Regular readers will know I’m always banging on about the power of live music and the joy that it can bring and something surfaced this week that made me reflect on why I feel so strongly about it. On Saturday night I was very lucky to attend a Felice Brothers gig in downtown Bristol at the Strange Brew. Lovely venue, reasonably priced drinks, good view of the stage, excellent sound and a band that have the ability to raise the roof of any venue. Top Saturday night and one that underlined my love of seeing bands in the flesh – up close. I took one blurry photograph just as a keepsake of good night and was pleasantly surprised to see very few phones being held aloft for long periods. We were all living in the moment. On the following night a post appeared on my Facebook feed of an audience photograph from The Marquee Club August 1982 where Marillion were having a two night residency. The post was accompanied by the comment “Does anyone recognise themselves?”.
Now I knew I’d been at the gig but what were the odds? Bloody hell. There I was, peeking around another fan, just after Fish (lead singer) had leapt into the crowd and faced off a member of the audience – he was acting, there was no threat. I had remembered this gig clearly, just eighteen, wandering the streets of London on my own and staying in a room in Kensington whilst on an acting course. It was one of a number of gigs that summer as I stayed in London and drank my fill of the different musical offerings that the metropolis brewed up. I have no records other than a T-shirt from one gig that is so moth-eaten it serves as a rag in my shed. I only had the memories of those nights until… until… a post on a site showed me what I looked like at that moment – forty-two years ago. Standing, sweaty, at a packed gig, a little tipsy and having a whale of time.
Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, mes amis. Just less hair.
Amazing, thanks to Marko for allowing me a glimpse into the past. This week I’ve not been listening to Marillion before you ask but very much enjoying the new Furlined album and also looking at Neil Young tracks as he celebrates his 79th birthday. Happy Birthday Neil! There are fifty five years between those two songs! The radio show also celebrates El Gringo as well as three from Shelby Lynne, some Chuck P, Tom Waits, Todd Rundgren, Sparklehorse, James Hodder and many more. As ever…
