Posts Tagged ‘gigs’

Last month I went to see Nickelback in Leeds. It was the first time I had been to the Leeds Arena. It was pretty good. Nothing amazing, but it is quite a nice layout.

Nickelback were entertaining live. They weren’t a band where you come away from the show thinking “that was absolutely amazing”, but they were a lot of fun on stage and far less serious than I imagined them to be.

I didn’t get any good photos.

I did finally get a chance to use my massive goth boots to see over everyone’s heads though. Well worth the investment!

Last week, myself and James went to the MEN to see Evanescence. They played a very similar set to the one I saw last year in Leeds, but with a few changes, taking out some of the stuff from their new album in favour of a few classics.

Photos did not turn out well though lol.

It was a big we had been waiting for, for 15 months.

Why? Because I bought tickets in March last year, for a July gig. Normal enough. But a few months later, Blink cancelled their tour saying they needed another year to finish their album. So here we were a year later, finally on our way to see them.

As a bonus, You Me At Six had been replaced by All-American Rejects, who’s lead singer may or may not have been heavily intoxicated while performing. Blink-182 themselves were excellent and only played five of the twenty odd songs they did from their new album. Stick with the classics, that’s what we’re all there for 😀 .

Plus, they seemed very happy to be here. “We come for your women. And your Nando’s,” commented Tom DeLonge.

Last month, I went to the Leeds Academy to see Evanescence. The gig was enjoyable, but not quite as good as I was expecting. I had a similar experience when I went to see Feeder in February, so I’m wondering whether it is the venue.

Never the less, I got to sing along to a great mixture of songs from their new album and the old classics as well. A very enjoyable night!

I also bought a t-shirt and unfortunately I was given the wrong size. Due to my expanding belly, I definitely cannot squeeze into. Still, at least that’s Elina’s Christmas present sorted :D.

Last December, tickets for Rihanna’s next tour became available. It was ten months away, but I really wanted to get floor tickets, so I went onto the priority booking site to ensure I got some of the elusive standing tickets.

Ten months I waited.

Then, I was ill :(.

To avoid entirely wasting the £40 ticket I sent George with my camera instead. Still gutted though.

Last Tuesday myself, Si and Norm headed down to the Leeds Academy to see Feeder. While both of my friends had seen them many times, this was my first time, and I can’t help feeling that it was somewhat a fall from grace to them to be now playing a relatively small venue such as the Leeds Academy.

The gig took a bit of time to get going while they insisted on playing their new stuff but from Buck Rogers onwards the crowd picked up and despite scary comments from Si on the subject, they did manage to make the rounds on all their classics.

They also played a brand new song off their upcoming album during the encore which was somewhat annoying – I can’t help feeling everyone would have been much happier if they had simply played Buck Rogers again, but of well.

Of all the gigs I imagine I would have shortlisted to go to this year, I can’t say Meat Loaf would have been one of them. But when I got a text off Norm saying he had two tickets to the o2 corporate box, I thought to myself, “I could go for a bit of that.”

So we headed over to the MEN in Manchester for a bit of corporate hospitality. Which is a codeword for free bar. Good times :D. The box itself was quite nice, it also included some tasty food (that they come in and steal in the middle of the main gig though) and it’s quite a nice level to watch the show from – could definitely get used to this kind of thing!

With a last minute lack of turnout on Monday night, I headed down to Club 360 at HiFi with Chris T to check out Subculture who had invited me down to watch them play.

There are quite a number of bands playing, each with their own unique style shall we say 😉 . I was impressed by Subculture, they got the crowd going and the music was good which is all you can really ask for from a gig.

After months and months of waiting, the time had finally arrived – myself, Norm, Michelle and George boarded a train bound for Manchester. Once there we quickly located a McDonald’s and several bars for a variety of taste before moving on to the M.E.N. Arena in anticipation for the main events. The weeklys of training, learning lyrics and drunkenly singing along all came down to this :D.

Avril came on stage around 8:30 and was actually on till gone 10 o’clock going through almost all her singles. There was a lack of non-mainstream stuff but that was really to be expected and makes it easier to sing along anyway. Her encore was a bit unspontaneous with the dancers coming out first but never the less a classic finish on Sk8er Boi rounded the evening off nicely.

Plus, as to be expected, I bagged myself a tour t-shirt which is always a good way to finish a night. Avril accidentally forgot to seek me out and confess her love for me but I’m sure she’ll realise her mistake by the next door. Which we’re already planning a visit to :D.