Arsenal vs Portsmouth - Highbury, London - Wednesday 28th December 2005

Something of a stroll in the park - Arsenal were one up inside 10 minutes, 2 up before 20 minutes, and 4 goals up by half time. Then they switched off, saved energy for the games coming up, and played out a goalless second half. The whole experience was reminiscent of the Arsenal that existed before this season, but I think that was probably more to do with how utterly bad Portsmouth were, as well as any specific qualities on Arsenal's part.

The day was extremely cold, and the evening was even colder - not much wind, just extremely cold. Snow outside London had also meant that there were very few trains in from Kent, and none back there after 8pm. Despite that, an attendance over 38,000, so very few seemed unable to brave the weather to get to Highbury.

Its Man Utd next at Highbury, and they will make life considerably more difficult for Arsenal, such is the huge gap between their quality and that of Portsmouth. I couldn't see Pompey scoring all week, let alone all evening, so they left with what they deserved from the game - nothing.

Huntingdon Boxing Day Races - Huntingdon - Monday 26th December 2005

Off to Huntingdon Racecourse for some Boxing Day outdoor action, instead of the Arsenal game. Its actually the first boxing day for 5 years that I haven't watched Arsenal (and I was out of the country for that one), so it seemed strange not to have to brave the non-existant public transport for once.

As is customary at these things I guess, lots of money was lost, until my saviour arrived in a horse called Jupon Vert - my only winner of the day at 4-1. To be fair, it only won because there was a 3-horse pile up at the final fence, but let's not worry about that.

Horse racing is a strange sport - lots of very wrinkly old men there, who normally probably spend all day in the bookies. I cannot understand the attraction of just watching horse races - it seems like the most boring thing in the world. But, when you're at the course and have small amounts of money on them, it turns into an excellent diversion for an afternoon.

Doncaster Rovers vs Arsenal - Belle Vue, Doncaster - Wednesday 21st December 2005

A trip to the cauldron of football pictured above, with its white hot, intimidating atmosphere!! The fact that Arsenal fans were given around 2,000 terrace places tempted lots of people into making the otherwise unappetising trip. Its not often that we get to watch football from terraces these days, so this was unmissable for many.

And, with good reason. My first time on a football terrace for a few years, and immediately it reminded me how much I miss them week in, week out. Standing at the back, right behind the goal with around 10 mates, the terrace filled up quickly in the half hour before kick off.

The most enjoyable aspect of a good 3 hours (including extra time and penalties) was the sheer number and frequency of songs - being packed in together much closer than you ever can be with seats certainly helps with this; as does the obvious ability for groups of friends and people that want to sing to park themselves together. Anybody from the football authorities who says that seats can have the same atmosphere as terraces is either blind or stupid, most probably both. This trip reminded me how much I miss terraces, and I will probably now go looking for some lower division or non-league football when I'm at a loose end in future.

What about the game? Arsenal were shocking, completely beaten for workrate and enthusiasm, not to mention willingness to have a shot at goal, by Doncaster. Too keen to pass the ball around the edge of the area instead of shoot, and not keen enough to get stuck in and win the ball back when needed. It seems the problem doesn't just affect our first teamers! So, Doncaster deserved their 2-1 win after extra time. Oh, sorry, they didn't get it. We scored in the last minute of extra time, then Almunia pulled off his penalty party trick in the shoot out. To be honest, we robbed them, and the faces of Doncaster fans coming out of the ground said as much. Never mind, we needed to go through today to get the train back on the rails, so I'll take it however lucky it may be.

Match Report here

Arsenal vs Chelsea - Highbury, London - Sunday 18th December 2005

Of all the times you could choose to play the reigning Champions and runaway league leaders, you probably wouldn't fancy your chances after you've just lost 2 in a row, and when you haven't scored a goal all month. So, some trepidation all round for this one.

