This page is a running tally of all the concerts I've been to - half to inform you as to who's great, mediocre, or shitty live, and half to remind me where I've been (you know how the mind starts to go...). So enjoy!
I swung a freebie day ticket for Saturday, and even without The white Stripes to sweeten the deal, who was I to refuse? So I dragged Pip along for my first taste of "the one that isn't Glastonbury", and all I had to show for it in the end was a lung-load of dust and a resolve to go to every glastonbury festival until the end of time.
We saw Junior Senior, Gold Chains, doves, Beck, BRMC, and Blur. Only because of the drought, the field was unbelievably dusty, and whenever the bands played anything even remotely upbeat and people started dancing, you couldn't even see the stage for the dust cloud. I inhaled so much dust, when I blew my nose, it was as black as my mascara. uff. And now I have a chest/throat cold I suspect may have something to do with it.
Overall, though, it was certainly no Glasonbury. the site was only about 15% the size, it was way more corporate, the food stalls were boring (chips & burgers & ice cream. and certainly no ginger sheep's milk ice cream!), and the people were quite crap and there was no spirit of comraderie like at Glasto. Not to say that Reading was bad - it just wasn't especially great.
I nearly didn't make it into this gig - beyond sold out, it was massively oversubscribed and in danger of becoming a fire hazard. But I wrangled my way onto a friend's +1 and climbed upstairs in time to just miss the horrendous opening act (Loose Cannons), a true Crime Against Music if there ever was one. But Patrick Wolf came on with all his little lost schoolboy charm, and immediately ran into technical problems big enough to leave seasoned performers in tears. Patrick thundered on heroically, but it was obvious it was just a case of trying his best in a bad situation. The crowd were sympathetic, however, and the ukelale and accordian routine went down far better with the electronic crowd than first expected.
By the time Adult. took the stage, the crowd was pressed ham in a tin and oxygen levels were desperately wanting. What was the barest electronic on record came across as a full-on punk set live, smashing any of those who pin-holed them into the Electroclash label in the past. all the hits were there, redone and kicked in the teeth for this radio broadcast, and Adult. were truly happy to be giving London what it deserved.
That I missed most of Richard X's set is purely my fault. I was inside Trash in plenty of time, be-bopping away in the front room, wondering when he'd come on (sometimes the guest DJs are on before Erol, sometimes after), when it gets to be 1am and it becomes apparent Richard X is not appearing here. I retreat to the toilets, and see a small sign saying he'll be playing in the bar until 1:30. eek! So I only caught the end, and don't remember much. But to be honest, I had a fantastic time anyway, so I'm none too fussed.
Ahh, I'm back again at G-A-Y since I stupidly missed the first time the girls played, but I figure this time around I could at least sing along. Minus Cheryl, the Girls reworked all their dance routines for four rather than five and gave a great performance, stgarting off with their cover of "Girls On Film" through all the hits, and illiciting the girliest scream from me during "Girls Allowed". This much fun should be illegal.