dick might get up to.
But the fact is the Bieber industry is supermassive. He's worth £35million, he and his label employs many people to ensure he puts on a live show his fans can scream themselves into disorientation at and he's one of the biggest names in pop. He's basically the key cog, sort of like Coca-Cola are in the fizzy pop business.
Being the big name also attracts attention. It's why there were 1430586 articles on him in the wake of his late show at the O2 arena, all examining his mindest, interview his fans, asking questions of his company, speculating on why he's done so. Anyone apathetic to the whole situation or not keen on his dull musical stylings is obviously not going to be as arsed to discuss a topic that seems to range from being exhausted to having an avalance of press.
With that sort of pressure its probably a wonder he hasn't gone on a bender like this sooner. Where he goes from here, bar fighting paps in bars at 3am, is anyone's guess.
Modern news is particularly notorious at creating firestorms of publicity. Whenever a story is big and the editors think it might get them attention they duly create some more leads on it. It also helps when the story gives them further cause to do so.
The case of everyone's favourite pop prat Justin Bieber can, at first glance, be filed under one favourite story - the stalking of gossip celebs as they implode. This was its worst when Britney Spears had an almost complete breakdown and everyone followed her with cameras, if not quite to the extent to the episode of South Park where she's actively hunted by paps to help the harvest.
His attention is amplified by his fanbase, who regularly pollute Twitter with vapid meaningless nonsense. All pop music fanbases have segments that act like cult worship, but the sheer numbers means other fanbases.
Until last Sunday, Bieber was enjoying a fairly straight forward tour on these shores. His fans were going home from arenas up and down the land happy, reviews were reasonable and it was all going incident free as he prepared for his birthday. Then, as the news and Twitter have been at pains to discuss, it all imploded from there.
In case you don't know what happened next, he then got turned away from a posh London nightclub for trying to bring in his 14 year old friends, turned up somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours late to his first show at the O2 Arena, fainted on stage during the 3rd night, got accused of faking fainting on stage and then got caught swearing at paps outside his hotel while dressed like an idiot.
He was due to appear on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on Saturday but pulled out, choosing instead to mope round Harrod's about how he's never gonna return to our country. This has been predictably met with Twitter reaction, albeit more of the good riddance variety.
Sadly for them their hopes of a Bieber no-show have gone unheeded as it appears he will return to our country. He also denied rumours he skipped out on the TV appearance but at this rate it's all unknown how much of this is true and false, as it always is in matters like this.
Far from being content to have a nightmare jaunt on our shores he's continued apace in Europe, preferring to spend time in Amsterdam than actually preparing for two concerts in Lisbon, and then duly cancelling one due to 'unforseen circumstances' - those circumstancs presumably being no one bought any tickets.
It does feel like we've heard this song before, a bit like with Bieber's music. There are stroppy sides to pop stars and to teenagers, of which Bieber fits in both categories.
It's unverified if he was being a diva but it would make sense given that pop stars are known for sulking when their outrageous demands aren't met, and teenagers are also privy to doing that same thing.
Pop stars are always in that situation of being love-or-hate figures that seem to struggle with success. They may well have money to burn and the adoration of millions but it can be a solitary lifestyle, not least the shallow nature of people who want you for the celebrity rather than the real person.
Obviously we all think pop stardom is a pretty sweet life, then duly watch the whole artifice collapse. Michael Jackson, an idol to billions, was the case in point as he changed beyond all recognition from being a teen star into a drug-induced plastic shell. It's cliche that pop stars go from fresh-faced cherub to posturing drug-addicted arses that the gossip pages attempt to stalk to the grave. But of course, if you sell 35 million records, you're bound to get attention.
Being famous is a strange case and it can fuck with your head. Certainly, being loaded skews your viewpoint on the world - hence trying to bring underage kids into nightclubs. It also doesn't help when there's a horde of paparazzi photographers, agents, minders, helpers and fans all following your every move like a real life TV show, and making sure that the show continuously moves on the road.
Bieber's annoying fanbase are also not helpful by constantly demanding more from their idol. This in turns means he gives them more, and in turn means more is wanted, leading to stalking for more information.
It's a long from the mystique of when idols like Jagger and Bowie were secretly (and not-so-secretly) on the drug wagon. It also means all melodramatic instances are playing out in public, leading to public meltdowns like last week.
Of course it could all be an act to drive publicity. I've never met Justin Bieber and for all the posturing and terrible music he's probably a reasonable chap underneath, even if some of his antics are the kind of acts a dick might get up to.
But the fact is the Bieber industry is supermassive. He's worth £35million, he and his label employs many people to ensure he puts on a live show his fans can scream themselves into disorientation at and he's one of the biggest names in pop. He's basically the key cog, sort of like Coca-Cola are in the fizzy pop business.
Being the big name also attracts attention. It's why there were 1430586 articles on him in the wake of his late show at the O2 arena, all examining his mindest, interview his fans, asking questions of his company, speculating on why he's done so. Anyone apathetic to the whole situation or not keen on his dull musical stylings is obviously not going to be as arsed to discuss a topic that seems to range from being exhausted to having an avalance of press.
With that sort of pressure its probably a wonder he hasn't gone on a bender like this sooner. Where he goes from here, bar fighting paps in bars at 3am, is anyone's guess.
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