Sorely Missed

I was having a jolly good time the other day exploring various aural delights on youtube.com when I came across this version of How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live by the wonderful Ry Cooder. Hugely impressed by the musicians playing along with the hugely gifted Mr Cooder I checked the details of the band and the provenance of the recording. Initially the 1987 date didn't mean that much to me, then I suddenly, painfully registered the fact that this was the year before I came to this far place and it was in that year, or early 1988, that I got my hands on a ticket to watch Ry and his band at Sheffield City Hall - a concert that was cancelled!

In all likelihood this was the band I would have got to watch and it never happened. (I remember distinctly seeing Flaco Jimenez's name somewhere in relation to the concert, making the likelihood even more of a likelihood, if you see what I mean.) Now much as I enjoy accessing the delights of youtube in the comfort of my living room, this pales into major insignificance compared to the actual experience of the real thing. And I missed it! Even though I paid for it! (Though I remember going to the venue to get my money back.)

So now I'm mourning something that never happened. Which has reminded me of all the performers I never quite got to see, despite having reasonable opportunities to do so at an age when I didn't feel worn out all the time. (I passed on Fairport Convention when I was at university, the reformed version featuring Sandy Denny and Dave Swarbrick, because I was ultra-busy. Mind you, friends who did go reported that Sandy was a bit of disaster, being well past her prime by that time. But still...)

Epic, epic sulk.