I’ve come down now.

At least I think I have.

Well, my hair no longer smells, that must account for something? Smells of what, you ask? Oh, you didn’t, did you? You just wanted me to get on with the story. Well, let’s start where all decent stories start – a journey.

It’s been about seven years and three full albums since myself and about thirty other eager punters got treated to the live sounds of Porcupine Tree in the Temple Bar Music Centre.

Stockholm, Sweden – an early October evening, so dreary you could almost believe you were in Britain. Aging rivetheads and other EBM/industrial fans gather furtively at a club near the waterfront. Stiff, tentative glances slowly give over to anticipation. The oxygen level in the venue is low and the meagre bar is overpriced, but the night’s offering is opulent. Tonight, one of the deities of EBM/industrial take the scene. Front Line Assembly are playing Stockholm, supported by Austrian demo scene-inspired technopop outfit mind.in.a.box.

Down and Static-X are playing. Though there appears to be no hint of a double header, and from the look of the queue. which began to form at eleven am on Tuesday, Static-X were not the most welcome quests. Which on the whole is not too surprising, the choice as support is seen as quite unusual and its far more likely that after download in the UK this was the labels way of promoting more than one artist. And an Irish date by the ten year veterans of “Evil Disco” is overdue.

Ignoring the gentle insistence of Scotty, my Glaswegian nurse, I checked myself out after suffering an allergic reaction to the painkillers they had given me. There was a plan and it had to be stuck to. Tom Waits was playing and no gods, no storm nor shotgun blasted off leg was going to prevent me from going to see the man.

I promised I’d write this. I swear. I promised! Otherwise, I’d be in bed by now. Comfortable, moist after a quick shower, warmed by the duvets, cradled by the pillows, thinking about relaxing my muscles. Still, I’m not. I’m peering at the screen in the darkness, sipping my green tea, and listening to the ringing in my ears. And thinking back on that magical time at the pub.

At this moment in time, I have ‘Care In The Community’ by Babar Luck booming through both 1000 Watt speakers as I do headphones I’m currently wearing. It’s just that good that it needs to be channeled twice, once to directly to the brain, mainlined, then again, through the collection of carefully aimed satellite speakers through the body.

Hey there,
I’m a bigot.

How you doing?

This is a letter from fan.

To Man.

Or well, joke aside, men.

First off, we lied to you. Although the topic says this is a review of the recent Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip gig at Crawdaddy (Dublin), it’s really going to be a review of the last three gigs the duo have done in Ireland. A piecemeal affair of happy memories and general commentary.

It’s taken me a number of weeks to hammer out this review. Largely because I think my brain needed time to digest what I saw and what I heard