My one and only gig from the Canadian songsmith Daniel Powter.

2005 was coming to an end, and I was not too sad to see it go. It had been a difficult year for me, coloured by my ill-advised relationship with Crush Boy which had imploded in the summer as he went off with another woman. It’s no wonder, then, that Daniel Powter’s infectiously plaintive song “Bad Day” had struck a chord within me, and many of my moody 2005 days had been soundtracked by his self-titled album of that year.

This was my last gig of 2005, and like the David Gray gig a few days previously, I attended it with with Crush Boy, in an attempt to repair some of the damage done to our friendship after he’d decided to pursue a relationship with someone else. However, two things made this gig a much, much happier time than the previous one: (a) Crush Boy’s new girlfriend did not come along and (b) as mentioned, I actually really liked Daniel Powter’s songs.

The irony of going to see the singer whose songs had helped me deal with much recent distress, accompanied by the man who actually caused much of that distress, is not lost on me as I reflect on this gig from fifteen years on. However, all I cared about at the time was the chance to patch up our damaged friendship, which had been a fierce and strong thing before sex had come along and caused chaos, as it so often does.

I remember this as a great gig, with Daniel giving a spirited performance of the songs from his recent album, though to perhaps a relatively sparse and muted audience. Crush Boy and I were down the front, but there was no threat of a moshpit or indeed any kind of crush in the crowd – it was all very civilised.

And so, as with so many gigs I went to in this era, that was my one and only Daniel Powter gig. I did make plans to see him again the following summer – and again with Crush Boy – but the date of the gig was changed, and I was due to be in Canada on the revised date, so he took his sister instead.

Which brings me to an interesting reflection. Despite the fact that I am part Canadian, I have never really clicked with the music of that country, and to the best of my knowledge this gig is the only one by a Canadian artist in my gigging history. So, for that reason alone, I’m glad to have this gig on my list. But I’m even more glad to have this uncomfortable era of my life far, far behind me.