Fleetwood Mac: On With the Show Tour, The SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow 8th July 2015

A few weeks ago, my family and I caught the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac's third and final concert in Glasgow as part of their "On With The Show" tour. If you've been keeping up with my other blog you'll probably have heard the exciting news that thanks to an amazing charity named Rays of Sunshine, I actually had the chance to go backstage at Fleetwood Mac's first Glasgow concert back in June and met with Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood. That was an amazing experience, I'm still in awe that my dream of meeting Stevie came true. It was definitely one of the most surrealist things I've ever experienced. So if you'd like to read more about my special night click here.

Again, Fleetwood Mac put on yet another outstanding show! Having seen them live on three occasions now, twice during this tour and once in the previous tour back in 2013; I'd definitely say that was the best out of the three shows. I'm only sixteen years old and have been lucky enough to see some of the most iconic/legendary bands and artists during the past few years that I've been gig-going. Out of all the bands I've been fortunate enough to see I am having serious deliberations whether Fleetwood Mac or Queen are my favourite. It's an extremely close call shall we say!

From the very second the lights fade into darkness and there's this eerie but rather exciting cricket like sound filling the room, a shiver runs down your spine. You just know it's going to be special. Before long, one by one each member of the iconic band made their way onto stage welcomed by the roars of the Scottish crowd. The loudest roars of which was probably received by Stevie and Lindsey as they walked on stage hand in hand. Moments later, arguably one of Fleetwood Mac's most famous songs "The Chain" kicked off the evening's set list. I personally, couldn't think of a better song to start with. That song instantly catches your attention but it isn't until a single spot light falls upon the band's bassist John McVie and that iconic bass line fills the rooms; it just hits you and shivers run down your spine. A great start to an amazing evening!

John McVie

The evening's set list consisted of 23 of the band biggest hits including Dreams, Rhiannon and Everywhere to name just a few. Tusk, the title track of one of the band's album released in 1979 was definitely a performance to remember. It was probably one of my favourite performances of the evening. It's what I would describe as a lively, folk rock song which really showcases just how incredible an musician and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham truly is.

Tusk was soon followed by another song from the same album, Sisters of the Moon. A large moon is projected onto the screen and develops through the different stages such as a crescent moon and a full moon, this definitely adds to the already eerie atmosphere that the song creates. As you'll probably have gathered I am extremely inspired by Stevie Nicks, her music and of course how she brings her songs to life. Hearing Sisters of the Moon sung live gives me shivers and captures my imagination.

Before long, the audience are treated to a stunning acoustic section which if you've ready any of my other blog posts you'll know is one of my favourite parts of a concert. Like I've said before, acoustic performances capture the artists true emotion and of course the beauty of the song. During Fleetwood Mac's acoustic set, Lindsey Buckingham dedicated Big Love a song from the Tango in the Night album to his eldest son William who was celebrating his 17th birthday back home in America. Every time without fail, Big Love completely blows me away. Lindsey Buckingham is in my opinion one of the best guitarists ever and deserves so much more credit for it than he actually receives. He has one of the most unique fingerpicking styles when playing as opposed to the typical playing with a plectrum. Big Love really blows me away, it seems to catch the audience's attention as we all watch in complete and utter awe. Simply amazing!

Stevie Nicks soon joined Lindsey to perform a stunning song named Landslide-one of my Mum's all-time favourites. Prior to the song she spoke about a previous visit to Scotland where she visited Turnberry, which is situated on the West Coast of Scotland and how she spent time with the falconer and flew the birds there. She fondly told the audience of how she was asked by the falconer to name one of the birds and can anyone guess what she decided to name it? Well, she named the little bird Rhiannon after her song which is pretty special! And of course the performance of Landslide was just as breath-taking as I remembered. How can you not love that song? The mini acoustic set was concluded with Never Going Back Again from the band's biggest album, Rumours.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham performing 'Landslide'

