Wednesday night and another gig in Birmingham. Kaiser Chiefs at the National Indoor Arena. I'd been looking forward to this one for a while; especially as I knew Graham Coxon was supporting. I was more than a little dismayed, therefore, to wake up on Wednesday morning with a pounding head, sore throat and all the signs that I was in the grip of some kind of evil cold virus. Missing out on the evening was never an option, though, so I dosed myself up with Nurofen and hoped for the best...
The last time I visited the National Indoor Arena was September of last year when we took Daisy to see Balamory Live. Thankfully, Miss Hoolie and co were nowhere in sight this time and the venue looked very different with the stall seating removed to form a massive standing area. For reasons best known to themselves, the stewards decided that no one was allowed to stand until shortly before the gig started and so we were made to sit on the floor - like rows of overgrown primary school children, waiting for assembly to begin. An effective form of torture for the over-30's! Needless to say, as soon as the stewards gave the go-ahead to stand, there was a huge surge forward. Cam and I made it very close to the front; more than a little crushed but with a good view of the stage.
First up were Polysics, a four piece electro-punk band from Tokyo. Wearing matching red boiler suits and black wraparound shades, they looked like they'd stepped off the set of a third-rate sci-fi film. When they started to play, my initial thought was, this is completely insane, but by the third song I found myself getting in to the music. The band's cover of My Sharona went down particularly well with the crowd. The band have an incredible energy. Singer and guitarist, Hayashi, is especially manic and his performance really had to be seen to be believed. I wouldn't want to listen to Polysics every day but would definitely go and see them again some time.
Although I hadn't listened to much of Graham Coxon's music previously, what I'd heard, I'd really liked and I loved the single, Freakin' Out. Graham's performance on Wednesday certainly didn't disappoint and was marred only by a plump, adolescent Chiefette in an unflattering red t-shirt who persisted in shouting, "Boo, Gerroff, Kaisers!" at the end of every song. I was sorely tempted to turn round and give her a piece of my mind but settled for a Paddington Bear-style hard stare instead. Graham's set left me feeling that I should definitely check out some of his albums. He's quite easy on the eye too - my next pin-up, maybe?
By the time the Kaisers hit the stage, I was feeling well past my best and wanted nothing more than to go home and lie down in a darkened room. Had I been feeling better, I'm sure I'd have appreciated the gig a whole lot more. The atmosphere in the arena was truly amazing. The entire standing area erupted into a pulsating sea of moshing bodies, arms in the air, saluting singer Ricky Wilson. I haven't seen such adulation since watching the screaming girlies worship the boys from Busted when we took Joe and George to see them last year. However, it was not only girls deifying Ricky; boys and girls alike were completely transfixed. The band performed an excellent set with several new songs as well as those from Employment. By the time, the band reached the last song of the encore - a lively performance of Oh My God with significant audience participation, the atmosphere on the floor had reached melting point. Not only were my poor toes painful from being repeatedly jumped on but I was headbutted - acidentally - in the nose by an over-exuberant fan. It was a sore and subdued version of myself that limped back to the car park.
Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs (Employment, 2005)
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Blueberry Pies
In honour of Joe's recent birthday, this week's selection for Musical Monday is not only an old favourite of mine but one of Joe's too...
The album from which this track is taken - Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout - is, for me, the perfect pop album - undemanding yet never boring, gorgeous melodies and quirky lyrics.
Back in 1985, when the album was released, I recorded Steve McQueen on one side of an audio cassette (remember those?!) and on the other side, another classic of the time, Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. After a heavy night out, when my head was buzzing, I'd listen to the cassette as I went to sleep and let the beautiful, gentle songs work their magic...
From an early ag
e, Joe developed a major obsession with motorbikes and, at almost two, was utterly delighted to discover my copy of Steve McQueen with the motorbike on the cover. It became his "Motorbike Music" and, for a period of around six months, he insisted on listening to the album - on headphones - every night as he went to sleep...
As with last week's selection, choosing just one track from the album wasn't easy. My favourite song is probably When Love Breaks Down. The song was released as a single but, disappointingly, only achieved a number 25 position in the UK charts. However, and for no particular reason, I'm in more of a Blueberry Pies mood today so that's the song you've got. Happy Listening!
