A man named Mark...

Out of the hazy mess of memories, feeling somewhat overwhelmed but realising that this lil project needs to start somewhere, i hereby for this post select.....

Saturday 16th February, 2008

This is the night I was lucky enough to crowd myself into the Manchester Apollo, shoulder to shoulder with countless hyped-up and sweating strangers, for the Mark Ronson gig. Mark had just taken home his Brit Awards that week (or was it his Grammys? Ahh I could google it to check, but you get the picture), and the atmosphere was consequently heightened to buzzing point.

His 'Version' album had been a big one for me for at least the six months prior, and this night itself marked the closing bookend to my time in the fair, funky city of Manchester, England. My living situation there had capitulated somewhat, and I had decided to leg it north to Edinburgh after that very gig.

It was no ordinary show - brass, strings, guests I could name but only the hip-hop savvy would recognise (and I would have to google that too, to be sure I was right myself!)... Mark himself is a producer, rather than an actual musician; he joked himself throughout the set that he only played guitar well enough so he had something to do on stage when he toured. But I for one could almost feel the man's talent, almost see it rising off his pinstriped suit...

Now you wouldn't be the first to call me a groupie, and if you read this blog this wont be the last time you find me gushing about the power of live music, but this gig was sincerely One of Those Nights.

Two stand-out moments...

1. He opens with his 'version' of Maximo Park's "Apply Some Pressure", only does it solely instrumental.
The aforementioned heaving and hyped crowd all (my good self included) begin screaming the words... Most especially the line "What happens when you lose everything? You start again... you start all over again"...
For a girl who kinda did just lose a piece of her "everything" that week, and who was about to "start all over again" in bonny Scotland, it's fair to say this struck a chord.

2. When Valerie kicked in.
Now we have all heard Amy and Mark's brilliant cover of The Zuton's track, and I for one don't think it's even nearly been killed yet, despite reckless overplaying. When this track started, I was the only one of our gig-going group who wanted to move forward, closer into the madness, into the sweat...
And as I started to walk forward and away, gaps started appearing in front of me, as if by magic. Moving forward was easy, smooth, fun... And as I walked forward, while the tracked kicked in, I could feel tingles rushing all over my skin while I danced myself crazy; it was as though the light of the full moon was shining unobstructed onto my skin.
I was moving forward, away from something, and the path was lit by the Universe.

Sorry if I lost you a bit there... this got a tad metaphoric ;-)

T'was a mint gig though, and one I shan't forget.