The love of live music isn’t shared by everyone I know but
the gig experience is still something I really enjoy and I always feel that I was
glad I made the effort on the majority of occasions.
My next book to read at home is Simon Armitage’s ‘GIG’
published in 2008. It explores how music intertwined with his work and life in
general. When I was a much younger man living in London I would go to gigs
every week. The Half Moon in Putney, Dingwalls in Camden Town , the Town &
Country Club, Kentish Town etc, etc, me and my mates would go all over to see
and experience live the bands we liked. We never went to discos or nightclubs
we liked live music, therefore we never met many women at that time ! but we
learnt a hell of a lot about good and bad musicians and we knew the history of
rock inside and out.
These days I go to gigs infrequently due to where I live now
and the travel involved but this week I saw the Handsome Family and it reminded
me of why live music is the best way to see a musician or group you really
like. I had already tried to listen to their new album ‘Wilderness’ before the
gig but I find my concentration to listen through from the beginning to the end
of any new release very difficult as I admit I have become a bit of a ‘Shuffle Man’ by
the way I listen to music so hearing the same new tracks live brought out the
real meaning in the songs and the lyrics so when I went back to the album the
day after I understood it and could
listen to it in a much more relaxed way. Next week I am off to see Charlie
Parr, so let’s hope for another good ‘un.
Enjoy
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