February Diary

It’s nearly the end of February now (only a few more hours left) and it feels like it’s been quite a while (again) since I have last written a blog! Honestly, I feel like February has flown. I suppose it is a short month, but still. The end of February means something else too – my birthday is in two days! Eeek! I am looking forward to it in the sense of doing things, but not the getting older part! But I do have a lot planned which I’m sure I’ll look forward to blogging about later! But what I have been up this month though?

First notable thing of the month was going to the Nintendo Switch preview event. I admit I don’t play games nearly as much as I used to but I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this event, getting to play demos of games such as the new The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Mario Kart etc. I must admit I didn’t know much about the Nintendo Switch prior to this but I am looking forward to playing on it soon (albeit on my boyfriends console)! Can I just say how beautiful the new Zelda game looks by the way? Gorgeous open scenery and 10 minutes playing it went far too quick.

Having an interesting looking dessert!

Of course February means Valentine’s Day right? So whether you’re single or in a relationship, you are going to hear about it either way! I think Valentine’s is hyped up beyond belief, but I do admit I like it as an excuse to go for a nice meal which is what we did! We went to Chaophraya, a Thai restaurant by Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre. I have been to this restaurant several times before and once again it didn’t disappoint. In a previous post of mine from about two years ago, I did a review of Thai Edge, another Thai restaurant we went to for Valentines in Birmingham which was very haphazard in terms of service. Being honest, we actually went there because Chaophraya was fully booked. This meal was a lot more plain sailing and the food as always was gorgeous. I had a Thai Red Curry while my boyfriend had Duck Tamarind and for dessert I had Thai Pancakes and he had Deep Fried Ice Cream. The desserts in particular were very interesting looking!

This month also meant I got to see Busted live once again for their Night Driver tour at the O2 Academy! This time it was a much more intimate venue and me and my friend did the crazy thing of queuing from 4pm when doors opened at 7pm so we could get to the front. Unfortunately the ignorant crowd control staff had other ideas… but as it was a small venue it meant we still weren’t too far away from them and managed to get a pretty decent photo of them! Once again they put on a great show and this time was nice because this gig was for a real fans who are after more than just a nostalgia trip. These fans are genuinely interested in the band as they are now and I think Night Driver is such a good album.

Busted Live

Work-wise the most notable thing was probably that I was sent to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry (cue the jokes about being sent to Coventry) for a conference which was rather interesting as we got to meet suppliers and people from other areas of the company. But of course the most interesting thing for me was the little Plant Hire exhibition downstairs where I got to sit in a JCB. I was far too happy at this fact, which I think reflects in the photo of me that I got in it!

Most recently I went out Saturday night (I so don’t go on as many nights out now as I used to) with my friend and we hit the cocktail bars such as Be At One, The Botanist and The Alchemist before heading to Broad Street (where for those who don’t know, is the main thoroughfare for nightlife in Birmingham). The Alchemist though really stood out as a cocktail bar as I hadn’t been to that one before unlike the other bars and it has an interesting concept of mixology unlike any other cocktail bar I’ve seen. Essentially, its name rings true to what it is, it has a bit of a sciencey feel. You can have cocktails such as ‘The Colour Changing One,’ which my friend had where you have to add two parts of the drink in a certain order and it has dry ice – giving it a smoky/vapour effect while you do it. Pretty cool right?

Cocktails at The Alchemist

Obviously this isn’t just what I got up to this month but they are just a few things to round the month up with. February has been a decent month but I think March will probably be even better! March for one thing is going to be a very busy month for me with my birthday and things going on every weekend such as the MCM Expo when it comes back to Birmingham (and this time I am cosplaying!). So lots to look forward to and hopefully that’ll give me some inspiration somewhere for writing more!

Busted- Pigs Can Fly Tour Thoughts

Saturday 4^th June 2016 at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham was the date my childhood dream came true. That was the day I finally saw Busted live. Not McBusted (don’t get me wrong, I still love them) but Busted! There is something about finally seeing James, Matt and Charlie sharing the stage together when frankly for a long time it was thought it would never happen. Charlie had always been so adamant that the music Busted created didn’t fulfil him (but has of course now changed his mind); hence the tour is called Pigs Can Fly, which is very fitting. The fact that it’s not just a reunion tour and they are making new music makes it a very exciting time to be a Busted fan again!

