And Now It's Star Time...

I want to share my audio recording of Solange's show at the Classic Grand in Glasgow from the 4th of November 2008. The crowd wasnt huge and the set wasn't long but this was still a great show. Solange played her recent hits along with a few covers, blowing the small crowd away with her undeniable talent and inspirational persona. This was recorded the night before Obama was elected as President of America. It was recorded with a ZoomH2 Recorder.

Tracklisting:

1. Intro

2. Dancing In The Dark

3. T.O.N.Y

4. Island Letter

5. Would've Been The One

6. Electric Feel

7. Cosmic Journey

8. Sandcastle Disco

9. 6 O'clock Blues

10. I Decided [Part 2]

Click the link below to download the whole show in Mp3!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=16XGLXN4

Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Tour

Well that's me just back from seeing Avril Lavigne two nights in a row at Glasgow’s Carling Academy.

Many months ago when the tickets just went on sale, I decided to pay a whopping £160 for a package that would give me VIP access, the chance to meet Avril and get my picture taken with her, as well as a standing ticket to her show. This was run by Live Nation. I think it was November when the tickets went on sale and they never came until two days before the gig.

I was sent a letter telling me that I had to be at the venue for 5.45pm so that I could pick up my pass and that the meet and greet would take place inside the venue at 6.15pm. When I got there, the woman from Live Nation told me that the meet and greet would now take place after the show because Avril and her people were running late. I didn't mind. She later came over and said that the hold up was because Avril came to the venue earlier on to do her make-up but didn't like the lighting so she demanded to go back to her hotel and do it. I'm not saying that's true but that's what she said. Oh yeah, all the VIP people got a wrist band and a pass. We were also given a really cheap looking bag with "Avril Lavigne Tour 2008" stitched onto it as well as an equally cheap looking T-shirt. We were told when purchasing the VIP package that we would receive a tour programme and a "Best Damn Tour Gift". We were later told that Avril's company never made a programme this year so that's why we got the T-shirt instead. Great... So I guess the gift was the fugly bag? I was a bit livid but I didn't want to stay negative because I was trying to look forward to meeting Avril and seeing her show.

So we never got to go inside the venue until 7pm. I gave my free bag to my friend who wasn't going to the gig before I went in. The people who still had theirs had to pay to put them in the cloakroom. That didn't go down too well but at least I managed to get closer to the front of the que. We then had to wait outside the hall for half an hour for whatever reason. No-one said. They finally let us in while the Jonas Brothers were finishing their sound check. I got my spot. Right in front. It felt fucking amazing. The stage was pretty cool. The background was Avril's massive skull and love heart logo. I was so excited!!

About an hour later, the Jonas Brothers came out to do their opening set. The place actually went wild. All these tweens with their banners screaming like fuck. It actually sounded like little girls were being brutally murdered throughout the entire show. It was crazy. And there I was in the front row. Surrounded. It was like a mini Hell for a short while. One little bitch asked if I would let her in front of me just for their set. I said no. Fuck losing my place after spending all this money to get it.

Anyway, they sang about seven or eight songs. After that it seemed like we waited forever until the lights finally dimmed, the music faded, the dancers came out and the drum beat to Girlfriend begun. It was awesome. Avril was wearing a white and pink striped top and black jeans with a skull printed on her knee. I was sooo close. It was amazing.

This was my third time seeing Avril. I first saw her in 2004 when she played Glasgow’s SECC. I had seating tickets. Bad ones at that. I then saw her play at the Carling Academy a few months later. That was when Avril was on her “Bonez Tour”. That's the tour where she played all the amazing dark songs like Take Me Away, Together and Forgotten. That Avril was missed this time. The once dark, rocking and rarely smiling Avril was now a pretty, dancing, poppy Avril with a constant, mainly fake, smile plastered upon her face. I'm not bitching and I understand that she can't possibly sing every song or even please every member of the crowd. I just really miss her playing those songs.

