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.

Crosby, Stills and Nash

I don't win many competitions, but it was nice to win this one: a front row pair of tickets to see Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Hammersmith Apollo. I only knew a couple of their songs (whereas Alice knew a big fat zero), but what better way to explore a band's music than sitting a matter of feet away from them? We rarely go right to the front at gigs, and most we do go to are standing, so this was a new experience on numerous counts. And they played "Teach Your Children Well", which is a great song.

Glastonbury Festival 2005

Lucky to get tickets? Possibly. Pleased to get tickets? Ecstatic! This was my second time at Glastonbury (my first was with Egg in 2003) and it didn't disappoint. Despite the site being like a quagmire for the Friday and Saturday, and me not arriving until 6pm on Friday due to work, we had a fantastic weekend. I arrived in time to see Doves on the Pyramid, and then spent the rest of the weekend popping in and out of various sets and comedy things. Key highlights were Brian Wilson and the Kaiser Chiefs, while for sheer random Glastonbury-ness it was fantastic to see Paul Merton, Phill Jupitus and Richard Vranch taking part in the Steven Frost Improv All-Stars. It was also the first time in about 3 years that I'd seen Rory, and a good few months since I saw Egg, so all in all it was an excellent weekend.