My fridge door is a testament to my life. There's lots of magnets on the door, a lot of them arty, some of them sassy, some of the gorgeous, some of them gifts.
There's also one which I bought at MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art which allows for pieces of paper to be easily kept beneath it. Under this magnet, I found these old tickets.
I love keeping ticket stubs. They are like a paper proof you've had a life.
But these four tickets have a lot of meaning.
The most recent one is that of the MTC's performance of The Heartbreak Choir. Aiden Fennessy was a superlative playwright who passed away too soon. I used to keep a ticket from this play, The Architect in my old wallet. Unfortunately that went when my handbag, complete with my phone and wallet, was stolen, but this ticket is it's replacment. I think about both plays a lot, particularly The Architect. Brilliant plays. A brilliant playwright taken too soon.
The next ticket which sits on the fridge is my MONA entry ticket, dated five years ago. I'd gone down to Hobart to see my cousin and to visit this most amazing gallery. I was supposed to be going with my cousin, but on that day, she had to babysit her grandkids, so I went alone. I had an awesome time. That my cousin still hasn't been to MONA is a travesty - that she lives a mile away from this illustrious gallery even more so. And strangely, I'm heading off to Hobart in September, almost five years to the day, to try again to take my cousin to MONA. As she lives in Tassie she gets in for free. I'll have to pay. I don't care - it's an incredible place, even if you don't like art. It's worth the price of the ticket to see the architecture.
Then there's the eponymous ticket to see The Pixies at Festering Hall. I remember it being a hot night and this, my favourite band played their second best album, Doolittle, end to end, with some stalwards from Bossanova and Surfer Rosa at the end for good measure - because it isn't a Pixies concert if they don't sing "Where is my Mind". I remember going with Alice and Dougall. I met up with another friend and her partner on the tram on the way back. I could barely speak from screaming. Another strange thing, I'm seeing The Pixies in Sydney and at the Forum in December. I'm over the moon. The only difference is that Paz Lechantin has replaced Kim Deal as the bassist. She's great - but she's not Kim. Ah well. La la love you...
And the oldest ticket of the lot is the Jeff Beck concert from 2009. I remember going with a friend, who introduced me to Jeff Beck. When I once questioned him about what song reminded him of me, he instantly said "Jeff Beck's Brush with the Blues". It was another hot night, and after smoking a spliff on St Kilda beach, we went into the Palais and were royally entertained. The night introduced me to Tal Wilkenfeld, an extraordinary Australian bassist. It was also the night where I disappeared into ether wtih the music. It was an out of body experience - and not because of the weed. It went to the transformative nature of Beck's guitar playing. I just remember it being one of my favourite concerts.
I look at these tickets and I think of the mementoes I'm missing out on. Sure, I collect fridge magnets from galleries, but I'm not a fan of concert merch. And plays generally don't give you little things to remember them by. Programmes just sit around in a box until you throw them out. But ticket stubs are the perfect size and shape to keep. You don't get to keep tickets on your email. Your phone doesn't get the same sweat and beer stains on them. It's not a physical representation of your night out.
Of tickets I wish I still had in my possession:
- David Byrne at the Bristol Academy in 1992.
- David Byrne's American Utopia tour (but that might be found on the microwave. I didn't want to throw that paper out - I wouldn't have thrown it out)
- A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in London in 1992 - Ned Beatty, Brendon Frazer and Frances O'Connor in London's West End. Superlative theater.
- Jason Mraz and Billy Bragg at the Prince of Wales.
- Hunters and Collectors at the Tivoli in Adelaide in 1988.
- The MTC's most wonderful Richard III back around 2010 - that was incredible. Paid top dollar for a late ticket. I've subscribed to the MTC ever since.
- And of course, my wonderful ticket for The Architect from 2018.
I like the little things. As I said before, ticket stubs are a proof you've had a life.
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