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justforbooks · 5 years

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"Led Zeppelin The Forum June 3, 1973

This is based on the fantastic AUD recording, expertly transferred from the JEMS Master - DAT (16/32) source. This is a wonderful audience source, documenting an incredible show.

Some feel this is Led Zeppelin's best performance of the 1973 North American tour.

Hey guys, if you're interested in imagining what it was like to be at this show, I highly encourage you to check out this post by Strider on the Led Zeppelin forum. It is easily the best account of a Zeppelin show I have ever read.

Let's get on the time machine...

Sunday June 3, 1973

I'm flying home from San Francisco to Orange County...a little wobbly after my Kezar Stadium trip, but feeling better the more fluids I drink and the closer I realize I am getting to the appointed hour of my third Led Zeppelin concert in four days.

This Led Zeppelin concert is a little different, however. Not only is this the last show of the first leg of the 1973 US tour, but the last LA show...and who knew when the next tour would be, so this would have to get me through whatever dry spell awaited. Most important of all...I was taking my girlfriend to the show; not only her first Led Zeppelin concert, but her first concert period. That I wanted her to enjoy it was an understatement.

My girlfriend's name was Trudy. She was slightly older than me...11 going on 12...while I wouldn't turn 11 until the next month in July. We met when we were on the same community rec swim team the summer of 72. She also liked baseball and played on the girl's softball team until it became too painful for her(this was before the days of high-tech sports bras). A tomboy, she was like Tatum O'Neal with boobs. Our first date was to an Angel game to see Nolan Ryan pitch.

*Quick digression: baseball games make wonderful first dates. It's not as crowded or noisy as football, basketball, hockey or auto races. And the leisurely pace allows for plenty of conversation time to get to know each other. And if you're lucky to get picked for the "Kiss-Cam", that gives you an excuse for a quick kiss.

Back to Trudy...she was great, except when I met her, her musical tastes ran to America, Bread and Seals & Crofts...the hardest band she liked was Three Dog Night. So it was a long process to get her to like Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Stones, Alice Cooper and my other faves. Some she never took to(Frank Zappa, Velvet Underground), but after a few months she finally got hooked into Zeppelin. Of course, it was mainly the softer stuff she liked...Stairway to Heaven, What Is and What Could Never Be, That's the Way. Thank You was her favourite LZ song. And when Houses of the Holy came out, she immediately fell in love with Rain Song. But little by little she came to appreciate the hard rocking songs as well.

All this was on my mind as I rested on the plane-ride home. You see, before I saw Led Zeppelin for the first time in 1972, I had NO IDEA what to expect from a Led Zeppelin concert. I had all four studio albums released at that time, but had yet to acquire any bootlegs. So yes, the effect was fairly shattering when finally seeing my first Zeppelin concert, June 25, 1972. By the time of the 1973 shows though, I had bought two Led Zeppelin bootleg double-albums: Live on Blueberry Hill, the September 4, 1970 Forum show; and Going to California, the Sept. 14 1971 Berkeley show, mislabeled as being at the Forum.

Those two boots, plus the memories of the 1972 shows, instilled in me the idea that the acoustic set was a regular part of a Led Zeppelin concert, and I raved to Trudy about the acoustic set...how they did Going to California and That's the Way, two of her faves. But now I had seen 2 of the 73 concerts, and neither one featured an acoustic set, not even one acoustic song...there didn't appear to be an acoustic guitar in the building. They had played Rain Song, so I knew Trudy would love that, but after building it up in her head, I was worried she would be disappointed if she didn't get an acoustic set. Perhaps, they were saving it for this last concert of the first leg...a special treat for LA. That was one fortunate outcome of Jimmy Page's finger injury: not only was Trudy now able to see the concert, but by moving the concert to June 3, my last Zeppelin memory of 1973 would be crystal clear, unlike the hazy one I had of the Kezar Stadium debauchery.

Shortly after 5pm, the plane descended into Orange County airspace, glistening swimming pools dotting the landscape, the brown smog bank of the Inland Empire off in the distance. There they were, my BB and Trudy, my sun-dappled girl, waiting for me as arranged. To save time, I gave him Trudy's address so he could pick her up before meeting me at the airport. Then we could just drive straight up the 405 to the LA Forum. So, after a brief wait for my luggage, there the three of us were in my BB's blue 1969 Chevy Malibu, him driving, and Trudy and I in the backseat. Making the long slog north on the 405, joining thousands of others making the drive from San Diego back to Los Angeles, I filled Trudy and the BB in on my San Francisco trip, not exactly revealing EVERYTHING. Trudy wasn't a party-stoner girl, and I didn't want her to get the wrong idea about me. The BB and I answered questions she had about the concert; she was excited when I told her that it was pretty certain that they would play Rain Song. But I also said that they hadn't played Thank You, and she looked bummed about that...but hey, I said, you never know what they'll play for sure. Maybe tonight they'll play it.

A quick pit stop for gas and a bite to eat at Tijuana Taco(don't ask...just slightly better than Taco Bell...they shut down later in the 70's when employees were caught selling drugs thru the drive-thru window), and we were back on the 405, past the Westminster Mall, past Seal Beach then Long Beach, until nearing LAX airport, and the giant Randy's Donut Donut marking the Manchester Blvd. exit. It must have been around 7pm, as we drove east on Manchester, past La Brea and Market, past the A-Frame International House of Pancakes on the left at Hillcrest, past the usual shady characters holding up "Need tickets" signs. This time we turned right on Prairie, then left into the Forum parking lot, the Forum Club awning up ahead. It was still plenty light outside, a pleasant June evening, and as usual for a rock concert, the parking lot was a bazaar of the bizarre. A panoply of colourful types everywhere you looked.

Thanks to my uncle's wife washing my clothes while sleeping off my trip in San Francisco, I was wearing my burgundy velvet hip-hugger bell-bottoms and yellow 1973 Zeppelin tour shirt. But I saw a bootleg parking lot shirt I liked and bought one for me and Trudy...total cost $4.

There was a long line to get in the Forum, so we headed to one of the special entrances for people with floor seats. Yeah, I had almost forgotten...after 4 previous Led Zeppelin concerts spent in loge or bleacher seating, I was finally going to be near the stage, 13 rows from the front, on the floor, looking at the stage head on. No side or obstructed views this time. I was already stoked...this sudden realization of where we would be sitting further stoked my fire. So eager with anticipation we fairly glided through the narrow tunnel into the Forum floor, past the massive soundboard/mixing desk towards the rear and past the rear sections of the floor, approaching the stage closer and closer until we came to our destination: Section B, Row 13. It did feel weird looking at our tickets and seeing the date May 30. The time once again said 8:00 pm...but we told Trudy that was more a "suggested" time than a firm commitment.

That allowed for plenty of time for concert prep...last-minute bathroom visits, stock up on snacks and coke and back to our seats with plenty of time to watch the roadies fine-tune the stage as the Doobie Brothers and Yes played over the sound system. Although the music wasn't nearly as loud as the concert would be, I gave Trudy the earplugs the BB had brought for her, as we didn't want her first concert to be too painful...I mean, Led Zeppelin were LOUD...VERY LOUD!

Being so close to the stage, you notice details you can't see from far away...the details of the amp setups...Jimmy's simple effects setup...Jones' keyboards and the white mellotron...Bonzo's orange Ludwig vistalites. In fact, I noticed that if you took away the gong and tympani, his drum kit was actually quite small compared to the gargantuan kits of Carl Palmer, Keith Moon and Ginger Baker. Just a bass drum, snare, one rack tom and two floor toms, that's it. Yet, in Bonham's talented hands, that kit sounded more MASSIVE than Carl, Keith and Ginger's kits combined.

Ooooh, there was the big mirror ball high above Bonzo's kit...I pointed it out to Trudy. She also noticed with some trepidation and awe the huge PA speaker stacks...courtesy of Showco. As roadies climbed roped rigging ladders to fix the various spotlights and whatnot, I sensed a different vibe in the Forum tonight from the Bonzo Birthday Party show. Yes, the audience for that show was excited...it was the first night and it was Bonzo's birthday, so we were hyped. But as shouts of "Led Zeppelin!" and "Rock and Roll!" and "Whole Lotta Love!" echoed around the arena, as frisbees and beach balls whizzed and bounced around, the anticipation and buzz of the audience seemed torqued to a higher degree. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I know why. First, the June 3 show was originally supposed to be the first show...and anyone who has been to multinight stands knows that the first night crowd often has the hard core fans. We were the "real" first night crowd, not the May 31 crowd. Second, that May 31 show was so amazing that obviously word-of-mouth spread. Folks heard how awesome the May 31 concert was, so everyone was at fever pitch for tonight's gig...both the people who were there May 31 and were expecting more of the same, and those who just heard about it and couldn't wait to experience it themselves. If you've ever been to a concert by your favourite band, you know the feelings you go through right before the band comes on: the butterflies in your stomach, the calculations in your mind at what the first song will be and what the setlist will entail. How you literally cannot breathe from excitement.

Well, take all that and multiply by 10 and you'll get an idea how feverish the crowd was for this Led

Zeppelin concert was...if someone had thrown raw meat into the crowd, it would have been devoured. Hell, I feared if one of the roadies had fallen into the crowd, he'd be torn limb from limb. The beast was getting hungry...we wanted Zeppelin. At any bit of lull from the sound system, any break from the music, a great hue and cry went up from the throng in anticipation of the band coming on stage. At long last however, after several false moments, sometime around 9ish, the Forum went dark as the house lights went down.

CUE PANDEMONIUM!!! I am serious. Sure, every Zeppelin concert I attended the crowd would greet the band loudly, as loud as any concerts I have seen. But the concert of June 3, 1973 was something else entirely...it was like RAPTURE! People stomping their feet, ecstatically screaming, firecrackers exploding...the only other time I experienced this frenzied a response was the June 21, 1977 show.

In the dark, periodically illuminated by flashes and lit lighters, we could make out the shapes of the band members making their way on stage. As the stomping and hollering from the crowd continued, Bonham gave a quick test of the drums and soon after, the Little Richard-tribute drum intro to Rock and Roll commenced the beginning of the show as the stage exploded to brightness as the stage lights came on the same time as the band kicked into the main riff of Rock and Roll.

Oh shit Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore. Being on the floor is a completely different deal. The loudness is even more LOUD...IN YOUR FACE...AND IN YOUR GUT!!! Especially Bonzo's kick drum and Jonesey's bass. I looked over at Trudy and thanked my lucky stars we had thought of bringing earplugs for Trudy...she had been gripping my hand since the Forum lights went down, but as I looked at her she smiled and signaled she was okay. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of us, and I returned my gaze to the stage. From behind the kit, Bonzo looked like he was wearing the same pastel tanktop, or wifebeater, as before. John Paul Jones was wearing some multicoloured button-down shiny shirt with these fantastic flash silver bell bottoms. Simply extraordinary...he should've worn them for the MSG shows! Unfortunately, being close to the stage allowed me to see Jones' mustache more clearly...he just didn't look right with that mustache. Jimmy Page was wearing the same natty white double-breasted suit as he did at Kezar. With the black and white shoes. His hair looked healthy and fluffy, the coloured lights giving it different hued highlights throughout the night.

Then, there was Robert Plant. Golden God. Golden, flaxen hair flowing down past his shoulders, the lights amplifying the golden hue of his curly locks. Long, lean and tanned body encased in skintight flared blue jeans and a pinkish-red shirt, more masculine than his usual 1973 blousey-type tops, but with just enough femininity to give Plant that otherworldly, ethereal sexual charisma he, and only he among the 70's frontmen, had. No, not even David Bowie or Freddie Mercury had it...David was too drugged out and sickly thin and Freddie too campy with his "Al Pacino in Cruising" look. To top it off, Robert had a red flower(a rose?) stuffed down his pants, so that the flower was just over his belt buckle.

And because we were now looking straight ahead and up at the stage, and not down from afar as before at other shows, the band, particularly Jimmy and Robert since they were closest to the front, appeared 10 feet tall. Like they truly were gods descended from Mount Olympus to bestow upon us mere mortals their immortal musical alchemy. As Rock and Roll progressed, with Jimmy doing his signature Rock and Roll stagger step, Trudy and I were hopping up and down on our seats, standing on our seats the only way we could see over the grownups in front of us. After the guitar solo, when Jimmy did his little leap, Trudy and I jumped as well, as various girls around us squealed. That's another thing I noticed being down front...lots of teenage flesh in hotpants and platforms. But let's get back to the music...

Rock and Roll was at it's end, Bonham flailing away like Animal of the Muppets during the final drum flurry, which leads to the rousing fanfare into Jimmy's solo intro to Celebration Day, notes flashing fast and furious from his vintage Les Paul. THIS was one of the moments I was already anticipating, for the previous 2 Zeppelin concerts had proven how great, and underrated, a song Celebration Day was in concert.

Tonight was no different...as Jimmy's opening guitar shot rapid fire notes, and Robert intones the opening lines, the song builds to that slight hesitation as Robert sings "and she wonders pretty soon everybody's gonna KNOWWWW" and then Bonzo, Jones and Jimmy SLAM into the song in total force, and the impact is UN-FUCKING-REAL!!!

Try to picture this in your mind...Bonzo and Jones are laying down this MASSIVE volcanically-erupting groove, Jonesy's bass inhabiting your bones, while Bonzo's drums wallop your guts, all the while he's staring intently at Jimmy, his mouth popping open from time to time like he's chewing gum and his head jerking with each accent of the beat. Meanwhile, Jimmy is slinking around the stage, guitar slung low, while carving out that ridiculously sexy funky Celebration Day riff. It's not that there's anything wrong with Rock and Roll, although even then it sounded slower in concert than on record, with Robert's vocals not as manic as the studio version, but Celebration Day, for me, is when the enormity of the concert hit me. The song seemed faster and more high energy than Rock and Roll.

And it was somewhere during Celebration Day that I lost it. How can I explain it to you? There isn't a bootleg in the world that can replicate the sound, the experience. Jimmy's guitar is sounding like 100 chainsaws carving that riff into your head...the bass and drums are exploding into your spine causing you to spontaneously jerk and dance about. The overwhelming loudness of the sound envelops you, harmonic overtones, that no bootleg can pick up, merging to create new tones and notes, raising the hair on your arms and sending tingles up and down your spine. On top of the the force of the groove and the sound, is the visual impact of Robert and Jimmy swaggering, thrusting, dancing across the stage...their movements somtimes in tandem, sometimes on their own, yet still strangely in sympatico with each other; the yin and yang. As Robert's voice, by now warmed up from the rough Rock and Roll opening, wails over the musical onslaught, and Jimmy's guitar cuts like a knife sharper than Bryan Adams will ever know, Jimmy struts to the front of the stage and I half expect him to just keep walking off the stage into the air above us. That is when I just erupt in tears of joy. I couldn't help it...I'm with my girlfriend and the band is sounding so good and they are fucking rocking the stage like they OWN IT! None of this tentative squirreling about like some bands. And Celebration Day is KICKING SO MUCH ASS! I tell you, I was in a state of happiness, of TOTAL BLISS, that the waterworks just flowed and flowed. I hugged Trudy and gave my BB a high-five as CD came to an end much too soon...they could have kept that groove going for another 10 minutes as far as I was concerned. And they should have made Celebration Day a permanent part of the setlist from 1971 on, I'm my opinion.

No time for dillydallying, Jimmy immediately slides into the Bring It On Home riff after CD...and Robert promises all the ladies in the house he's going to make them sweat and groove, as the band lurches into the serpentine riff of Black Dog, the third all-out hard rocker in a row to open the show. I always preferred the Bring It On Home riff as an opener to Black Dog to the Out on the Tiles riff, and here's why. With the Bring it riff, the segue to Black Dog seemed smoother. Also, I didn't particularly want to hear the actual song Bring It On Home, by then having grown bored with the early blues covers like Bring It and You Shook Me, so I liked when they shifted into Black Dog. But Out on the Tiles is one of my favourite songs, especially after hearing it on the Live on Blueberry Hill bootleg. So everytime they would play that opening riff to Out on the Tiles, I would get excited they were going to play the whole song. So I actually would feel a twinge of disappointment when they would go into Black Dog instead. C'mon guys, just ONCE gimme Out on the Tiles!

Black Dog swaggers to a close, Jimmy bringing the song to an end with a blazing run, and just like that, the opening three song assault is over, and us fans have a chance to cheer and welcome the band back to LA, as Robert says good evening and goes into one of his plantations, none of which I recall. It's funny, but even more so than in the stands, people down front yell all sorts of stuff at the band, thinking they're so close the band will hear them and respond. Greetings, requests...some musical, some sexual...non sequiters, all manner of nonsense is shouted at the band as a whole and at individual members; Jimmy and Robert topping the list, natch.

Another thing you notice up front is all the stuff that gets thrown on stage that the roadies periodically have to clear off. Joints, wadded balls of paper(notes, I presume), cards, flowers, candy, popcorn, items of clothing(some intimate)...it's quite a sight and probably quite a haul by the end of the night. Fortunately, Trudy refrained from throwing any clothing.

Jimmy took this time to remove his jacket, revealing an orange-red striped button-down shirt with black cuffs that I don't think I've seen him wear before...or since. In fact, both Jimmy and Robert are wearing shirts that I've hardly seen pop up in photographs other than in photos of tonight's gig.

With jacket removed, and Robert's introduction over, the folky beginning of Over the Hills and Far Away begins, as Jimmy's sweet cherry red Les Paul tone lulls you into a state of mellowness, as Robert sings to his lady...then WHAM! The volume increases ten-fold, and again, one of those ingenious simple-sounding yet complex riffs grabs hold of you, while Bonzo lays down a beat that at first seems at odds with the riff, but gradually reveals itself to be a marvel of deep-in-the-pocket groove. In fact, OTHAFA is one of those songs that was fun to watch the band play in concert. Jimmy hunched over, jerking his body to the riff, while Bonzo and Jones watched each other, working over the changes as Jimmy solo'd stratospherically over the top. Robert by now would throw in his Acapulco Gold aside to knowing looks and laughs among the stoners in the audience.

After the song drew to its languorous close, Jimmy bathed in deep blue light, I checked with Trudy to make sure she was okay...that it wasn't too loud or if she needed to rest. Before the concert, we said that we would stay to the end, but if she needed to go to the rest room, I would escort her, and if she got tired, she could sit and if possible, nap in her seat. So far, she was A-OK, thumbs-up, all systems go! Which was fine by me, as we were coming to another highlight of the show for me: the Misty Mountain Hop/Since I've Been Loving You tandem, signaled by Jones removing his bass and walking over to our left and sitting down at his keyboards, face-forward to the crowd, while Jimmy switched from the red Les Paul w/ black pickups to his customary Les Paul Sunburst.

