This time last week, Jay-Z was about to take to the main stage at Glastonbury to finally perform the gig which had caused a mass of hysterical controversy over the past few months.

In the run-up to the gig, I took a long, hard look at the controversy over the booking of Jay-Z as a headline act at the long-running festival, a controversy which seemed to stem from the belief by some that a hip-hop artists wasn’t right for the venue, and especially as the main headline act on the Saturday night.

Then the gig came and went, and Jay-Z pretty much managed to blow all the previous arguments away, putting on an historic show which delighted the vast majority of people who saw it, either live or on television. Some still weren’t impressed though, with The Sun’s showbiz editor Gordon Smart one of the few journalists blind enough to walk away disappointed.

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, Smart, and The Sun newspaper as a whole have been very critical over the past few weeks of Jay-Z and Michael Eavis’ decision to give him a headline slot at Glastonbury. And Jay-Z didn’t take too kindly to the bad review.

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After going to see The Feeling at the beginning of March, and loving it so much, me and my friends were on the lookout for the next big gig to buy tickets for and attend.

A quick search on GigsandTours.com later, and we decided to purchase tickets for the Sugababes at the Manchester Apollo on the 2nd of April.

Even though the tickets had been on sale for months, there were a few remaining, and we struck lucky.

I approached the gig with part excitement, part trepidation, as it was to be the most “Pop” concert I’ve ever been to. In fact, before this The Feeling was probably the most mainstream.

We arrived just as the girls came on stage, and they immediately had a presence which filled the venue, and drew the attention of every set of eyes watching them.

The audience was a bit of a shock to me, someone who hasn’t really attended quite so mainstream before, with a lot of young kids in attendance, one of whom fell asleep on the floor in front of me half way through the set.

The gig consisted of run-down of their greatest hits, with a few tracks from their current album thrown in for good measure. They started with Hole In The Head and Round Round before mixing it up a bit for the first of numerous occasions.

Unlike an Indie or Rock band, the Sugababes, with their lack of instruments, aside from their gorgeous voices, have to rely on more than just the music to leave punters satisfied with a good show.

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A few of us here on the b5 music channel have decided to get together and talk about our favourite gigs. I’ve been to far too many to list them all, so instead, I’ll focus on my experiences of the last year.

I have quite a broad taste in music, loving everything from Bjork and Joanna Newsome, through the Arctic Monkeys and Bloc Party, up to Megadeth and The Hives, so my gig history is kind of fragmented.

My first gig was the Stereophonics back in the day (when they were good, or at least better than they are at the moment), and that kind of set the tone for my experiences since then.

All I remember about that gig was not being able to hear anything afterwards, and wondering why. Now I’m used to it, and know that my hearing will be relatively back to normal the next day.

Since I’ve started writing Brit Music Scene, I’ve reviewed the gigs I’ve been to, except Megadeth earlier this year because I didn’t know how interested my readers would be.

For the record, it was mind-blowingly good. It was my first metal gig, and one I’ll never forget. From seeing the master, Dave Mustaine, have the crowd eating out of his hand, to getting drenched in sweat that came flying from the long haired goon standing in front of me every time he rocked out, it was an unforgettable night.

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The Feeling are a band who are never going to be cool, never going to get on the cover of NME, and never going to be the next big thing.

But you know what? None of that matters, as they put out some incredibly well written, and well composed pop songs, and after seeing them live, I know they’re fantastic in the flesh too. I’d even go as far to say they push Muse for title of Best Live Band in the UK right now.

This is actually the second time I’ve seen The Feeling live, the first being in the Manchester Apollo early last year, when the band were touring on the back of awesome début album Twelve Stops and Home.

This tour is their first since second album, Join With Us, was released last month, and if anything, they were even better this time around than last. I suppose that’s what touring constantly for a year does to you.

I entered the venue excited, and that excitement was paid back in full by a group at the absolute top of their game. From the moment they came on stage, the whole band had the crowd eating out their hand, with front man Dan Gillespie Sells being the main conductor of the 3,000 strong audience.

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The Led Zeppelin reunion concert was such a massive success that there have obviously been massive calls from the public, especially fans who couldn’t get tickets for the one off gig, for a full UK, or world tour.

I am with them, wishing the existing members would just bite the bullet and give everyone what they want.

But not everyone shares this view, and unfortunately that number includes Jason Bonham, John’s son, and the man who drummed at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert.

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The Led Zeppelin reunion gig is only a few days away now, with it’s rescheduled date of December 10 approaching fast.

Jimmy Page has now promised those people fortunate enough to have got tickets a great show.

He spoke to Q magazine about the forthcoming concert, and revealed some nuggets of information about what ticket holders can expect on the night:

“When we were first asked to do this (reunion show), we were asked to play a 40-minute set. We soon realised we couldn’t.”

“If we go out and play ‘No Quarter’, ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Dazed And Confused’ with all the solos, you’re already talking over an hour.”

“We’ve gone from 75 minutes to 90, to the best part of two hours.”

“There’s no way I can take on playing three-and-a-half-hour sets now.

“Flying against the wind and the storms, because I just don’t have that energy any more. But I’ve still got enough in me to get through a two-hour set.”

If Zep HAD just played for 40 minutes, I think there would have been a lot of very disappointed fans present, so the fact they are going to get an almost full set of two hours is incredibly good news.

I have already detailed in quite graphic language my love for Kate Nash… I want to marry her. And so it was with a skip in my heart that I went to see her in all her glory at Manchester Academy 1 on Monday November 5th.

When the tickets came up for sale, I had to choose between the gig and a fireworks display, this being Guy Fawkes night and all. I made the right decision as Kate Nash provided all the fireworks I needed to see this year, and sang gorgeously as an added bonus.

The support acts for the night were ‘Blah Blah Blah’ and ‘Metronomy’. I missed the first act (that’s why I’m writing a blog rather than working for the NME) but did catch Metronomy in all their weird but strangely addictive glory.

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The Spice Girls have sold out the first London date on their epic World tour within 38 seconds. Tickets went on sale at 9am this morning, and all had been snapped up by the time it took me to climb out of bed.

Over a million people registered for the chance to purchase tickets and there will be a lot of disappointed people sat in their bedrooms crying right now. But to make them feel instantly better the girl group announced a further 3 London dates on the tour to fill demand for tickets.

Ticket prices for the gigs are between £55 and £75 each, which is a bargain when compared to the £125 upwards being charged for the Led Zeppelin comeback gig. And even more of a bargain when you consider that a pair of tickets was straight away put on auction site eBay for £900.

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I’ve always loved Scottish band Travis, even before they hit the big (read huge) time with the release of ‘The Man Who’ in 1999. I was there from the beginning, owning first album ‘Good Feeling’ and playing ‘All I Want To Do Is Rock‘ on repeat over and over again.

I have huge respect for the band, with their no nonsense approach to just consistently making great records. That respect grew even more when I read that Travis front man Fran ‘Quiffy Hair’ Healy confronted a drunken fan during a recent gig.

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