The atmosphere inside Highbury was electric from before the players even came out - it seems after all that we can rouse ourselves for big important games like this, we just can't be arsed against the likes of Blackburn. Oh, and when we start losing big, important games like this, we all shut up again quicksharp.

First half, Arsenal came out strongly I thought, with an obvious game plan to get men behind the ball when Chelsea had it, and not to let them play too much. We made one mistake in trying that, and were punished with the only goal of the half. We also hit the post, and had the ball in their net (which was wrongly ruled out for offside). All in all a good first half performance.

After that, it started to go downhill - when we failed to make early progress in the second half, we quietened down, and in the end Chelsea were easily the better team.

I'm OK about being gracious and admitting all that - we didn't deserve anything from the game overall. But, the way that Chelsea play football really sticks in the throat - 5 players in the referee's ear after every decision; players doing sneaky fouls when they know the referee isn't looking; players going down and rolling around at every opportunity; and the constant moaning, fouling, diving, and, well basically its called cheating.

All very unsportsmanlike, and it stinks. No wonder Chelsea have no respect, when it is clearly a tactic running throughout the club to take advantage of every opportunity, no matter how petty, to possibly gain some advantage. It really takes football to its base level, and that's not something the majority of football fans want or like to see.

Hard Fi, Maximo Park, Editors, Dead 60s - Brixton Academy, London - Sunday 11th December 2005

The title of this post should start with the words "Kaiser Chiefs". The fact that it doesn't is a real shame.

Firstly, full marks to XFM for putting together such a great bill under the same roof, all in a good cause for Shelter. Much less than full marks to them for ruining all of the gaps between bands with a ridiculously annoying compere, and some of their very self important DJs, who none of the audience gave a toss about. And, most annoyingly of all, no marks for allowing the gig to overrun indefinitely, meaning that many people had to miss the Kaiser Chiefs in order to get the last Tube home.

Before the gig (the week before and the day before), it was billed as a 10:30 finish - fine for the Tube. Given that Hard Fi (second on the bill) didn't even come on stage until just after 10pm, that was clearly never going to happen. Maybe the organisers wanted all the gig goers to get really into the Shelter spirit, by all missing their last Tubes home and having to wander around all night, or perhaps get a dodgy minicab in the middle of Brixton. Thanks XFM!!

What allowed this to happen is probably due in some part to the new licensing laws, which previously would have forced the music to stop at 10:30. Now, with a 24-hour licence, there is no need to stop if they don't want to. I guess we could see more gigs like this in future, where the music overruns to past the time where transport stops - forcing people to either leave early or take their chances getting home. Most annoying.

Anyway, to the bands. Dead 60s were very much like the Coral, or in fact like a cross between the Coral and the Specials, 2 of my least favourite bands. They sounded OK, but I won't be going out of my way to see them again.

Editors, who I'd not seen before, were fantastic, sounding excellent, and their album will be high up on my Christmas list - one great song after another.

Maximo Park came on stage to a warm welcome, and announced that they were going to play their whole album, in order, for the first and probably the last time. I love the album, so was pleased with this. However, probably a mistake, because most of the best songs on the album are in the first half dozen tracks. This meant that the set started to flag halfway through, and by the end, many people that didn't know the album were starting to lose interest. I loved it though!
And then to Hard Fi. Having seen them 2 days previously and loved it, this was every bit as good. Playing to a less converted audience that were also there to see other bands, they really won everybody over with a very energetic, if shorter than normal, set.

At 10:45 when Hard Fi departed, so did I, along with dozens of others. I'm sure that the Kaiser Chiefs were good, but I'm also sure that there weren't that many people still there by the end of their set.

Oasis, Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral, The Subways - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Saturday 10th December 2005

So, after 2 gigs the previous night, I set off unreasonably early in the morning for an extravaganza in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. First announced back in July, this gig promised Oasis, Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral and The Subways on the same bill - all in the Millennium Stadium with the roof shut.

