Jesus Christ, what a gig. The Verve before they where "The" Verve and before they went crap basically. The club was really small, the ceiling just a bit over your head, so the feeling was a bit claustrophobic, but bloody hell, I so much didnīt give a shit about it later on the night.

The thing I remember most about is that you couldnīt see the band properly, just their shadows at the back wall, which only added to the weird mood of the night. They played their hearts out basically and ended with the famous 16 minute version of "Gravity Grave" which had people standing there covering their ears and nearly screaming in pain cos it was so loud. Absolutely amazing!

The first proper gig I ever went to, just months after discovering Indie. And what a gig it was as well, pure rockīnīroll. I actually donīt remember too much about it, only one thing really stuck to my mind: the one guy I went with pissing down the back of the bloke standing in front of him cos he couldnīt be bothered to go to the loo. Ha ha ha ha ha... ermmmm

Ahhhhhhh, and what a great spring it was. I had just discovered Indie and Shoegazing the winter before and suddenly all these bands toured in Austria! I nearly fainted when the whole band walked past me before the gig I swear! This oneīs definitely one to remember cos the support band was so bad, even us peace-loving Shoegazing fans threatened to kick them off stage. Imagine the relief when Lush finally took the stage to play a brilliant gig. I swear Miki sang a whole song to me, no really.... ;)

Alright, alright, I know you Brits are gonna tell me now that Festival gigs are never as good as club ones, but hey, Reading is my only chance to see the bands I love since they never ever come to Austria, so Iīm all up for enjoying every second of it. And Strangelove were absolutely brilliant that day. Iīd sort of lost track of them, I didnīt even know they had a new single out at the time, but I thought Iīd go and see them cos I liked their old stuff. But they blew me away basically, a really strong performance, I loved every second of it. Patrick, what a star!

I admit it, I think Luis Elliot is a genius. Kinky Machine were great and when I first heard Rialto, I thought, "this sounds familiar, that voice ..... itīs Luis!". When I saw them at Reading that year he mentioned something about playing in London a couple of days later, so I thought Iīd check that out as well, although the Reading gig was great as well. When I got there I was shocked at first, a german bar in London, eurgh! ;) But when I spotted Saffron out of Republica I knew I was at the right place. And it was a really good gig as well. I love 'em!

They were probably the most "pop" out of the whole Shoegazing bunch, and theyīre still one of my favourite bands. I mean, how can you not love "Sistine Chapel Ceiling"! Anyway, this was a very good gig as well, Piotr behaving like the pop-star he thought he was ;) They were meant to play in Austria again a few years later, but split up exactly one week before the gig. I havenīt forgiven them for that yet actually.

Once again a festival gig, but this one was at the tent, so it sort of had a club feel to it. But actually it didnīt matter at all where it was cos of the energy coming from the stage. Never before and never after have I seen a band and a man (Terry Bickers) so obsessed with their music. Even though I wasnīt right at the front I could still see the veins on his neck, it looked like they were gonna explode any second. Fucking amazing!

Well, they were a bit too hard (rock) to really qualify as Shoegazers, but their gig was absolutely amazing. I guess that was the closest Iīve ever come to going deaf. It was so loud my ears were ringing for a couple of days after. Iīd seen them at Reading the year before, but only for 5 minutes cos I couldnīt take the noice, and there at this small club it was the loudest thing Iīd ever heard. Not that loud automatically equals good, but they also had a special emotional depth to them which made this gig something special.

Well, you might have guessed by now, but Reading 1993 was the best festival Iīve ever been to. Shame that it was also the swansong for the Shoegazing scene in a way. Still Catherine Wheel were awesome. Remember, they were good once! "Black Metallic", "I Want To Touch You", all the good songs...... what a shame they turned into Bush later which sort of leaves a sour taste if you think about them now.

Yes, Iīm gonna spoil my cool here! ;) "How on earth!!" I can hear you scream, but I loved them! I danced all the way through, which is something I very rarely do at gigs, so that was quite an achievement, hee hee hee hee hee