Me and my oldest friend turned up to the Barclaycard Arena to see our idols from over 10 years ago. A lot happens in 10 years but my excitement and memories all came flooding back. Not only did all the lyrics come back to me, but also the memories of what Busted meant to me and my friend, which was a lot really. We would go round to each other’s houses and we’d have Busted posters covering our bedroom walls, we would always be listening to their albums together and of course we knew which ones we fancied (mine was always Matt, hers was always James!). We became 12 years old again and it was amazing.

Busted back together

With the exception of Coming Home, Easy and One of a Kind all the songs were from the first two albums released in 2002 and 2003, so most of it was definitely a nostalgia trip. Coming Home was a great track to open up with to showcase their new sound (because let’s face it, the boys have done a lot of growing up in the past 10 years too) and it sounded fantastic live.

Just for reference, here is the set list.

1. Coming Home
2. Air Hostess
3. Falling for You
4. Everything I Knew
5. You Said No
6. That Thing You Do
7. Dawson’s Geek
8. Who’s David
9. Easy
10. Meet You There
11. One of a Kind
12. Thunderbirds Are Go
13. Sleeping with the Light On
14. Why
15. Crashed the Wedding
16. What I Go To School For
17. 3AM
18. Year 3000

The set list was a strong one considering they mostly had their old material to play. I must admit I was surprised to see Dawson’s Geek as one of the songs as the reference is a bit dated and I suppose in a lot of ways some of their songs are a bit dated now. You certainly can’t imagine them writing songs about wanting to date their teacher like in What I Go to School For now they’re in their thirties! But for me and most people there a lot of it is about the memories of that time and so it has to be treated as such. A lot of the classics do stand the test of time more so such as Sleeping with the Light On, which was awesome live with phone lights contrasting the dimmed crowd and everybody singing back the chorus. I definitely cannot wait to see more of their new material because despite the fact some people may roll their eyes at the name ‘Busted’, they are three very capable musicians who play their own instruments and write their own songs. For that they deserve respect as they are certainly not a ‘boy band’ as some people see them as.

In particular I loved their performance of Meet You There because I think for them it’s now such an important song, more so than it was for them at the time. This is because it can now be interpreted as being about the bands break up and how they felt about each other at the time and then getting back together. It’s a lot more poignant and meaningful for both them and the fans than it just being another song about a girl they like. On that note, I love the new recording of it at Abbey Road Studios which you can find on YouTube. You can even hear how much their voices have matured, in particular Matt’s voice.

The guys all seem genuinely pleased to be there when talking to the audience, even though this was their last show of the tour and must have done the show so many times by this point! In particular, Matt’s speeches are always very amusing, he is definitely the cheeky one! In the McBusted concerts previously he’s attempted a Birmingham accent which he did again and exclaimed that he was going to go for a curry after the show because that’s what Birmingham is famous for!

Other notable performances were the ones that got the audience on their feet and dancing of course! In particular were Air Hostess, Thunderbirds Are Go (a song they announced they’d be retiring…) and the final song, Year 3000, which is pretty much their signature song. I think pretty much everyone in the audience got all hot and sweaty from all the singing and dancing. But not nearly as much as James who on the big screen could clearly see he had sweat all over his shirt, not even just his armpits, but everywhere!  

I thoroughly enjoyed Busted’s performance and in turn I found a new appreciation for Charlie. Don’t get me wrong, I never did dislike him for leaving Busted like a lot of fans did because it must have been a difficult decision to follow his dreams which meant shattering James and Matt’s dreams at the same time, because it’s been very well known that they thought Busted would just carry on. And even though the band was formed in 2000 they were only really active around 2002-2005, so it’s clear they made a big impact in that time. I think with me and a lot of others it’s rekindled my love for the band and I cannot wait for their new album which I’m sure will bring them new fans too. I will certainly be going to their next tour and it’s early to say but I hope they do stay together for a good while!

