Halloween

I somehow managed to skip writing about a lot of gigs (I've been to so many recently...and I don't think I wrote about Reading festival either?) but Halloween really can't be ignored.


I don't usually do anything for Halloween and hadn't planned to this year either, but then Bring Me The Horizon announced another London O2 Arena date. This wouldn't be particularly interesting...except Enter Shikari were to support as special guests. Um, yes please!


I missed part of Basement as they were on at 1830, which is when my lying ticket said doors were. I had been loitering around outside and checking out the merch tables! I only recognised one song, but they seem a pretty decent band and I would see them again at a festival, probably.


Next was Don Broco, who I have seen twice before. They were all dressed up as cowboys (like in their creepy music video) and put on the best show I've seen them do. They seem an odd choice of support being very poppy, but not complaining as they are a bit of a guilty pleasure!


Then the relief of not having to wait until next year to see Enter Shikari again! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of people with standing tickets as I'd have been able to get to the front with ease and couldn't see well from my seat at the back of the venue, but then again I easily had one of the best seats in the house and I finally got the chance to appreciate the stage set-up and lighting which is easily missed when you're at the front.


The set was 11 songs long, featuring 4 tracks from The Mindsweep, 3 from older albums, and 4 non-album singles including brand new Hoodwinker. Only thing I'd have wanted different from the set would be for it to be longer - can't fault the song choice at all, even if it wasn't all that different from their February tour set.


Now Bring Me The Horizon are definitely a guilty pleasure for me. I don't like their older stuff at all but do like the 2 newer, more mainstream albums. I have to say they completely blew me away this time! I've always enjoyed seeing them before, but the stage set up, lighting, and all that jazz were superb. They definitely deserve their arena tour, and I hope they do Cardiff on their next run!

The next day after a swift hangover recovery (sitting at Marble Arch with a book and a can of Monster for an hour until I felt human), I went for a half-hearted shopping trip along Oxford Street. I had intended to do my usual an have a nice long read at Jubilee Gardens at the other end, but I was so exhausted that I decided to rush back for one of the last super off-peak trains rather than giving myself another 5 hours to kill.


I didn't end up buying much at all this time! Though I stupidly forgot to go in the toy store and was too fed up of how crowded it was (and by google maps getting me lost) by the time I got to Forbidden Planet. BMTH shirt from the gig, necklace from Primark, the others from H&M (I'd be lying if I said my main motivation for buying that shirt was anything other than that it looked like something Rory C would wear). Err I was too lazy to take a photo sooo maybe I'll add it at some point later. I just realised I'd never post this if I didn't just do it before I forgot entirely haha.

The Cursed Child London

Near the end of June, me and Rob went for a short trip to London to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre. I'd never seen a non-musical play before, so I wasn't sure what to expect! We saw the parts on separate evenings, and I'm glad we did as I got restless enough as it was.


I'm not going to lie, I found the first part quite dull and spent the second half counting down the minutes until we could go get McDonald's. The magic effects were amazing though, despite some of the illusions not being so good for us since we were so high up (right at the back)! Can't really complain about the view though when it only cost £40 for two of us to see both parts.


The next day we walked to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping since we weren't able to book the Harry Potter Studio Tour. So sad they didn't have a huge Pinkie Pie like these Rarity ones, they were reduced to £50 and I definitely would have bought one (even though it would have been a struggle to carry it all the way back!).


We ended up having a late lunch/early dinner in a pub we found the day before before dropping our stuff back at the hostel on The Strand.


Then a quick change, and off to part two! Which was miles better, although it did feel a bit like bad fanfiction. Obviously I don't want to spoil the plot, but it centred on Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy and included lots of much-loved characters from the original series (including the sorting hat!).

We got badges after both parts, and the programme was a fiver. There were also house lanyards, stuffed owls, and a few other things for sale in the lobby.

The next day we had to leave before breakfast as our car parking expired at 8am, so we really didn't get much time in London at all. Somehow it took up 4-5 hours to get home, although we did stop for breakfast in a service station (where they tried to give me mushrooms which made me almost lose my appetite)!