Staying the Saturday night in Bristol meant that we went there first to check in. Then, just before midday, we caught the train at Bristol station, bound for Cardiff. Amazingly, given an event with 60,000 people in Cardiff that day, the return trains all finished at 9:30 - halfway through Oasis' set. It is incredible that our public "services" are allowed to so blatantly ignore us when we want them to serve us!!

After arriving in Cardiff, we retired to a bar for a few drinks, before getting into the stadium just in time to see The Subways play. They were surprisingly good, I had expected them to struggle in such a large venue, but they carried it all off very well.

After The Subways came The Coral, one of the bands I detest most in the world. Quite why was summed up by the number of times I heard the question "haven't they already played this one?" - given that all their songs sound the same, they of course played the same song a dozen times. Dull, dull, dull.

I had not seen Razorlight since Alexandra Palace in March, which did not go well! However, even at that gig, Razorlight sounded great, so I was quite looking forward to giving them another chance. And they didn't disappoint, they went down a storm, playing an excellent set that didn't dip at all during the hour they were on for. The singer is clearly an arrogant little bugger, but they get away with it by being a truly solid live band.

Next up, arguably a set that could have filled the stadium in its own right - Foo Fighters were warming up for a UK arena tour, and the fact that Oasis managed to get them as support act raised a few eyebrows when I told friends who was playing at this gig. A huge coup, and a truly world class live band didn't disappoint the audience at all. Some from the new album, some old singles from previous albums, a fantastic set all round.
Finally, Oasis. The big thing about watching Oasis is that your experience depends too much on those around you in the crowd, who can often be such tossers that they ruin the gig for you. It has happened many times before, that the idiot count in the crowd is just too high. A real shame, because your enjoyment of the gig often bears no resemblance to how good Oasis actually were. Little problem at this gig, as the crowd was a good one, so you could concentrate on enjoying the band. Lots to enjoy, albeit from a set which has been pretty much the same all year for Oasis gigs in the UK. There was a surprise outing for "The Masterplan" though, a very pleasant surprise indeed.

Being a stadium gig, we were all finished by 10:15, which allowed time for a quick beer in the Walkabout near the stadium - Welsh hen parties and all!! 2 hours, and a £60 cab ride later, we were all back in our Bristol hotel bar.

The Others - Koko, London - Friday 9th December 2005

A completely unnecessary one, this. Having just been to see Hard-Fi at the Astoria, and with a further 2 gigs in 2 days over the weekend to come, I decided to go to see The Others play a late gig in Camden. This may have had something to do with the beers I'd drunk, which meant I was up for anything. That, and the memory of the riotous show at the Garage in May, drew me up there.

After navigating the pretty long queue (I must say I detest Camden Town at 11pm, when everybody in the world seems to be trying to do the same thing I want to do), we got into the venue, got a beer, and watched the tail end of the support act, The Crimea. Sounded OK, but didn't really have a chance to get into the set before it finished.

The Others came on just after midnight, and t was extremely easy just to walk up to the front to watch. The front middle was busy, but you could easily stand about 5 rows back, or on the barrier at the edges of the stage.

The crowd were separated from the stage by a row of security and barriers, which kind of ruins the Others experience somewhat, especially in comparison to the Garage in May. The set was good enough, but the real point of the Others is to see them live in a small venue, with lots of stage diving. This didn't have that spark of riot about it, so it felt a bit flat.

Hard Fi - Astoria, London - Friday 9th December 2005

My second time with Hard-Fi in as many months, and my first headline show. Also, back at the Astoria, what a great venue that place really is. We got into the venue just after 8pm, and with no band playing, retired to the bar. No band in fact came on until around 9pm, when Hard Fi unexpectedly appeared, unexpectedly early because of the club nights that happen later on at the Astoria.

I enjoyed the set much more than the Lille gig a month ago, I think because the sound was better in tune with what Hard Fi play, also because the crowd was more up for it, and because they played for longer. The start was electric, and at some points the band were drowned out by the audience - a triumphant homecoming indeed!