Hippie funk-groove, followed by the sweeping, cinematic English blues drama of SIBLY. As the band charged into Misty Mountain Hop, the vibe of the show kept elevating...so many people dancing and smiling and having a goodtime. Apparently enpugh people in the crowd had experienced getting hassled by the cops over rolling papers to the point that the entire Forum wanted to escape to the Misty Mountains. Once again, the sound is massive, as Jimmy Page's guitar is in your face. Robert is doing all his hippie dances and wiggles across the stage while Jones' funky Fender Rhodes gives the song its colour. But it is Bonham who really drives the song, his every beat of the drum a mighty wallop, with the most awesome snare sound I've yet to hear...crisp, deep and resonant. Fill after fill with perfect timing electrifies the song until the final riff explodes, as Jimmy hits a switch and the guitar increases 10-fold in intensity and Bonzo does what seems like one continuous, roiling fill until the band reaches the point where it suddenly STOPS!

Leaving Jimmy to bend and sway as his fingers traverse the neck of his guitar, notes flying left and right until he slows into those familar notes that shift the band into Since I've Been Loving You. As the crowd howls in delight, especially the blues fans and guitar players amongst us, many of the crowd also begins to sit down, and Trudy is one of them, so I sit down with her. We still have some of our coke left and as we quench our thirst, I ask how she is liking the show so far. "Too much...it's far out", she replies. I put my arm around her as we settle in our chairs and watch the drama unfolding on stage. SIBLY is one of those moments where Jimmy trancends mere musicianship. He's not merely playing guitar, but making the guitar speak, as if the guitar itself had a soul. Or put another way, it's as if Jimmy and his Les Paul were fused into one, as if the guitar was just another extension of his body.

One thing I noticed with Jimmy Page, especially during SIBLY, is that he adjusted his tone and volume knobs on his guitar more than anybody I'd ever seen. Some guitarists I saw wouldn't touch their knobs once during an entire concert. Whereas Jimmy was constantly fiddling with the knobs, fipping the toggle switch...anything to create the variety of tones and sounds that emanated from his guitar. Considering the simplicity of his effects(compare his stage setup in 1973 to today's array of stompboxes taped down in front of every guitarists stage monitor), it's amazing the wide variety of sounds he got out of his guitar.

Again, just to listen is not enough, nor are pictures sufficient to suggest the total charasmatic effect that Jimmy playing the guitar on stage renders on you. And I fear my words fail to accurately portray the devastating impact of Pagey with a guitar. It goes beyond the way Jimmy moves and dances on stage, which is already beyond compare. Not Keith Richards, not Chuck Berry, not Richie Blackmore, not Mick Ralphs. Certainly not Clapton or Iommi, both of whom stand still as statues, making a guitar grimace once in a while. Pete Townshend is the only contemporary who comes close, and his vibe is more "athletic" with his jumps and windmills. Jimmy's vibe is more sinuous and sexy. His ability to dance and swagger and weave across the stage, while his slender frame is weighed down by some of the heaviest guitars in the business, the solid-body Les Paul and the Gibson doubleneck, is incredible enough. The fact that he often skitters across on one foot is miraculous and warrants comparison to James Brown. You think I'm kidding? Well, I'm not...if only someone would have filmed Jimmy at a 1973 concert, just focusing on his feet, you would be talking about his footwork with awe. To see it up close was breathtaking. But what truly made Jimmy a guitar god and sexually charasmatic to everyone in the arena no matter their sex or sexual orientation was the way he danced with his guitar while his feet were dancing upon the stage. Start with the fact that nobody wore his guitar slung as low as Jimmy. NOBODY. Most guitarists had their guitars strapped pretty high, which is the best position for clean, fast playing: Steve Howe, Richie Blackmore, Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead guys...all guys who strapped it high. Keith Richards and Pete Townshend had theirs a little lower than that, but still nowhere near as low as Jimmy. And I'm sure Jimmy sacrificed some speed and accuracy having his guitar so low...that can't have been good for his wrist and shoulder. But I'll be damned if in 1973 I could tell for he sure sounded fast and accurate enough to me. And that was while he was doing electric gyrations across the stage. When he deigned to stand still like during Rain Song, he sounded as clean as his studio performances. But Jimmy wasn't built to stand still...he used his body to transmit to the audience every electric charge he was feeling through the music. Every whiplash chord, every sinewy solo, transmuted his body. At any given moment, he would swing his guitar away from his body, or hold it aloft with his right arm extended upwards to form a "V". He would be hunched over dramatically studiously focused on the fretboard, or gracefully arched back, back nearly parallel to the ground, while pulling of a solo. Or there were those tender moments, often during SIBLY, when he would pull the guitar up gently in a nearly vertical position, as if he were cradling a baby or a woman, and coax the most beautiful tones out of his instrument. It was a pas de deux between man and guitar and it was mesmerizing, both aurally and visually, beyond compare.

It was Godhead...sheer and utter GODHEAD! But while I was transfixed by the moans and groans emitting from Jimmy's guitar, my girlfriend Trudy was enraptured by something equally as powerful and potent: Robert Plant. Six feet of tanned, blond, British sex-on-two-legs. For while Page's guitar was emoting its way through SIBLY, so was Plant doing his moaning and groaning, while doing his mic stand parry-and-thrusting...sometimes hanging on and gripping the mic so tightly, you thought he would crush it. As Plant and Page engaged in their signature banter, with each seeking to echo and underscore what the other was doing, until both vocal and guitar lines were intertwined, the slow-burn drama of the song began to build towards that crucial hypnotic part right after the guitar solo. When I turned to look at Trudy, she had a look on her face that suggested she was transfixed. Not exactly a 1000 yard stare, she was keenly focused on Mr. Plant, a broad smile creasing her face until later in the song, she was just frozen in open-mouth wonderment. You know that scene in The Song Remains the Same movie, where that beautiful hooded girl breaks into a smile during SIBLY, overcome by the power of the song? That's what it was like watching Trudy during SIBLY. I can't say if it was the best SIBLY I ever saw...I tend to be partial to the SIBLY's where JPJ uses the Hammond B3 organ. But it was plenty emotional and definitely up there with the best.

Now came the Houses of the Holy trilogy of mood: the gloomy winter of No Quarter; summery surge of The Song Remains the Same; and pastoral spring of the Rain Song.

As Jones remained at the keyboards, the fog rolled in off the stage as Jones sounded the opening notes. It was incredible from this vantage point. It seemed at times as if the whole band would be swallowed up by the bank of fog, the stage lights giving it a haunting glow. I don't see how Jimmy could find his wahwah pedal in all that smoke. Speaking of Jimmy, this is one of those songs from Houses of the Holy that, while sounding perfectly okay on record, took on an extra depth, energy and power in concert. Jimmy's riff especially gained depth in concert. On the record, it's suitably fuzzy and kind of jazzy...but it lacks heft. The riff sounds thi and barely there. But not in concert. Once Jimmy stomps on his Crybaby, the riff CRUSHES your skull and you find yourself alone in the snowy, wintery night, chased by the dogs of doom. The sound of the song is MASSIVE...yet you look on stage, and there's ONLY THREE GUYS making this simultaneously huge, yet subtle and colourfully varied sound. No backing tapes or backup musicians a la the Who or Queen. No other 4-piece (which basically was a trio instrumentally, with a vocalist), could equal Zeppelin's sound in 1973. Black Sabbath? HA! Nice try, but ultimately a one-trick pony, and not helped at all by a shoddy muddy sound system.

To watch Led Zeppelin in concert was to be reminded once again of the mathematical trueism: the sum is greater than the parts. While each member of Led Zeppelin was spectacularly proficient on his individual instrument, it was the spontaneous combustion when they got together, the sum total of their talents, the off-the-charts group chemistry they had that made Led Zeppelin special.

Let's face it...Led Zeppelin was playing the same notes, the same blues scales as many other bands. But their talent and sheer force of personality made it appear to the audience that we were hearing these sounds for the first time. They sounded fresh and new the way Zeppelin played them, while Grand Funk, Deep Purple, Uriah Heap, and Sabbath sounded old and stodgy after awhile.

It was during No Quarter, as the lights turned blue and the band worked into the jam groove, that you noticed another singular element about Led Zeppelin...it wasn't so much notes they played, but colours and emotion. Bands like Emerson Lake and Palmer and Deep Purple would show off their instrumental chops and I wouldn't feel anything other than an overwhelming urge to chop off Keith Emerson's hands or knock Richie Blackmore's scowl off his face. With Zeppelin, their jams created a mood, an emotion tied to the song and to some distant yearning in the listener. Time stopped and you felt transported.

Jimmy remembered the second part of the solo, unlike San Francisco, and it was during the latter part of the song that we got the first taste of Jimmy's Theremin, accenting the howls of the dogs of doom. Followed by Jimmy going crazy on the wahwah. As was usual by now on the 73 tour, the song engendered a standing ovation. Trudy and I, along with most of the crowd, had spent SIBLY and No Quarter sitting down, but now were on our feet roaring. And as Jonesy took his bows, and moved to put his Fender bass back on, and Jimmy strapped on his iconic Gibson EDS-1275 12- and 6-string double-neck guitar...red body with black pickguard, thank you very much...I knew we wouldn't be sitting down soon. For by now I knew it was too early for Stairway to Heaven. Besides, with Jones on bass, that meant it was time for the rush of sound that was The Song Remains the Same.

Robert was doing an introduction to the song, and I believe he mentioned Rolling Stone magazine sarcastically...which I think he also did at Kezar. It seems Rolling Stone compared Led Zeppelin unfavourably to Slade, which when you think about it sounds ludicrous. But then, that's where Rolling Stone's head was at at the time. I mean, Slade had some moments but to put them in the same league as Zeppelin was laughable.

So, 1-2-3-4-GO! And The Song Remains the Same blasts us in the face, Bonzo's galloping beats and JPJ's rubberband-man bouncing bass lines underpinning the chiming bells of Jimmy's 12-string guitar. It's such a warm, beautiful sound...those ringing, chiming bells; what a TONE!

Then again, there's the magical, indescribable sight of skinny Jimmy, huge doubleneck strapped to his thin frame, weaving and bobbing around the stage, somehow managing to avoid crashing into the drums or decapitating Plant with his guitar. The song is so joyous to hear and see performed, that I'm almost moved to tears of joy again. Trudy and I are boogieing on our seats, as is my BB. The smells of cannabis and hash are in the air, but whether it's because I've built up a resistance or what, I don't really feel affected by it. The groove of the song is IMMENSE and INFECTIOUS! And the camaraderie among the band is evident, with Robert, Jimmy, John and Bonzo exchanging winks and smiles like they were the coolest boy's club in the world. Watching them, I want in...I want to play guitar like Jimmy Page and start a band. That becomes fixed in my brain as the state of supreme happiness.

When Robert sings "California sunlight", I cannot help but beam with state pride...California's mentioned in a Led Zeppelin song! I also notice something else...I prefer Robert's vocals on this song in concert than the helium vocals on the record. The Song Remains the Same is hurtling along, pell-mell, taking the crowd along in its frenzy. Shit is flying through the air and we're all just along for the ride. The song at once sounds tight and together and about to come apart at the seams. It's like Bonzo said "alright, everybody go on the count of 3, and meet you at the finish!"

The song comes to its end so quickly that you barely get your breath back before the sweet, lilting sound of Jimmy on the 6-string rings in the opening of Rain Song, as the bright lights dim to blue. FYI, Jimmy looks gorgeously spectral in this light. Now, I knew Rain Song followed TSRTS, but Trudy didn't, so as I knew she liked the song, I couldn't wait to see her reaction when the song began. She gave my hand an extra tight squeeze, and as everybody was sitting down again, as I sat down she sat on my lap and gave me a hug and whispered "thank you" in my ear. Again, Robert's vocals were perfect...so tender and filled with sincere emotion. I know some people think he lost it after 1972, but on some songs he sang better than ever. Immigrant Song might have been beyond his reach at this point, but he nailed all the Houses of the Holy songs.

As Jimmy and Jones, who now was seated at his white Mellotron facing right towards Jimmy and Bonzo, began the langorous instrumental interlude after Robert's opening verses, Trudy turned to me and kissed me deeply...and we kept kissing...and kissing all the way through til when the song gets to the rocking middle part. Everybody who has been to a concert with their significant other has had a moment like that. It's a memory emblazoned on my brain and one I will never forget. Whenever I hear Rain Song, I think back to that kiss.

As Jimmy delicately finger picks the closing arpeggios, and Plant brings the song to a rousing finish with a final wail, we are on our feet again giving the band another well-deserved standing ovation. People, mostly the girls, are shouting endearments to the band, as piercing whistles echo through the arena and bics flicker and glow in the darkness. Jimmy takes a bow and nods to the audience before handing his doubleneck to Raymond, his Scottish guitar roadie. As Robert also acknowledges the crowd, and the multifaceted Jones once again switches instruments, Jimmy rolls up his right sleeve. For now it's time to really get to work.

As Jimmy straps on his trusty Les Paul, Robert gives an introduction about an oldie...then only a single spotlight on Jones as the doomladened notes of his bass sound the beginning of "Dazed and Confused", in 1973 still one of the most anticipated songs of the night. A whoosh of expectation rushes through the crowd, as Jimmy sounds the first opening squeal of his guitar, heralded by a flash of smoke and fire and deep dark red lights. As Jimmy manipulates the sound of his guitar via his wahwah and and bending the strings behind the tuning peg, the mood turns positively evil. Is this the SAME BAND that just moments ago had transported us to a serene English meadow?

Okay, I have to confess I didn't like the way Robert sang Dazed and Confused in 1973...and 75 as well. Too much unnecessary squealing and changing the lyrics. Saying "I wanna make love to you little girl 25...25...25" over and over was annoying. It's a hoary blues cliche. Wished he would've stayed with the original "will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill".

But the opening verses pass quickly enough, and 1973 is the last year where Jimmy really hits the vibrato during the chorus riff. Now it's on through the new segment developed for 1973, the fast solo and riffing bit leading into the "San Francisco" segment. I looked over at Trudy and she was still hanging in there. The band was cooking until suddenly it stopped and Jimmy shifted gears and began picking out the most beautifully melancholy melody I've ever heard. The genius of this band to just nonchalantly spring into a riff that other bands would kill for. As we all know by now, that riff was later used as part of "Achilles Last Stand", which I suppose is one reason why Dazed was dropped after 1975...although the band could've just dropped the "San Francisco/Woodstock" segment.

But as much as I love "Achilles", I feel that riff was most effective in the live Dazed and Confused's. It

felt more naked and vulnerable...more haunting. As Jimmy played the riff, and Jones and Bonzo figured out when to come in with the beat, Robert sang the lyrics to "San Francisco", the Scott McKenzie song I barely remembered from Monterey Pop. Then as Jimmy leaned on his wahwah and played that phasing sawing riff, Robert added his spectral moans courtesy of his echoplex.

Before you knew it, Jimmy was headed towards his wall of amps, and the moment everybody was looking forward to was at hand...Jimmy had the cello bow in his hand.

At first, as Jimmy applied the heavily rosined bow strings to his guitar, Jones and Bonzo gave light accompaniment, but soon they stopped as the stage darkened with the lights only on Jimmy. Now the bow segment began in earnest, as the most unearthly, loud, resonating howl emerged from the depths of hell. Then, as he began the part where he slaps, or whips the bow against the pickups, and pointing the bow in the direction the sound was reflecting, people began to lose their minds. The lights flashed and changed colour with every slap of the bow...blue, red, yellow, green, orange...as Jimmy pointed left, right, front, back with his bow, bow strings shredding, directing the sound around the arena. Then, the coup des grâce..the lights begin flashing rapidfire as shapes flicker in the background as Jimmy whips his guitar mercilessly, bow strings breaking and flailing everywhere, people in the front row trying to grasp the falling strands. It is one of the most indelible concert moments I've ever seen and heard. By this time Jimmy seemed 10-feet tall, and held complete command of all of us. But he was just beginning.

As he began bowing a spooky, scary-movie motif, I looked at Trudy and saw that she was sitting down, holding her hands over her ears, even with her earplugs already in...this was too much for her to take at her first concert. But like a trouper, she endured it with no complaint, unlike some other girls I took to concerts. One thing people often forget about the bow segment, is that it wasn't just about Jimmy. Depending on how inspired he felt, Robert would also contribute to the sound-orgy by adding his echoplexed melismic moans and howls to Jimmy's bow screeches. With the lightshow getting weirder and weirder, with trippy shapes and shadows projected onto Jimmy Page, the mood of the whole piece attained a level of evil dread that Black Sabbath could only dream of reaching. Every time I saw Black Sabbath, I could never take their attempts to be dark and evil seriously...mainly because Ozzy was such a ridiculous frontman. He was like a hyperactive frog.

As the bow segment reached it's climax, and Jimmy unleashed the hounds of hell, the sound began to drive you mad...you can't imagine how loud and shrill it was. Nor the white noise harmonic overtones that added to the texture of the sound. By now, Jimmy was frantically rubbing his fingers up and down the strings from the neck of his guitar to the pickups, while sawing his bow, with barely any strings left. With his hand rubbing more violently, I feared he was going to slice his hand on the strings. Bonzo joined in the final unholy climax of noise, and as Jimmy threw the bow away, the band got ready to gallop into the marathon jam, with Bonzo, Jones, and Jimmy hitting a few preparatory power chords before launching into the first fast guitar solo section familiar from the album version. From here the song becomes KINETIC personified. Behind the drums, Bonzo is hammering away at a racehorse pace, head snapping at the beat, each strike of the kick drum knocking you for a loop. Meanwhile, Jones is rolling through that endlessly looping bassline at inhuman speed, using just his fingers...NO PICK! Then there's Jimmy, strafing the audience with blitzkrieg runs up and down the neck of his guitar...how his guitar is still in tune after the violent lovemaking he gave it during the bow segment is beyond me. And don't forget Robert...he's not taking a break during this jam, either. Whether engaging in call-and-responses with Jimmy, or boogieing along to the music, Robert was a lion on the prowl.

As the band worked through the different changes, Jimmy, Bonham and Jones watching and listening to each other for the various cues, the incredible stamina of the band hit me with the force of a Bonham beat. Here we were, nearing the 90 minute mark, and while most bands would just be wrapping up their shows by now, Led Zeppelin were just getting started, savagely attacking their instruments with godlike intensity. The Rolling Stones would already be in their limos heading out of the Forum parking lot.

But Led Zeppelin asked no quarter...and they gave no quarter. When you entered a Led Zeppelin concert, you were entering a test of extreme stamina and emotions. Led Zeppelin was body music to the extreme, but it was also music for the head and psyche. After a Zeppelin concert, not only would your body feel pummeled, but your psyche, emotions and senses felt like they'd been put through the wringer. It was total immersion.

The boys were winging their way through the various twists and turns of the Dazed and Confused jam, Jimmy and Bonzo taking delight in prodding each other. My girlfriend had decided to take it all in sitting down...the storm of sound that is Dazed and Confused was a bit much for her. Baby steps I thought to myself...everything in good time. By now, sweat was flying off Jimmy's hair everytime he whipped around. I wouldn't be surprised if the people in the front row got sprinkled with a bit of holy sweat. As Jimmy navigated the twists and turns and dips and dives of the jam, he pulled out all the stops. Electro-stagger steps...laybacks...whirls and twirls...chicken dances. He was everything you want a guitar-hero to be...and his boundless energy was stunning to behold.

