I stand to be corrected (not really) but yesterday I suffered people chatting throughout every set, ignoring the music, often with their backs to the stage, off their faces on overpriced beer - and some of them wearing fucking ridiculous little trilbies or straw hats.
They are not music fans!
Well you nailed it at the top of your diatribe. Those are exactly the people that hardened festival-lovers canât stand. Unfortunately empirical evidence has shown that the more mainstream the festival, the higher the percentage of these that you get.
I like the idea of a festival. Letâs start small. Three stages across Daisy Dip. Decent location. Not far from me mums. Plenty of fences to jump over.
There were quite a few âyoung unsâ near me who at the beginning of Duran Duran were there to take the piss. Most stayed and appeared to have enjoyed it by the end. I was a huge fan as a kid so I am a bit biased but had wondered all these years later whether it would be too cheesey. Didnât think it was at all.
Last night was the same at The Brook - Midge Ure doing quiet numbers with people at the back talking throughout.
Why pay good money to ignore an act??
At one point he said, âthis new song is a quiet number and Iâm very proud of it, so if the person next to you starts chatting or checking Facebook on their phones, just fucking hit them!â
So then, the local had a fella called Dean Friedman playing last night and being the supportive locals we are, we pitched up in support. Us old uns will remember (or not) this guy from the 70s when he had a few hits - Ariel, Lucky Stars and Lydia are the ones I vaguely remembered. Not expecting much and just being there for the craic, I was more than pleasantly surprised. His songs were witty and sometimes poignant. He made plenty of jokes about Trump in between songs which won the 40 strong audience over pretty quickly and he hung around at the bar after to chat for a while. We actually bought one of his CDs from him and had a great evening. Didnt see that coming at all. If nothing else, Dean reminded me that not all Yanks are cunts.
Add to that people who start fighting. Watching Sean McGowan on Saturday he had to stop and tell people to stop and that there were kids in the tent. Iâve seen that at a few gigs. I remember at Reading fest in early 2000s a group started chucking stones at each other during Gomez. They were bloody large stones
Couples who just need to go home and have sex also annoy me at gigs. Go home, put the album on and get it on. Stop taking up valuable space at the venue.
Fucking weird day today. Was in the middle of shopping in Sainsburyâs Carlisle. Got a text saying get to the Sands Centre Carlisle, as you can get tickets in person for the Stone Roses on Wednesday.
Well after ditching my trolly, I headed for the Sands Centre as it is only 2 minutes away. Left the car, ran to the queue and contacted my wife to bring some merch. She brought my t-shirt and the confirmation for the Manchester gigs. Got my wrist band in the queue and an hour later had 2 tickets for the stone roses on Wednesday 8th.
A very strange day indeed, but get the fuck in, the Stone Roses in a small venue. Anyone want 2 seated tickets for Manchester on Saturday 18th in Manchester?
Seen them twice in the past couple of weeks. They are incredible.
I cannot think of another band that have the same levels of adoration and such a huge fan base, whilst also rejecting everything that comes with that. They are a band that do everything on their own terms - and whilst that can at times be frustrating, it is partly what makes them, them.
Their Primavera set was incredible. You go into a Radiohead set not expecting many âhitsâ, these are used sparingly - almost as a bone thrown to fans for letting them do what they want. There were a few at the Roundhouse, but that was mostly a showcase for the latest album (which is fair enough - and still 'kin enjoyable). I went into this hoping for one maybe two of the big hitters (hopefully different from the Roundhouse ones), I was blown away by what was offered up.
National Anthem
No Surprises (played only a few times since the 90âs)
Pyramid Song
Karma Police
Idioteque
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Paranoid Android
Nude
And then, an unplanned second Encore, consisting of just Creep - didnât think there was much chance of seeing that. Amazing.
Another really amazing thing about both these shows, was the quiet moments. Tracks such as Daydreaming were perfectly observed by the crowd. During the momentary pauses, you could have heard a pin drop. Perhaps not entirely surprising in a small venue, packed with diehards - but at a festival, this really was a hair raising experience.
Radiohead really are a one-of-a-kind, many bemoan they arenât the guitar band they started as in the 90âs - but this, I feel, really misses just how special they have become.
I know that the Stone Roses are not everyoneâs cup of tea, but my god they were fucking awesome tonight. only announced on Saturday, first come first served basis in person. 1,800 capacity. Honestly for the whole package, one of the best gigs I have been to, so intimate, beat Heaton Park.
My Stone Roses itch has well and truly been scratched.