My Live Music Journey - Long may it continue!

There's nothing quite like that feeling of totally immersing yourself in the live music of your favourite band or singer. Switching off from real life for a couple of hours - more often than not with a few pints of cider for company.

Today a new post on @owenhants blog about his live music memories got me thinking. So I dived into my deepest darkest memories and tried to recall who I had seen live and it is quite a mix.

My gigging experience started in Norwich at the UEA around the age of 14, I like to think I was one of those reasonably cool teenagers going out to see bands and getting served at the union bar- clearly under age - and drinking Scrumpy Jack, see my cider addiction started early! I recall the very early days of Blur, EMF and Carter USM - I met Fruitbat at The Waterfront, Norwich and he signed my t-shirt! I remember going to see James and their performance being cancelled due to Tim Booth being ill. They came back though, supported by an unknown Radiohead and I stood next to Thom Yorke in the crowd to watch James' performance - still love this band so much and I so want to dance like Tim Booth. I remember seeing the Manic Street Preachers and having injured my foot in a netball game earlier that day I had to brave the mosh pit, even with DM boots for protection my foot took a battering that night! I got into dance music too and saw The Prodigy and got freaked out by Keith Flint coming through the crowd and staring into my eyes very closely. I also remember seeing Kingmaker - during my GCSE exams, strange the things we remember - and Airhead, does anyone remember these bands?!

I worked in Boston, USA for a year in 1995/6 and saw Blur and Oasis - I liked both and I didn't take sides in their 'feud'. I recall staring at Alex James in amazement at how he could constantly smoke and play guitar at the same time, our eyes also locked at one point and I think my knees wobbled a little bit. The Oasis gig saw Liam storming off in a hissy fit and Noel taking over - who I think is miles better anyway so I was happy.

He made my knees wobble in Boston.
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Into the noughties then and I loved Counting Crows and the fantastically talented singer Adam Duritz made me go a bit wibbly too. I saw them in Bristol at the then Carling Academy, at the Royal Albert Hall and in Dublin. Life before children meant me and the hubby had weekends away! *big sigh* I stood really close to Adam Duritz watching the support in Bristol and I so wish I had gone over and said hello - dammit.

He gave me wobbly knees in the early noughties.
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Recently, post children, I have had a bit of a mid-life crisis and have wanted to get out more! So with my friend, who was going through a similar breakdown,  I have managed to see Groove Armada where I danced my arse off and held my own with the trendy Bristol uni students, DanLeSac vs ScroobiusPip - fantastic, Bonobo who I had never heard off but loved and Kate Nash where I felt quite old among the teengers of Bath.

In 2010 I finally got myself to a festival - yes it was family friendly and middle-class but Camp Bestival rocks! This year I realised how great the Wonderstuff and Primal Scream actually are/were.
But the best of this year, and probably of all my years, I finally got to see my all time time favourite band, The Killers, in Hyde Park and the beautiful Brandon Flowers at the Eden Sessions in Cornwall.

He gives me wobbly knees now.
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I really wanted to see Big Talk this year but they ignored my requests to come and play Melksham Town Hall so here's a picture of the lovely Ronnie Vannucci anyway - *drool*.

Yes, he makes my knees wobble too.
I clearly I have a thing for musicians & facial hair!
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So acually, not that bad a list is it?