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 trio of shows today for my look back trip down memory lane for you down the years.
2018, Fish, Islington Assembly Hall, London
I was obsessed with Marillion back in the day and lost count of the number of their shows Anthony and me saw at that time. Tonight those it’s a celebration of the ‘Clutching at Straws’ album with the main man himself. Age has not been kind to Fish and his voice can’t hit those notes and his body is not the same energetic self it once was. But who am I to talk. It was a good night all reviewed here at the time.
2017, Bernard Fanning, the Garage, London
It was great to see Powderfinger front man solo for the first time. Was always a fan of the band but his solo album ‘Tea & Sympathy’ is brilliant. A great show reviewed here at the time and so glad I finally got to see him as he doesn’t come over here much.
2007, Powderfinger, Hammersmith Odeon, London
So spookily it was ten years to the day before his solo show that I saw his band, Aussie rockers Powderfinger. It was clear on the night that the whole of the London Australian expats are here for the show and Graham and I are two of the few ‘locals’.
Sadly, we were behind a group of young girls who wanted to take a million selfies, had a bright umbrella that they wanted to open for some reason and I am sure that if you added up the amount of time they actually looked at the band was probably one song.
Grumble aside the band were on fire and I had never seen them before so it was great to see and hear those classics. A very good night.
That’s it for today’s trip down memory lane. Here’s hoping we can get to some form of normality soon but with the new lockdown my last chance of a gig disappeared this month and I have now had my first gig of 2021 cancelled 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.