Dave Matthews Band

Remember when I used to do lots of gig reviews? Back when I was new to the North and had more energy and less commitments? Yeah, I don't either.

Anyways, I went out on Sunday night (gasp! a school night) despite feeling rubbish because The Husband had bought tickets to see The Dave Matthews Band. I'm not a massive fan, but I remember liking Dave Matthews when we saw him solo a while back and our first date was actually a Dave Matthews gig, so I was happy to go.

Venue is Manchester Apollo (no idea what The Husband paid for tickets) and the support act is a band fronted by a moping teenager type who hides his face behind a curtain of dark locks. He's alright but every track sounds like a carbon copy of the last. Dave Matthews Band comes on after a short interval and gets going on what can only be described as the most self indulgent display I have witnessed since friends left me a half kilo of chocolates last month. The gig is made ever so slightly worse by the guy who stood in front of us and frequently held up a full size South African flag, but I'm short of stature so not being able to see is par for the course - I was only annoyed because other than his flag waving antics I, for once, could actually see.

As for the music - well, if you have 3 hours to spare, don't mind crazy instrumentals that go for 15 minutes each, then this is your thing. And it's not that I hate instrumentals - I've been to see the vocal-less Rodrigo Y Gabriela 3 times now. No, it's the no-idea-if-this-shit-even-has-a-beat and that soprano-saxophone-sounds-like-a-car-alarm that gave me the irrits. What made the evening worse was the second encore (indulgent in itself) that we had to wait 10 minutes for. Argh!! I swear if we hadn't parked our car in a paid lot where you're parked in and have to wait for everyone to get back to their cars before you can leave, I'd have played my 'we're leaving now, thanks' card.

Sorry to the Dave Matthews Band fans, but this did not rock my boat.

Verdict: Talented, but painful. Go if you are a huge fan and ever wondered what happened to Kenny G, stay at home if you lack time or patience.

Oasis

On the 6th of June 2009 we braved the 70,000-strong Mancunian crowd to catch the second date of the Oasis tour. With our beloved pooch in the kennels for the evening (we found one that we are satisfied will treat him almost as nicely as we do) I drove to Heaton Park and braced myself for the sobering experience of attending a gig without alcohol. The location of the aforementioned park made it unviable to travel by public transport and as The Husband drove the last time we boozed it up, it was my turn. Fortunately I was not sobbing with separation anxiety as I was last time we kennelled The Dog (I know, scary) and we entered the wide expanse of Heaton Park all smiles. The ground is well drained from the recent rain and there is a wide variety of food vans on site offering awesome smelling overpriced lard-soaked options for dinner.

For the record, the line up acts were Twisted Wheel, Free Peace and Kasabian (in that order) but it was the frequent scent of wacky-backy that entertained us whilst waiting for the main event. That, and a game of 'spot-the-most-inappropriate-footwear'. I spied some poorly thought out gladiator sandals, white canvas trainers and some snowboard boots. The Husband scores well with some sodden Ugg Boots, but I take the competition fair and square with a pair of mary-jane pumps. I shit you not. At a gig. In a field. With about 90% chance of rain. Genius.

With day shifting into evening, the temperature drops further (it's been chilly at best all day) and there is no amount of hot chocolate and sugared donuts that will keep me warm, though I ate 4 of them just to be sure. Other music fans also felt the chill and decided to do something about it. Discarded cup trays? Discarded cups? Heck, that's just fuel for an impromptu fire, surely! And so they lit a modest bonfire in the middle of the field and gathered round. Sadly, boozed up minds don't always make the best choices and the next things to be chosen for keeping it alight were a rain poncho and a waterproof jacket. The toxic fumes inspired us to move away and enjoy the concert from a safer vantage point.

As for the music itself, the set list was solid, judging by the crowd's reaction (I'm not really an Oasis fan) though the windy evening played havoc with the sound. Fortunately it didn't affect enjoyment of the show. The Gallagher brothers charmed the crowd from their helicopter arrival to their Northern banter. I was glad to leave by the end though as I was very cold and had a sore back from standing for such a long time.

Overall: go if you know the songs and don't mind standing in the cold for hours on end; don't go if you hate the occasional spray of urine from the 'mad for it' fans.