Adele - Birmingham UK, April 2016

We saw Adele. Maybe that should be, we experienced Adele.

Seeing Adele in concert at Birmingham NEC was certainly an experience, that's for sure. Unlike most concerts there was no warm up act, there was no delay to the start time - this was an evening of precision....well almost.

On arrival we had half an hour to find our seats and get comfy. A large screen with Adele's eye watched the audience. There were people of all ages milling around but it was clear that every single seat had been sold. We couldn't quite tell you who we thought would be an Adele fan but if this crowd was anything to go by it's clear that just about everyone is an Adele fan.

From the moment the lights dimmed and the band started, the atmosphere was electric. There were two stages set up, the main stage where the band were and a smaller circle platform - it was on this platform that Adele arrived.

There was no introduction - it was straight into 'Hello'. The perfect opening song and a great way to get everyone singing. From there, the hits kept coming, 'Home Town Glory' had the screens showing shots of Birmingham. Simple, effective and touching - it's amazing being in a room full of (predominantly) local people and sharing the pride as famous Birmingham landmarks were shown.

By the end of the song Adele was on the move, walking from the platform back to the main stage. The audience either side of the walkway were screaming and reaching out but Adele did not miss a single note of One and Only. Professionalism indeed. On the main stage, a cup of honey water was available and while drinking this, the music stopped and Adele took to the mic to say hi. Neither of us had really thought too much about Adele as a person - we'd laughed while watching her on James Corden carpool karaoke but in person she was brilliant. Hilarious while being self deprecating. She told stories about certain songs, she talked about the stage fright that had plagued her and how different things were now that she's a mum. While surrounded by thousands of others, she made the concert feel intimate. While being a superstar, she appeared normal and down to earth - you couldn't fail but to love her.

After the chat we were warned that if we wanted to dance that this was our opportunity as she was going to bang out her upbeat songs in quick succession before getting totes emosh. As the music for 'Rumour Has It' started the noise in the arena made it feel like everyone was singing their hearts out. 'Water Under the Bridge', from her new album also kept everyone standing.

'Skyfall' had the stage taken over by clouds and a bond theme while 'Million Years Ago' had a more reminiscent feel with notes from school being shown. 'Don't You Remember' then ended this part of the concert and everyone calmed down.

Her faces, the emotion - we loved it all.

Our favourite Send My Love (to your new lover) had us singing at the top of our voices and after hearing Adele explain that it was about letting go of people who had hurt you in the past we felt that it held extra significance.

And then on to a highlight (another one), when covering make you feel my love Adele asked that all switched our torch lights on, it's not a new thing, I have seen it done plenty but coupled with the request that we all think of someone you had loved and lost or loved but hadn't told them recently we were balling, seriously balling.

From there to the end it was flood gates. Having been sat between my sister and Laura it was a race to see who could hold it in longest, on Sweetest Devotion Laura cried first, on Chasing pavements Fiona went first and I was blubbering because they were. It really was totes emosh!

Someone Like You was another crowd pleaser, when the sound cut off the audience kept going, Adele was oblivious but someone captured this: Video

When Set Fire to the Rain came on the platform Adele had appeared on was shrouded in rain for a spectacular finish and then silence.

Unlike other concerts there was no foot banging or chanting for an encore there was almost stunned silence. Adele was impressive.


And then just when we'd finished talking about how amazing the concert had been All I Ask started up and Adele re-appeared. And for 15 more minutes we sang When We Were Young and Rolling In the Deep before the confetti cannon signalled that it really was the end.

As if the show wasn't enough the confetti itself had song lyrics and thank you's - from our experience though we were the ones thanking Adele. For the show, for letting us into her world and the songs and for turning three grown ladies into blubbering wrecks.

Thank you Adele!

Our video highlights....

 

The Big Reunion!

Have you heard about it?! If you are based in the UK you can't have missed it! To explain, 'The Big Reunion' is a TV show that has reunited bands from the 90's to form a big giant teenage crush extravaganza tour. The TV show has followed the rise and subsequent fall of seven bands and I (Sarah) am loving it.

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To give Laura her dues, she is quietly sitting and enduring me singing along to songs that would never win awards for being 'classic'. For me it is an opportunity to reminisce on my teenage years and remember just how cheesy my music taste is was.

