What is a “gig to live long in the memory”?
Well Susie, from what we can deduce empirically from the evidence before us... it’s apparently the last gig that you attended.
Aww, c’mon professor... there must be shows that are so momentous that you can recall them in later years with a warm nostalgia and an “I was there” kind of glow, surely?
Not in my experience Susie, no. Let me give you a concrete example: I was at Led Zeppelin’s last ever UK appearance at Knebworth festival back in 1979. The band were still in their pomp, the rest of the line-up was pretty impressive and we weren’t ankle deep in mud.
Sounds like a great show to have been at!
It probably was, but my only real recollections of the day (in no particular order) are: having to sleep in the car after my brother had his tent stolen; the excruciating embarrassment at bellowing one too many “WOMAN!”s during Robert Plant’s crowd participatory-heavy Whole Lotta Love; and being unfortunate ‘friendly fire’ victims (as those some way behind us tried to discourage people some way ahead of us from standing up) of a poorly-ranged bombardment of piss-filled woodpecker cider bottles.
Oh…
And I couldn’t even remember which of the two of that year’s Knebworth dates it actually was without checking. So if one of the seminal moments of British popular music has failed to register that convincingly in the memory, is the nth iteration of the Nigel Spong Trio’s five-year residency at the Dog & Duck in Badger’s Drift really going to fare much better?
