Simon Rushworth
We’ve racked up scores of gigs again this year and the highlights have come thick and fast.
But only the top 10 of 2012 make the cut and one show has to beat them all. Read on to find out where that gig took place…
2012 GIGS OF THE YEAR
1. Guns N Roses – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
We said: Until last night GnR was all about the past. Yet Axl and his hand-picked army of crack musicians finally did enough, on a balmy night by the banks of the Tyne, to suggest there can be a future for one of the world’s biggest bands and a truly global brand. Better late, than never.
The Independent said: I look around, and no one is having the time of their lives. By the time of final encore “Paradise City” (1.40am, since you ask), the arena must be half-empty. It’s easy for Axl to expect us all to sack off the day job or forget about classes, but people with lives, not rock-star lifestyles, have already drifted away to get back to them.
2. Little Angels – O2 Academy, Newcastle
3. Steel Panther – Download Festival, Donington
4. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sage Gateshead
5. Reckless Love – The Cluny, Newcastle
6. Rammstein – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
7. Rival Sons – O2 Academy, Newcastle (headline show, September)
8. Metallica – Download Festival , Donington
9. Shinedown – O2 Academy, Newcastle
10. Electric Boys – Trillians, Newcastle