What has been eye-opening for me is the fact that bands that dominated my music collection growing up are bands Laura has never heard of! To list the seven bands I'm talking about:
5ive: My ultimate boy band crush and with songs I still quote today - 5 what you waiting, 4, if you wanna 3, 3, 3, 2 1 lets do it - I loved seeing them back on TV, even if they are missing a member. 5ive bad boys with the power to rock you - hit the music scene in 1997 and had us 'Slam dunk da Funk' -in for 4 years before splitting.

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911: These pint-sized pop stars had classic (but completely inappropriate  in Laura's opinion) tunes like 'Bodyshakin' and 'Love Sensation' and spent more time dancing than singing. When they first hit the charts in 1996 I was 13 and thought they were AMAZING!

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Atomic Kitten: featuring the once departed Kerry Katona, the girl group are back as their original trio! With hits like 'Whole Again' and 'Eternal Flame' they were first in the charts in 1997 and disbanded in 2004.

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B*Witched; (the only band Laura had slightly heard of) an Irish girl group that mixed Irish tunes with pure pop - they had 2 albums and 8 hit songs. Their first single 'C'est La Vie' had an Irish jig that was imitated more than once by me, my sister and our cousins. Active between 1998 and 2000, they may not have had the longest career but they were one of my favourites!

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Blue: The man-band! These guys used to have it going on- with tunes you can't help but sing-a-long with, attitude (bad attitude in most cases) and outfits to show off their fit bodies Blue were the band every girl at school wanted to get with. They have technically been back since 2011 - we even saw them on a float at London Pride!!

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Honeyz: A band I can't say I have much opinion about and I couldn't name a song of theirs until I heard them on the show and it all came flooding back. Described as an RnB group they were soulful and sexy and prone to not wearing much but they managed 3 different line-ups and plenty of tunes.

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Liberty X: way back before X Factor we had 'Popstars' - a show that created a pop band, the winners were called Hear'say! The losers, however formed Liberty X and actually went on to be way more successful and have WAY better songs! My main memory was that they wore a lot of latex and sang 'just a little'! There is no doubt this band can sing though!

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Other than the fact that it's a TV show about a time that seems a distant memory, why am I writing this post?! Well as I mentioned, Laura may not be that interested in me reliving my pop past but it turns out my sister is! Well she is more than interested, she's excited - so excited that not long after the second episode aired I got a call asking can we get tickets to see the bands in action?! Well, how could I say NO!!! So on the 12th of May we are road-tripping up to Birmingham to see the Big Reunion arena tour!

And I am SO EXCITED!!!! Probably more than someone my age should be - but these bands came out and toured before I was earning my own money so the only one I've seen is 5ive as I got tickets for a birthday!

The show has brought to light something else though, something that makes you realise that you really do have to be careful what you wish for. Growing up I thought I wanted the fame, the fortune, the dancing and singing for adoring fans but to sit and watch episode after episode of those who got that quickly losing it all is shocking. So many of them have struggled with drink and drug addiction, so many became depressed after it all ended and nearly all of them said they had reservations about returning.

From the outside, it looked like the best career ever from the inside they worked non-stop, didn't have a life and became overwhelmed by the lack of privacy. It makes me count my lucky stars that my voice and dance moves did not set me up for life as a popstar :) On a serious note though it did make me stop and think about how often I see others having 'an amazing life' from the outside and question if it's really the case.

For all the amazing experiences I have had and for all the things I have done, I never want to look back and say it was great but......... - so for that reason I make sure and live every moment to the best of my ability. It's also why we write about the bad as well - it's important to put everything out there, if you're going to at all! To end on that note, I am loving Jason Mraz's lyrics in 'Living in the moment' - it sums up my life right now perfectly!

The one and only JASON MRAZ rocked our world!

Jason Mraz was AMAZING! If you read our last post you will know that Laura has had a long standing love affair with Jason after seeing him many a year ago back in Boise. However Sarah had never seen him live and only had his albums to go by.

Admittedly neither of us had really had the chance to listen to his new album too much but had listened through it a couple of times and from what we had heard it sounded just as good as his older songs! But we were worried if the show was all new songs we could have missed out with singing along.

