So I’ve covered the story behind Crystal Lake (here) but what about the gigs themselves?! Here are some which have us singing “MMMEEMMOORRIIEES” ala Ziltoid.

Rammstein – MEN Arena 2010. Where it all began. What’s not to like about Germans playing anthemic industrial metal pissing about with lasers and flamethrowers?!

Download Festival 2010. My first festival and I bloody loved it. I try to make it to at least one every year, calling them my “holiday”! Says it all really.

Iron Maiden – MEN Arena 2011. First time seeing one of my all time favourite bands, this was always going to be special. I’ve seen them multiple times since and they never let you down.

Black Sabbath – Download Festival 2012. My favourite performance ever. Sabbath played like it was their last ever gig and the atmosphere was spine-tingling. Blink completely losing his shit to “Children of the Grave” still gets talked about today.

Ghost/Gojira/Defiled – Sheffield Academy 2013. Outstanding value for money at a fiver, we didn’t know an awful lot about Ghost before this gig but we sure did afterwards! Papa’s people!

Nine Inch Nails – MEN Arena 2014. My first gig with Kristy and her first with Crystal Lake. Everyone got on like a house on fire and NIN were brilliant. We finished the night sitting near some statues drunkenly talking shit and eating pizza till the early hours. Win!

Hellfest 2014. An adventure from start to finish. Blink and myself battled dust storms to catch a variety of brilliant bands. Our first festival abroad, hopefully won’t be the last.

Andrew WK – Liverpool Arts Club 2014. The night we discovered the joys of partying hard. We can all learn from the positive teachings of Andrew WK. Think I’m joking? Follow him on Twitter. You’ll see.

Devin Townsend – Royal Albert Hall 2015. The comic genius of Devin Townsend’s Ziltoid The Omniscient in a jaw dropping venue was a spectacle to behold. I didn’t think it was possible to fit so much hilarity and fun into two days, but we did it! The best Crystal Lake gig ever? Quite possibly!

Foo Fighters – Old Trafford Cricket Ground/Milton Keynes 2015. The group split up into different groups/gigs but Dave and the boys kicked everyone’s arse. I came out a bigger fan after the Manchester gig, which is testament to just how good it was.

That concludes the list. Whilst short musings don’t really do these shows justice, I don’t think essays of a thousand words on each one would either. Things of this nature are fleeting moments in time which we never get back. That what makes them special. You can’t always fully express the experience you had but you know for sure it was a good one.

So roll on losing our shit to more bands and adding to this list. I’ve got a tonne of gigs coming up and frankly, I can’t bloody wait.