Back to this show. Avril seemed to have cut a bunch of songs for this night’s show. At least when going by her previous shows for her U.S. tour. This venue didn't have room for bunch of props from the U.S. shows so they were left behind. The set list was as follows:

Girlfriend (with backing dancers)
I Can Do Better (with backing dancers)
Complicated
Band Instrumental Intro
My Happy Ending (while playing guitar)
I'm With You
I Always Get What I Want
When You're Gone (acoustic, sitting on edge of stage and then standing)
Innocence (minus second verse)
Don't Tell Me (acoustic, playing guitar, sitting on stool, minus seconds verse)
Everything Back But You (with band and dancer introductions)
He Wasn't (while playing guitar)
--------------------
Girlfriend - Remix (with dancers, rapping)
Runaway (first verse and chorus only, while playing drums)
Mickey (quick chant while playing drums)
The Best Damn Thing (with dancers)
Sk8er Boi (with dancers)

The show was great. I was a bit pissed about some of the songs being missing but who was I to complain? I was right in front watching her on the opening night of her European tour and took some brilliant pictures.

So before the gig we were told to wait in the bar area after the show and we would be led to meet Avril. I decided to wait for the crowd to go away so that I could buy some merchandise, but before I could, I was told to get with the rest of the VIPs so we could go upstairs to meet Avril. We ended up going right to the back of the seating area, looking down on the now empty floor and stage. There must have been about fifty of us. Avril’s tour manager came out to say that we would get to meet her in a few minutes, which turned into about half an hour. He said we would get our pictures taken by a photographer and not to bring our own camera in (pissed!), explained why we never got programmes (I mentioned before, pissed!), oh, and that we could get one thing signed. That was cool but I never had anything. When people before me came out after meeting her they looked a bit pissed. Okay a few of them anyway. It was finally my turn...

So the guy said to go into the room. She was standing there smiling. I walked up to her thinking she would say something. She just kept smiling. It was kind of awkward. I just thought "talk Joseph"...
So I said:

"Hi. My name's Joseph"
"Hi." *Smiles*
*Shit what will I say? She's not saying anything!*
"You were really good tonight."
*Oh my God, what a retarded fan thing to say....*
(I don't even know if she said “Thanks”, but I'm assuming she did)
*Shit, now what?*
I saw the guy was ready with his camera.
"Can I just get this picture with you?"
I don't remember her saying anything but she smiled and turned towards the camera.
The picture was taken and I know that the second it was taken I looked like a total fucktard because my mouth started shaking as I smiled.
Just so annoying that I still haven’t seen it and couldn‘t take my own.
Anyway after the picture was taken....
"Can I get you to sign this for me? My name's Joseph."
Okay, I know I already told her my name but I wanted to make sure she wrote my name and I thought she'd probably have forgotten it, or wasn't even really listening in the first place.
So she starts writing and then she says
"Wait, how do you..."
I tell her how to spell my name....
Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I gave her this random bit of paper from my pocket to sign because I had nothing else.
After she signed it I asked for a hug.
Thought I might as well get my moneys worth and since she never spoke without my nervously trying to make conversation I knew for sure I wasn't going to get a hug without asking.
So she hugged me.
It wasn't exactly a bear hug, but still a hug.
"Cool, well thanks very much. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Bye" (Again, I think she said goodbye but I don‘t know).

My God, it was so weird. I felt kind of disappointed but I don't want to bitch. I'm going to wait and see if my picture turned out well. If it does, then I suppose I'll have gotten a good picture out of it, but if not, then I don't really know what I got out of the whole experience to be honest.

Like I said, I've only been back from the second show for a few hours. Tonight’s show was a lot better in my opinion. She took some songs out but added some better ones. For example Hot, one of her big singles, and Losing Grip. Both of these songs were performed acoustically after Don't Tell Me. It seemed a bit random to set up the stools, etc for just one acoustic song the night before. Tonight's acoustic set was great. Bad Reputation was also played when Avril went of stage. Her dancers time to shine I guess. I Don't Have To Try was also added. Tonight when Avril came out for her encore she wore a pink hoody. Last night she just wore the same thing throughout the whole show. Tonight’s set list was....