1973 was the last year I truly enjoyed Dazed and Confused from start to finish. In 1975, while I liked parts of Dazed, I found the energy of the piece as a whole, flagged at times...sometimes even coming to a complete halt. In 1973, the energy was NON-STOP! Like I said, it was a ocean of sound, a storm of sensory overload battering the senses. A complete contrast, say, to the jam in No Quarter. No Quarter was more a study in the use of space in a jam, Jonesey's piano, Jimmy's guitar, and Bonham's drums working off each other's tangents. Dazed and Confused was more about exploring every riff's possibility for themes and variations. That's why there's enough good riffs in Dazed and Confused to create 6 or 7 new songs.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, as the band comes to the end of the song, where any normal band would hurry to the finish, Led Zeppelin find one last spark of inspiration and take the audience on one last stratospheric jam...Bonzo and Jones engaging in a funky, bouncy round-and-round groove, while Jimmy goes in wahwah hyperspace. Just when you think the song couldn't last any longer, you're engrossed and groovin' to this spacey jam and you think to yourself that you wouldn't mind the jam going on for a while. Several minutes later, Bonzo's flying fists of fury are flailing around his kit at supersonic speed, and 30-some-odd minutes later, Dazed and Confused comes to an end. The band and audience both seem half- euphoric and half-exhausted. Jimmy smilingly accepts the hosannas of the rabid crowd. Again, the intensity and vibe of the crowd tonight seems 10 times the previous shows, which in turn seems to be inspiring the band to greater heights.

More Plantations follow, as Jimmy once again straps on the Gibson doubleneck, and Jones sits again at the Mellotron. I can't remember exactly when during the concert Plant made these remarks, but I know he mentioned Jimmy's hand injury and how he had been soaking it in a bucket of ice-cold water ever since the injury. He also said something to the effect of "you shouldn't be here tonight and we should be in England", in reference to the May 30 show being rescheduled for June 3.

Robert Plant's relaxed remarks and calm control of the stage revealed another reason why Plant was such a singular presence in the 70's. Apart from his sexual charisma and primal rock voice, it was refreshing to have a frontman from England that you could understand when he talked between songs. I couldn't understand half of what Mick Jagger or Ozzy Osbourne were talking about when they bantered between songs. Of course, it didn't help that they were yelling half the time. Which brings me to another plus about Plant...he wasn't a hype-meister who condescended to the crowd. Robert could talk and joke with the crowd with a quiet confidence, a relaxed nature that made a show feel intimate even though there were 18,000 other people in the room. And if he wanted quiet, he wasn't afraid to issue a curt "shut up a tic" to the crowd. Most frontmen so want to be liked that they're afraid of saying anything that would piss off the audience. But the quality I most admired in Robert was his refusal to be a hype-meister and phony. Mick Jagger and Ozzy Osbourne being two examples of the above. Mick and Ozzy found it necessary to constantly harangue the audience to make some noise and go crazy, always yelling, Yelling, YELLING at the audience. It's like they didn't trust the music to excite us, they had to whip us up in a frenzy like they were working a circus sideshow. It became annoying after a while. Sorry Mick and Ozzy, I don't always have to be jumping up and down and waving my hands in the air to have a good time. Sometimes I just want to be still and concentrate on the music. They are like the precursors to today's rap hype-men. Robert trusted Led Zeppelin's music to do the talking. He didn't need to scream the cliché "Are you ready to rock, Cleveland?" or the equally hoary "make some noise!"

Plus, the guy was gorgeous with the most amazing head of hair in rock history. I put it to you that no other rock frontman could have worn those flowery, feminine blouses that Plant wore, and still retain the masculine sexuality that Plant did. And Plant was sly enough, and confident enough in his masculinity, to allow the feminine, androgynous side to shine through, too. He was a sexual beacon for all.

But he wasn't the only one...and that is yet another reason Led Zeppelin had such a devastating impact on people, not just musically but sexually as well. For in addition to the blond Viking god, Robert, you had the yin to his yang, the dark, mysterious, ethereal Jimmy Page.

The next song showed this duality off to terrific effect. As Jimmy played one of the most instantly recognizable song intros ever, his guitar was momentarily drowned out by the huge roar of the crowd. Almost a year and a half since LZ IV's release and Stairway to Heaven had assumed anthem status. The blue lights sparkled off Jimmy's doubleneck, and reflected off the sweat on his face and in his hair. As Robert sang the opening lines, another roar erupted from the crowd, before everyone sat down to take in the song. This is where the band showed their understanding of pacing, as they knew after the half-hour of Dazed and Confused, the crowd would need a respite to regroup before building the audience's excitement back up again to carry over into Moby Dick. Stairway to Heaven was the perfect song choice.

Meanwhile Trudy had recovered from the Dazed and Confused onslaught, and liking Stairway to Heaven, her attention perked up...especially the way Robert Plant was glowing before her. Let me explain. While the majority of the stage was bathed in a cool blue light, golden spotlights shone on Robert from behind. So while his chest glistened with sweat in the mystic blue light, the spotlight behind him gave his hair a giant golden halo effect. I looked over at Trudy and once again, she had THAT LOOK. She had been zapped by the Golden God. And the effect was heightened by the fact that Robert stood mostly still while singing the first few verses of Stairway, so that when Robert looked our way, Trudy could imagine he was singing straight to her. Coupled with Jimmy standing to the side, blue light casting an ethereal shimmer on him, both Robert and Jimmy appeared to be a couple of Sylvan Sylphs, visiting our world to spread a little musical majick.

Bonzo soon added a little earthy reality as he came in with the beat, his snare sounding resoundingly through the Forum. Then, as the stage lights brightened to a white heat, it was time for Jimmy's fanfare, his doubleneck held aloft, vertically upright, fretboards parallel to his body. Then, THE SOLO! By now, it was de rigueur that every Stairway solo was different, which in my opinion, was a lot of pressure for Jimmy to put on himself. I mean, think of the strain and stress of having to come up with a different solo every night. But as I mentioned before, they asked no quarter, they gave no quarter. By the solo, most of us had risen to our feet again, and watched with elation as Jimmy tangoed with his doubleneck one last time for the night, wringing every last bit of emotion from the neck of his guitar. Come the final hard rocking part, and I think Plant stunned a few of us with the intensity of his attack on the final lyrics...he was holding nothing back. This was a band that still played Stairway to Heaven like they MEANT it. Needless to say, Plant's gentle reading of the final line triggered a massive wave of love as lighters were lit and more flowers thrown on stage and waves and waves of cheers descended upon the band as the lights hitting the mirror ball high above the arena threw 1000's of fractured shards of light spinning around the darkened Forum. Another memorable moment.

Now it was time for Bonham's showcase, Moby Dick, and it is a sign of the times that people still cheered a drum solo back then. But Trudy needed a pit stop, and as I had already seen 2 Moby Dick's this tour already(although I only remembered the Forum one), I didn't mind escorting her to the women's restroom and getting her a coke. Apparently we weren't the only ones making a pit stop at that time...as the line for the restrooms and snacks were huge. Judging by the length of the women's line, women have less of a tolerance for drum solos than men. The BB joined us, and while

waiting for Trudy to emerge from the bathroom,

we compared tonight's show so far with Bonzo's

Birthday show the previous Thursday while we hit

the men's room. I thought it was going even better

than Thursday's concert. He wasn't sure. We both

agreed the crowd seemed even more geeked up

than Thursday...more geeked up than any concert

crowd we had seen. FINALLY Trudy emerged from her restroom hell, and we headed to the snack bar line, where BB was already waiting for us, having gone ahead while I waited for Trudy. After nearly 20 minutes or so, we had drained our bladders and gotten some more coke to fill them up again. We were ready for the final stretch of the show..

As we made our way back to our seats, we saw the last bit of Moby Dick, as Robert shouted "John Bonham! John Henry Bonham! 25 years old" while Bonham stood up and tipped his hand to the crowd. Of course, Bonham's drum solo was so loud, that even though we were in line outside, we could still HEAR Bonzo even if we couldn't SEE him.

Meanwhile, there had been a few sartorial changes while Bonzo was making like Animal from the Muppets. Somehow, the red flowers in Plant's pants now were attached to Bonham's drumkit, and Plant had planted new flowers in his crotch. And Jimmy had ditched his sweaty orange-red shirt in exchange for a black zippered windbreaker jacket, with the zipper undone nearly all the way.

Bonham went into the 1973-style intro for Heartbreaker, and as Jimmy's wondrous 1973 tone carved its way like a scythe across the Forum as those buzz-saw riffs strutted like a tiger in heat, the band's intent became clear. It now became clear why the band dumped the acoustic set for the 1973 US tour.

As the 1973 US tour would be their longest and largest yet...more cities, more dates, larger venues...the band probably realized that they would attract a lot of casual and first-time fans on this tour. With the increased focus on Public Relations, there would also be increased media scrutiny. It seems, if you look at the setlist, and the way certain songs were linked together, that the band wanted to streamline their set for maximum impact. No more long gaps tuning up, or setting up acoustic guitars and stools. They kept the marathons the hard core fans loved (Dazed and Confused and Moby Dick), while adding enough of the eclectic and soft material to make up for the loss of the acoustic set(Rain Song, No Quarter, OTHAFA). And look at all the linkages, which cut way down on song intro time, not to mention equipment changes:

1. Rock and Roll>Celebration Day>Black Dog

2. Misty Mountain Hop>Since I've Been Loving You

3. The Song Remains the Same>Rain Song

4. Heartbreaker>Whole Lotta Love

Another consideration that may have led to the dropping of the acoustic set, is the reality that the ability of mics to pick up acoustic guitars in an arena setting with high quality was hit-and-miss in the early 70's. The band might have said let's wait until microphone technology improves before dealing with the hassles of miking acoustic guitars in a humid basketball arena. Just a hunch.

Whatever the reason, the 1973 setlist was a model of pacing and variety delivered for maximum impact.

Right off the bat, three quick all-out hard rockers: R & R, Celebration Day, and Black Dog.

Then, two more rockers that are slightly more eclectic: OTHAFA and Misty Mtn Hop.

Then a long stretch of new songs and old showcasing a variety of moods and tempos and solo showcases: SIBLY, No Quarter, TSRTS, Rain Song, D & C, Stairway, and Moby Dick.

Finally, the ramp back up to high energy rockers to send the crowd out on a high: Heartbreaker, WLL, The Ocean, Communication Breakdown.

Back to Heartbreaker...Bonzo is a friggen' marvel in this song; more than 2 hours of playing and right after completing a huge drum solo that would have exhausted most men, and John Henry is STILL delivering crisp fill after fill and hitting the beat hard. Jimmy is moving and grooving as only he can, and as he tempts and teases us during the wicked guitar solo, leaning out over the lip of the stage as he bends the strings behind the nut, it's hard to believe that he just recently injured his hand. You'd never know it the way Jimmy is blazing on guitar tonight. After I saw the Bonzo Birthday Party concert, I made a mental comparison between that show and the 1972 shows, and for the most part I felt the songs played in 73 were just as good, if not better than the same songs played in 72. The two major exceptions were Heartbreaker and Whole Lotta Love. I thought both those songs were played better in 72 than 73. And while tonight's Heartbreaker was better than May 31, I still didn't like the way it cut off the end to go into Whole

Lotta Love.

Whole Lotta Love started more smoothly than on May 31, more crisp and immediately in the groove. Watching Jimmy take a turn at the backing vocals was always a treat. But the real treat lay ahead during the Theremin segment. 1973 is when the

Theremin segment came into its own. They ditched

the bongo and organ underpinnings from the

past, and finally got down and funky, with Bonham and Jones laying down a mean groove, while Page and Plant did battle with each other. Most of the time they would lead into the Theremin segment with a bit of The Crunge or some James Brown groove. But tonight they dove right into the Theremin segment, with Jones and Bonzo establishing the beat, as Plant asked where that confounding bridge was..."Has anybody seen the bridge?" But the main event occured when Jimmy cranked up his Theremin and Gizmotron, which I think were run through his Orange Amps. In one corner you had Plant at the left, his echoplexed orgasmic moans and cries of love whirling around the Forum as he pirouetted around the mic stand. Then in the right corner stood Jimmy, the Grand Wizard of Sound, directing with his elaborate hand movements bolts of whooshing and whirring sound to do battle with Plants orgiastic wails. It was like a Battle Royale...and once again, another indelible concert memory was imprinted on my psyche. There Jimmy was, hands arcing this way and that as he slid and stalked across the stage, his arms and hands directing the eerie electronic sounds this way and that. Truly remarkable...what a showman Jimmy is.

This theremin duel seemed to last a little longer than most...as if they were having one last bit of fun before the tour break. The crazy sounds were whirling around your head, buzzing your brain while Bonzo and Jones were making everybody get their groove on. After about 5 minutes of delirium, Jimmy cranked his guitar up again and launched into the famous WLL solo. One more verse and chorus and Plant unleashed one of his epic "Wanna whole lotta LOOOOOOOOOVE!"

Now the other night, they only did Boogie Mama, which kind of disappointed me, being used to the 25-minute Whole Lotta Loves with the wacky medleys. So right away I was stoked, as when Plant would normally begin his "Last night" spiel, he instead said "I'm going down", and the band followed suit, Jimmy nailing that staccato riff. YES! This what I wanted...something different and spontaneous. I was holding Trudy's hand and we were swinging our arms back and forth. A couple more verses and a guitar solo, then the band is crunching out the I'm A Man riff, then it's The Hunter...awesome, as this is one of my favourite parts of How Many More Times! Finally the band lets Robert tell us about his mama and his papa, too. This boy's reached the age of 24 and he wants to BOO-BOO-BOO-BOO-BOO-BOO-BOOGIE! When Jimmy starts that Boogie Mama riff, the anticipation and excitement builds until the whole band joins in and the Forum explodes with joy, as the infectious tune has the crowd happy and boogieing. Robert is shaking it one time for Elvis...well, actually he's shaking it a helluva lot more times than once. While Robert is shaking his bum, Jimmy is reeling off solo after solo, as once again the band's energy and stamina is a marvel. Just like that Robert intones "Woman...woman...woman", and we're back to finish Whole Lotta Love. "Waaaaayyyy down insiiiiide..." As Robert heads to the finale, I make sure Trudy can see as I don't want her to miss this...we have our arms around each other. The band hits those two power chords as Plant gathers himself for that epic "LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!"

Bonham starts his rat-a-tat fill as the lights briefly flash and dim until right at the moment Jimmy comes in with the WLL riff and BLAM BLAM BLAM! Three fireballs explode behind the stage, the heat of the fire warming our faces! Trudy freaks out at the explosions...she wasn't expecting THAT, hahaha. Oh, but there's more pyro to come...as Jimmy plays the wahwah variation of the riff, Bonzo's gong is prepared with the lighter fluid soaked wraps. All hell breaks loose then as Jones and Jimmy are slashing away at their instruments, Plant is howling above the din, and Bonzo bashes away at his Gong of Fire, flames surrounding Bonham as the whole thing becomes a sight-and-sound bonanza, crescendoing deliriously to the finish. The crowd is a sea of madness...we've been whipped into a frenzy and the band hasn't even left the stage before cries of "MORE!" ring out. Now some bands will only wait 30 seconds to a minute before coming back out for the encore. Led Zeppelin is different, natch. They make sure the audience is serious about wanting an encore, making us clap and scream and stomp deliriously for almost 5 minutes before the band makes it's way on stage. There's been more stuff thrown on stage in the interim.

Now, one way the 1973 Oceans were better than the 1972s, was that in 73 you got the Bonham spoken-word intro, which was always a treat. Bonham also sang harmony with Plant on the la la la part. The Ocean is a song for the fans, and the fans eat it up. It's snappy riff and monster beat lends itself to a happy vibe. It's a giant party in the Forum as people are clapping and dancing up a storm! Trudy and I have got our second wind and are dancing as energetically as we were earlier in the night, 2 and a half hours ago. Now, having had the Houses of the Holy album for 2 months, I had already memorized most of the lyrics, so I knew The Ocean by heart. On the May 31 show, I thought perhaps Plant switched lyrics during The Ocean, but I wasn't sure. So tonight as the band played The Ocean, I silently sang along and sure enough, Robert switched the 2nd and 3rd verses! Of course, I was later to discover he had a habit of transposing lyrics to other songs: Kashmir, TSRTS, No Quarter, Sick Again, Trampled Underfoot. The Ocean is such a killer song, though, I didn't really care about Robert's lyrical switch. Once again, as I watched Jimmy uncork another one of his rubberband-leg dances and the obvious relish with which the band was playing the tune, I think this is such a perfect encore song...one for the fans. In hindsight, I wish they hadn't dropped it from the set so quick...it would have made a better encore song in 1975 than Black Dog. Same in 77.

The Ocean is so infectious and sweeps you up into

its party wake so easily that it's over much too

quickly. And just like that the band is off again,

while this crowd is not going to settle for one

encore. I'm still kind of hoping, since this is the last night of the leg, that we'll get a blow-out of the likes of the June 25, 1972 show, with multiple

encores. But as the setlist was exactly the same on

May 31 and June 2, and so far tonight as well, I

wasn't getting my hopes up.

A few more minutes of hooting and hollering and back come the guys for a second encore. I listened to my "Three Days After" bootleg so many times in the 70's and 80's, that I can still recall exactly what Robert said before the starting the song: "This is something we don't seem to have trouble with...". And Jimmy warms up the Les Paul, then rockets into Communication Breakdown, an early precursor to speed metal, and already faster and heavier than Black Sabbath's Paranoid. The song unleashes a flurry of headbanging in the Forum, your humble narrator included. Until after the solo, when the band switches gears effortlessly from metal to funk, as the band extrapolates on the O'Jays "It's Your Thing" groove, with Jimmy weaving an incredible snake-like riff in and around the beat. What a conjurer of riffs...what a snakecharmer Jimmy is!

