The team here at Midlands Rocks cover a lot of gigs in a year, and in 2011 that was somewhere around the 430 mark!
But which did our team rate the best they had attended? They may have been while reviewing the show for MR or simply attending as a fan of live rock n’ roll. We don’t mind.
Read on and then let us know your favourite shows of the year over on our Facebook page here
Jack Arkell
Gallows @ Sonisphere (July)
Alice Cooper @ Birmingham NIA (October)
Gallows @ London ULU (July)
Descendents @ Reading Festival (August)
The Darkness @ Leamington Assembly Rooms (June)
Paul Broome
Anna Calvi @ HMV Institute Library, Birmingham
Throwing Muses @ Club Academy, Manchester
My Morning Jacket @ HMV Institute, Birmingham
Warpaint @ HMV Institute Library, Birmingham
Ben Poole Band @ Barnsley Polish Club
Best Local Band Gig: New Killer Shoes (supporting KiGH) @ HMV Institute Library, Birmingham
Chop
Dying Fetus @ Bonecrusher, O2 Academy 2, Birmingham – 9/3
Satyricon @ Hammerfest, Pontin’s Prestatyn
Kreator @ Bloodstock Open Air, Catton Hall
My Dying Bride @ Wulfrun, Wolverhampton – 20/5
Anathema @ Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton – 16/2
Midlands band gig of the year….
Godsize Farewell Gig @ Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge – 1/10
Tosh Davies
Big 4 – (April) Indio, California
Ghost – (June) Hellfest, France
Accept/Wolf – (March) Sheffield Corporation
Devin Townsend Performing ‘Addicted’ (November) – London ULU
Alter Bridge – (April) The Grove, Anaheim, California
Paul Davis
Slash, Victoria Hall, Stoke
Michael Monroe, HMV Institute
Rival Sons, Slade Rooms
Revival Tour, Rock City
Thin Lizzy, Wolves Civic
Claire Frays
Trivium – The Asylum
Alter Bridge – Manchester MEN Arena
Kamelot with Fabio Lione – O2 Academy Islington
Dream Theater – Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Rhapsody Of Fire – Bloodstock Open Air
Top Local Band Gig: Awake By Design – Robin2
Tony Gaskin
Echo and The Bunnymen @ Birmingham Symphony Hall
The Levellers/The Wonderstuff @ Rock City, Nottingham
Europe/Voodoo Johnson @ Shepherds Bush Empire
Killing Joke @ Rock City, Nottingham
Clutch @ Download
Lucy Gliddon
Hell – Bloodstock Open Air
Anthrax – Soniphere Festival
Valhalla – Damaged Stock, Nottingham (Midlands band)
Devin Townsend – Deconstruction show, ULU
Satyricon – Hammerfest
Jason Guest
The Enid @ High Voltage Festival, Victoria Park, London – 23rd July 2011
Slab / Arceye / Xerath @ Scruffy’s – 4th November 2011
Today Is The Day / Retox @ O2 Academy 3 – 5th April 2011
Anaal Nathrakh @ Asylum – 13th May 2011
Opeth @ O2 Academy – 12th November 2011
Ian Harvey
Rush – LG Arena
Judas Priest – Wolverhampton Civic
Journey/Foreigher/Styx – LG Arena
Peter Frampton – Symphony Hall
Manic Street Preachers – Wolverhampton Civic
Peter Keevil
Rival Sons – Slade Rooms, Wolvo
Black Spiders – Rock City, Notts
Powerage Tour – The Treatment & Million Dollar Reload – Queens Hall, Nuneaton
Judas Priest – Civic Hall, Wolvo
Y&T – Slade Rooms, Wolvo
Honourable mention to – Trucker Diablo @ Download
Samanatha Knight
Motley Crue and Def leppard – NEC Birmingham 6th Dec
69 Eyes – Nottingham Rock City 26th March
Slash – High Voltage 22nd July
Megadeth – Sonisphere 8th July
Jethro Tull – High Voltage 23rd July
Best Local Band Gig: Liberty Lies – Scruffy Murphys 19th May
Sean Larkin
Foreigner @ LG Arena
Alter Bridge @ LG Arena
Slash at 02 Academy, Birmingham
Black Stone Cherry @ LG Arena
Hell at Bloodstock
Chris Maddocks
