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.

Rihanna LIVE, December 2011 (My 1st Concert)

Greetings everyone, how have you all been? I've taken a small break from all the thinking and been enjoying some Xbox One time, doing work as usual and planning for the oncoming events for the summer. Today I am telling the story of what my 1st concert was like. I figured it was good to finally include some more music views as I've been talking about Films, Games and my life so far.

Now honestly, I wasn't expecting to see this beautiful Pop diva as my 1st ever live music experience. I wanted to see Owl City first (but he turned out to be my 2nd, which is also another upcoming story to share). However it turned out amazing and better than I ever expected. So here's what happened when me and my good buddy Jack went to see the beautiful and naughty girl, Rihanna.

Back in November 2011, as I was in my 2nd year of Collyers I was invited out to see Rihanna by one of my friends from my days at Forest School, Jack (who's 1st invite had to cancel so he invited me instead).
So on December 1st 2011, our day out started with a nice trip around London checking out some sites before getting ready for the evening at the 02 Arena.

When at last the night began, the opening act was Calvin Harris who gave a loud and bass pumping performance playing his classics "I'm Not Alone", "Flashback" etc followed by some other famous anthems and hits. He played them all while DJing off a big drink bar like set which had a Green screen display on the front and a huge green screen behind him which acted like a mirror or TV effect which was mesmerising and cool. I'm Not Alone was the best way to start off I feel.

Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

 Calvin Harris - Flashback

Calvin Harris - Awooga (PMZ Cover)

But Rihanna's performance didn't happen for another 1.30 to 2hrs later and everyone was booing and shouting as she was taking ages with no announcements. Everyone was doing the Mexican wave to pass the time. But then the time came and boy did she start off with a sexy performance. She opened up with "Only Girl In The World" and was on a throne wearing very little bright coloured outfits.

Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

Rihanna - Disturbia

Rihanna - Shut Up And Drive

Word of warning viewers! My singing is awful as I had a very sore throat from all the shouting and was so happy, I didn't give a damn about being caught on camera singing so badly to the songs "Disturbia" and "Shut Up And Drive"! I don't even sound like that in real life and besides people always sound different on camera when they are played back. xD

Anyway, the night was amazing as she sang many of her well known classics from all her albums such as "Disturbia", "Shut Up And Drive", "Pon de Replay" and a lot of new material from her LOUD album (which was new at the time and I knew very little of) like "Man Down", "California King Bed" etc. Of course I knew "S&M" and "Love The Way You Lie" thanks to the radio and they were great to watch (except we missed Love The Way You Lie and you'll soon understand why) as she performed a righteous and sexy display on "S&M". I was expecting a very serious performance on "Love The Way You Lie" but sucks we missed it because it took ages to come on. I saw the vids on Youtube later and felt it was really too bad Eminem didn't make a surprise appearance like he did for some gigs in America when she played that song. WHO CARES NOW, I'M FINALLY SEEING HIM IN JULY!

Rihanna - Man Down

Rihanna - S&M

The set was interesting as she had a throne that slid forward to a stump where she did an alluring dance most of the time and in S&M she was with men who looked like they were split in half! One side of them was a tuxedo and the other was just their underwear.

During her performance (which I sadly can't recall when and which song it happened in), she asked the audience "Who am I gonna take home with me?" To which I couldn't even hear myself think as the arena echoed with overwhelming screaming fans. Suddenly she picked out a girl from the front and pulled her up on stage, placed her on the stump and... she... DRY HUMPED HER!!!
Even I was jealous and I reckon that girl had the time of her life because it didn't just end there. No, the stump began to sink and soon disappear, which I thought to myself and later told Jack that "Rihanna's taken a souvenir with her!" You could say this bit right here was the highlight that got everyone screaming, even I was and all those lads must have been super jealous.

Rihanna - Run This Town (JAY-Z Cover)

But because of the long wait at the beginning, by the time it got to her 20th song out of 22 (yeah it was that long) which was "Drink To That", sadly Jack and me had to head for home during the show. We figured since she gave a big speech that the show was ending anyway. So as I was writing this up today, I found the setlist and discovered to my shock that she came back on for another 3 song encore including "Love The Way You Lie (Part II) and "Umbrella". So FUCK IT that we missed 2 sensational songs and all because we had to hurry home and she took her time coming on in the first place. I think I remember reading a review online once that she was ill backstage and she still came on and gave it her all that night to which I applaud her for going out there no matter what. It's just a shame we had no announcement of this because all that time I figured she was a diva being picky and just choosing when to begin and not understanding that not everyone can stay in London after 11.00pm as trains are a bitch to catch.

