A Near Perfect Weekend

It's a difficult thing to explain to people when they ask if you're doing anything for your day off. "I'm travelling over 150 miles for a couple of gigs by a Marillion tribute band," sounds like a very weird thing to do. I only realise how weird it is when I say it out loud. Let me try to explain / rationalise...

Marillion no longer do the old stuff. I suppose this is the first thing I need to explain. Marillion didn't die out when Fish left. Steve Hogarth joined and they've since done 9 albums (that's 5 more than they did with Fish). Quite understandably, Hogarth (or h as he's known) doesn't like to perform the old material. I'm sure most bands prefer to perform their new stuff than their old stuff, regardless of who sang it. This has left a bit of a gap in the market for nostalgia, and this is where Forgotten Sons come in. I've been going to their gigs for a couple of years now, and I always have to travel a fair distance - it's not easy for a Marillion tribute band to get gigs anyway, and this lot have to travel from Glasgow. We've become good pals with the band, so I like to support them as much as possible. Plus it's an excuse to meet up with some other friends I've met through Marillion.

So we'd already planned to go to their double header in Bolton and Crewe, when on Thursday, a friend asked if anyone wanted to go to the derby match at Old Trafford on Saturday. Say what?!! ME ME ME!!!!! A couple of phone calls later and it was sorted - I was going to OT for my first ever Man Utd match!!!

Due to the 12.45pm kick off, it was an early start on Saturday. We wanted to get to the local Farmer's Market as it was the last of the year, so we were there at 8am for some early morning shopping. An hour later we were on our way to Manchester. I think I was more stunned than excited at this point. We met Michael and Siobhan at The Chester near the ground and did the business. Row AA in the East Stand - we presumed that would be the 27th row. When we walked out onto the stand, we found that AA was actually the front row!!! Right behind the goal!!! It made watching the match very weird - it's a difficult perspective and you can't really make any judgements on what's going on. We were on the same side as the City fans, so I got to shout lots of abuse at them. Two of Man Utd's goals and City's goal were all at our end, so we got both a good view of the net bulging and probably got on TV as well.

Old Trafford's a magnificent stadium. I've seen a couple of England games there, and I don't think it's possible to have a bad view. The atmosphere is electric (despite what some may say). Mind you, the pies are horrible...

Back to the Chester for a swift drink of celebration after the 3-1 win, then on to Bolton. We gave Michael and Siobhan a lift as they were coming to the gig as well, and they joined us for a curry (note to self - never ask Indian waiter for advice on whether a curry is too hot or not). The gig was in Moses Gate, just outside the city centre, and our hotel was just a few metres away from the venue. The pub is also called the Moses Gate, and is fairly cosy, but pretty friendly. Forgotten Sons played a blinder despite having a stand-in drummer. After the gig we got to socialising with the boys - much alcohol was consumed, a few frames of pool were played and we introduced lead singer Martin to Cheeky Vimto (for the uninformed, it is a blue WKD with two shots of port). The next day I was asked what time we left and I realised that I didn't have a clue.

We set our alarm so that we didn't miss breakfast. After a mountain of toast, we slowly got ourselves together for the trip to Crewe - the worst thing about going out and then staying in a hotel is you can't stay in bed all day to recover! I was seriously regretting that Cheeky Vimto, so I let Darren drive. We thought we'd have a look at an old nuclear bunker on the way, but it was shut so we'll have to put that on the list for next year. We checked into the Crewe Arms (which we managed to get at less than half price) and crashed out again, dozing and watching the repeat of X Factor (we both cheered at Ben leaving). We ate in a Wetherspoon's and then made our way to the Limelight.

The Limelight is a much bigger venue. It's quite a maze of rooms, but the main hall is an excellent place for live music. A group of us killed some time before the band came on by losing badly on the quiz machines (I think Darren and I are getting addicted to them). Again FS played a great gig. The place seemed to be fairly busy, but we were the only once dancing! Still, it was a pretty good atmosphere for a Sunday night, and the band certainly felt so. We finished the night by grabbing a pizza and Martin gave us a lift back to the hotel.

