Lesson 1: Enjoying the Music

 I'm going to hit 50 next birthday, and one of the key things I've learnt is what type of music I enjoy and what I don't. Some of the times I've learnt the hard way, like when I thought I'd go to a candle light performance of Handle's Messiah with my husband because I could learn to like choral and classical. Net result of that one hubby slightly annoyed that I fell asleep and relief I didn't snore.

Having learnt what genres I bounce, rather than sleep, through there is a danger I could slip into just listening to stuff I know and had loved since the year dot. And to be fair apart from the odd exception, like Grace Petrie, Calva Louise and the Dream Nails that's what I've spent the last 10 years doing. However this year things have changed.

Since the lifting of lockdown I've gotten into the habit of going to gigs that Banquet Records are putting on in Kingston. Most of them are somewhere around £11 for a ticket or £15-£17 with a CD. Now technically these gigs are described as instores but most of them are at Pryzm, a sizeable club in the town. 

This new found gig going has come about for a couple of reasons. Firstly, during lock down I was missing live music so much. Like many people I had various tickets which were cancelled or postponed into 2022. 

The other thing though was after 30 years (ish) without one I bought a record player during lockdown and have started buying vinyl a bit too. Why did I go back to this, well one reason is I have been reading about how musicians who are starting out, particularly, are missing out on earning because we all use Spotify or Amazon to listen now. Not going to pretend I'm not guilty here, I find Amazon Music as useful as the next person. However, I wanted to balance it out a bit and that seems one way of doing it. 

Another reason is I've been reassessing life over the last year and identifying what makes me truly happy. For me sitting with a book, listening to some music with a jingly or mellow guitar in it is my idea of heaven. I realised through being confined that essentially what had made me really happy at 15 was the same today, (and yes that included listening to the Cure then, as it does today). And over lockdown I've realised that's ok. 

Now I have to say when I first went to see Shame earlier this summer I was a bit apprehensive, would I be the old dear sticking out like a sore thumb. Thing I've found is no, I'm part of a tribe of older gig goers. We're now more likely to stand watching from a distance rather than being amongst the mosh pit, but we're still there. 

So what new music would I particularly recommend at the moment? Well, Arlo Parks, Mercury nominated, Collapsed in Sunbeams is my album of the year so far and I have to say she was absolutely amazing live, a true musician who was just enjoying do what she does so well. For those not familiar it's indy meets jazz and poetry. 

Blondes were one of the support bands for Inhaler, on the first night of their tour and I loved them. They have an EP coming out in October and I'd describe their sound and attitude as reminisent of Supergrass in the I Should Coco period. They were lovely, a bunch of guys who met at uni in Nottingham, formed a band and through some Tik Tok thing taking off are now in with a real chance of making it. (Had a lovely time talking to their parents who were standing behind me, and a couple of the lads were lovely enough to let me have a selfie with them).

Inhaler are on a different level, not suprising seeing as they have certain advantages other bands don't normally have this early in their careers, (a result of Elijah Hewson their lead singer being Bono's son). They have a rodie tuning guitars between songs and Elijah has the benefits of having grown up learning from his dad exactly how you work the crowd. That said they're not a copy of U2 and they are clearly working hard to make it. The album, It Won't Always Be Like This is a good listen, but live they really rock it and I was suitably impressed. Despite the album only being out a couple of months they have an international following and I found myself sharing the shots I'd got on Twitter tagging in an Argentinian fan account. (That is not like the old days!). 

So all I can say if you haven't been out exploring new bands recently I'd highly recommend, there's some great new up and coming acts out there.