With this in mind I decided to take the chaps from work up on an invite to a night out in Manchester, leaving the wife, one grouchy and one poorly child at home(!)
What a strange and disturbing experience it was.
It was a good crowd I was out with, about 10 of us, of which one female, 4 gay, 3 over 30 (No I wasn't the oldest!) the rest in their twenties, and we started in a bar cum restaurant in the Printworks in Manchester. We all caught up on what had been happening in work and my holiday so far in a nice atmosphere, even if the music was a little loud.
As the beers slowly went down for every one relaxed and a couple of the younger guys got all excited when the song "Since You've been gone" came on - an old, somewhat upbeat AOR track I remember from my youth. After some head scratching the mobile phones came out as people hooked up to the internet to find out who the band singing.
We'd clearly be no good cheating at a pub quiz, as about half way through the next song we finally found out / realised / remembered it was Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmores band from the late seventies/early eighties. Half the guys rocking out to it weren't even born when it was released.
Oh well. I guess around then it was decided that as we could all still hear each others conversations and we had been there for more than two drinks, we'd better move on somewhere else. I've noticed this as a feature of the odd nightout I've been on in the last few years, no one stays put any more! It's like a constant view or feeling that the grass is always greener, and the next bar will be that little bit more exciting.
Why can't people just stay put? Whatever happened to finding yourself a corner in a friendly pub or bar and settling in for the night?
We all trooped out of the bar and around the corner and stood about in the cold trying to decide where to next. So many of these nights seem to revolve around standing about outside wondering what to do next.
I managed to show myself up again in front of a couple of the young guys (even one of the gay chaps) by not standing with my tongue hanging out as two young ladies, in two very short glittery dresses. All I could think was - "Where's their coats? They'll catch a cold dressed like that in November!"
Now that was either the Dad in me coming out, or I've just been exposed to too much porn and don't feel the urge to oogle girls in the street.
Anyway, into "Norwegian Blue" where you really couldn't hear yourself think for the loud music. This again is a bar cum restaurant. Why oh why would you want o have your ears bleed with it?
There was a group of 10-15 middle aged women all wearing matching pink top hats which, believe it or not, didn't need the legend "Hen party" written on them - we could tell.
After a drink or two a song came on, a cover of the intro song out of the film Pulp Fiction. Although recognisable as the song, every bit of it had some singing or rapping or something else going on over the top of it. a couple of songs later and I discovered that all teh music was like this. Every second of every song had to have lots going on, like everyones attention span is that short if you just pause people will wander off.
On my way into town earlier that evening I'd been listening to "Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine, an eighties/nineties indie band. There are 5 minute tracks of just distortion on a single note with slight tonal changes every so often. You can just let it wash over you as you sink deeper and deeper in.
I'm guessing it's no good for bars in the Printworks.
Oh well. Half past nine my ears could take little more, I said my goodbyes and left.. to drive home listening to noise and feedback at maximum volume in the comfort of my car!
Reason 36 coming soon.
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