22nd Nov 2014 - The Final Ever (?) Carter USM Show, Brixton Academy

So, last Saturday I went to see Carter perform their final ever (?) gig at the Brixton Academy up in London. I met up with my old mucker from Uni, who still maintains we saw Carter at Brixton in 1991, but I have absolutely no recollection.
We didn't get up to much in the morning, and so I set off at about 3pm feeling a bit "meh". I settled into my seat on the train and listened to a couple of podcasts and read a few bits of old newspaper from September. I had settled on wearing my red Poppies top, since I think the Stuffies top won't survive a stiff breeze.
I got to Victoria in plenty of time and immediately hit McDonald's - my guilty pleasure. Once I was sated, I headed to Brixton, admittedly earlier than planned, and hit the mean streets.
Brixton was full of "30 Something" long-sleeved tee-shirts, and I was worried I wasn't going to get into a pub. In fact, to tell the truth, I headed left out of the tube station to try and get off the beaten track, and find a quiet watering-hole. I really am a miserable misanthrope. What the hell was I thinking, agreeing to go and stand in a hall with 4,900 other sweaty 40 and 50 year olds? I could just go home and listen to the CDs, surely?
As it was, I found Plan B was mostly empty, so I texted E to let him know where to find me. We met up and had a few pints, and then headed along to the Academy. We were in time to see the end of Sultans of Ping FC play a few of their hits, including, of course, "Where's Me Jumper?". And then it was time for the main event - Carter USM...
They were ace. They hit the stage hard and played hit after hit, after hit. The most memorable points for me were "Midnight On The Murder Mile", with the mostly male crowd singing along with the "Oh Oh Oh Oh Ohs". I'd forgotten they even wrote and recorded "Rubbish", and "After the Watershed" with its "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" chorus.
The whole crowd seemed to be singing along to every song, and everyone was very emotional. It was a great evening, and it finished early enough for me to easily catch the last train home. I very nearly caught the penultimate train home, but missed it by a couple of minutes. Ho Hum... I waited in the pub and had a lovely pint of American Pale Ale.

It was well worth it, and I'm glad I made the effort to get my hands on tickets. On the Sunday morning I played "Midnight on the Murder Mile" to TW, and I found an old appearance by the boys on TOTP from 1992 singing "Rubbish", which made me feel old. Well, it was either that or the hangover...

Here's to the next Farewell gig, I'll be there with bells on... :)