To be fair on her, she wasn't as selfish compared to the story on Justine Bieber who this year chose to spend 1-2 hours backstage playing video games while leaving his fans outside waiting for him to bloody start. My cousin went to that and went home disappointed (though still faithful to him, so fair enough).

Rihanna - Pon de Replay

So all around my first concert was a 9/10 and was smashing overall and we didn't have such a bad view as I was worried about as I sat my ass down at the beginning. I heard perfectly and managed to record almost a minute of each song (except for the 6 songs I missed). Will I aim to see her again live? Uhh... YEAH!
My next post will be my 2nd concert which was my favourite so far because he is one of my favourite artists of all and it was a real experience that me and my friend Lewis look back on a lot when we both listen to his work and side projects.
Before I end the story here, my purpose for suddenly talking about this memory is because due to Eminem coming up in July and he will be my 4th concert, I am writing up my past concerts chronologically so that I nothings out of place. And because Jack too me to my 1st concert free of charge for the ticket, to repay the experience, I'm taking him, my sister and her friend in October this year to see the hilarious and always funny comedy legend, Lee Evans. So this will definitely repay the offering he did for me back then.

LINKIN PARK AT DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2014 (My First Festival Experience)

Last weekend I was rocking and screaming my heart out at what so far was the greatest music experience of my life (though Owl City was amazing too a couple years back but that's another story) but on the Saturday that's just passed, I was at my first festival and here's my story!

For the last 3 months, I was planning to go to my first Festival which was a Rock/ Indie and Metal festival up north near Leicester and Derby called "Download Festival" which was being held at Donington Park. During around February I found on Facebook on Kerrang's facebook page that Linkin Park one of my favorite bands ever were performing this year and they were playing their entire first album Hybrid Theory, how could I miss that opportunity. I patiently waited until around May when finally the Saturday day-time tickets were available and I made sure all of my friends knew, especially my mate Lewis who got me into Linkin Park and many many other artists in the last 5 years.

So on the day, me and Lewis headed for Donington Park thanks to a lift to and back from his dad. By around 2.00pm, we finally made it and got ready for one hell of an day. He was keen on seeing Bowling For Soup (I know, weird name right?) who were performing at 3.00pm so we got in the crowd after I purchased a Download Festival Poster T-Shirt and a Linkin Park T-shirt too. I really enjoyed myself especially the humor the band emitted between the songs and their music was really fun too (luckily I knew some lyrics to 3 of their songs so I didn't feel like a total novice). They played classics such as "1985", "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" and even a song from a TV series I watched a long time ago called "Today's Is Gonna Be A Great Day" from the Phineas & Ferb TV series (I obviously knew all the lyrics to that one!) There were even a couple people dressed as Sesame Street characters like Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Elmo... random but funny! And in the second part for "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" the band were handed a big inflatable penis for them to sign... yeah.
Setlist is here.

Bowling For Soup - (Opening) Almost

  Bowling For Soup - Girl All The Bad Guys Want (Part 1)

Bowling For Soup - Girl All The Bad Guys Want (Part 2)

Bowling For Soup - 1985

Left to right: Alex, Caroline, Lewis, Jenny, Me, Kyle and his Dad

Next on our list was searching for Lewis's friends, Kyle (and his dad), Jenny, Caroline and Alex who were there too.  So because the area was HUGE, I could see, hear and feel the bass rumbling the ground and making my heart bounce a little even from up the hill and back near the entrance, it felt so weird and I sorta felt the bass was exagerated as even at a distance I couldn't quite hear the lyrcis to other bands so clearly and I think that ruined the performances a little. I was worried that I wasn't gonna have enough battery charge so I thought I could try out at one of these Battery Recharge stands that only charged £5 for a recharge, until they admitted it was a £20 deposit... no thanks!

