Knackered!

That's the only word to describe how I felt when I got home Sunday morning after attending one of the best concerts ever! (some new images in Living Ornaments 06 - here)

My voice seems to have gone (so I must have been singing along to words I hardly knew) or perhaps it was the smoky atmosphere or the intense cold from the queue and journey home - whatever it was it's added a strange new sound to my tomes - far better than the normal sound! Perhaps it was the 8 mile walk I had to do after my 1am train terminated at Brighton (I forgot that that train didn't potter along the coast at that time of the night) and I was too stingy about paying for a cab at the time; preferring instead to walk a bit of it before calling a cab - as it turned out I set myself a challenge to see if I could walk home in good time and in the end it took a few hours! At least I have some great songs going round my head!

But then the voice could well have just died because I was chatting to some great people - fellow Numan fans (NOT during the concert obviously) !! And I know I shouldn't whinge as there's always someone else who endured more in order to see the gig - I had an email to the site yesterday from someone who'd spent 7 hours in the bitter cold queueing - the devotion knows no bounds! And once into the gig (and the warm) the familiar expectation and excitement approached as the moment drew near...

And what's more the experience this time was heightened also because I was able to watch first hand the reaction of some fans who were seeing Gary for the first time - a couple had travelled over from Barcelona especially for the gig. My Spanish being mal I relied on their excellent English; lazy european that I must be, and they told me how they'd first got into the Numan sound. Pure was the attraction after having heard Cars once on the radio. And an Italian I spoke with earlier in the queue had cited Pure as the reason he was attracted to the music.

Maybe we shouldn't analyse how people like Gary's music or try to find out how they got into it, but it's still interesting and satisfying to see how his music is spreading again.

Bob

I managed to have a chat with Ade Fenton afterwards, along with a few words with the other Ade and it was just great to be able to chill out after such an energetic evening. Leaving the venue later than I expected I also caught a few words with Gary and I commend him as always for taking time out to say a few things to the fans who had waited in the cold for him - reading as we do on NuWorld of how shattered he was (as if he wouldn't be) afterwards then double double points for being pleasant and sociable despite the hour.

So now I have to evaluate the pics I took and see if I like digital cameras! I've always used film before and so I found the new camera a bit tricky due to the time delay mainly. I turned it down from 7.2 megawotsits to 5 megathingies hoping it would process the image quicker and not compromise the final shot. As always it's a gamble whether one can take pics at a concert, and so when I see that people are taking shots I join in. However I don't use flash as it kills the mood and colours. You get mood and effects without flash but clarity of image with flash. But then the flash must surely be a distraction an unwanted one at that when you're trying to perform I warrant. And anyway I'm always after the mood and look at the concert - perhaps I should have a big SLR digi-back model and get myself a press pass (Shoreham Herald?) and try to do it properly. Amateur concert pictures seem to be everywhere now - as fans we don't sell them they're just for us to enjoy. We share them to add to our experience and memories of great concerts - grab any you like from AshleyX site. If they get new people to come and watch Numan 'at work' then great they've served a purpose.

When I've some more time in the next day or so I'll start adding some shots to the Living Ornaments 06 section and Friends sections....

now go and get some sleep

unless you're at work