Gig Catch-Up

Oh man why do I even bother trying to blog when I forget to post everything? Haha. So a select few photos from gigs since November. Apparently I had good luck and got to the front for all three!


Jimmy Eat World back on November 19th in O2 Academy Bristol was a bit of a last minute one as it sold out the day tickets were released and I only confirmed that I had entry on the day of the show! The girl I bought my ticket from turned out to be really nice, and she even dragged my right to the front and centre so we had the best view possible even though we arrived late!


Skipping forward to 6th December at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, we have Biffy Clyro.


I was a bit too close to get photos of the whole stage, but got some nice shots anyway! I wish they'd played more old songs, but at least they played Justboy (I think I cried a bit when they started playing it haha).


And lastly, Yellowcard, on December 11th at Bristol O2. Although I don't know their stuff very well, and have seen them twice before, this was my first time seeing them in a smaller venue...I couldn't even see the stage the other times! I'm glad I went along since it was their last tour and therefore the last chance to see them live.

The end of this year has been a busy one for gigs! And travelling too, I guess. Also went to Worcester to visit Sophie earlier this week, but I failed at getting photos so I can't really blog about it...epic fail!

Busted

Okay, so I was never a Busted fan. By 2002 I was snobby about music and mostly listened to Evanescence and punk. But 14 years on and I'm now a big enough person to say I actually liked their stupid catchy songs, so when a friend at work said she had space in her car for their first Cardiff show last week, I ended up tagging along.


We left just after midday so we got to the queue super early for a wait of about 5 hours. Somehow the time went quite quickly though.


The first act was Emma Blackery, but the crowd didn't seem to be feeling it.


Wheatus on the other hand, were awesome. Although not many people knew more songs than Teenage Dirtbag (I think I listened to that album once, but that was a good 8 or 9 years ago!). We all laughed out loud when they started playing a song called Leroy because we had a pigeon friend in the queue who we named that...we had no idea it was a song!


And then pigs started to fly...


Somehow we managed to get to the 2nd/3rd row of the general standing area, so we had a really good view. The part in front was for people who paid about £100 more for their tickets, but since they made use of the whole arena it didn't really matter.


They even did a few songs at the back of the venue, which was super far for us but great for anybody who couldn't make it further forward. The light fittings were super cool.


I was miffed that the tickets were so expensive, but the stages were definitely worth the money. They even had those things that raised them up from below the stage. The setlist had a good mix of old and new songs. I ended up knowing most of them as we had a few albums on in the car on the way, and I don't think anybody of my generation could NOT know any of the singles!


We were directly in front of Charlie for a lot of the show. This is my favourite shot because of dat derp! I'll admit he was the most boring person to watch though. Matt especially was doing all sorts of things, including taking selfies with fans on that back wall during the show (and he was the only one I saw do a Busted jump!).


And then it was over! I probably don't ever need to hear a Busted song ever again, but it was a good show and I had a great time. They really didn't disappoint. I imagine a lot of fans who missed out on seeing them way back when were practically peeing themselves from excitement =P

Unfortunately we ended up taking a huge detour on the way home which doubled our journey time as we couldn't find a McDonald's that was open so we ended up grumpy and hungry. Won't be making that mistake again!

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!

Cardiff & River House Backpackers

Since I live a little while from Cardiff, I inevitably had to find somewhere to stay while visiting. I arrived just after 2pm on the Tuesday.


I ended up staying in a hostel called the River House Backpackers. Honestly, I really loved this place! The staff were very welcoming and the whole place was bright, clean, and very homely. £17 got me a night's stay in a 4-person women-only room on the third floor, and it was only 5 minutes from Cardiff Central.


There was even a cheeky street cat there!


A short walk away was Cardiff castle. There were lots of squirrels chasing each other around in the park next to it!


I had nachos and a pint at a Wetherspoons in town after having a little look around the galleries in the National Museum. I didn't get much time there as I had left the hostel later than originally planned due to anxiety.


