Black Magic

As I’ve previously mentioned, music can be linked with any memory that a person holds. For me, driving across the county with my Dad (on our way to my youth football fixtures) listening to The Doors, Metallica and The Beatles will stick with me forever. I must have been six or seven years old when we started listening to heavy bands like that together, what a way to introduce your son to music. Six or seven and yet I can recall those days as if they were yesterday (and in better detail, too, my short-term memory isn’t great as it is.) I loved car journeys. Each trip to footy or to town meant a few songs would be played. I thought-for years-that nothing could top the thrill of thrashing guitars and harsh vocals pumping through the speakers of the little Ford Fiesta (what a car, by the way). I was, until I grew up just a bit, oblivious to the enthralling world of live music.

The image of Mr. Marr, above, epitomises everything I love about live music. The feeling of being completely in the moment, forgetting life’s problems: relationship issues, fall outs, exams, stress. This feeling is gripped to the notion of a gig. It really is a liberating feeling to be witnessing your favourite artist(s) grace a stage before your very eyes. I speak, of course, purely from a spectator’s point of view. Imagine the feeling for those on stage. Small, garage bands moving hundreds of bodies in an array of beautiful chaos as the bass thuds through your entire body. Must be quality, that. It often seems to be a debate online: whether small gigs (as in gigs in a small venue) are better than bigger, arena gigs. To an extent I agree. A perfect example of a small venue is Sound Knowledge Record Store, Marlborough. Often, the team there organise small gigs with well-known bands/ artists. A few notable artists that I’ve seen there are: The Vaccines, Tom Grennan and The Amazons. The cosiness of the venue seems to make the sheer volume of Rock’n’Roll guitars all the more intimidating. On the contrary, artists that play arenas do so for a reason. They’re quality acts and are followed for a reason. My only real, personal experience of an arena gig came just a few weeks ago, February 28. The 1975 (a band who receive wildly mixed reviews) at Manchester Arena. That show didn’t disappoint one bit. A visual-based set, revolving around political and societal messages. Breath-taking. Not to mention two hours of quality tracks. It was some gig.

Speaking of the feeling that artists must get from performing to a crowd, look at that smile. A man clearly affiliated with his crowd. Make no mistake with the possessive word ‘his’. Performers are always coming out with possessive words to do with performance. With good reason, too. Performing, having your songs recited must be special. I think this is why they feel so affiliated with audiences, they’ve worked to get to a point that feels like the top, and then a crowd takes them higher. What a feeling that must be. The concert that the photo above is from was-apparently- lively, to say the least. Whilst my favoured music definitely centres around rock and indie rock, I can only imagine that concerts of artists who make other types of music are equally as captivating. The reason that gigs are special is because they centre around your taste. They send your heart racing because you enjoy the culture and the music.

Being a young man, there are few things that I regret (right now, anyway). One thing I do regret, though, is not going to that Courteeners gig at Heaton Park last year. My older sister often says that it’s up there with the best shows she’s seen (and she’s basically a connoisseur at this point). As pictures go, the one that I’ve included here is as good as any you’ll see. What a band, going strong after so many years. God bless the band, I think they say. What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to? Have you ever thought about it, really?

There is one gig I think of when I think of the best. The Amazons at The o2 Academy. Bristol, in November of 2019. What a gig that was. The most exciting Sunday night I’ve ever had, and I doubt I’ll have too many on that level. The crowd were in lead singer Matt Thomson’s palms of his hands from start to finish. This was my second time seeing the band, after a semi-acoustic set in Marlborough. I was drawn to them after hearing a track from the first record on FIFA some years ago. Support acts of The Mysterines and Demob Happy increased the temperature early on with unforgettably loud bass guitars and aggressive guitar riffs. They have both ended up as bands who i really enjoy, too. But that night belonged to the boys from Reading. Covering bands like Led Zeppelin and Rage Against the Machine is extremely brave, yet they did it with ease. In the words of my Dad, they’re an extremely ‘tight band’. This couldn’t be more true. You can just sense the fact that they’re friends off stage. Since ‘Future Dust’ was released (an album that I cannot recommend enough) I have made a bold claim about The Amazons. I’ve said for months that they’re the best active band right now, and I meant it. Their set for the tour connoted a hellish nightmare that was accompanied by unfriendly riffs from lead-guitarist Chris. they just have the ability to send crowds wild.

Don’t you just think those who play guitar with ease look cool? There’s no other way of describing it, just cool. I-for one- have never listened to Courtney Barnett. Yet, in the image above she’s convinced me-through oozing confidence- that she’s a bonafide superstar. It looks cool. To so many, this piece of writing will be the least interesting thing they have ever read in their life, I hope this isn’t the case for most. Music is such a special thing, particularly during these uncertain times. Live music is one hundred times more powerful than recorded music, I reckon anyway.

This is most definitely a subject I could write about for days, and no doubt I’ll be back for more in weeks and months to come. So many people have sent me their favourite images from gigs they’ve attended, unfortunately I couldn’t include so many of them due to a disagreement between my laptop and my phone.