However, we did not have to worry. From start to finish this show was crammed with tune after tune, song after song that got not only us, but the whole crowd on their feet singing every word! The atmosphere was incredible. It wasn't just us that thought so:

The O2 is a BIG arena and having seen the productions that Britney Spears and other artists had put on there made us a little apprehensive about how little Mr Mraz would fill the arena with just a guitar but with the help of his AMAZING band this was not a 'show' as such this was an education in how real music can still engage, inspire and entertain you. There were no half naked dancers, clever staging or pyrotechnics, there was just Jason, his band and a screen that had images or close-ups of the stage (you wouldn't have seen him from section 4 in the roof otherwise)!!

We were SO lucky to have seats 30 rows back on the floor though, so we could enjoy watching him up close and on the screen. We saw his band loving every minute, we saw Jason changing guitars and having fun! That may seen a random thing to say but as much as Britney (and after seeing her 5 times Sarah is a little knowledgeable on this) turns up and does her performance, you do feel a little like she just changes the 'city' in her speech. But with Mraz, it did not feel like that at all. From his anecdotes about his times in London before and from the way he took time to let the crowd cheer him, this was not an artist just 'doing a set'.

Strangely one of the stand out moments, that we both mentioned, was the fact that he came on stage at the exact time we were told he would - not half an hour late! And his first words were 'Thank you so much for coming' - what a gentleman! We also loved that fact that he acknowledged that his lack of 'self promotion' made him somewhat of a well-kept secret and he was glad the secret could fill the O2! That made the atmosphere all the better, everyone there was a real fan and you couldn't help noticing everyone singing (even if the guy behind us sang a little too flat & a little too loud for it to be pleasant ;D ).

We also loved his remixes - 'Lucky' with 'Fly Me To The Moon' was ingenious! He also did 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley - brilliant and 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael - smooth!

A lot of his old classics were featured too - 'I'm Yours', 'Plane', 'You & I Both', 'The Remedy', 'Butterfly' and 'Live High'. Although the crowd pleaser, and cleverly left to last, was his hit 'I Won't Give Up' - this had everyone's phones in the air and left everyone buzzing.

We couldn't fail to mention his percussionist either - she was SO talented, slightly insane if you go by the faces she was pulling, but so wonderful. In fact the band (all 8 of them) seemed to play every instrument available at one point of another. It made every song come to life in a completely different way.

Oh and there was a proposal too! Just before the song 'The Woman I Love' Jason gave a speech about how we should all appreciate the women we love and as it ended, the camera panned to the crowd and there was a man on one knee! Ahh love and Mr Mraz just seem to go hand in hand. Funnily he even mentioned us, his lesbians friends, in his speech :)

We're sure we aren't the only couple who relates to Jason Mraz - not only is he a talented musician, there is something more, his clever lyrics are so relatable and in the main, positive, that you can't help feeling loved up - we spent almost 90% of the concert embracing each other, kissing and saying 'I love you'.

No doubt Jason Mraz's songs will play more than a small part in any future moments of ours - after all, in the words of 'Living In the Moment':

I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about all the things
That will not happen to me

So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment
Living our life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
With peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
Living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone

We echo that, Mr Mraz! And if you ever do read this - THANK YOU for a night that will go down as a highlight in a year that has already been one of the best yet!

Michael Jackson Immortal: What a Thriller!!

My love of Michael Jackson started young. Before I was even born, in fact. And that's not an exaggeration - my parents took me to an MJ concert when I was in the womb. Rumor has it they saw me moonwalking in my ultrasound. Okay, that last bit isn't true, but while a lot of babies had to listen to classical music in the belly, I was rocking out to Billy Jean and Dirty Diana.

MJ holds some of my best ever memories - like when I was four or so years old, was supposed to be in bed, but I instead was sat at the top of the stairs, past my bedtime, as my dad was watching Michael Jackson music videos. When he noticed I was there (because I was scooching down the stairs on my bum), I got to sit on the couch and watch them with him, past my bedtime, try my first sip of beer, and eat potato chips with my Dad. Wonderful.

My parents used to play his albums in the car, and we had the three disk 'HIStory' album, with all of my favourite songs on it. I couldn't even count how many times I've listened to it.

When I was a bit older, and he was in the press with people accusing him of things, I half-wrote letters to him telling him that not everyone was against him, and I still loved him. I didn't ever send them though, in case he didn't know that people were angry with him - I didn't want to be the one to tell him.