Again, we set the alarm for breakfast, which was excellent. I used to go to university in Alsager just 5 miles down the road, so we popped in to visit my ex-landlady Doreen. After a long long chinwag (well we haven't seen each other in over a year!) it was time to hit the road again. We had another thought of doing something touristy, but Jodrell Bank was also closed so it was time to make our way back to Hartlepool. Our route took us through Alderley Edge and past it's schools at around 3.30pm - I've never seen so many 4x4s, it was like a convention!!!

We decided we weren't going to make it all the way home without some food, so we stopped at Northallerton. The plan was to find a pub, but we ended up in the Golden Lion hotel restaurant. The food was probably pricier than we wanted to pay, but it was absolutely excellent. Service was a bit slow though - we were waiting over half an hour for the bill, then waited another 15 minutes to pay! It was such a shame because the food was so beautiful.

Back on the road, we made it home around 9pm. Winning a great footie match, seeing a great band playing songs you love, meeting up with old friends and a good meal to round it off. What a wonderful weekend.

Muse - Metro Arena, Newcastle (19/11/2006)

We hauled ourselves out of bed, checked out, eventually found a Wetherspoons for breakfast (note to self, locate nearest Spoon's to hotel BEFORE leaving home), went to Fopp to spend far too much money and then felt ready to hit the road back down South. We arrived in Newcastle around 5pm, and ended up in Zizzi's for a pizza - great food, appalling service. We decided to park behind the Academy and walk down to the Arena as it was cheaper and would probably be easier to get out of after the gig, so this we did and then followed the crowds to the Metro Arena.

It's not bad for an arena. A nice, spacious entrance hall, plenty of food, drink and merch stalls. I don't normally buy band t-shirts, but Darren offered so I picked a lovely black & white striped one (I normally object on fairtrade grounds, but these are made by Continental who apparently are sweat shop free, so that's good!). Of course, only one stall took credit cards - inevitably it had the longest queue and a £1.50 charge, but it wasn't as long as the queue for the £1.75 cash machine, so not all bad.

After seeing a video of Muse live we decided to go for the easy option and buy seated tickets. We were second block away from the stage, so we had a pretty good view. Support was provided by the Noisettes, who were late taking to the stage and who the less said about the better. They were pretty awful.

I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this gig. I love Muse's latest album Black Holes & Revelations (BH&R), but I'm less keen on some of their earlier stuff. I also wasn't sure how much I'd know, how many singles they would perform or whether they would do many album tracks. I needn't have worried as I recognised virtually every song they played! However, I'm a bit hazy as to which title relates to which song which has made this reviewing lark a bit difficult!

They opened with the first track from BH&R, Take A Bow with it's powerful, "you will burn in hell" lyric. The previously hidden stage set included the most elaborate drum riser I've ever seen and a large video backdrop on which either animation or live, often treated footage of the band was shown. I was surprised by how many anthemic, almost sing-alongable songs there were, most notably Starlight, Invincible, and Time Is Running Out. Supermassive Black Hole had a brilliant video starring some dancing robots, and Matt Bellamy had a full-on rock star moment at the end of Stockholm Syndrome (I think), dropping his guitar on the floor, pulling the amp on top, lying on the amp and promptly falling over the back of the riser!

As heavy as they are, there is a precision in Muse's music that is unusual among the genre. I'm pretty sure that Matt Bellamy has a knowledge of classical music, it's certainly evident in his piano playing. Even when his guitar is laden with effects, there is still a classical feel to the way he plays. I was also amazed by the playing of the other two members, especially drummer Dominic Howard. Like Gomez the night before, this is a band with immense technical ability.

We were certainly glad of our seats! The floor looked a bit crazy for swaying and crowd-surfing! The sound was excellent for an arena, and the lightshow complemented the music perfectly.

