McBusted @ Newmarket Racecourse
A reminder that were all young once, it's just McBusted have been for a longer time than everyone else
Checking out the line up for this summer’s Newmarket Nights gigs, I was unsurprised to find that none of them were my thing. Where are the power chords, I asked; where is the dumb incoherent screaming? But then a name popped out at me. I immediately brought up a vein, and injected myself with an unhealthy dose of nostalgia, because I was going to see McBusted. I like to tell people the first album I ever bought was the Arctic Monkeys debut, but that’s a lie, as my true introduction to music was Busted. I bought all their stuff and had a concert DVD, but I never got to see them live, until now. We walked into the Racecourse, and were surprise to find out we were going in through the premier entrance, for which there is a dress code. I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and thus felt aptly out of place, which I think was a precursor of the evening to come. We arrived in front of the stage two minutes before start (missing out on the races unfortunately!) and waited for them to come on stage.
They came out literally leapfrogging each other, and all of a sudden I realised how strange this show was going to be. They played one of the new ones, so no one really gave a toss for the time being, but then they rolled out a McFly tune and the crowd went bloody mental. The next one up made me laugh; the Busted song from the soundtrack for the Thunderbirds movie, which just about sums up my childhood in one 3-minute burst, while also being a fairly terrible song. Before the end of the fifth song there was a bra sitting on bassist Dougie’s mic stand, and the crowd were screaming along to everything. Just as I felt I was starting to get out of my depth, they pulled out What I Go To School For and I screamed along with the rest, bathing myself in the sweet sweet nectar that is pure nostalgia. But then I listened to the lyrics. “I sit at the front of the class, to get a better view of her ass”. Nah, come on, I get that they're horny teenagers, but they must have been the same age as me when they wrote that, and I reckon even they can do better. Still kind of disgusted by what I had just heard, they moved onto a few McFly covers. There was a juvenile humour that prevailed throughout the evening, whether burping into the mic, or commenting on a hen do holding up a big inflatable penis, they seemed to know their audience very well. This what made it strange for me. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I felt like I'm so used to seeing bands that don't really care about their image, that when I saw one that is wholly consumed by its image, it weirded me out. They may have been famous ten years ago, but for them the act is still the same, they have never had a chance to grow up. I’m definitely reading too much into it.
They went off and came back on for an encore, and burst through the hits, including Year 3000, which literally went off. I jumped around, singing, dancing, and smiling too. All in all this was a good show for me; it’s a reminder that were all young once, just McBusted have been for a longer time than everyone else. On the way back to the car, I walked past the band being swamped by fans. This made me smile, and reminded me that sometimes reliving our youth is necessary, and that I should be glad for it.
Checking out the line up for this summer’s Newmarket Nights gigs, I was unsurprised to find that none of them were my thing. Where are the power chords, I asked; where is the dumb incoherent screaming? But then a name popped out at me. I immediately brought up a vein, and injected myself with an unhealthy dose of nostalgia, because I was going to see McBusted. I like to tell people the first album I ever bought was the Arctic Monkeys debut, but that’s a lie, as my true introduction to music was Busted. I bought all their stuff and had a concert DVD, but I never got to see them live, until now. We walked into the Racecourse, and were surprise to find out we were going in through the premier entrance, for which there is a dress code. I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and thus felt aptly out of place, which I think was a precursor of the evening to come. We arrived in front of the stage two minutes before start (missing out on the races unfortunately!) and waited for them to come on stage.
They came out literally leapfrogging each other, and all of a sudden I realised how strange this show was going to be. They played one of the new ones, so no one really gave a toss for the time being, but then they rolled out a McFly tune and the crowd went bloody mental. The next one up made me laugh; the Busted song from the soundtrack for the Thunderbirds movie, which just about sums up my childhood in one 3-minute burst, while also being a fairly terrible song. Before the end of the fifth song there was a bra sitting on bassist Dougie’s mic stand, and the crowd were screaming along to everything. Just as I felt I was starting to get out of my depth, they pulled out What I Go To School For and I screamed along with the rest, bathing myself in the sweet sweet nectar that is pure nostalgia. But then I listened to the lyrics. “I sit at the front of the class, to get a better view of her ass”. Nah, come on, I get that they're horny teenagers, but they must have been the same age as me when they wrote that, and I reckon even they can do better. Still kind of disgusted by what I had just heard, they moved onto a few McFly covers. There was a juvenile humour that prevailed throughout the evening, whether burping into the mic, or commenting on a hen do holding up a big inflatable penis, they seemed to know their audience very well. This what made it strange for me. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I felt like I'm so used to seeing bands that don't really care about their image, that when I saw one that is wholly consumed by its image, it weirded me out. They may have been famous ten years ago, but for them the act is still the same, they have never had a chance to grow up. I’m definitely reading too much into it.
They went off and came back on for an encore, and burst through the hits, including Year 3000, which literally went off. I jumped around, singing, dancing, and smiling too. All in all this was a good show for me; it’s a reminder that were all young once, just McBusted have been for a longer time than everyone else. On the way back to the car, I walked past the band being swamped by fans. This made me smile, and reminded me that sometimes reliving our youth is necessary, and that I should be glad for it.
