System of a Down played at the MEN Arena on Tuesday and then I went with Kate, Natalia, Paul and Tony to Reuben wednesday night.

Attached is the local papers review of the System gig, some flickr pics to follow

<i>System of a Down @ M.E.N. Arena – 3 out of 5

Neal Snowdon

NO NONSENSE: SOAD
14/06/05

TICKETS prices were cheaper than average, the light show was basic and between-song banter was non-existent.

This was no-frills arena rock and the near-capacity crowd loved every pulsating minute. System don’t deal in the niceties of showbusiness.

For them it’s a case of turn up, tune up and blast it out.

The result was a solid 90-minute set that had the crowd going wild from the start and ended with grown men fighting over drumsticks lobbed into the crowd by skinbeater John Dolmayan.

Their musical stew of thrash punk, heavy metal and progressive rock means this Armenian-American four-piece serve up a sound similar to rock opera put through a crusher.

The opening blasts of BYOB and Revenga and old chestnuts like Chop Suey showed a band unafraid to change tempo and style. And the crowd loved them for it.

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Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra
Funeral For a Fiend – Streetcar (First Demo Version)
Bjork – Where Is The Line (Fantomas Mix)
Bjork – Who Is It (Vitalic Mix)
The Killers – Mr Brightside (Thin White Duke Dub Mix)

Going to see them again in June at the Arena in Manchester and as one of my favourites it's no surprise I bought the latest album which is turning out to be a good listen.

Also bought Hell Is For Heroes – Models for the Program for Kate's jukebox on 7"

Have had a good listen to the prerelease of the new Gorillaz album now and quite liking it. Although it doesn't grab me the way the first album did. That album really set me off on a musical path what with the involvement of Dan the Automator, Deltron and so on… Also can't wait for Mesmerize from System of a Down next week.
Am also thinking about getting a Million Dead album, Natalia reccommended 'A Song to Ruin'

The Walkmen – Bows & Arrows
Yourcodenameis:Milo – Ignoto

I just can't get 'The Rat' by the Walkmen out of my head so had to check out the album to see if they have anything else that can equal it.
The first EP I have from yourcodenameis:milo was excellent so looking forward also to breaking that cd out of it's box and cranking up the stereo.

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine – Tuxicity
Idlewild – Warnings / Promises
The Futureheads – The Futureheads
Incubus – Make Yourself

All 112,000 tickets for June’s festival – which went on sale at 9am this morning – have sold out in under three hours.

A message on official online booking service Aloud.com reads “sorry, but all tickets for Glastonbury 2005 have now been sold and no more will be made available.�

Following last year’s speedy sell-out, which saw the telephone exchange collapse due to demand and thousands of people waiting for hours uncertain whether they had been successful, steps had been taken to make the ticketing process smoother.

But with an estimated 2million people all out for the same batch of tickets, getting a ticket for Glastonbury 2005 was always going to be a lottery, in which many would be left disappointed.

For those lucky enough to snap up the tickets this morning, Glastonbury 2005 takes place June 24-26 and is expected to feature The White Stripes, Coldplay, New Order and Kylie."</i>

http://www.nme.com/news/111904.htm

I've actually seen Coldplay and Kylie play the same event before. Leicester played host to a Radio 1 event a good few years ago in Victoria Park. Looking forward to White Stripes and New Order (me being a pseudo-manc now)

I think somebody should make a short film about the trails of getting a ticket. One moment you think you're close, the next you're seemingly miles away.
I got to the money form, entered my egg card details -it got rejected, they're not taking money from credit cards. At this point the site is working fairly well, slightly sluggish but you can get through on the second or so attempt.
So damn can't sue that card, run to my room to get my debit card, praying I have enough in the bank to pay for this thing. And then the rush has hit the site and I spend an hour trying to get to the next stage..

Anyway, I got the ticket and i'm very excited. I just hope Kate gets one, I know Ben has already and Dan Smith managed to as well. It would be really great if we could all camp next to eachother..