Girlfriend (with dancers)
I Can Do Better (with dancers)
Complicated
Band Instrumental Intro
My Happy Ending (while playing guitar)
I'm With You
I Always Get What I Want
Linkin Park Instrumental (dancers only)
Don't Tell Me (acoustic, playing guitar, sitting on stool, minus second verse)
Hot (acoustic, sitting on stool, minus seconds verse)
Losing Grip (acoustic, sitting on stool, minus second verse)
Bad Reputation (dancers only)
Everything Back But You (with band and dancer introductions)
Runaway (first verse and chorus only, while playing drums)
Mickey (quick chant while playing drums)
The Best Damn Thing (with dancers)
I Don't Have To Try
He Wasn't (while playing guitar)
--------------------
Girlfriend - Remix (with dancers, rapping, now wearing pink hoody)
Sk8er Boi (with dancers, wearing pink hoody)

She seemed a bit happier tonight. Her smile seemed real for the most part. There's something I thought was a bit weird though... When introducing I'm With You she said this: "This next song is off of my first record. Usually I like to dedicate this one to the fans. It's been really cool playing here two nights in a row, I did a meet and greet last night - I got to meet a lot of you guys out here. You guys are so dedicated, my fans are amazing and I just want to thank you so much." I was just a bit annoyed that she said that tonight while last night I had to practically squeeze words out of her. I still love Avril and her music. I just hoped for something different, I suppose.
-----
Update: I got my picture 2 days later. I look really nervous but I don't mind it :] so that's good.

P!nk - Edinburgh Castle

Finally, the day had come. Sunday, 15th of July. P!nk live at Edinburgh Castle.

On Saturday night I met David and Paula after work so we could buy food and stuff for the que. We arranged to meet at half 8 because Paula said the X6 bus came at 8.50. The train was to leave Glasgow at half 9 which means we'd have got to Edinburgh at about half 10 so hopefully we'd be near the front of the que. So we got home at about 2am. I got up at half 6 to wash my hair and then got everything sorted - sandwiches, clothes etc. David stayed with me so he got up at about half 7. Then at about 8 Paula phoned to she was just gonna get us in Edinburgh because her wee sister slept in. So then me and David were like "Why don't we just get the 20 past X6" cuz they're every half hour. So we got to the bus stop and it turns out there was no X6 due til 9.45 so we just got on the 8.30 number 9. That got us into town for about 25 past 9. So we ran to Queen Street station and we saw the train leave. Gutting. So we just got tickets and waiting for the half 10 one.

Me and David eventually got off at Edinburgh Waverly at about 20 past 11. We then walked up to the castle. We got to the see stage and that. We asked where to start queing. Everyone was queing at The Hub, which was dumb because it's down the hill. I suppose we were outta the way though. There was quite alot of people already queing. We were just glad to finally be there. It was a lovely warm day too. Paula and her wee sister Louise arrived a while later.

So after quite a few hours of queing this guy that was right next to us was saying he just got off his phone with his fiance and she just saw P!nk at the Airport and we should maybe get our cameras ready cuz she was gonna maybe drive by in a silver car. Did she fuck though.

Anyway, a wee while later me and David were walking out of the toilet and as I was walking out P!nk's back-up singers and guitar players were walking right past. I was sooo excited but I didn't say anything. I pure wanted to say something and nobody else noticed them but as I was getting closer the stoping them to say hi they were getting further away and they had quards around. I didn't wanna cause any trouble. I feel like such an idiot now.

I've felt myself getting more and more enraged as I come closer to writing this bit. Right, so, at about 6.15 everybody kinda stood up in the que because security started coming about and stuff and then at like 20 to 7 they made everyone bunch together. So people who were at the back were ending up at the front of the fucking que and everyone was just all squashed together and getting angry and the security were fucking loving it. Then at like 7 they got us all to run right up the hill. So everyone was running up all quashed and pushing and punching. Nobody could breathe. Every step you took it was like you were gonna fall. It was honestly like a fucking war and it was every man for themselves. It was so badly arranged. So when you made it to a certain bit alive you meant to get your ticket checked and then after that grab a wee p!nk wrist band ou security wouldn't let you past. Thankfully loads of people missed that bit and had to run back. So I showed them the wee band and they wouldnt let me past until I had it on. I was pure panicing because it wouldn't get on and i couldn't see David or anyone. I finally got it on and just sprinted. I ran right to the stage and was just getting to grips with the fact I wasn't gonna see my friends until the end but then I looked round and saw David going mad trying to get my attention at the other side of the stage so ran over to that. He was right on the bar. I'm so lucky I saw him before other people got there. I just was so happy i was there, I could breathe and I knew I was in front and everything was okay. Then a wee minute later Paula and Louise came running over. Paula had fell and cut her knee, Louise was crying. Everything was just mad. It was like it was a fucking heavy metal concert. Everyone was fighting to get the front. Anyway, in the end we got to the front. So it was in a way worth it but at the same time it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

So, skip to the support band. It was a band from Ireland called The Caronas. They were actually pretty good. They sang about 7 songs. Some people sitting on the left had side must have saw P!nk or something cuz everyone started screaming and taking pictures.

