I’m not a big fan of concerts but this exception was a riot...

AS I have said in previous columns, I am not a fan of the gig.

In my opinion it is a recipe for the short to pay for the privilege of being buffeted by the tall as you strain to see the band or act over the sweaty back of your fellow gig-goer.

Previous experience has also showed me that the T-shirt you are trying to see over is usually the tour T-shirt for the band you are on tiptoes to see.

This means that instead of watching the band, I instead to get to read about all the places the taller person has seen them, thus making me more frustrated that they are obscuring my vision to see it again.

You may be wondering therefore why I decided to go to The Globe in Roath to watch the Russian band Pussy Riot last Friday.

I must admit I surprised even myself as I punched in the long number on the debit card to buy my mate and me tickets. The reason for this was threefold.

First of all, I am endeavoring to act more like a man in his late twenties and less like a man in his late nineties waiting for the sweet embrace of death.

On my list of behavioural improvements (pinned to my fridge by a West Bromwich Albion magnet) is to be more adventurous and take myself out of my comfort zone.

This was therefore my attempt to do just that.

The second reason was I realised the other day I had never been to The Globe during my 10 years in Cardiff and that needed to end (although admittedly the use of The Globe as the venue for the gig was quite a lastminute change).

Finally, it was because of who were playing.

Most people who take even a passing interest in international news will at least have heard of the band.

For years they have been a highprofile nuisance for Russian dictator, huntsman and toplessness enthusiast Vladamir Putin.

They are perhaps most famous for playing a concert in a cathedral during a sustained period of protest against Big Butch Vlad’s regime.

As someone who would rather listen to some punk than an Eastern Orthodox Christian hymn, I thought this sounded like a perfectly fun thing to do.

However, Mr Putin (presumably while simultaneously wrestling a bear) took exception to this and they were thrown into prison.

They were eventually released and their most recent escapade was running onto the pitch in the football World Cup.

I have the feeling that Pussy Riot will get at least a small footnote in history so thought it would be cool to say that I saw them play.

It was with this in mind that my friend Tom and I walked (to be fair after four beers in Juno Lounge it was more of a saunter) into the concert last Friday.

I wasn’t really sure about the crowd at a Pussy Riot concert. At most gigs you can usually make a fairly good prediction as to what the average attendee will look like.

Obviously there are exceptions, but I think I can almost always get in the ballpark.

For instance: Iron Maiden – hairy; Take That – 40-something female; Rolling Stones – my dad.

But what would the average Pussy Rioter look like?

I can’t imagine there is a massive Russian punk rock scene in the Welsh capital so who would be going?

It turns out there was a bit of split. I would say 50% were youngsters aged between 18 and 22 (and at least a few who I would have ID’d for a lottery ticket). They were wearing primarily dark clothes and seemed to be having fun despite apparently having the weight of the world on their shoulders (this is why I need to make an effort not act like an old man). The other 50% were about 30 years older. They basically looked and dressed like the 18-year-olds but it seemed that the weight of the world had finally crushed their leathercovered shoulders.

They showed their individuality and hatred for “the man” by all wearing ironic badges held onto their jacket by a mixture of bad sewing and safety pins.

One thing they all had in common was they were united in disdain for my Primark-made Jurassic Park T-shirt.

Moving on from my bitterness at not being accepted into the “scene”, I have to say the band were brilliant.

It was less a concert and more a Powerpoint presentation overlaid with angry shouting in Russian.

That may not sound fun but it was incredibly powerful as they chronicled their battle against Vlad.

I certainly recommend catching the rest of their tour if you can. Just remember, lanky people to the back.