[Music] Live Music 2023

[Alfagull]

John Otway wearing a Seagull mask at the Con Club, on Saturday after the Burnley game.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Off to see my brother’s band Quatermass III (featuring Gordon King and the keyboard player from The Dials) at the Prince Albert tonight with Pete Wiggs from St Etienne DJing. Might be a very few tickets left but a good lot sold in advance .

 

[Guinness Boy]

Off to see my brother’s band Quatermass III (featuring Gordon King and the keyboard player from The Dials) at the Prince Albert tonight with Pete Wiggs from St Etienne DJing. Might be a very few tickets left but a good lot sold in advance .

OK, so I'll admit to a touch of nepotism, but this was utterly fantastic and completely bonkers.

A support act who started out with some electro/techno, morphed into comedy, handed out a proper tub of Quality Street and ended with the maddest cover of 'Walking in the Air' I've ever heard were superbly bonkers. Yes, that's a complement.

Then the boys in their space suits (except Gordon who'd opted to come as a cross between the Grim Reaper and a middle aged goth) playing sci-fi influenced glam rock bangers (not, not covers of THAT bloke. proper original material - with the exception of the de rigueur obscure cover).

But what I noticed (and a reason for mentioning this on the thread as I'd be interested to know what people think who go to gigs regularly) was that no-one was watching through their phone. Sure, a couple of photos and very short vids from mates of the band here and there but 99% of people had their phones in their pockets 99% of the time. At Royal Blood at the beach it was the other way round. With the exception of the moshpit everyone seemed to be videoing the whole thing. I find it bizarre.

Is this a band thing, a small venue thing, a generation thing? Lots of Gen X there for sure (as evidenced by the smoking of proper fags outside instead of vapes) but lots of younger ones too. I'd love to be able to nail down what it is, so that I can avoid gigs that I'll be able to watch on Insta in the comfort of my own home, using the shaky camera work to replicate drunkenness.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

OK, so I'll admit to a touch of nepotism, but this was utterly fantastic and completely bonkers.

A support act who started out with some electro/techno, morphed into comedy, handed out a proper tub of Quality Street and ended with the maddest cover of 'Walking in the Air' I've ever heard were superbly bonkers. Yes, that's a complement.

Then the boys in their space suits (except Gordon who'd opted to come as a cross between the Grim Reaper and a middle aged goth) playing sci-fi influenced glam rock bangers (not, not covers of THAT bloke. proper original material - with the exception of the de rigueur obscure cover).

But what I noticed (and a reason for mentioning this on the thread as I'd be interested to know what people think who go to gigs regularly) was that no-one was watching through their phone. Sure, a couple of photos and very short vids from mates of the band here and there but 99% of people had their phones in their pockets 99% of the time. At Royal Blood at the beach it was the other way round. With the exception of the moshpit everyone seemed to be videoing the whole thing. I find it bizarre.

Is this a band thing, a small venue thing, a generation thing? Lots of Gen X there for sure (as evidenced by the smoking of proper fags outside instead of vapes) but lots of younger ones too. I'd love to be able to nail down what it is, so that I can avoid gigs that I'll be able to watch on Insta in the comfort of my own home, using the shaky camera work to replicate drunkenness.

I go to loads of gigs and it is rarely a problem. As you say, most grab a couple of photos or short vids, but when you see a sea of mobile phones it is noticeable in its rarity.

I don’t know if it’s a generational thing - possibly, there was a lot of filmage going on at Easy Life and Mahalia gigs I have seen in the last couple of years - both young crowds. But one of the most videoed I have seen recently was Fatboy Slim last Friday, and that was definitely more middle aged.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I go to loads of gigs and it is rarely a problem. As you say, most grab a couple of photos or short vids, but when you see a sea of mobile phones it is noticeable in its rarity.

I don’t know if it’s a generational thing - possibly, there was a lot of filmage going on at Easy Life and Mahalia gigs I have seen in the last couple of years - both young crowds. But one of the most videoed I have seen recently was Fatboy Slim last Friday, and that was definitely more middle aged.

Cheers. I wonder if there's some recency bias in my recollection of Royal Blood being a norm or the fact it was a 'big event' (complete with a howling gale and terrible sound)?

 

[Mr Bridger]

OK, so I'll admit to a touch of nepotism, but this was utterly fantastic and completely bonkers.

A support act who started out with some electro/techno, morphed into comedy, handed out a proper tub of Quality Street and ended with the maddest cover of 'Walking in the Air' I've ever heard were superbly bonkers. Yes, that's a complement.

Then the boys in their space suits (except Gordon who'd opted to come as a cross between the Grim Reaper and a middle aged goth) playing sci-fi influenced glam rock bangers (not, not covers of THAT bloke. proper original material - with the exception of the de rigueur obscure cover).

But what I noticed (and a reason for mentioning this on the thread as I'd be interested to know what people think who go to gigs regularly) was that no-one was watching through their phone. Sure, a couple of photos and very short vids from mates of the band here and there but 99% of people had their phones in their pockets 99% of the time. At Royal Blood at the beach it was the other way round. With the exception of the moshpit everyone seemed to be videoing the whole thing. I find it bizarre.

Is this a band thing, a small venue thing, a generation thing? Lots of Gen X there for sure (as evidenced by the smoking of proper fags outside instead of vapes) but lots of younger ones too. I'd love to be able to nail down what it is, so that I can avoid gigs that I'll be able to watch on Insta in the comfort of my own home, using the shaky camera work to replicate drunkenness.

Years ago I was in the 'why are people not living in the moment' camp, taking photos and videos wasn't my thing at a gig, but since the introduction of
e-tickets/bar codes I've shifted a little.
I was an avid collector of gig & football tickets which I had displayed around the breakfast bar in my kitchen as a memento of 'being there,' but that's getting harder to do now unless you want to pay extra for a paper ticket, so I take a couple of photos and short vids and upload them to the Concert Archive app.

 

[stewart12]

off to see The Darkness at the Dome tonight

 

[morematey]

What’s everyone’s best (and worst if you like) gig of the year? My overall year was good but probably only Young Fathers at the Dome were truly great. Honourable mentions to Blondshell, Ben Howard, Bob Vylan and Amyl and the Sniffers. Worst by a mile were The Strokes - abysmal.