As the day went on, we were all wondering around the area while listening to the other bands on the main stage like Killswitch Engage and later Bring Me The Horizon who are both hard core metal bands that even I began to head bang to and get a taste into their music, the others I wasn't so keen on. Later around 18.30pm, we all decided to look for food and found a Prezzo's Pizza place and ate as Bring Me The Horizon performed because next it was Fall Out Boy (another band everyone knew but me).
And being the good brother I am, I phoned up my sister and asked her if she wanted a shirt at the festival. So she queried the bands there and after I mentioned Fall Out Boy, she asked about the clothing and she chose a hat. And I bought myself a Download 2014 Line-Up shirt and a Linkin Park - The Hunting Party T-shirt too.

When Fall Out Boy came on, I was feeling a little down that this was the 2nd band I was seeing live and didn't really have a clue who they were or know the lyrics to any of their songs. But then I remembered what my parents told me before going that people come to festivals to listen and learn about new/ old bands and to widen their music taste, so that deffinitely helped and made me feel better. However, I did know and recognise a few songs such as "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arm's Race", "Beat It (Michael Jackson Cover) and the 2 songs I heard a lot on the radio last year "Young Volcanoes" and "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up) but didn't know it was by them, so I was singing along to those songs and wasn't clueless after all. They were brilliant and sounded just like they do on radio, which is always the best reassurance when seeing a live band/ singer because then you know that they didn't edit their voices as much as you thought back in the studio when creating their music. Setlist is here.

 Fall Out Boy - (Opening) The Phoenix

Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race

Fall Out Boy - Young Volcanoes

Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)

And then... the time was upon us! At 21.10pm, people were already shoving and pushing through and I was stuck next to the England supporters who were even taking their shirts off, so I was next to hench topless men... yeah! I lost Lewis and Jenny as I was pushed forward and got a little closer to the stage and got a good view and was able to record a lot of the songs. But anway, they finally came on and put on an amazing introduction montage before beginning with the all time classic "Papercut" and then followed through the whole Hybrid Theory album, they played several tracks from their other albums too which kept the crowd and me going and it was good that the show didn't end so quickly. When it did, it was a shame for the excitement to be over but it was absolutely amazing and I was so proud of myself for bucking up the courage to come here, I coped being on my own and let myself go in the moment and just have an amazing time no matter what. At around 22.50pm, as everyone was heading home or to the campsites, most of the crowd were heading to the other main stage to go and watch the England vs Italy World Cup game. Me and Lewis headed for home and travelled back listening to the game on the radio. We ended up getting back to Horsham at 2.30 in the morning. After staying at Lewis's I drove home, ready to share Father's Day with Dad and the family. Setlist is here.

Linkin Park - (Opening) Papercut

Linkin Park - Points Of Authority

 Linkin Park - By Myself

 

Linkin Park - In The End

There were lots of mosh pits which I even slided into on 2 songs and I actually survived (well obviously because I'm here and re-telling the story) but it was interesting and I didn't get as hurt as I thought I would. The crowd was very loud and we all sung our hearts out and screamed at the top of our lungs to every song so honestly I hardly heard the band at all but it was fun to partake in (I hope next time I hear the actual band preferably). I have never been so hot, sweaty and squeezed in my life because throughout the first 3 songs the crowd was swaying and shoving around so some of my videos were shaken up (I even dropped the phone once and picked it up in a couple seconds and got helped back up by good people, thank god). It was sensational to see Linkin Park perform some of my favorite tracks like "Points Of Authority", "In The End", "A Place For My Head" and then they mixed it up after finishing the whole first album. They gave it 110% and they sounded just like their LIVE album "Live in Texas" from back in 2003. My only disappointment was that they didn't play more stuff from their second album Meteora and most of all the song "No More Sorrow" which I always dreamed would be like this from their performance at the iTunes Festival back in 2011.

Linkin Park - A Place For My Head

Linkin Park - Given Up

 Linkin Park - Lost In The Echo

Linkin Park - New Divide (First time played LIVE) from Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

 Here's the last song "Bleed It Out" (a real crowd pleaser and sing a-long) which I failed to record but
found this online on 8th June 2015 whilst going through some LIVE performances on YouTube.

