David Gray has never been an artist that caught my attention, indeed, the most I’ve felt for his inoffensive tunes is mild dislike. So why was I at this gig?
My first venture into the mystical, ethereal world of the Mediaeval Baebes. I have a tendency, when going through troubled times, to reach for supernatural assistance, despite being a life-long atheist. During low periods in my 20s, I had tried to fumble my way through prayer and meditation as a (short-lived) solution, and in 2005,… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 102 – Mediaeval Baebes, Saturday, November 5, 2005, Croydon Fairfield Halls (Witchfest)
It’s October 2005, and there’s just one question: What the hell am I doing at an Alabama 3 gig? If this season of blogging about Gigs I Have No Diary Entries For is difficult, at least for most of the them I have my overarching love and interest for the band in question to help… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 101 – Alabama 3, Tuesday, October 11, 2005, Astoria
My 100th gig saw me revisiting a band who’d been there at my very first. My era of Not Writing About Gigs In My Diary causes particular frustration when it comes to this gig from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. With this show I reached a milestone in my gigging life, although I didn’t… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 100 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Thursday, August 25, 2005, Alexandra Palace
A night of fun and frolics from the Scissor Sisters. Carrying on through my season of Gigs I Wrote Nothing About In My Diary, here is my one and only gig from the Scissor Sisters. I do remember that, a week before the gig happened it was announced online by Xfm, and I somehow managed… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 99 – Scissor Sisters, Thursday, August 18, 2005, Kentish Town Forum
My second and so far last gig from the Prodigy. There’s one very obvious thing to note about this gig: it did not, of course, happen on the date displayed on the ticket. The 7th of July 2005 is a date remembered for the terrorist attacks that occurred across London’s public transport system during the… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 98 – The Prodigy, Sunday, August 7, 2005, Brixton Academy
My first gigs of my 30s saw me carrying on where I’d left off in my twenties, with another duo of shows from the Manics. This 2005 Manics tour has some legendary status amongst their fans. Not promoting any album, just the “Past, Present and Future” of the band, it was a glorious celebration of… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gigs 96 and 97 – Manic Street Preachers, Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th April 2005, Hammersmith Apollo
Seeing out my gigging 2004 in the best way possible: a Manic Street Preachers winter tour. It was a year and a half since I’d last seen the Manics, at Move festival and the HMV signing of summer 2003, and my life had changed drastically in that time. 2004 had been a year marked by… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gigs 94 and 95 – Manic Street Preachers, Thursday 9th and Friday 17th December 2004, Wembley Arena and MEN Arena
My first time seeing the Prodigy, who just turned out to be one of the greatest live bands I’ve ever seen. ‘Absolutely bloody amazing.‘ If I have any regrets when I look back on my gigging life, one is absolutely certain: it took me far, far too long to get round to seeing the Prodigy… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 93 – The Prodigy, Friday, December 3, 2004
A dazzling and quite literally dizzying gig from Nick and co. 2004 was coming to an end. It had been a year marked by a sudden and intense explosion in my social life, especially during the spring and summer months. By November things had settled down somewhat, but I still found myself much more active… Read More All the gigs of my life: Gig 92 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Wednesday, November 10, 2004, Brixton Academy
