Some of the bands that have played at The Joiners.
Imagine seeing Muse for £4.
The Joiners in Southampton has hosted a lot of bands in its 50-year existence. I saw Sick Joy there last Sunday, and I was fascinated by the posters for gigs played at the venue in the past. Muse, Editors, Radiohead, The Academy Is…, Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers… So many bands who have made it huge and that I listen to. How fab would it have been to see them in such a small venue?
Looking at the posters, I also realised that none of them listed getting tickets on the web. It was either buying them in person - often on the door - or over the phone. That got me thinking how difficult it would have been to do what I do all the time now - going on tour with a band. It would have required cheques or postal orders, phone calls, trips to travel agencies etc. Now I just book and pay for everything online. Life is easy. Twenty years ago, how would I even have known a band I liked was playing a show in another country? Think about it.