Music has the power

June 1, 2015 by Ray Morgan

Music has the power

Music is powerful, deep magic, isn't it? As I write this, I'm impatiently waiting for 8pm on Monday to roll around so I can see one of my favourite artists perform at the Barbican. I'm going to see Mark Kozelek (of Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters) with my Dad. My Dad is my gig buddy. He and my Mum ensured that I was raised from an early age on a healthy diet of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Little Feat, Crosby Stills & Nash, and a bit of Vivaldi and Bix Beiderbecke thrown in for good measure. When I was older, my Dad would push albums my way in my teen years to complement the music I was discovering for myself.

In fact I distinctly remember him leaving a CD of Grace by Jeff Buckley on my stereo, which I put off listening to for ages because I was going through an intense All Saints/Natalie Imbruglia phase (COMBAT TROUSERS), but I got to it eventually and boy, am I glad I did. All Saints and dear old Nat were confined to the charity shop pile soon afterwards but my love for Mr. Buckley burns just as bright today.

As a result, when I hear 'I Used to Be a King' by Graham Nash when my iPod shuffles, or if Mojo Pin comes on in a cool cafe, I am sent - just like all of you are - hurtling back in time to specific moments in my life. It can be an emotional experience. Music from funerals I have been to are pinned to a noticeboard in my heart where I always remember the person who is no longer here. Songs that my partner put on early compilations are always linked to how I felt when we first met. If I hear All Saints now I mostly think about how bad my hair was in 1997 and how I really should have done something about my eyebrows back then.

Gigs still provide a majestic, often transcendent experience. I don't go as many as I used to: I was at my most prolific in attendance when I had more disposable income (in a time before gas bills and weekly shops) but living in a town like Leigh means that I get to see a lot of live music on my doorstep. But I still love the feeling of a gig. I went to see Lancaster punk band The Lovely Eggs recently in Camden. It was on Election Night, and people stood squashed up against each other with pints of cider and the lead singer talked to the audience about the future government and what might happen. They launched into a brilliant song which I can't name here as this is a nice, respectable website, but the idea was around the same lines as "People are idiots"... and in that moment we all felt something. We'd (hopefully) all voted that day, and now we were listening to energetic punk that spoke to us. You can walk away from gigs like that feeling like you were part of something, a bubble, a little world of its own, a microcosm of cider and ringing ears and joy.

I've changed as I've got older. I realised this when I saw Evan Dando at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of years ago and I thought "This is great, I've got a seat, a guaranteed good view AND somewhere to set my drink down" - also the gig was over by 10pm. Hey, what can I say. Gigs in my 30s aren't wild and raucous as they used to be: I remember a time when I was in such a fierce moshpit at The Astoria that my trousers got yanked down when someone stepped on the hems. I never want to relive those days! A nice seat, yeah, that's more like it...

I'm already looking forward to this next gig and coming home and listening to the music with fresh ears because I'll have heard it live. London gigs can be expensive; trains, booking fees, London prices for beer, but really there's a wealth of live music going on right here in our home town. Leigh Folk Festival is coming up and guess what? It's free. You can often hear brilliant local bands at The Railway, Ten Green Bottles, Squeeze, The Ship, The Nook and many more. Get out there and add to your gig list. Transport yourself.

My top 5 favourite gigs ever (at this moment in time. This changes constantly)

1. Arthur Lee & Love performing Forever Changes IN FULL with a live orchestra in 2003

2. Arcade Fire at Latitude Festival at dusk in 2008 (before they got a bit pants)

3. John Hegley performing in the Sundown tent at Village Green in 2012

4. Richmond Fontaine at the Borderline in 2005 - boiling hot, summer night, packed cellar venue, I nicked their set list off the stage

5. Diamond Family Archive / Crying Lion / Lost Harbours at Leigh Folk Festival last year. That gig took me to another place.