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I bought last night's tickets about a year ago, before the Marc Almond tour was postponed. In contrast, on Thursday I spotted that John Cale was playing in Edinburgh tonight and I bought two of the last tickets on impulse. It's the first night on another postponed tour, so there are no reviews to go on. I've been listening to his music for 40 years, and have seen him play once, when the Velvet Underground reformed in '93. So, since he's just turned 80, I felt that it's a chance I have to take.

Earlier I'd had another relaxing day - although following the India Vs Pakistan cricket match was somewhat exciting. I then wrote up my diary and rehashed my slides for next week's seminar. It made a change not to have to walk Django, particularly as it's been wet for most of the day.

The concert was excellent, even though we couldn't see him until the last two numbers, when he got up and played guitar from the opposite side of the stage. A found some of the numbers rather long, but for me the trance-like rhythm and melodies were compelling. Naturally there were echoes of the Velvets but, otherwise, they created so many soundscapes that were unlike anything I've heard before. In contrast to Marc Almond, who was influenced heavily by Bowie, John Cale's only Velvets number was "Waiting for the Man", a song (like the band itself) that was an influence on Bowie. And John Cale is still playing...