May #7: The Loudest Gig I Ever Went To

6. Silver Sun - Lava

 

Wednesday the 21st of October, 1998, I went down to a regular gig haunt of mine back in the day, to check out one of my favourite bands of the post-Britpop era: Silver Sun. (The way I see it, OK Computer marked the end of Britpop in '97, This Is Hardcore was the wake in '98. Everything that came after was post-Britpop. OK?) I went with Dave - one of the two Daves who accompanied me (though rarely at the same time) on 80% of my gig-going life, most of the remaining 20% being gigs I attended solo. When we got there though, we were surprised to discover that there was another band booked in the main room. The Cockpit wasn't the biggest of venues anyway; it had an arched corrigated iron ceiling like an aircraft hanger, but you'd have struggled to squeeze more than a couple of Airfix Spitfires in there. I can't remember who the other band were, nobody I'd heard of or wanted to see, certainly. But I do remember that we ended up in the Other Room, which was basically a bar and a couple of upturned buckets for a stage. Iffypedia tells me that the second room at The Cockpit had a capacity of 250 people: if so, so does my bathroom. Anyway, the point is... it was crowded. So crowded, I spent much of my time stood in the corridor that led to the sick-bucket toilets: partly through claustrophobia, partly to give my ears some release.   

I described Silver Sun as post-Britpop to differentiate them from the obvious guitar band suspects of that era, though in truth their sound wasn't Britpop at all, it was pure power pop. They made a hell of a racket, but a very tuneful one, full of hooks the size of sideboards and glorious harmonies nicked from the Beach Boys and the Byrds. I saw them live more than once, at bigger venues or festivals, but this was the smallest room I think I ever saw any band perform in... and cramming all that noise into such a tiny space took some doing.

My hearing isn't the best. Being hard of hearing runs in the family: both my parents have hearing aids, as does my older brother. I'm just counting the days (and trying to save up). But I reckon there's a little more to my deafness than just the hereditary: all those loud gigs I attended in the 90s must have had a little to do with it. So when I do need to get myself fitted for an ear trumpet... I'll be sending the bill to Silver Sun.