The band quickly ramps back to finish Communication Breakdown after the funky interlude. And afterwards, I'm expecting the band to take their bows again and say their goodbyes and disappear off stage. But WAIT! They're making no move to leave the stage...are we, the final night's audience, who have already proven to be one of the loudest and intense, going to get a special treat? YOU BETCHA! I have to bite my lip to contain my excitement as Jonesy sits behind his Hammond B3 organ. Robert then says, "We'd like to say something else." Jones then starts playing his organ solo, and I am so beside myself, I'm practically levitating. For while she knew Rain Song would be played, as I told her, I also said they had not played Thank You. But knowing that Jones organ solo lead into Thank You, I began to get goose bumps from excitement. Since Trudy didn't know this, I decided not to tell her so it would be a surprise. As Jones executed a sweet gospel-inflected solo, leading to the final fade into silence, as Jimmy prepared to enter, I was literally bursting. Then came those delicate opening chords to Thank You, before Jones and Bonzo entered and Jimmy cranked the volume on his guitar and the riff exploded as a cheer went up. I looked at Trudy and she looked so happy and so awestruck at the same time...we immediately began to kiss, standing on our seats in the middle of the crowd with the song enveloping us. Now, if you've heard the Three Days After boot, you know that after the initial cheer when Thank You begins, 30 seconds later an even larger cheer occurs. Something obviously happened. But what? That is what people have been asking me for years...and I tell 'em, I don't have a clue. For while that was going on, Trudy and I had locked lips and were holding our bodies tight against each other as we let the warm sound of the song cocoon us. So I don't know what caused that sudden crowd eruption...maybe a stage diver? Someone threw a giant joint on stage? A streaker? Maybe Silver Rider climbed up on stage and gave Jimmy a kiss?

All I know is that once again, I was in a state of absolute bliss, such extreme happiness, that I thoought I was having an out of body experience. Here I was, 11 years old, with a sweet girlfriend, whose tongue was doing loop-de-loos in my mouth...AND I already had 5 LED ZEPPELIN concerts under my belt. I knew that no matter what darkness the future held for me, the memory of this night would sustain me through any tough times.

And it did...and still does to this day.

Frankly, Thank You was a blur that night...was it as good as 72 or earlier versions? I don't know. It sounded pretty good to Trudy and me that night! All I know is that we got to hear one of the last Thank Yous ever...definitely the LAST THANK YOU IN L.A.!

Again, Thank You seemed such a perfect encore song, you wonder why it wasn't played as an encore all the time. Thank You over, we held out hope for another encore, so after the band bowed and said good night and goodbye, we stuck around just in case. But really, how could the band top that...Thank You was the perfect song to go out on.

We waited for the house lights to come up, so we weren't stumbling in the dark. Now it's one thing to leave the Forum from the stands, whereby you exit through the concourse and soon you're outside in the fresh air. But on the floor, once the lights come up, you're hit in the face with the craziness...all around you on the floor are hats, glasses, various shoes, ticket stubs, t-shirts left behind, a tambourine, trash of all shapes and sizes, spilled coke and beer. The detritus left behind at a concert is truly staggering. As we left our seats and headed for the tunnel that led out to the parking lot, I noticed a group of fans lingering at the front of the stage talking to the security guys...perhaps trying to talk their way backstage. Today, people try to get the roadies to hand them a setlist or a stray drumstick, but Zeppelin never used printed setlists.

Walking through the spilled drinks on the floor was one thing, but when we hit the tunnel...PEEUW! As loud shouts of "ZEPPELIN!" and "Fuck Yeah!" and "ROCK AND ROLL!" and "WOO HOO!" sounded through the corridor, the overwhelming stench of stale beer and sweat hit us in the narrow tunnel. What a blessed relief to finally make it outside in the crisp June night air.

After orienting ourselves, we found BB's Chevy Malibu, and joined the line of cars exiting the parking lot. Sure, it's a bit of a wait...but totally worth it. I feel sorry for those that left early to beat the traffic and missed Thank You.

Trudy and I are still in a state of bliss...we fairly floated out of the Forum. In my excited state and the glow of L-O-V-E suffusing me, I declare that that was the best concert I've ever seen. Trudy is too overwhelmed by it all to say much. The BB decides to treat us to a post-show nosh, and we hit the classic A-Frame IHOP down the street from the Forum on Manchester. While Trudy and I peruse the menu, BB makes a call to Trudy's mom to let her know the situation...we're having a post-show meal and then we'll head home. Trudy and I decide to share an order of strawberry pancakes with whip cream. And hot chocolate. They taste pretty good...but then, pretty much all food tastes good after midnight when you've been at a concert all night. Trudy can't wait to tell her friends and sister about the concert...she's finally in a state where she can talk about the show. She thought it was wild and made me promise to take her to see Zeppelin again the next time they played LA. She didn't care for Dazed and Confused though...that was too much for her. She said she literally got scared during the bow segment...it was hurting her ears and freaked her out. The BB said he thought the show was better than May 31, but that the 72 Forum was best overall...he missed the acoustic set.

Our hunger sated, we headed home, south on the 405, Trudy asleep with her head on my lap, as BB drove. I ruminated over all my favourite bands and concerts I had seen...the Stones, Dylan, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Yes, ELP, Elvis Presley, Roberta Flack, Joni Mitchell. It was now 1973...ten years from when the Beatles burst on the scene. A full decade. And in 1973, Led Zeppelin seemed to be the supreme summation of all the influences that came before that led to the developing of hard rock and also represent the possibilities for hard rock to transcend its influences and barriers. No other band did what they did...with the variety and power that they did it with. Not that other bands weren't good...the Stones, Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull...all had something to recommend them. But when I measured them against Led Zeppelin, they all came up short...and I'm not just referring to the length of their concerts.

Seeing Led Zeppelin confirmed to me that while my eclectic taste would allow me to listen to and love a wide range of bands...even bands with no guitars and drum machines...it would always be hard rock, or at least Zeppelin-style hard rock that would be my primary taste. And it would be the electric guitar that represented the sound of rock and roll. And Jimmy Page was THE MAN in 1973, when it came to the electric guitar.

1973 was the year Led Zeppelin ascended Mount Olympus. Houses of the Holy returned them to #1 on the Billboard chart. Their 1973 European and US tours were mega-successful. They broke the Beatles long-standing attendance record and caused hysteria with nearly every concert. Word-of-mouth spread like wildfire. They could even afford to hire their own plane...the Starship. If in 1971, Stairway to Heaven made them superstars, by the end of the 73 tour Led Zeppelin had gone from superstars to rock gods.

In a rare case of the reality not only matching, but exceeding the marketing hype, Led Zeppelin in concert delivered the goods, and then some.

Led Zeppelin: The effect truly was SHATTERING.

Postscript...one of the after-effects of the concert was that Trudy became obsessed with Robert Plant...and with long, blond hair. I didn't have blond hair. Shortly after my birthday, she left me for some surfer with blond locks.

She came back to me two weeks later because he was a lousy kisser.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS

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dartingdragons · 6 years

Text

You’re All I See (Knockout x Reader) Ch.6

Am I part of the secret club yet?

"You sure you don't want to get paid back, Y/n?" Miko asked, sipping her beverage as the group exited the fast food restaurant. "Nah, it's fine. Think of it as a gift." You answered the girl with a smile as she in turn bumped her fist in the air. It was the most you could do for the group for showing you hospitality, not to mention you weren't running out of money anytime soon.

"Oh sweet, Bulk's here! See you later, Y/n!" The hyperactive girl turned on her heel to face the three of you, waving her hand before running towards the armored truck and disappeared inside. You stopped walking, the other two boys doing the same as they look at you, both of the giving awkward smiles at their friend's outburst. You didn't think anything of it, really. If anything, it was just a nickname for the girl's boyfriend or parental figure that was waiting for her inside the car. Not to mention you've heard weirder nicknames in high school.

The car didn't move yet, and that's when you noticed the Camaro and motorcycle. Your heart slumped in your chest, knowing that the Jack and Raf were no doubt taking their respective rides to go elsewhere. You'd been hoping you could spend some more time with the group, but that clearly wasn't going to happen for the rest of today. "Hey, uh, we'll talk with you later, if that's alright? We have to go." Jack stated as he gestured to his motorcycle, Raf doing the same towards the yellow vehicle. You of course nodded in approval, waving them off in understanding. "No worries, there's always next time. Try not to have too much fun without me though." You chuckled in response.

Then the two boys walked away, heading into their respective vehicles before they drove off. At first you watched them leave, unsure of what to do now while sipping on your f/d. Maybe you should follow them? It wasn't like you had anything to do today- not to mention you still had odd vibes in general whenever you looked at Jack's motorcycle. The other two vehicles you could understand, no doubt there was someone driving in them. But the motorcycle? Back at the job you and Jack worked at you sore you didn't see anyone bring it over, and now it happened here. It couldn't hurt to follow them just for a little while, right? If it was nothing then whatever, they wouldn't find you stalking watching them from a safe distance, no harm no foul. But if something more was going on... well, you just had to find out. But then you realized following them might actually be harder than you first expected, considering you were in no way capable of catching up to a car. You learned that from experience last night. Deflated from your plain being halted just before it could even begin, you're just about ready to turn around and head back home before snapping your eyes onto a familiar vehicle. Your McLaren. Parked right outside of the restaurant without you having had nothing to do with it. "What." Hesitantly, you move towards your vehicle. Please don't be like that damned Aston Martin, please don't be- oh.

Once you actually made your way over, you found the car's infotainment system on and had a little blue dot near the car's outline. So you fumbled with your pockets to find your car keys, and once you did you began inspecting them. Huh- how didn't you see it before? One of the buttons was a picture of a simplified car with parentheses signs around it. When you curiously pressed the button the McLaren's horn honked, the car moved forward just an inch. So... you assumed the car followed wherever the car keys were, and somehow while you were sitting you could've butt-dialed the car to come pick you up. Nice. Crisis averted. You definitely weren't going to question your parents on why they thought this could possibly work or how many scientists were needed to get this car ready to follow you like this- you didn't have time to make up excuses. You were losing the kids! Opening the car door, you hopped inside and placed your beverage in a cup holder before starting up the vehicle. Pulling out from where the vehicle was parked, you stepped on the gas and began following the streets you remembered the kids cars moved through. With luck, you'd manage to catch up to them at a safe distance.

Okay, so maybe trying to keep up with the kids wasn't such a good idea after all. Why? Well- you were now in the middle of the desert. You continued to drive forward, hoping you'd catch even the faintest glimpse of their vehicles. Sure you had been somewhat successful back at town, having managed to slowly catch up to them due to traffic and ensured you kept a safe distance to avoid being spotted, but once you made it to the desert hiding got a little difficult. You had nothing to hide behind so you had to keep far away from them, and unfortunately during this time you managed to lose them completely. To top this all off, you ran out of f/d. Great. "Ugh, can this day get any better?!" You cried to the sky as if it gave a damn to your woes as you threw a hand up despairingly in the air. Way to go, Y/n, always managing to get yourself lost. At least you were lost with your car, that had to count for something.

Before you could dig yourself deeper into this predicament, a sudden explosion sounding not too far off caught your attention. Your body raised stiffly, foot pressing on the break as you strained your hearing to hear for the noise again-

Boom!

Okay, so something definitely was happening. Should you investigate?... Eh, why not? Sure you could clearly nope out of this situation and nobody would notice, but some weird part of you thought Miko was responsible for it. You weren't one-hundred percent sure as to why you felt like that, but a nagging part of your brain figured that it just suited Miko to be around loud noises. Maybe fireworks?

Biting the bottom of your lip, you steered your car towards the sound, fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. "Please let it just be Miko and the kids and not a crazy robot." You whispered as your vehicle slowly but surely made its way towards the new destination, its engine rumbling softly.

The sounds grew louder and louder, and oddly... familiar? The sound of metal hitting metal, silence, explosions, then more clanking. "Miko, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" You just felt comfortable blaming this on Miko at this point, really. Anything to help the fear slowly oozing into your body as you rolled up a sand dune and saw the commotion below. Well, Miko definitely was there. So was Jack and Raf.

Along with a dozen robot. Oh, and one of them was that red bastard. Great.

The kids were huddled behind three different brightly colored robots as compared to what you could only assume were their opponents. A couple purple similar looking robots with that red one at the front with a bulky blue plated dude. And it looked like they were winning. You could just barely make out the conversation from where you were-

"You're not getting away this time. Don't worry, we'll take good care of your parents after you're gone." The blue one spoke with a glint in his golden eye, pounding his fist with a hammer attached to his other limb as the group began closing in. The other robots began carefully stepping backwards, holding their sides and glaring at their opponents. "You're not getting anywhere near them, Breakdown!" The large green figure snapped back, his own hand taking the form of a wrecking ball.

You knew they wouldn't make it. They were heavily outnumbered and injured, if you didn't do something they'd be goners. But what could you do? You've never been thrust into a situation like this and you were human, they just had to step on you. But you couldn't let your new friends die like this, not when you could at least provide a distraction for them to start running.

Numbly, you grabbed your empty bottle and slowly slid out of the car, pulling your car keys out of the ignition. Maybe... there was something you could do. But you'd have to do a lot of explaining to your parents on why you'd need a new car.

"You can follow, right? Well, it's time you learned how to catch." You spoke to your silver McLaren as if it could hear you. Taking deep breaths, you prepared yourself to make one hell of a introduction to the battle below. E/c eyes closed as you steeled your nerves and shook off whatever fear you had at this moment before opening your eyes and screamed,

"Hey, red bolts for brains! Here's your prize for stalking and threatening to kill me the first time we met!" You chucked your empty bottle and watched it spiral down to the scene below and promptly whack into your previous stalker's face.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to you, particularly a cherry red mechanical being and a couple wide-eyed kids. For a brief moment, you sore you saw the red bastards eyes stare at you in familiarity the instant you throwed something at his frame that could do no possible damage besides potentially scratch his paint again.

"We make a habit of meeting each other, don't we? Breakdown, take care of your guests while I have a little chat with our new arrival." The robot mused, turning to his companion before beginning to walk towards you. Oh no, you weren't going to let that guy get anywhere near you after your last encounter. "You have anything else to throw at me? More paper, perhaps?" The mechanical figure chided.

"Yeah, hold on a sec. I was just getting you prepared for the real deal." You answered, rubbing a thumb over a certain button on your car keys. The robot paused in his steps, looking at you in a brief moment of confusion for what you could possible throw his way now.

Smiling, you pressed the tracking device on your car keys before promptly chucking it towards the robot. This is the third item you've thrown his way, no doubt he was definitely gonna remember you now. As your car keys sailed towards the machine your car honked in recognition before promptly backing up, then drove with its gathered speed to sail from the sand dune you were standing. What you weren't expecting during this entire ordeal was for your car to start transforming.

Limbs began separating from the vehicle to be followed shortly by a head. Parts that once made the car quickly shifted around the new form until it made a robot similar to the ones below. As the parts finally stopped moving, the robot reached a hand out to grab the car keys from mid air, their helm turning to face you before promptly winking. "I can do more than playing fetch, sugar." Her voice rang before her feet touched the ground, and stood mere inches away from its red counterpart. The poor guy didn't even have time to respond before he was punched in the face and thrown back against his blue companion.

Worried far too much for the kids rather than how well your car can handle other robots, you began sliding down the dune towards the brightly colored bots and kids, figuring you'd be much safer with them rather than standing around with no protection. As you shakily regained your balance once you made it down, you quickly made your way towards the others, and carefully made your way around the more friendly-looking bots.

"Y/n, what are you doing here?! You know Doc Knock? I didn't know we had another Autobot, why was I never told this?! Did you know the 'bots this entire time, Y/n?!" Miko questioned, looking from you to the green plated figure in front of them. The big robot didn't respond, instead using this newfound power from having another ally tip the sides in their favor to charge forward and begin barreling straight at the drones. "I was curious where you guys were going, and I got a bit of an odd vibe from your motorcycle, Jack. Coming to work and then over at the restaurant we were at? After my experience with that red robot and an Aston Martin following me at night yesterday, I had a feeling something more was going on. No, Miko, I didn't know my car had the power to transform into a giant robot and is a 'autobot'." You confessed, looking to the kids and back at the battle scene. The small, blue girl-looking 'autobot' glanced your way as you spoke before turning her attention to a nearing drone. Their gun hand aimed at the drones face before firing, causing it to stumble back before the blue robot sliced at it with a blade jutting out from their arm.

"Just stay close to us, Y/n, the bots will handle this." Jack told you and the others, making sure a good distance was kept between you and the fighting metal giants. "They're not robots, Y/n. They're cybertronians. They come from another planet." It was Raf who began explaining as you gently nudged him behind you. "Why are you telling me this now? I don't think getting specifics right matters at a time like this, if we survive this I'm more than happy to listen about how mechanical beings are aliens from outer space that take the form of cars and mine just so happened to be one! Do my parents even know it's a giant alien? I came to a town like this expecting to have a normal life, not having to see more of these things that could easily squish us under their foot!" This was a lot to take in. You weren't sure what you should even feel at a time like this.

"Crap, move!" You pushed the kids away before lunging towards them just as a blast hit right where you had been previously standing, the drone responsible quickly being subdued by the yellow autobot as you four recollected yourselves. Too close. The kids keep close to you as you guys tried to keep out of the battle as much as you could, with the occasional drone coming too close for comfort until one of the autobots came to interfere. "Look, the decepticons are retreating!" The small boy besides you called, pointing towards a swirling vortex the few remaining drones left fled into.

Followed after them was the large blue figure who turned just in time to wave at you and the others, grinning. "We'd love to stay around, but we'll be taking our leave." They disappeared through the portal, leaving none other than the cherry red giant to close in on the portal. It appeared he had a couple words to say as well, as he faced the crowd of autobots and humans behind them. His gaze didn't linger on the crowd for long, however. No, instead his crimson eyes were on you. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other real soon, Y/n. Until next time!" Once their body came in contact with the portal, it disappeared. Leaving only the autobots, you, and the kids.

The remaining 'cybertronians' closed in on you and the others, the blue one folding her arms over her chest as she looked over each of you before keeping her eyes specifically on your frame. So was the green and yellow bots, whom appeared unsure of what to do now with you in the midst. Followed shortly after was none other than your car, as the female kneeled in front of you and motioned for you to lend out your hand. You hesitantly did, and the silver autobot dropped your car keys in it. "You don't have to throw them to get me to fetch you something, sugar." She mused before standing back up, a hand situating itself to her hip. Hesitantly, you put your keys back in your pocket as the motorcycle-transforming figure sighed in exasperation.

"What are we going to tell Optimus about another human knowing our presence?"

#tfp #transformers prime #transformers headcanons #tfp knockout #knockout x reader #you're all I see knockout x reader #transformers imagines #my stories #maccadam

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thefanficmistress · 6 years

Text

This One Night ☾ : Part II

Requested by: The beautiful and sweet @thedarlingwriter : You always show me so much love and support. Thank you for the request.

“I have a request that I would like for you do. I have a title, but I want you to write the fanfic. I was going to do it but I want to see how you do it because I love how you write. It’s called This One Night. You can make it a one shot or a miniseries if you want. Reader meets Richard Armitage in a night club…”

Summary: You discover that your boyfriend cheated on you again and you dump him. Your friends decide to take you out to a new nightclub to get you back in high spirits, and you decide that this one night you will not be yourself. You will be reckless, sexy, and take chances that you would not normally take and then you spot Richard.

WARNING: Smut, angst, fluff, & more fluff & more angst, and did I mention more fluff? No? Well there will be fluff.

Authors Notes: I hope I do this right, and I hope that you enjoy it.

