Not today, just suck on your plastic spoon. Chase the fucker, George lassoo the moon.

Elbow are playing tonight.
I have tickets.
It's a little touch and go if we will make it.

When I first bought the tickets, I knew in the back of my head that the date was around something I'd previously said yes to. A short while later and my initial fears were realized. The dates clashed!

The gig was off!

By this time, a second date had been announced and consequently sold out, which meant I'd lost the option of going to the second gig and selling my initial tickets on somewhere.
A few conversations followed, resulting in some re-shuffling of schedules and more importantly, everybody was happy.

The gig was back on!

A couple of weeks ago, things took a turn for the worse. Something else came up. Something else that in the scheme of things was more important than an Elbow gig. So, once again I found myself with tickets to see a band that I love, but unable to go.
A few conversations followed. It looked like it was a no-no for the gig, so I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to do something else with the tickets.

The gig was back off!

My first thought was to list them on a ticket-swap website. After all, there may be a chance that somebody has tickets for the second night, but for one reason or another would prefer to go to the first.

The gig might be back on!

No such luck on that front. So off to the dreaded Ebay I went. My first thought was to sell mine and buy a pair for the second night. I tracked a few sales for both nights going through and saw that the second night tickets were selling for a fair amount more than the first night. So, if I went through this route, not only would I have double hassle with the whole Ebay thing, but I'd also be out of pocket. Spending more money isn't an option for me at the moment, so I once again resigned to the fact that I wouldn't be going at all and should just sell my tickets on.

The gig was back off!

I got to the point of going through endless pages of profile information, updating all my address details, but just couldn't find it in me to actually do the listing.
A couple of days ago, more accurate timings of the other commitment began to unfold. It's possible, although I should probably be careful using that word, that we can do both. Yes, if things run pretty smoothly for the earlier part of the evening, then there's a chance we can make it. We certainly wont get to see the support band and it's likely we may miss the beginning, which is shit, 'cos they're probably gonna kick off with Starlings....
If we're gonna miss too much of it though, then I'd rather not go. It may sound silly, but I've never arrived so late as to miss a full set list by anyone before. And I'm not about to start now.

For me, soaking up the atmosphere in the crowd while waiting for the main band to come on....when the background music stops, when the house lights go down....when the crowd turns from chatter to anticipation and excitement....when the silhouetted figures meander onto the stage....when those last minute tuning notes are fired....when they launch into the first song.... That's what a live experience is all about!

So, I'm back to the gig being back on.
Sort of.
Hopefully.

Fingers crossed, I might see you later, guys.