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MR GIG: One Man's Search for the Soul of Live Music
Roadie. DJ. Promoter. Reviewer. Punter. Nige Tassell's adult life has been defined by live music. It’s the fabric of his being, his bloodline, his DNA. He is Mr Gig. Or at least he was.
A few years ago Mr Gig hung up his backstage pass and headed off to raise children in rural isolation. Now, with house renovated and kids domesticated, he turns back to face the music and barely recognises his former love. The astronomical ticket prices. The sea of mobile phones obscuring the view. The once-iconic venues selling naming rights to drinks companies...
On a mission to rekindle his passion for live music, Nige embarks on a round-Britain trip from super-sized arena shows to microscopic folk festivals, from blacker-than-black death metal gatherings to brightly coloured 80s pop revivals in an attempt to get his groove back. Along the way, he finds himself the recipient of a Michael Eavis practical joke, scoffs his way through Elbow s backstage banquet, endures a near-death experience en route to a festival on a remote Hebridean island, and even goes gladioli shopping with a Smiths tribute band.
Will Nige fall back in love with live music? Can he make peace with middle age? And will he ever again be able to rightfully call himself Mr Gig?
A few years ago Mr Gig hung up his backstage pass and headed off to raise children in rural isolation. Now, with house renovated and kids domesticated, he turns back to face the music and barely recognises his former love. The astronomical ticket prices. The sea of mobile phones obscuring the view. The once-iconic venues selling naming rights to drinks companies...
On a mission to rekindle his passion for live music, Nige embarks on a round-Britain trip from super-sized arena shows to microscopic folk festivals, from blacker-than-black death metal gatherings to brightly coloured 80s pop revivals in an attempt to get his groove back. Along the way, he finds himself the recipient of a Michael Eavis practical joke, scoffs his way through Elbow s backstage banquet, endures a near-death experience en route to a festival on a remote Hebridean island, and even goes gladioli shopping with a Smiths tribute band.
Will Nige fall back in love with live music? Can he make peace with middle age? And will he ever again be able to rightfully call himself Mr Gig?
- GenresMusic
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2013
2 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 4, 2022
My gig tally also dropped when my kids were younger, so I could associate with that aspect of the book. Likewise, the author’s descriptions of the live music experience totally resonated (though I’ve never driven the distances he has. Or slept on a bench/railway platform!). A massively enjoyable read.
July 2, 2013
Being a gig junkie I absolutely loved reading this book. Tongue in cheek at times with music preferences and peppered with funny anecdotes. Having also studied in Bristol, mentions of Bristol locations like Colston Hall and The Louisiana in the book brought back memories of my time there. But mostly it was being able to relate to the author's experiences going to live gigs and following a favourite band on tour was why I loved this book.
January 29, 2014
One man's journey through the crisis of midlife to a life of renewed soul and purpose with live music as the backdrop to facilitate the passage.
April 3, 2022
Mr Gig is one of those books that has the storyline of a novel, the happy ending and closure of a people-pleasing Hollywood blockbuster, all of the details of geography that you would expect from a travel book, and more gig details than the late lamented magazines such as Q would give you once a month.
The Author Nige Tassell is a music fan. A massive music fan, starting in his teens, he has been a roadie, a fan, a reviewer, but somehow along the way he has lost his passion.
Parenthood and being a husband, an ever-expanding waistline, a receding hairline and a potential midlife crisis find Tassell back on the road, looking for the excitement, the life-enhancing experience of a shared, communal musical moment that only a gig enjoyed by a passionate audience can give.
Throughout the book he travels thousands of miles, sees hundreds of gigs, ranging from pop acts, such as Elbow, small bijou festivals in Scotland, Glastonbury, and seeing bands well past their best, playing for ever-decreasing audiences who are after the same sense of human connection that Tassell is looking for.
As well as looking at the many gigs he has enjoyed, we also see the many he put on as the entertainment secretary at Essex University, and the desultory trip he took back there, where to his many gigs put on by acts that would go onto have some success, they are only putting on one act for the whole term.
Mr Gig looks at the history of gig going, of live music, but it also looks to a possible future, where only heritage acts can afford to tour, and the chance of people being able to go to gigs is falling (although the book was published in 2013 many of these things are still a concern).