Sonisphere Festival, (Big 4 & Black Spiders especially). Knebworth, July 2011
Skindred. Rock City, Notts, April
Maiden + Airbourne. Notts Arena, July
Sylosis + Malefice + Anterior. Rescue Rooms, Notts,
Black Label Society + Godsized. O2 Academy, Birmingham
Best gig by a local band: Death of Thieves at Derby’s Vic Inn. August 2011
Hayseed Dixie were a close run thing for the top 5 which suprises me to admit
Carla Mundy
Twin Atlantic @ Rock City @ Rock City Basement, Notts 8th May
Cancer Bats @ Hit The Deck festival, Rock City Notts 17th April
The Blackout @ Engine Shed, Lincoln 1st Nov
The Computers @ the Maze, Notts 20th May
Baby Godzilla (also my local choice) @ The Chameleon, Notts 4th Nov
Lisa Nash
Bon Jovi at Hyde Park
Switchfoot – HMV Institute
Raven Vandelle
This Wicked Tongue / October Sky
Japanese Voyeurs
Best Local band – Raven Vandelle
Harry Paterson
Slash Stoke-on-Trent July
Alter Bridge Download June
Captain Horizon New Disorder September
Walter Trout Rescue Rooms July
W.E.T. Firefest Rock City September
Alexx Peace
Rob Zombie – Download and Birmingham Academy a mix of both gigs =)
Alice Cooper – Manchester Apollo
Murderdolls – Manchester Academy/Hardcore Superstar / 69Eyes / Crashdiet – Nottingham Rock City
Vains of Jenna and Falling Red Carlisle – End of tour Show.
Dean Pedley
Roger Waters The Wall @ Birmingham NIA
Judas Priest @ High Voltage Festival, London
Dream Theater @ High Voltage Festival, London
Yes @ Symphony Hall
Journey/Foreigner/Styx @ Birmingham LG Arena
Best local band gig: Judas Priest @ High Voltage
Martin Platt
Volbeat + The Black Spiders (Sheffield Corp)
Bring Me The Horizon + Parkway Drive + Architects (Rock City)
Your Demise + Letlive (Rescue Rooms)
Enter Shikari + Your Demise + Letlive (Rock City)
Sylosis + Malefice (Rescue Rooms)
Also, Hit The Deck Fest as a whole was brilliant!
Paul Quinton
Rush, NEC, May. The second half especially was in my top 5 gigs of all time, let alone 2011.
W.E.T., Firefest, Nottingham Rock City, October. All the more amazing as it was their first ever gig.
Threshold, Derby Redemption, June.
The Reasoning, London Borderline, July.
Within Temptation, Brum Academy, November.
Best local band gig: Diamond Head at the Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton
Ian Savage
The Urban Voodoo Machine, Bulldog Bash 12th August
The Hold Steady, Birmingham Academy 6th February
The Damned, Bulldog Bash 13th August
Micheal Monroe, Wolverhampton Wulfrun 28th November
Ginger & Friends, Birmingham Insitiute 6th June
For a Midlands live act has to be Liberty Lies at the Bulldog and/or Morgue Orgy/Slab/Husk at the Flapper & Firking a few weeks ago.
Rob Stanley
Yes – symphony hall -11.11.11
JJ Grey & Mofro – robin 2 – 10.05.11
Virgil & The Accelerators – robin 2 – 26.05.11
Ian Seigal – robin 2 – 16.03.11
Geoff Achison – robin 2 – 12.10.11
Best local band gig: Virgil & The Accelerators
Rich Ward
Metallica – Sonsiphere France
Roger Waters – The Wall @Manchester Evening News Arena
Thin Lizzy & The Union – Wolverhampton Civic
Paul Rodgers & The Down N Outs –Birmingham NIA
Diamond Head– Sonisphere, Knebworth
So best Midlands band gig Diamond Head @ Sonisphere
Woody
VEGA @ Hard Rock Hell 5 – Prestatyn Pontins December 2nd
Epica @ The Robin, Bilston March 11th
Within Temptation @ Brum Academy November 8th
Arabia – Z Rock 2011 @ The Asylum, Brum 15th May
Richard Marx @ Brum Symphony Hall 26th May
Nick Workman is a Midlander albeit a posh un so VEGA = Midlands…
