Now, its not a too extravagant statement to say that neds atomic dustbin changed my life...well, them and my big brother neil...you see back in the late 80's i was into bands like u2 and other such popesque bands, then my bro gave me a chunk of his record collection, and his neds albums...and i was hooked on the alternative scene, which i think kept me out of cheesy nightclubs and into proper gigs from an early age...he gave me his Until You Find Out 7" single...and i was sold on piercings, weird hair, weird clothes and proper music, bands like the wonder stuff (whom i am currently listening to while writing this), senseless things, pop will eat itself, jesus jones et al...seriously, between neil and the neds my life was changed forever, we used to go to many a gig together in those hazy days, and we had an annual pilgrimage to wolverhampton to see the neds play a christmas show, my first being at the age of 17 about a week after i passed my driving test, and we got lost in the fog going home and being stopped and directed by the police...cut to 18 years later and the neds with original line up playing again for the first time in 11 years or so...in wolverhampton...it was with great anticipation that we drove down the m42. the gig itself was incredible...it was back to the old days, t-shirtless, in the mosh pit, pogo-ing to awesome tunes, sweaty as hell, almost puking with exhaustion at trying to sing, 'dance' and jump around to the band...it was total bliss. cue the end of the gig...neil castrated on the floor outside in agony...hed stood at the back for the entire gig...until the encore where he'd gone into the mosh pit, slipped and fallen...we drove to the emergency room back in nottingham where he was diagnosed with a broken ankle/heel. as it turns out it is a bad break, he is laid up for 6 weeks, with a metal plate and pins in his heel for the rest of his life...he is getting married in 5 weeks...and will go up the aisle on crutches...stag do and honeymoon cancelled...incredibly bad luck...and gutted for him
So slooooowly im beginning to find the cool underground places of houston amongst the glitzy shiny high rises. this time via a Gomez gig. ironically Gomez are from Leeds which is about 30 miles from Sheffield...a proper yorkshire band...and with an amazing new album, i even stood next to, and got talking to a couple also from sheffield who also live in houston, which will always strike me as bizarre being this far from home.
