Meanwhile I am scything and raking out last year’s invading lawn-type grass to get back to a meadow.
Are you wearing a hooded cloak and make Darth Vader noises while doing it?
Ok. I was definitely at Reading 2007, although my recollection of the whole festival is Simon Amstel and the chillies.
I haven’t been to a festival since 2010! They were never really my thing, other than local ones in Bristol, because I could go home at the end of the day.
Then I did Wacken in '07/'08, and High Voltage/Sonisphere/Wacken in 2010 (3 weekends in a row and the first two were technically ‘work’). After that I hit a period where I couldn’t afford it and just couldn’t be bothered any more.
So I started going to board game and comic conventions instead
No, I don’t suffer from hay fever. Filling one of our garden-waste bins is a decent hour or two’s work which suits me quite well.
I have only been to… oh gosh… seven? Six?.. live performances. One of which was Pavarotti, who cancelled after everyone was seated in the stadium (eh, it happens).
I saw the “Barenaked Ladies” very early in their careers when there was a ridiculous-right uproar over their names and they were touring as “The Fully Clothed Men”. They were very fun… I saw them again about a decade later, and they had set up massive nets near the stage such then when “the line” happened and idiots threw boxes of Kraft Dinner at the stage they were safe.
I’ve seen Hawksley Workman three times… twice in Toronto at medium sized venues (a few hundred people), and once in the Kitchener public library, which couldn’t have been more than 80 of us. An unbelievable performer, although very sedate performances (everyone seated for the majority of the shows). Helluva voice.
And then there were two big concerts at my university, the only one of which I remember was The Philospher Kings, who were unbelievable. The lead singer (I don’t remember his real name, but he went solo as “Jarvis Church” for a while, but that was named after a major intersection in Toronto) was almost hypnotic in his performance. Also the only time I’ve been at a live performance that had a rain of underwear hit the stage. That was something else.
I think that may be it. I know I’ve seen a few solo performers in pubs and the like and there is a non-zero chance some of them went off to become huge, but I have a memory like a damp towel so I can’t recall any names. I will say that in looking back all the bands I have seen have all been Canadian.
Isn’t that Justin something kid from Canada? May you saw him though likely not in a pub
I have never been to a Festival either. The closest I have been was in 2003 or 2004, with tickets for Donnington (I was still living in Stoke on Trent) and the guy I bought them with cancelled cause he had his grandma passing away in Spain, so resold the tickets to a guy who worked with us. Headliners were Metallica and Iron Maiden. To this day I still think I should have gone by myself.
Other than that, the majority of concerts I have been were in Spain, of bands that nobody here would be familiar with. The only exception probably being “Heroes del Silencio” in 96 or 97, they were the only band that got some international recognition.
So besides that, I can only count U2 in Dublin (the year of the second Live Aid, 2005??), Kasabian in Nottingham in the late 2000s (2008 or 09) and two years ago I went here in Napier to see Phil Collins. Add up a lot of missed attempts to get tickets to Glastonbury and Muse concerts, and that’s me done.
The first time I saw Muse, I took a 5am train from York to London, did a morning of sightseeing before heading over to Wembley Stadium. I think Muse would have been the first band to play there (if you discount support acts I suppose) if not for George Michael sneaking a date in a few days earlier. After the gig there were no trains running back to York, so I had to get a bus back to Derby and crash at my folks. I returned to York the following morning and spent the afternoon trying to revise for an exam I had the next day.
Reading 2006 was my first time seeing Muse and they were utterly disappointing (well, other than playing Showbiz which for me very excited). Then saw them again at Glasto 2016 and they ripped the place apart. Still unsure how I feel about them, but they put on a great live show.
I’ve enjoyed muse performances, but can’t imagine them ever starting out in the industry, I can’t see them starting out playing gigs in a local pub.
Similarly their set at Leeds 2006 was a bit disappointing. It was solidly raining for most of the evening and absolutely chucking it down during their set. No-one really cared, everyone was having a good time, you could see the moisture evaporating off people. Muse decided they were going to cut their set short so we could all get dry.
They do put on a great show. I’ve not really followed them for years so no idea what they’re up to now.
Edit: The spreadsheet says I last saw them in 2009 which would have been “The Resistance” tour and I think I have a copy of “The 2nd Law”. Had no idea they’d released two more albums since then.
I’ve never been a concert goer really (although I have seen the Levellers about 8 times, it was mainly with friends who were big fans) but I did once go and see Terrorvision and ended up going drinking with them afterwards.
I can solemnly swear it is not the Concorde
That’s great. If you keep it built, it is the Discovery, and if you drop it, you have the Challenger…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Please don’t judge me…
Been told I need to learn a 2nd language so I can become a lab inspector.
Looks like I’ll be brushing up on my Argentinian Spanish then!
Lab inspector sounds like something out of a Pandemic game…