About last night – the Slipknot gig.

Ok this is going to be short and sweet, because as we all know I am not a metal aficionado.Last night I went to Alexandra Palace in North London to see Slipknot. Although I was born north of the river, I now live in SW London so I had forgotten what a great venue “Ally Pally” is, as I haven’t been for a while. And the view of London as you walk up the hill from the station is breathtaking.

So first things first, I was slightly apprehensive as I thought maybe the vibe would be a little aggressive to suit the mood of the music, but actually no. Part of me was a little disappointed. Of course there were hoards of people in heavy metal T shirts and black leather; and the tattoos and piercings were rife – but I guess they are in every day life anyway, so that was hardly a news flash.

Everyone seemed lovely and friendly – in fact I would say the atmosphere was quite jolly!I didn’t catch the support act. But as I waited for Slipknot to arrive, David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” was blasted out of the speakers - I liked that very much.

When Slipknot came on – the audience just came together – didn’t matter how “hardcore” or “ordinary” they looked – they were as one. There was a lot of nodding, some jostling and screaming of the lyrics around me – which was great – I did feel bad that I didn’t know any lyrics except for “Snuff” which they didn’t play.

It was loud and chaotic but pretty enthralling. I loved the rotating drum kits on either side of stage and the fact that whenever you are at a big live gig the drums just course through your veins from the ground up.

I only really knew Dead Memories and Psychosocial as I have the “All hope is gone” album but I did enjoy myself.

I heard riffs and melodic references I recognized, I loved the rhythm section and Corey Taylor works the crowd effortlessly.

The stereotypes of the constant swearing (which I found quite amusing) and the often ugly/disgusting imagery on the video screens didn’t add anything in my opinion, but maybe that’s what’s expected and obviously part of the image. I don’t like their masks at all, but I’m guessing there must be reason? Maybe I should Google…Not sure I would swap my jazz and MOR gigs for heavy metal just yet, but I would definitely go again.  

A New Year’s resolutions update: Saying “YES” to more things…

A few days ago someone was asking me about one of my New Year’s resolutions – saying yes to more things. They were asking what the limits were, which I thought was an interesting question, as I don’t know.

To me, saying “yes” to more things definitely means stepping out of my comfort zone and trying different experiences but I’m not going to force myself to do anything I don’t want to. Saying yes to more things in my mind is going to be enriching, exhilarating and interesting, not remotely unpleasant.

Having said that, as I write this I am slightly apprehensive, as I have agreed to go to a gig tonight. A Slipknot gig.

In case you don’t know, Slipknot look like this:

My daughter looked incredulous when I told her what I was doing tonight…and I guess that’s fair enough as Slipknot and me are a pretty unlikely combination.

I don’t think I said yes on a whim…I am truly intrigued. I can say hands down I have never been to a gig like this before. I have been to plenty of rock gigs in my time, but not a heavy metal gig and nothing as heavy as I know this is going to be.

I know it’s going to be loud and aggressive and whilst I have had a listen to their most recent album, I’m going to be in that odd position of not knowing any of the tunes (!), so I won’t be singing along (!!).

I am trying not to have any expectations but if I had to pick one word that I feel will describe my experience tonight, it would be “scary”.

I have visions of being surrounded by an audience wearing Slipknot masks with a lot of studded leather, looking menacing – or maybe my brain is just wildly generalizing!

I have been quite vocal on my love of Corey Taylor’s songwriting and maybe I would feel less trepidation if he were performing with Stone Sour, but he’s not.

I’m hoping for a stripped down ballad or two – a nice acoustic interlude… I would love to hear them perform Snuff which I covered on my album “The Way I’m Wired” – although I don’t know how likely that is.

Me being me, my biggest dilemma is what to wear. I feel the need to toughen myself up a bit, so nothing pink or overly girly and comfort is pretty important as apparently I’m going to be standing for the evening – and I haven’t done that at gig for a long time!I am possibly over-thinking the whole thing. Maybe there will be lots of people just like me and I’ll just blend in? Hmmm....Anyway, whatever my experience, rest assured, I’ll let you know how I get on…