The Violet Archers - Sunshine at Night
Loane - Jamais Seule
Uriah Heep - Wake the Sleeper
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Sparks - Exotic Creatures of the Deep
Udo Lindenberg - Stark wie Zwei
Neal Morse - Sola Scriptura
James - Hey Ma
Asia - Phoenix
The Killers - Sawdust
Today, after some frenzied uploading by your correspondent, the tally of tracks available for free download at The Crispycat Library passed the 300 mark...
There are now tracks available from over 36 albums, including a few which were never actually released - but what the hell....
Tonight I was off to Glasgow to see one of my favourite bands, The Bad Plus as they performed as part of the Glasgow International Jazz Festival...
Anne was in Fife with friends bowling and watching Spain v Russia and had the Cloudland Blue Mobile so it was the bus for me and, frankly, it was fine - a comfortable, uneventful trip, soundtracked by ten of my favourite recent albums on shuffleplay mode...
It took 100 minutes from St Andrew Square Bus Station to Buchanan St Station in Glasgow and I arrived around 7pm and headed to the venue, The Old Fruitmarket...
The hall wasn't particularly full and I was able to walk right up and take a seat in the front row...
The trio took the stage right on cue at 7:30 and launched into "Apollo" by Stravinsky - a piece I'd not heard them play before...
However, I soon became aware of a fellow audient a couple of seats away with a large camera with a very long lens, taking photo after photo after photo, each one sending the whirring and clicking noise of his machine into my head and ruining the music...
After three, or possibly four, ruined pieces, I finally leaned over to him and said "Excuse me, would you mind stopping taking photos as the clicking of your camera is driving me MENTAL!!!"
He got the message and the clicking stopped but the gig was ruined for me by this and by the unconcerned idiot backstage person, who kept popping out and exiting the hall and coming back in, for no apparent reason than to open and shut the door, distract my field of vision and generally drive me nuts...
This is why I hate going to concerts...
Why can't everyone just sit and listen and enjoy the music being played and experience the performance?
OK, the gig wasn't entirely ruined, as I eventually destressed and started to enjoy the music, including an absolutely apocalyptic rendition of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" which closed their set...
Then, a brief encore and it was all over...
It was only 9pm as I wandered into the foyer to find the three musicians at a table, meeting and greeting and signing copies of their live album "Blunt Object" which, of course, I bought and took to the table like a total fanboy...
Ironically, the guy in front of me in the queue was the photographer I'd verbally abused earlier in the evening - I'm sure I heard him tell the band he had some great pics and he'd send them to them...
I didn't tell the band how their previous fan had ruined the start of their set with his nonsense...
In fact, I couldn't think what to say as they signed my disc and just rolled off a list of all the times I'd seen them - Ethan Iverson asked if I was a musician and I managed a stupid "yes, I play keyboards and guitar" instead of "yes, here's my card and my website address I've been writing and performing for 30 years and sell my CDs over the net and have over 300 tracks available for free download"...
Oh no, not your tongue tied correspondent...
So then it was off out into the bright evening sun...
Preparation is everything...
Caught the bus home at 10pm and alighted at the bottom of the hill 50 minutes later and home in time to catch the end of "Question Time" and all of "This Week" before watching the highlights of Spain drubbing Russia 3-0...
A good day with occasional downsides....
Highlight of the Day : The Bad Plus - brilliant band!
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