I’m getting too old for the kind of gig I was at last night.

Too old to be on the main floor, arms raised, head back, jumping up and down in the midst of a writhing, sweary, ecstatic group of people all determined to give Faithless a little bit of payback for all the fun they’ve given us.

The place was packed, rammed to the rafters, there was no space anywhere so everyone just got on with things. Those that barged through had no choice, there were no angry exchanges, just bouncing, grinning, enthusiasm all round.

Epic. Was the word I used on Twitter last night and it still feels right. Maybe it was because I had no choice but to abandon myself to the whims and energy of the crowd, maybe it was because this was the ‘farewell’ gig from a band I’ve enjoyed for many years so I felt I had to give a little energy back to them, or maybe it was because their music demands such a response.

I’ve seen Faithless a couple of times before and by god do they know how to do a live show! They are most definitely a band, rather than the DJ led dance outfit which many of their tracks would suggest, and in a venue like the O2 Academy in Glasgow (an old theatre/cinema), with the bass reverberating, and the crowd in the palm of their hand, they nailed it.

The last few albums have been a bit hit or miss, so I can understand why they are calling it a day, but I’m sure they could spend another year or two touring the current setlist and still sell out wherever they go.

Epic.

To have a large piece of ink on display, pretty much all the time, takes an attitude and lifestyle but which came first?

Was the “I don’t care what anyone thinks” attitude always there? Or was the tattoo part of gaining that attitude? Doubtless it was somewhere in-between but is there something there about being able to develop a mindset that maybe is sometimes hidden? A way of making a bold decision to make (force?) a change in your personality?

I think that it can take big events for some people to re-focus on themselves and take a step closer to who they want to be, and whilst it wasn’t the original reason behind my first tattoo, it’s certainly a lot closer tied to my thinking this time around.

Or maybe I’m just too old to care anymore.

Don’t answer that.

12th Nov – Tonight, out for food and drinks.

13th Nov – Tomorrow, hand in registration form at new doctor, go discuss idea for next tattoo with artist.

14th Nov – Sunday, early start at IKEA, then the building of various pieces of furniture whilst watching F1.

15th Nov – Monday evening, Skunk Anansie at the O2 Academy.

16th Nov – Tuesday evening, Kele at the Arches.

17th Nov – Wednesday evening, start work for website design for client.

18th Nov – Thursday evening, gym induction (tbc).

19th Nov – Friday evening, pizza and movie night (the first, of many?).

20th Nov – Saturday, out for lunch/drinks/munchies.

21st Nov – Sunday evening, Caribou, Four Tet, Nathan Fake, James Holden at the ABC.

In other words, whilst I am pretty busy next week, I’m not going to short of things to blog about.

You have been warned.

Unless, of course, I decide that something is black, or white. Then it is, of course, a matter of life altering discourse (some of which I have covered here in the past and a particular instance has reared its head again in the form of personal mugs at work and the ‘stealing’ thereof).

Over the past couple of years I’ve been rediscovering my love of live music and, whilst it’s mostly been somewhat commercial bands (as in, those that have a level of awareness in the greater public, I am NOT a cool music hipster, and no, I don’t care) I do find myself gravitating towards bands playing in smaller venues. Without getting all arsey about it, it just sounds and feels better to hear and see a band in a smaller venue. I’m not talking about The Beatles at The Cavern or anything, I’ll happily be part of a few thousand strong crowd, but once that crowd gets to about the 2500 mark (which as it happens is about the capacity of the O2 Academy in Glasgow) I start to lose that connection you can get in a smaller, more intimate setting.

That is the main reason I dislike larger venues, well that and the acoustics are usually crap as they weren’t designed for music but for exhibitions and trade shows. I speak, as I’m sure most of you have already realised, about the S.E.C.C.

Actually that’s not what I’m talking about at all, is it. No, what I really, in my usual long winded fashion, am trying to say is that I’m breaking a principle. One I’ve held for several years now, namely that I’ll be attending a gig in the S.E.C.C. despite vowing not to do so.

In my excuse, it’s to see a gig by a rather marvellous band called Elbow. I’m hoping their next step up the fame ladder takes them onto a different venue next time but, for now, I find myself in the position of “can’t not” see them.

For every rule…

Interestingly, both bands are similarly positioned in the rock catalogue. Neither are “heavy” nor particularly satanic, instead they sit in the musical catalogue alongside the likes of The White Stripes and Kings of Leon.

The Band of Skulls gig was in a venue I’d never been to before, the Classic Grand in Glasgow, which is up four flights of stairs in what I presume was an old cinema. It’s a tight venue and even standing at the back of the hall, the band were no more than about 60 metres away (that’s about 200 feet in old money).

I bought their album after spotting a brief recommendation in, I think, Esquire. I initially forgot about it but soon started coming back to it time and again. It’s an oddly paced album, and I often found myself checking to see what was playing, only to find it was one of theirs. This is partly down to sharing lead vocals between the male guitarist and female bass player, and also because the songs themselves happily float from rock, to pop-laden ballad, to a drug-hazed blues drawl. Not since Gotye have I been so happily flummoxed by the change of pace the album has.

And the live experience isn’t half bad either. The sound mix was spot on, and the Grohl-esque drumming added an appropriate intensity that some of the album tracks lack.

One advantage of going to a ‘small’ gig for a relatively unknown band is that, in a few years time, I’ll be able to see them again and see how much they’ve learned. I’m not entirely sure Band of Skulls will offer me that opportunity though as they’ve already got one helluva live show, and delivered a damn good night.

I’m not one for making predictions about bands, but if this lot don’t end up on the main stage at Glastonbury some day then there is something wrong somewhere.