Unbelievable.

I have seen a lot of bands perform at the Albert Hall in my time – it’s my all time favourite venue and I have to say that they were right up there with the best of them – I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen an audience respond so naturally and willingly to a band in the usually relatively stuffy environment and Gary Lightbody, the lead singer created such a lovely informal atmosphere that the audience just went with him – oozing enthusiasm, standing for most of the second set and dancing and singing away – I have never seen the Albert Hall so alive and it was lovely to know that the band were simply delighted to be there. Shortly after starting Gary said ” I could not possibly be happier, this has been a dream of ours for a very long time – thanks for sharing it with us”. He was just in raptures about being at the Albert Hall and at one point said “I love this wedding cake of a building. I want to marry it and take it on honeymoon to the Maldives, but I probably wouldn’t get it on the plane”….

I love Snow Patrol and when their first album came out I was one of the many women who thought the beautifully poetic lyrics were written just for me. My choice of friend for the evening was not difficult – she was just as convinced as I was that the lyrics had been written specifically for her – we argued for months and months about it. I’m surprised we’re still friends.

It was a simple set, but it worked. Gary was incredibly charismatic and it felt like “an audience with” – intimate and personal and he completely engaged with the crowd. He might be shit at playing the guitar (his words) but he has the voice of a god. They played all the songs I wanted to hear – I can’t be arsed to list them – each of them sounding just as I would want a live version to sound – stripped back to just the voice and a harp in some instances.

It’s not often you see punters actually standing on the seats of the Albert Hall:-

I spent the whole evening fluctuating between wanting to shag him senseless and wanting to be his mum – which I pretty much think sums up the stereotypical midlife crisis – or maybe it just sums up what a weird place I am currently in. How old is he? Can I change my mind and try being a Cougar for a minute after all? His mother was in the audience. He acknowledged her and then said “thanks mum” in a wonderfully meaningful “thanks for everything” sort of way and I was thinking “aaaah how lovely and then I couldn’t help wondering how I would feel if my son were up on stage performing – would I be immensely proud or scared shitless on their behalf?”…

If I had one criticism, it was the moment when they got a bit carried away with being in such an impressive building. They wanted to test the acoustics in the Albert Hall and sang an “unplugged” version of a song – up in the Gods it was way too quiet – he sounded like a pea in a muffled pod.

Apart from that it was brilliant. It was a great performance. We loved it. The band were vibrant and Gary was funny, warm, engaging and well, where was my after show invitation?

“Lulu Lightbody” – I think it’s got a lovely ring to it but my competitive friend, who was obviously jealous because her name didn’t sound nearly as good said it made me sound like a stripper.