I’d been looking forward to last night’s musical adventure for months – we were off to the AO Arena in Manchester to see Deacon Blue – as part of their “All the Old 45s” tour, and possibly one more treat in my ongoing 50th birthday celebrations. I’ve been singing the back catalogue to myself all week; last week’s Sunday run playlist started with Dignity.

It was a slightly frenetic journey but we arrived in plenty of time and got seated – the countdown to the show had begun.

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The first part was an acoustic set, and the band sounded great; Chocolate Girl was always a favourite. The only downside was the chaos around us – late arrivals discovering people in their seats and then general (very noisy) confusion for a few minutes as everyone shifted again, sometimes several times. A couple of the songs were completely drowned out – I’m convinced a few of those around us didn’t realise the show had started! I was definitely a bit grumpy (bordering on melodramatic despair).

Looking around the arena as the first part came to a close, I stared longingly towards a half empty block right at the very back of the area. It looked very appealing – away from the chaos of our current seats. It didn’t seem likely but if you don’t ask….

We were directed to the ticket information desk… and fortunately a very helpful member of staff recognised my cry for help. New seats allocated (and in a much better spot than I’d been asking for) – I can only assume that reason code 8 stands for “50 year old woman on the brink”.

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Within a few minutes of settling in to our new seats, Deacon Blue were back on stage, my positive mood was restored and it was time to enjoy the rest of the concert. Loaded, Wages Day, Raintown, Your Town – all the old 45s! Plenty of singing along and a bit of dancing too.

The evening definitely finished on a high… Dignity and Fergus Sings the Blues as part of the encore and a lovely melodic folk song to send us home, a reminder to “Keep Me in Your Heart For Awhile”.

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50 for 50 #9: 50 posts for my 50th birthday to be posted before I’m 51.