Another song that the audience was treated to was Gypsy from the Mirage album. Over the past few months Gypsy has become one of my all-time favourite Fleetwood Mac songs, it wasn't that I didn't like it before I just think I really began to listen to the song and the words really spoke to me. Stevie tells the most inspiring story prior to performing the song about a shop named "The Velvet Underground" that she used to visit before she became a member of Fleetwood Mac and how all her heroes such as Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell used to shop their. Basically the underlying message of Stevie's "Velvet Underground" story was to never give up on your dreams no matter what anyone tells you. Those words are of course extremely relevant and meaningful to me, more so now than ever. Towards the end of the song, as Lindsey performs his guitar solo Stevie steps to the side a little and twirls round and round. On the large screen behind the band, the camera focuses on Stevie as she twirls and a video effect is used to make it look as if though she's dancing rain-very atmospheric and fits perfectly with the feel of the song. It's very beautiful and absolutely breath-taking to sit there and watch.

After a great performance of the well known 80s hit Little Lies, my very favourite performance of the evening then took place. This was of course, Gold Dust Woman. Like I said during one of my previous posts, Gold Dust Woman blows me away every single time without fail. For me, there is something special about that song and the performance Stevie Nicks gives the audience during is mind blowing. She evidently puts her heart, mind and soul into it; the power and emotion she portrays is incredible and extremely enchanting. I sat there that night completely mesmerised by the song and awe of just how amazing a performer Stevie Nicks truly is. If you want to know the reason why I love and admire Stevie Nicks so much go look up videos of Gold Dust Woman on YouTube and you'll see why. That song is extremely special to me and hearing it live really brings the words to life in ways that I can't even begin to describe.

Lindsey Buckingham continued to enchant us with a mind-blowing performance of I'm So Afraid. The guitar solo during the song was absolutely outstanding. I can only begin to imagine just how painful and tiresome it is to play guitar like Lindsey. There are so many great guitar players out there but in my opinion Lindsey is a hidden gem that so many often forget about. Seriously, Lindsey Buckingham's guitar playing is nothing short of amazing and his performance of I'm So Afraid proves just that.

Christine McVie

As the night went on the crowd became more and more wilder. According to my parents this was a REAL Glasgow audience. I've to numerous concerts in Glasgow throughout the past few years but I don't think I've ever witnessed a crowd as lively as that before. By the time Go Your Own Way began to play everyone really lost it, everyone was up dancing, having a good time and enjoying themselves. Why shouldn't they!? Although, I must say my family and I were extremely taken aback to turn to our side and see a woman sitting there KNITTING! Seriously, who would pay good money to attend a concert and spend the entire show engrossed in knitting a scarf or jumper. No offence but there's something far wrong with that! What's the point in even going in the first place? I've certainly seen it all now!

Anyway, despite the strange person beside us Go Your Own Way was electric and the crowd was probably as loud as the band which says a lot. My family and I were up dancing around in the isle, me included in my wheelchair-it's too hard not too! The electric atmosphere continued into World Turning which consisted in a lively drum solo from Mick Fleetwood who is by far one of the craziest drummers I've seen. He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand, making all sorts of crazy noises. I must admit I was a little hoarse by the end of the show from participating in the mad antics-oops!

Don't Stop came next much to the delight of the audience before a stunning performance of Silver Springs. And last but certainly not least was the song that my Mum in particular had waited a VERY long time to finally here live; that was of course Songbird. Christine McVie took centre stage with a grand piano to perform this with Lindsey Buckingham perched on a stool beside her, accompanying on guitar. It was a perfect ending to yet an another amazing show!

Mick Fleetwood

The entire band gathered together on stage for one final time that evening to take a bow before disappearing off into the darkness of the wings leaving Mick Fleetwood to say his final farewell to the audience. What an brilliant evening! I can't quite believe I booked tickets to see Fleetwood Mac all those months ago and it's over already! I sincerely hope I will have another opportunity to see them perform live as every single show I've attended has been nothing short of amazing! To those of you living in Australia and New Zealand, if you can go buy tickets for one of their shows towards the end of the year! If I could, I'd be over there on flash for one of the shows (okay, maybe two or three!). I'd seriously do anything to see them live again so seriously, if you ever get the opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac DO IT!

