Top 5 shows of the year?
- Carly Rae Jepsen, Pride, Brighton, 6th August
- Chvrches, Royal Albert Hall London, 31st March
- Lucy Rose, Ramsgate, 22nd January
- Pretty Reckless, Scala, 10th October
- Big Moon, Pyramids, 1st October
- Black Honey, Great Escape Brighton, 20th May
- Foxes, Concorde 2, Brighton, 11th May
- Lucy Rose, Brighton Dome, 18th February
- Anavae, Boston Music Rooms, 22nd September
- Gabrielle Aplin, Brighton Corn Exchange, 15th February
Total number of shows?
32, up five from last year.
First show of the year?
Lucy Rose, acoustic, at Ramsgate Music Hall.
Last show of the year?
Lucy Rose, acoustic, at a library in east London.
Most surprising show?
Chvrches. I knew the second album was good, but this was a near religious experience!
Most disappointing?
Garbage in London. They’re my favourite band, but their gig in London in June was too dark for my liking - I could feel myself going to dark places and so I made my excuses and left.
Farthest travelled?
Ramsgate or Portsmouth.
States attended shows in?
Cheerful, grateful, euphoric, terrified, bored, knackered.
Venue most visited?
Komedia, Hope and Ruin and Horatios - all Brighton venues, all visited twice.
Worst injury?
Thanks to stronger leg muscles, tactical site visits and better footwear, my legs didn’t suffer as much.
Most expensive ticket?
£35 for Chvrches - but well worth it!
Band seen the most?
Lucy Rose, only four times this year.
Best new discovery?
The Big Moon and Dua Lipa were instant likes. Black Honey had two fantastic sets at The Great Escape but a subdued set in Portsmouth means the jury’s still out.
Bands seen this year that also broke up this year?
None! Yet. Although Lucy Rose has lost two members of her touring band.
Friends made at shows?
I mostly went to gigs with Dana so didn’t really talk to anyone else. At some point in this year Carly Rae Jepsen started following me on Instagram, if that counts.
Band members met?
Lucy Rose, but she doesn’t count. Becca from Anavae, but she was our wedding photographer so that’s cheating a tad. Foxes, at a signing. Technically Samantha Barks, if she counts? Or Katrina Law?
Best souvenir from a show?
Tees from the Carly Rae Jepsen, Chvrches, Pretty Reckless and Anavae shows.
Longest time in line?
An hour in a gritty back alley before Black Honey.
Shows seen from the barricade [front row]?
All four Lucy gigs, all the gigs at Southsea Fest, and Carly at Pride.
Most shows in one month?
Excluding The Great Escape and Southsea Festivals, February with 3 - two of which were in one night!
Most shows in one week?
That week in February - Gabrielle Aplin on the 15th, then Lucy Rose and PINS on the 18th.
Biggest crowd?
Carly at Pride. We had people come down from Scotland for it.
Any drunk encounters?
Free beer in Portsmouth.
Top 5 best 2016 concert moments:
1. Chvrches - I went from wanting to buy all their merch to planning a tattoo of the band’s logo, I was that ready to join their cvlt.
2. Carly Rae Jepsen playing a (truncated) set less than 30 minutes walk from my flat.
3. Lucy Rose’s face lighting up whenever she spotted me and Dana in the audience.
4. Foxes being utterly smiley and fantastic whenever we saw her.
5. Black Honey at The Great Escape. Absolutely blistering sets!
Top 3 worst 2016 concert moments:
1. The Garbage gig - I hated to cut it short, but I wasn’t enjoying it.
2. Black Honey in Portsmouth - I don’t know if I’d built them up too much in my head, but they weren’t as good as in Brighton. Technical issues dogged them as well.
3. The sound at Pride was pretty bad, but then again no mortal technology can do Carly justice!