Edited to add: Well, there's not a great deal of Monday left now (Blogger wouldn't let me publish all day and I've been working all evening) but I finally made it!
Blueberry Pies - Prefab Sprout (Steve McQueen, 1985)
The album from which this track is taken - Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout - is, for me, the perfect pop album - undemanding yet never boring, gorgeous melodies and quirky lyrics.
Back in 1985, when the album was released, I recorded Steve McQueen on one side of an audio cassette (remember those?!) and on the other side, another classic of the time, Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. After a heavy night out, when my head was buzzing, I'd listen to the cassette as I went to sleep and let the beautiful, gentle songs work their magic...
From an early ag
e, Joe developed a major obsession with motorbikes and, at almost two, was utterly delighted to discover my copy of Steve McQueen with the motorbike on the cover. It became his "Motorbike Music" and, for a period of around six months, he insisted on listening to the album - on headphones - every night as he went to sleep...As with last week's selection, choosing just one track from the album wasn't easy. My favourite song is probably When Love Breaks Down. The song was released as a single but, disappointingly, only achieved a number 25 position in the UK charts. However, and for no particular reason, I'm in more of a Blueberry Pies mood today so that's the song you've got. Happy Listening!
Edited to add: Well, there's not a great deal of Monday left now (Blogger wouldn't let me publish all day and I've been working all evening) but I finally made it!
Blueberry Pies - Prefab Sprout (Steve McQueen, 1985)
Sunday, April 23, 2006
One In Ten
Yesterday was Joe's birthday. Ten years old. A whole decade! And yes, I'm still struggling to believe it! It really does not seem like ten years since we were there in the hospital: one not so small (4.12kg/9lb 1oz) baby - slightly cone-headed from a traumatic ventouse delivery but otherwise perfect - and one euphoric, albeit somewhat nervous, new mother, wondering just what was in store for us...
Joe's bir
thday present this year was a much longed-for mobile phone. He's been desperate to have one for so long now but, in my opinion, he's still a little too young and I was determined to hold out until his eleventh birthday, just before he goes to secondary school. However, as all Joe's friends now have mobiles and he was beginning to feel left out, we finally conceded. He was absolutely thrilled to finally get his phone and the house has been buzzing to the rhythm of various ringtones all weekend!
As Joe was not having his birthday party until today, yesterday was a relatively quiet day (ringtones aside!). We went out for lunch (Joe's choice - Pizza Hut) but th
e rest of day was spent chilling out at home which was just what I needed after my time away. Cam's younger brother, Gastón, called round in the evening and George and Daisy demanded he play with them until bedtime. As can be seen in the photo, Uncle Gastón even had the pleasure of reading Topsy and Tim! It's all good practice, though - his wife, Madeline, is expecting their first baby in August.
This afternoon was Joe's birthday 'party' - petrol go-karting with five of his friends, followed by h
ome made pizzas and choc chip cookies back at home. Joe had been counting down to today for so long that I was worried that it couldn't possibly live up to his expectations. Luckily, the boys all had a fabulous time. I'm not sure that I'd like to entertain seven noisy boys and one extremely noisy little girl every day, though...
One In Ten - UB40 (The Very Best of UB40 1980 - 2000, 2000)
Joe's bir
thday present this year was a much longed-for mobile phone. He's been desperate to have one for so long now but, in my opinion, he's still a little too young and I was determined to hold out until his eleventh birthday, just before he goes to secondary school. However, as all Joe's friends now have mobiles and he was beginning to feel left out, we finally conceded. He was absolutely thrilled to finally get his phone and the house has been buzzing to the rhythm of various ringtones all weekend!As Joe was not having his birthday party until today, yesterday was a relatively quiet day (ringtones aside!). We went out for lunch (Joe's choice - Pizza Hut) but th
e rest of day was spent chilling out at home which was just what I needed after my time away. Cam's younger brother, Gastón, called round in the evening and George and Daisy demanded he play with them until bedtime. As can be seen in the photo, Uncle Gastón even had the pleasure of reading Topsy and Tim! It's all good practice, though - his wife, Madeline, is expecting their first baby in August. This afternoon was Joe's birthday 'party' - petrol go-karting with five of his friends, followed by h
ome made pizzas and choc chip cookies back at home. Joe had been counting down to today for so long that I was worried that it couldn't possibly live up to his expectations. Luckily, the boys all had a fabulous time. I'm not sure that I'd like to entertain seven noisy boys and one extremely noisy little girl every day, though...One In Ten - UB40 (The Very Best of UB40 1980 - 2000, 2000)
Friday, April 21, 2006
Mardy Bum
mardy n (dialect) a spoilt child. Also adj moody, sulky, whining.
