Reel Big Fish

Despite having listened to them for years, I'd never seen Reel Big Fish live. We'd also not seen Norf for ages either, so seeing the two together was a bit of a bonus! As well as spending a fun day round London, the gig itself was excellent. A full 1.5 hour show was incredibly energetic...and I'm ashamed to say that I was showing my age by needing to stand nearer the back to cool down and get my breath back! Still, at least that meant we avoided too much of the pools of sweat that accumulated on the lower floor, resulting in at least one person I saw slipping and bashing their funny bone on the way down. Not fun!

Goldie Lookin Chain

We'd last seen GLC at Glastonbury, and what we saw of their set of fantastic. It was, therefore, little surprise that we bought tickets for this one-off gig at the Scala to launch their new album. Support came from DJs and a band. The band were the only act I have ever seen "boo"d offstage before the end of their set. Then again, they deserved it. They were rubbish. GLC, though, were excellent. They played a decent number of the old tracks, but threw in loads from the new album, including the excellent "Adam's Chav School". Who said the Welsh weren't funny?

The Streets

Amazingly, this gig wasn't sold out...although I must admit that I wasn't keen on paying £25 to go anyway. It's just as well that we managed to get a pair from eBay for £25...a true bargain, especially considering how good the gig was. The Mitchell Brothers opened, but without the video they used on the Ten Rounds tour, their set was quite boring. However, the second support - The Ordinary Boys - absolutely blew me away. They were superb. Truly brilliant. I'd heard of them, but not heard them, and now I've got their albums on repeat. As for The Streets, Mike Skinner was on top form (even though this meant he was completely bizarre). I wasn't expectign singalongs of "I Predict A Riot" or country back-catalogues, but we got these in amongst 90s dance-esque versiosn of some of his tracks. It was all incredibly bizarre but a fantastic night.

What The Butler Saw

I'd never heard of Joe Orton, or indeed this play, but we went along for Jim's birthday and I must admit it was pretty good. A complete farce (but then again it's billed as a farce), and with an ending that I'd worked out after about 10mins into the first half, but funny nontheless.

Baaba Maal

This was my first Albert Hall experience, and one I'll probably not forget. I was aware of Baaba Maal's stuff from my time at HMV but had never really listened to it at any length. More fool me. Astounding rhythmic and melodic African music...and probably the first band I've seen in years that were truly, TRULY enjoying themselves on stage. Excellent.

Wargrave & Shiplake Regatta

While we were walking the Thames Path, we had scheduled a "rest day" at Henley. We took a stroll along the river that day, and went to the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta. It's a local regatta run by the two villages, and was basically an opportunity for people to mess about in boats. A lovely, relaxing, afternoon - and we saw Paul Daniels!

The Improvisers

After seeing the All Star Improvs at Glastonbury, we were very keen to see Steven Frost and his gang in action again - they didn't disappoint! Another hilarious evening, and all the better for being a whole night's show, rather than just a part of a bigger thing.