thekua.com@rest

The number of bands that come and perform in London still really impresses me, and even though it is sometimes difficult to get ticket, the shows are always worth it. Last night I managed to catch yet another impressive performance by the John Butler Trio. Their support act was very impressive and really got the crowd involved in their rootsy-rock songs, but I unfortunately did not catch their name.

It wasn’t long before the John Butler Trio graced the stage and performed a set that easily went on for at least two hours. A large contingent of fans obviously came along that night, singing along with their well known songs, and the excellent number of solos and improvised versions of their songs resulted in several standing ovations through the night. One fan was so overwhelmed that he even lept on stage at the end of the night to shake hands with the band before security promptly separated him from a recoiling John Butler.

They played a large number of songs from their now classic album, Sunrise Over Sea and performed several from a newer album soon to be released. The quality of each performer really shone, with John Butler himself an excellent example, managing to perform a percussion and guitar duet all alone by wielding several parts of his guitar at the same time.

The Kua.com Rating: 8 out of 10

With four sold out concerts in a row at one of the biggest venues inside Central London, I knew the Red Hot Chilli Peppers would be performing one great show. The tickets for Monday night were not cheap – in fact, were by far the most expensive concerts tickets I’ve paid so far, but managing to score standing tickets was completely worth the money, with a solid performance lasting just over two hours.

Anyone who has been to a concert at Earl’s Court will tell you how different the experience would be if you are standing (in effectively this case, one big giant mosh pit), or sitting where you get an overall better but more removed view of the stage. I’m not sure how many people were in the standing section, but certainly the waves of people trying to squeeze into every available space made it a little claustrophobic at times, but at least the cool air pumped into the crowd helped to bring some relief.

The set was a good mix of songs from their current amazing double album, Stadium Arcadium, and a brief selection from a number of their other albums. Some came from some of their early albums and helped to whip all their long term fans into quite a frenzied audience. The band even performed a small cover of the Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love” that the audience surprisingly lapped up.

The visuals for the night centred around four screens that moved around in various configurations, a set of six or seven hubs of lights that looked like mini UFOs and a set of horizontal bar lights covering the entire back of the stage that then reached across most of the standing audience. The screens played some awesome animations and merged at times to form one giant widescreen to show some of the incredible guitar duets or solos played throughout the night.

I have no idea what it is, but the ability of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers to continue to produce quality rock music over so many years is a testament to their talent and I found their live performance easily matched anything you could find on their album.

The Kua.com Rating: 8 out of 10