As an addendum to my post the other day in which I reminisced about London concertgoing in the 1990s, I recently dug up my gig diary for 1996. I have no idea if I actually went to all of these, but the list gives some idea of how enjoyable those times were. As expected, Peter Hammill and Tindersticks scored highly. It’s good to see a brace of appearances by The Cowboy Junkies, whom I would dearly love to see again someday. And I must have really liked The Divine Comedy, since I saw them four times that year. In fact I remember the October event well, since it was their big orchestral concert at Shepherds Bush Empire. Across town at the Festival Hall on the same evening, Towering Inferno were doing their awe-inspiring multimedia show Kaddish – a clash of dates that led to much agonized hand-wringing on my part. Since I’d already seen Kaddish the year before (at Shepherds Bush Empire, ironically enough), I elected not to see it again and plumped for The Divine Comedy instead – a decision I now regret. Strangest gig on the list: Aphex Twin at Clink Prison. And finally, a big hello and thanks to Tim Keegan, whom I saw more than anyone else that year.

January

8 – Tim Keegan
19 – Tindersticks
22 – Tim Keegan
28 – Foetus

February

20 – Martin Stephenson, Tim Keegan
23 – :zoviet*france:
28 – Michael Gira

March

4 – Boo Hewerdine, Tim Keegan
8 – Main
14 – Stereolab, Tortoise
16 – The Divine Comedy
29 – Heather Nova

April

13 – Natalie Merchant
16 – Bruce Springsteen

May

3 – The Divine Comedy
12 – Scanner, Robert Hampton
17 – Peter Hammill
24 – Cowboy Junkies
30 – Experimental Audio Research, Stereolab

June

5 – Tim Keegan
6 – 10,000 Maniacs
10 – Lloyd Cole
28 – His Name is Alive

July

27 – Elvis Costello

August

7 – Cowboy Junkies
8 – The Divine Comedy
30 – James Dillon et al.

September

5 – Tortoise, Flying Saucer Attack

October

10 – Lisa Germano, Mojave 3
20 – The Divine Comedy
31 – Aphex Twin

November

3 – Peter Hammill
9 – Tindersticks
14 – AMM