After Bliss closed the first encore, six massive balloons were floated into the back of the arena. One by one, they started to pop - by the time the last one went the audience were heavily involved, disappointed sighs when they landed and didn't pop, cheers when they did. Witht he last balloon the second encore started, with one of my favourite songs from BH&R, Hoodoo. The final song of the night was the incredible Knights Of Cydonia. Believe me, when you're singing the following with 11,000 it's an amazing feeling:

No-one's going to take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive

Then the crowd REALLY started jumping. The entire floor, moving up and down together. It was an incredible sight from our vantage point. As the band rounded off the song and the show, jets of steam sprayed up from the stage. And I suddenly realised that I had enjoyed the show so much, I hadn't wondered what the time was once (which is rare for me!).

Although I'm not sure if I'd go to see Muse again. It was almost so perfect, another gig would take away from the experience.

Setlist
Take A Bow
Hysteria
New Born
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Assassin
Map of the Problematique
Starlight
Invincible
Forced In
Time Is Running Out
Plug in Baby
Supermassive Black Hole
Stockholm Syndrome
-------------------------
Apocalypse Please
Bliss
-------------------------
Hoodoo
Knights of Cydonia

Gomez - Barrowlands, Glasgow (17/11/2006)

I've been following Gomez for quite a long time now, and seen a fair few of their live shows. Having missed them earlier in the year and seen a far-too-short set at V Festival in August I was determined to catch them while they were over here promoting their new Best Of release. Unfortunately they decided not to play anywhere near me so it was a choice between the two Saturday nights - Glasgow or Newcastle-Under-Lyme. I've heard great things about Barrowlands, so Glasgow it was.

We arrived at our hotel around 3.30pm, checked in, and went to a nearby Scream bar for a drink. At 5pm, we thought we'd better look for something to eat. It was absolutely pouring with rain, so we thought we'd make our way to the venue and hope to see somewhere on the way. We ended up in Tiger Tiger - the food was ok, but over-priced. Fed and watered, we made our way in the still-pouring rain to Barrowlands.

I think we got there about 10 minutes after the doors opened. Barrowlands is a confusing place, but we managed to put our coats in the cloakroom, buy a T-shirt and a limited edition poster (on thick card, thanks to the merch guy for looking after it during the gig!) and grab a drink before making our way up to the stage area. We were amazed that we managed to bag a front row spot, right in front of where Tom would be playing. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the smoking ban, but we were more than happy with this vantage point.

The Barrowlands is an old ballroom dancing hall. It holds about 2000, and it's quite square which I imagine gives a good view for all. Support was provided by Josh Ritter, an American singer/songwriter who looked like he was having far too much fun! He obviously had some fans in the crowd, but his enthusiasm was infectious and we very much enjoyed his set.

By the time Gomez came on the hall had filled up, althought we still felt like we had plenty of breathing space (in my experience Gomez gigs can get quite rowdy!). California from Liquid Skin was an unusually quiet opener, but the song picks up pace towards the end and was followed by uptempo number Shot Shot and Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone. It was a fantastic setlist drawn from across their career. Personal highlights included the beautiful Free To Run, We Haven't Turned Around and an amazing extended version of How We Operate.

During the course of the gig the band often swapped instruments - for example, guitarists Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball would join Dajon Everett on his percussion or play Tom Gray's keyboards while Tom plays guitar. Ben, Ian and Tom share vocal duties - Ben and Ian often performing in a more insular way while Tom is happy to conduct the crowd. The combination of personalities and the lack of one single "lead singer" makes it feel like more of a group effort, and gives a wonderful balance of fun with the amazing technical abilities of all 6 members.

There was probably only one lowlight - some drunk bloke singing very loudly and very out-of-tune in my ear during the quiet instrumental section of Charley Patton Songs. Otherwise the crowd were friendly and incredibly loud - the roar of appreciation at the end was deafening! Enforcing the smoking ban obviously meant more interference from security than usual, but it didn't detract too much from the performance (and it was fantastic to come out of a gig NOT stinking of smoke!). The sound quality was excellent, and I can fully understand why Barrowlands has been voted the second best venue in the world by bands.

