What to bring to a concert/festival?

When I first went to a concert I had no idea what to take with me. I decided to write a post on what to take with you to a concert or festival, so you won’t make the same mistakes I did. This is just some tips and advice on what to bring to a concert or festival.

The 1975 concert review and experience

This month I went to see the British band ‘The 1975’ in concert, and they were amazing!

The 1975 performing. Credits: bandsandblogs.blogspot.com

The venue the concert was in, was really small. There were only 400 tickets available but it was all sold out. When I arrived at the venue it was already quite busy and it was busier than I expected it to be. From my experience at the Foster the People concert a few years ago, everyone else arrived at the gig fifteen minutes before the doors opened. I thought that The 1975’s gig would sort of be the same and everyone would just arrive right before it started, but that was not the case.

The venue went open and we walked in. It was already quite busy in front of stage so I decided to buy some merchandise first. They had about six different kinds of t-shirts and I bought a white one with their logo on it, a photo of something that looks like a room and the word “Facedown”.

The T-shirt I got (also available here)

Even though there were already a lot of people in front of the stage, on the left side of the stage there still was some space to stand. I ended up being in about the third/fourth row, but there was some really tall photographer in front of me so I couldn’t really see that well. Their support act was some local band called  ‘The Mojo Filters’, they weren’t bad but not really great either. After that ‘The 1975’ entered the stage.

After they sang their first few songs the very tall photographer left and there was a really tall and big security guard standing right next to the stage. The security guard actually looked really scary, and he suddenly went up to me right after the photographer left. He told me to get closer to the stage, cause he obviously saw that I couldn’t see that well when that tall lad was in front of me. So I walked closer to the stage but then he just like sort of pushed me even closer to the stage, so I was right in front of the stage even in front of the barrier – I was basically closer to the stage than everyone on the front row. I was literally right in front of Adam – the guitarist.

They started off with their song ‘The City’, which is actually one of my favourite songs. They sang the more popular songs from their album like ‘Settle Down’ and ‘Girls’, but also some less known songs. All of it sounded really good though. My favourite songs they performed were ‘She Way Out’ and ‘Heart Out’ because I really like the vibe of the songs. They finished the night with the songs ‘Robbers’, ‘Sex’ and ‘Chocolate’ and it sounded really amazing. 

The setlist of the evening

What to wear to a gig in Spring

Last Fall/Autumn I made my first ‘what to wear to a gig in…’. I really liked writing that article so I decided to make one for Spring as well, with Spring outfits. Big disclaimer: I am not sponsored by any of these shops and these are just sets of outfits I made. I picked these shops because I like shopping there myself, and because most of these shops ship worldwide.

Cute:
Mint green is the colour of this season. The mint colour is bright, so it will fit perfectly with black. The ‘BORED’ croptop will look amazing on the mint green high waisted skirt and the knee socks will complete the entire outfit and will look really cute with the Converse’. The complete outfit looks cute and well put together.

1. Bored Floral Crop Top – Forever21 – £8,75 – €10,75 – $10,80
2. Circular Skirt Mint Green – H&M – £9,99 – €14,95 – $14,95
3. Striped Top Knee High Socks – Boohoo.com – £4,00 – €6,00 – $10,00
4.Chuck Taylor Fresh Colors Peppermint – Converse – $55

Casual chic:
The black dress with the sheer parts looks really chic. The navy knee socks are adorable and the holographic chunky boots with the buckles look stunning with the dress. The floral headband is what makes the entire outfit more casual, and ideal for a music festival.

 1. Mesh Dress – H&M – £12,99 – €17,95 – $17,95
2. Holographic Buckle Chunky Boot – Boohoo.com – £35,00 – €45,00 – $65,00
3. Knee High Socks Navy – Boohoo.com – £4,00 – €6,00 – $10,00
4. Mixed Flower Hair Garland – Claire’s – £10,00 – €12,99

Stylish:
This outfit is perfect for a festival outside. The pineapple jeans is very cute and dorky, and fits perfectly with the Nirvana top. Because it’s not summer yet, the long-sleeved top will keep you warm while you are watching your favourite bands.  The floral sunglasses and the daisy bracelet keep the ‘festival-theme’ going.

