Simple Plan Live! 22/03/16

I can't remember the exact age I was when I discovered Simple Plan but, I'm going to guess that I was about thirteen years old. The first song that I heard by them was called, "When I'm gone" and I instantly fell in love with the track. Before that, all I really listened to was Green Day, Avril Lavigne and the Plain White T's other than that I'd listen to whatever was playing on the radio. It's crazy for me to think now that just a few days ago I watched Simple Plan perform live and that I was in the same room as them. I don't go to many "big gigs" really so, I'm easily starstruck. I didn't quite freeze in front of them though. I went with my friend Chantelle and we got a decent spot on the Balcony to see all the crowd overhead. The gig wasn't sold out but, my it was busy. The view of the stage from where we was was pretty decent because of the height, we stood close to the sticky balcony railings all night, even going with out refreshments to make sure nobody could take our spot.

Before Simple Plan played there were two support acts. One was called 'The Bottom Line", they were from London and the other was called, "Ghost Town" those guys were from California. The Bottom Line opened up the gig, I can't remember what song they started with or ended with because I still don't really know their songs. I did't know any on the night, I remember having a look at their music a couple of weeks before but, I couldn't remember what either of the bands sounded like. Ghost Town seemed a little heavier but mostly because of the vocals. They're only a three piece band (Vocals, guitar, drums no bass) but, still managed to make a rather big impression. I think a lot of people were still questioning why they didn't play first though because they didn't get the crowd moving as much. The Bottom Line managed to get much more audience participation and even took a chance with a odd kind of stage dive. Someone came on stage with an air bed with "H.M.S BOTTOMLINE" written on the side with yellow electrical tape and he managed to do it too for a good minute, he was a little shaky though and did look like he was going to fall at any moment.

Once Ghost Town had finished, it seemed a big wait for Simple Plan. If I remember right Ghost Town finished at about 20:45pm and Simple Plan where scheduled to be on stage for 21:05. Both myself and my friend still didn't move, we were quite content watching them set up the stage. They had four huge white cabs. They were already onstage but, hidden by a cloth until later. I couldn't tell the model from where I was sat but I believe them to be the same as the ones the used in the music video for one of their newer songs, "Boom". From where we were stood we could see some of backstage storage space and could mostly see where all of Simple Plans guitars were kept. They brought so many with them for one show but, as a guitarist myself I find it understandable.

When it was finally time, the whole room lit in red. They started off with the first Track, "Opinion Overload"from their new album, "Taking One For The Team" and then followed on with the second track, "Boom". Thankfully they didn't just play songs from their new album, they actually played quite a selection from their complete discography. I'd Do Anything, I'm Just A Kid, Shut Up, Jump, Crazy, Your Love Is A Lie, Jet Lag, Astronaut, The Rest of Us - Just to mention a few. I managed to get a lot of footage of this gig. I was quite happy to stand and record for a while. I recorded about severn minutes of the two support acts and then another fifty minutes of Simple Plan. I'm not quite sure how my camera lasted that long (battery wise), I knew I should have had enough space because I used a 32GB micro SD.

I think the only problem I had with the night was that it was over so soon. I think I would give anything for them to come back and play next year. They did say at the concert that t had been quite a while since they had lasted played in Nottingham. Oh, and now I have another new poster for my wall, two band T-shirts, a necklace and a keyring. All Simple Plan of course. I did decide to buy The Bottom Line's album though because I quite enjoyed them, I managed to convince my friend to buy a copy too but, I managed to get their lead singer Matt to sign the Disc for me.

Something To Look Forward To

A couple of days ago on Facebook, YouTuber Stuart Ashen (Ashens) announced that he will be doing a book signing tour and I personally can't be more happier with the locations. I was so happy to read that he has decided to come to Waterstones in Nottingham! As terrible as I am, all of this excitement made me buy on of his t-shirts so I could wear it when I get to meet him on the 9th of December.

I should be receiving a limited edition of his book via the post soon because from what I remember he said once they have been signed he will be shipping them today. I'm not entirely sure what else I would want signing by him. Maybe one of the Chef Excellence Post-it notes so then I can stick it to my bed or something and prove to him that I was one of the idiots that brought some of his merchandise. I do still love my leather mini brown sofa phone holder though, I had to make a quick fix on the figure that I have of him though. I had to buy glue and everything because I broke his legs. I don't even know how.

I actually can't wait to meet him!!

The Piano Guys Came To Nottingham!!!

The Piano Guys performing What Makes You Beautiful
at The Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, UK.

I had been waiting for this for far too long and finally the day has passed. I brought three tickets back in October, I believe and then my dad brought another. Even though my dad decided not to go after an arguement I still managed to fully enjoy myself. I invited on of my friends along at the last minute to ensure the ticket my dad brought got used as they were all very good seats. I sat on seat E28, just five rows from the front so I had a very clear view of the stage. I got so excited just as the show was about to start. Before the lights dimmed I was watching the right hand side of the stage very closely, mainly watching the tech guy on stage. The exciting moment is what happened next. In the far corner I saw Steven Sharp Nelson lean over to him. It was that moment when I realised that I was so close to my heros.

Just after the intermission after Steven had finished his solo set, something special happened. During the intermission my mum must have gone up to the stage guy and requested this but, I was unaware of what she had said exactly. Anyway, next minute after Steven had finished doing an impression of a cow with his cello, Jon Schmidt had something to announce... That it was my birthday!! (Well, not quite but what are the chances of them actually playing on the 28th of June?) This made me so happy. The played me a short birthday song. Literally. It was so funny.

I have followed The Piano Guys since way back when I was studying in my second year at college for my first year of my BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Music Performance. If I remember rightly, that was way back at the end of 2011. I have been following these four guys over the internet for nearly FOUR YEARS!!!!!!

I really wanted to go and see them live last year, here in the UK but, the venues just seemed so far away. I'm so glad that they came to Nottingham and would gladly welcome them back again. I am already planning to get VIP tickets next year, I'm way too excited about it.

November

It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday, I played a gig at the golden fleece in Nottingham and the day before, performed and NCN  both with my band. I really enjoyed both of them, my band zebra crossing is really coming along, even though I do think we need a much bigger set list. At the moment we have still got about 45 minutes worth of a set list.  We are practicing again this Sunday but, I think we will be mostly working on what we already know but I'm unsure we might learn new song whether it be a cover or an original. We are always want to learn new songs.

At the moment, I have a side project on the way as well. I don't want to reveal too much about it right now because.. well, I'm trying to keep it a secret for now! Before I can make a side project happen, I need to invest in some new equipment. I want to buy another condenser mic so I can capture more high quality sounds, I want to get a new amplifier which would have to be quite a loud one for my guitar.

I thought for a change I should upload a photo of myself. For a change, I have actually bothered to straighten my hair properly. It's getting quite long now, the kind of long where if I don't do anything with it, it looks terrible.

Thanks, for all of the Support!

I'm going to be posting more regularly on here now, mostly about my band Zebra Crossing.

Yesterday, saw the release of our video of us playing our new song 'Drunk on Tequila'. Over the last day and a half, this video is nearly at 200 views. It's good to know we have some strong support behind us now and with our Facebook fan page increasing with 'likes' everyday, we are so lucky. I wanted to put out a massive to everyone for all the support so far, even if it was something as simple as liking our page, subscribing or even taking the time out to watch one of our videos on YouTube., so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

At the moment, we are still working on the website and will be practicing again later on this evening, hopefully to learn so more songs to add to our setlist!

See you on the next post.

http://www.youtube.com/zebracrossing1212
https://www.facebook.com/zebracrossingofficial
https://twitter.com/ZebraCrossing13