Fleetwood Mac Concert Review Rant

As you'll probably have noticed I posted this alot later than I had initially anticipated, I've had an extremely crazy few weeks which as a result means that keeping up to date with my blogs has been a little tricky at times. If you follow one of my social media accounts you may have noticed that I had a special meeting with Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood at their concert in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago. If you'd like to read all about my experience please click here.

This blog post was initially intended to be a Fleetwood Mac concert review however my dynamics and intentions have changed direction meaning that my plans for this particular post has changed a little. I am however, attending another Fleetwood Mac concert in just over a week so I will have a proper concert review posted here on my blog in the not so distant future.

A few days ago I found myself checking out the influx of concert reviews following Fleetwood Mac's first show in Glasgow of their "On With the Show" tour like I do following most concerts I attend. Unfortunately, I came across a review which absolutely riled me if I am being completely honest. I mean most of the review was in my opinion acceptable although in my eyes the show deserved a lot more credit than this review actually offered. However, it wasn't until my eyes fell upon a sentence towards the end of the review which described the performance of Gold Dust Woman, a song from the band's most famous album Rumours as having "too much hammy latitude". I'm sorry but that is completely criminal to even suggest that!

I am unsure of who exactly wrote the article but one thing for certain is that I completely disagree with their thoughts on the portrayal of Gold Dust Woman. On both occasions that I have been lucky enough to see Fleetwood Mac live in concert I've left the show both mesmerised and raving about Gold Dust Woman. I even described that particular song on both instances as my favourite performance of the entire concert. The portrayal of Gold Dust Woman that I witnessed was absolutely breath-taking and most definitely a work of art. With that in mind I cannot help but wonder if the gig reviewer was actually at the same concert as me in the first place?

Yes, I do not for one second dispute that what I saw was dramatic but the way in which Stevie Nicks portrays the drama within the song and in her live performances is extremely tasteful. I felt that the review I came across looked at Gold Dust Woman in a negative light and didn't give it the credit that it truly deserves.

Firstly, what I'd like to ask the author of the review if the opportunity were to arise is 'have you actually read and studied the lyrics of the song? Have you ever considered what the song is really about?' Yes, we'll never fully discover the exact meaning behind it and of course there will always be the element of mystery behind the songs we all know and love but it's always interesting to have some sort of knowledge and understanding of the lyrics. I personally have spent time over the past few years studying the lyrics and to some degree I think I've sussed the meaning behind the words. Having intently watched Stevie perform Gold Dust Woman live on two occasions and again, via video footage posted on YouTube I feel that my interpretation of the song lyrics accurately gels with the story Stevie tells on stage through music and movement. Then again I could be completely wrong but that's the beauty of interpretation and I'm sure the same lyric will mean something completely different to every set of ears that listens to it. I truly admire the fact that artists and musicians alike can quite literally create a work of art by channelling their inner thoughts and feelings; they put their blood, sweat and tears into it and at times I'm sure could easily give up. But for whatever reason they don't and something encourages them to go on and well, the final result they've created can then go on to touch and inspire the lives of so many others. People look at a piece of art or listen to a piece of music and instantly relate to someone else who once felt the same thoughts and emotions as they did. Music is both calming and comforting in that way and that's one of the many reasons I love it so much.

Anyway, the long in the short of what I'm really trying to say is that what I saw and what the other person saw were evidently two very different things. Opposites to be precise. The reviewer saw the performance as over the top, dramatic or "hammy" as they described it, whereas I saw something hauntingly beautiful and filled with power. That is one of the many reasons why I alongside many others love and admire Stevie Nicks. Her beauty and her individuality is something that stands out and separates her from other female singers in the music industry; past, present and future. I do not believe that there will ever be another singer/performer like her and that is exactly why she'll be remembered; for being herself and expressing herself and through Gold Dust Woman she does just that!

