Gig Diaries: The Magic of Live Music

This Christmas my boyfriend got me an amazing gift. At the bottom of the box under the things I had asked for was a piece of paper that said:

'She throws her arms around me. I realise I'm the lucky one.'

I didn't recognise the lyrics at first. Underneath that it read 3rd Feb, the Parish, Huddersfield.What on earth is this code? He was looking at me hopeful I would understand the surprise and I was staring at him baffled.

The penny dropped... Did you get Red Rum Club tickets?!?!?!?!

The answer was yes! Why on earth are we going to Huddersfield of all places?

At first I thought it was because the Liverpool dates had sold out and these hadn't, made sense to me. However, there was more to it. It turns out, Red Rum Club had set out on a mini tour of the north for Independent Venue Week and the Parish was an indie venue my other half was keen to show me having played there himself. Unsure of what Huddersfield had to offer having never been, I was excited to see why this venue was so special.

The Parish is a beautiful building with several floors. We went to the second floor where the gig was I turned to my boyfriend super excited and said...This is going to be so much fun!!!

The room was tiny, in the best way (300 capacity). Wherever you stood you were close to the stage, I just knew it was going to be awesome.

I was lucky enough to see Red Rum Club at Neighbourhood Weekender last spring. They were playing the opening set of the weekend on the main stage. Given their early set time I think they were pleasantly surprised by the reception they received.

The set started with a bang! They opened with Holy Horses. if I remember correctly they played three tracks back to back before even addressing the crowd who it was safe to say were HYPED! (or at least I definitely was). I was absolutely buzzing throughout the entire set jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas at the beginning of every track and singing along at the top of my voice. So much so that I did not have a voice for several days after. It was without doubt the most fun I have had at a gig in so long.

I have become particularly jaded when it comes to New Music of late, the internet is always reminding me that the tracks in my favourite playlist are 15 years old and the music I listen to is no longer relevant. The new music that is thrust upon us sounds like it is written for someone else.

Red Rum Club are the first *new* band I have been genuinely excited about in a very long time. I have listened to their albums over and over, played new songs to friends and family whilst watching them, hopefully willing them to love them as much as I do. They have been extremely popular in my hometown rendering the tickets extremely difficult to get. Scousers love to rally behind local success stories, it is also extremely comforting to hear vocalists sing in their own accents.

Since Covid deprived us of live music for so long every gig I have been to has had a particularly mystical quality to it, this was no exception. You can feel the collective joy in the room from both the audience and artist. Everyone is just so happy to be able to experience the magic of live music again. This magic was amplified by the unique venue ten fold.

After the set ended we got chatting with some of the event staff. It was clear from a brief conversation that those that worked at the Parish were an incredibly passionate community of music lovers. A few years back the venue was on a different site and many of the regulars were concerned that once it moved it would lose its sparkle. We were reassured this sparkle was there to stay.

Like many independent venues, the Parish was brought to its knees by the Pandemic and it was touch and go whether they would be able to stay open. A Crowdfunder was set up to save it. We were told that inches from the deadline they were still significantly under their target to save the place. It was Frank Turner (another favourite artist of mine) playing a gig there that meant they had generated enough cash to keep going.

It is events like Independent Venue Week and artists like Red Rum Club and Frank Turner who are reminding people that the indie venue is where music is built, it is where artists learn, interact with fans and more often than not have the most fun. The independent venues in unexpected places are where secret genius lives, where the passion is and where the magic of live music is created.