So, I was dressing up to go to a heavy metal gig. I thought… you know, what should I wear? So I went with a t-shirt with a skull on it and my favourite leather jacket. A leather jacket that is extremely rock! It has a skull with a snake slithering through it on the back, and snakes down the arms. (on a side note… the only problem with this jacket is that the skull and snakes are actually made up of a series of holes. Which means that when it rains the skull and snakes perform the function of making you (…me) get wet… not an entirely useful ‘app’ for a jacket! But… in any case, it looks good… and in today’s society what else could be as important as ‘looking good’???).
I come down the stairs wearing the t-shirt and the jacket. The girls are clustered in the hallway around the mirror getting ready. You can picture the scene – all glasses of champagne and hair straighteners. One of the ladies says “What’s with the pirate get-up?”… and this flummoxes me for a moment. But then I realise it’s the whole ‘skull and crossbones’ thing. “Hmmm” I say… “I see what you mean”. And that sets me thinking. Is heavy metal particularly ‘pirate-y’? “Why do you have to dress as a pirate to go to a heavy metal gig?” she asks. “Hmmmm…” /again. I just say that I don’t think metal is particularly pirate-y and that it’s more to do with the ‘death’ and the ‘danger’. But it was certainly food for thought.
So… I go to the gig. It was at a kind of underground basement place – the kind of venue where the sweat drips from the ceiling. Funnily enough the place is called “The Underground”… spooky that! I walk down the stairs into the darkness to be met by my friend. Fine. Good stuff. So I turn to go to the bar and what do I see? A life-size pirate. A life-size model pirate. Not only that… but this is a life-size model skeleton pirate. “Hmmmm…” I think /again/again. Hmmm… you know what… perhaps metal is actually a little too pirate-y?
The band plays. A band called Meansteed. They play a pretty good approximation of ACDC. In fact… the whole evening had a feel of NWOBHM. The singer has something of the Bruce Dickinson about him and the guitarist a little of the Joan Jett. I bought the CD and they all signed it. I have now placed the CD in a secure vault just in case any one of them goes on to be the next Bruno Mars or Ed Sheeran (unlikely). But a good night was had by all. Jolly good in fact. Jolly Roger. Hmmmm… /again/again/again.
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