McBusted!!

So I’m into week 3 of work starting today. Trouble is that I feel as if I have the day off as I don’t even start until 4pm! So why not write a blog post in the meantime? Work so far has been certainly interesting, a lot of moving about (basically moving from one store into a flagship store- so working in one store one week, then helping set up the new store, then finally working in the new store). So essentially I feel as if from this week, this is the week where I can truly start to settle in.
Anyway! Yesterday I went to see McBusted at the Barclaycard Arena (formlerly the NIA) for their Most Excellent Adventure Tour with my very good friend. Just to warn you there may be some fangirliness going on in this post… because oh my god I had an amazing time. What made this time truly amazing is the fact that we were very close to the stage by pure luck and so we were almost in reaching distance of them many times. My phone was nearly dead by the time they even got on the stage so I was very lucky to get a few photos and videos while I was there as I doubt I’d be lucky enough to get that close to the stage again without paying absolutely through the nose for it. I’ve posted some of the pics and I think that you can agree I had a good spot! The best spot of any concert I’ve been to in fact, I mean when I went to see Bon Jovi 1.5 years ago they looked like ants from where I was! Here though, we were that close that when they had the fire effects during What Happened To Your Band? we could actually feel the fire on our faces.

We went to see them last year at the O2 in London but the seats were far too steep and over to the right, so on that alone this time blew that time out of the water. Plus I have to say I loved their video game theme and Mario and Street Fighter references! At one point they divided into two groups and got each side of the audience to cheer them on as they used the giant game controller on the stage to fight against each other in Street Fighter. I absolutely cannot fault the production of it, for example in Riding on My Bike, James is elevated at the centre of the stage behind the screen riding a non-moving bike then soon enough he comes round the stage on a bike and throwing goodies to the audience. And Crashed the Wedding of course they come out in wedding dresses and suits. And at the very end there is a screen saying ‘Game Complete’ and they all go down into the drain pipe a la Mario. This is a band that epitomises fun and doesn’t take themselves too seriously which I love. Music-wise of course I cannot fault it either, they gave a very good solid performance and you can tell that they are just like old pros at it. It’s also amazing how much you end up remembering the lyrics especially when some of these songs are good 10 years old. Ahhh if only other things were so easy to remember!
I’ll just quickly post the set list courtesy of Wikipedia;
1. Air Guitar
2. Hate Your Guts
3. One for the Radio
4. Thunderbirds Are Go
5. Get over it
6. You Said No
7. 3AM
8. What Happened To Your Band?
9. Air Hostess
10. What I Go To School For
11. Obviously
12. Beautiful Girls Are the Loneliest
13. Crashed the Wedding
14. Riding on My Bike
15. All About You
16. Star Girl
Encore
1. 5 Colours in Her Hair
2. Shine a Light
3. Year 3000
I must admit I did expect them to play more off the new album but I’m a sucker for the old stuff so this was not necessarily a bad thing. Only thing is that I suppose you can argue that it doesn’t bring anything really new. I think compared to last year the tickets haven’t sold as well probably because more people went to see them last year because of the nostalgia factor. I think had I not been seated so close to the front (so it felt like a totally new experience for me) I probably would have said that it was just more of the same as before, but in an positive way because I’m a sucker for this sort of stuff. I definitely thought they added more into the show this time, even little things like the Kiss Cam during All About You which was pretty amusing! Another plus point about going to the Birmingham show was hearing Matt talk about how he’s practically from there because of his wife and joking that when he spends time up here he comes out with a Brummie accent! The others all try their hand at mocking the accent too by saying they want a curry, of course!
One thing I’d say is that I’d have liked to see them play Love is on the Radio or Transylvania. But that’s just a minor complaint. What I love about McBusted is that you can tell they are all friends who are having the time of their lives, you always feel the chemistry between the members and while particularly the lyrics are nothing earth shattering as they sing the hundredth song about a girl they like it’s just fun. The melodies are fun, the band is fun; it is all just FUN. They know how to work the crowd and the fun that they are clearly having rubs off on the audience and vice versa. So yeah, excellent night and hope to see them again next year!