The main set finished with the manic Whippin' Piccadilly, and the encores were three more classics from the first two albums, finishing with one of my personal favourites Devil Will Ride. And it was all over, far too soon. I could watch Gomez play for hours and not get bored. They are possibly the best live band on the planet at the moment, criminally ignored here in their home country. Go see.

Setlist
California
Shot Shot
Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone
See The World
Hamoa Beach
Free To Run
Blue Moon Rising
Notice
Get Myself Arrested
How We Operate
Ruff Stuff
Ping One Down
Silence
Charley Patton Songs
Girlshapedlovedrug
We Haven't Turned Around
Whippin' Piccadilly
----------------------------
Make No Sound
Fill My Cup
Devil Will Ride

Hayseed Dixie - Carling Academy, Newcastle (15/11/2006)

If you have a look at my little ol' diary dates you'll notice that this week is packed full of gigs. Last night Darren picked me up straight from work and we went up to Newcastle. After getting a bit lost and eventually finding the right car park we needed to get fed. We ended up at Luigi's Ristorante on Groat Market. Absolutely fantastic. They do a "happy hour" special where you get a starter (choice of 4), any pizza or pasta dish and either ice-cream or a coffee for £5.50. We went for the potato skins and the garlic dough twists, then Darren had an arrabiata and I had the marinara. It was a good sized portion (sometimes you feel a bit cheated in happy hour), and there were loads of prawns and mussels in my dish. The meal including drinks came to £15 for the both of us - we'll definitely be going back if we get the chance.

We made it to the Academy in plenty of time for the gig. The support band were called Dark Water and they were excellent. I'm not generally into gothic emo-rock, maybe it works better live for me - I bought a sampler CD so I'll find out when I listen to it. They have a female lead singer with a lovely voice and good rapport with the audience. Heavy but melodic and passionate, very enjoyable.

I think there were a few Dark Water fans in the audience - I'm not sure what they'd have made of Hayseed Dixie! I've seen them a couple of times before at an HMV in-store and at V Festival (review here) but not for a full gig so I was a bit unsure as to whether I'd enjoy them for 2 hours. Still, it was just £12.50 a ticket, so I considered it a bargain. For the uninitiated, Hayseed Dixie are a rockgrass band. Basically they play rock classics (and a few of their original compositions) in a bluegrass style. There are four members, playing acoustic bass, banjo, mandolin and the lead singer who also plays guitar and fiddle. They set up the stage themselves, completely unpretentiously, and seem genuinely touched and amazed by the rapturous reception.

I love covers. Not your bog-standard, karaoke style covers, but I love it when someone takes a song and reinterprets it, and that's what Hayseed Dixie do. The set is largely made up of AC/DC tracks, but my favourites in their repertoire include Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls, Ace Of Spades by Motorhead, Walk This Way by Aerosmith, Black Sabbath's War Pigs and Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin. Also making an appearance was the Hayseed Dixie classic I'm Keeping Your Poop to huge applause.

They went off stage for just seconds before coming back for the encore - as singer Barley Scotch says, it's somewhat arrogant for a band to go off and drink beer just to hear the crowd shout their name. They finished with their fantastic version of Green Day's Holiday and a breathtaking performance of Duelling Banjos (originally written by the father of two of the members fact fans).

The set was beautifully balanced, a couple of covers then a couple of originals, so no-one who didn't know the band could get bored. They're really good fun, totally unpretentious, and I have a feeling that if you've got the time to hang around after the show (and don't have to get up for work in the morning) you'd probably see them in the bar within ten minutes of the show finishing. Go see!

Going Backwards

It's fantastic when you see a minority group really make inroads into being more integrated into society. When you see a group of people change and adapt to the 21st century. And it's so sad to see one small thing undermine all of that. Luton Town manager Mike Newell did that this week. And it's not women that he undermined. It's men.

