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I don't go to many music gigs, because I hate music and all humanity, but my wife is a big Alanis Morissette fan and Alanis was on at the O2 tonight so I took her as an early birthday treat.
Was it insane to have a big night out hours before we were going to get on a train to Edinburgh? Of course it was. But we like to make life difficult for ourselves.
Sadly this meant I would miss watching the Euros final with Phoebe, but I managed to see snatches of it and text her when anything exciting happened.
We were in our seats at the O2 when the penalties started (foolishly the support act came on about halfway through this exciting event and it was hard to tell if cheers were for her or for a converted kick or saved penalty.
Whilst modern technology had allowed me to watch a chunk of the match on the tube, the fractured nature of internet and phone signal meant that different parts of the arena were getting to see the penalties at different times. I seemed to be lagging the most. A cheer from the bar let me know that England had scored their first penalty, though there was no audible groan to let me know it had been disallowed (or why). So in a way having the music starting meant that it was harder to tell what was about to happen.
Phoebe at home was 90 seconds behind me so it was tricky to share it with her.
But even the music couldn't drown out the cheer for the win and the support act ended her first song at almost exactly the right time and must have thought she was nailing it.
I am not sure music gigs are really for me. I was more in awe of the crowd of several thousand and the size of the room. Most people were excited about the imminent appearance of their hero and I was thinking about the future of the venue - would it be discovered by archaeologists or would it be knocked down and replaced or just fall down. I then thought about how one day everyone in this room would be dead and wondered who'd be first and who'd be last. Like I say, music gigs aren't really for me.
I know a few of Alanis' songs of course and Catie plays her album quite a lot, but I kept thinking of my play Punk's Not Dead (read it here -
xhttps://www.richardherring.com/downloads/Scripts/page_11/I think it might be the best thing I ever wrote) and the fact at one point one of the characters rifles through my character's limited CD collection and stops and says "Alanis Morissette" with some disdain and my character says "It was a present."
I did have that album though, whatever my imaginary friends thought of it. And as much as I enjoyed Ed Byrne's take-down of Ironic, I did like her stuff back in the day. It was passionate and angry and had some great lyrics. Isn't that ironic? No.
What a thing to watch someone in a venue of this size (where music makes sense, if comedy doesn't really) being venerated by their fans. It was an incredible atmosphere and Alanis' performance was impressive and her voice strong and clear.
She started with One Hand In My Pocket which, for a little while, when the kids were really little, used to be the song that Catie played at bedtime and Phoebe and Ernie would jump around the bedroom dancing with no clothes one (they were both 28 years old at the time).
The energy remained high throughout the set. I wondered if she still loved singing these songs and the reaction she was getting or if it was a grind. A big star, getting adulation from adoring fans, but empty inside. Isn't it ironic?
She certainly gave the impression that this was as big a joy for her as it was for the crowd. There were no half measures and lots of showpersonship and even my music-hating heart was touched and began to understand some of the power of the medium. The fact that all those people in there will be dead one day makes the power of the connection they felt tonight all the more powerful. And I enjoyed shouting, "But you're still alive" with everyone. Now that's a good line.
I actually enjoyed it, like some kind of robot almost learning what it is to be human and the night had meant so much to Catie. So as much as we might regret getting to bed at 1am when we're on the train tomorrow...
I don't care what that man I made up in my play says. I like Alanis Morissette!
