AlSymerz

Addictive - Kick Em Hard

Moshburger - Insanity Alert

Hydra Vein

bang

Catch the boat and make it a 3 day trip. I know one of the entertainers on the Spirit, he doesn't play much metal these days but he can entertain. So that's three nights of music for the bargain price of about $600 Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver

Kill Em All - Metallica

Suicidal Tendencies

black

Neanderthals Ate Inedible Leeks Zone

Visigoth - The Revenant King

Dream Theater

Folkemon - Skyclad

No!

Egos Are Sometimes Traumatic CAST

Negative Self - Control The Fear

There was some fan footage posted last week, was only mobile phone stuff, but the guy can still do an amazing job. Death - Spiritual Healing

I plan on buying the DVD of this tour when they release it because I know it will be good but that's it. Fight was one of the best gigs I've seen, small venue, small crowd, meet and greet, Rob screaming the house down and a bunch of new (at the time) stuff that Rob wouldn't have played with JP.

I met Rob and Jay Jay when they toured here with Fight in '95, got them both to sign the drumstick I caught. The problem with the cost of concerts is the stupid people who pay it. Promoters will charge what stupid people are willing to pay and there is virtually is no limit to what some people will pay to see bands. I know people who can't afford to keep their cars on the road but don't think twice about paying $500 for the family to see a band. I'm comfortable enough to be able to afford $600 a ticket but I'm not stupid enough to pay that price. For me no band these days is worth more than $100.

I'll sound like an old fart but I still have my ticket stub from Metallica in '89 (the first big overseas thrash act to hit Aussie shores for a major tour) and Megadeth in '91 with the ticket prices $38 and $43 respectively. Sure venues have changed and gigs have changed in 30 odd years but it's not like we are getting much more for our money these days. It was a little more respectable seeing Overkill for $88 in a 1500 capacity room a few years back, but with stadium gigs and festivals at a minimum of $150, many charging up to $600 for tickets on the floor it's just a joke. I'd rather see a band, any band, in a small dingy little shit hole with 500 people, no screens, a basic light show and a decent sound man than a stadium or outdoor festival Hawkwind - Warrior On The Edge Of Time

TBH I don't really care when gigs come back, promoters have made them ridiculously expensive and that will only go further post covid. But for me living in the sticks I need to take at least 2 half days off work and family life, and I need city accommodation on top of the $200 a ticket. Even working for myself and pretty much able to take whatever days off I like it's just not viable to go to the city for gigs.

Our rules are strict unless you are a rich business person or highly paid celebrity. I don't really have a problem with that, but I do wonder when it will end. Despite their promises of freedom etc I really don't see festival gigs coming back to Australia for at least 6 months if not more. Even stadium gigs are going to be restricted with numbers probably capped between 50 and 80%. The only viable way I see international bands coming here in the short term is smaller bands playing smaller venues, the kinds of gigs that weren't more than 80% full pre-covid. But those aren't the sort of gigs bands like JP would play. Still with the whole vax vs unvaxed things failing in other parts of the world who know what our government will finally rest on.

One album I didn't particular like when I first heard it was Sonic Point Blank by Mechanix. My initial thoughts were a band that named themselves after a universally known Megadeth song was worth a listen. Then when I heard the vocalist I figured the guy was putting on a Mustaine like voice as some sort of failed cover band remnant and they were riding on too much Mega-worship to get them over the line. But after a few listens, and a listen to their 2013 album I realised whether the vocalist is putting on an act or not he and the rest of the band were doing it well. Sonic Point Blank might nearly sound like Rust In Peace II but it also stands up by itself as a very listenable thrash album.

I'd love to see JP on their 50th anniversary but I doubt they'll come to Australia. I'm sceptical that the government's goal of open borders by Christmas will actually happen. But even if it does I suspect capacity limits, even with the arguments of vaxed vs non-vaxed, will make it not viable for bands like JP to tour. Robert Calvert - Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters

Hawkwind - Hall Of The Mountain Grill

Southeast Desert Metal - Southeast Desert Metal