19 Comments
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

I saw a brief reference to Iron Maiden touring on Twitter and had a momentary lapse of reason where I considered investigating tickets, and then my hips had a full blown PTSD panic attack to remind me of how it felt the last time I saw Iron Maiden in the standing room only section and how I had to spend the second half of the show doing a wriggling approximation of dancing in order to ensure my hips didn't seize up and prevent me from walking out of the show under my own steam at the end. All that dressed, as required, in jeans, Maiden T shirt and Doc Martens, so it wasn't like I was dressed inappropriately for standing 🤷‍♀️

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

I have fuzzy memories of concerts long ago. I think I had a great time . Trying to impress a girl is just met , wandering around in the haze of smoke from legal and non legal substances . Now of course I could give a shit about impressing anyone . And I stood in line for 30 minutes at a restaurant not long ago . Followed by advil and crashing. Standing for any length now seems like one of the levels of hell. So in short I say go for it . I’m sure you’ll be fine

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

Don't forget to complain about the volume of the music.

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

Yeh, it's never bloody loud enough to cut over the tinnitus. Where's my walker, dangnammit.

Expand full comment

like the proverbial horse bolting from the barn i now use fancy earplugs. I still regret the day a (hot) girl was trying to pick me up but my hearing was so stuffed afterwards i couldnt hear a thing so we both gave up (no text messagers back then) lol

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

I went to a hardcore show last week. I was neither the oldest nor fattest. I did see someone lose a beer though to some of that starting a lawnmower arms flailing , looking like they are warming up to lift weights dancing the older kids do these days. Back in my day we sorta circled with arms aloft , now its like a full contact sport which makes me stifle a laugh , those crazy hardcore kids. https://youtu.be/xGFfb5rJjhs?si=p-KiK2VzYBiO1Z_E

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

Sitting is favoured but standing at the Tivoli is fine. The secret is regular beers. I recommend up on the balcony if there is still a bar up there. Though there is a bar downstairs where you don’t even have to watch the band! The important thing is beer.

Expand full comment
Aug 29Liked by John Birmingham

Saw the Pet Shop Boys in London back in July. Fully seated show but most of the time it was dancing (awkwardly) standing against the seats. Still a great show and maybe they've managed to find the best of both worlds.

Expand full comment

The last time I went to a concert, I was so drunk I couldn't stand. So I plopped down in the mud, and people walked over me. The sound was fine down there, and I'm not sure how I made it home, but I managed. Not up for a repeat anytime soon (pretty much never. Even if they figure out rejuv or something, my brain will still remember roaring, violent hangovers). Jane is brave to even consider it.

Expand full comment

All of the recent concerts I've been to have been sit-down affairs in theaters or concert halls, with seat numbers on the tickets. I didn't realize that they still did the stand-up thing, although if I thought about it a bit it would be obvious for "big enough" bands. The Swifts and the like. Wouldn't have thought that the Whitlams were in that league.

Expand full comment

OMG you lot are soft and old!!!. Went to see Chocolate Starfish 2 months ago at the Tivoli. Seats yes, but not used after the first acoustic set. Few beers and great entertainment from Adam. Have a few upcoming gigs at FVMH, Triffid and Tivoli. Even went recently one Friday night to a dive bar in the Valley to see Marvell - awesome.

Expand full comment
Aug 29·edited Aug 29

Saw a few gigs this last year including the Good Things Festival as I wanted to see Devo one last time!....might miss that one this time around though as it is pricey and the bands this year aren't doing it for me. Saw The Damned and that was a sit down affair at the Enmore Theatre, and saw NOFX at the Hordern and they were fabulous!

Expand full comment

Gigs over the years have been far and few between. But i went with the guys to go see Helmet and Mark of Cain each do their anniversary albums and well, it opened the flood gates. Now i'm going to see the remaining members of Take That (for punishment for my sins) in a nice sit down winery thing. To back it up the very next night in the enmore to see Heilung. And then doing Wardruna in January. Of course the same old problems arise - even though now i have disposable income, ticket prices seem way more than indexing would suggest, and these days we need to book accom close to the venue as opposed to sitting at Cowan station at 2am in the morning because we missed the last train back to the coast. Ben Lee is doing our local pub in there somewhere, so at least we can stroll to that one. Hoping he has mellowed out since the last time i saw him. He chucked a big tanty because someone heckled him. His support act Gerling were much better and much more humorous.

Expand full comment
author

You can blame streaming and piracy for ticket prices.

Expand full comment

that's not so bad if the artist is getting more than they used to in the old days - the venues seemed to take a mighty big chunk and i'd just assumed it was them being greedy and the artists missing out again. Boggles the mind thinking about Taylor Swift and the price of her tickets.

Expand full comment
Aug 29·edited Aug 29

could be worse, it could be being held at an RSL/Surf lifesavers club isn't that where older artists go to live out their final years in Australia.

Expand full comment

Isn't Twin Towns and the SS&A the hit venues these days on the borders?

Expand full comment

I heard on the classic hits AM station (I can't get FM around the Hinterland and I don't mind the old stuff) a while ago a suggestion that concerts for us 'oldies' should be matinees. I mean, I can't imagine Tim wants to be up past his bedtime playing gigs. The guy must be pushing 60 (no offence to those people that are approaching of have passed that age; some nights I can't even make it to 6 PM myself!)

Expand full comment
author

I do believe there is a matinee offering for The Stranglers.

Expand full comment