Another interesting and slightly awkward thing that happened was that just as me and the others were heading down the hill ready to mingle with the crowd, I ended up grabbing Caroline's jumper to make sure I didn't lose the others. Unexpectedly it turned into holding hands thanks to her grabbing mine as we slipped into the crowd and navigated for like a minute. When we found a good spot, I said thank you (like a gentlemen) and thought it was best to admit to her that was the first time I've ever held a girl's hand. She replied with "Aww that's so sweet" and gave me a hug. Oh yeah another thing, as we were heading to Donington Park on the Saturday morning, we ended up passing this tank on the actual dual-carriage way! A friend who knows a lot about weaponry and stuff said that it was a "M1A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

This is one of those memories I will treasure forever and always remember with pride and of course show the footage to my friends. So what's next on my "To-do list? Well I'm still working out my Skydive birthday present and will get round to booking it once we find a good location and if the weather plays fair too. And me, Lewis and Kurt are seeing EMINEM on 11th July so that'll be another awesome concert in a ground-breaking atmosphere. After that, Kurt and I are heading for London Film & Comic-Con to meet Stan Lee. And let's not forget the comedy legend and one of my personal favorites Lee Evans Monsters Live in September. So life's going great for me, I'm really living life this year it seems.

But this Saturday was a huge stepping stone in my life. That was £82.50 well spent (On the ticket I meant!) No doubt about it.

My 21st Birthday Weekend (Friday 6th June 2014)

Hello everyone, big news... I'M 21!!!!!! Woo Happy Birthday To me! Ah I feel so alive, grown up (well that's debatable) and proud of myself on looking back how much I have changed and made of myself this year and several moments throughout my life.

So for this story, I'm sharing from Thursday 5th June till Sunday 8th June on what excitement and surprises unfolded.

Here's Kurt's graphic novels I got him!

Thursday 5th June - So to start my story of stories, on Thursday it was my good friend Kurt from work's birthday. So like any smart kid he booked the day off an d had an awesome day in London with Tommy from work looking in Comic-book shops and he even spent £23 in M&M's world... yeah! So here's where I come in the story. You see, Frankie a girl from work and possibly one of Kurt's oldest friends planned in secret with me about organising a little party for Kurt which was originally bowling in Crawley but by the next day it turned into a simple night of few drinks at the Jubilee Oak in Crawley. So after work I drove over to Kurt's for the first time and we both gave each other our presents as my birthday was the next day. Did that stop me from opening my presents the same moment as Kurt?! Nope! I got him 2 MARVEL Big Graphic Novels "Civil War" and "Secret Wars" which I bought in Brighton a week ago. As for him, he bought me the MARVEL Graphic Novels "The Superior Spider-Man #1-5" and "Deadpool Kills Deadpool Part 1". We were both very pleased with our gifts and after he showed me his jaw-dropping collection of Comics (all paperback) and I counted 87... woah! So anyway we got ready and headed for the Jubilee Oak to meet up with Frankie, her boyfriend and Tommy for a good night and celebrate Kurt turning 20.

And here are the graphic novels he bought me!

So after arriving it was hard to find a booth to hold up all (we were even reminded twice to be careful when shifting chairs around in case we were blocking the Fire Exit which was frustrating (I mean of course I follow rules but come on, we weren't really blocking anyone from evacuating if such an accident occurred?!) Anyway, as 2 more of Kurt's friends turned up later including Sam from work, I chowed down on a good Beef and Bacon burger with chips and drunk 3 J20s throughout the 4 hours and me and Tommy each bought a big share plate full of Chips, Dips, Breadcrumb Prawns, Chicken Breast Fillets and Onion Rings oh it was delicious. I spent a lot of the time talking to Frankie about work as we both work in different departments and talked about thoughts and of course we all had laughs celebrating Kurt's birthday. Later around 10.30, everyone was getting ready to head home, Kurt was invited to Frankie's for more drinks but I had to head home (after giving Kurt a lift back to his of course!) So I figured I'll see him tomorrow to celebrate my 21st with my friends from my college days.

 

 

I was very excited to see Chocolate Cake!

Friday 6th June - "Woke up this morning feeling fine, theres something special on my mind!" ha ha, thought I'd begin feeling all happy as I did turn 21. Alas my day consisted of going to work as I couldn't book the day off due to too many people off already. So after preparing myself and while driving to work, I treated myself to singing a-long to "Owl City" songs on the way and later on the way home as it was a beautiful, warm blue sky morning and what could be better to make me smile (and shout my heart out to the songs). So at work, I surprisingly received some lovely treats! Near the beginning of the day in the warehouse store, the deputy manager who just loves to bake for the staff actually baked me a chocolate fudge cake as he knew it was my birthday today. He invited me into the shop after he caught me while dropping products off and he told me he had a surprise for me! A big chocolaty treat! But right before all of that happened, 2 ladies at work Wendy and Lorna who always look out for me everyday, found me in the morning and presented me with a Big 21 Badge, a funny card and a LORUS Watch! I was ecstatic and gave them both a big hug. So I told them to come with me to the store and join me in slicing the cake and taking a quick picture. And because I'm so generous, I made sure everyone had a piece quickly as it was going fast. John my Manager  said I could go home half an hour early which was excellent.
Kurt wasn't joining me for tonight after he texted me in the morning to admit he'd overdone it last night!

