Listmania continues. Bands I've seen

I found this lurking around in my draft posts.  Yet another list born out of the Listography exercise we had done at my writing group. I definitely should buy this book, such a unique form of diary.  The thought of future generations reading all about my claims to fame or drunken moments makes me smile.  The idea that I won't just be a photo in a album but a rounded person appeals to me.  

So today is Bands that I've seen.  So in no particular order & also including individual artistes..  

1) PULP at the BIC, Finsbury Park, Brixton Academy (amazing venue but the sloping floor kill your calf muscles), Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, Brixton Academy (again) - I kind of love them. Jarvis Cocker; funny, clever, slightly odd but damn sexy (even with a beard)

 I was closer to the front than this!

2) Summer XS at Wembley Stadium the bill included Debbie Harry in fishnets & with a whip.  I was always a huge Blondie fan.

3) The Hothouse Flowers

4) Jesus Jones

5) Jellyfish - I loved that album

6) and INXS.  Amazing.  When they came on stage I heard someone screaming their head off.  Turns out it was me.  Michael Hutchins was sex on legs.  Beautiful.

7) Went to see U2 at Wembley Stadium for the Zoo TV tour.  They were amazing.  We ended up in corralled in a standing section at the front.  I went with a friend who was a huge fan & his face lit up like a small boy when they came on stage.  We missed the last train home & so I had to call my dad who got to Charing Cross in about 20 minutes (from the 'burbs) & then ended dropping everyone home.

8) They were supported by Big Audio Dynamite 2 (yeah me neither) who started every track with their back to the audience & then turned round.  I was really gutted because Bjork supported on one of the other nights.

9) PJ Harvey whilst she was still grungy & had very hairy arm pits.

10) Dodgy played at a ball at university.  Thinking about this makes me smile as a) whenever my parents back out of our drive at home onto the busy road they always said "Shhhh.  DODGY" and also because someone I know got caught shagging up against their van at the ball.

11) The drummer from The Fratelli's played at a wedding I was at

12) I went to see Cliff Richard when I was about 10.  I wasn't really a fan but my friend's mum was a huge fan.  We liked the laser show.

13) Have seen loads of bands at Proms in the Park (besides the BBC orchestra).  Lionel Ritchie who was fab

14) Jools Holland with his big band (& Sam Browne) who get everyone up & dancing on a freezing cold evening in Hyde Park

15) Simply Red - "Simply awful" we said

16) The Bootleg Beatles - it amused me that they stayed in character in between songs

17) Bjorn again - ditto

18) The Tide - a covers band at a pub at Stockwell.  They were great. We were very drunk.  They left the stage like rock stars grabbing people's hands.

19) James performing at the BBC

20) Natalie Imbruglia at The Town & Country Club (not sure if it still was called that then).  I sat next to a very strange middle aged man who called out "Natalie!" to himself and whenever she said "Thank you" he said "No, thank you"

21) Kylie Minogue at Wembley Arena.  I was 18.  It was during her faux Madonna phase.

22) At the Pulp Finsbury Park gig Catatonia - supported.  I love Ceris.  I sang along to all the songs in a dodgy Welsh accent (well you have to don't you)

23) Bernard Butler also supported Pulp.  He got really pissy as he was on earlier on in the day & people were just sitting around and not paying full attention to him.

24) Grace Jones supported Pulp at Wireless.  She was amazingly nuts, hoola hooping in a leotard.

25) I went to the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party in 1991.  I can't remember who performed apart from Carter USM as one of them rugby tackled Phillip Schofield

26) Went to see Jason Donovan in Joseph (not sure if that's cheating)

27) Prince at Earls Court.  He was AMAZING.  Midget man oozed sex appeal.  Diamonds & Pearls

28) Blur at the Town & County club, early days when they had only released one single.  I went with my friend who I was secretly in love with.  We watched several really shit support bands, my friend's friends drank too much cider & threw up, my friend came out to me & we left before Blur came on.

