standing in line to see the show tonight....

As regulars will know, as my history degrees might indicate and as the Earworms of the Year overload of the next few days is going to underline again and again, I am deeply drawn to pointless cataloguing. With that in mind, and given that I keep a nicely scored list of all of the gigs that I attend, if you had to guess, what did you think was going to happen eventually, as sure as night follows day?

I can't quite match Mike's 63 gigs this year (63!), but I am an amateur....and I reckon that 27 is still a pretty respectable number, don't you? (compared to 19 last year, 21 in 2006 and 18 in 2005...see, told you I liked lists.). It's plenty enough really, but even then there are gigs that I've missed in Nottingham or elsewhere over the last twelve months. With time, tour schedules, budget and stars all being aligned, perhaps I'll get to see a few more in 2009.

So, for the sake of completeness and my own warped sense of wellbeing, here they all are, all of the gigs I attended in 2008. They are sort of stacked by the scores that I gave each gig when I wrote then up, but that's so arbitrary as to be no scientific guide to anything, so as usual, I've ranked them on a combination of gut feel and an ever fading memory (which is one of the reasons I record these things in the first place).

I've put Glastonbury at the top simply because it can't be compared to anything else and is such a special weekend..... so, with thanks to LB, Hen Mike, Sarah, Rich, Laura, Ali, the two Johns, Peter from Vienna, anyone else I've attended a gig with in the last twelve months....even, on occasion and if she's in the same country as me, C.... I give you my gigs of 2008.

1. The Glastonbury Festival - 27-29 June 2008
2. Elbow @ Leicester De Montfort, 16th October - 9.5 / 10
3. Elbow @ Rock City, 14th April - 9.5 / 10
4. White Denim @ Bodega Social, 7th July - 9 / 10
5. Fleet Foxes @ Nottingham Trent Uni, 2nd November - 8.5 / 10
6. Billy Bragg @ Rock City, 19th November - 8 / 10
7. James @ New Theatre, Oxford, 19th April - 8 / 10
8.The Feeling @ Rock City, 10th March - 8 / 10
9. Gilad Atzmon and the Oriental House Ensemble @ Porgy & Bess Jazz club, Vienna, 17th March - 8 / 10
10. Laura Marling @ Rescue Rooms, 4th November - 7.5 / 10
11. Coldplay @ Birmingham NIA, 2nd December - 7.5 / 10
12. REO Speedwagon @ Rock City, 9th June - 7.5 / 10
13. Tina Dico @ The Maze, 4th March - 7.5 / 10
14. Iron Maiden @ Twickenham Stadium, 5th July - 7 / 10
15. Tina Dico @ Rescue Rooms, 4th December - 7 / 10
16. Joan as Policewoman @ Rescue Rooms, 10th December - 7 / 10
17. Wonky Pop Tour feat. Alphabeat @ Stealth, 15th April - 7 / 10
18. Martha Wainwright @ Rock City, 3rd November - 7 / 10
19. Futureheads @ Rescue Rooms, 3rd June - 7 / 10
20. Heavy Trash @ Nottingham Bodega, 30 September - 7 / 10
21. NME Awards Tour 2008 with The Cribs, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Does it Offend You, Yeah? and The Ting Tings @ Rock City, 12th February - 7 / 10
22. Palladium & Alphabeat @ Bodega Social, 10th February - 3/10 (Palladium) & 8/10 (Alphabeat)
23. Nouvelle Vague @ Rescue Rooms, 7th February - 6.5 / 10
24. Def Leppard, Whitesnake & Thunder @ Nottingham Arena, 17th July - 6.5 / 10
25. One Night Only @ Rescue Rooms, 23rd February - 6/10
26. Seasick Steve @ Rock City, 9th October - 5.5 / 10
27. The Mighty Boosh @ Nottingham Arena, 8th November - 4 / 10

Elbow, eh? Go figure. Who ever heard of them anyway?

...and I think I mark too generously. Far too many 7s this year!