So when I heard  about the 'This Is It' Tour, I HAD to go. It was the culmination of all my great childhood memories with my favourite artist - it was going to be incredible. With the help of my wonderful Mum spending hours on the ticket website as I was at work when they went onsale, Sarah and I managed to get two tickets - and it was all I thought about for months.

When Michael died, I was in the hospital, quaranteened for possible swine flu. When they finally let me out hours later, Sarah told me - and it was so much worse than my impending descent into... pig-dom. *spoiler, I lived*

I cried for days. I watched the MJ music videos countdown for an entire weekend and just sobbed. Our tickets were only a month into his tour dates. One month. We were sure he'd make it to then, even if he was too exhausted to complete the entire tour.

SIDE NOTE: This is a hell of a lot of back story to my post about the birthday present Sarah got me, but I thought it important to let you all know how incredibly much this present meant to me.

Love xo

So, when Sarah got me tickets to see Michael Jackson Immortal, Cirque du Soleil's MJ tribute, at the O2, I could have cried. Actually, I did cry. She is the most amazing gift giver I could ever have asked for.

I tried hard to get tickets to this show, but they were all sold out. So how she managed to get such AMAZING tickets, I will never know!!

I got to leave work early to head to the O2 - we met on the tube, and rode out. There was such a buzz in the air at the O2 - it was full of fans like us who had tickets to Michael's show - and were there to pay tribute.

At dinner (TGI's, woot!) we got to have our picture taken with a very authentic look-a-like, who really got us excited about the show.

When it started, it was a very cleverly done mix of circus, acrobatics, and dance - based around Michael's Neverland Ranch. The first song was 'Have You Seen My Childhood?', complete with a ferris wheel, whimsical creatures and MJ's monkey - and that was it, I was in floods of tears already!

Of course, as it is Cirque du Soleil, it was always going to be a little... 'alternative' -  but once they got to the big numbers, a few minutes in, it was just incredible.

Song after song, hit after hit - I'm proud to say I knew every single song they did! With tons of acrobatics, palm sweating moments, and a man who can do WAY more with just one leg than most of the other dancers could with two, it was such an amazing show.

It was packed full of all our favourite songs, and tributes to some of Michael's best music videos. Some of our favourites were 'Thriller' - by the way, thanks to a friend in high school, I am proud to say I know all the dance moves to this song!! - with ghosts, ghouls, mummies, and giant bats - 'Heal The World' with lots of light up hearts and acrobatic dancers with fairy light costumes, and 'They Don't Really Care About Us' where they brought the armoured soldiers to life.

And of course, us being us, could relate the whole thing to equality. MJ's songs were about love, peace, treating everyone and everything fairly, equally, regardless of race, wealth, or sexual preference.

Michael Jackson Immortal was an incredible tribute to the King of Pop - and one of my personal heroes. MJ lived his life under extreme scrutiny and judgement - and still managed to have such a positive and idealistic view of the world and the people in it. He also made some kick ass music.

Definitely go see the show if you get the chance - you won't regret it! Thanks Sarah for helping me realise one of my dreams - this is the closest I will ever get to seeing the great Michael Jackson in concert.

Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball!!!

Hi lovelies!!!

As you know, we went to see the incredible Lady Gaga this past Saturday at her Born This Way Ball, Twickenham Stadium in London. Seriously, it was one of the best concerts we've ever been to!!!

We were lucky enough that Sarah's family friend lives right across from the stadium, so we were able to drive in and park with his resident's permit. Which meant the whole way there we got to sit comfortably and cool, blasting the tunes and drinking copious amounts of Diet Coke.

Upon arrival, we were surprised at how dressed up people were - in all sorts of Gaga costumes - really, we were surprised we didn't think to dress up in costume (we usually do!!!) but we were pretty colourful, so it was okay :D

The opening act was none other than The Darkness - Sarah was a little surprised at what a fan Laura was!! Laura was singing along and took a million photos - turns out she knows all the words to most of the songs! The Darkness really are ridiculous - such a guilty pleasure band. They put on a great show, and were really comfortable with the crowd, which was evident. And there is just so much amazing hair in the band, how could you NOT love them?

Gaga was a little late (20 mins or so) - not a giant deal, but when you'd been standing up for hours already, it seemed like ever. But as soon as the show started, we forgot our aching feet!

The sold out stadium!