The next day I got up quite early and had free breakfast! There was a variety of cereals, yoghurt, bread, pastries, welsh cakes, juices, and there were free tea and coffee on offer for the whole stay.


I went back to the museum to look at the small natural history section. Taxidermy birds everywhere!


I also had another quick look at the gallery. This painting was my favourite.


Before heading home I went back to the Wetherspoons as they still do mexican burgers in that one! Awh yiss.


Next I went shopping! I realised I might be a goth as I tried on so many black clothes and only 1 non-black thing...


Spoopy4lyf


Picked a few black basics and also this pleather top. Not sure about keeping it though as wouldn't know what to wear it with and it seems a bit formal for daily wear.

I ended up leaving in the afternoon and getting home at around 5pm. Was awfully tired afterwards, and still kinda am!

Enter Shikari Cardiff 17/02/15

On Tuesday I was lucky enough to attend the sold out Enter Shikari show at Y Plas. Accidentally queued for the wrong gig with a bunch of other people though, so missed all but one song of the first band!


...which was a shame, as they sounded pretty damn good. They were Fatherson. Also managed to get myself the last spot on the balcony!


The next band was Allusondrugs, and while they were less my kind of thing they were still good. Spotted Rory C in the crowd opposite me but couldn't go say hi without losing my spot (#gigaloneproblems, also still in awe of my ability to not pee myself as I was desperate the whole time).


Feed The Rhino were rather loud, but also awesome. Was very glad I wasn't in the pit as the wall of death was a sight to behold (but not something I would wish to be involved in at all!).


Also nice little lit-up moment.


And then the most excellent Enter Shikari!


Rory C doing a spot of crowdsurfing!


The setlist was overall very good! We had the best songs from the new album (notably Myopia), although I'm sure Sorry, You're Not A Winner's absence was noted by many. Not many old songs on there at all, but that's not necessarily a bad thing and definitely not unexpected. I loved how they actually had a vase for a little Slipshod moment.

Wish I could go to another show as they were SO GOOD, but most of them are sold out! And/or far away. But I picked up a Download ticket finally, so I'll have to wait until June!

Jack Whitehall in Cardiff

On the 12th of March I went to the Cardiff date of Jack Whitehall's tour with Rob!

Before the show we had a potter around the shops and ate at Chimichanga. BEST. FOOD. EVER. I had the veggie chimichanga and a few fries and onion rings, and we shared churros, which we'd been wanting to try for ages. I want to go back again and eat everything, but the meal cost us £35 (we usually eat in Wetherspoons for much cheaper!).

There was no warm-up act for the show, but there were sporadic videos to keep us entertained while we waiting. We ended up getting to our seats pretty early since all the info said that you wouldn't be allowed in if you were late. I have a feeling this was a lie. We were in the 7th row, so more than far enough away to not get picked on!


Honestly I have mixed feelings about the show. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more back when I bought the tickets (waaaaaaaaaaaay back in February 2013!!). Not that I didn't enjoy it, but there were a lot of just not funny jokes. Like repeatedly returning to make jokes about a guy in the front row date raping women. An initial passing offensive remark may have got a laugh and cringe from me, but revisiting it over and over was just...no. And this wouldn't even fall into that category for me as rape is just never funny.

Also several times he messed up his (rather offensive) accents and forgot jokes and things, which was kinda unprofessional. I get that these things happen (I do it all the time!), but still.


I did enjoy the Lion King jokes (#pray4theking !!), but again some of the humour was just too juvenile. I think I lost my sense of humour or something.


But the stampede at the end was awesome! I wish I could have gotten photos, but it all happened the other side of the stage (the stage was in the centre of the room).

Would I go see him again? No. But I knew beforehand that I didn't appreciate his humour anymore, and it's not like I didn't like I didn't have a good time! Just the problem with buying tickets horrendously in advance. Lesson learned!