Take That: Thursday 30th April 2015, The SSE Hydro Arena Glasgow

 

 

Last week my Mum and I took a little moment of madness after seeing footage of Take That's first show of their UK tour on ITV's This Morning. The TV footage of their opening night convinced us to phone the venue's box office and see if there were any tickets left for one of the Glasgow gigs. We were pleasantly surprised when we soon discovered that there were in fact tickets still available for the third show of the tour on Thursday 30th April 2015 at The SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow!

We arrived at the venue with plenty of time to spare so that we could pick up our last minute tickets from the box office. Fortunately, we arrived after the arena doors were opened-standing outside in the cold didn't sound so appealing!

At any of my previous visits to The Hydro I have always been seated in the accessible/wheelchair seating on the ground level. However, on this occasion we were seated in the wheelchair area on the second floor and had no idea what exactly to expect. Both my Mum and I were extremely impressed with both the assistance I recieved and seating we were designated. Due to the nature of the show, sitting on the second level gave us a fabulous view of every angle on the entire stage. Had we been seated on the ground level we'd not have seen the show in as much detail.

At around half past seven the show began with Take That's support act, 2012 X Factor contestant Ella Henderson. She performed a set of songs featured on her debut album Chapter One. This included songs such as Glow and Ghost both of which have been pretty successful here in the UK. After hearing her sing live, I have to say that Ella has a really strong and impressive voice.

Around an hour later, at eight thirty the lights dimmed after a short interval and the show began. It all started with the dancers on stage; there was so much going on from every angle. Some of the dancers were sporting what I would describe as Inspector Gadget type jackets and hats. A threesome in matching apparel appeared out of nowhere, marching their way round the long walk way connecting stage A and B. Loud cheers from the audience surrounding the stage filled the air, so my guess was that it was actually Take That themselves! As they reached the part of the walkway nearest to where my Mum and I were seated, they literally walked down into the floor below them and disappeared! I couldn't quite believe my eyes!

Before I knew it they reappeared dressed in colourful suits from behind a raised block on the main stage. Within a short period of time the colour scheme within the staging and dancers outfits had transformed from cold blue tones to a carnival of colours! Bursting into the first track "I Like It" from their latest album the show had well and truly begun. The opening song was then followed by "Love Love", "Greatest Day" and another of their recent tracks "Get Ready For It" where flames were seen shooting up from the stage throughout the chorus. My goodness! You could really feel the heat from the fire! One could only begin to imagine the heat on stage.

After a couple more songs "Hold Up The Light" and "Patience" came what I personally would describe as probably my favourite part of the entire show. The performance of "The Garden" was simply breath-taking and magical! During the song a large curtain was pulled round the walkway and audience in the middle (I'm not very good at describing what the stage looked like but hopefully the photos will make a little more sense!). Using a projector silhouettes were projected onto the curtain to create a shadow puppet show which was stunning and extremely clever! The curtains were then pulled back to reveal the most amazing underwater scene. There were huge fluorescent jellyfish bobbing up and down as well as underwater plants in many different shapes and sizes swaying as if they really were under the sea. You really had to be there in person to fully experience the magic, let's just say that it was completely out of this world!

Next in line was "Up All Night", "Said It All" and a cover of Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" which started as a ballad but quickly escalated into an upbeat, dance track which had everyone dancing. During "Let In The Sun" a huge globe soared through the air above the audience's heads to the second stage where it was lowered within reach of the cast/dancers. Each dancer produced glowing panels from boxes which they attached to the globe. A gymnast got inside the "sun" and performed a spectacular routine as the globe was slowly lifted back into the air. Once reaching its peak point sparks came flying out of it as it gracefully spun round and around. This was another of the many reasons why this show was so spectacular.

 

 

"Affirmation" started with Howard standing on a raised tier playing a single electric drum pad (I think that's what it's called) and was soon joined by Gary and Mark on either side. All three were dressed in what looked like a cross between a raincoat (like the ones worn in the film Singing In The Rain) and a white doctors coat. As the song ended and 'The Flood" soon began the coats made a little more sense. The room darkened there was a thunderstorm consisting of both loud rumbles and flashes of lightning. Their coats came alive, with an 'electrical' image projected onto them. Pretty cool! The choir seated on stage pulled out umbrellas as it actually began to rain right there on stage!