Somehow I forgot to post this back at the start of July as I intended to add more photos, but eh just post haha.

BABYMETAL

On the 2nd of April, Babymetal's much anticipated Wembley Arena show happened! I was in two minds about making the trip to London for it, but I have no regrets now!

After checking into my hostel, I headed to Camden for the afternoon to meet some sharkies for a wander around before heading to Wembley. Queueing there was a nightmare, I ended up in the wrong queue twice before getting into the arena. Then I was in the wrong queue for picking up my preordered shirt. Then I queued there to be told my reference had to be printed so I had to queue to print it out and then queue AGAIN to pick it up.

The show had to support, just some DJing by Daniel P Carter which wasn't so bad.


Then I met up with a sharkie and her friend for the show itself! We had matching Babymetal wristbands!


Babymetal! Haha my photos didn't come out to great, I had quite a bit of cider haha.


The lighting, set, and outfits were all awesome!


Ended up singing and dancing a lot! The setlist was a good mix of tracks from the new album and old goodies.


Really want to see them again! Hope they come back to the UK soon.


The next day I couldn't keep down my free breakfast, so I headed to the Spoons at Marble Arch for second breakfast before walking along Oxford Street and then going to Forbidden Planet before heading to my usual spot at Jubilee Gardens to chill out and read all afternoon.


Went for a sporty Black Milk outfit for the day. Ended up wishing I had worn something lighter as it was surprisingly hot! Especially since I did quite a lot of walking (I was lazy afterwards and got the tube back rather than walking for over an hour).


This was my haul from the weekend! A split top from F21, a shirt from Primark, Catbug keyring and manga from Forbidden Planet, and of course my Babymetal shirt! I wish I could have bought one of the other shirts too, but apparently they sold out super quickly!

The Mindsweep Tour

Another somewhat belated post...and I have been neglecting my blog again. Oops! In my defence, I do actually have a reason this time - still recovering from last week!

The end of February saw Enter Shikari return to touring the UK for their album The Mindsweep that was released just over a year ago. The Bournemouth date was the day after my birthday, and the start of my awesome birthday week of awesomeness.


Rory shirt is a wardrobe staple haha. I stayed in a nice little hotel right near the BIC, and watched Rick & Morty whilst pre-drinking there haha.


Somehow managed to walk straight in and to the barrier in a great position! The first band were The King Blues, a mix of ska punk and folk punk. I liked them a lot!


The more generic The Wonder Years were up next, and while they were also good I wasn't really feeling it so much. Aside from the obvious Shikari hype I was feeling!


And then the Enter Shikari boys!


I was about as close to Rory C's mic stand as I could have hoped to be considering I didn't turn up early to queue. The happiest me! I love this photo so much ♥


I was up bright and early in order to fit in a walk along the seafront, since I haven't been to Bournemouth before. Decided to match Rory's guitar for this day, although it turned out I got brutally rejected in the evening when he started high-fiving people and stopped before me (not bitter AT ALL =P)


Somehow the sun was so strong that it was warm enough to take my coat AND hoodie off!


I half-wished I could have stayed there all day, but I had a Cardiff to get to and a Sophie to meet.


We lazed around at the hostel for a bit before getting some disappointing munch at Wagamamas.


Shikari things happened.


We were on the barrier but kind of on the corner, but that means behind-the-scenes goodness!


We did a spot of shopping the next day and got sushi before heading home. We were both too tired out to do much more.

Pretty much as soon as I got home, I started trying to resist buying a ticket for the London show. But, naturally (as I always knew I would, even back when buying the Bournemouth and Cardiff tickets), I caved.


There was a Tea Party Club meet near Hyde Park in the afternoon, with a raffle, tea, and cakes. I turned up a bit late due to my check-in time over in Hammersmith, but was still a nice afternoon!


A quick outfit shot before getting changed in the toilets...