Is it just me or does anyone else find themselves regressing into grumpy adolescence when staying in the parental home? Before I go any further, I should point out that I dearly love my parents; they've never been anything less than one hundred per cent supportive; they're fantastic grandparents and, over the years, have helped me out more times than I could possibly count. I realise that I'm incredibly lucky to have such wonderful parents and, in all honesty, I should not be sitting here writing this post. And yet, every time I spend more than a day or so in my childhood home, I begin to feel like a sulky teenager.
I am so completely intolerant that I begin to irritate myself! I find myself analysing the smallest things my parents do and inwardly seething. The way Mum prods her food slightly with her knife before cutting into it; the habit she has of not finishing sentences, leaving them hanging in the air with a "So...". The way Dad preaches the Gospel According To The Daily Mail and never wastes an opportunity to spread the word. Needless to say, I don't sit there and argue and rant and moan (as I may well have done in my teenage years). I bite my tongue and count down the days/hours until my escape.
I've tried to analyse why I feel the way I do and I think it all comes down to a loss of control. I am unable to live my life in the same way as I would in my own home. I am forced to adopt my parents' routines, to eat their food, live their lives. The independence I have enjoyed for more than twenty years is taken away and my destiny is once more in the hands of my parents. I dislike the person I become when I go back to Barnsley and every time I vow to try harder. Maybe next time it will work...
Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys (Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, 2006)
Is it just me or does anyone else find themselves regressing into grumpy adolescence when staying in the parental home? Before I go any further, I should point out that I dearly love my parents; they've never been anything less than one hundred per cent supportive; they're fantastic grandparents and, over the years, have helped me out more times than I could possibly count. I realise that I'm incredibly lucky to have such wonderful parents and, in all honesty, I should not be sitting here writing this post. And yet, every time I spend more than a day or so in my childhood home, I begin to feel like a sulky teenager.
I am so completely intolerant that I begin to irritate myself! I find myself analysing the smallest things my parents do and inwardly seething. The way Mum prods her food slightly with her knife before cutting into it; the habit she has of not finishing sentences, leaving them hanging in the air with a "So...". The way Dad preaches the Gospel According To The Daily Mail and never wastes an opportunity to spread the word. Needless to say, I don't sit there and argue and rant and moan (as I may well have done in my teenage years). I bite my tongue and count down the days/hours until my escape.
I've tried to analyse why I feel the way I do and I think it all comes down to a loss of control. I am unable to live my life in the same way as I would in my own home. I am forced to adopt my parents' routines, to eat their food, live their lives. The independence I have enjoyed for more than twenty years is taken away and my destiny is once more in the hands of my parents. I dislike the person I become when I go back to Barnsley and every time I vow to try harder. Maybe next time it will work...
Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys (Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, 2006)
Monday, April 17, 2006
Back To The Old House
Monday morning and time to head off up the M1 to see my children. I can't wait to see the three of them again; I really have missed them these last few days. I'm staying with my parents until the weekend so won't be around for a while.
Normal service will resume some time after Friday....
Back To the Old House - The Smiths (Hatful of Hollow, 1983)
Normal service will resume some time after Friday....
Back To the Old House - The Smiths (Hatful of Hollow, 1983)
For You
This is my first contribution to Musical Monday and I've been sitting here for a while now, wondering which track to share with you this week. So many songs on so many albums, loved for a multitude of reasons and each one conjuring up their own memories of places, people, tastes, smells...
