Love is a killing thing

Published on Fri 14 May 2010

On Monday I went to a Cambridge United "All Star" match to raise money for the youth system (I think). All "Star" would've been nearer the mark - Dion Dublin and Dave Kitson being the only people that anyone who doesn't follow lower league football will have heard of. Well, and Max Rushden from Soccer AM I suppose. It was nice to see some players from a few years ago when I started watching them. The linesmen were a bit hot on offside for a non-competitive game I thought, but it was all good fun. Dublin still looked like he was comfortably better than everyone else, and scored from the halfway line at one point, though there may have been a bit of collusion with the goalkeeper judging by the wink and thumbs up he got afterwards.

Last night I supported Erland and the Carnival at The Portland. I was slightly dreading it beforehand for some reason (I think because there was a bit of confusion about whether I was meant to be playing or not so I felt a bit unwanted) but, as often happens when I'm dreading things, it was great. I love The Portland so much - I play so much better there than anywhere else. Even though I was on first there enough people in the room for it to not feel awkward and they seemed to like it - I'm pretty sure I even detected some whooping at the end, which is always a good sign. I was more relaxed and into it than I've been for ages and the guy who's probably accidentally watched me play more than anybody else in the last couple of years said it was the best one he'd seen so that was nice. Setlist: A Folly or a Fortress, This Place is Dead Anyway, The Ghost of Paddy's Night Past, Watertight, Muscle Memory, So Finally a Love Song, 60 Miles With a Slow Puncture. 

As usual I don't think I took proper advantage of having gone down quite well - I bet nobody came away knowing my name, but at least I feel good about playing for a minute. I did have a bit of a discussion with someone about what I meant by one of the lines in 60 Miles with a Slow Puncture which was fairly gratifying. His ideas were a lot more interesting than mine mind you.

The middle band, The Static Front, were unexpectedly great - especially considering it was their first gig. I've known the singer, Lauren, for ages, but didn't know she had such a top voice. The songs were really nice too. Check them out if you live round here - I think they're playing again soon.

I also enjoyed Erland and The Carnival a lot, though they weren't what I anticipated having listened to the album all day. They were less folky than I thought they'd be - they seem to have elected to rock everything up and sounded more like Franz Ferdinand than I'd have predicted. I think it had the potential to be totally incredible if they'd have gone for a bit more atmosphere rather than volume and upbeatness. But what do I know - and it seems to be working for them - they're supporting Paul Weller soon. If that's a measure of success. And it was really enjoyable. And I really like the album.

My living room is finally in a fit state where I can watch telly, which is good - I think it's going to be really nice when it's finished. Unfortunately Virgin seem to have unsubscribed me from everything in the interim and their helpline is either broken or tied up with Westlife fans who can't watch some godawful concert.

Hey, look at this prawn sandwich that Sam at work got from Tesco. I suppose that's why they don't call them prawns sandwiches.