Old gig tickets

As I go to most gigs by myself I wondered how long it had been since I last went with someone to staged wrestling matches. So I got my pile of tickets and started flicking through them. The pile isn't a complete record of all the gigs I've been to, as I've bought a few tickets on the door and some tickets either didn't have a stub or were taken fully on entrance, so I don't have a physical memento of the Dandy Warhols gig at the Electric Ballroom, Ride and The Charlatans in Brighton, or Velocity Girl at the Camden Underworld, for a few examples. It turned out it's been something like three years since I went with someone to a gig but, more interesting to me, flicking through the tickets brought up a couple of items of note.

I'm off to see Blitzen Trapper at the Water Rats next month. I've seen the Water Rats venue in the gigs listings in the back of the NME for years and although there have been maybe a few bands play there that I've liked I've never actually been there. At least, so I thought, and still thought when I ordered the Blitzen Trapper ticket, reminding myself to find out where the venue is. One ticket I found in my stack was for a Modey Lemon gig, back when they were playing over here quite regularly and I saw them whenever I could, and that particular gig was at the Water Rats. I'm still trying to think back and work out where the venue is or what it was like inside.

A little more interesting, however, was another Modey Lemon gig that I'd been to, this time at the Camden Barfly. The gig was part of the MTV Gonzo tour, with Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster headlining, and Modey Lemon supporting. As the band I wanted to see were one of the support acts I wanted to make sure I got there early enough to catch them, but for some reason I didn't get there too early. If I had got to the venue early enough I would have caught the first support act, a band little-known at the time, Maxïmo Park! Wow, if only I'd known then what I know now. Maxïmo Park have gone on to sell out some big venues, and quickly enough that I haven't been able to get tickets. I know hindsight is a wonderful gift, so I'm hardly going to regret this. For all I know they could have been another China Drum. Maybe I'll have to tell my tale of China Drum one day.

Posted in Audio, Personal |
Tags: barfly, blitzen trapper, charlatans, china drum, dandy warhols, electric ballroom, gig, maximo park, modey lemon, nme, ride, velocity girl, water rats