Anyway, I've stuck a virtual pin into my musical collection and selected For You by Tracy Chapman. In truth, I could equally have chosen any of the other songs on the album. The album was released in March 1988 but I think I must have bought it later that year; sometime around the August, when I moved to Coventry to spend the third year of my degree course working for GEC Plessey Telecommunications Limited. My first few months in Coventry were pretty grim: I disliked my job and had little in common with my work colleagues. Although I got on reasonably well with my two house mates, they were former best friends who had fallen out and were barely on speaking terms; I found myself playing piggy in the middle. Most evenings were spent alone in my room, listening to music and Tracy Chapman's album was definitely in my top five most-played albums of the time.
Life in Coventry got better. I found an evening job working in a local pub and made new friends. The pub had a CD jukebox (one of the first ones I'd seen) and tracks from Tracy Chapman's album formed the backdrop to many an evening.
The songs on the album tackle such issues as domestic violence, racial tension and social injustice, set against the prevailing right-wing political regimes of the time: Reagan in the US and Thatcher in Britain. Politics aside though, the songs can simply be appreciated for their musical merit. For You provides the perfect vehicle for Tracy's beautiful, distinctive voice, set against a simple backdrop of acoustic guitar....
For You - Tracy Chapman (Tracy Chapman, 1988)
Anyway, I've stuck a virtual pin into my musical collection and selected For You by Tracy Chapman. In truth, I could equally have chosen any of the other songs on the album. The album was released in March 1988 but I think I must have bought it later that year; sometime around the August, when I moved to Coventry to spend the third year of my degree course working for GEC Plessey Telecommunications Limited. My first few months in Coventry were pretty grim: I disliked my job and had little in common with my work colleagues. Although I got on reasonably well with my two house mates, they were former best friends who had fallen out and were barely on speaking terms; I found myself playing piggy in the middle. Most evenings were spent alone in my room, listening to music and Tracy Chapman's album was definitely in my top five most-played albums of the time.
Life in Coventry got better. I found an evening job working in a local pub and made new friends. The pub had a CD jukebox (one of the first ones I'd seen) and tracks from Tracy Chapman's album formed the backdrop to many an evening.
The songs on the album tackle such issues as domestic violence, racial tension and social injustice, set against the prevailing right-wing political regimes of the time: Reagan in the US and Thatcher in Britain. Politics aside though, the songs can simply be appreciated for their musical merit. For You provides the perfect vehicle for Tracy's beautiful, distinctive voice, set against a simple backdrop of acoustic guitar....
For You - Tracy Chapman (Tracy Chapman, 1988)
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Like A Star
Thursday evening and a feeling of déjà vu as, once again, Cam and I waited in line outside the Birmingham Academy. The wait was to be slightly more interesting this time, though...
A BBC van appeared on the other side of the road and, under the baleful glare of two stern-looking traffic wardens, a man jumped out and began to extend a long, aerial-topped pole from the roof of the van. Birmingham's local radio station, BBC WM, were doing a feature on Corinne Bailey Rae and a roving reporter had been sen
t to interview the people waiting to go in to the gig. Largely because we were the only ones to make eye-contact with the guy from the radio station - most of the queue studiously feigning great interest in their footwear as he approached - Cam and I were the chosen victims and were broadcast live to the West Midlands as we answered a number of questions about the venue and what we thought of Corinne. Interview over and with the radio guy safely out of earshot, Cam and I looked at each other and both burst into slightly hysterical laughter! (I managed to track down the interview yesterday on the 'listen again' facility of BBC WM's website. I sat there with toes curled, expecting the worst but surprisingly enough, we both sounded remarkably articulate. I don't think it's time to give up the day jobs just yet, though!)Anyway, on to the gig. I was surprised when we got into the venue to find that Corinne was actually appearing in Academy 2 which is upstairs from the main venue and has an audience capacity of only 600. Still, I wasn't complaining; we were right at the front, with the stage a mere metre or so away and the intimacy of such a small venue only made the experience more special.