Pairing: Richard X Reader

FOLLOW THE STORY :

Part 1

TAGLIST : @deepestfirefun @shikin83 @armitageadoration @patanghill17 @calaena-banrion @xxbyimm @nowiloveandwilllove @jesgisborne @raindrops-on-roses142 @abiwim @maybetomorrowgirl @catthefearless @w1tchywrit3r

Part 2

________________________

You finally reach the club. It was called “Starlight” Sofie, Jessica, Liz and you get out of the cab and walk to the entrance. The line was long, and the bouncer was checking names of the list as he let people in. Some people got in on looks, while others were turned away for wearing the wrong thing. So, you all walked up, and Sofie made her move. She sauntered up hips swaying, with all the attitude of a privileged girl her age has and ran her fingers in her blonde hair. Touching his large arm, and pressing her chest against him, she giggles a few sweet words, laughed at his joke, and you all were in.

Inside the club it was like dancing on the Northern Lights; smoke swirled an array of blues, acid greens, hot pinks and gold. The music played over the dance floor as if had fused with the bodies. The ceiling was completely black with thousands of tiny little dots of light that were scattered out to resemble a night sky. It was beautiful, and a bit cold, but to be honest you weren't dancing yet, or had a drink in your hand. A problem you would soon rectify. You and the girls lock arms and made your way to the bar.

You reached the bar with the girls, and immediately a young handsome lad, with a septum piercing, bright blonde hair pulled up in a man bun, dressed all in black walked up. He rolled up the black sleeves, to reveal his tattooed sleeved arms. Beautiful, colorful swirling designs, with Japanese letters, Sakura flowers, lace, and koi fish. It was stunning. He was stunning.

“G’day! What can I get you lovely ladies tonight?” he said, with an Australian drawl. Putting both hands flat on the bar await the orders.

“Vodka Cranberry with a round of Jager bombs.” Said Liz, and she slipped into the empty bar stool before her. Crossing her long leg over the other and tossing her black hair over her shoulder. She was a spectacular looking girl. Mixed races of black and white, with hazel eyes. Men automatically noticed her.

The bartender nodded and moved on to Sofie. “And for you beautiful?” He questioned, with a boyish charm.

“Mojito!” Squealed Sofie, as she beamed the most adorable smile at the bartender and slipped onto her stool. Leaning forward on the bar.

The bartender smiled at her, nodded, and gestured towards Jessica.

“Cosmopolitan and maybe your number at the end of the night?” Flirted Jessica as her fingers trailed the swirling tattoos on his arm. She didn’t bother getting into her seat fully, but half ass sat on it so that she could be closer to the bartender.

He watched her fingers move down his arm to his hand, and he turned his hand so that his palm of his hand was upward, her index finger moving along the lines of his hands. They made eye contact, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. Whatever it was made Jessica red, and caused her to fan herself. The bartender smiled a lot differently at her than he did the other girls, and finally looked at you.

“And for you beautiful? “

“A…Ms. Monroe?” you replied, and your group looked at you. All with opened mouths and wide eyes. You looked at them and then back at the tender. “Can you make that? “

“I can make whatever you want.” He smiled, tapping your hand to assure you that your order would be taken care of. He turned around and started preparing the drink orders.

...

After a few moments each one of you received your drinks. Your friends came close together, toasted to you being single and starting a new chapter in your life. You guys banged on the bar top and the shot of Jägermeister fell into the cold glass of beer, and you drank it down. You picked up your Ms. Monroe, placed it to your lips and took a sip. The taste of the strawberry and vanilla infused vodka hit you first, then the taste of lemon juice, and when you swallowed the taste of strawberry and sprite lingered. It was good. So good, that you knew that after this glass was gone, and when the edible rose petals were gone, you would be getting another one. Followed by another and another, and another. Until you were sick of them, but that would be impossible. These bitches were delicious.

Sofie had clearly forgotten about her bouncer guy and another man in a suit walked up to her and started flirting. She was going to ignore you guys for this guy, and maybe go home with him, which was her normal motive and end goal. She didn't believe in relationships and voiced her opinion that if you didn't commit yourself to one person, but just had sex, there would be no chance for pain or hurt. Just sex. Just unfiltered, primal sex. Because that is all you needed. No relationship, just a good fucking. She looked at you over her shoulder and winked one of her baby doll blue eyes and went back to the handsome blonde man before her. A ken doll in a suit. Her catnip.

Over the roar of music, a distant, hazy of chatter could be heard. You couldn't make out any words, but laughter rang in your ears and wouldn't seem to stop. The song that was playing got louder, pulling you in and wouldn't let go. You had no choice but to join the crowd, jumping in a huddled group like Tic-Tacs being shaken in a box. No-one can see the dance floor, it's wall to wall people dancing to the music. There was no room for any more but somehow when Jessica grabbed you, and pulled you to the dance floor, space magically appeared. The music was a mix of todays, 80’s and 90’s, and you were twisting, turning, holding hands with Jessica as you change sides. You guys were all grins, you look like idiots and you don't care. Inside you were just happy, happy and more alive than you can ever be at this moment. You felt the part of you that's really you come out to play, to feel the vibe of the music and let your body go free. One moment, one brilliant feeling of togetherness suspended in time.

The group had been so jubilant, singing the songs that belonged to the inebriated and joyful, when a group of drunk men approached, and one of them started to hit on Jessica. He was incredibly drunk and when he tried to look cool and dance with her, his pants dropped. The small perimeter of people around you erupted in laughter.

You could hear them laughing and screaming with joy as they watched the drunken fool before them, who’d pants had fallen around his ankles. He wasn't wearing any underwear and seeing that inside of the club was a bit cold, his bits were…. well no where to be seen. Without looking, and not wanting to join in, your eyes shifted downward, and you turned around, immediately bumping into the back of a rather tall man, spilling your drink on your dress.

He turned, and you saw his shiny black shoes, your eyes then traveled up the length of his slacks, long legs. He wore a white dress shirt, without a tie, and the top two buttons where open, revealing the smooth skin at the top of his chest, collar, and upwards to his neck. You pulled in your bottom lip and released it very slowly when your eyes landed on his face. The most beautiful man you had ever seen, stood before you with the most beautiful smile. Your friends behind you called your name and voiced encouragement towards you, attempting to turn your face from what, from who, you were focused on. But because of the failed attempt they went on about their business and left you to…well…this man. Who opened his perfect lips and said something to you as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

“Wh-what?” You questioned. The music was very loud, so you leaned in a little closer to hear him. So, he closed the space between you a little more. One hand slipped out of his pocket and he placed it respectfully on your hip and bent down slightly at the waist to say again.

“Looks like I owe you another drink” He purred with a honeyed accent, but you couldn't exactly tell what kind. He smelled fantastic. A fresh shower, and a cologne that melted into your nostrils. It made you close your eyes and lean in a little more to take another sniff, but he pulled back to look at you for your response.

“No, you don’t have to. I wasn’t watching where I was going, and clearly spilling it was a lesson learned.” You voiced loudly, as the music around you died. Everyone around you looked at you and then away as a lot of them cleared the floor. Shuffling back to their tables, booths and upstairs to the send floor where there was more seating and another bar. Embarrassing.

“Well I’m happy that you learned your lesson, but what kind of man would I be if I left you without another drink?” He said sweetly with melody a British tongue.

It made you shiver.

“I’m not sure, I don’t really know you.” You blushed.

He looked down at the ground and smiled, changing his weight on another leg.

“Well, how about we change that?” He beamed.God he was beautiful. The Lights above dancing across his face, creating a web of light and shades, which gave his features many different looks.

You blushed more and gave a closed lip smile.

“I’m… Reagan.” You lied as you held your delicate hand out for him. You lied because you promised yourself that you wouldn't be you. You didn't want to have any connection with your old life tonight. So you lied.

His eyes looked down at your hand and then back up at you. Could he tell that you lied to him? He licked his lips, they were thin, pink and beautiful. For a moment you entertained the thought of what it would be like to kiss them. Taste them. Fuck, taste him.

He took your hand in his. His hands were so warm, and soft. His large fingers closed around your palm. You could have swore you felt his pulse in his hands, or maybe it was your own. Your heart was pounded when he touched you. Even it was only your hand, you didn’t want him to stop touching you. You wanted him to touch more of you.

“I’m Richard” he said

“Nice to meet you Richard.”

You locked eyes.

“The pleasure is all mine, Reagan.” He purred, as his eyes racked you up and down. Those pink lips curling into another lustful smile.

End of Part 2

114 notes · View notes

savedbythenotepad · 6 years

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so i said i was gonna write tattooed viktor and i did but i think i started something...again. look, i am weak for viktor with tattoos and i have needs!! and so does yuuri oml

It was around three in the morning when Yuuri and Phichit stumbled out of the club in drunken giggles. They were leaning into each other as Phichit’s arm settled loosely around Yuuri’s waist while Yuuri looped his arm around his best friend’s shoulder. The thudding base of music followed them out onto the streets and only dulled in sound when the sound proofed door was shut behind them.

“Oh my god,” Phichit slurred through his chuckles. “Tonight was such a good night,” He leaned deeper into Yuuri and grinned as brightly as an intoxicated person could. “Did you see all the free drinks we got?”

“I know,” Yuuri giggled and almost tripped over a broken piece of sidewalk but somehow managed to catch himself just in time. “But if it wasn’t for your idea of wearing these leather pants then I highly doubt we would have scored any.”

Phichit let out a scoff before resting his cheek on the bare skin of Yuuri’s right shoulder. “Shush your stupid and perfect mouth,” Phichit told him, frowning deeply as he clumsily placed a finger against Yuuri’s lips. “You could get anything you wanted even if you were dressed in a potato sack.”

Yuuri’s cheeks that were already flushed with alcohol turned a slightly darker red due to the lovely compliment. “Phichit~” Yuuri whined through his laughter and reached up to press his index finger into Phichit’s cheek. “You’re silly.”

“I am.” Phichit agreed with a slow nod but his bright grin was still there as they continued to walk down the street. Their home wasn’t very far from where they had chosen to go out tonight and it was about a fifteen minute walk to and from the place. But when drunk and stumbling while having constant giggles then it took longer than usual.

They were walking past the tattoo parlour and the neon signs were quick to catch Phichit’s attention. He halted in his steps which stopped Yuuri in his and wandered towards the wide glass window that gave him a clear view of the shop’s interior. It was decorated in nice and chic style that didn’t usually go with the stereotypical design that most tattoo parlours had. It wasn’t dark with blacks and greys and different variations of sketched skulls and monsters that were stuck onto the walls.

It was actually the opposite of that.

Bright colours and designs placed on the wall in neat frames that made the place more organised. There were comfy leather chairs from customers to sit in while they waited for their turn to ink their skin. It gave off a friendly vibe that didn’t make someone want to run away and also question the cleanliness of their needles.

Phichit had pressed his nose against the glass and glanced around with dazed eyes to notice that no one seemed to be on the shop floor. The place also wasn’t closed due to the hot pink neon sign that flashed the word OPEN in timely intervals. Yuuri didn’t seem all the concentrated on what was going on but Phichit’s mind that was previously in a drunk-filled haze seemed to sharpen a little bit. He suddenly had a clear idea in his head and a smile of mischief graced his features before he turned to look at Yuuri.

Yuuri looked back at him and they stared at each other for a moment before Yuuri’s brow furrowed. He was definitely confused and had no idea what was running through that head of Phichit’s.

“What?” Yuuri asked, albeit hesitant.

But Phichit’s hand had already curled around his wrist and Yuuri felt himself being dragged into the establishment. He let out several confused noises that varied in pitch as the heels of his boots clicked against the white tiled floor. He had no control of where Phichit was taking him and soon his ass was being pushed to sit down one of of the comfortable leather chairs.

He attempted a glare but it only looked like he was squinting his eyes and ridiculously pouting his lips. Yuuri was much stronger than Phichit on a normal day and could easily carry the smaller man over his shoulder. But he was drunk and couldn’t properly coordinate his limbs. So Phichit won this round and he accepted his defeat by leaning into the chair with a sigh.

“What are we doing here?” Yuuri finally asked after watching Phichit spend about five minutes looking at the designs on the wall. “I want to go home and sleep and possibly die,” Yuuri began sliding to the side until half of his body was hanging off the chair. “My head hurts.”

“You should get a tattoo,” Phichit said and turned to grin at Yuuri. Those dark eyes were dancing with mischief and Yuuri was immediately on guard. “A tattoo of a peach.”

Yuuri stared at him for a brief moment before asking, “Why a peach?”

“Because it will go on the curve of that delicious ass of yours.”

“Phichit!”

“What?”

“I’m not getting a tattoo!” Yuuri exclaimed before groaning as his head throbbed painfully. “Especially not when we’re both high off our heads and I’ll probably regret it in the morning,” He then paused. “...I’m definitely not getting it on my butt.”

“But Yuuri~” Phichit whined.

“No!”

Their bickering only lasted for a total of one minute when a cough came from the direction of the back of the shop. But Yuuri and Phichit turned to see who it was and it was only Yuuri’s mouth that dropped open as a soft oh mama left from his lips.

Standing towards the back of the room was a fine-looking man who seemed to be watching them in amusement. He stood tall and Yuuri would have guessed he was about 5′11″ or even 6″ and the very thought that Yuuri’s mouth a little dry. It was easy to tell that he had a strong physique covered by lean muscle that Yuuri swore he could see by the tightness of the dark purple t-shirt he worn. His black jeans looked painted onto his thighs and a stray thought ran through Yuuri’s mind which consisted of him wanted to be squeezed between them.

His eyes reminded Yuuri of blue winter skies and his hair was silver with styled perfectly to reveal a well shaved side. High cheekbones and pink lips that needed to be kissed and a sharp jaw that Yuuri wanted to bite. Full tattoo sleeves covered his arms and the various designs sloped over muscled biceps and a few tattoos were dotted around the elegant stretch of his neck.

Yuuri couldn’t breathe.

He was fucking gorgeous.

“Hey,” Tall, Tattooed and Gorgeous greeted with a charming smile and Yuuri almost let out a whimper. “How can I help you two?”

Fuck.

#prev. autumnalexistence #viktuuri #victuuri #victuri #yuri on ice #yoi #viktor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #phichit chulanont #tattooed viktor #mywriting

286 notes · View notes

hetmusic · 7 years

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Dot to Dot: Stand Together | HumanHuman

This week the music industry has been rocked to its core. The attack on innocent audience members during Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena was a senseless tragedy and the city of Manchester are still very much feeling the effects. Many bands and artists across the UK and beyond have postponed shows out of respect for the victims and many more have come together, united by music, hope and love, to carry out gigs as planned and even spontaneously announcing fundraising events in support of the victims and their families.

One such event that will proceed is Dot to Dot Festival, who gave the following statement:

“We are shocked and saddened by the terrible tragedy in Manchester. Our thoughts go out to all those affected. From ongoing discussions with venues and relevant authorities, and in solidarity with the resilience of the amazing people of Manchester and the power of live music, Dot to Dot Festival will be going ahead this Friday. Dot to Dot is a festival about bringing people together and enjoying a day out watching live music. We have taken stock and thought deeply about whether it’s appropriate for us to go ahead in the light of what’s happened – and we have decided we will hold the event. We can’t forget what’s happened, but we don’t want to let fear and hate stop us.”— Dot to Dot

This Friday, this highly regarded new music festival will commence. More than a platform for the best who’s who on the emerging industry radar, Dot to Dot has become a show of solidarity, a way to say that we are not a defeated and we will not forget either.

Whether you’ll be heading to Manchester on May 26th, Bristol on May 27th or Nottingham on May 28th, we would like to recommend a few of our favourite acts.

Bad Sea

Night And Day, Manchester on May 26th, 5:45pm

Thekla Top Deck, Bristol on May 27th, 2:30pm

Red Room, Nottingham on May 28th, 7:45pm

Who are they? Dublin-based duo Ciara Thompson and Alan Farrel met through a popular dating app and although they abandoned any chance of romance, they did pursue a creative partnership.

Why should you see them? Bad Sea’s refreshingly classic approach can be heard in their precious trio of singles, “Solid Air”, “Tell Me What (I Mean)” and “Over My Head”. Each one is breath-taking and the pair must also be commended for their bare-faced sound on latest single “Over My Head”, but as we hear on “Tell Me What (I Mean)” Farrel and Thompson are also partial to those fuller, Americana rock sounds.

Cosmo Pyke

Band On The Wall, Manchester on May 26th, 6:15pm

02 Academy 2, Bristol on May 27th, 3:15pm

The Bodega, Nottingham on May 28th, 6:00pm

Who are they? Hailing from Peckham, this 18-year-old is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, skater and model.

Why should you see them? While Cosmo Pyke was raise on an enviable diet of blues, jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul, his own fuzzy, relaxed songs are less about following genre lines and more about going with the natural flow. Tracks like “Great Dane” paint with “spacey, beautiful, and lazy” strokes that produces a realist image of everyday life in East London.

Honeyblood

The Albert Hall, Manchester on May 26th, 5:00pm

02 Academy, Bristol on May 27th, 5:45pm

Rock City, Nottingham on May 28th, 5:00pm

Who are they? Noisy garage rock duo from Glasgow with a pinch of shoegaze.

Why should you see them? Over the years, the band’s line-up has taken a few different forms, but these days it’s all about the wild guitar playing of Stina Marie Claire Tweeddale and the ferocious drumming of Cat Myers, plus that wonderful middle ground where the pair’s vocals meet. Honeyblood have also been on an extensive tour across Scotland, Ireland and England over the past two months, so you can be sure on one tight set this weekend.

Kudu Blue

The Peer Hat, Manchester on May 26th, 8pm

HY Brasil Music-Club, Bristol on May 27th, 8:45pm

Stealth Live Room, Nottingham on May 28th, 3:45pm

Who are they? Eclectic sounding band from Brighton with four members Clementine Douglas, Owen Crouch, Tom Peterson and Creeda Kirkman.

Why should you see them? Over the past two years, Kudu Blue have had regular spots at hometown festival The Great Escape and this year their heading out to Dot to Dot to deliver their unique combination of electronics, alternative-pop, R&B and dance to new audiences. If you after an energy boost this weekend, get down to Kudu Blue’s show for dynamic tracks like “NGFM” and “Sugar Lemz”.

Liv Dawson

Band On The Wall, Manchester on May 26th, 7:15pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 3:00pm

Rock City, Nottingham on May 28th, 3:00pm

Who are they? At just 18-years-old, Liv Dawson is one of the most promising, emerging R&B talents on the circuit right now.

Why should you see them? Don’t be fooled by this singer-songwriter’s young years, as this artist has displayed a sophisticated self-awareness through her increasingly noted R&B-pop singles and live sessions. Dawson’s super power has to be that voice, it’s every bit Destiny’s Child in its youthful tone and wise aura. She’s also fresh from a performance at The Great Escape’s Vevo dscvr stage, which always seems to be on point with picking up the year’s rising acts.