I'm a full advocate of freedom of speech, especially if it means people actually say these things because it proves just how stupid they really are. If someone says something racist, sexist, xenophobic or homophobic, I don't get annoyed or offended. I laugh. It makes me laugh that people really think these sorts of things.

The even funnier thing is that Mike Newell didn't try to qualify his statement or back it up with any fact. He said, "I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist." As if he wants a medal for it!

I don't know how many women support Luton Town, but I hope they make their presence felt this weekend. Women now contribute a massive amount of cash to the ever-increasing football pot. I hope none of these supporters start feeling alienated just because of this idiotic comment.

Personally I reckon women would be able to control those 22 men much better. One flicker of nonsense and she'd get the red card out, no questions. The male refs are far too soft. Hmmm, maybe I've missed my calling...

20 Glorious Years

20 years ago I was 8 years old. I had absolutely no interest in football. But something happened that would probably add a new dimension to my life. It took a few years for the seeds to grow, but Alex Ferguson's appointment as manager of Manchester United was to be a life-changing moment for me...

It was 4 years later that I started to take an interest in the beautiful game. Back in the days when they used to show games every week on normal telly, my dad would watch and I found I actually enjoyed watching. The FA Cup Final seemed somehow magical, although I didn't really know why. I decided that I'd support whoever won. After a replay Manchester United were victorious and my fate was sealed.

I flirted with Spurs, especially when my dad took me to White Hart Lane for my first ever football match and I met Gazza and Gary Lineker. But it was never quite right. In my heart I was still cheering "United!" and enjoying their wins in the European Cup Winners Cup and League Cup. When they won the first Premier League in 1993, it was a truly joyous feeling. Even though I hadn't experienced the 26 years between League titles, I could still feel the relief of finally winning.

Eric Cantona was my hero. Still is. You can keep your Viera's, your Zidanes and your Henrys, Eric IS the greatest French footballer that the world has ever seen. He just added the final spark that was needed to fire up the great Red trophy winning machine. He won us the two Doubles, and inspired the team that won the Treble in 1999. I always thought it was a shame he never stuck around for that one...

Winning the Premiership doesn't get any less exciting the more you do it, although the ones that go down to the wire are always the most fun. Pipping Newcastle and Kevin Keegan is one of my favourite moments, listening to the commentary on the radio because we never had Sky. But cup finals are something else entirely. Knowing that it's a one-off, one slip up will cost you the title. Losing the FA Cup to a penalty in 1995, and losing again in a penalty shoot-out in 2005 hurts. But it makes the winning all the sweeter. Those last few minutes against Bayern Munich in 1999 will live forever in my memory. It was just the most amazing, ecstatic feeling.

I went to Old Trafford after that victory to join in the parade and the celebrations. I've never had the chance or the privilege of seeing Manchester United's first team live, but I have been to Old Trafford for a few England games. And the strange thing is, it feels like home. I've been to other football stadiums, but it's never the same as the warm fuzzy feeling I get at Old Trafford. People always throw criticism at me, saying I should support a club nearer to home or that I'm not a true supporter because I don't go to games. Have you ever tried getting tickets for Man Utd games? They're like gold dust! As for local teams, when you grow up in Essex there really aren't that many local teams! I've been following Colchester's excellent progress though, and I've been to Victoria Park to support Hartlepool a couple of times too. But my heart is in Old Trafford, and Old Trafford alone. After 16 years, I couldn't possibly change allegiance.

And so to a more local team for me in Southend. It looks like Sir Alex is taking this one a bit more seriously after the last gasp at Crewe a few weeks ago. It's a bit strange for my club to be playing one so close to where I'm from, but I'm definitely more of a Colchester supporter so beating Southend shouldn't be too much of a hardship for me! I hope that we can round off an excellent anniversary for Sir Alex, what with the league results all going our way last weekend. The man has achieved so much, you can't help but admire him.

I suppose ultimately I want to thank him. Manchester United have provided me with so much happiness over the last 16 years. Sometimes I think, if things had gone the other way I could have been a Crystal Palace supporter! And for rescuing me from that fate I am truly grateful.