The support act was James Morrison and his band. (No relation to the infamous Jim Morris
on of The Doors, as far as I know). They were the best support act I've seen in a long time. James has an incredible voice, very bluesy and soulful and, at the tender age of 21, he hopefully has a glittering career ahead of him. I'll definitely be buying his album as soon as it's released.It seemed to take forever for the roadies to take James Morrison's equipment off th
e stage and tune up the guitars and double bass for Corinne Bailey Rae's band but at last the tiny stage was ready and was certainly filled to capacity with Corinne and her seven band members (a three-strong brass section, drummer, double bass/bass guitarist, lead guitarist and keyboard player) and two backing singers. Corinne herself looked simply amazing. She's far more beautiful in the flesh than she appears in her photos - very petite and elegant with a gorgeous smile that lights up her whole face. T
he entire set was completely faultless. The standard of musicianship was excellent and Corinne's voice sent shivers down my spine. The songs were all taken from the eponymous album, with the exception of a brilliant cover of the Led Zeppelin classic, Since I've Been Loving You (harking back to Corinne's roots in the indie guitar band, Helen). It was a perfect evening and ended all too soon, despite a two song encore. I left the venue feeling exceptionally privileged.Like A Star - Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae, 2006)
Thursday, April 13, 2006
All Alone
It's so incredibly quiet here today - even with the radio burbling away in the background. Were it not for the fact that all reasonable intelligence would suggest that I am, indisputably, sitting in my own house, at my own desk, I may begin to consider the possibility that I have been abducted by aliens and dropped in the barren wilderness of Planet Hush. Today my house contains no children.
Joe, George and Daisy are staying with Granny and Grandad in Barnsley for a few days, getting spoiled rotten and being allowed to do all manner of things that my parents would never have considered letting me do when I was a child. I'm relishing the time on my own: the opportunity to use my PC for more than ten minutes without one of the boys begging to use it, being able to go to the bathroom without a little voice shouting, "Mummy, where are you?" and the knowledge that tomorrow I can stay in bed for as long as I like. You can bet, though, that by tomorrow evening I'll be missing them like you wouldn't imagine...
Whilst I'm here, a brief mention about the titles of my posts. When I started writing this blog, I decided that each entry would be given the title of a song from my music collection. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I've subsequently discovered that finding a song title that also relates loosely to what I'm writing about is not always as easy as it sounds. Anyway, I'm no quitter; having started this little game, I will continue. I've decided to go back and edit my posts to include details of the song. I've also changed the title of my last post from Memory Lane (McFly, Wonderland) to Remember Me - it seems to fit the post better and the McFly album belongs to Joe so is not technically part of my music collection!
After the wettest, greyest, most dismal morning you could possibly imagine, it's finally stopped raining. I do believe there may even be a glimmer of sunshine! I'm beginning to get quite excited about going to see Corinne Bailey Rae this evening; even more so now there's a possibility I may manage to make it to the venue without resembling some bizarre species of drowned rodent...
All Alone - Gorillaz (Demon Days, 2005)
Joe, George and Daisy are staying with Granny and Grandad in Barnsley for a few days, getting spoiled rotten and being allowed to do all manner of things that my parents would never have considered letting me do when I was a child. I'm relishing the time on my own: the opportunity to use my PC for more than ten minutes without one of the boys begging to use it, being able to go to the bathroom without a little voice shouting, "Mummy, where are you?" and the knowledge that tomorrow I can stay in bed for as long as I like. You can bet, though, that by tomorrow evening I'll be missing them like you wouldn't imagine...
Whilst I'm here, a brief mention about the titles of my posts. When I started writing this blog, I decided that each entry would be given the title of a song from my music collection. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I've subsequently discovered that finding a song title that also relates loosely to what I'm writing about is not always as easy as it sounds. Anyway, I'm no quitter; having started this little game, I will continue. I've decided to go back and edit my posts to include details of the song. I've also changed the title of my last post from Memory Lane (McFly, Wonderland) to Remember Me - it seems to fit the post better and the McFly album belongs to Joe so is not technically part of my music collection!
