Nothing Ever Lasts Forever

I know I go on about music and gigs a bit much but I’ve experienced a real purple patch recently. Last night was no exception as we saw Tears For Fears and they were incredible. Had no idea they were that good live.

Close To Me

Many of the gigs we go to are intimate affairs, held in a nightclub in Kingston where the capacity is 1200. Everywhere you go there’s a good view because there are about five levels. 

The gigs are album promotional events and so if you want more than one ticket you have to order a CD or LP with the extra tickets. But the price is normally only around £20 for a ticket and CD anyway so it’s an absolute bargain.

The artist gets a sold out show and boosts their chances of reaching number one in the hit parade. And we the punters get the opportunity to see the whites of their eyes rather than as specks on a stage from the back of an arena. (And my hairdresser usually gets one of the spare CDs.) Win win win!

Closedown

I was feeling grateful for this arrangement on the way home yesterday. It feels pretty special to experience brilliant artists up close and personal. After the pandemic I don’t take it for granted. 

There was an awful moment during the first days of Covid when all the music venues were shut and no one knew when they would open again. Or if they ever would open again.

If the world was indeed to be locked down, with music events a thing of the past, then it would have turned out that my last ever gig was seeing rock legends The Who. 

I Call That A Bargain

Long time readers will know about this already and that the tickets were only £13 (or £17 including the CD!) but I don’t think that I’ve ever mentioned that my very first gig was also seeing The Who.

That was way back when in 1989 when Daltrey and Townshend had already retired a couple of times but decided to give it one more go. I persuaded a mate to join me and off we headed to Wembley Arena. Probably paid more for the actual gig than in 2020!

We travelled by coach all the way from Harrogate to London to see the show and then the coach took us straight back again. It took forever.

And then I did the same thing a week later with a couple of other mates, only to this time to Birmingham.

All This Music Must Fade

So if The Who had been the first and last band I ever got to see I’d have remembered it pretty well and it would have been a strange sort of symmetry. But it did make me think about how you know when it’s the last time you do something. 

Often you’ll know. And maybe you’ll savour the moment. For happy and sad events you’ll take your time and gaze at that particular view or room or person, taking it all in one last time.

But what about the things you don’t notice slipping away?

There is one day when a parent picks up their child for the last time. You don’t know when that is but it just happens. There has to be a day. You probably won’t remember it but that last time will occur.

As the father of a daughter who has somehow made it to the age where she will leave for university next weekend this really resonates. She’s nineteen now and I can’t remember when I picked up my lovely girl last. And I don’t think I’ll be picking her up ever again. And definitely not like in the photo!

(Obviously, in my role as ‘Dad’s Taxi’ I’m forever picking her up . . . usually after she’s had her lashes done and missed the bus home. And then dropping her off at a friends, and then picking her up again! Repeat to fade.)

 I Gotta Have Some Of Your Attention

The top tip this week is to be as involved as much as possible with whatever it is you’re doing. Really take notice. Be mindful.

It’s about not getting blase with wonderful things. Just because the wonderful thing is happening often, it’s still no less precious.

Whatever it is, while it’s still available, take care to notice the small detail. Observe the colours. Feel the surface. Listen to the noise it makes. Take in the aroma.

I like the idea of always taking in the beauty of an event, even if it’s a mundane event like hanging out the washing.

Everyday Is Like Sunday

We’ve all heard that inane suggestion to live every day as if it’s your last. I think it is a daft thing to suggest because we'd never get anything done.

We'd all be out partying all the time. If I knew it was my last day on earth then I wouldn’t be sat at my desk typing a Top Tip email. 

We can’t live every day as if it’s our last but we can pay more attention to the people and things that are around us all the time.

You'll enjoy it more while you're doing it and when the last time occurs you may have a chance of remembering it.

Even if you don’t you’re more likely to have a full memory of the feeling of what that was always like.