Oh I know, Warrington, the time goes to Warrington. I’ve been travelling up North for what feels like forever and frankly a commute less than three hours would probably hit me for a SIX. Saying that I better get used to it because I only have something like THIRTY ONE days (no one’s counting) left on this job until I am back in London permanently. I would be lying if the thought of being in the big smoke full time isn’t alarmingly scary to this well acclimatised North Westerner now, especially after spending the past week there and feeling like I need to be in bed by 20h00 today to recover but I am also looking forward to the hustle and bustle again.
At a later stage I am sure I will reflect on the past 10 months and write a post about “The things the Northerners taught me” but it’s all too soon to reminisce yet.
What I do want to talk about is how cool this year has been so far and the incredible musicians that have been gracing the wintery shores of England.
It all started with a bang late January with Hozier, that “take me to church” fella. What a performance. Not only is he wonderfully Irish with that lush long curly hair but he sings like an angel. I remember the very first time I heard “Someone New” back in 2014 and couldn’t help but feel the sense that maybe to me the most perfect lyric ever had just been uttered “Cause God knows I fall in love just a little, oh, a little bit every day with someone new”. As a person who observes everyone around her (particularly challenging in London when one crosses path with tens of thousands of people each day!!) I can safely say that most days I will see someone that catches my eye for whatever reason and every time that happens now I think of Hozier’s beautiful song. And why should we fall in love every day you ask? Well I ask why shouldn’t we?!
This brings me to the next guy that honestly without sounding like an utter fluff changed my life and will continue to do so. David Ramirez. If you have never heard him you are missing out on some of the finest music in the world. I’ve been listening to his stuff for years now and trolling his page for any UK dates with no such luck until late September last year. The day I found out he was gracing the UK with his presence I struggled to sleep. I tossed and turned as the excitement mounted and realising that the show was FOUR months away I had to get a grip. Sleeping improved in the following months but roll around the 24th January 2016, the day before Show 1 of 2 that I had tickets to attend and I felt a slight apprehension. What if he wasn’t as good live? …not likely… What if he didn’t play my favourite song of all time ever? …he didn’t that night… What if all the hype and all the hours of listening to his music somehow changed seeing him in the flesh? ….it didn’t, well it did in a frikken amazing way… Anyway, he basically was everything and more live and I resisted the urge to cry or scream or make an embarrassing scene (I didn’t have to though…. My friend Sam who came along did that all for me, “We’ll be there” in response to whether anyone in the crowd was going to his Thursday show). Needless to say her efforts did not go unrewarded, we managed an introduction to the man himself and a cringe worthy “It’s a school night, no way we could have a drink tonight, Monday and all….” SIGH. I will forever look back on that moment and potentially put it down to the one time my ridiculous logical self took over and made decisions on my behalf! Alas, we had Thursday.
And Thursday a couple of things happened:
1. He sang my song.
2. I cried.
3. We danced.
5. We drank.
6. We made up for Monday night’s faux pas – at least in my opinion.
And Thursday a couple of things happened:
1. He sang my song.
2. I cried.
3. We danced.
5. We drank.
6. We made up for Monday night’s faux pas – at least in my opinion.
I would also like to vow to attend Mr Ramirez’s shows wherever in the world they are if (a) they are in a reasonable travelling distance from my location and (b) nope…actually just (a) is enough.
Then lastly, on the eve of Valentine's Day I found myself in Brixton’s O2 Academy, in all fairness I think I’ve had a longer relationship with that venue than any romantic relationship anyway. The evening called for the good company of Hurts, hailing from my current second home (Manchester, not Warrington cause I really should up-play this Warrington situation a little). I just did a quick check and I never wrote about them the last time I went to see them in the East side of London. Alarming. Anyway, Brixton was off the hook. They made me dance solidly for TWO hours. My friend Sam (as above) had not heard a single song of theirs before that night but somehow jammed along with me all night, you are close to the best gig-go-er friend a girl could ask for! This time I resisted the urge to cry (*ball my eyes out*) to their smashing hit “Stay” and in turn realised how far I have come since the last time I saw them in October 2013…. Only took 2 and a bit years to get here! A shout out to my father for indulging my TWENTY ONE year old self and importing their first CD – Happiness for me back in 2010. Happiness is a choice and I think this year I will choose it for myself. And with that positive note, I am going to sign out now. I will endeavour to write more this year but no promises, you know life happens...
Until next time!
Someone New - Hozier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPJSsAr2iu0
Fires – David Ramirez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYjC77nW51w
Strange Town – David Ramirez (cause the line between favourite here is so thin, he failed to sing this one though…maybe next time!?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXYiEmY_qk
Stay – Hurts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nP3XB7hrFo
P.S. I know point 4 is missing, but point 4’s are always pointless.