Left to right: (Back) Caleb, Bradley, Cathy, Matt, Craig, Ryan, Luna, Lin.
(Front) Chelsea, Me, Becky, Joe and James
Thank you to everyone who came and made my day so special!

Thank you Mills for coming by before heading back to work! Ryan... why did you photobomb?

So as I arrived home near 5.10pm, I quickly got changed and got a hug from Dad (Mum was sadly still at work) before heading out to go to "Wagamamas" in Horsham to join 13 of my friends from my college days, it was so lovely and great to catch up with all those that could make it, we all enjoyed the food. I had a Chicken Ramen which was a big bowl of Bamboo strips, noodles, diced spring onions, thick slices of chicken breast and rockets salad all in a delicious bowl of goodness. My friend Camilla "Mills" popped by at the beginning with Craig and they got me an amazing A1 sized Captain America: The Winter Soldier poster (like the one from my post!) I enjoyed chatting to everyone and later that evening everyone went to Lewis Cranfield's house as he had planned a 3 day party round his so we all stayed over for a few hours chatting, drinking, trying to play this confusing boardgame (which I will explain later) and all having a fun time. Later around midnight I headed for home and got a lift home with Luna.So  after the meal, we headed to "The Lyndd Cross" for a quick drink (I even had a Hooch).

The 2 Deadpool graphic novels Rebecca bought me!

Here's the playing field for the "Twilight Imperium" boardgame

Saturday 7th June  I FINALLY with my family opened all my cards that I got and my 2 presents from Rebecca my sister which were two awesome "Deadpool" Graphic Novels! Shortly after I headed back to Lewis's to see some of the others and I joined them at what was possibly the most complicated, confusing and head scratching board game I have ever played called "Twilight Imperium"! I dare you to google it or play it yourself! It was like Yugioh and Dungeons and Dragons had a baby and boy was it ugly ha ha. Anyway as me and the others played on for a couple rounds which took over 5 hours soon me and Camilla "Mills" had to leave for Pulborough to go to another friend Henny's 23rd birthday. So I drove Mills to her new house in Southwater and after seeing her new beautiful house and meeting her parents again. I then followed them to Pulborough for the first time. After arriving, we saw Craig, James, Luna and Lin to be there too and we all stuck together as we didn't really know anyone there. Henny was happy to see us all and I had fun that night listening to the house music which was mostly heavy rock and metal and I met one of Mills's friends called Tom who is a big Kingdom Hearts and MARVEL fan like me. The food was lovely and the night turned out better than expected and Henny was glad to see me and the others again. Around 11.30pm, I had to drive home with Mills and Tom as Mills was doing the "Race For Life" tomorrow morning and I was her ride home.

Also on Sunday, it mostly consisted of sunbathing on that scorching 22degrees Sunday, trying to plan this out while making plans for next Saturday when me and Lewis Cox (from Alt:Mag) go to our first festival together, The Download Festival! I was also making phone calls to family saying thank you for the cards and money and also replying to all my facebook birthday wishes.

So this was a very busy weekend for me. So I thought to myself that Sunday night "What's in store for me now that I'm a fully fledged grown up?" Well this year has already been something and it's been challenging to sometimes cope with like change and learning that things sometimes take time to plan or take longer to finish (like organising my blog posts and sometime they come up later than expected). My original plan as a celebration present from my parents was to go SKYDIVING!! But it's been a pain organising it and finding a near-by location. So it's been delayed and may happen in end of June or in July depending on when it finally gets booked and on the UK weather really!
But I think this Saturday when I go to a Rock/ Metal festival will really be something to remember and joke about in years to come. I was originally gonna upload posts about my 3 previous concerts I have been to so that this 4th one would be chronologically correct, but I've had no time to plan and to be honest this is a "First Time" at a Festival!

Anyway, I hope your all doing great and cheers for reading this big post and stay tuned for more! ;)