Three Bands, One Week

OK, so two of the bands played the same night but that still counts.

The Boy got us guest tickets to see the Hives play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This is equivalent to the O2 in London and is part owned by Jay-Z. There's also an interesting story around a basketball team being from New Jersey to become the Brooklyn team but I'm not sure I could do it justice (though that's pretty much it).

We had fancy-dan seats to the right of the stage, meaning that it was one of those infrequent gigs where I got to see everything that was going on. And they are some performers. Extremely energetic, passionate, and cocky, it's hard not to like them.

What I haven't mentioned is that they were supporting Pink. Can you imagine a worse gig? Playing to a arena full of people who are here for a pop queen when you're a Swedish rock band. There were a lot of confused, pink-clad teenagers in the crowd, I can tell you.

Particular kudos goes to the sound ninjas who ran around after the guitarist and lead singer as they pranced and bounded around the stage. If it weren't for the ninjas (clad head to toe in black with even their faces covered) there would have been a number of fatalities, strangled or clothes-lined by the microphone leads.

Moving onto Pink. Wow. I am a new fan. She can sing OK, but what's incredible is the show that she puts on. The show opens to a acrobatic performance with her bouncing on a bungee cord, up and down, up and down. Incredible. The last interesting bit was the spinning cage, throughout which she carried on singing like a trooper. She's a veritable role model and as the Boy's boss exclaimed next to me, 'I liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike.'

Last night, we went to see the pretentious sounding !!! (Chk Chk Chk). We've been caning their record so pretty up to speed, but as we've only been listening to their newer stuff, I had tried to listen to one of their older tracks on Youtube. Oh my God, I had to stop the live gig in Sydney as my ears were hurting so much. The lead singer has a ropey voice.

Nonetheless, it was an amazing gig. The lead singer, whilst he is lacking in the tunefulness department, he is a natural performer. Who else can pull off a performance in the East Village in a pair of boxers and camp dance with everyone in the crowd. We were in the middle of the room and he was dancing right in front of me for ages. Surreal.

Gig going is very different here. It's a way more chilled affair. It's almost like people aren't as all-or-nothing about it as Brits. It's just another night out to them. As I approach my mid-thirties, I'm truly digging the laid-back gig expeditions complete with a three-minute walk home. Nice!