Friday 14 April 2017

The Concert Tag (Because Gigs Are All I Do)

Friday 14 April 2017


I think I'm just going to skip past the whole 'long time no blog' spiel and get right down into the nitty gritty. A friend (or bro) of mine, Aimee (blog and youtube extraordinaire) recently did The Concert Tag on her youtube channel, and although I wasn't tagged I still REALLY wanted to do this. Because I love gigs, and I thought the questions had some interesting answers.

How many concerts have you been to?
In all honesty, compared to a few of my pals I've been to very little gigs - well, that is to say, it's more in the thirty range than the hundreds. Although, to be fair to me, I only started properly going to a lot of gigs in 2014, so I think I've done well for myself.

Which band or artists have you seen the most?
I did just spend ten minutes trying to work this one out but I think the answer is All Time Low who I've seen seven times, although many people might think the answer should be 5SOS even though I've only been to five gigs of theirs.

Where is the furthest you've travelled for a concert?
I wish I could say something really snazzy like America or Japan but the actual truth of the matter is that I went to Cardiff, Wales to see 5SOS on their Sounds Live Feels Live tour. A goal of mine was to see a gig in a different country and, well, technically Wales is a different country.

What was the first concert you went to?
I'm actually very proud to announce that my first ever concert was to see the Jonas Brothers when I was thirteen and I don't think anything else can live up to it. I went with my dad, and despite all of the other parents around us sitting down sulking about the loud noises he actually sang along which, to this day, I still live for. But anyway, Joe Jonas blessed me - and he continues to do so.

What was the last concert you went to?
The last gig I went to was actually All Time Low! Me and my friend Georgia ended up scoring some free VIP tickets to the show VERY last minute, and it was the weirdest experience of my life. We were somehow in a VIP bar with the band and all of their families and friends. What in the WORLD?

What is the next concert you're going to?
I guess it's more of a festival but my next one is Slam Dunk Midlands! It's right at the end of May and I've got AGES to wait but I'm buzzing. Pretty much all of my favourite bands are going to be there and I can't wait to cry 20000 times. After that I'm going to Slam Dunk London, and then an All Time Low acoustic show for the release of their album, and then a With Confidence co-headline with Set It Off all in the same week. Don't ask me how I can afford this, because I can't.

What is your favourite concert venue?
O2 Academy Brixton, without a doubt! It's a bit of a pain for me to get home from at night but the actual venue itself is SO GORGEOUS. The roof always convinces me that we're outside but it's just because it looks like there are stars on the ceiling, and the architecture of it all is stunning. As well as the fact that the floor is slanted which means wherever you are you've always got a pretty great view. Other than that I really love Hammersmith Apollo. It was mostly the only place I went to gigs at when I was younger, because it's so close to where I live, but again the architecture and little details around the place are wonderful, and it's also another slanted floor! Brixton just has a special place in my heart, though.

Have you ever caught a guitar pic or anything at a show?
Nope! I've only been barrier once, which was for Halsey, and I didn't get anything that time. Most of the time I don't get far enough into the crowd to be able to catch anything because I get really anxious in busy crowds, which sucks. Hopefully one day! I'd love to catch one of Awsten Knight's guitar pics just because it's so funny (also I love Awsten).

Have you met any bands or artists at a concert?
Until recently I don't think I really had, except for Hey Violet who I met after they did an acoustic performance outside of Wembley for 5SOS ROWYSO. In the past month I've met With Confidence, Broadside, some of The Maine and Awsten from Waterparks outside of gigs which has been really cool because they're all bands that I absolutely LOVE.

What is the best concert you've been to in terms of production?
Holy shit, I love production at gigs. There's just something about it that I truly appreciate. Hands down the absolute best has been Twenty One Pilots, all of the lights and the screens on the side had me mesmerised but even just down to the costume changes, the confetti, the way they moved between the stages, their choreography was so insanely sick. They're one of the best artists I've ever seen hands down, purely because of how much thought you could tell went into every single thing that they did. However, The 1975 are always one of my faves and their production value is SO GOOD. The screens and lights that they have are always beautiful and always match the vibes so well, it's honestly miraculous.

What is the worst concert venue?
Ally Pally. I hate Ally Pally. So much. It's just so difficult and even the gorgeous architectural details can't redeem itself for me.

Have you ever met any internet friends at concerts?
I think quite a few! I can't name them because I can't actually remember which ones I met where and how but I know I've met a few of them at gigs!

Which band or artist are the best opener you've seen?
I'm giving two answers for this, because I've seen two of my favourite bands recently as openers and they're both so sick. I saw Broadside as support for With Confidence and they immediately rocketed themselves right up into my favourite bands in the world. The other band I saw who opened for All Time Low are Waterparks, who were already in my favourite bands in the world, purely just because they are so fun and new and in my humble opinion they aren't like any other band I've heard of. (I actually wrote an entire post about Waterparks back in January but I didn't end up posting it so it's been living in my drafts!). Also, As It Is were so incredibly amazing as openers for State Champs and I fell 10000x more in love with them (and Patty).

What is your best concert experience?
This is such a difficult question for me to answer because I honestly have no clue? iTunes Festival to see 5SOS will always be one of the best gigs I've been to just because it was the best I've ever seen them perform, and I just thought the entire gig was really fun. However, All Time Low gigs are always when I'm at my happiest, because I love them with my entire heart and it's just always a great time. With Confidence London was also another one of the best gig experiences I've had because they were so fucking good, and meeting them afterwards was probably the best meeting thingies I've ever had in my life.

Have you ever had a negative experience at a concert?
Well, when I went to see The Maine, I took my phone out of my pocket to take a selfie and found that it was broken. Completely broken. Unusable. I was so sad about it and it did mean that I couldn't contact my mum but it didn't stop me from having a sick time. Other than that, I've had people be shits at gigs and elbowing/pulling my hair.

Which band or artist do you want to see live?
I really want to see Fall Out Boy, because I've never ever seen them and I love them to pieces. Or Simple Plan, because their songs were the songs of my youth and I heard them playing as me and my friend were on our way out of Reading Fest and I shed more than a few tears.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I'm supposed to tag people but everyone I know has already done this so please feel free to do this yourself, or answer some of the questions in the comments - I'd love to hear the answers :)

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