1. Nirvana Crop Top – Forever 21 – £12,75 – €15,75 – $15,80
2. Moto Pineapple Print Joni Jeans – Topshop – £38,00 – €50,00 – $70,00
3. Polka Dot Lace Up Boots – Boohoo.com – £25,00 – €30,00 – $45,00
4. Round Floral Trim Glasses – Boohoo.com – £12,00 - €16,00 – $26,00
5. Daisy Charm Bracelet – Claire’s – £5,50 – €6,99

Links to the shops:
H&M
Forever21
Boohoo
Converse
Claires
Topshop

R5 Louder tour review

Less than a month ago I went to see the amazing R5 in concert, and they smashed it!

Ross and Rydel performing. Picture credits: Tom van Alphen

The concert was actually last minute planned for me – two days before. I wanted to go to the concert ever since I heard about it, but it was sold out. Somehow two days before the show, there suddenly were two tickets available, and not even the worst seats in the house either. So I quickly ordered the tickets. Because I ordered it at the very last minute, the tickets couldn’t be sent to me so I had to pick them up right before the concert – but in reality I was honestly scared that something went wrong with the order and I just ended up getting excited for nothing. The tickets were – thank god! – ready for me at the box-office.

The venue opened and we walked in and I went to the merchandise stand straight away. I bought their black Louder tour T-shirt with all of the European tourdates on the back, a white bracelet with ‘Louder’ written on it in red and their signature guitar pick necklace with ‘R5’ on it in pink.

Louder bracelet and R5 necklace

Then we walked into the room and it was smaller than I thought it would be, but I was further away from the stage than I expected – if that makes sense – but of course I didn’t mind that much cause I was already happy that I even had the tickets. After a while of sitting and waiting, Ryland – Lynch; Rocky, Riker, Rydel and Ross their little brother – went on the stage and did his DJset. It was really much fun and he just played top 40 songs like ‘Timber’ by Ke$ha and Pitbull, ‘I Choose U’ by Timeflies ‘Die Young’ by Ke$ha, and ‘Clarity’ by Zedd. He really pumped up the audience and it was a lot of fun to watch. After Ryland finished his set he went to the back to work the lights, like he always does at the shows. Not much later the tunes of ‘We Are Family’ started playing and everyone got really excited, because we all knew that after the song they would come onto the stage.

So not much later the four Lynch’s and Ratliff entered the stage and started off with one of my favourite R5-tracks ‘Forget About You’, which directly caused the audience to jump up and sing along at the top of their lungs. Not only did they sing every single track from their album ‘Louder’, they also sang a cover of the song ‘Counting Stars’ from One Republic and sang a song from the TVshow Austin & Ally – Ross plays the lead in that show. They also did a little acoustic set-up for one of their songs, ‘One Last Dance’ but they rocked out to the rest of the songs. One of my favourite songs they performed live was ‘Love Me Like That’, a song with Rydel in the lead. The intro sounds amazing live, especially with the drums. The song itself is just really dorky, quirky and girly, which I like a lot. The song ‘Ain’t No Way We’re Going Home’ is amazing live because it’s just really rockin’. I also liked ‘Pass Me By’ a lot, because Rocky played the acoustic guitar in it so it’s a bit more stripped back  compared to the other songs. They ended the evening with their biggest hit ‘Loud’ and literally everyone was screaming back the words and going crazy, which was absolutely great.

Riker (and Ratliff) performing. Picture credits: Tom van Alphen

The concert was really great and I think that R5 is one of the most underrated bands. Lots of people think they are a “Disney band” just because Ross plays the role of Austin Moon in Austin & Ally, but R5 is way more than that. There are lots of people who see R5 as “Ross Lynch’s band” or even “Austin Moon’s band”, but it really isn’t only about Ross it’s about Rocky, Riker, Rydel, Ellington AND Ross. I think if people give them a chance and would actually give them a proper listen, they might end up liking them a lot.

Steel Threads

This acoustic duo has a mix of rock, pop and country. Neil plays the guitar, bass drum and vocals and Laura plays the violin and vocals. Their debut album came out in 2012 and was called ‘Timing is Everything’ and their second album ‘For Those Who Are Left’ was released in 2013. It’s definitely worth a listen and a download. The song ‘The Boy Who Lost His Way’ is by far my favourite song on the album.

Picture credits: Steel Threads

Questions & Answers:
I had a little interview with Laura.
Q: If you had to describe your music in three words, what words would you use?

