V Festival (slowly becoming the festival) was great again this year,
with Muse (undeniably my band of
2003) stealing the show. The Pixies came in a close second and The Zutons were good too. I have seen a couple of great hip-hop shows
from The Roots and Blak Twang. Ben
Kweller’s tiny gig here in Nottingham deserves a mention, because it was
superb, but the two outstanding gigs came at the beginning and end of the
year. A Perfect Circle in early February was a killer show, and normally
would run away with ‘gig of the year’, but it is Amplifier’s year for me, and seeing them last month in the basement
at Rock City whilst everyone else was upstairs wasting their time listening to Hell is for Heroes was truly
special. I was right at the front, met
the singer/guitarist and the bass player, and rocked my little socks off. Thank you guys, I will never forget.