Where did you go to see gigs back in the day? A City Hall, a Town Hall maybe even a skating rink (Whitley Bay’s was a freezing place to see anyone) Wherever it was, I can pretty much guarantee that it didn’t sell food as well. Food at gigs was anathema to us. We were there to see the band, not eat our tea. We’d had beans on toast before we came out and the next time we’d think about food was something from a local chip shop.
That’s the way it was for years. Then sometime, I don’t know when it changed. Influenced, no doubt, by American trends, places opened up which had food concession stands. Not the traditional gig venues but newer places. Food became part of the attraction of these places, whereas previously the band had been enough.
When I saw Rush in 1980 in the middle of 2,500 people going crazy. I didn’t for even a moment think of nipping out for a pizza. It would have been thought, not just strange but would have been a red flag for you having some sort of eating disorder.
This has got so extreme that at Newcastle Arena, during a Joe Bonamassa gig, as he was ripping into that amazing solo on Sloe Gin, which build and builds and is absolutely astonishing, I saw people who thought this was a good moment to get up and buy a burger and a pint of lager. Apparently so distracted by the thought of eating, they couldn’t concentrate on the extraordinary guitarist.
Am I being grumpy about this? It just seems logical to me that you’ve surely come for the music, not the menu. I remember being at an outdoor festival in Konecti Harbour in Northern California. There to see the Steve Miller Band. This was about 25 years ago. We were astonished at the sheer volume of food available. In fact it was more a food festival with a band on as an after thought. People thought nothing of getting up mid-set and returning with a grotesque amount of food. The likes of which would have fed four people and sat, head down, munching away like the band wasn’t even there as Steve tore into some great solos.
And this was normal. I’m sure this culture has traversed 6,000 miles to the UK in the last 25 years.
We loved a drink at the City Hall and would join the crush at the bar at half time, similarly, gigs at the Mayfair and the Poly. But not during the band. No-one could have loved a drink-up more than us but when the band was on, that was when it stopped. The only time we did was at festivals
And the thing is, it’s often our generation who are getting through a burger the size of a head. You’d think they’d come from a different tradition. Maybe when we stood watching the Climax Blues Band, they were secretly craving a half a roast chicken, I don’t know but I doubt it.
It’s like people talking at the top of their voice while the band is on. Maybe I’m unusually reverent in my appreciation of rock n roll but you just shut up during the band don’t you? Wait to say anything between songs. Someone explained this to me as a result of people who are used to watching TV, just commenting when they want. It’s a social dysfunction.
So if you see us at a gig, we will not have our heads in a bucket of pasta or drinking a litre of lager. I’ve paid to see the band and that’s all I want to do.
