Gigs Of The Year

This year saw me attending more gigs than I did last year but there were still loads that I was unable to attend due to financial constraints or travelling with work.

Like last year the accolade of worst gig of the year goes to that spineless bastard Smith, not his band mind you,  who sounded great but the git himself who yet again decided that the crowd in Edinburgh did not deserve any effort on his part. Once more, thanks and I hope your feet continue to cause you problems you git.

There is no contest for gig of the year the accolade must go to the Boy Wonder who along with a very tight band put in a performance that even now thinking back on it has put a grin on my face but please, please, please Roddy don't leave it three years until you tour again!.

A mention must go to the Vaccines, not for the music, they weren't bad,  but just for the delight on Max's face throughout and my shoulders which have just about recovered from him bouncing up and down on for most of the 45 minutes they were on stage.

Roddy Frame - The Boy Wonders (Live at Ronnie Scott's)

The Vaccines - If You Wanna (Live from London)

The picture is of a not too patient son waiting for the Vaccines to take the stage at Latitude.

Gig of The Year

It was quite a funny year gig wise. Didn't go to nearly as many as I have done in the previous few years. This was partially due to the fact that all the gigs I did want to go to were on in the same week or fortnight or when I was away with work.

There is a more worrying reason that has crept into my lack of attendance this year and that is,  I cannot be arsed. I look at the listings,  see somebody I wouldn't mind hearing live and then I check out the date and it is usually mid week and at the Wah Wah Hut and all of my enthusiasm drains away. I say to myself,  do I really want to drag myself back out, drive into the Town stand through a couple of mediocre at best support acts then wait for the main act to come on stage at 10:30 pm and eventually get home sometime after midnight to get up again at 06:30?  The resounding answer 99% of the time is no. And before anybody comments that it is because I am becoming an old git, I am well aware of the fact and this is why I am troubled.

Without a shadow of a doubt my best live experience this year was The Airborne Toxic Event at the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh. As with the Wedding Present I have never seen this band give a lackluster performance.  Granted I have only seem them 5 times and that has been over the space two years but it is still quite an impressive track record. But the performance in Edinburgh was particularly special I think that this could have to do with the quite intimate,  rather lovely venue complimented the band wonderfully. Also there set was chosen extremely well and the segueway from Missy into I'm On Fire truly inspired, the 2 and a bit years of near constant touring have certainly paid off. It has been a while since I left a venue with quite as big a smile on my face. The only downside is that that will probably be the last time that I will see them in such an environment as I think that with the new material that they aired that they are on their way to bigger venues and good luck to them.

It is also very easy to pick the biggest disappointment of the year and that rather dubious honour goes to that contrary bastard Mark E Smith, who will most certainly not give a damn about it. So much for your work ethic Smith, you robbing bastard, it wasn't big and it certainly ain't clever. And to the guy whom we overheard saying " That's Mark E Smith and that's why we love him" you must be even stupider than you look, fanboy.

The Airborne Toxic Event - A Letter To Georgia

Happy Days!

I have been finding it difficult to keep up this positive attitude as the week has progressed. Being incapable of not listening to the news or reading the Guardian has not helped. However yesterday I did find a reason to be cheerful.

Having failed to get tickets at the beginning of this year for the Frightened Rabbit gig at the Captain's Rest on the 31st of March I was pretty pissed off, as I had bought on import the cd of a recording by the band on a previous occasion at this pub which gave me an idea of how good it would have been to see them in such an intimate venue.

I received an email informing me that Frightened Rabbit have added a matinee show on the same date. Without consulting the better half I was on to ticketweb to purchase 2 tickets for the gig. Only after doing so did I put 2 and 2 together and realize that my wife and I would now be seeing 2 different gigs on the 31st of March. As after seeing Airborne Toxic Event a few weeks ago I decided that L really needed to see them and got us tickets for their gig at Oran Mor ( now changed to the QM) on , you've guessed it the 31st of March.

Now all I have to do is get the day off work, find a baby sitter willing to look after a 3 month old baby from 2 pm to 11ish and someone to pick my eldest up from school and everything will be sorted, easy!

It's quite weird because the last time I saw Frightened Rabbit, was the 30th November 08 and the support that night was Airborne Toxic Event.

Anyway I'm not going to post either Frightened Rabbit or Airborne Toxic Event as everybody should now have these albums and if you don't shame on you and why the fuck not? Also I don't want the same to happen to me as happened to the Vinyl Villain the other day (see here) which was pish in my humble opinion.

Sp----------d - Oh Happy Day (the band in question's lawyers also seem to be quite litigious, hence the spaces)