So it’s been roughly 10 weeks since lockdown kicked in and I’m missing live music more than I could have imagined.
Being a part of two bands means that performing as a drummer accounts for a large portion of my time, along with working. When you add in the drum tuition to that equation, there isn’t really much time left in any given day.
As a musician, and someone who just loves music in general, going this long without being able to perform music live or going to see another artist is difficult. I know I’m not the only person who is willing to spend a small fortune going to a gig or festival to see some of their favourite artists.
I have been re-listening to old albums from artists that I have been to see over the past 15 or so years and it has brought back a lot of memories… god I sound nearly as old as my dad… ancient.
The first band I ever went to see was Busted supported by McFly at the SECC in Glasgow just before Charlie decided he wanted something better and left for Fightstar (who I had a large dislike for at the beginning due to Charlie ruining Busted). I only think it was in 2008 when I actually gave Fightstar a chance and their second album, ‘Alternate Endings’, changed my opinion of them. I’ve since seen Busted when they reunited with Charlie, and McBusted as well, which was definitely money well spent on both occasions.
The best live act I’ve ever seen are Pendulum, which would come as absolutely zero surprise to anyone if they’d grown up with me, spoken to me for maybe 3 minutes or seen any of my instagram posts where I consistently mention how amazing they are. It’s close as I’ve seen some amazing acts live such as Noisia, The Prodigy, Andy C, The Chemical Brothers, Breaking Benjamin, High Contrast, Knife Party, Alter Bridge, Slash, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Blink 182, Dream Theatre and Tremonti to name a few, but Pendulum still take the number one spot.
The first time I saw them was at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh the night before I sat my higher maths exam, which I ultimately failed and had to resit. A bit embarrassing I’ll admit, since besides music, maths was one of the few subjects at school I was really good at, but it was worth it. KJ Sawka had just joined Pendulum, who had just released their third album, ‘Immersion’, and there was zero chance I was missing seeing them so close to home. I have seen them on a couple of more occasions, most recently in Austria at Nova Rock festival, where, although the crowd were pretty rubbish, I had a great time.
The most recent gig I went to was to see a band called ‘Starset’ in Glasgow. I have seen them before supporting ‘Breaking Benjamin’, and they’ve just released their second album, ‘Divisions’, which is definitely worth a listen. In fact, I was pretty lucky that the gig even went ahead because it was at the end of February and some touring bands were already cancelling gigs all across the world due to the coronavirus.
Since the lockdown began, I’ve missed going to see 3 bands, with another 3 scheduled for the remainder of the year, which are in doubt. Watching live streams of DJs and bands online has definitely helped to some degree, but it has also highlighted how much live music plays a big role in my life.
I am grateful we are staying safe and healthy, but I need some live music in my life soon.
Sean x
Comments
Post a Comment