November Nights

With November now upon us I decided to select my five gig highlights for the forthcoming month.

1. Muse- Playing a fairly short UK arena tour, hopefully they will make up for this with some gigantic summer stadium shows. Never the less, they are one Britain's most imaginative and visceral live experiences. They have seamlessly made the transition from playing club venues to handling the grandiose setting of an arena gig. Recent album Resistance is possibly more suited to an intimate setting, but Muse have the canny knack of turning even their more delicate songs into a theatrical spectacle.

2. Ash- November see's a continuation of their A to Z tour of venues in the UK the tour actually climaxes in Zennor! Their policy of no longer releasing albums seems a little iffy to me when they have in my opinion released the album of the decade in Free All Angels. However the Downpatrick triumvarate say it has reinvigorated them, this tour will give us the evidence. If they are refreshed then we are in for a real treat as they possess a killer back catalogue of singles.

3. Green Day- The American pop punk veterans round off a sold out UK tour at Wembley Arena. Expect plenty of water canons, stage divers and Billie Joe Armstrong saying "hey oh" so many times that it begins to grate. The last two albums have undoubtedly catapulted them to playing these enormodomes, but what remains intact after two decades is their knack of making crowds smile. The setlist could be ordered better but at 30 tracks long you cannot complain about value for money.

4. The Enemy- A lukewarm reaction to second album Music For the People means the Coventry based trio may already have reached a career crossroads. For those who attend on the UK tour next month, they will dismiss the critics and record sales and get ready to express their devotion for this most archetypal of people's bands. Hopefully will try and avoid rushing through the setlist as they need to find their A game for this tour, otherwise they may not reach the sort of Kasabian stratosphere they were threatening to hit.

5. Arctic Monkeys- Only really making the top five due to the quality of their inspired debut album. Later material has felt stunted by boring guitars and weak lyrics especially when compared to the sharp witicisms of album number one. Now that arena's seem their regular home, it is time they also stepped up their engagement with the crowd as at times they seem a little vague and unwilling to be a showmen which is what arena crowds demand.