i was enjoying some lovely barbecued steak one sunday afternoon when someone asked me berapa ratus gig have i been to. i’ve been to a few, but the number’s not in the hundreds i’m sure. i used to make a record of the gigs i went to in my filofax but the list stopped in mid-2000. i also used to write little gig reviews for ROTTW and they’d give me a free copy for my trouble. now, with this blog, i prefer to write my reviews here.

so, who have i had the pleasure to see perform?

25.03.89 EUROPE/? -the brighton centre
25.11.89 AEROSMITH / balaam & the angel -king’s hall, belfast
18.12.90 IRON MAIDEN / anthrax -wembley arena
04.08.91 SEARCH -stadium negara, KL
28.10.92 METALLICA -whitley bay ice rink
27.05.93 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE / TOOL / wool -the mayfair, newcastle
25.10.93 VAI / the wild frontier -city hall, newcastle
10.12.95 JOE SATRIANI /? -wembley arena, london
07.10.96 METALLICA / corrosion of conformity -newcastle arena
23.11.96 DEF LEPPARD / terrorvision -newcastle arena
04.04.97 M NASIR -royal northern college of music, manchester
15.04.97 LIVE / catherine wheel -the civic hall, wolverhampton
24.09.97 NO DOUBT / symposium / the vandals -brixton academy, london*
15.10.97 JEWEL / simon warner -the irish centre, birmingham
17.10.97 BUSH / 3 colours red -aston villa leisure centre, birmingham*
04.12.97 BLACK SABBATH / fear factory -NEC arena, birmingham*
01.03.98 DEFTONES / will haven / dubwar -the civic hall, wolverhampton*
22.04.98 TURA SATANA / will haven / psycore -JB’s, dudley
21.05.98 SOULFLY / LIMP BIZKIT / cold -the civic hall, wolverhampton*
28.11.98 SEPULTURA / psycore -rock city, nottingham*
06.04.99 SILVERCHAIR / FUEL / fungus -rock city, nottingham
18.05.99 SYSTEM OF A DOWN / spineshank / static-X -rock city, nottingham
20.05.99 SOULFLY / kill II this / medulla nocte -the foundry, sheffield
08.09.99 MEGADETH / earthtone 9 -rock city, nottingham
05.12.99 LIVE / muse -town & country club, leeds
27.04.00 PANTERA / powerman 5000 / satyricon -the apollo, manchester*
04.06.00 PEARL JAM / the vandals -MEN arena, manchester*
15.06.00 SLAYER / entombed -rock city, nottingham
17.10.00 DREAM THEATER /porcupine tree -the octagon, sheffield
31.10.00 THE SMASHING PUMPKINS / catherine wheel -the apollo, manchester*
14.08.01 U2 / kelis -NEC arena, birmingham
22.08.01 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS / boyhitscar -rock city, nottingham*
21.11.01 BUSH / vex red -rock city, nottingham
05.01.02 SHEILA MAJID -planet hollywood, KL
30.01.02 STAIND / puddle of mudd -nottingham arena*
04.03.02 TRAVIS / doves -sheffield arena*
08.05.02 BOB DYLAN -newcastle arena*
09.07.02 HOOBASTANK / ? (re-scheduled date?) -rock city, nottingham
10.07.02 OASIS / ? -newcastle arena
07.09.02 KORN / puddle of mudd / trustCO. -london arena
02.11.02 A HUNDRED REASONS / sparta / kinesis -the octagon, sheffield
06.11.02 FOO FIGHTERS / cave in -newcastle arena
03.04.03 PLACEBO / ? -the octagon, sheffield
12.04.03 LIFEHOUSE / ?(some woman!) -academy, manchester
19.12.03 METALLICA / godsmack -earls court, london
27.04.04 DURAN DURAN / scissor sisters -sheffield arena
05.05.04 BRITNEY SPEARS / jc chasez / wicked wisdom -the NIA, birmingham
06.06.04 INCUBUS / a hundred reasons -newcastle arena
29.06.04 G3 -royal concert hall, nottingham
15.09.04 RUSH -NEC arena, birmingham
12.10.04 AVRIL LAVIGNE / simple plan -sheffield arena
29.11.04 THE DARKNESS / ASH / do me bad things -newcastle arena
02.05.05 CREAM -royal albert hall, london
05.06.05 AUDIOSLAVE / and you will know from the trail of dead -the civic hall, wolverhampton
23.06.05 JIMMY EAT WORLD / apartment -the octagon, sheffield *UPDATED*

key:
? – i simply can’t remember who/what band supported the headliner
* – reviewed in ROTTW

trundling through the list made me notice a few things:
– the obvious vacuum during an important era of 90’s rock music, ie the grunge / alternative years. and no, i don’t wanna talk about it!
– i only watched a measly total of four gigs in the UK during my university years.
– i saw one gig for every 40 days in 2002.
– a number of the support acts i saw are headliners today (limp bizkit, muse)
– two of the venues do not exist anymore. the newcastle mayfair is now the gate. the leeds town & country club has also been torn down.
– i actually went to dudley to watch a gig (i met the lead singer of will haven there!).

i don’t want to turn this into a meme, but if any of you out there have a list of gigs you have seen and enjoyed, i’d love to check it out!