My tickets for The Police have finally arrived. September 8, Twickenham (not too bad for home). But bloody hell did they cost me a fuck of a lot of cash. I was keen to see them as I loved them as a 13/14-year-old. I thought Regatta De Blanc was dead cool, though I found the album title difficult to say out loud. But in order to get these tickets slightly before they went on sale you had to join the fan club, which has since bombarded me with crappy emails at least twice a week since the dawn of the year.
I just hope they're worth it. Which got me thinking. Let me list, as far as I can remember, all the gigs I've ever been to. There may be more but at the moment they slip my mind.
Madness (matinee, 1980)
Duran Duran
OMD
Human League
Japan (my favourite teenage angst band)
Everything But The Girl
Dennis Greaves and the Truth
Joan Armatrading
Bruce Springsteen
Queen (really glad I saw them)
Guns n Roses
Quo
INXS
Simple Minds
The Bangles
The Waterboys
The Cult
In Tua Nua (1986)
Crosby, Stills and Nash
KIrsty MacColl
Billy Bragg x 2
Prefab Sprout
Bert Jansch
Turin Brakes
Rolling Stones
Van Morrison/Lonnie Donegan - worst gig ever
U2 - selling T-Shirts, so saw it for free
The Seekers x 2
Average White Band
Carmel (one of the best gigs ever)
Simply Red (not my choice)
Bryan Ferry
Roxy Music
The Beautiful South
Travis, Duran Duran - at a VH1 in the round. We were made to dance at the DD one, it was horrible.
Richard Thompson x 4
Fairport Convention
Neil Young
Simon and Garfunkel (magical)
Tom McRae (my brother was in a band with him)
Bonnie Raitt
Aimee Mann
Linda Thompson
The Waterson Family (2007)
On my wish list: Elvis Costello, Pentangle, Donovan
8 comments:
Oh, here's one that slipped through the net: Gilbert O'Sullivan.
Great list, I might nick the idea for my rather less impressive list. V. jealous about Queen as every time I see them on telly I marvel at Freddie Mercury and really think he was the greatest front man ever.
Well, my first gig was The Cramps in 1990. Since then I've seen the Oysterband (at least 6 times), the Handsome Family (at least 6 times), Loudon Wainwright III (4 or 5 times), Emmylou Harris (twice), the Cramps again, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Johnny Dowd, The Ramones, Ryan Adams, Guy Chadwick, some rubbish bands at college, and that's about it. Oh, and I once left a Shane O'Gowan gig before he even made it to the stage.
Most of those happened between 1996 and 2001. I just don't enjoy gigs much, unless I really REALLY like the band, and even then I tend to get bored and distracted very quickly. Not very rock and roll...
I like gigs, but I like a seat. So being jostled in the mosh pit is not for me. A friend offered me tickets to see Velvet Revolver the other week, but I've never heard a note of their music, so I declined.
Velvet Revolver? Imagine an even crapper Guns 'n' Roses.
Quite a comprehensive and varied list, sir. I saw Japan and David Sylvian in 1980 and 2005 respectively..very good, he's on tour now...
I'd like to see Tom Mcrae. (Can you ask your brother to ask him to pop 'round)
I saw Elvis Costello in 2005, He jumped off the stage, with his guitar, halfway through the show and took a seat in the stalls, about four seats from mine. He then performed Alison. Which was magical. On the way back to the stage he shook my hand. I haven't washed since.
Tom McRae's a funny one though, val. My bro and him fell out because the band they were in were just about to be signed up and Tom (real name Jeremy Blackall), threw him out of the band. Much devastation ensued.
I went to see Tom out of interest as I thought he was a good singer and quite a good songwriter, and he was okay. My brother felt betrayed that I'd been.
But I don't think Tom's ever going to set the world on fire unless he turns himself into a James Blunt or something.
What comes around goes around.
What was wrong with Jeremy Blackall? Being called Jeremy, I suppose, but you'd at least keep your surname, wouldn't you?
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