'Lock the Locks,' But Don't Throw Away the Keys!

I fell for the quirky, almost indefinable sound of The Streets on my 20th birthday. It was nothing like I had ever heard or seen before. Front center, I went mental over Mike Skinner's reposing vocal delivery and understated t-shirt and jeans. As I danced unconstrained in the small venue, Club Nokia, I assumed I had discovered a British musical gem.

A year and a half later, London, January 2011, you could imagine my surprise and giddy hysteria when I realized The Streets were the biggest thing since beans and toast in the UK! Soon, word spread "North, South, East, West, and all round and then to the underground" that The Streets were going to be performing where the magic began, Brixton! It would be a tour for their ‘final’ album, Computers and Blues and there was no question in my mind, Mikey and I would once again reunite front, center.

As I approached the O2 Academy Brixton, it was quickly apparent that my live introduction to The Streets in Los Angeles was only a fraction of the explosion I was about to experience. I arrived an hour early in LA to find no line. I arrived an hour early in Brixton where the line stretched for at least 4 blocks. Rain fell heavy, but our spirits stayed lifted as we waited for The Streets final home performance. Once inside, I darted my way through the 4921 fans to successfully claim my front, center position.  

As plaid, Ben Sherman inspired button up shirts began filling the standing area, so did a cloud of smoke. Eye contact moved away from beers and friends and to the ground. Heads began bobbing as the audience grooved side to side to the appropriate and notable dubstep, drum and bass sounds of the opening act, Engine-Earz Experiment. The lights began to dim when they finished their set and the crowd's giddiness became apparent, including my own. Despite this amorous atmosphere, the forward push that followed Mike's stage entrance came without warning. The slight shrieks that happened at Club Nokia were incomparable to the mob pit that started in my beloved front center. I tried to take part in the pushing and shoving madness, but eventually, we had to surrender and make our way to a place where my ears, and limbs, could be free to relish in the peculiar sounds of The Streets. From Lets Push Things Forward and Turn the Page off their premier album, Original Pirate Material, to Dry Your Eyes Mate, Fit But You Know It and Blinded by the Lights from their album A Grand Don't Come For Free, to Outside Inside, Puzzled By People, and Soldiers off their touring album Computers and Blues, I skip-hopped my way into a Skinner frenzy. 

For the audience that night, The Streets had provided the soundtrack to their highest highs and lowest lows. The musical group had collected a loyal fan base in the UK and this transferred into the sentimentality of the night. This was, after all, The Streets final album and tour. For me, along with the majority of the crowd, this heightened the monumental performance. We sang and danced with gaiety as well as nostalgia for the memories that had accumulated with each track, knowing that this was the last of The Streets’ live music legacy. As Mike announced a final “Get Low,” (pictured) a Streets’ tradition where the whole crowd crouches on the ground and then jumps up concurrently, sentimentality fostered and it became clear that we were a part of The Streets’ history.

Mike, you can “Lock the locks” but please don’t throw away the keys!