Right so P!nk came on at about half 9. Started with 'Cuz I Can'. Oh My God. It was sooo exciting. She was so great. She looked amazing.

She spoke just before 'Stupid Girls'. She's so funny and cute. She also screamed at the bridge. It was hillarious.

During the the 6th song, 'I'm Not Dead', someone fainted on the left side and a fight between two girls had broke out on the right side. I remember seeing one of the girls walking past the que before. She was a fucking state. Thinking she was a fucking 'it' girl or something. Someone has put it up on YouTube.

Oh yeah, and then before 'Family Portrait' her keyboard player had this big solo like last time and after the song finished she was like "I'm so proud because I taught him everything he knows". Maybe you had to be there but it was cute.

It was so good to see her sing some of the old stuff that she didn't do last year like 'My Vietnam', 'Try Too Hard', 'Last To Know' and 'Lonely Girl' - I'd never seen her sing that before so it was really cool to see.

After 'Last To Know', she had a go on the drums. It was pretty cool. She had a drum battle on her 2004 'Try This Tour'.

Of course she sang 'What's Up" again. Such a good song. She said "This place is 1200 years old. Let's wake up all the ghosts". The crowd fucking loved it. So loud, it was amazing. P!nk ended the song with her multi-talented band member Adriana.

P!nk looked at me several times throughout the night. It was so cool. I had such an amazing time. I really got into it. I'll never forget it.

My camera broke a few weeks ago so I was so annoyed I couldn't take any pictures because mine were so good last time. David got some excellent stuff though plus there were professional photographers at the start and the pictures have got onto the net so that's cool.

It was so fun during 'Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)' because she got everyone to do the dork dance again. She also thanked everyone for coming to the arena tour last year. She said "I didn't bring dental floss to hang from. However, I brought my favourite dance". Haha, she also done this Beyonce dance thing before it. She said that if she had long hair she'd get a fan and dance like Beyonce. Was quite funny. So anyway, we all had fun doing the dance and trying our best to keep the straight face. She left after that but came back, after a quick change of clothes, for an encore with 'U + Ur Hand' and 'Get The Party Started'.

Her voice was fucking amazing. I can't believe how someone can tour for so long and still have such an amazing voice like that. It was so good. P!nk always amazes me. She's probably the best entertainer I've seen. Excellent value for money. It was also really cool because it was my third time seeing her. It was cool to see her prove she doesn't need to fancy props and acrobats to blow people away.

After the show I could hardly walk. It was so weird. But I made my way to the merch stand. Another riot. It wasn't as good an last time. Just T-shirts, a poster and a keyring. Can't really complain though. I got 2 T-Shirts, 2 keyrings (one for David) and also a poster for Paula's wee sister. The guy either tried to con me really badly or he was actually just so thick cuz he tried to charge me like £75 odd when it really came to £49. I sorted it out though. Fucking twat.

So after that Paula's Mum drove us all the way home. Was so nice of her. I stayed with David. I was fucking shattered. I slept for like 12 hours.

So yeah, P!nk = Amazing, Edinburgh security = Shit. Everything went okay though. I hope no one I love plays there again though. I can't be fucked with all that shit again.

Set List

Intro
Cuz I Can
Trouble
Just Like A Pill
Stupid Girls
Who Knew
I'm Not Dead
(Piano Intro)
Family Portait
My Vietnam
Last To Know
(P!nk Drum Solo)
Try Too Hard
Don't Let Me Get Me
Lonely Girl
What's Up
Dear Mr. President
Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)
Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) (Outro)

Encore:
U + Ur Hand
Get The Party Started / Sweet Dreams
(Outro)