My excitement levels were off the charts in anticipation of last night's Megson gig. When the world came to an end in March 2020, so did my chances (I was convinced) of ever seeing them live; of seeing anyone live, ever again. Well, it only took four years but, blimey, what a four years it's been. The world's not quite the same as it was four years ago. I'm not sure I'm the same as I was four years ago. That being said, Stu & Debbie Hanna are - I reckon they've been in stasis since the first lockdown. Stu's hair is just as wild (in a good way) and Debs is just as, well, gorgeous. Am I allowed to say that? (Speaking to them both in the interval I can in fact confirm that both statements are factually correct.)
If I said they opened with Are You Sitting Comfortably and closed with a rousing version of Good Times Will Come Again and that they played The Long Shot and that they tore through their latest album (the terrific What Are We Trying to Say?), then I think you'll have a idea of how perfectly pitched the evening's set was. Their songwriting, their sense of timing, their interplay is flawless; no wonder they're all over the BBC folk awards. I have to say, and I think I told some old friends who I met in the bar (that I hadn't, bizarrely, seen in seven years), that this gig has gone straight into My Top Five Gigs Of All Time. And for those who don't know what it was up against, here's an idea of the competition.
It goes without saying that if they come within a hundred mile* radius of your house you should make every effort to go and see them. Even if just to see Stu's hair!
Megson - Good Times Will Come Again (2016)
I missed your original Top 50 gigs ten years ago. It is probably due an update by now. I might try to draw up a similar list although, as someone commented way back then, there will be plenty from the days before Songkick that I have forgotten. But then if I can't remember them they aren't likely to be contenders for the Top 50 memorable gigs so the problem solves itself.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, although I've kept all my diaries going back to 1981, I never consulted them once when I put that list together. The really good ones transcend mere diary entries.
DeleteAnother new name for the list... thanks, John.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Rol. "The Long Shot" was the in for me. It cropped up on a UK folk playlist a few years ago and I was hooked.
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