Sometimes things happen which are just happy happy joy joy things. Today such a thing happened. No, McNulty didn’t get run over by a truck. No, Fred Nile didn’t get discovered in a parliamentary closet wearing a gimp outfit buggering a goat. Much, much better than that.

Frank Turner. Is. Coming. To. Australia.

Frank Turner is my gift from The Joker. When we first met he said “have you heard this?” (I’m paraphrasing) and played me a bit of “Photosynthesis” and then a bit of “Substitute” and I fell deeply madly in love with two men in the one moment. No matter what happens with The Joker he’s given me the gift of Frank and I’ll always be grateful. No-one really gets my obsession but Frank talks (sings) directly to my heart.

Since I first heard him I’ve longed to see him live. Frank is awesome live. To stand in the audience and sing along, badly and loudly, to his songs would be a spiritual experience.

Imagine my joy when an hour ago I checked Facebook to find that he’s coming to Australia to perform at the BluesFest next Easter.

Such bursts of excitement are rare and this one took me back to the moment I was invited to meet the Chili Peppers before their 1995 Sydney Entertainment Centre show. I remember getting the letter in the mail from their touring company and actually screaming and jumping up and down (I was a lot younger then).

When you’re old/er and a little tired and a little downtrodden by life and ex’s and kids and boring jobs it’s nice to get that alive feeling, the adrenalin pumping, the excitement surging.

So a year and a half after first meeting Frank Turner I’ll actually get to see him live and in the flesh, hopefully with The Joker by my side. Is there anything better than having something awesome to look forward to?