"Flaws" another of the tracks featured on Take That's latest album came next. The performance I witnessed during this song was extremely powerful and full of emotion. As Gary Barlow took place on lead vocals both Mark Owen and Howard Donald poured every ounce of their energy into an absolutely breath-taking piece of choreography. It was simply stunning.

Within minutes we were then transported to China in "Relight My Fire". There was a Chinese Geisha, warriors and even a Chinese dragon! A set of three stools were then brought out for a more intimate setting as they introduced their backing band and proceeded to perform "Back For Good" followed by "Pray" which gave the audience a flashback to the 90s with those classic Take That dance moves.

Another highlight for me personally, was during a song named "Portrait" where the band climbed aboard a bike and pedalled up into the air. For the duration of the song they soared through the sky above the audience heads whilst waving to their fans. I have never seen anything like this done before at a concert-it was so cool! It also meant that people like my Mum and I who were seated on either the second or third floor got a closer view of the band.

A performance of their recent hit "These Days" came next before the audience were treated to "Rule The World" a track they released back in 2006 for the soundtrack of a film named Stardust. Again, this was another atmospheric performance as the audience slowly waved their phones in their air at the band's request. As I gazed around the room there were what looked liked hundreds of tiny stars twinkling in the night sky. I can only imagine just how beautiful that must be standing there on stage.

The final two songs "Shine" and "Never Forget" were real crowd-pleasers. I don't think there was one person sitting still in the audience, even the event staff were dancing!

Take That most definitely put on an incredible show; within the space of just over two hours so much happened. I would urge anyone out there to go catch one of their shows-you'll not be disappointed!

Queen & Adam Lambert: The SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow 2015

 

Ever since I was little I have enjoyed listening to the music of the legendary, world famous rock band Queen. Their music is extremely influential to me alongside so many others out there. I mean who doesn't know their catalogue of hit songs such as We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and Somebody to Love?

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I'd see them in concert! From experience I've discovered that dreams do in fact come true. Last Wednesday one of my dreams actually came true; I finally had the opportunity to see Queen in concert!

A couple of months ago Queen announced that they'd be touring the UK, one of the shows happened to be at Glasgow's newest concert venue The SSE Hydro Arena. Of course I had to buy tickets, I could not have missed the opportunity to see them live!

The entire show was absolutely amazing from start to finish; up until now Fleetwood Mac had topped my list as my all-time favourite concert. Queen however, may have just knocked them off the top, I seriously thought I'd never see another band put on a show at such a high standard!

 

Adam Lambert, a former contest from the popular TV show American Idol is currently touring with Queen as their lead singer. I was already familiar with some of Adam's work but decided to do a little more research by checking out footage of his performances on YouTube. After watching a few videos I knew I was in for a real treat-I was extremely impressed! Seeing Adam perform in person was even better than I had initially expected. His vocals are phenomenal! There are very few people out there who can sing Queen songs and pull it off like Adam did.

 

From around twenty minutes before the show started the sounds of instruments could be heard, there were blasts of smoke which were also used at points during the show. Bizarrely, even the noise of what sounded like a helicopter filled the room. I still haven't quite worked out where it came from but nevertheless it definitely hyped the audience up.

Unlike a lot of bands I've seen they arrived on stage as scheduled at exactly quarter past eight. The arenas lights dimmed and the music began. There was a large curtain covering the stage where a large silhouette of Brian May playing guitar appeared. Moments later the curtains parted revealing the band that we all braved such a cold winter's night to see. As you can imagine by this point the room had erupted in cheers as they performed the opening number One Vision. I sat there and found myself remembering watching one of Queen's concerts on television when I was younger. There was all the lights and smoke that had made it look so spectacular on television and seeing it right in front of me gave me a rush of adrenaline.

 

Before long the famous bass line of my favourite Queen song Another One Bites the dust filled the room. I have been learning to play bass myself and this is one of the songs that have really inspired me as a bass player. It is such catchy song that I am so pleased to have been able to hear performed live.