Matt Maltese

Band On The Wall, Manchester on May 26th, 8:15pm

The Louisiana, Bristol on May 27th, 4:30pm

The Bodega, Nottingham on May 28th, 7:00pm

Who are they? London-based musician Matt Maltese with a notable gift for writing timeless, piano-led, blues ballads.

Why should you see them? As one of three artists selected for HumanHuman’s Showcase last year in Antwerp, we can guarantee that Maltese is truly a talented performer. His voice beckons from an era of golden age jazz fingers, while his songs themselves are sparsely lit and question meaning in everything and anything. Do not miss.

Miya Folick

SWX Room 2, Bristol on May 27th, 5:15pm

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham on May 28th, 3:15pm

Who are they? The Oakland-based artist whose music spans riot grrl, punk and indie-rock.

Why should you see them? “Trouble Adjusting” is a real gift from Miya Folick, as it was written and recorded to capture the magic of her live shows. Safe to say we wouldn’t be disappointed if any gig contains as much energy, fantastically fun melodies and full-blooded drums and guitars as this single does.

Nilüfer Yanya

Soup Kitchen, Manchester on May 26th, 5:45pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 2:00pm

The Bodega, Nottingham on May 28th, 3:00pm

Who are they? London singer-songwriter in her own groove of indie acoustica, jazzy blues and new wave shimmer.

Why should you see them? This twice featured artist has managed to rise from a handful of demo songs to the blogosphere’s indie music sweetheart with recent releases like “Golden Cage” and “The Florist” being highly praised across the Internet. In the live realm, Yanya performs with the same intimate sense of delicacy that comes across on the recording, just check out this out take of this 21-year-old musician playing her cover of Pixies’ “Hey” for NTS Radio.

Parcels

Soup Kitchen, Manchester on May 26th, 9:45pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 9:00pm

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham on May 28th, 12:30am

Who are they? Purveyors of disco for the modern age.

Why should you see them? This Berlin-based Australian band are a pretty rare find. Not only do they look like they took a Delorean from the height of ‘70s glam-rock, but their sound also takes many cues from a past where disco grooves were essential to any good night out. While, watching their set, it will be absolutely impossible not to dance (or bop or foot tap or ever so subtly nod your head) to “the slick musicianship, the rapturously rhythmic, Nile Rodgers-worshipping guitar,” as The Guardian put it.

Pinegrove

Old Granada Studios, Manchester on May 26th, 8:15pm

SWX, Bristol on May 27th, 7:45pm

Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham on May 28th, 8:15pm

Who are they? With a various combination of musicians, this New Jersey band creates uncomparable and emotional left-field Americana.

Why should you see them? This isn’t the first time we’ve recommended Pinegrove as a must-see act. Last year, the Brooklyn-via-New Jersey outfit built around two central figures Evan Stephens Hall and Zack Levine was on our list for the new music extravaganza SXSW and now the American alt-rock band are hopping the water to give UK fans a taste of their singularly brilliant live renditions. There’s an abundance of live sessions out there (such as NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert) to wet your appetite over the next few days.

Pixx

Gullivers, Manchester on May 26th, 6:30pm

The Louisiana, Bristol on May 27th, 6:30pm

Stealth Live Room, Nottingham on May 28th, 10:45pm

Who are they? Pixx is the moniker of Surrey musician Hannah Rodgers.

Why should you see them? Pixx first popped up on our radar around the time of her debut EP, Fall In, which was accompanied by a string of eerie, elemental music videos perfectly suited to her modern New Romantics style. Since then, the artist has become bolder in her style, songwriting and seemingly her live shows too. One thing to listen out for would be her cover of Joe Jackson’s 1979 single “It’s Different For Girls”.

Tender

Ruby Lounge, Manchester on May 26th, 6:15pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 8:00pm

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham on May 28th, 4:15pm

Who are they? Self-described as “dark grooves with room to breathe,” pair Dan and James create everything at home in their North London basement.

Why should you see them? Two years after Tender’s first appearance on HumanHuman and the initially anonymous project are beginning to drop the veil further as they approach the release of their debut album, coming this summer. On first LP single “Erode”, the self-sufficient deliver that R&B vibe, minimalist guitar work and luscious electronics that we’ve loved all along. Hopefully more album tracks to be heard at their festival sets.

Tom Grennan

Ruby Lounge, Manchester on May 26th, 9:15pm

02 Academy, Bristol on May 27th, 4:45pm

Rocky City, Nottingham on May 28th, 6:00pm

Who are they? Solo artist Tom Grennan strikes the balance between acoustic songwriting, bluesy lyricism and indie-rock frontmanship.

Why should you see them? The charismatic songwriter possesses a mighty blues vocal and knack for lyrics that permeate your soul and stay there. It’s something that translates wonderfully into his live versions of “Sweet Hallelujah” and “Something In The Water” and if the word of The Independent is anything to go by, the backing of a full band adds “more weight to his music but [doesn’t] distract from his great charisma or that astonishing voice.”

Vagabon

Gullivers, Manchester on May 26th, 5:30pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 4:00pm

The Bodega, Nottingham on May 28th, 4:00pm

Who are they? Finding her feet in New York’s underground rock scene, Lætitia Tamko, continues to wow with her anthems for weird girls.

Why should you see them? You only need to listen to Vagabon’s “The Embers” to be convinced that this indie-rock heroine is well worth going to see this weekend. Her songs vibrate with indignation and ferocity. Throughout all of them, Tamko unleashes biting lyrics with that sweet, unassuming vocal which contrasts against the punk-rock instrumentation.

Yellow Days

Soup Kitchen, Manchester on May 26th, 6:45pm

Thekla, Bristol on May 27th, 6:00pm

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham on May 28th, 6:15pm

Who are they? George van den Broek is the young songwriter-producer featured in our 20 Under 20 list for his incredible debut EP, Harmless Melodies.

Why should you see them? Reminiscent of King Krule and Only Real, Yellow Days is a relative newcomer and yet since the release of debut “You Are Nothing That I Can’t Get Over”, this 17-year-old has punctuated the new music consciousness. The turning point came with “Your Hand Holding Mine” when listeners woke up to van den Broek’s wonky, lo-fi strings and synths with a gravelled, left-field soulful vocal rich in mature emotion. Surely not one to miss out on.

https://humanhuman.com/articles/dot-to-dot-2017

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talhaghafoor2019-blog · 5 years

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Why Asheville, North Carolina Is the New Must-Visit Music City – Rolling Stone

Dave Grohl had never been to Asheville, and when a wicked snowstorm hit the same December weekend that he played Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam in the North Carolina town, the Foo Fighters leader wondered if he’d ever leave. Socked in by feet of snow, Grohl couldn’t fly out. But instead of holing up in his hotel, he decided to put together an impromptu show at a venue he kept hearing people rave about.

“Everyone was talking about this place the Orange Peel,” he told Rolling Stone late last winter. “I just imagined it was going to be some corner pub with a six-inch stage with one monitor and half a PA, and then someone said it holds a thousand people. I didn’t know if anyone was going to come, but I didn’t want to sit around my hotel room doing nothing.”

After playing a surprise set of Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Nirvana covers for an intently listening, tightly packed crowd of music lovers, Grohl learned what so many other music fans have been discovering: Asheville is becoming one of the country’s most vital music hubs.

“There’s always been an underground scene of music, with a lot of great musicians, but only in the past 15 or 20 years has it risen to the level that it is now,” says Haynes, the former Allman Brothers Band guitarist and unofficial mayor of the town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Haynes was raised there and watched its music community thrive over the years. “There is a whole kind of bohemian subculture thing going on that is really impressive and organic.”

Dave Grohl, Town Mountain, Midland, Elle King and others have performed at the Orange Peel.

Aside from Asheville’s already well-known brewery and outdoor industries — beer and hiking are ways of life here — it’s music that ties the community together. The town is rife with venues, from Grohl’s club of choice the Orange Peel to the Grey Eagle, the Mothlight, Asheville Music Hall and the pub Jack of the Wood, where polka bands play alongside folksingers. At the 5 Walnut wine bar, crowds spill over onto the sidewalk to hear jazz combo the John Henrys. In the taprooms of beer meccas like Highland Brewery and Twin Leaf Brewery, singer-songwriters soundtrack drinking sessions. Buskers dot street corners and drum circles pop up weekly in downtown’s Pritchard Park.

Rock, world, hip-hop and electronic are readily discoverable, but it’s Americana and bluegrass that reign as the predominant sound. Many artists in those genres have made Asheville their homebase, furthering the city’s growing reputation as an Americana hotbed. The Steep Canyon Rangers, Town Mountain, River Whyless, Jon Stickley Trio, Rising Appalachia and Marcus King Band all reside or have once lived in the area. For the guitar phenom King, the town launched his career.

“Asheville is a coming-of-age story to me. The first concert I ever snuck into was Widespread Panic at the Civic Center, and I snuck under the gate and paid the security guard off and he let me onto the floor. When I was 15, I was almost thrown in jail, ’cause I snuck into the Orange Peel to try and give Warren Haynes a demo,” says King, who more legitimately hooked up with Haynes through mutual friends years later and found a mentor. “Asheville has always been a place where I cut my teeth.”

Now a Nashville resident, King maintains strong ties with his former community. For the past two years, he’s returned to host his Marcus King Band Family Reunion at Pisgah Brewery in nearby Black Mountain, North Carolina. The 2018 installment attracted a jam-heavy crowd, who vibed to sets by outlaw songwriter Nikki Lane, Nashville soul band DeRobert & the Half-Truths and bluegrass phenom Billy Strings. King’s night-ending performance included a cameo by Strings, who tore through an electric “Orange Blossom Special,” a symbolic nod to both the bluegrass history of the region and its Americana present.

“There is something about Asheville that is hip. It’s always been this place where hippies and people who are thinking about the planet, and are into bluegrass music, tend to move,” Strings says of the town’s reputation for stoking the creative muse. “You wake up in Asheville, have a cup of tea, grab your instrument and smoke a joint and play some tunes. It’s a beautiful place to be.”

But natural beauty isn’t all that has been attracting players. Asheville is also home to the church-turned-studio Echo Mountain Recording, where artists as diverse as the War on Drugs, White Denim, Zac Brown Band, Blackberry Smoke, Turnpike Troubadours and Dierks Bentley have all cut albums, along with locals Steep Canyon Rangers and fellow North Carolinians the Avett Brothers. Echo Mountain’s pristine acoustics have made it a destination studio, with bands booking time to record in a room specifically constructed to amplify and carry the human voice. Standing in the main room, with its stained glass windows and vestibules stocked with a Guitar Center’s worth of gear, it’s hard not to feel inspired.

The War on Drugs, Blackberry Smoke and Dierks Bentley are among the artists who have cut albums at Echo Mountain Recording. (Photo: Stewart O’Shields)

“It’s palpable. You can feel it in the air,” says Jesse Langlais of Town Mountain, the IBMA Award-winning newgrass band. He’s speaking of the studio, but expands his thought to include Asheville in general. “What sets it apart from a city like Nashville is it’s a little more down-home, more close-knit. I think the reason why is that the industry, by and large, is left out of the equation.”

A little less than five hours to the west, Nashville and its star-making system is readily accessible for ambitious bands eager to raise their commercial profile. But Langlais, who moved to Asheville from Maine in 2001, says that Asheville’s secret appeal is its isolation from Music Row — as well as a certain sense of ambivalence when it comes to “making it.”

“People aren’t necessarily there because they’re trying to push their musical agenda. They’re there because they want to be part of the scene,” he says. “It’s pure music fans who are there solely for the music, not the industry.”

That mindset helps explain the more niche festivals that are springing up around Asheville. Haynes’ Christmas Jam charity benefit, which marked its 30th year in 2018 with Grohl, Eric Church and Jim James, may be the most famous, but others have also become part of the local fabric. The Asheville Electro-Music Festival celebrates EDM and electronic music (the Moog synthesizer factory is in Asheville); the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival highlights the old-time sounds of Appalachia; and April’s Connect Beyond Festival seeks to spark societal change through the written word and musical performance. Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito headlines this year.

Haynes says the increasingly diverse lineup of his Christmas Jams reflect the town’s growth and its reputation as a must-visit music city, one that he compares to Austin.

“It’s symbolic of what has happened with Asheville as a community,” he says. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have many venue options and now there are more and more. I see that happening in different ways all over the country, especially in little towns in the South, but Asheville has something special going.”

Town Mountain’s Langlais agrees. He’s seen an influx of fresh talent in the last few years.

“There is a whole new crop of bluegrass musicians moving here. I don’t know a lot of these kids, but it’s a fairly large population of people. It’s similar to the path that the Town Mountain fellas found ourselves on 18 years ago, moving here because of the rich bluegrass and old-time music scene,” he says, singling out a certain musical “spontaneity” of Asheville.

“It permeates the food culture and the beer culture and the art culture. This town is full of great musicians.”

(Additional reporting by Garret K. Woodward)

The Moog synthesizer factory in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo: Moog Music)

This content was originally published here.

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crayonghana37-blog · 5 years

Text

Battle Of The Skirts–Cheap, High Waist, Denim, Pencil Skirts

Looking for the ultimate skirt that you can wear to your job, but also to some formal events? Or maybe you are just on a lookout for your Saturday night out solution? Either way, we have top 10 skirts that you should consider purchasing. These are just some of the Amazon best sellers, they are quite affordable, and will suit every curvy lady! Here is the battle of the skirts for every plus size woman.

1. Knee Length Pencil Skirt

If you prefer those old school pencil skirts, this one will suit your taste just right. Made out of 60% cotton + 35 % nylon and 5% spandex for super comfortable wear throughout the day. Pencil skirts can be worn to any event, but are usually the most appropriate for the office, but you can also wear them to your hot date nights. If you need diversity, this piece comes in 18 different and beautiful monochrome colors.

Kate Kasin Women’s Knee Length Pencil Skirts Slim Fit Business Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing store

https://amzn.to/2My7WGN

2. Stretchy White

If you are all about that ice color theme, you are going to love this skirt. It is very stretchy thanks to its stretch-crepe made out of 97% polyester and 3% spandex. Ideal for women who want to stand out and who love a bit of that color pop. Comes in one color only, but will suit every skin tone, body shape, and your personal preference. You can wear it to a job meeting, but also to formal dinners once paired up with a white blouse.

Kasper Women’s Plus-Size Stretch Crepe Column Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing store

https://amzn.to/2WnwJBN

3. Midi Denim

If you prefer casual and playful outfits, this denim skirt will suit you the best. Made out of 78% cotton and 2% polyester and 2% spandex. You should wear it to your favorite club, restaurant, or even when going to your school classes! It is feminine, retro, and ideal for girls who love unusual and unique items. This one comes in 19 different types of denim.

Lexi Women’s Super Comfy Perfect Fit Stretch Denim Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing store

https://amzn.to/2B5mSrs

4. Flowy Midi

Flowy skater skirts will always be in fashion and are ideal for any season. Made out of 89% polyester, 7% rayon and 4% spandex and comes in either black or fun & flirty blue color options. Those women who love to look a bit more feminine from 9-5 and who want to go to the club straight after their working hours will love this skirt the most.

Star Vixen Women’s Plus-Size Short Skater Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing store

https://amzn.to/2My3XtN

5. Drama In Blue

If you are someone who loves to dress up a bit more casual and you prefer pockets on pretty much everything you own, then you are going to love this skirt. It comes in a bright blue color but is also available in 10 different options. Its relaxed and flowy fit is ideal for everyday wear, but you can wear the skirt wherever you go. Featuring a ruched waistband and is made out of 92% premium modal rayon and 8% spandex.

Stretch is Comfort Women’s Pocket Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing store

https://amzn.to/2CQUOI8

6. Formal

Dress this khaki skirt and rule the stage and steal the looks when at the office. Made out of 67% rayon, 28% nylon, and 5% spandex, this high waisted stretch skirt comes in 32 different, bright and unique color options! If you want sleek & chic clothes, you will love it. It is very figure-flattering, no matter how much you weight, it will look good on you! Also, it will look the best on women with wide hips.

H C Womens Premium Nylon Ponte Stretch Office Pencil Skirt Made in the USA at Amazon Women’s Clothing sto[…]

https://amzn.to/2SdM3By

7. Patterns

Below the knee super bright and fun skirt which you will love if you are not afraid of bold prints and patterns. This one is made out of 97% cotton + 3% spandex. It looks a lot like that ‘teacher’ skirt that almost every teacher would wear, but it also gives out a retro 60’s vibe which you will love for date night outs, casual coffees, but also your working hours. Guys love when a girl is confident in unordinary pieces, such as this one! It might not be the best solution for the club, but it will cover every other situation. It comes in 29 colors total.

GRACE KARIN Women Pleated Vintage Skirts Floral Print CL6294 (Multi-Colored) at Amazon Women’s Clothi[…]

https://amzn.to/2Ti7gYy

8. More Denim

Again, if you prefer denim, you will love this skirt. It is very casual and covered with asymmetrical & bold ripped details all over. Women who prefer to wear sneakers 80% of their time over heels will pair them easily with this skirt. It is made with 82% cotton, 15% polyester, and 3% spandex. It fits any occasion, and it comes in 3 different length levels, but in one color only.

Women’s Junior Plus Size Below Knee Length Midi Pencil Ripped Denim Skirt at Amazon Women’s Clothing s[…]

https://amzn.to/2G3OGja

9. Maxi Leather

Maxi leather skirts are the best choice for cold weather and the current winter season since they can look stylish while feeling very warm. This beauty comes in 3 colors and is made out of 40% polyester, 50% PU and 10% cotton. Although it is faux leather, it is still as good looking and as comfortable as the real thing while being super elastic around your waist. You should wear either brown or wine red colors to stand out when out with your friends, or you can seamlessly blend in by purchasing it in black.

Involand Womens Plus Size High Waist Flared A Line Swing Maxi Leather Skirt for Party Casual at Amazo[…]

https://amzn.to/2ThnH7w

10. Polka Dots

Lastly, you can throw on this A-line high waist skirt and embrace some old and funky retro vibes. The skirt is comfy, stretchy, and is midi length while being available in 3 colors only. However, you can easily pair it along with any mono-colored items when heading out. Made out of chiffon and elastic which will feel lovely against your body.

