Quick gig update

I haven’t blogged in months and feel that I’ve really neglected my blog! I’ve been to quite a few gigs in that time & instead of doing individual posts I’m just gonna do one big post! It’s not going to be in any order either so don’t expect a timeline.
I saw three of the four Katy Perry’ s Prismatic World Tour at The O2 in May, all from different views. The first was from block 113 which was nice & close as usual but I didn’t get the full effect of all the backdrops used in the show so the next night, where I was general admission standing I stood about ten rows away from the edge of the catwalk and got the full effect of the show. I spent a fortune on merchandise, I just couldn’t help myself haha including a fiver on PrismVision which I “watched” on my final show, where I managed to get third row from the edge of the catwalk where Katy spends 80% of her time in the second of the show. It’s great gimmick & not something I’ve seen in a show before, the final song is Firework & with glasses on the firework imagery & Katy’s sparkly dress do look amazing. Or it could be that I was a bit drunk! But seriously I loved the show, I adore Katy, so much in fact I’m seeing the show again next year in Amsterdam. I’ve treated myself to a VIP Reflection Section ticket & cannot wait!
I got myself a top ticket to see Justin Timberlake at the O2, I was in the b stage standing section & it was absolutely fantastic. For a start each side of the b stage had it’s own BAR!! It wasn’t too packed either so you were able to dance and breathe quite freely. The show was brilliant, as expected and when the incredible stage walk way lifted and carried Justin & his band over to the b stage,well WOW!! So *thats* why the tickets were rather expensive. Everyone in the b stage was thisclose to JT and he spent quite a while there even performing MJ’s Human Nature & urging the crowd to sing loudly & skywards “so he can hear”
Country music has played quite a big part of my gigs so far this year & I’ve been lucky to see some of the biggest stars in the world. Most recently I saw Dolly Parton at The O2, a couple of days before her brilliant Glastonbury set. I’ve wanted to see Dolly for years but the ticket prices have always been a bit too much. Casually checking the resell sites the morning of Dolly’s first show in London I was so unbelievably lucky to score a great seat for half price so spent the rest of the day in a Dollytiz telling everyone I came into contact with that I was seeing Dolly tonight! An absolute legend, her banter & stories were the best & you forget how many hits she’s had & you could tell by the audiences reaction how much she meant to them, absolute adoration for her & I’m not surprised one bit that her Glasto appearance was so successful. A few months earlier I had seen Dolly’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus at The O2 as well. Now Miley seems to be marmite for some people – love or hate her – I love her, I think she’s great, she is a great performer & her show was lots of fun, had lots of high energy & she really doesn’t take herself too seriously. She even sang Jolene but I’m not sure Dolly would have approved of her version. Or maybe she would? Dolly is a farm girl after all.
I went to one of the other venues inside the big white tent recently as well, the Indigo2, a lovely little venue, for the Country Songwriters Series. Not something I’ve ever been to before but I would definitely go again! The main attraction was Martina McBride and the premise of the show was the songwriters talking about the songs they’ve written and a few artists performing them acoustically. It was so interesting, country songs always have great stories behind them and they had written songs for Johnny Cash, Dolly and many more. The show had not sold out at all, unbelievably and the Indigo2 was quite empty. Next year I will definitely look to go to Country 2 Country at the O2, The Dixie Chicks headlined this year & I was gutted I missed them.
One show I’ll never forget was An Evening With Julie Andrews. As soon as the show started I felt incredibly emotional. Mary Poppins is one of my favourite films ever & just being in the same room as her was too much!! A show reel started the show, reminding the audience (as if we needed to be) of why we love Dame Julie so much. She came on to the stage to rapturous applause & she did not disappoint, telling the story of her life & tales of how she was approached by Walt Disney to do Mary Poppins & how she turned it down at first because she was pregnant but Walt told her they would wait for her, convenient for both of them as we know from the brilliant Saving Mr Banks movie. Dame Julie cannot sing anymore due to throat problems but at the end of the show she orchestrated a singalong with the audience of Edelweiss & sang the opening notes & it was heartbreaking to hear her voice crackling as you could still just hear her perfect tone. A wonderful evening.
I seem to be checking off the legends at the moment & one legend that blew me away was Debbie Harry. I was so happy to get tickets for the Blondie 4-0 Forever tour as I didn’t think I’d ever see them. I knew they’d be great but I wasn’t expecting the amazingness of Debbie Harry & how she is still the coolest woman in the world (FACT) so much attitude & charisma, I will definitely be going out of my way to see Debbie Harry & Blondie again!
I’ve been to a few big gigs as well, including Capital Radios Summertime Ball
At Wembley Stadium with Miley (again) Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, Cheryl Cole & many other pop tarts. A great (and ridiculously hot) day. Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park was a good day as well. I treated myself to a VIP upgrade which meant I had access to a front of stage gold circle style pit & was brilliant! Front row for Ellie Goulding, delivering another great festival appearance & front row for my absolute childhood faves Salt N Pepa! So incredible to see them perform, I was even lucky enough to meet them and get a pic either DJ Spindarella! I also Outkast perform their first show together in ages & that was pretty awesome. I wandered around the other stages briefly and caught a bit of a set from SayLouLou who I also saw support Kelis at Brighton Dome & I really like their electro tunes. As for Kelis – wow what a show! I loved her previous albums but hadn’t gelled with her latest album Food but after seeing it live it’s just as brilliant as Tasty & Flesh Tone. She is definitely an artist I’ll go back to see again & again.
I think that’s all my gigs from April to July. Up next is Eminem & Kristin Chenowith. Quite a contrast. Oh and a few Kylie shows…