Adam Lambert

Killer Queen was an absolutely brilliant way of showcasing just how much of a showman Adam Lambert is. The performance that he brought to the Glasgow audience whilst singing Killer Queen for me, was definitely one of the highlights of the entire concert. If you're having a bad day it's definitely worth checking out Killer Queen videos on YouTube as its sure to put a smile on your face.

 

 

Following a few of Queen's other electrical hits we were treated to an acoustic set on the B stage. The B stage shaped like a circle sits out amongst the audience connected by a walkway leading to the main stage. By having a secondary stage it allows the audience to have an up close and personal experience with the band.

Speaking from the view point of a wheelchair user; I've never had the opportunity to see any of my favourite bands up close due to where the accessible seating is situated. The Hydro is definitely one of the better venues I've visited when it comes to accessible seating however the stage is still a fair distance away. On this occasion it was great to see a performance in more detail from the disabled area. I would love to see more bands provide this sort of experience for their fans.

Brian May

 

Brian May treated the audience to a beautiful and heartfelt acoustic performance of Love Of My Life in tribute to their legendary frontman Freddie Mercury. It was one of the moments where the audience sing along and the atmosphere feels simply magical. The miniature acoustic set continued with Brian singing  a song named '39. I really love acoustic performances during a show as you really get to hear the power and emotion in someone's voice.

 

On opening night of the UK tour in Newcastle, Brian used his selfie stick to take a selfie or two with the audience in the background. In Glasgow he decided to change things a little and this time took a panoramic photograph of the entire audience which was posted to his social media accounts and website. It's pretty cool to be in the photograph despite the fact I'm struggling to actually find myself amongst the crowd!

 

Roger Taylor and his son Rufus, took to stage and had a drum battle. A set of drums was set up on the B stage and the actual drum kit on the main stage was used too. Although at this exact minute I cannot remember who played on which stage. 

There was also the most spectacular guitar solo performed by Brian May. I was in awe watching and listening to such a breath-taking performance. The guitar solo has a sort of sci-fi type feel to it, I could picture the images of space ships, planets and stars that fill our solar system. That's what I like about music, it can take you to a completely different world and really provoke your thoughts and emotions.

 

As the solo drew to close they blasted into back to back hit after hit consisting of Tie Your Mother Down, I Want It All, Radio GaGa and then of course everyone's favourite Bohemian Rhapsody!



Bohemian Rhapsody



Adam started by singing Bohemian Rhapsody before the stage lights faded and a video of Freddie singing appeared on screen much to the crowd's approval. They even had footage from the music video for those famous operatic parts-it was so cool! Of course to top it off Brian came on and preformed that amazing guitar solo! 



 I don't know about you but have you ever seen one of those pictures on social media where it mentions that familiar moment where you find yourself singing all of the different parts during Bohemian Rhapsody? Well I put my hand up and admit that I do-I suppose it's just too hard not to!

When Bohemian Rhapsody sadly came to an end Queen vanished off the stage leaving the room to fade into darkness. Minutes later a piper appeared on stage playing Scotland's iconic instrument (the bagpipes) as an introduction to We Will Rock You. By this point the entire audience were chanting the lyrics to We Will Rock You. The atmosphere was incredible with the crowd singing and clapping along, I don't think it's possible to listen to that song and not join in. 

 

The entire band entered on to the stage once again welcomed by the crowds seal of approval towards the Scottish themed intro. Adam was dressed in a leopard print suit, gold coloured shoes and a crown encrusted with sparkly gems. His gold toned attire perfectly matched golden confetti that fell from the ceiling as they brought the show to a close singing We Are The Champions. I even managed to catch a couple pieces of confetti to keep as small reminder of the gig.

Overall, the show was absolutely amazing! I knew it would be good but didn't expect it to be that good! I really hope that I'll have the chance to see them in concert again one day. If any of you get the opportunity to see them live; don't think twice! It's worth every single penny! You won't be disappointed-promise!