You mean there was a football match?

I didn't watch the football last night - though I caught the 'highlights' and to be honest didn't seem I'd missed much - as I went to see the excellent Julie Fowlis.

Have to say it's slightly weird going to a concert when there is a big England world cup match on - especially as the band are very Scottish and sing in Gaelic. However, being on the same evening gave it a real intimate feeling. Ticket sales were perhaps lower than expected so to make best use of the space the venue had arranged the seating in to 'cabaret' style which also added to atmosphere. The combination of that, a smaller audience (around 200) who really wanted to be there, and an excellent group made for a wonderful evening's concert.

Julie Fowlis hails from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and sings traditional style Celtic folk in Scots Gaelic. She possesses a wonderful voice and was BBC Radio2 Folk Singer of the Year in 2008. The evening was a winning combination of that sublime voice, four other very talented musicians, and good humour and charm between the songs all in a pleasant and intimate venue. Her current tour has played/is playing some great venues, including Union Chapel in London on Thursday. Heartily recommend catching her in concert if you can.

So a interesting week musically. Monday night was thousands seeing Bon Jovi start their O2 residency. Saturday around 200 watching a folk gig. Both good and both very different in numerous ways - and if I'm honest, I enjoyed the the Julie Fowlis slightly more. If nothing else there was also something funny about being updated with the score from the England game. "It's 1-1. Really? Oh, that's a shame." I *suspect* her tongue was firmly in her cheek.