My friend Zillah scored me a ticket to a Radio 2 taping of Phil Collins playing live at La Scala near Kings Cross last night. I'd been to the venue once before, but that was for Popstars, a gay nightclub a couple of years ago. The room with the stage is pretty small and so I was about ten feet from the man himself (and his ten piece band).
It was a intimate little concert. Phil had the whole family unit watching from the gallery including his wife, toddler-aged kid, sister and mother, whose birthday it was that night.
I enjoyed it but I had the unsettling feeling that I shouldn't be -- that Phil was no longer cool and hip and happening. It didn't help that everyone around me looked far older than I felt. Especially since, when I thought about it, they really looked about my age. Most unsettling. Anyway, we old fogeys had a good time. I clapped and yelled and danced around a bit and sang badly along with Phil's old standards. Phil sang baldly along with his old standards, but did it well.
A sign of how dated the crowd was. There was actually a guy beside me doing the lighter-held-up-in-the-air-swaying-back-and-forth-thing during one song.
Anyway, 'twas extemely fun.