At the end of the book, he has made peace with his age, and his changing appearance, and although he doesn’t go to many gigs, he can still enjoy them as much as he did in his teens and twenties, only in a slightly different, muted fashion.
August 22, 2018
Great stories that bring you back to your younger years!
August 31, 2020
Geezer looks for music. Finds it.
May 26, 2013
Ever since he started university in 1988 Nige Tassell had lived and breathed live music. He had been involved in the world of gigs in several different guises: student entertainments officer, roadie, dj support act, reviewer, and punter. Nige knows this world from almost every conceivable angle and his title of “Mr. Gig” was well deserved.
“And my relationship with live music was like a love affair – a steady, reliable one that occasionally bordered on the obsessive.”
But then fatherhood arrived and live music slipped away having fallen victim to the demands of parenthood.
Any music lover with a long history of going to live concerts will sympathise with the reasons Tassell gives for having lost the urge to continue going: “the astronomical ticket prices”, “the sea of mobile phones obscuring the view”, “the incessant chatter of those in the crowd who believe a gig is a social gathering and the live band is a mere accompaniment to that” and “having to stand in a muddy field several hundred yards away from the stage, only able to see your distant heroes on a big screen” are only a few of the, all too recognisable, examples listed in this book.
“Why is the success of a band measured by how small they look from the cheap seats?”
And so, with mid-life looming large, Tassell decides to have another look at live-gigs. He has a few questions he would like to answer for himself, the most crucial being:
“Is the mosh-pit an appropriate place for a tubby, bald man on the dark side of 40?”
Tassell’s quest begins with The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, to give the event its proper name, where he is immediately confronted by the dreaded sea of mobile phones trying to capture performances and ends up pondering:
“…how if you’re capturing the experience of watching a band by taking a few dozen photos or shooting some video’s you’re going to be seeing a large part of the gig through your phone screen.”
But, overall, his first outing back on the gig circuit can be called a success; Mr. Tassell enjoyed himself and even found a few examples of how the modern day version is an improvement on the Glastonbury of his (very wet) memories.
But this book is more than a commentary on gigs and the differences between live performances in the past and the present. This book is about the whole music industry and the huge transformation it has undergone. For (a rather stark) example:
“Previously bands toured (…) to promote and flog their new record. Now, increasingly, the role of a new release – whether physical or digital – seems to be to indicate that a bunch of live dates are imminent.”
Furthermore, this book shatters a few illusions many people may have about those who make it in the music industry. A hit single is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It can take bands years, if not decades, to pay off the production and promotion costs associated with bringing out an album. A lot of albums never sold enough copies to bring the artists who created it any royalties at all. Maybe this is a bit of advice that should be shared with all those hopefuls applying for shows like The X-Factor, hoping for fame and fortune. While the fame may come, the fortune may prove more elusive. Heck, maybe this book should be compulsory reading for everybody auditioning.
With Nige Tassell the reader takes a look at, among others, an eighties revival festival, bands that have reformed despite splitting up most acrimoniously in the past, a tribute band (shock-horror?), arena concerts, big festivals, small festivals, exclusive festivals, posh festivals… Who knew there were so many different sorts of festivals and concerts, just in Britain? And it is not just the performances themselves that are put under the microscope. Through talks with organisers, performers and background staff the reader gets a really good insight into what goes into organising an event and what it is that motivates people to stay on the circuit despite the mad schedules and, at times, obscure locations.
And Tassell discovers that his cynicism may have been misplaced, his reluctance unnecessary. The music industry may have changed, and he may not like some of the modern day aspects of it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things are worse now; they’re just different. But then again, so is he. But that doesn’t mean that Mr. Gig can’t follow the example of so many artists and make a come-back.
As I hope the description above makes clear, this is a charming and engaging look at live music in our time. It is an at times laugh-out-loud funny analysis of the differences between the music scene in the eighties and the early 21st century. If anything shines through this book is Nige Tassell’s love and devotion for music and those who perform it. This is a book for anybody who loves their music, enjoys live performances and cherishes their memories of times gone by because they will recognise the sentiments so eloquently described by our Mr. Gig.
“And my relationship with live music was like a love affair – a steady, reliable one that occasionally bordered on the obsessive.”
