The inane ramblings of a thirty something!

Over the past 18 months I have rediscovered my love of music.  Before then I hadn’t totally forgotten about music but it had taken a back seat and was just something to do when I was bored or just in the background. Now, music has return to being an integral part of my everyday life. As an example, I joined Last.fm in November 2009, now six months later I have scrobbled over 20000 songs and that doesn’t include the CDs I have listened to at home or in the car.

Also over the last 18 months I have been writing reviews of the gigs I have been to and the albums I had bought too. This was something that I really enjoyed doing and one of the reasons I started blogging. Over recent months the reviewing has snowballed and now I regularly receive review copies of albums.

With the positive feedback I had received and the rise in my own confidence towards writing I decided I would launch a website solely for the purpose of reviewing music, both live and recorded.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to my new venture ThisIsNotAScene.com. Here you will find all of my previous reviews, as well as a few new ones I have written recently. ThisIsNotAScene.com is purely a review site, there are many excellent Music News sites out there that more than adequately cover that area so don’t expect the latest happenings to be listed. What you will find is what I think about the shows and albums I have been to and listened to.

I will still continue to write non-music based post here on this blog but all music related post will now be posted on ThisIsNotAScene.com. You can keep uptodate with new posts by following the ThisIsNotAScene.com Twitter account @ThisIsNotA5cene.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

The review of Cancer Bats – Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review of Chimp Spanner – At the Dream’s Edge can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review My Weekend at Hammerfest II can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review of Secondskin – Captive Audience can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review of Mastodon and Totimoshi at Rock City, Nottingham can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

I returned to Anfield yesterday for the first time in 17 years, yes I am a ‘woolly back’! I remember my last trip vividly, catching the train to derby, meeting up with the Derby branch of the Liverpool supporters club and then climbing into the minibus… a beaten up, old, blue Transit circa 1983 with more ice inside than out, good times!  That day we lost 2-1 to Aston Villa, my previous trip a couple of years earlier was also a defeat… 1-0 to Coventry! No wonder it has taken me 17 years to gather up the strength and courage to return again. Would it be a hat-trick of defeats or would I break my duck? Bolton Wanderers were the opponents today, revitalised under new boss Owen Coyle, it could have been a potential banana skin!

This time the journey was a little more comfortable, to begin with there was bacon sandwiches courtesy of my brother, and I was driving in my nice and warm car! It was as cold as last time as far as I could remember but thankfully all of the ice was on the outside of the vehicle this time…  The journey began! I probably made a mistake choosing the M1, the road works from junction 25 onwards are insane… 50mph with average speed cameras, it felt so slow that it seemed we were going backwards. It wasn’t made any easier by the rubberneckers gawking at a car in flames on the southbound carriageway! Traffic and roadworks now a speck in the rear-view mirror we made it to the pickup point where two others joined our band of merry soles on our crusade to Anfield!

Just over an hour later we arrived in Liverpool and parked in a spot used several times before by others on our crusade in previous years. A 15 minute walk later we were looking at the famous Anfield stadium… we turned left and walked straight in The Sandon and ordered a round of drinks.  Then followed an hour or so of footy related banter before we left the pub and to head to the ground, via the bookies to place a cheeky bet!  The allure of the smell of greasy delights was too great and dirty cheeseburgers and hotdogs were enjoyed by all on the walk to the turnstiles.

In the ground we found our seats and met with our friend, who was sending his usual message to the clubs American owners Messers Hicks (who was attending) and Gillett, briefly assisted in these shots by my brother and my good self:

The game began… it wasn’t a particularly good first half but we were creating chances and didn’t really look like conceding despite a couple of Bolton chances, and a penalty shout. Liverpool’s dominance showed through as Dirk Kuyt managed to scramble home Liverpool’s first after good work from Insua down the left and Aquilani’s nod back from the touchline.  Liverpool’s second half performance was much improved and creating several chances that went close. The pressure finally showed when Insua’s driven shot was deflected off Bolton’s Kevin Davies’ boot to make it 2-0 to Liverpool. One of our merry band had placed a bet earlier that Kuyt would score the first and Liverpool would win 2-0 so he was in the uncomfortable position of no wanting Liverpool to score again… Thankfully, the referee blew his whistle and the game ended 2-0 to Liverpool!

A leisurely saunter back to the car ensued with only a minor detour to a chip shop for some sustenance for the journey home. Back at the car we jumped in only to see the ominous yellow sticker on the windscreen… yes, a parking ticket! This parking haven that had served many crusaders over the years had finally succumbed to the regime…

Well, a measly parking ticket wasn’t going to dampen what had been a great, great day. A day that i had finally broken my duck and see Liverpool win at Anfield live!

The review of Evile, Warbringer and The Fading at Rock City, Nottingham can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review My Top 10 Albums 0f 2009 can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.

The review of Fornost Arnor – Escaping the Abyss can now be found on my new review website ThisIsNotAScene.com follow the link to the post.