Going Missing

Almost four months. The more the days and weeks drift by without writing anything, the harder it is to start again. Not to mention, of course, the fact that (when the boys are around, at least) getting near my PC for anything longer than the ten minutes or so I'm kindly permitted for the purposes of checking my email is nigh on impossible. RuneScape has a lot to answer for! Anyway, it goes without saying that I've been sadly remiss, not only in updating my own blog but in reading and commenting on old favourites. A mammoth catch-up session is definitely overdue...

So, excuses over, what have I been doing since I last posted at the end of June? I had a birthday at the beginning of July and have now reached the shamefully advanced age of 39. (How scary is that? In just over eight months I'm going to be 40, which surely can't be right. I remember my Mum's 40th birthday party only too well. I was 18 and, naturally, knew everything about life. I stood in a corner of the pub with my best friend, M, sipping a Pernod and blackcurrant, and gazed at the assembled party-goers with a cynical eye. In my mind there were two certainties: I had to escape from Barnsley at the earliest opportunity and, should I ever reach the impossibly ancient age of 40, I would definitely behave in a more dignified manner, befitting my mature years. Yeah, right...)

The summer slipped by in a pleasant haze: school holidays, catching up with friends, days out, trips to the park and a laid-back two weeks on the Isle of Anglesey. My soundtrack for summer 2006 was not, as predicted, Corinne Bailey Rae but, somewhat surprisingly, Lily Allen. The James Morrison album featured pretty heavily too and didn't fail to live up to my expectations.

I was looking forward to getting back to some serious gig-going after the lull of the summer (three children plus working at weekends means that the delights of the festivals are pretty much out of the question) but, with the exception of Maximo Park at Birmingham Academy a couple of weeks ago, I'm still waiting for it to happen. (Cam and I took the boys to see McFly at the NEC last month but that definitely doesn't count!) Maximo Park were pretty incredible, though and I've developed more than a slight crush on the gorgeous Paul.

I had tickets to see Corinne Bailey Rae last weekend but the gig's now been postponed until March next year whilst Corinne tries to make it big in the States. We'd planned to stay over in Birmingham after the gig so, with my Mum already organised for babysitting duty and time booked off work, Cam and I decided it would be a shame to waste the opportunity and headed off to Norwich for the weekend instead. We had a pretty good time, despite Cam losing his voice completely for part of the weekend. (Made for an 'interesting' time whilst out and about, with me in the role of mouthpiece!) Anyway, lots of alcohol, good food and 'couple-building' (cringe) time. We saw The History Boys at the cinema on Saturday which I thought was excellent - the best film I've seen in a long while.

This week saw two anniversaries for me and Cam. The 18th was our 9th wedding anniversary and today is 17 years since we first got together. We met a couple of weeks into our final year at Aston University. I'd just come out of a three year relationship and, feeling in need of some excitement, had announced to my friends that I was going to 'pull' that night (what a tart!). So, there I was, Friday night, strutting my stuff on the dancefloor and I met the eye of a guy sitting underneath a table, looking somewhat the worse for wear. He seemed to be smirking, so I marched over to him and demanded to know if he was laughing at my dancing. I looked into a pair of the most gorgeous (albeit slightly bloodshot) green eyes I'd ever seen as Cam delivered the immortal line, "No, I was smiling at you." And thus began a beautiful friendship... Sick bag, anyone?


Going Missing - Maximo Park (A Certain Trigger, 2005)

Choux Pastry Heart

Well, it's been a busy week Chez Midas and consequently my blog has been somewhat neglected. However, I couldn't let Musical Monday go by without a post.

This week's track is from the album I seem to be listening to more than any other at the moment; the eponymous album from the fabulous Corinne Bailey Rae. Cam and I were talking the other day about how, every year, there's an album which seems to become a personal soundtrack for the summer. I think summer 2006 will be defined by Corinne Bailey Rae. Here's Choux Pastry Heart; I'm not going to say anything else about it, I'll let the song speak for itself.




Choux Pastry Heart - Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae, 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 sent 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 Morrison 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 the 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. The 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)