I had heard and read about a Hard Fi cover of Seven Nation Army many times before, but tonight was the first time I'd heard it. I thought it was awful - it essentially doubles the number of musicians, but somehow manages to halve the quality of the song. I really don't know why they think that's a good idea - that song will be my "go to the bar/toliet" moment in future!

Other than that, a cracking set, leaving all of the audience wanting much more. Definitely high up the list to go and see next time (and in fact I'll be seeing them in 2 days time again - can't wait).

Arsenal vs Ajax - Highbury, London - Wednesday 7th December 2005

Something of a non-event really. Arsenal were guaranteed to qualify top of the group, and Ajax guaranteed to finish second. So, absolutely nothing to play for - the number of spare tickets floating around made this quite obvious, as did the attitude of many of the players, who treated it as a practice match. And you can't really blame them, with many far more important games coming up this month.

One thing of note did happen in the game - we got a penalty, which Thierry Henry slotted wide of the post. Other than that, the game just petered out into a dull 0-0 draw, one of the least interesting matches I've ever seen!

Prior to this game, Arsenal had set an all time record for scoring in consecutive European games - 22 games since we last failed to score. Well, all runs must come to an end some time, and at least the fact that it was now makes something vaguely interesting to say about this game.

The main fun and excitement came away from the game, in Lisbon to be precise. Manchester United, who apparently have won the Champions League trophy before (although you would never know, because the media never mention it); very humiliatingly failed to beat the mighty Benfica. That meant they failed to get through the group stage for the first time in 10 years, and even more amusingly, failed to qualify for even the UEFA Cup as a consolation. I know that's bad in the long run for all English teams, but it was well worth it for the short term amusement. Highbury erupted on hearing the news, as I later found out, so did most football fans everywhere!!

Mystery Jets, Jamie T - Forum, Tunbridge Wells - Friday 2nd December 2005

A welcome, and long overdue return to Tunbridge Wells Forum, a mainstay of my weekend activity when I was 16. The place is a godsend to a town like Tunbridge Wells, run by a group of guys that very much do it for love as opposed to money. The place perennially struggles to break even, but is one of those places that must be helped to survive.

Their website front page gives an idea of the artists that have played there in their early careers - places like this give a leg up to so many deserving artists. They also prevent people growing up in places like Tunbridge Wells from getting too depressed at the lack of alternative culture there.

A group of about 20 of us descended on the 200-capacity venue to have a few drinks, and also to watch the Mystery Jets. They will be first on the bill at next year's NME Tour, so we all thought they would be worth a look in a much, much smaller venue. The Forum has changed little, if at all, from the time I last went - very comforting to see.

Right down to the groups of kids hanging around outside, trying to get in. Now that licencing laws prohibit under 16s being in a room with drunk adults, and given that the Forum is far too small to have any more than one room, under 16s are officially not allowed in without an adult. So, I became a responsible adult for 5 minutes, to blag a couple of 14-year-olds in to be ale to see the gig.

Jamie-T was the support artist, somebody I'd never heard before. For me, he was the undoubted highlight of the evening. Just one guy on stage alone, strumming an acoustic bass guitar, and singing/talking/rapping over the top. His guitar style was reminiscent of Willy Mason, but the words were far more like Mike Skinner. An interesting, and downright excellent combination.

Spent some of Jamie's set talking to the drummer from the Mystery Jets (you can do that sort of thing at TW Forum), who was a really nice guy, albeit very tired as he came to the end of a month-long tour.

The Mystery Jets started very strongly, playing the one song of theirs I knew early on. From about 20 minutes in, though, I though they started to falter a bit - the set got bogged down in some overly long songs, with strange instrumental parts. All picked up towards the end for a great finish, but I though they'd lost too much energy in the middle of the set. Still, I will definitely get to the NME Awards Tour gig early to catch them again.

A review of the gig from Artrocker is here.