After the wettest, greyest, most dismal morning you could possibly imagine, it's finally stopped raining. I do believe there may even be a glimmer of sunshine! I'm beginning to get quite excited about going to see Corinne Bailey Rae this evening; even more so now there's a possibility I may manage to make it to the venue without resembling some bizarre species of drowned rodent...
All Alone - Gorillaz (Demon Days, 2005)
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Remember Me
Home from work and checking my email. Tucked in amongst all the spam my filter has failed to remove, I see: "Message waiting on Friends Reunited from Peter B". My first reaction is the usual small glow of pleasure that an old friend has made the effort to get touch; swiftly followed by the second reaction: who on earth is Peter B? I rack my brains, delve a little deeper. No, it's no good. I can think of several Peters but none of them are Bs. I open the email:
Hi Julie
Remember me? I was Anne Marie H and we were best friends for a year at primary school...
Oh My God! She's had a sex change - I didn't see that coming! She hasn't, of course. She's simply using her husband's login. But what does it say about me that I immediately jumped to that conclusion? Slightly twisted, perhaps?
Anyway, it was lovely to hear from Anne Marie. I hadn't thought about her in years but as I read her email I remembered lots of things about the year we'd hung around together. It must have been 1976/1977. Charlie's Angels and Starsky and Hutch were both pretty big on TV and formed the basis of many of our playground games. I desperately wanted to be Kelly from Charlie's Angels and thought Jaclyn Smith was the most beautiful woman on earth. Lindsay Wagner must have been quite high up on our list of role models too; I remember Anne Marie getting a Bionic Woman doll, complete with a red mission pack, for her 10th birthday. I was envious beyond belief!
I'm a huge fan of Friends Reunited. I don't have a burning desire to meet up with many people from my past - I'm still in touch with most of the important ones - and yet I do wonder how people turned out; what they're up to now. I admitted to people watching and listening in on conversations in my last post and now I'm talking about checking people out on Friends Reunited... OK, hands up, I'm nosy! I think that's what appeals to me about blogging. All those glimpses into other lives... However, I can't help feeling that simply reading and slipping away again and then returning to check out the next instalment is perhaps a little furtive. I've made a conscious decision, therefore, to de-lurk. Comments boxes here I come!
Remember Me - The Zutons (Who Killed The Zutons, 2004)
Hi Julie
Remember me? I was Anne Marie H and we were best friends for a year at primary school...
Oh My God! She's had a sex change - I didn't see that coming! She hasn't, of course. She's simply using her husband's login. But what does it say about me that I immediately jumped to that conclusion? Slightly twisted, perhaps?
Anyway, it was lovely to hear from Anne Marie. I hadn't thought about her in years but as I read her email I remembered lots of things about the year we'd hung around together. It must have been 1976/1977. Charlie's Angels and Starsky and Hutch were both pretty big on TV and formed the basis of many of our playground games. I desperately wanted to be Kelly from Charlie's Angels and thought Jaclyn Smith was the most beautiful woman on earth. Lindsay Wagner must have been quite high up on our list of role models too; I remember Anne Marie getting a Bionic Woman doll, complete with a red mission pack, for her 10th birthday. I was envious beyond belief!
I'm a huge fan of Friends Reunited. I don't have a burning desire to meet up with many people from my past - I'm still in touch with most of the important ones - and yet I do wonder how people turned out; what they're up to now. I admitted to people watching and listening in on conversations in my last post and now I'm talking about checking people out on Friends Reunited... OK, hands up, I'm nosy! I think that's what appeals to me about blogging. All those glimpses into other lives... However, I can't help feeling that simply reading and slipping away again and then returning to check out the next instalment is perhaps a little furtive. I've made a conscious decision, therefore, to de-lurk. Comments boxes here I come!
Remember Me - The Zutons (Who Killed The Zutons, 2004)
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Young For Eternity
Friday and as Daisy and my mum left to collect the boys from school, I skipped off in the late afternoon sunshine to catch the train to Birmingham. There's something about train travel: the feeling of anticipation, the scenery (picturesque or otherwise) rolling past the window, the chance to unashamedly people watch and eavesdrop on the conversations of strangers... Our local train station is a convenient five minute walk from home and I often catch the train to Leicester but only rarely get the chance to take a longer journey. Unfortunately, I appear to have the knack of sabotaging the smooth running of the railway network. The mere fact of me planning to catch a train will inevitably ensure that the said train is subject to a lengthy delay, if not cancelled entirely. However, Friday must have been my lucky day; the train rolled into Birmingham New Street station a whole minute ahead of schedule...
