December 2019, it’s half past eleven in the evening and Beer & Vinyl Club (the theme - early 1970’s), is drawing to a close.
Five beers down, five great beers, like Grey Trees JPR, Cwrw y Llyn Seithenyn and Black Sheep Golden Sheep Ale and now on a whiskey nightcap courtesy of our host Steve. Freddie King is on the turntable with his 1972 album Texas Cannonball, which is proving to be a perfect late night wind down following albums by Traffic, Ducks Deluxe, Cockney Rebel and more.
The conversation turns, as it almost inevitably always doe, to the subject of great gigs….
Here I was, approaching the mid point of my 59th year, turning 60 is only 18 months away. How could I mark the occasion and sweep away what had been a personally shit decade. What could be a statement of intent that my 60’s would be better than my 50’s, memorable for good reasons, a positive life affirming new start.
It didn’t take much soul searching to acknowledge one of the things that had been missing was regular live music. I played bass in local bands throughout my twenties and photographed bands throughout that period. Being a sucker for a pithy one liner, the idea of going to sixty gigs in my time as a sixty year old was conceived, 60@Sixty was born. 60 gigs in one year, that’s just over one a week. Expensive on a bus drivers wages, logistically challenging on a bus drivers shifts but worth a go!
My ambition is to see bands I already love and have seen live. Bands I love and have never seen and bands I don’t even know I love (Inevitably there will be bands that will disappoint, but that’s part of the thrill )! Some of the gigs will be at big venue but mainly gigs at small venues around Cardiff and Bristol. I want to go to gigs with mates and get taken to gigs by mates.
Of course, all of this was before we had become so intimate with the term Covid_19 and Coronaviruses were not part of our lexicon. So, several lockdowns on and the inevitable question is will I get to see one gig never mind sixty? Well things seem to be opening up and tickets are now available, so June 11, 2021…..let the challenge begin.
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