But then fatherhood arrived and live music slipped away having fallen victim to the demands of parenthood.
Any music lover with a long history of going to live concerts will sympathise with the reasons Tassell gives for having lost the urge to continue going: “the astronomical ticket prices”, “the sea of mobile phones obscuring the view”, “the incessant chatter of those in the crowd who believe a gig is a social gathering and the live band is a mere accompaniment to that” and “having to stand in a muddy field several hundred yards away from the stage, only able to see your distant heroes on a big screen” are only a few of the, all too recognisable, examples listed in this book.
“Why is the success of a band measured by how small they look from the cheap seats?”
And so, with mid-life looming large, Tassell decides to have another look at live-gigs. He has a few questions he would like to answer for himself, the most crucial being:
“Is the mosh-pit an appropriate place for a tubby, bald man on the dark side of 40?”
Tassell’s quest begins with The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, to give the event its proper name, where he is immediately confronted by the dreaded sea of mobile phones trying to capture performances and ends up pondering:
“…how if you’re capturing the experience of watching a band by taking a few dozen photos or shooting some video’s you’re going to be seeing a large part of the gig through your phone screen.”
But, overall, his first outing back on the gig circuit can be called a success; Mr. Tassell enjoyed himself and even found a few examples of how the modern day version is an improvement on the Glastonbury of his (very wet) memories.
But this book is more than a commentary on gigs and the differences between live performances in the past and the present. This book is about the whole music industry and the huge transformation it has undergone. For (a rather stark) example:
“Previously bands toured (…) to promote and flog their new record. Now, increasingly, the role of a new release – whether physical or digital – seems to be to indicate that a bunch of live dates are imminent.”
Furthermore, this book shatters a few illusions many people may have about those who make it in the music industry. A hit single is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It can take bands years, if not decades, to pay off the production and promotion costs associated with bringing out an album. A lot of albums never sold enough copies to bring the artists who created it any royalties at all. Maybe this is a bit of advice that should be shared with all those hopefuls applying for shows like The X-Factor, hoping for fame and fortune. While the fame may come, the fortune may prove more elusive. Heck, maybe this book should be compulsory reading for everybody auditioning.
With Nige Tassell the reader takes a look at, among others, an eighties revival festival, bands that have reformed despite splitting up most acrimoniously in the past, a tribute band (shock-horror?), arena concerts, big festivals, small festivals, exclusive festivals, posh festivals… Who knew there were so many different sorts of festivals and concerts, just in Britain? And it is not just the performances themselves that are put under the microscope. Through talks with organisers, performers and background staff the reader gets a really good insight into what goes into organising an event and what it is that motivates people to stay on the circuit despite the mad schedules and, at times, obscure locations.
And Tassell discovers that his cynicism may have been misplaced, his reluctance unnecessary. The music industry may have changed, and he may not like some of the modern day aspects of it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things are worse now; they’re just different. But then again, so is he. But that doesn’t mean that Mr. Gig can’t follow the example of so many artists and make a come-back.
As I hope the description above makes clear, this is a charming and engaging look at live music in our time. It is an at times laugh-out-loud funny analysis of the differences between the music scene in the eighties and the early 21st century. If anything shines through this book is Nige Tassell’s love and devotion for music and those who perform it. This is a book for anybody who loves their music, enjoys live performances and cherishes their memories of times gone by because they will recognise the sentiments so eloquently described by our Mr. Gig.
December 27, 2013
An entertaining and wistful wander through the hugely eclectic British live music scene, as we accompany Mr Tassell on his mission to get his gig-going mojo back.
I enjoyed this book, and it's genuine sense of a youthful love lost then rekindled, despite the onward march of time, was both funny and heartening in equal measure.
I enjoyed this book, and it's genuine sense of a youthful love lost then rekindled, despite the onward march of time, was both funny and heartening in equal measure.
November 28, 2014
Loved this book. Nige is an opinionated gig goer and I mostly agree with all he has to say (no talking at gigs please).
It's a romantic story of a man falling back in love with going to gigs.
Also it's got Half Man Half Biscuit in there, must be genius then surely!
It's a romantic story of a man falling back in love with going to gigs.
Also it's got Half Man Half Biscuit in there, must be genius then surely!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews