Stan Lee At London Film & Comic-Con 2014

I thought the day after seeing Eminem at Wembley Arena with Lewis and Kurt, would be the highlight of my nerdy, comic-book knowledge and most of all MARVEL life. Turned out it to be a let down (in some way) thanks to that crushing moment when you meet a hero/ icon or famous person who you idolised and looked up to for many years turns out to be a very limited moment and you don't get to do much and your hero isn't the same as you imagined. Here I'm explaining why meeting Stan Lee at London Film & Comic-Con was disappointing for me and Kurt while the rest of our time there was good in it's own way.

You see, on Saturday 12th July (the day after our night of seeing Eminem), we made our way to Earl's Court in London to go to London Film & Comic-Con for the first time, thanks to discovering back in mid April that Stan Lee (Creator Of MARVEL) was making his last ever European visit so this was our last chance to meet him and see if we could get an autograph or a photo with him. Unfortunately it turned out to be really difficult and frustrating but don't get me wrong, Kurt and I got something signed each but at the cost of £45. But was it really worth it?

The day turned out rather hot  on Saturday 12th July, I went there dressed as Iron Man (Iron Man-Armour t-shirt, with red chinos and a Helmet I bought off eBay) while Kurt went as Spider-Man (Spider-Man uniform Jersey and trousers). After we made our way there to Earl's Court, we realised we both hadn't got any money out and all the ATM machines had a queue of around 25 people... Wa-Wa-Waaah. So we backtracked to London Victoria on the tube, got the money and then returned, what a drag. Anyway, once we returned and finally entered the actual convention, we took a small browse around at all the stalls that sold memorabilia, t-shirts, small items, comics, posters, figures, weaponry, props, you name it! Anything related to Anime, Films, TV-Series, Comic books, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, so it was heaven haha. But our purpose was to head upstairs and look for the queue to see Stan Lee.
Once we entered the queue, we noticed a banner on the side explaining "It's £45 per autograph, and please NO MOBILE PHONES, NO VIDEO CAMERA, NO SELFIES AND NO PERSONALISATIONS!" So they basically took away all the fun and made this all strictly business... >_>
So when our time came, Kurt went first and got his A1 MARVEL "The Avengers" Poster signed by Stan and as for me, I got my A1 MARVEL "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Poster signed that I bought with me thanks to how a special friend bought it to me back on my 21st birthday. So after Kurt went, I came up to Stan (my heart was beating heavily) and I said "It's an Honor to meet you, Sir" To which I got no response and only watched Stan slowly sign my poster and the security guards next to him shouted "Next" So there you have it!

Notice, the signature on the left!
Thank you very much, Mills for the poster from my 21st birthday! :3

But you see despite Stan not acknowledging Kurt and my polite comments, we still had an alright time. Of course at the time we were a bit bummed down and gutted because we paid the money and Stan didn't really turn out to be the "full quid" in some way. We couldn't get a selfie or even just take a picture while in the queue from the distance (without the flash as we wouldn't know what that would do to him) because that way it would have made more of a memory or proof that we were there and we just didn't understand why this special and unforgettable day was too demeaning and restricted.
But anyway, as the day went on I tried my best to make the most of it, shop around a little and maybe even get a few (actually I took hundreds) of photos and some with some talented and pretty ladies.

Me with the lovely lady, Andrea Tamme! (The girl who was selling the posters)

After Stan Lee, my biggest highlight of the Saturday was meeting a very pretty lady at a Poster stand that had such beautifully detailed and well thought-out fan-made design posters of most Animes, TV-Series, Games and Films I all recognised, I was astonished by the detail and creativity. Anyway I ended up chatting to her for a good 15 mins after seeing a "The Land Before Time" poster that I was super tempted to buy but sadly chose not to as it was too childish, we both spoke about our feelings and why we both enjoyed the film series. To be a good sport, I bought 3 posters from her for £20 as the 3rd was free. And because I really enjoyed her company and really liked her, I asked her if she wouldn't mind sharing a photo with me. She happily obliged and I got a lovely photo with her and soon found her Facebook page after receiving a contact card as I headed off with Kurt. Nothing else really happened on the Saturday after that so we just headed home and I explained everything to my parents who were astonished at how Stan Lee acted and how much money I had to spend to get something precious signed by him.
I even took a funny picture on the train home of me wearing my Iron Man helmet and wrote up on Facebook next to the picture, "Have you ever seen Iron Man take the Southern Railway before?"

Some Funko Pop Figurines

The following day, Sunday 13th July was the last day of LFCC so we ventured back up there (only this time we both agreed not to get another item signed as it wasn't worth it especially in value and how Stan Lee really was). So before that, Kurt had to head to The Emirates Stadium to buy his new Arsenal "Alexis" t-shirt. Now me being a Chelsea fan, this was going against everything and my dad would have hated me if I set one foot on the grounds haha (of course I didn't I just sat across the road from the stadium, patiently waiting for Kurt who sadly couldn't get his shirt in his size).
So we made our way to Earl's Court again but around 2.45pm, and we just did the same thing as yesterday, shopped around and took a look at the stalls. Kurt was buying several FUNKO POP Figurines (little bobble-head figures that he likes to collect specifically MARVEL ones). I was undoubtedly tempted to buy the Deadpool and Amazing Spider-Man ones but they were £75 each and were rare editions, so nope.

As I took photos of some of the impressive props that were at LFCC such as a HUGE Dragon Skull Head from Game Of Thrones and some of the Transformers cars along with the beautiful and amazing cosplayers who were all having a "whale of a time" (that's a weird phrase, right?!)
Kurt and I noticed many actors, directors and famous celebrities who had turned up for the weekend and were doing autographs like Stan Lee but they were all charging too and several were allowing no photographs too, for f*** sake. Some guests there were: George A. Romero (director of Dawn of The Dead and all the other films), Brooke and Lita (famous female wrestlers), Adam Brown (plays Ori from The Hobbit films), Kenny Baker and Billy Dee Williams (who play R2-D2 and Lando Calrissian from the Star Wars films) along with Colin Baker (who played the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who, too bad Tom Baker wasn't there) and Vincent Ward (The Walking Dead). I even heard rumours that the actors who physically played Boba Fett and Darth Vader (Star Wars) were there too but I couldn't find them, damn it.

But the real highlight of the Sunday was getting several photos with some very famous and talented cosplays who turn up to many conventions across the world. I first encountered Kelly Jean at a stand who was dressed as "Marvel Girl" and I had a small chat with her as I asked her to sign an A4 poster print of her cosplaying "Poison" from the Mortal Kombat games. She was very lovely and polite and a real talented lady. I even got a photo with her too (Y)












I also noticed 2 more famous cosplayers there too who were both cosplaying 2 characters from the famous Vocaloid (singing voice synthesizer computer software) that use Anime girls as humanoid personas or just character icons/ mascots. They were "Luka Megurine" (the pink haired lady) and the main girl "Miku Hatsune" (the aquamarine/ turquoise haired lady) who both turned out to be the cosplayers Masubi and Nethicite that I later discovered through their facebook pages on a picture on their stands. They were both very pretty and I'm happy they allowed me to have a photo with them both together.
So Sunday was another good day for meeting new acquaintances, taking some really cool photos and just gaining the courage to meet some really nice people, have a chat and maybe even have a photo with them (it's the safe atmosphere as MCM Comic-Con is on in May and October every year).
So despite the expensive demand for someone's autograph and the neglection and the photograph restriction with the man that would have been the highlight of my comic-book life I did have a good time. But something important slapped me in the face a week ago which was a very important fact that someone told me.

The other day (back on Tuesday 16th), I spoke to a work colleague who I discovered went to LFCC too on the Sunday and got a photo with Stan Lee through the £35 Photo shoot. However after I told him my story, it was thanks to his "eye-opening" and "wake-up call" that I was reminded that the man is 91 years old and he was probably suffering from an illness or most likely Jet Lag!  But he was most happy about walking away that day with something that he will treasure forever. Now why couldn't I and maybe Kurt have felt the same way so easily? Was it because of the restrictive atmosphere that us and the other fans were suffering at the time? The excessive cost that it was for getting Stan's autograph? Or the fact he didn't say a word when I got him and said "It's an honour to meet you, sir!"? I reckon its all of the above, but my friend is right. We did walk away with something (at a terrible cost that's for sure) but surely we are lucky to have been there and saw him in person, it's just unfortunate that it wasn't his and our best moment and most likely because he's been doing this for years. It's just too crushing to accept right away seeing as our only moment in our lifetime was downright depressive. Another thing my friend pointed out was the fact that Stan had been touring most of the United States of America for a couple months (he had found this out on Stan Lee's facebook page) so that would also explain why he was so tired and bummed down himself.

But then why is it from some of the pictures of the girls/ famous cosplayers I met first time at LFCC that when they had their photo with him, that he smiled and put on such a good picture? The answer may be clear as daylight but hey, we got something at the end of the day, and that's the most important thing to remember forever. I just hope that in my future Cons and experiences that if I meet other heroes/ actors or most of all The Avengers or even "Agent Coulson" from MARVEL: Agents Of Shield that they will be more good sports and turn out to be very polite for the fans (especially for me and whoever else comes with me) and won't turn out to be completely different people, my expectations seem a little high but it would be sensational to meet Robert Downey, Jr or Chris Hemsworth!!! I mean who wouldn't?!

Eminem LIVE, July 2014 (My 4th Concert)

So........ the big event of the summer that me, Kurt and Lewis were buzzing about turned out... pretty okay. Yeah! You see for my 4th Concert, Me, Lewis and Kurt went to see the "Rap God" himself who returned to Wembley Stadium after 13 years and did an outstanding performance but the only catch/ downfall and error in this whole experience was the poor sound quality!
But it wasn't all doom and gloom, seeing Slim Shady for the first time ever, I actually enjoyed it and here's why.

On Friday 11th July, I had booked the day off to go and see Eminem "Marshall Bruce Mathers III" or best known as his alter-ego "Slim Shady" at Wembley Stadium with my buddy Lewis (who showed me everything about him and his music a couple years ago) so seeing as the doors wouldn't open till around 5.00pm, we thought let's make a day of walking around the streets of London?!

We finally met up around 1.00pm, after Lewis had spent some time with his family after retuning from uni and we made our way to London and I fancied popping to the Comic-book store Forbidden Planet over in where Kurt buys his comics and figures from (a lot of the stuff from MCM Comic-Con can be found there too. Anything Star Wars, Doctor Who, Adventure Time, Anime, Video Games, Films, TV-Series related really). Oh my god, it was heaven and had 2 floors! Upstairs was figures which were bloody overpriced and looked beautiful and downstairs was the biggest comic-book store I've ever seen in my life. Of course I'm going back there again and this time Kurt and anyone else we can drag along will all go crazy!
Anyway, my purpose there was to look for a special "Amazing Spider-Man" comic-book for Stan Lee (Creator of MARVEL) to sign tomorrow at London Film & Comic-Con. Soon I did find it (though it had a different cover than expected) but I bought it anyway.

Soon after, Lewis wanted to take me to a special Burger restaurant called "Five Guys" which he had spotted while we were navigating where "Forbidden Planet" was after leaving the Leicester Square Underground. We popped inside and saw the bloody expensive menu but I was really impressed by the restaurant itself, he ended up buying a Hotdog with some good extras for £4.25 while my Little Hamburger, Regular Fries and unlimited Drink was a whopping £11.25!
Sure it was an outrage but once Lewis and I saw the Coca-Cola machine that people went to fill up their drinks... it was like discovering the greatest machine in the history of mankind! It had almost every type of soft and energy drink and had a rough 5+ variety of flavours, we were experimenting the flavours and we both really enjoyed the Fanta Zero Grape flavour, oh god I want another one now. We intend to go back again and show others whenever we visit. One thing that was everywhere were little sign cards with review from critics or magazines which have tried out the restaurants gourmet (I lost count after counting 40+ on both floors of the restaurant). There were even a lot in the toilets and I saw one which said and I quote "Five Guys could take over the burger industry and universe in under a decade!" Lewis and I both agreed "Yeah if they bump the prices down!"

So at 5.00pm, we headed all the way to Wembley Park Underground station and were getting overcrowded with fans and party boys who were all keen and excited as we were or even more. I saw a Merchandise store and jumped straight in the que which was a big mistake. The queue took 1 hour for me to get to the front and every shirt was beautiful and awesome and all ranged £25 except for the Slim Shady Detroit Jersey which was £80, but I went for the one with the cool picture of him performing back in 2001 at Wembley and it had tour date details on the front.

Here's a Panoramic picture from where we were sitting.

What me and Lewis were excited and curious about was the fact that when I bought the 2 tickets (£260) the day before world-release on Stubhub.co.uk, when the tickets came in the post at the end of June, I got a message inside saying "You have been upgraded from Level 5 seating to Level 2 Suite area seats!" These were a face value of £99 but I got em for free thanks to purchasing that one day earlier before general release. We were shocked and honoured and thought we'd go in a box or a room with exclusive seats, turns out we were just sitting on the Level 2 seats and we realised we'd have to suffer a little because one of the Bass Tower speakers on the ground was directly in the centre of the stage so we had to rely on the screens for the night.

Now onto the opening acts, Lewis made me aware of 2 nights before the show that Danny Brown and Odd Futures were the opening acts which I had no idea and clue who they were. But when they came on, I couldn't understand a god damn thing thanks to whoever organised the sound system for the night, that dumbass had f***ed it up and I couldn't hear the music and understand the lyrics that well at all. Lewis and I feared this would ruin the whole night if we couldn't hear Eminem that well too!
Danny Brown seemed fairly okay and started the show at I think it was 6.45pm, but Lewis was sad a little that he couldn't understand anything due to the poor sound quality but Danny was being funny by sticking out his weird tongue a lot which looked a little like the shape of a tooth. And after he and that annoying DJ were done by 7.30pm, the stage was graced with a big inflatable O and F which looked like a Simpson's donut styled font which of course was meant for the logo of Odd Futures.
What can I say about those guys? Same thing really! Bass was too much, couldn't work out a thing from what they were saying but they seemed better than Danny Brown and put some comedy into their act except for when they kept swearing a lot (but what should I have expected?!)

Eminem - Bad Guy (Outro) (Opening)
This was a video I had to edit because the video got split into two, so I fixed it a little.

Eminem - Won't Back Down

So at 9.04pm, a huge white curtain fell from the stage ceiling and on came a long 2-3 min video opening like a Life-Story about Slim Shady and where is he along with some interviews and a news report/ history lesson on his work while being monologued like the "Breaking News" format (it even mentioned Stan in the video). Then the curtain came down and the endless screaming began and went on for 5 minutes and covered the first 2 songs. It was an unbelievable and unrealistic feeling for a couple seconds for me to realise that I was here... at Wembely Stadium... seeing Eminem... LIVE!
He opened up with the ending to "Bad Guy" and then went straight to "Square Dance" and then a real hardcore and one of my personal favorites came on to always hear (especially at the gym came on), "Won't Back Down"! Setlist is here. All my vids start almost precisely when he begins the song.

Slim Shady's hype man for the night was his old friend Mr Porter AKA "Kon Artis" who's formerly from D12!"

 Eminem - Rap God (Started right here)

Eminem - Don't Give A F*** & Still Don't Give A F***

Eminem - The Way I Am

Eminem looked on fire (not really, just literally) because he rapped and shouted so powerfully and made everyone head bang when I looked around the seating area. That man played 35 songs for us within 2 hours because a lot of songs were cut short so that he could squeeze in so much for everyone to enjoy and scream our hearts out to when our favourite songs came on.
While I was there, I was recording 1 minute and a half or 2 on every song and recorded all of a couple songs while I shouted at the top of my lungs along to all the songs I knew and remembered. I kept looking at Lewis for help as I admit that I didn't know everything or couldn't understand which song it was due to my lack of knowledge from some of his older work before "The Eminem Show" and it was due to the sound quality and sometimes he just jumped straight into another song without warning which muddled up my video recordings and has left me having to edit them as some of them have 2 songs on 1 recording (that's frustrating).
I had my doubts and dishearten beliefs that I wasn't a true fan for not knowing all the words or not recognising so easily as Lewis to which like always he offered some good and peaceful advice "You are here mate! You came to see him! You may not know everything or a few songs, but you came because your a fan! So don't worry and stop doubting your dedication and love for this amazing man!" So that washed my disbelief and doubts away after 1/4 way through the show already.

Eminem - Still D.R.E (Feat. Dr. Dre)

Eminem - Forgot About Dre (Feat. Dr. Dre)

By the time the 17th song came on, we were even more shocked and surprised to hear Eminem shout out "People, make some noise for DR. DRE!!!!" And the man himself came on stage through the smokescreen and busted out rapping to the songs "The Next Episode" then "Still D.R.E", "Nuthin' But a "G" Thing" and "Forgot About Dre" while Slim was helping him out with backing vocals and collaborations too. That was a real strike in the review of the night, because even I had a feeling that a surprise guest would turn up. Shame that Rihanna didn't make it too because when "Love The Way You Lie" came on, I thought to myself "Oh I hope what I think is gonna happen, happens!" Sadly it didn't but it was still just as great because Eminem got all the ladies involved in the chorus and dedicated the song to them too. The woman who provided backing vocals was a nice touch, too bad I couldn't hear her at all.

I actually had fun singing out to the songs "Won't Back Down", "3 a.m", "Don't Give A F***", "Rap God" (that was the greatest thing about the night, he sung around midway through the song till the end and sounded exactly how he does on the album! However I noticed him miming a couple times throughout the night but I kinda understand that he can't always keep it up), "The Way I Am", "Love The Way You Lie", "Sing For The Moment", "Like Toy Soldiers", "Berzerk", "Survival", "The Real Slim Shady", "Without Me" and "Not Afraid" (I think I've just listed half the setlist already). He even did the song "Forever" which is a big deal seeing as the original was done by Drake and the song features Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem, only he had none of them with him... that would have been the icing on the cake for me and Lewis.
Rap God and some of the above were the highlights of the evening that I favour and treasure the most thanks to how the audience got involved too despite the annoying sound quality on most of the tracks. Oh how I wish I could upload every video, but I'll try my best with as many as I can over time.

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie

Eminem - Stan

Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

Eminem - Berzerk

 Eminem - Survival

 Eminem - 'Till I Collapse

Every song had a cool video display which was either a Boom-box with Eminem's name on it or some graphics design locations like the inside of a warehouse, the rooftops of a city or even an industrial estate were all mesmerising and intriguing to me because it felt like just a random location where some people would imagine where he may have come up with these songs or they just represented an atmosphere for the song of choice. The light show was a little overwhelming and messed around with my sight a little but it was a big deal so the spotlight people must have wanted to make it look as dazzling and epic as possible, I guess.

Eminem - The Real Slim Shady

Eminem - Without Me

Eminem - Not Afraid

Eminem - Lose Yourself (Encore)

After Not Afraid was done, you better believe that nobody was full and we all shouted "We want more!" And we were given it, as soon as the intro began to what could possibly be Eminem's most iconic and famous song of all time began, we all knew what was coming and were all so hyped and began screaming again as he came back on for an encore (ha like the name of one of his albums) and he performed "Lose Yourself" from his tough and inspiring film, 8 Mile! This was Lewis's highlight besides Rap God because to him, this song is all about trying your hardest to pursue what you want no matter what. You need to get back up and try again to seize whatever it is you want or who you want to be. That's an inspiration!

Now besides the whole sound issue, I actually had a little tough time recognising what was playing most of the night (as I've mentioned already) that because of the sound issue and the fact he kept jumping onto the next song so quickly that I was barely lucky to understand at all.

Another surprise for my time there, was the fact a woman behind me tapped on my shoulders during Like Toy Soldiers and asked me if she could get my contact details at the end of the night and if I could send her my video recordings online as her camera died 3/4 way through the show. Course I couldn't turn down an offer like that and I was more than happy to help and I was given a hug by her and I quickly got her facebook details (thank god for facebook!) luckily I did as my IPhone 5 battery was 1% by the end of the show. I asked her for a photo so that I could recognise her when searching for her so she shared a photo with Lewis,  and I found her when I got home and have been fixing the videos, writing this out and chatting to her ever since.

Me and Kurt

The journey home was tough and over-crowded to the max (luckily we weren't claustrophobic on the tube journey back to London Victoria, however we missed the last trains home to Horsham but luckily Kurt found me and Lewis at London Victoria. He had spent all day since 8.00am in the que trying to get close to the front on the ground to see Eminem, and he did which I'm happy for him and glad he's alive. I thought it'd be hell/ dangerous down there, but he held in there and had a blast. Though he shared the same feelings as me and Lewis about the sound quality too. So we made our way back to another station, parted ways with Kurt (we were both heading back up to London the following day for London Film & Comic-Con) and Lewis and I got a lift home from his dad who picked us up at 1.00 in the morning from Gatwick Airport. So we got home alive and had an amazing time, sure we wish it could have been a little better, but what can you do but hate someone for mucking up one of the most important nights of every fans lives who were there too?! This was Awesome no matter what!

The newspaper company "The Independent" posted this on Facebook which Lewis found on Sunday which sorta sums up a lot of people's feelings and reactions to Eminem's performance. Mine however is mutual on both sides as I feel bad the night was afflicted by the sound system, however I was there in a moment in music history where he gave it his all and returned to the same stadium 13 years later. Dr. Dre made an amazing surprise guest appearance and we were all awarded the song "Lose Yourself" which hasn't been played live in the UK since his last time here in 2001. So of course it's another memory ticked off my bucket list and despite the errors, it turned out really great and it's one of my proudest moments of my life to have witnessed.

Sorry this all took almost a week later guys, but I've been have trouble editing most of the videos, been patiently waiting for the bloody things to upload onto Blogger and I've been uploading the pictures from London Film & Comic-Con on my facebook. LFCC is another upcoming post which was an okay thing too and you'll see why when the story is revealed and how I should have been more careful on getting my hopes up and expecting the full package.
But anyway, hope you've all enjoyed this. Will write up LFCC story asap, but for now, I'm heading over to Greece on Friday 18th July till 1st August for my annual family holiday. The place were heading to may even have a story too in time (with the manager's permission) and people still don't see why we keep going back to the same place for almost 9 years straight?!

Ellie Goulding LIVE, March 2014 (My 3rd Concert)

 3rd time was indeed the charm as I was graced with beauty and authentic happiness seeing Ellie Goulding back in March 2014 who sung pitch perfect and sounded exactly the same as she does every time I hear her through my earphones (same goes when I saw Rihanna and Owl City too).

For my 3rd live concert, I found on my Ticketmaster list back in August 2012 that Ellie Goulding was coming to London in March 2014 and I fancied myself 2 tickets to go and watch her after I spent most of the summer listening to both of her deluxe albums Bright Lights and Halcyon before the re-release of Halcyon Days. Now the only question was "Who to take with me?" Seeing as the discovery of the upcoming event was the night after spending a lovely day out with my mum's side of the family which included 13 grand-children including me and my sister, I thought why not include one of my teenage female cousins (which soon turned into 2 as I bought myself 3 tickets again after purchasing 2 originally off Stubhub then reselling them).

Anyway, the day finally came and me and my 2 cousins, Megan and Kirsty all headed up for a pleasant day in London to sit around relaxing until the event at 6.00pm. We ended up in St. James's Park to pass the time, catch up and just sit down on the grass during the crowded afternoon.

Later we made our way to the 02 Arena, of course I bought myself an Ellie Goulding Tour t-shirt and a wrist band (the girls did too) as you may have guessed.

We witnessed a girl called Chloe Howl open up the show and played really well and she admitted she tours with Ellie quite a lot and always enjoys performing and getting the crowd all ready before Ellie takes the stage.

Ellie Goulding - Figure 8 (Opening) (Song starts at 1.35)

When Ellie began, oh my god it was sensational and perfect with lighting storms everywhere during the long intro because the screen layout was all Diamond shapes all connected like a Polaroid kind of art-style (some were bigger than the other) and when she opened up the show with Figure 8... it was amazing and hearing how loud all the screaming went on for showed just how thrilled the fans were including me, Kirsty and Meg.

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed 

It made me proud that Ellie played almost every song from both of her albums and played many iconic singles such as "Starry Eyed", "Guns and Horses", "Goodness Gracious", "Your Song", "Anything Could Happen", "I Need Your Love" etc. Setlist is here.

The video certainly made my eyebrows raise up in astonishment thanks to how the pink and blue space and time surfing display was so dazzling and looked more of a sci-fi effect to me like making the jump to lightspeed.

Ellie Goulding - Guns and Horses

When she played "Guns and Horses" it was really special that she played the acoustic version using what I presumed was the same guitar from the actual song and is seen in the actual music video. That's gotta be something special for any song thanks to how that instrument really did help create something brilliant.

Ellie Goulding - Your Song (Elton John cover)

This was one of the first songs I ever heard from her along with "Starry Eyed" which was the 1st one, after learning she covered this from Elton John and I compared the 2. I see that both are beautiful but I can't help but love hers more mostly due to her voice and how the music video has that real life and homey feeling because it's mostly her and her real life before the fame. Plus it rivals Elton John's original piece almost evenly.

Ellie Goulding - Explosions

"Explosions" along with a few other songs such as "I Need Your Love", "Anything Could Happen" and "I Need Your Love" all were presented magnificently not only thanks to Ellie's vocal pitch which sounded completely identical to the tracks from her albums but most of all the stunning visual display that I was gazing at which even beat my criticism to her original music videos. Whoever thought up or was in control of the visual display for the night... WELL DONE!

 

Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

This is always a pleasure to listen to (even when it was played on the radio) thanks to how it really gets me going even if I'm stressed a little at work. The crowd was buzzing as were we when Ellie gave a little speech and asked everyone to dance a long too. Seeing that Tidal Wave on the display was animated beautifully and kept on flowing througout the long choruses and I couldn't take my eyes off it, like when she did the song "My Blood" even looked like a wonderful chesmitry colour fusion.

Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love

Despite listening to this song too much thanks to how the radio stations over time over play everything. When she performed this one, this really got the crowd below all jumping and screaming (probably due to it's popularity) but when that smokescreen effect bursted out of the stage in synchrony with the electric guitar moments (which was replacing the bass from the original track) that really made me jump first time and even I was amazed by how that little effect really turned my feelings around and reminded me just how good that song really was, like I was listening to it again for the first time. Too bad I didn't record more of the track...

Ellie Goulding - Lights

This was a real interactive moment that everyone took part in when Ellie asked everyone to shine lights from their phones up high as she played her song which signifies the exact moment that shined blissfully almost everywhere. Even the screen display was sharp and quite 3D looking as red lines came forward slowly almost like slashes which was a interesting effect for such a deep song.

So as the night ended after she played 19 songs, she came back on for 2 more songs including the record famous "Burn" which helped award her during the BRIT Awards 2014, I'm glad she won many awards including "Best Female Artist" she really deserved it thanks to her talents. So to end the night, she performed that amazing song that's become so popular and there was even confetti raining from the sky during the final chorus and the display was like watching one of those fire displays. I ended up recording the song in 3 parts due to tired arms haha.

 Ellie Goulding - Burn (Encore) Part 1

Ellie Goulding - Burn (Encore) Part 2

Ellie Goulding - Burn (Encore) Part 3

Ellie's outfits looked a little alluring and I saw on a review website that she was heavily criticised for her outfit choice as if it was too much or a try hard effort. I don't see how because she was having as much fun dancing and singing on stage and feeling the pleasure from everyone in that arena. She looked gorgeous and I liked her long blond hair too. I even heard something new "Tessellate" which I hadn't heard at the time and her live performance certainly encouraged me by the end to look for it on iTunes.

So overall this was a real 10/10 performance and she really gave it her all and had so much fun being humble and honest inbetween songs. I couldn't have picked 2 better companions to have shared that wonderful night with.
Can't believe I'm seeing Eminem tomorrow then Stan Lee on the weekend! Hang on for 2 more incredible upcoming stories, everyone. Have an amazing weekend too!

Owl City LIVE, October 2012 (My 2nd Concert)

Now for my 2nd story on Live concert stories. Because Eminem and London Film & Comic-Con is happening this weekend so I gotta cram in this one and Ellie Goulding asap.

BTW here's a couple pictures of Adam Young I found on the Internet as a lot of my photos are blurry and he was in a Batman costume.

Source: www.imnotobsessed.com

For my 2nd concert experience, it was my biggest thanks to seeing my music hero Owl City over in Oxford, UK and a real challenge especially on the journey to Oxford and some trouble I ended up getting into. And now looking back on it, it's funny to remember but thanks to my crap video camera back then, everyone of my recordings all sound awful maybe it's due to the camera's quality, how loud the bass was at the event or who knows?! Least one video below turned out perfect. But anyway here's the story of how I went and saw one of my all time favourite bands ever, Owl City!

So to begin my story, I learned on Facebook in around August 2012 that Adam Young (creator of Owl City) was returning to the UK for another tour around Autumn after I missed him in 2009-2010 when he released his album Ocean Eyes which was the event I missed out on. I learned of this incredible news from my best bud, Lewis who offered to join me right away as he saw him back in 2009-2010 and then introduced me to all of Adam's work and side-projects in 2010 as we became good friends in our college years.
We couldn't go and see him in London or Manchester so we agreed (distance wise) that we would meet up at Oxford on Halloween 2012 as he was at Uni up north and I was stuck in Horsham working.

So on the day, what I thought was going to be an easy train journey turned out to be a complicated matter that I was getting a lot of trouble and scolding for and all because of a Train ticket misunderstanding. You see I bought an over-night ticket for Oxford on the 30th October using my 1/3 off Railcard (which I bought in August for the summer holidays) and forgot to bring it on the day as I figured it was all done and didn't require ID as the ticket was bought. But boy was I wrong! While travelling up, the train ticket man saw my error and fine me £50 for not presenting my 1/3 off Railcard on the spot. So being confused and hurt, I phoned Dad who ended up speaking to the man there on the train and explained my condition and my intentions for the train journey. The man returned and apologised for being quite strict and gave me instructions to follow when I get to Oxford Train Station because he ended up taking my Outward ticket (Horsham - Oxford) because it was wrong.
But when I got to Oxford, all hell broke loose because 3 men all helped me through the barrier and then all ganged up and moaned about the situation. They all treated me like a criminal and explained that what the man on the train did was wrong! He shouldn't have fine me £50 as it was too "light-hearted" and shouldn't have taken the ticket. One of the guys who looked like James Corden tried to help me out by making me purchase the ticket I lost again and said go to the Ticket man behind the glass wall to sort things out. And would you believe it? The man said what the James Corden looking guy did was incorrect and uncalled for. So I ended up losing £90 that day. I calmy spoke to all 3 people explaining my intentions and how sorry I was for fucking up everything and said "I'm only here for a concert, not to cause trouble!" One thing that had me worried was seeing 2 Police Officers behind me like a couple feet away as I thought they were here for me... luckily they weren't. So to end the predicament, they all said just take this leaflet and fill out the details and maybe I could get my money back, which in 2-3 months time I did after some hassle. The Great Western Train Service was a real piece of work, God that was all annoying!

Lewis and I had booked a Premier Inn which wasn't too far from the 02 Academy where Owl City was performing tonight. Soon after arriving, Lewis arrived and I explained everything and hoped that tonight would make up for it all. Of course he reassured me and it was sensational.

When we made it to the Academy after a 30 minute walk and almost getting lost haha. We arrived and saw that Matthew Koma (a friend of Adam and current boyfriend to Carly Rae Jepsen was the opening act). We came in just as he finished, we both grabbed an Owl City T-shirt and I grabbed a small Owl Plushie and of course a wristband.
Soon the magic began, as the band members all made there way on stage all dressed in Halloween costumes (good thing they were festive), even Breanne Durren came on dressed as Minnie Mouse. And as the music began along with the first song "Dreams and Disasters" from Adam's latest album (The Midsummer Station), Adam swooped on stage dressed as the one and only BATMAN! What a Lad!

Owl City - (Opening) Dreams and Disasters

The songs were all amazing and he played many classics from all of his 5 albums and that made my heart pound with excitement and happiness. I mean I was seeing one of my idols and it was an unforgettable memory that I treasure to this day.

 Owl City - Meteor Shower

Owl City - Designer Skyline

 Owl City - The Real World

Half-way through the night, Adam decided to get the audience into the spirit by asking us all to join him in a sing-a-long to one of his most recognisable and famous tracks of all "Fireflies", that was a real special moment during the night and I'm glad that me and Lewis were a part of it.
And of course, we sung a long to every single song because this time I was seeing somebody live that I knew almost everything about and wasn't feeling clueless or uncomfortable about not knowing lyrics. I felt right at home and enjoyed myself so much singing a long to every song (this time not while recording for all you viewers safety) ;)

Owl City - Fireflies (Sing-a-Long)

This song here is the only descent quality where the bass or loud atmosphere doesn't mess around with the sound quality which I gotta say is my biggest regret on the whole video recording. Thanks to that one moment by choosing to get my IPhone 4 out at the time and record it and then the next day play it back, I now realise, understand and have learned that from now on it's ALWAYS BEST to record from an IPhone since it can capture the video's picture and sound quality far better than most camera's I've used in the past.
Next time I ever go and see him again, I will record all his songs again and this time on my IPhone 5 and shouldn't have to worry about the playback quality! I will follow that no matter what!

Owl City - Hello Seattle (Remix) With Original "Hello Seattle"
Perfect Quality Video From IPhone 4

Adam gave a pleasant speech like he does at most of his concerts by thanking the audience for taking the time to come and he once admitted some personal information such as he has slight Aspergers Syndrome... YEAH, my idol has the same condition as me and look how amazing he's doing and how much fun he's enjoying and all for being himself. That's a trait I respect and like most of all about him and of course his creative techniques for writing such captivating, spontaneous and weird lyrics to every one of his songs.

Owl City - Adam Young's Little Speech

So to end the night, the crowd wasn't full enough of Adam and the team's work and demanded for another song, so we were all awarded another 2 songs "Good Time" and then "Gold". This song has to be his 2nd most recognisable song thanks to the radio and it's popularity. Some people don't find it as good as "Fireflies" since it's not as personal or melancholy compared to this one which is a bit more mainstream type and is all about hanging out and partying. But I always respect Adam's work and side projects (which I want to write up a future post about how a lot of his work and himself all matter to me so personally and why I think he's so talented).

Owl City - Good Time (Encore)

So in the end as everyone shuffled out of the hall, Lewis and I had to cheese it through the pouring rain for around 20 mins back to the Premier Inn while carrying a KFC boneless banquet for one each that we picked up on the way back.
After a good and overwhelming night's rest, we parted ways the next day as he went back up north to Uni and I headed south back home.
This concert was super special because it's thanks to Lewis for showing me Adam's work 5 years ago that within 2 years already I got to see him live with my best mate. I can't wait to go and see him again live and hopefully this time there will be no problems with the train rules... I hope.