Summer Hols in Ibiza

Oh well, that's our 2 weeks in the sun come and gone for another year, and what a great holiday it was. The Hotel Catalonia Ses Estaques in Santa Eulalia in Ibiza was our chosen location.

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Great views, decent town (very Spanish unlike the West of Ibiza!) and fine weather. Superb!
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Some images here.
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Judas Priest, Newport Centre, 15/07/11

For the final time in Wales, the mighty Judas Priest.

Although I've seen Judas Priest many times over the years, this was the first time since 1988 that they'd played Newport. Then, as a 19 year old student I had a real buzz of excitement about seeing the band and 23 (!!) years later it was no different.

They really are masters of the stage and have performed their brand of heavy metal successfully since 1969 (a vintage year).

On this, their final tour, appropriately called 'Epitaph', they played a vast array of material for well over 2 hours right across the back catalogue, some oddments but plenty of crowd favourites.

If it is the end, then what a way to finish.

The stalwarts: Glenn and Ian

The new guy: Richie Faulkner

The frontman and master: Rob Halford

Setlist

Rapid Fire

Metal Gods
Heading Out to the Highway
Judas Rising
Starbreaker
Victim of Changes (video)
Never Satisfied
Diamonds & Rust
Dawn of Creation
Prophecy (video)
Night Crawler
Turbo Lover (video)
Beyond the Realms of Death
The Sentinel
Blood Red Skies
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)
Breaking the Law (video)
Painkiller
The Hellion

Electric Eye (video)
Hell Bent for Leather (video)
You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Living After Midnight

The Priest

Epitaff??

Epitaph

Thank you

Roger Daltrey, Tommy, Newport Centre, 10/07/11, More pics

With many thanks to Mr P, a few extra pics from the Daltrey show in Newport on 10th July.

Roger Daltrey, Tommy, Newport Centre, 10/07/11

Not usually being of the kind to doff my cap to royalty, I must admit to changing my tune slightly when it comes to Rock Royalty, and in that category there don't come many more regal that the mighty Who singer Roger Daltrey, surely one of the definitive frontmen of the genre.

A war baby of 67 years, he still cuts a fine figure of a performer and a voice which, by his own admission, was under threat two years ago, but which now has the all clear to keep him singing, he says, until he's 80.

This, of course, was not The Who, the only connection being the presence of guitarist and key vocalist Simon Townsend (brother of), and the young band turned in a fine display.

Through the first half of the show, we had the full version of Tommy, in the 2nd half we had a selection of various odd'n'sods (did you get that?) including The Who classics;

I Can See For Miles

Behind Blue Eyes

Pictures Of Lily

Young Man Blues

Baba O Reilly

On reflection, you can get a little sad about these things. With Pete Townsend's deafless seemingly beyond repair and the 'other 2' long gone, you did get the feeling that it was a case of 'And Then There Was One' (that's for the Genesis fans), in that we may not see The Who again.

If not, let's enjoy Daltrey whilst we can.

There's pots more over on My You Tube Site.

Rugby fixtures 2011/12

The fixtures for next season are out and are available here.
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How (in)appropriate that our first opponents are those that knocked us out of the Play Offs, Glamorgan Wanderers.