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saskia says0 Votes UP / DOWN
�BRMC take on Hammersmith in opener-

They kicked-off the defence of their title against Kasabian, The Stills and The Rapture and got the better off��

Sorry, I can�t do this. I hate football. And I didn�t even know any of the terms apart from �ball� and �goal�, so had to look up all the words I used for the first few lines of this review. Why on earth did the Hammersmith Apollo need to keep us updated on the scores during the match between England and� some other country, when there�s all these great bands to listen to? (At one point, a girl came up to me to say: �We�ve scored!!!� and I made the stupid mistake of answering, �How nice for you.� Why couldn�t I just say in my thickest accent, �Our boys haf� von, haf� zey?�)

Suffice to say that it was a real treat to see Robert join The Rapture on stage for the song �Open up your heart�; to hear a personal favourite like �Red eyes and tears� again (not performed live by the band for some time now, according to Peter); to take in �Ha ha high babe� and �Down there�� Who needs football when there�s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club?

Football: 0, BRMC: 10 out of 10.
Posted Saturday, June 26, 2004 pm30 at 2:19pm
David says+1 Votes UP / DOWN
The reason this gig came about escapes me. It was probably some Carling-celebrate-the-festival-season-type thing. Either way, it was a pretty special night; four bands signed on to play the Hammersmith Apollo for free. BRMC headlined with support from The Rapture, The Stills and Kasabian (their last bottom of the bill slot since fame was soon to beckon).

London venues this size tend to be quite theatrical and the Apollo is no exception. The grand architecture is an excellent setting for tonight's show. The night coincided with some football match - England vs... I dunno, it was a long time ago (forgive my lack of sporting knowledge). Therefore, the main bar was pretty packed with fans surrounding the TV's brought in especially for tonight's game.

Kasabian kick things off by playing the majority of their soon to be released album and are very well received by the crowd.

Disaster soon strikes as I fear my camera is broken as it would not turn on. A good nudge against a wall and all is well again. As The Stills take to the stage, I make my way to BRMC's dressing room to find Robert and Peter tuning up guitars. Hello's were said, complimentary cookies were consumed and The Rapture gear up for their set.

Two months prior to this show the band toured the US with The Rapture so tonight was a reunion for the two bands. To celebrate, Robert appears on stage to play bass with them.

As their set draws to a close I make my way to the photo pit to ready myself for BRMC's set. I perch on the barrier and the band take stage. Three songs later, security drag me out and I venture side of stage to get some more snaps. Highlights include b-sides, High/Low and Down Here. The band end the main set with Punk Song and return for a three song encore. Peter comes on stage to play Complicated Situation and updates the crowd on the current football score.

After the show we round up a bunch of fans to come back stage and hang out for a while. Robert and I argue with security and eventually persuade them to let everyone we gathered up into dressing room. Since everyone was well behaved and sitting quietly, Robert reveals his Powerbook and asks if the crowd wants to hear some of the new material they had recently been working on in Philadelphia. Of course everyone was delighted to hear a taster of the album which wouldn't be released for another 14 months. Amongst others, Howl and Devils Waitin' were debuted.

Soon it was time for the band to leave as they would be jetting off to Germany in a few hours. Peter graciously offered up the leftover food (and vodka) which remained in the dressing room. Hands were shaken, goodbyes were said and the room once stocked with cookies and sandwiches and beer and vodka was now empty.
Posted Thursday, September 8, 2005 am30 at 9:01am
mich says0 Votes UP / DOWN
Due to the fact I didn't know I was on the guestlist until 3 hours before the show, we didn't arrive until the last song of the Rapture's set.

This was my first BRMC UK show, and a sampling of what Glastonbury would sound like. The set itself was wonderful, but I think the crowd was even better. There was an amazing energy about them.

While heading towards backstage, we were redirected to the hospitality balcony where we were distracted by, yet impressed with the neat drink "tolkens" (guitar picks with the "Carling" logo on them). After a few drinks we forgot what we'd left the floor in search of and decided it was best to get to the tubes before our lines closed for the night. It's just as well. I had to leave for Glasto two hours later.
Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2005 pm30 at 6:52pm