I can't imagine the club without him, although we all know it will happen one day. Hopefully not too soon. Here's to another 20 years!

Madonna & Child

I can't quite understand this big commotion over Madonna wanting to adopt a Malawian child. I suppose it's another big stick people can try to bash her with. I don't entirely agree with adopting from a foreign country, but I don't know why a lot of people suddenly want to be so against it. There wasn't this fuss over Angelina Jolie. So, a couple of points to set straight:

• I think it's highly unlikely that she's just waltzed into the country, selected the one she wanted like a new pair of shoes and expected to waltz out again. She would have had to go through stringent assessment in the UK before even being allowed to approach the authorities in Malawi.
• "She's just doing it for publicity." Of course. That would explain why her publicist has been denying the story and trying to keep it hush hush...
• "Why doesn't she donate the money she would spend on the child here to charitable causes within Malawi." As if the $3 million she has already pledged just isn't enough.

I do think it's a bit odd that the child she has chosen does have living family (perhaps she wasn't aware of that at the time). And I wonder if Madonna - at 48 - has been turned down for adoption in this country due to her age. I may not entirely agree with foreign adoptions, but if it gives just one child a happier, healthier life with better prospects I don't see how it can be considered a bad thing. And I'm sure that she is doing it for all the right reasons.

It's Not Easy Being Green

But it's kinda addictive. I've been trying to live as ethically as possible this year. I guess it all started with the MakePovertyHistory thing last year. I never really agreed with it, but I could never quite work out why.

Then someone at work brought me a Traidcraft catalogue. FairTrade suddenly came into my consciousness and it all became clear. You can't make deals on these kinds of issues with politicians. They make empty promises that they can't keep and within 5 years those world leaders have been replaced and you have to start all over again. You have to tackle business. And from my relatively lowly position, there's only one way to make my voice heard - to vote with my purse.

So slowly but surely I've tried to buy FairTrade products whenever I can. It makes shopping a whole new experience! When you start to think about the hours that people have put in to make your clothes or farm your food it sheds a new light on things. I no longer want to wear clothes that people have slaved over for very little pay, or eat food produced by people who have little or no employment rights. I wouldn't want to have to work under those conditions, so why should I expect other people to just so that I can save a few pennies?

This kind of thinking escalates. Once you start on one small part of trying to make people's lives better, you want more. We've started getting fruit and veg delivered through an organic box scheme, and I try to buy organic wherever possible. I'm making a more concerted effort to recycle. I try to buy health and beauty products from the most ethical sources (Boots get a big green tick in The Good Shopping Guide). I try to save as much water and power as possible. I walk to work rather than driving, and try not to drive anywhere if it's possible. I try to buy FairTrade presents, and if anyone says they don't want anything I'll buy them one of Oxfam's funusual gifts.

People ask me why I care. Helping the environment is too big a thing, it won't affect us in our lifetime they say. To me "the environment" is not about the big wide world or a hole in the ozone layer. It's about the very air that everyone breathes, the landscape around you. "The environment" is much more immediate than the whole world. And it's already affecting us. I can't believe anyone can honestly look at masses of car fumes and say that makes for a nice place for people to live. I've heard people complain about having to separate their rubbish for recycling - I'm sure they'd complain a lot more when the local playing field is turned into the local rubbish dump or when an incinerator is built next to the local school. All that rubbish, it's got to go somewhere. And it's such a tiny thing to do, sorting your rubbish.

This is just a simple example of what I'm talking about. People do things without thinking. They buy things without thinking. I guess all I'm trying to do is put thinking back into my life. I'm far from perfect. I still shop at Tesco. I still use the dishwasher. I still fly from one end of the country to the other to visit my family. But I now get a twinge of guilt whenever I do these things, and everything I spend my money on now comes with the thought of whether it's the best ethical choice. It's become a second nature. And it's actually a lot more exciting than you probably expect...