Whoa, what an adventure! On the way down to Leeds, due to the undoubtedly crap route taken by our beloved Megabus, I had my first hitch-hiking experience! In making our way out of the sulphurous entrance to hell that is Woolley Edge Service Station, we finally received a lift from a kindly bloke called Owen from the West Country who talked to us about scrumpy. A really positive first experience, so it was.
Queer Insurrection was a lot of fun, we were staying in a squatted house in Leeds, which has become one of my favourite cities. Took part in a lot of interesting discussions (re-radicalizing queer and queer history in particular), met some great folks, watched naff porn, danced to Prince til 4am… :D
On the 22nd I managed to head over to see one of my favourite bands, Defiance Ohio at Leeds uni. The atmosphere was a bit odd because of the time and venue but I was so excited to see them and it was a great gig regardless. The support, Madeline, was great as well.
On the 25th I headed from Leeds to Lancaster to see the band again! I was slightly nervous as I was relying on one of the people putting on the gig there (at the Yorkshire House, if youse are ever down that way I’d highly recommend it) for a place to kip, otherwise I’d be unrolling my sleeping bag in the Sainsbury’s car park pretty much. :/ He pulled through though and I had the use of a very comfortable couch that night (which seemed like a proper luxury after sleeping on the floor in Leeds the previous four days).
The gig itself was absolutely amazing though. The Lancaster support bands were really good (particularly Say Nice Things About Everyone and Get Serious) and Defiance Ohio themselves just blew me away. The atmosphere was much better than the Leeds gig, everyone was just singing their hearts out and dancing like crazy. Definitely one of the best gigs I’ve been to, if not the best.
To top it off, as I was staying with one of the organizers I got to chat with the band while they were getting packed up. They seem like such awesome folks, plus I got a hug off Will who’s such a sweetheart. Wow, fangirl moment. Squee.
