This was the moment it finally started to seem real - the picture above shows a flightcase with the bright yellow tape marked JOURNEY FOH (front of house) - that I was finally going to get to see Journey. I have clear recollections of listening to them in the days when I was cycling to gigs, long before the thought of driving (or even flying) to gigs occurred. It's a long time ago.
Some time just over a year ago I was updating my records, and looking at the numbers I realised there was a chance that I could get a couple of round numbers to coincide. For no good reason whatsoever, except it seemed like an amusing stunt if I could possibly pull it off.
And so it came to pass that I spent yesterday celebrating the big occasion of my 500th gig; once it was possible that the grail-like appearance of Journey (doing their first shows in the UK since 1980) might fit, I've done my best to engineer things towards that result.
I could gush for hours about why Journey, and may yet do so, but what amounts to my life's work in facts and figures comes down to the following. It's an utterly rocktastic 666 different bands doing 1,166 sets in 177 venues in 60 towns and cities, in 7 countries. Fitting that in in just under twenty years means I've averaged a gig every fourteen and a half days over that period, which puts it into context why I often fail to appreciate the 'night out' aspect that gigs can have for some people. And while there's the odd one that does feel a bit like hard work (yes I mean you, RW!) for the majority of the time I'm having a ball.
It's true that there are places and indeed countries I've only visited for gigs, and I've been unfashionable in several different languages and a multitude of musical genres - ultimately that's what I do. I'm very lucky that I don't have the sort of commitments that stop me from spending this proportion of time and money in the pursuit of live music, and I'm well aware that that may not be forever.
Which is one of the reasons for celebrating yesterday - I've now seen almost every band I could wish to, from old school Brit metal titans like Diamond Head, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden to 90s indie heroes Carter USM, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Pop Will Eat Itself, from classic credible rockers like Young, Springsteen and Dylan to long gone performance superstars like Wolfsbane, The Grip and Chrome Molly who you're unlikely ever to have heard of. From true pioneers like Tom Paxton, Duane Eddy and Sonny Curtis to lo-fi diy acts like [bis], Helen Love and Disco, from popular 'legends' Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (all rubbish!) to the novelty-tinged genius of Frank Sidebottom, John Otway and Half Man Half Biscuit, from ... well, the list goes on.
Deen Castronovo + Neal Schon + Steve Augeri + Ross Valory + Jonathan Cain =
Journey
Above: Steve and Neal - Open Arms!
Below: Neal and Steve Lay It Down
Labels: gigs, Journey, rock
This was the moment it finally started to seem real - the picture above shows a flightcase with the bright yellow tape marked JOURNEY FOH (front of house) - that I was finally going to get to see Journey. I have clear recollections of listening to them in the days when I was cycling to gigs, long before the thought of driving (or even flying) to gigs occurred. It's a long time ago.
Some time just over a year ago I was updating my records, and looking at the numbers I realised there was a chance that I could get a couple of round numbers to coincide. For no good reason whatsoever, except it seemed like an amusing stunt if I could possibly pull it off.
And so it came to pass that I spent yesterday celebrating the big occasion of my 500th gig; once it was possible that the grail-like appearance of Journey (doing their first shows in the UK since 1980) might fit, I've done my best to engineer things towards that result.
I could gush for hours about why Journey, and may yet do so, but what amounts to my life's work in facts and figures comes down to the following. It's an utterly rocktastic 666 different bands doing 1,166 sets in 177 venues in 60 towns and cities, in 7 countries. Fitting that in in just under twenty years means I've averaged a gig every fourteen and a half days over that period, which puts it into context why I often fail to appreciate the 'night out' aspect that gigs can have for some people. And while there's the odd one that does feel a bit like hard work (yes I mean you, RW!) for the majority of the time I'm having a ball.
It's true that there are places and indeed countries I've only visited for gigs, and I've been unfashionable in several different languages and a multitude of musical genres - ultimately that's what I do. I'm very lucky that I don't have the sort of commitments that stop me from spending this proportion of time and money in the pursuit of live music, and I'm well aware that that may not be forever.
Which is one of the reasons for celebrating yesterday - I've now seen almost every band I could wish to, from old school Brit metal titans like Diamond Head, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden to 90s indie heroes Carter USM, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Pop Will Eat Itself, from classic credible rockers like Young, Springsteen and Dylan to long gone performance superstars like Wolfsbane, The Grip and Chrome Molly who you're unlikely ever to have heard of. From true pioneers like Tom Paxton, Duane Eddy and Sonny Curtis to lo-fi diy acts like [bis], Helen Love and Disco, from popular 'legends' Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (all rubbish!) to the novelty-tinged genius of Frank Sidebottom, John Otway and Half Man Half Biscuit, from ... well, the list goes on.
Deen Castronovo + Neal Schon + Steve Augeri + Ross Valory + Jonathan Cain = Journey
Above: Steve and Neal - Open Arms!
Below: Neal and Steve Lay It Down