I love Birmingham - both in its current tarted up for the new millenium guise and the down at heel appearance I remember from the late eighties and my days as a student at Aston University. It was the city to which I made my escape from the confines of small-town life; the place where I met some of my best friends, had my first taste of independence and met my husband. Birmingham has a lot to answer for!
The purpose of Friday's visit was a Subways gig at the Birmingham Academy. Cam had bought the tickets and, it has to be said, The Subways are perhaps more to his taste than mine. Although we've had the album for a while, I've never really managed to get into it. Anyway, Cam had driven into Birmingham (he works on the outskirts, not far from The NEC) and I'd arranged to meet him in the queue for the gig. One look at the average person in the queue (under 20, skinny, dyed black hair...) and I began to feel slightly conspicuous. There was another guy of around our age in the queue behind us but he was quickly joined by his daughter and some of her mates. I think we were definitely the oldest people there not accompanying minors!
The gig itself was pretty good. Our conscientious queuing had secured us a place fro
nt centre of the balcony (too old for the mosh pit!) so we had a fab view. Cam took loads of pics, I'll try to post some later. Two support acts: The Milk Teeth (well worth a listen) and The Dodgems (great stage presence) and then on to the main event. The Subwa
ys have an incredible energy and what they may lack in musical accomplishment they definitely make up for in enthusiasm. Billy really knows how to work the crowd and Charlotte is absolutely awesome to watch: dancing around like a maniac for the entire gig - that girl must be astonishingly fit! Plenty of crowd surfi
ng throughout and a couple of spectacular stage dives from Billy (it looked for a moment like security weren't going to let him back on stage after the first one, having mistaken him for an over zealous crowd surfer!). I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a Friday night. We're back to the same venue on Thursday to see Corinne Bailey Rae. Compare and contrast!
Young For Eternity - The Subways (Young For Eternity, 2005)
I love Birmingham - both in its current tarted up for the new millenium guise and the down at heel appearance I remember from the late eighties and my days as a student at Aston University. It was the city to which I made my escape from the confines of small-town life; the place where I met some of my best friends, had my first taste of independence and met my husband. Birmingham has a lot to answer for!
The purpose of Friday's visit was a Subways gig at the Birmingham Academy. Cam had bought the tickets and, it has to be said, The Subways are perhaps more to his taste than mine. Although we've had the album for a while, I've never really managed to get into it. Anyway, Cam had driven into Birmingham (he works on the outskirts, not far from The NEC) and I'd arranged to meet him in the queue for the gig. One look at the average person in the queue (under 20, skinny, dyed black hair...) and I began to feel slightly conspicuous. There was another guy of around our age in the queue behind us but he was quickly joined by his daughter and some of her mates. I think we were definitely the oldest people there not accompanying minors!
The gig itself was pretty good. Our conscientious queuing had secured us a place fro
nt centre of the balcony (too old for the mosh pit!) so we had a fab view. Cam took loads of pics, I'll try to post some later. Two support acts: The Milk Teeth (well worth a listen) and The Dodgems (great stage presence) and then on to the main event. The Subwa
ys have an incredible energy and what they may lack in musical accomplishment they definitely make up for in enthusiasm. Billy really knows how to work the crowd and Charlotte is absolutely awesome to watch: dancing around like a maniac for the entire gig - that girl must be astonishingly fit! Plenty of crowd surfi
ng throughout and a couple of spectacular stage dives from Billy (it looked for a moment like security weren't going to let him back on stage after the first one, having mistaken him for an over zealous crowd surfer!). I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a Friday night. We're back to the same venue on Thursday to see Corinne Bailey Rae. Compare and contrast!Young For Eternity - The Subways (Young For Eternity, 2005)
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