Time: 7.45pm, Friday 28 April

And we're off!

We are quite literally at Brixton Academy right now. Isn't modern technology amazing? (Apart from our phone which we've never managed to 'surf the web' with despite that being the whole reason we bought it!) Anyway, in case any of you were wondering if we were going to be arriving at each gig in a swanky air conditioned car then whisked to a VIP area for finger food and champers before viewing the group from a distance in the company of Kate Moss and the Queen, then think again. We're travelling on a bus that smells a bit (though of what we've yet to decide), and when we get to the venue, we queue like everyone else, buy our drinks like everyone else and jump up and down near the front getting sweaty like everyone else. To do anything else would miss the whole point of Carling 24 (though we would quite like to meet Kate Moss).

Right, meet you back here after the Kaisers!


Who they are: Kaiser Chiefs (onstage 9.15pm)
Venue Carling Academy Brixton

Wooaaaaaah!
Here's our ten point guide to what we're calling the opening ceremony of Carling 24 2006:

1. Arriving early meant we had the luxury of seeing both support bands, and jolly glad we were about it too, since The Pipettes are a rare and splendid thing and look like a cross between the girls in 'Little Shop Of Horrors' and the girls in 'Grease 2' (starring Maxwell Caulfield). In short, proper pop stars and, even though it was early, we did the handclaps during 'Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me'.

2. We also get to see Captain, who are quite lovely, and we especially love the dual boy/girl vocals of 'Broke', though we're a little worried about the girl half (we think she's called Clare) because she keeps having a sit down. Perhaps she's tired. Tired? We've still got 23 hours to go and you don't see us sitting down!

3. We get a beardy kiss from Popworld's Alex Zane and go a bit wibbly. Can it get any better than this? Why of course...

4. The Kaiser Chiefs all look very dapper but in a slightly charity shop sort of way. (And you can never quite get rid of that smell, can you?)

5. Ricky looks a bit pale and we suspect he might be coming down with something. But he still leaps about violently like the child your mum didn't like you playing with. Brixton is a very big venue but the Kaisers make it feel very small (and sweaty).

6. Having worried us with their recent announcement that they plan to quit after the second album, we're reassured by Ricky telling us they're going to be around for "quite a while". Or did he just mean they're planning an extended dub set tonight? No. No, he didn't. Hooray!

7. If we were to sum up the new songs in ten words then those ten words would be: a bit like The Futureheads and a bit like Morrissey. You weren't expecting that, were you? We weren't. We should also say that they're very good, they just don't sound much like the Kaiser Chiefs. Is the best one 'When The Heat Dies Down'? We're not sure. The audience went very quiet. We hope that was because they were concentrating - not because they were trying to record it on their phones. Scamps!

8. We were most amused by the man in front of us who gave two double high fives (ten up high, ten down low) to his mate at the start of 'I Predict A Riot'. Skill!

9. During 'You Can Have It All', Ricky pulled a lady on stage - no hang on, that sounds wrong - Ricky pulled a lady up onto the stage for a spot of ballroom dancing. Lucky lady (email us if that was you and tell us what it was like)!

10. We have come in the wrong clothes. Everyone is far too fashionable. Here's a tip for anyone still getting ready at home: wear something stripey!

Next stop Ian Brown. Let's go!




Who they are: Ian Brown (onstage 12.30am)
Venue: Carling Academy Islington

We arrive at the Islington Academy to the deafening sounds of the Scratch Perverts. It's like a proper rave, and, not really prepared for raving, we take refuge in the bar. Wait a minute! Who is that we spy? Why it's none other than GLC, who are also hiding from the dancey noises. Shouldn't they be preparing for their own show later on this, er, morning? But how better to prepare than a dose of King Monkey...

We're seeing lots of 'haircuts', sharp cheekbones and ageing indie men - and that's just on the stage, ha ha ha! Sorry. Ian Brown is a very lovely man. We met him once and he told us some fascinating things. Tonight he's all smiles in a big coat. That is until some fools throw beer at him. "Why dey do dat?" we hear you ask. Because they're fools (and not of the gold variety either).

We've progressed from our earlier handclaps to doing a little dance. Our dance (a sort of slow shuffling of feet - forward then back) is particularly noticeable during 'Dolphins Were Monkeys'. And then, when he does 'Waterfall', our dance is overshadowed somewhat by the whole crowd going ten shades of nuts. There's a song with very good trumpets in that we especially enjoy, but we forgot to remember which one it was. Let's say it was track five, though we could be wrong. That doesn't help, does it?

Ian asks if any of us are from Manchester. Most of the crowd reply: "We are!" In a very peculiar accent that we don't believe is their own.

Ooh blimey, it's 'I Am The Resurrection'. Wait till we tell 'our kid' back home. And now it's 'F.E.A.R'. But his voice is going. Perhaps he's got what Ricky Kaiser Chiefs has got. Perhaps he just needs a hot lemon.

It's a very different crowd than before (although we do spot some who are on the same pilgrimage as us). We note that it's really rather nice to be allowed to watch a gig this late, and the audience certainly appreciate the opportunity. However we then nearly lose a contact lens, which would've been a disaster (and also would've meant we'd have missed seeing TV's Dave Berry filming a link on a motorbike).

We've heard the GLC show is now the official aftershow for the Friday leg of Carling 24.
Let's go there then!