Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Issue 148

Phew! There's nothing like a mosh-pit to blow away the nihilist cobwebs and get some groove back in the soul. Last night's Kings of Leon gig took this writer back 20 years to a land of pogoing, sweat and sodden hair - and fine fun it was, too.

Fast and furious music by the likes of Kings of Leon, The Killers and The White Stripes prove that the blues are still with us, albeit in an updated style. Termed 'Punk Rock Blues', British groups inspired by these bands are packing clubs such as London's Not the Same Old Blues Crap nightclub. A recent gig saw 85-year-old T-Model Ford bring the house down with kids of 16 and 17 going mad for it.

For old punks such as myself, this is great news and could be just the thing London needs as the decision for the 2012 Olympics looms. Forget showing IOC members plans for a cantilevered railway in Stratford or pointing out Admiralty Arch, they should have just taken them to a punk rock blues gig and that would have swung the vote in our favour. In Paris, they're still trying to convince everybody that Air are a decent band and they didn't fix the 1998 World Cup.

With live music seemingly back on the agenda, the bootleggers will be rubbing their digital recording devices with glee. There is still a huge demand for bootlegs and it's time for the ringtone market to catch up. I would download track after track if it meant I could relive last night's experience. There must be somebody out there who can supply this service... or maybe somebody's doing it already?

Unfortunately, the modern distribution of bootlegging does have other evil denouements. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Bob Dylan's famous 1962 Gaslight Tapes that were only previously available on low-quality bootlegs are to released exclusively at Starbucks. Cue lots of times are a-changing gags in the world's press, but for those of us who dig Dylan there is only one gag - One more cup of Latte, Bob, or should that be one more pile of cash?