29) S Club 7 - my friend got tickets.  We were the oldest ones there without kids.

30) S Club Juniors did their first performance there

31) Badly Drawn Boy at an Amnesty International gig.  He was brilliant & very funny.  He started a Mexican wave.

32) Kelly Jones also performed at that gig. Gorgeous voice, handsome man.

33) Lick who were a 90s band, in a place in Camden

34) Freak Power played at my Fresher's Ball at university.  

I couldn't remember what this track was called until I googled it

35) Take That as a 4 at the Milton Keynes Bowl.  Went with 2 other friends we got horribly lost on the way there and couldn't believe the ice cream van there charged £3.50 for a 99!!

36) They were supported by Beverly Knight 

37) and the Sugababes who did a cover of Obsession which is probably my favourite 80's/one hit wonder ever

 (obviously not the Sugababes but I love love this song)

38) Take That as a 5 at Wembley Stadium.  AMAZING

39) Robbie Williams performed a set on his own. Always my favourite but a bit of a Sweary Mary that night

40) Supported by The Pet Shop Boys who were camp, quirky & fabulous.

41) Roger Walters performing The Wall at the O2.  The night before all of Pink Floyd joined him on stage.  Seats so high in the gods I was afraid I would fall.  Went with Mr D his thing really, if I'm honest I found it a bit dull (but shhh don't mention that to him)

When I first started doing this I was under the impression that I haven't been to many gigs, but on reflection maybe I have seen one or two. Undoubtedly I've missed some off the list and there are still gigs I would love to go to.  I think this list proves that my taste in music is eclectic.

20 questions....well 11 actually

So to get back into this blogging malarky I thought I should maybe answer the questions I got tagged with by the rather lovely Lakota from Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping last month...

So the questions...
1. Favourite game you played as a kid a) at home b) at school?
I used to really love board games when I was younger, we as a family loved Monopoly, but we also had a game called 'Ratrace' which was about moving up & down the class system.  The more I think about it the stranger it probably was but it was a favourite. 
I also loved a game called 'Go for Broke' where you have to end up skint at the end - a game I would probably be great at these days.

At school there were loads of crazes like swapping stickers or playing marbles or french elastic (a huge loop of elastic that girls would string between 2 girls ankles and then you'd do some funny jumping game playing kind of cats cradle with your feet).  But what I really really loved was when our whole class would play British Bulldog against another class.  No matter who was and wasn't friends you always felt part of a team as we really stuck together when we played it.

2. Personality trait which secretly really irritates you in a close friend or partner?
Hmmn.  That is a tricky one.  I guess being a grown up you learn to love people and accept them flaws and all as it makes them, them....who am I kidding?! 

I 'av a cuple of frends who snd Irvine Walsh stle txts n it tks 4ever 2 wrk out wht the fck thyr sying!
I hate text speak.  I write in full sentences ,at all times, with punctuation!

Reading that back that isn't a personality trait is it?!  I hate it when people cop out of answering questions!!

3. You get to choose one TV channel only - what do you go for?
If it was the only channel my family could watch it would have to be something like Nick Jr as my kids would drive me crazy.  But what would I watch...a couple of years ago I might have said E4 but endless How I Met Your Mother or Big Bang Theory I may love to dip in & out of but for ever and ever?  This is hard...see I love America's Next Top Model but Sky Living?  No...
So possibly Channel 4 or BBC 2 (god I'm taking this far too seriously)..well there's always iPlayer for the rest isn't there?!

4. Would you rather be really beautiful, or really funny? Why?
Really funny.  Beauty fades.  I also think that if you've been beautiful it must be particularly hard to lose your shine.  But wit and wisdom are hopefully there for a while longer. 

5. What's your Native American totem animal?
Sloth

6. Which fictional character do you most relate to?
I wish I could say someone like Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, because despite being a complete drama queen/pain in the arse she is passionate and wild....but I'm sadly probably more like Bridget Jones or some other chick lit heroine.

