Year: 2019

First Gig – Lancaster University

So where did my gig journey start I hear you ask? Back in the mists of time, 15th December 1983 to be precise Jimmy attended his first gig. I was 15 years old, 9 stone dripping wet, constant bouts of tonsillitis, John McEnroe haircut, all in all a bit of a catch!

It was a very cold Thursday night when myself and Tony Miller trogged down to Withytrees to pick up the bus for the 20 mile ride to Lancaster. We met Paul Hutton and his mates who lived near Lancaster. The bus took an age to arrive at the University campus.

Lancaster University as a gig venue was an enigma as due to its the sizeable capacity of the Great Hall (1350) and its accessible location from the M6, it attracted a remarkably high calibre of artists between 1969 and 1985. The attached article relates to a book written by the promoter Barry Lucas whose roster included the Who, T Rex, Queen, Roxy Music and the Ramones amongst others and tells the tale of just missing out on the Rolling Stones gracing the stage.

https://www.lancashirelife.co.uk/out-about/barry-lucas-promoter-looks-back-to-when-lancaster-university-was-a-venue-for-music-legends-1-5284680

The university has expanded exponentially since my visit and my brother in law Phil who is currently employed there tells me there are now three distinct campuses.   

We landed early and caught up with the others in attendance and begin to queue up and as if by magic out of one of the student’s windows came the familiar intro of ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ at high volume – you may recognise the tune!

When the doors opened like innocent young fools we scarpered straight to the front and stayed there for the duration of the gig. I have no real recollection of the layout of the venue due to our static location.

Slade Publicity Picture. Image Credit Wikipedia.com

Now, everyone recalls their first gig however the first band could easily be the support of the band you have come to see, in our case this was Raid the North who my review at the time cuttingly but not very eloquently declared them as ‘Heavy Metal crap’.

A time later, Slade arrived on stage and were louder and infinitely better than expected. I realised instantly I had found my vocation in life. The place seemed to become rather busier and my scrawny frame was literally pinned against the stage due to what was another fabulous discovery – ‘the moshpit’! This is an area of the crowd that I have frequented as a regular occurrence at many subsequent gigs. Their bombastic presence and performance left me equally elated and drained by the end.

We stumbled into the night and caught the last bus home and then regaled the colourful tale to our school friends the next day – my gig journey had started in style!  

Now, it is your turn and I want to hear about your first gigs – comments very welcome

Merry Christmas to you all and I will post my next update in 2020.  

Manchester Venue 5 – Academy 2 (Part 2)

Many of the pre-gig drinks meets for this venue were located in Jabez Clegg situated on the other side of Oxford Road however that pub closed around 10 years ago. It was swiftly replaced by the nearby Big Hands which is a slightly grubby, fabulously noisy venue with a fine jukebox where there is a tradition to play ‘Hells Bells’ prior to departing to the gig.

In 1995, Buffalo Tom hit town and I do find their soothing Americana is like putting an old pair of slippers on. A great live act.

The following year, we encountered a band who I thought were the best live band on the circuit at that point in time, namely Rocket From the Crypt. The first sight of them was then they roared onto stage and their effervescent lead singer Speedo uttered the bracing opening phrase ‘This is Motherfuckers God’s music’. They then lived up to that claim by producing a thunderous set. I saw them twice there that year and the second had about 10 of us in attendance.

Image result for rocket from the crypt pictures
Rocket from the Crypt live on stage. Image Credit mrteeth.reviews.com

This high was followed by a crushing disappointment when we went to see Screaming Trees. The main reason was the fact that lead singer Mark Lanegan had a damaged throat and only completed 4 songs before stomping off. The gig should have been cancelled and I recall Paul Bruzzese being understandingly vocal in his consternation. What made it worse was it was my one and only chance to witness them. I still treasure their ‘Dust’ album.

Screaming Trees ‘Dust’ Album cover. Image Credit norman.records.com

I have seen Billy Bragg there twice, one of those a couple of weeks ago when he played selected songs from his first three albums. I have also seen Wannadies, 3 Colours Red, And They Shall Know us by the Trail of the Dead, Mark Lanegan, Nine Black Alps, Ash and Yo La Tengo.

Mercury Rev in 1999 was an outstanding gig where their swirling sound was unique. When they left the stage the lights didn’t come in and there was no piped music for 10 minutes, despite that half the audience left leaving us stalwarts to enjoy an intimate encore. I saw them there again 9 years later.

I saw Bob Mould there twice and also captured Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Children of Bodom, And So I Watch From Afar, Dinosaur Jr and most recently Pup, a Canadian punk band.

Also, in 1999 Death in Vegas played and they had the noisiest bass I have ever encountered. I recall we were leaning on the side walls and they were literally vibrating! I saw them again 3 years later. Teenage Fanclub were also really enjoyable. I also have tickets for DIIV there next year. 

Now I have found that as I have got older, that it takes a lot more to impress me until Hold Steady stopped me in my tracks. The first gig in February 2007 was bloody brilliant as their intelligent sing along evangelical performance was utterly life affirming. Their subsequent performances in 2010 and 2014 were equally as impressive. Lead singer Craig Finn is a modern day bard and I like them a lot.