Women’s Chiffon Polka Dot Print Flared A-Line Skirt High Elastic Waist Ruffle Hem Midi Skirts at Amaz[…]

https://amzn.to/2COF48J

Source: https://slamxhype.com/plus-size-workwear/battle-of-the-skirts-cheap-high-waist-denim-pencil-skirts/

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easytravelpw-blog · 6 years

Photo

Full text write on https://easy-travel.pw/the-10-best-beaches-in-nice/france/

The 10 Best Beaches in Nice

01 of 10

Opéra Plage

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Formerly known as the Opéra Pavillion, Opéra Plage is Nice’s oldest private beach, originally debuting in 1889. Run for generations by the Maiffret family, Michel and his wife, Chantal, have taken the reigns and transformed the private beach into one of the most popular in Nice, where your wish is the staff’s command. Forgot your bikini? The sales assistant will glide over and give you a peek of her collection. Dreaming of a seaside massage? A masseur can be sent straight to your beach bed, which conveniently sits across from the Old Town on the Promenade des Anglais. The waterfront terrace also serves food from noon to 5 p.m. daily, offering cold plates that can be eaten beachside in one of 400 new deck chairs, available for rent from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

02 of 10

Le Galet

One of the newer private beaches to debut on Nice’s shores, Le Galet, named after the Côte d’Azur’s galets, or pebbles, is the epitome of Riviera chic. Think zen-like wooden shutters, navy beach beds, and sleek white parasols extending down to the sea. Officially open during season (April to October), the restaurant and beach bar welcome the lunch crowd as soon as the weather gets warm, which happens quite quickly in Nice. Located in the heart of the city across from the Old Town and Albert 1er gardens, this beach offers up one of the best views of the parade during carnival season in February. The location is one draw, but the food is definitely worth the visit alone. Take your pick of Italian-inspired fare from truffle-topped pizza to creamy slices of Buffalo mozzarella, and be sure to save room for a scoop of chantilly-topped homemade ice cream.

03 of 10

Castel Plage

lkonya/Getty Images

Open from 10 a.m. until midnight from April to September, the private Castel Plage, which sits at the far end of the Promenade des Anglais under Castle Hill, is a top pick for those looking to spend an entire day basking by the water, pausing for lunch in between dips in the sea. Beach beds can be rented for half (17 euros) or full days (20 euros), but if you want to ensure you’ll have a bed ready and waiting when you arrive, call and reserve the day before (specifying which row you’d like). This is the kind of spot that’s perfect for lingering on Sundays in summer, sipping Provençal rosé while dining on the restaurant’s Niçois-inspired menu (which can be ordered seaside) with ingredients pulled right from the local market.

04 of 10

Ruhl Plage

Carl Court/Getty Images

The family run Ruhl Plage debuted back in 1920 along the Promenade des Anglais near the Théâtre de Verdure and Albert 1er gardens. The Old World-inspired private beach features a saltwater pool for children (with a lifeguard on duty) and 80 private cabins equipped with showers. The beach opens daily from 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and beds are available for rent (22€) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The tucked-away lounge offers a menu of upscale beach fare (think salade Niçoise and burrata-topped pizza) from noon to 4:30 p.m., transforming into a tapas bar at 6 p.m. Diners can also find an extensive wine list heavy on local French favorites like Château Minuty’s infamous rosé.

Continue to 5 of 10 below.

05 of 10

Beau Rivage

Katja Kreder/Getty Images

Open in season from May to September, Beau Rivage is a private beach with two very different sides: a zen outdoor restaurant opening up to sun beds and the lively lounge area with a new tapas menu and DJ spinning themed nights. Sitting at the foot of the Old Town on the Promenade des Anglais, Beau Rivage (which is open from 10 a.m. to midnight) draws a crowd of locals and tourists thanks to its prime location and sun-lounger menu courtesy of new seaside bistro, The Beachstraw. In the evening, the beach takes on a St. Tropez vibe with seaside soirées featuring themed parties and live music.

06 of 10

Blue Beach

Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

Water sports fans can get their fix parasailing, wake boarding, and waterskiing at Glisse Evasion, which sits right next to the private Blue Beach on the Promenade des Anglais. Blue Beach itself also offers water sports and is one of the few private plages open year-round, featuring beach beds, a children’s swimming pool, and a seaside restaurant. During summer, the beach is open from 8 a.m. to midnight, and the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. The rest of the year the beach shuts down by 7 p.m.

07 of 10

Bains Militaires

subherwal/Flickr

Located near the Corsica ferry terminal near the port, Bains Militaires is more of a local secret since it’s in a residential side of town away from the bustling Promenade des Anglais. The former private military beach is now open to the public, but you won’t find any facilities (except for a shower) like on other beaches in town. The small strip of beach hugs the Club Nautique, which offers sailing lessons and lunch along the seaside terrace. While the beach lacks eateries of its own, you’ll find a few restaurants sitting a short stroll away along the port.

08 of 10

Le Voilier Plage

Thierry Tronnel/Corbis/Getty Images

The closest beach to the AC Hotel Nice, Voilier is considered one of the wider beaches along the Baie des Anges, with both public and private space for sunbathing, as well as a playground for children. The beach is open seasonally from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but travelers can visit the restaurant year-round for lunch, dining on Italian- and Mediterranean-inspired dishes like the infamous tagliata. In the evenings in summer, the beach club opens up for soirées that linger until 10 p.m.

Continue to 9 of 10 below.

09 of 10

Carras Beach

Aanjhan Ranganathan/Flickr

Carras Beach, nestled near the airport on the western side of the Promenade des Anglais, is the only official pet-friendly beach, as well as one of the only handicap-friendly plages with wheelchair accessibility. From May to September, Jet Evasion offers jetskiing (making it the only in Nice to feature this water sport). The public beach lacks bathrooms and a restaurant, but there’s a lifeguard on duty daily during the summer and two free public parking lots near the port and La Lanterne beach.

10 of 10

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Vasil Nanev / EyeEm/Getty Images

Drive east toward Monaco, and the first town you’ll come across is Villefranche-sur-Mer, whose crescent-shaped beach is a favorite for locals since pebbles are on the smaller side, resembling sand more than rocks. From the main train station in Nice, the ride is just 15 minutes to the beach, Plage des Mariniers. The shore is dotted with snack bar stands and a few seaside restaurants like Palm, but it’s worth venturing up to the Old Town to one of the stand-out eateries like Les Garçons. The beach in Villefranche is great for swimming (and snorkeling) since it’s easy to get in and out of the shallow water, but you won’t find facilities like bathrooms or lifeguards.

#travel #airlinetickets #airtickets #cheapairfare #planetickets #travelinsurance #travelquotes #travelblogger #traveller #travelling #travelocity #travelodge #vacation

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tinymixtapes · 6 years

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Music Review: DJ Koze - Knock Knock

DJ Koze Knock Knock [Pampa; 2018] Rating: 4.5/5 In a 2013 interview with FACT, DJ Koze said that he’s “turned on by melancholy.” To hear a techno artist who plays to sold-out nightclubs, Ibiza beach parties, and crowds of nocturnal dwellers say something of the sort was initially confounding, but hearing his music, it’s easy to see how DJ Koze’s iconoclastic output of electronic music is equally ready for both blown-out soundsystems and lonely, tangled pairs of headphones. Hidden in the corners of the club are intangible bubbles, mixed bags of feelings, waiting for the right drop to burst. And who better to move that process along than Stefan Kozalla? The looming monolith of techno always loomed over creators far and wide, but Koze had different plans. His welcoming, genre-agnostic self could suddenly help 88 BPM feel as much at home as 130 always had. 2013’s Amygdala may have been one of the most intriguing and criminally overlooked electronic albums that year. From one vibrant, pulsating composition to the next, DJ Koze encapsulated the joys and pitfalls of being human with a treasure trove of sample-heavy deep house. A world of guitar strokes, earth-shattering bass, and relentless movement stood shoulder to shoulder with everything from the dissonant refrains of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to the mournful vocalizations of Hildegard Knef. Add stellar guest appearances by the likes of Matthew Dear, Milosh, and Caribou and it became apparent that Amygdala was an exciting in-depth investigation of emotion, whose kaleidoscopic sensibilities and pastel-colored melancholia stayed true to the album’s namesake. If his previous full-length was a shade too blue to be a “true” techno album, Knock Knock is Koze’s beating heart of a record with the vitality of a child refusing to sit still. Wondrous and touching, the album bears little resemblance to Koze’s techno and house peers. Rather, it sits in a bold corner of its own, drawing inspiration from the disparate galaxies of dream pop, crackling funk, angular trip-hop, and ASMR-inducing ambience. And while much of the album finds Koze re-adopting some of the tried-and-tested methodologies of blissed-out electronica, he doesn’t compromise on keeping things constantly engaging, thanks to a relentlessly imaginative approach to genre blending. Devoted Koze-heads will relish in tracks like “Pick Up,” which are instant throwbacks to the luxurious, balearic vibes of Andrés and Pepe Bradock. Sibling cuts like “Seeing Aliens” wash over with an effortless, open-armed embrace. For those less engrossed with the world of Roland 808’s and breakdowns, it’s each sticky melody, crooning vocal ditty, and uplifting string section that pulls you deeper into the record’s warm, inviting environment. Kicking things into high gear, second track “Bonfire” deliciously manipulates a sample of Bon Iver’s autumnal “Calgary” into a head-nodding delight. The early placement of the track serves as Koze’s aesthetic statement: a truly extraterrestrial kind of house music that’s not quite right for a deafening dancefloor, but perhaps for the sound system inside a car speeding past it in the dead of night. Lying underneath the balmy sheen of this entire record is the core personality of a pop music lover; the tumultuous journey toward shining, glorious melodies is one that must be achieved here, regardless of the vehicle. And so, things also take a moody turn quite often; Róisín Murphy’s enigmatic vocal performances throughout are placed atop understated nocturnal shuffles; if songs like “Moving In A Liquid” reflect the glory of a perfect sunrise, deeper cuts like “Scratch That” are the unsettling sunsets that precede them. The pensive cloudiness of “Muddy Funster” contrasts nicely against the twinkling refrains of the cleverly titled “Baby (How Much I LFO You.)” Even “Music On My Teeth,” which sounds like a customer-support-please-hold music-induced psychedelia, bursts with understated color. Vocals, both sampled and performed, play a critical role in constructing the album’s sound. Breaking down the complex layers of gospel vocals and Sophia Kennedy’s emphatic phrasing is a legitimately difficult task, as words and sentences bleed into each other to create sprawling, expansive chaos. Both her and the aforementioned Murphy bring charismatic performances that feel tailor-made for Koze’s psyched-out compositions. And when you see Kurt Wagner on the guest vocal roster for a deep house record, you know you’ve struck gold. And then we have “Planet Hase,” which plays host to an undeniably creepy surprise in its final minute: a fuzzy, voicemail tone-like voice singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands” in no discernible key. But this moment is no more surprising than a reverb-drenched lap steel on top of a sawtooth bass line, an acidic keyboard lead dotted by a glockenspiel, and a million voices singing in wildly ecstatic harmony. Knock Knock is full of surprises, and Koze is floating, in a meditative stance, watching over your shoulder as you revel in its resplendent glory. http://j.mp/2wMRkH0

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rudielton-rowleyunit27 · 6 years

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Idea generation

To start thinking about the three posters I am going to make I came up with over 15 ideas that were under the topic of music and then tried to narrow those ideas down to 3. Here are my ideas.

.EP release poster

.Single release poster

.Album release poster

.Gig poster

.Posters with each individual band member on it

.Poster advertising a venue

.A poster advertising an istrument or a company selling an istrument

.A bands up and coming gigs displayed in a poster format.

.A band interview displayed on a poster

.The progression/evolution of an instrument

.music festival poster

.Top ten bands from a certain time on a poster

.top ten songs from a certain time/year on a poster

.Best venues from an area like Nottingham or London on a poster

.Each band member signature instrument on a poster.

I then narrowed it down to three ideas and they were

1. create a gig poster for a band

2. create a advertisement for an EP, single or album

3. create a poster advertising the top three venues from a company in Nottingham.

Because I want to create a gig poster and an EP/album/single advertisement poster I got in touch with a Nottingham band who have played many of the main venues and festivals in Nottingham like Rock city, Rescue rooms, Bodega, Rough Trade, The Maze, Splendorous festival, Beat the streets and more. This band is a band that consists of a drummer two guitarists and bassist with both guitarists singing and there a Nottingham based band called Super Furniture.

Because I wanted to do a poster of the main venues in Nottingham I decided to go with a company called DHP which own some very famous venues around the UK and in Nottingham. I would say the biggest venues in Nottingham are the

1 motor point arena

2 Rock City

3 Rescue Rooms

4 Bodega

5 Rough Trade.

The company DHP own Rock City, Rescue Rooms and Bodega so I decided to go with those venues for my poster. I did some research into DHP and these venues and made a mind map of things like the artists that have played at these venues and when they were built.

Here are the mind map bullet points:

DHP Family:

.35 years of music

.They do promoting and managing

.Rock city was there first venue

.Based in Nottingham and then branched out to London

.Clubs and live music venues

Rock City:

.35 years of live music

.first scheduled band was iron maiden but the Undertones took there place and performed the first ever rock city gig

.was built and opened in the 80s and became very popular

.All types of music pay at rock city.

Rescue Rooms:

.Over 100 gigs per year

.450 capacity

.Opened in 2003

.People like Calvin Harris and the Killers have played there

Bodega:

.Over 20 years of music history

.People like The XX ans Two Door Cinema Club

Next I went around Nottingham and took some photos of the three venues and the posters they had.

Bodega:

I really like the look of the venue with a bar at the bottom and then the music venue upstairs. If you look to the top right there is an old statue with the word bodega and I really like that the venue has kept that piece of history there and I think it looks nice. Just bellow that is The Bodega Sign, I really like neon signs and LED signs and I like how the text is layed out in lines a little bit like the Sega logo and at night the sign shines red.

On the wall there are posters to do with events that happen at the venue.

I really like how modern this one looks and the textures used. I think the text looks clean and enticing and I love the simple circular graphic which I assume is meant to be vinyl. I really like the simplicity of this but it doesn't scream music quiz to me as it is a poster for a music quiz.

I also like this one and the thick bubbly letters that look like they have been painted. I can tell that this poster is done in a 60s/70s theme and I really like the eye catching colors and the hand painted look it has to it.

Lastly one of the things that caught my eye was this lit up board with some artwork of a diver in a jar. I really like the art style and the use of negative space to create this black and white piece. I also think it fits the building well but I don’t understand what is has to do with DHP or the Bodega venue it could possibly just be some nice artwork. I Looked into the word bodega but couldn't find any relation as the definition for bodega is “ a cellar or shop selling wine and food.

Rescue Rooms:

I went to rescue rooms to have a look at the front of the venue and it has a bar to the left and a venue to the right inside, outside there is a large decking area leading towards the main entrance were you can see the building which has the rescue rooms logo painted on it. I then walked up to it to see if they had any posters to do with the venue or DHP.

These are the posters I could find which were on the wall of the venue.

I am amusing these posters are not made by dhp and the artist playing would have got someone different to make them. I like this poster, it once again has a little bit of a 60s/70s font to it and I like the white text which stands out with all the colors behind it.

I also looked at the rescue room logo. I like it and it feels a little bit more modern compared to the bodega. Its very simple and geometric with the circle and lines. They have used a bold sans serif font and even tho there is lines going through letters it is easy to read but I feel like there is a lot of open space in the logo which could possibly be filled with something.

As I was walking to Rock City I found a side entrance to Rescue rooms and there was a blue wall with lots of text and patterns on it.

This wall is advertising rescue rooms and you can clearly see its very water themed. I really like all the swirls and bubbles also I like the anchors and the bright blue. I also like that they have used a center piece on the wall which says Happy Hour and then to the right and left there is an anchor with more information on.

Rock City:

I really like the front of rock city With the large light up sign and the stairs going into the venue with posters on either side.

I went and looked at the posters inside that were made by DHP

I found two posters like this which looked like a music line up on a poster in different colors and then there was random pieces of coral around the poster.

I really like these little pieces of seaweed but i’m not to sure how they relate to the poster.

This poster caught my eye with the bright colors and old school looking text that says get lucky. I like the slogan and the bright colors and it looks very busy and atmospheric.

And finally I took a picture of this poster because I really liked the strong use of red and the wobbly text which looks hand drawn. There is also little red dots on the text which give it some texture and make it look a little bit more vintage or hand made. I like the illustration of the hand and the typography in this.

After going to each venue and looking at what the buildings looked like and what sort of posters DHP create I cant really see a strong common theme in there posters or brand identity. The only common themes I can see that came up were:

.Water/Nordic

.60s/70s/80s

.Music

.modernism

.illustrations

.textures

.strong colors

.patterns

I emailed DHP to see if there was any reasons for these themes and things like the diver in a jar outside bodega. Here is the reply I got to my questions.

On your posters and website, I have noticed a bit of a Nordic water theme and I want to know the reason behind the pieces of coral and sea life that is seen on your posters.

We commission a new illustrator each year to produce pattern elements to use on our promo, Previously it was Marina Munn, but currently we use Mikko Walamies. We give them some instruction as to the objects they should draw, but the artistic interpretation is their own. We research many different illustrators before deciding on one for each year.

We like to use a flat, chalky pastel feel, to create a DIY, low-fi look.

Another question is that I see a 60s/70s theme come up a lot in your posters and is there a reason behind that?

I’m not sure why this theme is coming though, as it isn’t intentional.

My last question is that outside the bodega venue on a sign there is a scuba diver in a jar, Is there any reason for that or is it all just nice artwork?

This illustration piece was created by local artist and illustrator Samuel Minton. He used to work for DHP, but is now a freelance illustrator. Concepts are sometimes discussed beforehand, but we mostly give him free reign to do what he wants.

We have a concerts designer who produces all of our gig posters and listings, a festivals and venues designer, who does flyers, menus etc and a Junior Designer who helps us with everything.

I sat down with superfurnitures front man Herbie and recorded a quick interview with him were I asked him some questions to help me create some art for his band. here is the interview in type.

What music genre does your band play?

I would say its sort of alternative indie, rock its kind of difficult to pin point it to one specific genre.

What age range is your audience?

I would say its probably around are age so around 15 to 25 but also we have some older people that come to our gigs and theirs one guy that’s around 50 so it varies but mainly young.

Is there anything you would like to see in the posters/artwork?

Its just got to stand out really, its got to capture peoples attention but its got to be simple but effective. Its got to get the message across and what were all about in a easy to understand way.

What are your ideas behind the Super Furniture Logo and color scheme?

We had another old logo that was a bit rubbish so we thought we would make a new logo. People have said it has a 70s vibe but we like it because it looks good on t shirts and looks great on a drum skin and we have had people give us complements on it, if we had some silly indie triangle it just wouldn't be as good I don’t think and we wanted something that with a bit well 70s not because it has anything to do with our music or our brand but it just looks nice so my girlfriend Beth Sprig drew that up for us and I think its nice.

Do you have a brand identity or a specific look your going for?

we really play all kinds of music so were not trying to fit a specific style, were ready to try out anything its just the current songs we have released are a little bit more towards the alternative indie rock side of things.

Do you have any new music coming out?

were going to be releasing and EP and one of the new singles is called body clock and we have already recorded that and will probably release that before the EP as a single.

Whats Body Clock about?

Well i’m not really sure, you will haft to look at the lyrics, its kind of about the passing of time and how nothing really means anything, theirs one lyric that shows this it is “two sliced toaster put the kettle on, no one will remember you when you are gone”.

Do you have any gigs coming up that you would like to see advertised?

we have lots of gigs coming up but are big headlining one which is very big for us is the 7th of July at rescue rooms which were really trying to push and get as much promotional materiel out there as possible

Poster Proposal:

What are your triptych of posters going to be of?

