1. Taking a setlist home from a gig was a normal thing to do.
2. As was keeping every ticket stub and wristband you ever got.
3. Getting a ticket for a "secret" gig was the second best thing to ever happen.
4. Obviously the first best thing was getting guestlist.
5. You belonged to at least one band's forum, and met up with people from it to go to a gig.
6. You spent a lot of time on MySpace.
7. And your Last.fm profile was meticulously curated.
8. Storming off the dance floor when a song you didn't like came on was perfectly acceptable.
9. Sometimes you'd bring out specific dance moves to demonstrate how well you knew your favourite songs.
10. You had weird rules based on bands you liked or disliked.
11. When a band split up, you tried not to take sides.
12. You had (and still occasionally bring out) a slightly rubbish anecdote about meeting someone in a band.
13. You made some interesting fashion choices.
Including, but not limited to: unnecessary belts, obscure band t-shirts, cardigans with everything, and tights with weird patterns.
14. Your had at least four festival wristbands on at any one time.
I kept on every festival band I got in the early 00s for way too long! 🙈 #indieamnesty
15. But would 100% never wear a band t-shirt to a gig where that band were playing.
I actually bought and wore this t-shirt from a shop in Affleck's Palace in about 2009/10 #indieamnesty
Unless they were only the support, or it was a very early t-shirt that would mark you out as a true fan.
16. Badges were a weirdly important part of your identity.
Even if the NME occasionally declared them "trampy".
17. There was one band that you and your friends hated for basically no reason.
18. You owned a lot of vinyl, even though MP3s and iPods were already a thing.
I bought a cassette on vinyl. #RSD #C86 #indieamnesty @TheWolfhounds @weddingpresent @NME @CherryRedGroup
19. A large part of your time was spent squished into record stores listening to bands play a three song set and then queueing to get their album signed.
Once met @iLiKETRAiNS at an instore. They complimented me on the Forward Russia 10" I bought. Was far too starstruck to reply. #indieamnesty
20. And you spent a lot of times on trains travelling to gigs, either in your closest town or further afield.
21. At least once, you skipped school/uni/work to go to a gig and you still don't regret it to this day.
I skipped an A-Level Biology practical exam to get a coach to London for Les Incompétents last gig at 100 Club #indieamnesty
22. You started a fanzine, or at least contemplated it.
Writing a Bluetones fanzine ... And here's the master copy of issue 1 #indieamnesty