27/11/2008 Airbourne & Stone Gods @ The Astoria

Subject	Airbourne & Stone Gods @ The Astoria
PostedDate	11/27/2008
	This is one of my most eagerly anticipated shows of the year - and it doesn't disappoint! It may be one of my last visits to the Astoria before they knock it down. Then again, I was thinking that a year ago and it's still standing - but only just after tonight!  Sorry for the quality of the pictures - probably my worst ever! I couldn't be arsed to take my camera as I knew the place would be rammed and I'd probably have my work cut out just staying on my feet. So you'll just have to make do with a few shaky and blurred phone pics - just call them 'action shots'... Be grateful - it's more than you got from Motörhead! This is the third time I've seen Stone Gods - they were good the first time, and they've been better each time since.  It's good to finally see them on the bigger stage they deserve, and they certainly rise to the occasion. As they are playing with Airbourne this is a full on rock show - no slow songs or ballads. Stone Gods are considerably louder than I've ever heard them before, and heavier too. Frontman Richie is on top form and really going for it - in fact at one point he ends up playing from in the crowd rather than on the stage! Stone Gods give us a great really hard rocking and heavy show tonight, and are a terrific choice of support act for this tour. Airbourne's rise is the UK has been very rapid - was it really only earlier this year that they were playing at the Borderline? Now they are just round the corner headlining two nights at the Astoria! Their set starts with the album opening anthem 'Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll'. This song is a great opener as it starts slowly and quietly and builds up before really exploding! This is the first time I've seen the band, but after getting their album and hearing so many people raving about how amazing they are live I've been really looking forward to this show. People have been saying Airbourne are actually louder than Motörhead on their recent tour!  They have had some stick in some quarters for so blatantly ripping off the mighty AC/DC, but in my view we've been waiting so long since the last album and tour from that band that I'm more than happy to see someone else come along and give us what AC/DC haven't done for quite a while. In fact I'd go as far as to say that Airbourne have made a better AC/DC album than the one that AC/DC themselves have just released. Seriously.  There is no doubt that the Young brothers outfit is still a great band, but this lot are young (no pun intended) and hungry - and it shows! There are a lot of parallels between the two bands, from the use of Gibson SG guitars, to the sound, and also the fact that there are two brothers in the band. Just forget all that and allow yourself to enjoy some of the most high energy rock 'n' roll you'll find anywhere - this is the real thing! This is a sensational show - one of the very best I've seen for a long time. The energy level is incredibly high all the way through the show - there is no let up at all - no slow songs, no ballads - just pure red hot balls to the wall high voltage rock & roll!  Like Richie from Stone Gods earlier, Airbourne's powerhouse frontman Joel O'Keeffe also gets off the stage and is playing a solo from out in the crowd - but he takes it even further and gets right to the back of the room with his wireless system! Motörhead were pretty good as usual the other night, but weren't anything like as good value for money at £30 a ticket as Airbourne are for only £13.50. It's the best value ticket of the year by a long way. This is not just one of the best shows I've been to this year (and regular readers know I go to a hell of a lot) but one of the best I've been to in the last five years! The atmosphere was electric, and Airbourne drove the crowd wild - I've never felt the floor of the Astoria bounce up and down as much as before! I'm really looking forward to seeing AC/DC again next year, but I'll be very surprised if they are still as good as Airbourne were tonight.