I fell in love with live music when I was in my third
year of university. Pretty late to the party, right? Gigs were a little out of
my comfort zone and I didn’t hit that ‘push yourself’ mentality until I was
about 20 but whilst I definitely missed out as a teenager, I’ve more than made
up for it since. I’m pretty happy bobbing along in the mainstream when it comes
to my music tastes. A lot of the artists I’ve seen have been chart toppers
rather than struggling indie kids but y’know, there’s still something pretty
exciting about hearing songs you’ve heard on repeat live, whether they’re
throwbacks or over-played on radio one. Here are the best gigs I’ve ever been
to.
Stone Sour – House of Gold and Bones pt1
I appreciate Stone Sour aren’t exactly ‘mainstream’ but
we’ll get the sentimental one out the way first. I saw Stone Sour at the O2
Apollo in Manchester back in 2012. I’d loved them ever since I played Through
Glass on repeat when I was doing the super emosh 15 year old thing but this gig
turned into a bit of the light of the end of a tunnel for me. After my dad
passed away two weeks into my final year of university, the gig was in the last
week of the first term and at that time, it became my goal just to get there
and be OK. And I was OK, and it was the best night with one of my closest
friends, Rachel. The audience singing back the chorus of Bother and seeing
Corey Taylor nearly break down on stage made it a really emotional but incredible
gig.
Jason Derulo – Tattoos World Tour
Oh there we are, back to the mainstream. This night was one
of the most fun evenings I’ve ever had as again, it was at the O2 Apollo in
Manchester so it was a smaller gig, and because the setlist was pretty damn
solid. This was around the time of Talk Dirty, Wiggle and Trumpets coming out
so it’s the type of music that everyone got up and danced too for the entire
night. Also, he was supported by Conor Maynard who at the time was peaking as
about a three hit wonder so the crowd was already fairly hyped before Jason
Derulo came on – which was great as most of the time nobody gives a shit about
support acts.
The Kooks – The Best Of
This one is about the experience as much as it was the
band as I was actually invited to this gig by Pink Gorilla and we had a box for
the night at the First Direct Arena. First Direct is easily my favourite arena,
mainly as it’s newer and therefore a lot nicer in general, but also because
it’s a lot smaller than Manchester. I’ve also been there enough times to know
where the hidden toilets are which is a plus. Watching a gig from a suite was a
whole new experience for me as it’s a totally private space, with a staff
member ready and waiting to serve you drinks (out of glasses and bottles, not
plastic cups!) and you can make yourself at home for the night. The gig itself
was brilliant and hearing classic songs like Naive played live was an
incredible experience.
Lady Gaga – ArtRave
This was one of the biggest gigs I’ve ever been to as it
was a sell out at Manchester Arena. What I loved about this night was the sheer
amount of production that went into it – it was about the show as much as it
was the music. There was so much love in that room that night and a couple got
engaged live on stage which was a pretty magical moment to witness. I loved
that she took the time to read fan letters which had been thrown on stage and
even though in doing so she over ran, she was adamant about completing the set
regardless of being fined for going over the venue’s curfew.
The Pigeon Detectives
Another recent gig for me and I was lucky enough to be on
the guestlist for it as my friend from work, Hannah, is married to the bassist,
David. We saw them at the O2 Academy in Leeds and the guestlist had access to
the balcony seats which was great for us as we had the best view. I’ve been to
a lot of gigs over the last few years and this is the first I’ve been to where
the crowd was really living in the moment and not watching the entire thing
through their phone screen. Also, who doesn’t want to hear classic tunes like I
Found Out which is in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
So, that’s my round up of the best gigs I’ve ever been to
– what’s your favourite to date?
I love Stone Sour live and Lady gaga puts on such an amazing show!
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