Last week:

Enjoyed a few fireworks on Friday night then rounded off the stock car season at Coventry on Saturday (more fireworks, dissappointing racing results!). On Sunday night I went to one of those 60s package shows at the Grand in Leeds. I know I have a reputation for liking very old music and musicians but on this occasion I swear I wasn't supposed to be going. But a ticket became available so there it is.

On the bill were Chip Hawkes, Gerry & The Pacemakers, PJ Proby and The Searchers. It was a good gig and I'll always readily watch professional musicians perform live, I might even become one myself one day.

One thing got me though, the attitude of the audience. From being a performer for some time I've become very sensitive to audience reaction to musicians. This extends to all gigs and not just my own. At one time I used to watch a pro band totally oblivious to the audience reaction, now I find myself studying it.

It may just be my hyper-sensitivity to these things (I blame clubland) but I detect a slight lack of respect among punters these days. Naturally in these circumstances I blame X-Factor and co, something I'm only too happy to do. Seriously though I have a theory that these shows have made people more blase about what a live performance actually involves.

TV shows make it look a lot easier (The Searchers weren't using autotune!) and with the angle on reality TV being 'give the public a chance' I think more people now think they could give it a go. Or at the very least, that more people can 'sing', without necessarily having any experience or training.

The one thing those guys on Sunday have is experience. Hundreds of combined years of it! The crowd however seemed to treat it a bit like a commodity rather than a finely honed craft. One person even came out with one of those comments I used to detest at club gigs. 'Best song so far' she says. Does that mean the previous songs were rubbish? Is she keeping a scorecard? To me, as far as the average punter is concerned, in the presence of such luminaries as these, EVERY song is equally good. And before you ask, no I don't expect people to think like that at my shows, these guys are legends and have had number one hits.


This week:

Going to see Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson in concert. This one is more my choice and let's see what the audience reaction is like this time! Best song so far indeed.

A-Z of Music:

More ELO this week, I now need a discography of their's as this is a double delux 'best of' containing lots of songs I haven't previously heard. All good stuff though.

Moan of the week: See above!