With the country still in the midst of lockdown and no sign of any live music in the foreseeable future if at all this year I thought I would take the opportunity to look back in the archives, sounds posh I know but it’s just an spreadsheet, and revisit gigs I attended on this day down the years. I will keep this going until I can attend my first gig again in person so hopefully this also brings back memories for my gig going chums who have joined me on this great musical journey down the years.
A busy day of festive shows for my look back trip down memory lane for you down the years.
2018, Lera Lynn, Omeara, London
A fantastic show with Ms Lynn a couple of Christmases ago. A beautiful voice and even better up close in this great new venue. All reviewed here at the time.
2012, Allah Las, Shacklewell Arms, London
Our first show seeing these west coast rockers and a first at this venue in deepest darkest Hackney. The back room of this pub is tiny as myself, Graham and John inched our way through the door into a hot sweaty mass of bodies.
It’s a great gig by the band showcasing their fine debut album. It won’t go down as one of the most professional sets but they nailed every song even if the lead singer did look he was ‘on something’ that may not have been totally legal.
We have seen them since a couple of times and every show is the same in that they just about keep it together to deliver a fine set.
2011, Ocean Colour Scene, Brixton Academy, London
So fifteen years after we saw this band perform the whole of their excellent debut album ‘Moseley Shoals’ in Hammersmith Palais, we are about to do it all over again. This time around John and I are joined by Alex who loved them in the nineties.
Like our group it’s a nice mix in the audience of those who were there back in the day and youngsters, but us oldies edge it. Classic album, classic set and it was like nothing had changed. I’m a sucker for a bit of nostalgia and tonight was no exception, great stuff.
2007, Led Zeppelin, O2 Arena, London
Well where do I start. Apparently there were over a million applications to enter the ballot for these precious tickets. Originally I was unsuccessful but the gig got postponed as Page had broken his finger. By a miracle I got the email to say I had been successful in the second draw. I then had the dilemma about who to take and in the end family won out and Alex won the golden ticket.
Fearing it was a scam I was somewhat nervous about parting with the cash. But sure enough it was real. We had to go up to the O2 the day before to get the ticket and wristband to prevent the touts form cashing in.
There’s a strong supporting cast but none of that really mattered as it was only Zep that anyone cared about. I’m sure most people have seen or heard the show so I won’t go through the set. It took a couple of songs for everything to click into the place, the sound, their muscle memory and by the time the riff of third song Black Dog kicked in we were off. It would be churlish to criticise the setlist. They could have played for another two hours and still people would complain. It was perfect.
Purists will say it’s not Zeppelin without John Bonham but his son does a bloody good impression and for many of us we were too young to see pomp Zep. This is one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. Its hair tingling, goose pimplingly brilliant.
2005, Jeff Klein, the Peel, Kingston upon Thames
Onto to a significantly more low scale gig. Jeff Klein at the Peel in Kingston. Nestling in the heart of Kingston’s council estate the Peel is as rough as it gets but it did have a great line-up of bands playing there. It’s the only venue I have been to where the stage is one side of the bar and the strippers are performing on the other side. Seedy doesn’t cut but it had a charm. It’s of course not there anymore as developers have cashed in the real estate.
Klein is massively unknown and under rated and I’m not even sure if he is still performing. It’s a good show for this talented singer songwriter telling melancholic tales of deepest Americana. Lovely stuff.
That’s it for today’s trip down memory lane. Here’s hoping we can get to some form of normality soon but I have had several gigs slated for early 2021 already being moved to the back end so that will take it to a full twelve months at least between gigs.
Support your small local venues and smaller artists in these difficult times, stay safe and keep on rockin y’all.