All the Way From Memphis

This was our first outing to the Drill Hall (which we've revisted a number of times) and we took my mum and Graham to this first recording of a new music quiz show. Guests were Stewart Lee (him from off the telly) and Martin Freeman (aka The Office and Hitchiker's Guide). I shook Stewart by the hand and said "I thought it was you", while Alice got Freeman to sign her appraisal for work. You can't beat that :)

Hanson

We went to this because of Alice's teenage crush on the band.  Their set was actually quite good for the first 20minutes but, as Hanson were playign acoustically, it all started to sound the same after that. I would also have quite happily thrown the screaming Fins, Dutch and Swedes to their death if they had carried on shouting out their undying love for Tyler or whatever the boys are called. Still, my justification is that we got this show and The Thrills for the price of one having made a bit of profit off sellign a pair of Maroon 5 tickets so it's not _too_ bad...

That Was Then This Is Now

We went to see this recording out of interest (mainly because I love Lee and Herring). We went along with Emily and Ben Board, and by strange coincidence also met up with John and Marie Campbell. It was a truly fantastic recording, and I really hope another series comes along soon so that I can go again! Sadly, Richard had already heard about King Alfred's piles, so my attempt at impressing him fell somewhat flat. But at this point, how were we to know that in less than a month we would "collect the set" by seeing Stewart Lee at a different radio recording..?

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

I always thought this was one of those shows that you never get tickets for, but was pleased to be proved wrong. We went with Norf (and one of Norf's mates from work) and giggled away for nearly 3 hours while Lamarr and the teams bumbled about and spoke about sucking yourself off using a hoover. Oh, and Norf almost got thrown out for heckling. Brilliant!

The Hives

I love this band when they play live. This particular gig, though, is up there in the top gigs of all time. The energy and atmosphere in the Academy was astounding and, for once, the sound was good. It was also my first step in convincing the kids at school that I do have a life, and that I also have a good taste in music. Ha haaaa!

BBC Proms in the Park

This was my mum's 50th birthday present from us and, fortunately, she really enoyed it! So did we, by the way, which is obviously a good thing. The flag-waving mallarcky at the end was as much fun as it looks on the telly, and The Corrs were great. Not so keen on Bjorn Again, but it was still a good night.

Bloodhound Gang

This was our first gig after moving to the new flat, and we went along with a visitor. I'm not convinced he was particularly enamoured with the idea but put up with the comedy of seeing such a trashy and cheesy group anyway, despite him also being rather ill!  Interestingly, the gig finished and then turned into the G.A.Y. club.    Surreal.