Although I have a large and diverse collection of music, there are only three acts that I ALWAYS go to see when they’re playing in my neighbourhood. They are Al Stewart, Porcupine Tree and the Legendary Pink Dots from Nijmegen in Holland. On Tuesday night the Dots were playing at the Middle East in Cambridge, and I went along as I do almost every year.
The Dresden Dolls opened for them, doing a short “acoustic” set. I’d been waiting for a long time to hear Amanda Palmer sing, and I was not disappointed. In addition to several original songs, she covered the Swans, Leonard Cohen, and (her tour de force) Jacque Brel’s “Amsterdam”. Stunning. I think the Dolls are in Lollapalooza this summer, so check ’em out.
The Dots are an institution for me. I first came across them in 1991 when I picked up a copy of their newly-released CD The Maria Dimension in a record store in North Wales. 
Even though I’d never heard of the Dots before, I just knew that this was something special. So I bought it, unheard, and I’ve never looked back. These days I must have 50 CDs by the Dots and another 20 solo albums by their leader, Edward Ka-Spel. They are incredibly prolific: I bought four new CDs this evening, one by Edward and three by the Dots.
The performance was excellent, as usual. Much of the material was from the newest album, Whispering Wall, but they included several oldies including (oh joy!) Casting The Runes from the 1988 album Any Day Now, and We Bring The Day from 1993’s Malachai (Shadow Weaver Part 2).
I used to find it odd being (by a considerable margin) the oldest attendee at Dots shows. These days the audience is far more diverse, in terms of age and style. Of course there are still the inevitable Goths (though why I don’t know – the Dots hardly fit the “Goth” stereotype) and fans of Ministry, KMFDM et al, complete with leather and chains. But most attendees are just plain folks of all ages from 18 to 60. And even some of the younger crowd wear ear-plugs, as I do now. Standing in front of the speakers, I feel the music more than hear it….