Personality Test (Rick Wakeman)

The description on the ticket says it all, really - a radio show hosted by a celebrity who sets all the questions.  Obviously I only wanted to go because this episode was hosted by Rick Wakeman, but it was a funny night where Rick showed his great wit, and I managed to get a load of stuff signed.  Yay!

Gogol Bordello and Bedouin Soundclash

At Sziget earlier in the year we met up with a group of Brits who were going for the third time.  We met on the internet but nobody was weird - which is useful.  On their last night at Sziget they went to see Gogol Bordello in a tent, but we were exhausted so headed to bed instead.  Therefore we'd never seen Gogol Bordello before this gig, and boy are we glad we stayed in touch with the guys who persuaded us to go!

One Big Laugh

This was one of those 'charity comedy nights' you hear so much about.  We mainly went because we wanted to see the comics, but the charity thing was nice too.  However, having one of the comics pass his artificial leg around the audience as part of his act was a bit weird.

Seth Lakeman

We'd seen Seth almost a year previously, at the tiny Borderline. This was a bigger venue for his bigger status, but he didn't fail to impress. I was knackered from a hellish time at work, but despite me just nodding to most of the songs rather than all-out jigging about I still had a great time. It was also great to have Alice's mum with us - she's now an enormous Seth fan too :)

The Pipettes

I guess this was a bit of a gamble. We'd heard of the Pipettes by getting their album, and liked what was there. So we went to see them live - I think it's the first time in a while that we were actually going to see somebody we weren't already a "fan" of. But with their 60s-esque sound and polka-dot pop, this was a gig of the highest order. A short set, admittedly, but very much worth it. Plus we had the opportunity to visit our friends Mark and Angela who lived nearby. Excellent :)

Sziget Festival 2006

O-ho! Sziget! This was our first time at the mother-of-all festivals (which takes place on an island in the middle of the Danube near Budapest in Hungary). We took a bit of a risk - we fancied a break and gambled that this would be good - and boy, was it worth it! A whole week of music from every genre you can possibly imagine. And all for less than a weekend festival in the UK. Bring it on.

Market Boy

This was an outstanding piece of drama at the National. We were in the second row, with veery little legroom, but as a result were in the cheapest £10 but within spitting distance (literally, at points) of the actors. Brilliant.