A: Unique, Acoustic, Power

Q: What is the best thing about being on stage, and performing for your fans?

A: The adrenaline rush of playing on a big stage to a large crowd such as when we have supported "The South" (former Beautiful South) is difficult to beat. However, we have also played small venues and it feels great when people really get involved and sing along and dance to our original material.

Q: Who would you like to tour with in the future?

A: We'd love to tour with Crowded House or Counting Crows since they're both similar to us in the sense they are a bit rock, a bit acoustic, a bit indie, and a bit pop - they appeal to a non-specific audience. It'd be a dream come true to work with the re-formed Fleetwood Mac on their tour as they are a big influence to us.

Q: Who is your biggest musical inspiration?

A: Neil decided he would be a musician after listening to "No Quarter" by Led Zeppelin when he was young. I was a big fan of Vanessa-Mae as a child, but we both have a strong musical energy within us and we actually seem to inspire each other now!

Q: In a year from now, what do you think/hope that you'll be doing?

A: We've done pretty well in gaining festival slots for summer 2014 and we're hoping to build on that next year with bigger higher profile festivals. We really love the atmosphere and crowds at festivals! We're also continuously writing new material, so I have no doubt that 2015 will see us releasing another album - watch this space!

Q: Give one good reason why people should go out to see you live, and get your music.

A: Because when they see a guitar and a violin set up, people tend to assume we will be dreary or boring - but they soon realise they are mistaken!

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"Perfect" role models

The last few days I’ve been thinking about if there is actually such a things as a “perfect role model”. Especially since Justin Bieber has been in the news recently, after he has been arrested for drunk driving and trying to have a car race. People had their opinion ready; ‘Justin disappointed their Beliebers, he should be a role model for them’ and ‘Justin made one mistake, we shouldn’t judge him from that’, was all over twitter. People said that the police should not have arrested him because he wasn’t driving and brought no one in danger, but other people said that they were happy that the police stopped Justin from doing a car race because he could’ve brought himself and the people around him in danger. All of this made me think of something; what exactly is a “perfect role model”, and is there even such thing?

What is a “good role model”?

If you’d ask me, a role model is someone who encourage their fans to be themselves. Someone who shows them that with the right attitude, they can do everything they want. Someone who tells them that if they stay grounded, they will accomplish everything they want. But do the idols follow their own advice? Do they stay grounded, or let they get the fame to their heads?

“Bad” role models?
Take a look at Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Dylan Sprouse and the list goes on. All of those stars are/were amazingly talented but let the fame get to their head. These are the stars that took their drug addiction, drink addiction and/or leaking (their own) nudes, a bit too far. Especially Miley Cyrus’ “transformation” was a huge shock last year. She cut her hair short and dyed it blonde, started “twerking”, sat naked on a wrecking ball, smoked weed on stage after winning an award, and many more things that shocked the world and her “Smilers”. And all of that just to get rid of her “Disney image” and show the world that she is no longer Hannah Montana.

Wakeup call
July 13 2013 was a huge shock to us all. Cory Montheith was found dead in his hotel room. After autopsy they found out that the cause of his dead was  an overdoses of heroin, morphine and alcohol which caused a drug toxicity. I think this was a huge wakeup call for fandoms and hopefully for idols as well.

“Good” role models?
Jennifer Lawrence seems to be a really popular role model nowadays with her great statements  of not changing her body for anyone, not losing weight for any role and eating whatever she wants. She is firmly against photoshop and isn’t ashamed of having less charming photos taken of herself.
“In the first movie, when it was obviously being talked about, like ‘It’s the Hunger Games, you have to lose ten pounds’. I said ‘We have control over this role model. Why would we make her something unobtainable and thin?’ This is a person that young girls would look up to, so why not make her strong? Why not make her beautiful and healthy and fit? I was very adamant about that, because I think that our industry doesn’t take enough responsibility for what it does to our society. I remember what it felt like to be 14 years old, looking at a Victoria Secret model and thinking, ‘I’ll never look like that’. I don’t want to make someone feel like that.” – Jennifer Lawrence.
With her famous quotes about being happy about your own body, Jennifer Lawrence seems to be a great role model (for now?) Let’s all hope that she doesn’t let the fame get to her head.