7. Music which you couldn't be paid to listen to?
I like most music, my taste is fairly eclectic...quick scan through itunes to see if I hate any of my husband's CD collection.....nothing really offends me musically.  Maybe Thrash Metal?  I went to watch Roger Waters 'The Wall' last year and it was OK, not really my cup of tea.  Sounded just like noise at the end. (I know sacrilege, but I think it's more of a blokes thing...)

8. Who would play you in the film version of your life story? 
Probably no one famous, my life's too dull for a cinema release, would probably go straight to DVD, so it would be a relative of someone famous who's trying to hang off the family name.  So probably Julia Roberts 2nd cousin. 

9. Best band you've ever seen live?
Pulp - I think you have to see them live to really get the whole Jarvis is a sex god thing.  Or INXS - Michael Hutchins was amazingly charismatic.  I went to see Live Baby Live at Wembley when I was 17.  Before I went I didn't even fancy him.  They came on stage and I heard loads of screaming.  And it was me!

10. Most annoying thing about blogging or bloggers?
The ones that take themselves too seriously.  The ones that blog too much.  Dear god, is there nothing that happens in your day that isn't recorded??!

11. What is or would be your Superhero talent?
Talking at great speed.

I think the rules dictate that I now share 11 'interesting' facts about me, well I can't promise that they're interesting but here goes...

1. Made in Chelsea is a guilty pleasure of mine. I know, I know they're all posh knobs but I can't help it, I find it amusing.  It is known as 'Posh Totty' in my house.

2. Listening to The Beatles makes me cry. They remind me of my Dad who loved them.  And they remind me how much I miss him. Particularly this one...

3. I can't spell restaurant, it's one of those words I just never have mastered.  Thank god for spell check eh?

4.  I hate sweetcorn.  I hate the taste, the smell & the texture.  No matter how many times I have told Mr DOMADQ he always says to me 'You don't like it?' even though we have been together 16 years.

5.  I have 3 piercings.  2 in my right ear and 1 in my left.  The 2nd one in my right ear I had done when I was a student & it was probably my only act of rebellion.  I wish I had been a bit naughtier when I was younger.

6. I occasionally still stuck my thumb. Aged 38. If I am very tired or upset I sometimes realise that I'm doing it.

7. I am very very scared of heights.  On a visit to New York I cried with fear whilst queueing/going up the steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty

8.  I have just discovered Flat Whites & am a convert

9. I love green jelly sweets, they are the best

10. If I had been a boy I would have been called James Alexander, although being that I am a twin (& my parents did not know they were having twins) I guess I would have been called James.

11. I would love to live my the sea.

And finally I need to think of some other questions to then ask others...

1. If you HAD to have a tattoo (if you haven't already got one) what would you have and where would you have it? (I have to admit that if I had ever been on 'Blind Date' that would have been one of my questions)

2. What is your favourite joke? (another Blind Date question!!)

3. What annoys you most about yourself?

4. If you had a 'hall pass' would you use it& who would you use it on?

5. What would you be doing in an alternate universe?

6.  What are your top  5 favourite films?

7. When was the last time you cried?

8. Beatles or Stones?

9. What was the last book you read?

10. What makes you blush? 

11. What keeps you awake at night?

So if anyone fancy answering these please do & then let me know

x

Your name was DEBORAH....

I went to see Pulp at Hyde Park last week and came to the following conclusions:


1.  They are still amazing live. 


2. Even though Jarvis now has a beard I still would.


3.  I definately do not like crowds (this was compounded by 2 dickheads behind me who I seriously contemplated whether I would be able to 'have them' if need be - on reflection I still maintain I would)


4.  Bar Italia is my all time favourite Pulp song (but would have loved to have heard Lipgloss)


5. Despite feeling 22 again whilst moshing in the crowd I definately am not any more (and then felt 102 on Monday morning)