The first poster is going to be an advertisement of the top three venues in Nottingham. Because a company called DHP owns lots of the biggest venues I decided to make an advertisement for them and use there main three venues.

The second Poster is going to be a gig poster for the a band called Super Furniture.

The third poster is going to be an advertisement for a single release for the same band.

What style/genre are they going to be in?

I don’t want to stick to one specific style but I am going to try and do a mix of Retro and Vintage but also look at superfurnitures previous artwork that has bee created for them and maybe bass some things off that to get a bit more of an indie rock style and then I am also going to try and incorporate some of the styles dhp use which are more light pastel colors.

What are they about?

The First poster is of the three main dhp venues which are Bodega, Rescue Rooms and Rock City. I am going to create three different sets of scenery for each venue so bodega will be based in more of a water scene whilst Rescue rooms will be in more of a green woodland scene and then Rock city will be in a city scape scene.

The second poster will be a gig poster advertising a gig at rescue rooms which a band called super furniture are headlining. The gig is on Saturday the 7th of July and there will be other supporting bands playing which are currently Vega bay, autumn diet plans and hashtag obi. My current ideas for the poster is the venue rescue rooms with a large superfurniture sign placed on top of a large heap if furniture. The poster will also contain information about the gig.

The third poster is going to be an advertisement for superfurnitures single release of there song called body clock. After talking with super furniture they said the lyrics are about the passing of time and how everything is changing as you go through life. I will be creating artwork for the single as well as extra artwork for things like backdrops because the poster is going to be an advertisement of the song. Because the song is called Body clock A large part of it will be to do with the passing of time and I will be looking at the song lyrics and tacking elements out of it and putting it into the poster for example one of the lyrics is “picture frames and pencil boxes”

How will you design them?

I will go through the whole process of things like idea generation, research and experimentation and then create my posters mainly in adobe illustrator but then I will also use adobe Photoshop for things like text and textures and probably some other things too.

Are the posters going to communicate any messages?

for the first poster dhp venue poster i’m showing progression and growth because in the Nottingham music scene you would work your way up from bodega up to rock city because bodega mainly holds the smaller bands that could just be starting out and then the next step from there would be to play rescue rooms which is more medium growth artists and then the venue which is the biggest which is rock city would be a level up from rescue rooms as they hold big bands. Superfurniture have played all three of these venues but they have only headlined bodega so them headlining rescue rooms would be the next big step. I am showing this progression by having on my poster bodega at the bottom and then rescue rooms in the middle with rock city at the top and like I said rock city is going to be placed in more of a city scene because its like its the big city and you've made it as an artist in the Nottingham music scene.

For the second poster which is the gig poster i’m kind of tacking the bands name and using the words to represent elements of the poster so because there names Super Furniture theirs going to be a large pile of furniture and on top of the furniture will be the rescue rooms venue with a big super furniture sign on it so its showing that the event is super and that there on top so i’m taking the super out of there name and expressing it by putting the venue on this big pile of furniture.

For the last poster its going to be cover art and a advertisement for the song so because superfurniture said the song is about progression and how things change over time I am going to try and show that in my poster by looking at the song lyrics and then I will take elements out of it and put it into the poster to hopefully help show what the songs about and the message of the song.

How do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your work?

When people look at my work I want it to catch there eye and I want them to think its good and enjoy it, but also a very important thing that needs to happen when they look at the posters is that the viewer needs to quickly be able to understand what the poster is about and what its showing and advertising and then the viewer needs to be interested in the event or product.

What techniques are you going to use? why?

I’m going to spend lots of time on the layout and things like how the poster is going to capture there eyes and how are they going to read it and what will be read first, this is because layout is very important for something to look nice but also understand what the poster is about.

I will also be doing some tracing in illustrator to create vectors or items, I wont be straight copying but I will be using imagery to give me inspiration and help me create components in my poster this is so I am able to create things that people will recognize and understand.

I will also be using lots of techniques in Photoshop and illustrator like clipping masks and possibly some image manipulation but I will also use lots of typography techniques to help with layout like leading and kerning and then I will also use grid systems and think about composition and things like the rule of thirds and the golden ratio if I think its necessary for my poster.

What typefaces, imagery, colors, strokes and grid systems might you use and why?

I will be using mainly sans serif typefaces because I think they look the cleanest and are the easiest to understand and are the most eye pleasing. I will be using lots of imagery of furniture but I will also be looking at the three venues and tacking pictures of them to help me turn them into vector graphics. I will also look into general buildings and architecture to help me with the dhp poster but for all of the posters I will be using lots of imagery of things like walls and stones to create textures because I think textures are another great element to put into your work and they can make the work look a lot nicer with more depth. I am probably going to stay away from heavy strokes because I think strokes just don’t look very good on things except I may use some for text. I will defiantly be using grid systems to help me with layout I will probably use modular and manuscript and possibly column. I will be using nice bright colors but I will try and make them not as saturated and a little bit more pastel based to fit dhps brand identity and also to make things nice to look at.

What / who / where has inspired your ideas? Why ?

I have always been interested in music and have been to lots of gigs and played with bands so I am very familiar with the Nottingham music scene so I have seen lots of bands and there posters and advertisements. I really like lots of dhps work and the artists that work for them so in the research stages I looked at lots of band posters and dhp posters to help with my ideas.

I did some experimentation with some ideas and I sketched out my main ideas to give me a better visual representation of what my ideas look like on paper.

Group Feedback.

When we did the feedback I didn’t have a lot to show so I made a quick Photoshop mock just to get the idea across even though the final piece would be made as a illustrations in illustrator not out of photos. The feedback I got was for my DHP venues poster.

What is the most common thing that your peers like? Why do you think this is?

I think they liked the lay out and general idea behind the design, this might be because it looks very busy and possibly intriguing.

What is the most common suggestion to improve your posters? Why do you think this is?

Like I said I didn’t have a lot to show but most of the suggestions were for my Photoshop mock up which was just made to give the person a better idea of what I was creating. I don’t think it was clear that it would be made in illustrator and not Photoshop but elements looked unprofessional which is true but like I said it was just made to get the idea across so it was not really even a mock up.

Do you agree with your peer feedback? Why?

yes I think some of it is fair and good one of the ideas someone left which I thought could be good is to use the venue logos instead of the actual venue buildings.

Do you disagree with anything your peers have said in the feedback? Why?

Yes I disagree with most of it just because it was on the Photoshop mock that was showing just to get the idea across so I agree that it looks bad and unprofessional but the final will be an illustration not a photograph.

This is what people had to look at, This is the beginning of the creation of the poster

and this was just quickly made to get the idea across a little better but I think my sketches did a better job because the final will be made in illustrator mainly.

The next step was to turn my sketches and ideas into vector graphics so I used adobe illustrator to start creating each individual item for the poster and then I would construct the poster with all the parts. Here are my experimentation and idea generation boards with graphics for the final design and color experimentation.

Here are the boards for the dhp venue poster.

Here are the boards for Super furnitures single release advertisement.

Here are the boards for the gig advertisement

After I created all of the vectors I picked the things I liked and put together my posters in illustrator and then I put that artwork into Photoshop were I added textures and text.

How they were made:

The DHP poster

I began creating in adobe illustrator. First I started to create my waves for the ocean section. I did this by creating a long rectangle with the rectangle tool and then lots of circles all the same size with the ellipse tool.

I then dragged the line of circles down and made sure that half of all the circles were overlaying the rectangle. I then selected everything with the selection tool.

I then took the shape builder tool and clicked on all the circles whilst holding alt which then gave me this wave shape.

I then changed the color of the shape to a calm blue.

Next I duplicated the shape and layered them on top of each other and changed the shapes to different types of blue. I then added a light drop shadow on each wave shape giving everything more depth.

Next I moved onto the woodland section so I started to create some trees. The first thing I did was create a triangle by taking the star tool and using my down arrow key on my key board to get rid of the points until I got a triangle.

I then created 4 triangles which were slightly bigger than the other one and I layered the triangles out with the selection tool so it looked like a tree. I then turned to triangles green and added a tree stump by using the rectangle tool to create a thin rectangle which I then turned brown and made sure it was behind all of the triangle layers.

I wanted to add some shadow or shading to the tree so I took the pen tool and created a large shape that covered half of all the triangles and I made the color of this shape slightly darker than the light green triangles. I then selected everything.

Next I once again used the shape builder tool to make my dark green shape fit around the outline of the tree by holding alt and clicking on a section of the shape that was not inside the tree.

I then used the same technique with the shape builder tool to create some shadow for the tree stump. I then selected all of the tree, group everything together and duplicated the tree so I had three. After that I went and chose two other colors and turned the other trees into different shades of green to give me a variety of trees and then lastly I applied a very light drop shadow to each tree.

Next I needed to put the trees onto some land so I created 6 layers of land using the pen tool and changed the color so they ware all different types of green and then once again added a light drop shadow.

I then assembled all the parts for my forest section. First I put all of the hills in place and made sure each layer was behind the layer in front and I also made the trees get smaller with the move tool to make it look like they were further away.

I then moved onto the city section and started designing the houses. For every house I stated by making a base which I made with the pen tool and then changed the color of the shape.

I then added some shading and the base with the pen tool and I used the shape builder tool to once again make sure everything fit the outline of the base shape.

I then created a window by using the ellipse tool to create three circles, I had one smaller circle one mediam size circle and a larger circle and then I layered them all on top of each other. The smaller circle I made light blue for the windows glass then the circle shape behind that I made a light brown and then the circle behind that I made a darker brown. I then created four parallel lines with rounded edges with the rounded rectangle tool and made there color a slightly lighter blue than the blue of the circle for the window. Next I positioned the four lines inside the blue circle and but them at a angle with the selection tool which I used the rotate the shapes. Finally I added a brown cross in front of the glass for the window with the rectangle tool. I then grouped everything together to create a window for the building.

I then duplicated the window by holding alt on my keyboard and dragging the shape so I had four windows. I then placed the windows onto the rest of the house with the selection tool.

I then added a roof by using the pet tool and the shape builder tool.

Lastly I added a chimney by using the rectangle tool to create two thin vertical rectangles and once again used the pen tool and the shape builder tool to add some shadow. I then used the same tools and techniques that I used to create this house and created a variety of houses in different color variations.

Once I had created the buildings I went onto create the three venues. I made them once again using the same techniques I have just shown but I tried to add more detale because the venues are key parts of the posters. For the three venues first I started with a base shape then I added things like doors and then I went and put in shadows and then when I had most of the venue made I added text using the text to to create the signs from the venues.

For the rescue rooms logo that is on the front of the building I turned a Image/jpeg into vector graphic in illustrator.

First I dragged a black and white image of the logo into illustrator.

I then went into the tab at the top next to were is said image trace and in that drop down menu I clicked on Black and white logo.

I then clicked expand which gave me a selection of everything. Next I right clicked the image and un grouped everything.

I then clicked on all the white parts and deleted them leaving me with a black rescue rooms logo which was now a vector graphic.

Finally I turned the logo white.

I then wanted to create a gradient for the background of the poster and I wanted to put this gradient as the background for all three of my posters. I made the background by gradient by creating a rectangle the size of the A3 art board with the rectangle tool and then I clicked on the gradient box which was under were you would change the color of something or add a stroke. When I did this my rectangle was selected. This then brought up a box were I could customize my gradient. In here I changed the gradient so It was 90 degrees and then picked three colors. The top of the gradient was a dark purple, in the middle was a light purple and then towards the bottom was a slightly darker purple.

Now I had everything made I assembled it on my A3 art board and I used this grid to help me with composition. Here is everything assembled.

I then exported the art board as a PNG and opened it in Photoshop were I would add text and texture to the poster. When I exported the art board I made sure the grid system was not visible.

Once I had opened it in Photoshop I took the text tool and wrote my poster headline. I made the second line of text smaller by going control T on my keyboard and then I used the move tool to shrink it down and align all the text so It was in the middle of the image. For the text I used a nice sharp sans serif font that was bold because I think sans serif fonts look professional and they stand out and work with the rest of the artwork.

I then selected all the text with the text tool and held alt and used the arrow keys to kern my text and spread it out. I also added a transparent dhp logo and I shrunk it down and put it in the top left hand corner of the poster.

Lastly I added texture to my poster I did this by using three images, layering them on top of everything and turning there opacity down. Here are the three images and there opacity.

This image had an opacity of 4%

This image had an opacity of 2%

this Image had an opacity of 2%

And that then finished my poster. All three images were off unsplash.com

For all three posters I used the same tools and techniques that I have just shown for the creation of the dhp poster. Here are my final three posters.

To create this single release poster I talked to superfuniture about the songs meaning and I also analysed and looked at the songs lyrics to help me create the cover for the single. Here Is a copy of the songs lyrics to help show were my ideas have come from.

BODY CLOCK: Picture frames and Pencil boxes

Hide and seek and norts and crosses

I'm not gonna lie no lying is bad

But things would be different if maybe I had

Stepped back I saw it in a picture

Worth a thousand words the air is getting thicker

Close your eyes it tastes so bitter

Sunrise the light starts to flicker

Keep speaking if tho I've stopped

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear

Two slice toaster Put the kettle on

No one will remember you when you are gone

This lack of sleep all merges into one

It's hard to keep a track of time for long

Even tho I've stopped

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear

You help me breath

The colour of your eyes makes me realise

I can't see

Where to go from here it's filling me with fear

Leave me be

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear.

Because my posters are of 3 advertisements I put together some mocks to help give me a better idea of what they would look like if they were on things like signs and billboards.

Evaluation:

What were my final ideas:

Idea one: the first Idea was to create a advertisement for the company dhp advertising some of there most popular venues in the Nottingham music scene. I wanted to have three venues and put them in three different landscapes. The venues I picked were The Bodega, Rescue Rooms and Rock City, this is because I wanted to bring in this idea of almost leveling up and how musicians would progress in the Nottingham music scene, so if you were a band starting out you would play at the bodega were lots of artist perform but they allow lots of smaller up and coming artist to perform, then a step up from there would be to play rescue rooms which holds larger artists and then the next step from there would be to play rock city which holds mainly large artist so this is why on the poster I have bodega at the bottom, rescue rooms on the middle level and Rock city at the top. I placed each venue in a scene that I thought fit the venues image so for bodega I put it in a water themed area and I put rock city I a big city area to represent that its the top and that rock city holds the biggest gigs with the biggest artists out of the three. I also wanted to make the poster follow dhps image and style which I did lots of research into dhp to help give me a better idea of what there brand identity is.

Idea two: For the last two ideas I worked with a band called super furniture and this idea was to create a poster advertising there headline gig at the venue rescue rooms in Nottingham. For this poster the idea was to have a huge pile of furniture with the venue on top of it and then above that have superfurnitures logo and the list of support acts.

Idea three: For the third idea I wanted to create some cover art for the bands single release and then make an advertisement about it. The Idea was to use the songs meaning and to take parts of the lyrics and turn them into illustrations. The poster also needed to represent them which is why I wanted to use super furnitures main color from there logo which is yellow.

Because this poster was an advertisement I also wanted to have the release date name and bands logo on the poster.

How did you arrive at the ideas?

for the dhp one I looked at lots of posters from dhp and lots of them involve little graphics of coral or bushes or buildings which gave me the idea to do something that involved different parts of scenery. I then came to the idea that I wanted each venue to have its own world or own section of scenery that fits the venue. for the first basic ideas for all three posters I did some idea generation at the beginning were I brain stormed lots of ideas to do with music and then I narrowed those ideas down to three and that’s how I got the idea for the dhp advertisement, superfurniture gig advertisement and the single release advertisement

for the gig poster I wanted to take the bands name and then express it in a poster so this is why there is a pile of furniture with the venue on top of it. Because they are called super furniture I made a pile of furniture and then I put the venue on top to show that the gig will be super and to express that the event is going to be huge especially because it will be superfurnitures biggest headline gig so far.

for the third poster because it was a single release cover the cover had to represent that band and the song so I asked for a copy of the lyrics of the song from the band and analysed them and then got ideas for what I wanted the poster to look like.

What inspired me? I did lots of research into dhp and superfurniture and I looked at previous work that had been done for them but I was generally inspired by advertisements and gig posters for events but I really liked dhps brand identity and image with there textures and pastel colors so I think dhps general look inspired me the most.

what specific approaches did you practice?

I wanted my posters to have a normal poster design look and layout so you read it left to right and top to bottom this is why I had the title of the posters at the top and further information underneath or lower down. I wanted to use a sans serif font that was thick or bold because I think sans serif fonts look very neat and professional. For the single release cover I looked at other advertisements for music releases and they have the title at the top and then the cover photo in the middle with more information like the release date at the bottom so this is why I have one of my posters layered out like this.

I also used two layout techniques, the first was the rule of thirds which I think you can best see in my dhp poster and the second I made a simple grid system with two columns which was cut into 8 squares.

What went well during the final production stage?

I think most of the illustrations turned out very well and I think I picked some nice colors that were not to saturated to fit superfurniture and dhps image. I really like the dhp poster and all the different sections to it and I also think the superfurniture posters look nice and professional.

What issues did I encounter?

I didn't encounter lots of issues apart from the fact that because I chose to mainly use illustrator for this project it meant that all the illustrations took a really long time to create especially if I wanted to keep them at a highly detailed standard. also I think I spent to much time doing the research at the begging and maybe if I put more time into designing rather than writing I might have finished the posters quicker.

how did you overcome these ?

because I started by making everything to a high quality with detailed illustrations I had to keep it that way throughout the project so eventually the deadline closed in so I just had to put lots of extra hours in at home to complete the illustrations.

what have you lernt during this project:

I have learnt that I need to put more planning into my work so I can hit the deadlines easier so I should plan an amount of days for each section like the research, idea generation, experimentation and final development.

What would I do differently if I did it again ?

i would probably make something that does not involve as many illustrations and work with Photoshop more.

What do you like about your final tryptic of posters?

I really like all the detailed illustrations and colors. I also thought the textures that I added made the posters work better with the bands image and dhp.

What don’t I like about the final posters.

according to a few people in the dhp poster the bodega looks out of place and it looks like its floating so I could of changed that a bit also I wish I put more time into the text and its layout but generally there is not really anything that I dislike. Another thing that I wanted to do at the beginning was paint the texture for each item but that would have taken too long but I did it for one illustration and I liked how it looked I just didn't have the time to do it for everything. Here is the painted texture I did to one of my illustrations.

Peer Feedback.

We all went round and looked at each others final designs, we then picked five different peoples work and wrote about the work and gave feedback.

My Feedback: 7 people left feed back on my posters. The feedback was all positive and people said the “liked the colors”, they thought that I kept a high quality of work through out on each poster and that they looked “professional”. I did not get anyone giving suggestions of how I could improve or things to change, everything was nice and I agree with it for example people like the illustrations and they think the posters work well with the topic/theme.

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