Wow, she is such a performer. We were able to move our way up until we were 15-20 rows from front (thanks to crafty little Sarah's expert maneuvering skills), so we had such a great view, and could see her facial expressions and everything!! So exciting.

There were so many costume changes, she sang every word and danced constantly. Each song was a performance, and the whole show was awesomely dark.

One thing we thought was pretty amazing, was how you could tell how much she loved London, the UK, and appreciated all of her fans. She mentioned being in London, and the UK, quite a lot - which made us feel like she really was here the whole time, and we weren't just one of thousands of shows, in any random place in the world. Does that make sense? And we loved how genuinely grateful she was that we were all there.

It must be such a dream for her - four years ago, we saw her open for Take That - and didn't know who she was. And now, we (and 55,000+ people each night of her sold out show) pay the big bucks to see her!! She's come such a long way, already re-invented herself so many times, and you can really see how she's grown up over the last few years from 'Just Dance' to her darker, meaningful, more recent hits.

Obviously, with this being the Born This Way Ball - it appealed to a certain audience. We swear, it was the gayest place we've been since Pride London!! What she said really struck a chord with us (so much so we can remember it word perfectly!) 'When I came to my producers with 'Born This Way', they said to me- 'You realise you are marketing yourself to a very small, specific niche of people.' Well 55,000 people is a pretty big f***ing niche!!!' 

Black Jesus!

There couldn't have been truer words. The crowd at the Born This Way Ball was made up entirely of LGBT people and allies. Gaga has managed to sell out venues all over the world for a tour that is centred around the belief that gay people are born gay. As Laura's Dad said - 'Nobody under 30 cares if people are gay anymore - now its just Republicans in their 60s and Sarah's parents' (haha!)

Lady Gay Gay

The lesbians at the show were truly a sight to behold in themselves. We were so surprised, and impressed, at the variety of lesbians in the stadium - we know quite a few femme couples, but we were still surprised at how many lesbian couples were there who didn't fit the lesbian 'stereotype'. It is proof that the lesbian dynamic is changing - we aren't mostly butch lesbians with a few femmes, we are beautifully all so different from each other! And we all love Lady Gaga :)

Gaga performed an acoustic version of her song 'Hair', about being accepted for being who you are - and after the first few lines, we were both full on crying in the middle of the stadium. With all the trouble surrounding Sarah's relationship with her parents, the lyrics really spoke to us, and they were beautiful.

Whenever I'm dressed cool my parents put up a fightAnd if I'm hot shot, mom will cut my hair at nightAnd in the morning I'm short of my identityI scream, "Mom and dad, why can't I be who I wanna be, to be?"
I just wanna be myself and I want you to loveMe for who I amI just wanna be myself and I want you to knowI am my hair
I've had enough, this is my prayerThat I'll die livin' just as free as my hairI've had enough, this is my prayerThat I'll die livin' just as free as my hair
Next she performed an acoustic version of John Lennon's 'Imagine' - one of our favourite songs, and it was stunning. All 55,000 people sang along, and it was truly an emotional and inspirational moment.

If you have a chance to, definitely go see Lady Gaga in concert. (Go see it twice, like our friends Danielle and Sarah!) She puts so much into it - you won't be disappointed.

Thank you, Gaga, for your continued support of the LGBT community, and of anyone who is 'different'. Thank you for putting on a truly kick ass show!! We love you and can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Have you seen the Born This Way Ball?? What do you think of Lady Gaga?

Well Hey There, Good Lookin'!

We just wanted to say Hola! to our favourite regulars and new visitors alike!!

Hola, amigos!!

You all probably know us already, but if you don't, or you want to know us better, check out our About Us page to get to know us (and our love story) better!

At the weekend we went to West End Live at Trafalgar Square in London - it was so much fun! We got to see the big musicals perform some of their numbers!!

Our fav was Jersey Boys - we loved the music, the performance, and really want to see it!!

Then we got to make crowns, and became royals!

Hey, meet beautiful Princess Sarah!!

And Princess Laura! Watch out KatieM!

We'd make great royals!! Though Sarah looks like a creeper in the back haha

Such a random day.

Laura's favourite musical is Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Sarah's is Hairspray (yes, we love a bit of cheese - but isn't that what is so great about musicals??) - what is your all-time favourite musical?

We hope you'll stay awhile, we'd love to get to know you better!!

Love always,

(Princesses) Laura & Sarah xo