Alison and I went to a gig with our friends Anna and Simon at the start of July.
Alison and I go to many gigs, all driven by her.
She is the organiser and driving force behind the live music we see, and we have been to hundreds of different things in the best possible way.
Last week though, we went to a secret gig run by Sofar Sounds, and the link to Sofar Sounds is here.
It's a secret gig, and the venue gets released 36 hours before, so you don't know where you're going.
You don't know who the artists are, and we turned up to a tiny arts venue in the centre of Nottingham with about 100 to 150 people as three different acts from Leicester and Nottingham presented acoustic sets by people that we've never seen before and music that we'd never heard before.
We had a couple of beers and had a lovely Wednesday night, even though the music wasn't exactly what I would always choose (I think that's entirely the point).
It was something way out of the ordinary for me, different to what I would usually see.
During the first act, though, which was a young lady from Leicester with a beautiful voice and a friend playing the acoustic guitar, she bemoaned how difficult the creative process was, how taxing it could be and how draining to get to the point of pushing out your art, your music, your song.
I disagree with that.
I'm not a songwriter or an author or an artist, but I still produce art in my own way, in my own right; we all do that.
Working is hard, and it's tiring.
My Dad was a motor mechanic; it was tiring for him.
My mom was a legal secretary; god knows it was tiring for her, raising three kids at home and waiting for someone else to come back who's earning money is exhausting.
Any sort of work is tough, whether it's creative or deemed to be 'non-creative'.
The event was beautiful; presenting your music to a group of willing people in an audience who were sitting down drinking beer and eating vegan chilli must have been an excellent experience for the people at the front.
I can think of worse things to do than that.
Sofar Sounds are extraordinary.
About 400 venues around the world, some of which are people's living rooms, tiny places for people who want to share their art, the music creations with other people.
Just because I don't think it's the most demanding job in the world doesn't mean it's not brilliant.
You should check it out because something will be near you, and it's certainly worth your attention.
It was 13 quid a ticket.
Blog Post Number - 3506
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