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The Big 4, Blink 182 & Foo Fighters Listed In Stereoboard's Hottest Tickets Of 2011 (Feature)
Wednesday, 12 January 2011 Written by Dave Ball
Pulp, Blink182, Elbow, Foo Fighters & More Listed In Stereoboard's Hottest Tickets Of 2011 (Feature)

With Christmas and New Year now well in the rear view mirror, it’s time to start looking forward to what promises to be another spectacular year of live music. With hot new bands popping up everywhere you look, plenty of current artists continuing to get bigger and better and a welcome return from several old favourites, we felt it was time to look at the 10 tours we, at Stereoboard, are most looking forward to in 2011.

10) Pulp

It’s been 10 years since we last had an original release from Pulp. In the meantime Jarvis Cocker has moved to France and released a few solo albums but the re-forming of one of the most successful bands of the 90’s is a big deal. Storming straight back into the thick of things with a headline slot at Hyde Park’s Wireless festival as well as a sub-headline performance at 2011's Isle of Wight Festival, Pulp are one of the most sought after tickets this year. Promising to play all the hits, fans can expect a set packed full of songs that will take them back to the early-mid 90’s and with just a handful of performances announced, you don’t want to miss out.

9) Bright Eyes

Back in the UK for the first time since their stunning 2007 set at Glastonbury, Bright Eyes return for a short tour in February promoting their latest (and rumoured to be final) album ‘The People’s Key’. Having recorded as a band on and off for over 15 years there is plenty of material covering a whole range of genres. Conor Oberst’s sharp and witty lyricism has been the calling card of Bright Eyes throughout their career and I’m yet to hear of someone disappointed after seeing them perform live. Despite being a band which has seen a revolving door of members in the past, they have now settled into a permanent threesome and these intimate settings are sure to provide the perfect backdrop for the always unpredictable but usually brilliant indie/folksters.

8) Blink 182

Following their first UK performance in 10 years at last year's Reading & Leeds festivals the Californian punk rockers return for a full arena tour across Europe and a slot at Scotland’s T in the park. Having built their reputation on electrifying live performances, before drummer Travis Barker’s near fatal plane crash, their return is a huge event and tickets are sure to be hard to come by. With the logistical issues of getting the band across the pond (Barker now refuses to fly) future tours are uncertain so this may well be a unique opportunity to see them. It’s also likely there will be some new material with a new album likely to be ready for release at some point during 2011.

7) Mona

One of Stereoboard’s top tips for success in 2011 Mona hit the UK on a headlining tour for the first time during March and will also be playing support slots for The Walkmen during January. Stereoboard’s unsigned band of the week in September 2010, the Nashville foursome have been attracting attention since before they even released their first single. Now signed to Island Records, their debut album is on its’ way with lead singles ‘Trouble On The Way’ and ‘Listen To Your Love’ earning rave reviews. With many people tipping Mona to follow in the footsteps of fellow Tennessean’s Kings of Leon to arena and stadium sized tours, this could be a one off opportunity to catch one of the most exciting bands around in a small venue before they hit the big time.

6) Beady Eye

Arguably the most anticipated band, album and tour of 2011, Beady Eye are sure to generate more column inches than the vast majority of first album bands. Essentially the band is Oasis minus Noel Gallagher but younger brother Liam has gone to great lengths to promote Beady Eye as bigger and better than Oasis ever were. Whether that happens or not, the opportunity to see the band's very first live shows and hear the first live performances of debut album ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ is something not to be missed. Teaser online releases ‘Bring The Light’ and ‘Four Letter Word’ suggest a heavy, bluesy style while lead single ‘The Roller’ is more along the lines of Oasis’ work. Their tour runs through March and they will also appear as a sub-headline to Kasabian at June’s Isle of Wight festival. Whatever happens these shows are guaranteed to be full of energy, aggression and controversy.

5) Roger Waters  

As if getting the chance to see ‘The Wall’ live for the first time since Pink Floyd originally toured it 30 years ago wasn’t enough for Roger Waters to pull off, he’s also managed to persuade former Pink Floyd band member David Gilmour to join him on stage for one of the shows. They’re keeping quiet on which performance it will be but our bet is for one of the 6 shows at London’s O2 arena, all of which are being filmed for a rumoured DVD release of the show. The tour will also hit Dublin, Birmingham and Manchester. With special effects galore being promised, including a 240 foot wall, crashing aeroplane and giant inflatable puppets, this will almost certainly be the most spectacular live event of the whole year.

Image4) Foo Fighters

Fresh from being announced as the recipient of this year's ‘God-like genius’ award from NME, Dave Grohl is taking the band he fronts back on tour along with a new album in 2011 and it’s going to be huge. Headline slots at Isle of Wight, T in the Park and Oxegen will be supplemented by consecutive nights at the Milton Keynes bowl. Tickets for the MK gigs flew out and anticipation grew even higher when ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones suggested he fancied joining his friend and Them Crooked Vultures band mate onstage at one of the gigs. Proving he’s not just one of rocks best drummers, Grohl is also one of the most energetic front men you’re ever likely to see with rarely a moment’s break in Foo Fighter’s performances. A consistently entertaining live band this is sure to be one of the tours of the year.

3) Elbow

The Manchester five piece had enjoyed a small but committed following which slowly grew from 2001’s ‘Asleep In The Back’ onwards before finally exploding after releasing 2008’s Mercury Award winning ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’. Hit single ‘One Day Like This’ rocketed the band into the public consciousness with its use on seemingly every TV show you watched. Their atmospheric live shows are an experience to behold and after a successful tour and show-stopping performance at 2008’s Glastonbury festival Guy Garvey and his mates return with a March arena tour (their first headline arena tour) and a brand new album ‘Build A Rocket Boys’ for 2011. One of the most enthralling live bands I’ve ever seen, if you haven’t seen them before, don’t miss this.

2) Iron Maiden

It’s been quite a while (four years) since fans have had chance to see Iron Maiden perform on their home turf but the wait will be over in July and August. After a spectacular headline performance at last year's Sonisphere festival where Bruce Dickinson and Co performed a set of mostly newer material with a handful of the classics peppered in, proving if it was needed that their new work stands up as equal to their ‘Number Of The Beast’ era heyday. 2010’s ‘The Final Frontier’ album hit #1 spots all over the World and received almost universal critical praise as well as flying off shelves maintaining their position as one of the World’s greatest rock bands. The final stop on that album’s 14 month World tour you can expect plenty of pyro, screaming vocals, hammering drums, wailing guitar solos and, of course, Eddie!

1) The Big 4

It was really tough to come to agreement on a top 10 but the first ever UK appearance of ‘The Big 4’ together on UK soil won it by a nose. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax make up ‘The Big 4’ of metal music and will be playing at 2011’s Sonisphere festival to launch the 3 day hard rocking extravaganza at Knebworth. With all four artists spectacular live performers in their own rights, the chance to see all four back to back is a big enough reason to be excited. If you throw in the possibility that the 4 bands may join forces onstage at the close (having done so last year in Sofia to perform Diamond Head’s ‘Am I Evil’) this is one of the most impressive bookings in British festival history. Last year Bulgaria’s Sonisphere had ‘The Big 4’ together for the first time in what was described as “the most significant event in the history of metal”. The demand was so high to see last year's event that an estimated 130,000 people turned out to local cinemas for the live telecast with reports of mosh pits breaking out at the screenings! If you’ve got tickets for this prepared to be blown away.

With many more acts announcing dates all the time, including rumoured tours from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Def Leppard, Jimmy Page and The Strokes, keep checking back to Stereoboard for all the latest tour announcements as they happen.
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