I ended up a bit late to the Ally Pally due to the tea party and it being a long way out, but I think I only missed part of the first Arcane Roots song. The rest of the running order was the same as before, only this time I sat out The Wonder Years near the bar with a pint in each hand. Which, as it turns out, was a terrible idea.


I was so drunk for the rest of the evening that I don't remember much at all other than being escorted to the bus by a concerned member of staff and being judged on the tube for getting grated cheese and crumbs everywhere other than my mouth. And the crowd was INTENSE.


But the stuff on my camera made me laugh so much when I looked through it, and after a shower the next morning I just couldn't stop smiling. The happiness lasted for a couple of days. And I'm NEVER happy. So it was still worth it (although I'm super annoyed at myself for not staying sober enough to remember more of it!).


Obviously after 3 intense gigs in stupid platform boots, you get achy. So I decided to just chill in my favourite part of London for a little while (the grass out front of the London Eye). I had a good raid of the local Boots as well, so my tum was happy!

I headed home early again as I just had no energy to do anything else. I don't really mind too much as I'm back in London again soon anyway and I'd had far too much excitement and exertion for one week. I still wish I could do the whole thing again though! Best week ever!

BMTH & London

A while back a friend posted about a small BMTH gig in Kingston, and since I couldn't get work off for the Cardiff show and missed tickets for Bristol, I decided to go. The tickets were really cheap, but obviously going all the way to London made it an expensive trip!


I was too tired when I arrived in London to do much, so I just chilled out at the hostel for a few hours before starting the long trip to the venue.


I decided to dress comfy & wore a Drop Dead shirt I got from Ebay recently. The venue (Hippodrome) turned out to be poorly suited to gigs. I can see that it would okay as a club, but I literally couldn't see the stage no matter where I stood.


Support came from Neck Deep. I wasn't too fussed about seeing them as I've seen them before, but they are good. I was just sad that Pvris weren't there too since I missed them at Reading.


I was worried I wouldn't enjoy Bring Me The Horizon since I ended up going alone and had only bought the ticket to socialise...but they were really good! I would see them again, although I don't think I'd travel so far again.


I got horrendously lost on the way back because my phone was suddenly giving me different directions and tube times than when I had checked before, so I used all my data trying to figure out how to get back to Edgware Road. I got on the wrong bus at first, but luckily I got off it and straight onto the bus I had arrived on, so I made it back okay! I was annoyed that the show finished so early (21:30), but it turned out to be for the best!


The next day I got up early for breakfast, and wore my Aurora Skye touchdown for the first time. I got funny looks all day because it looked like I wasn't wearing shorts! I went to read at Paddington Green for a bit but I managed to walk completely the wrong way so it took me 40 minutes to get there instead of 3...oops!


I headed to Oxford Street after swapping my book over back at the hostel since it was only a short walk away. Had some lunch at Marble Arch and watched the pigeons!


I then discovered a love for Forever 21! I ended up buying this dress in black too, even though I'm not sure how I can wear it casually since I'm not used to long things!


I didn't find anything I wanted to buy in Disney Store (the only reason I went!), but they did have this HUGE Tsum Tsum. It was up to my hip! I dread to think how much it must have cost. I did want the Christmas Tsum set, but it was £25 or so and I had spent too much money in Primark and F21.


There was a floating Yoda, and fake snow at one point which confused me.


After being disappointed by the Drop Dead store (there was only one womens top and it wasn't in my size), I wandered over to Covent Garden via Forbidden Planet (which also had nothing I could buy since I spent too much in F21).


Next I checked out the Christmas market by the London Eye and sat down with a nice mulled cider.


With a further 4 hours to wait until my train, I hopped on a tube to Camden just to have a look around. I had forgotten how crappy Camden is and didn't actually go into any shops! So I just went to Ice Wharf for a few drinks and some food to pass the time before heading back to The Green Man to pick up my bags and have another pint.

My train was delayed so I ended up getting on the direct one instead, which was really busy! I left Paddington at 19:30 but somehow didn't make it home until 22:30. Really need to live in a city so getting around is quicker!