So I decided to start this thread cos in the next 3 days I'll follow the ladies on their first UK tour. (Let's face it,last year was London only so it was not a tour!) Now,this year it's 5 shows and I will attend to 3 of them,so as a surprise to the ladies when they got home,I'll write down my thoughts about the shows. For the sake of other readers,and because I'm not a novelist I'll try to be as short as possible. So let's begin now... Show numero uno:Cardiff,Wales Arrived to the venue at the time that was on the ticket...the show started 2 hours and 15 minutes later. I was thirsty as fuck,but because I was in the first row,I couldn't care less,I wanted to be as close as possible. Half an hour before the start Courtney appeared on the stage,and I don't know if she remembered me from last year,but when I said "Hey Court!" to her,she shook my hand. (The people right next to me was about as surprised as myself!) Welsh people do not get easily excited so it started a bit lukewarm,but after Kirsten came out with a welsh flag for the Trooper,all of a sudden the whole crowd became crazy. The venue was pretty small and sold out,which means around 300 people,but if the ladies are gonna come back next year,they'll have to find a bigger venue,that's for sure! It's a smart move that they play strictly classic songs here,with some surprise like Flash of the blade or Rime. So,yeah...it was a glorious night for the ladies and for the crowd as well! By the time of the encore songs the crowd became so crazy,that an actual moshpit started! All in all,I believe this will be an excellent week for me. It's Reading tomorrow,and Nikki and Linda promised that they'll play Alexander the Great instead of Rime tomorrow night!!! Can u believe it? Just cos I asked them! I can't find the words to describe how lovely is this band...really! So,instead of words,here's some nice pix,I managed to do with my crappy phone,and more to come tomorrow night! Can't wait!!! No picture of Nikki,cos she didn't come to my side of the stage. I will be on her side tomorrow night! TO BE CONTINUED....
As a PS to the previous post....with the exception of Courtney,who left earlier than the others,finally I was able to have a bit of chat with everyone. I said it earlier that this little band rules when it comes to being nice with the fans...what can I say?...I have never been as smitten in my whole life as I am tonight!
Day no.2 - Reading I said I'll try to keep it short. Basically only a few things were different from last night. For example the crowd. It was crazy beyond imagination. Another full house,technically it wasn't sold-out,but it was seriously packed. The setlist was different as well. They played my Alexander the Great (thank you ladies!) and a very nice surprise Powerslave. I have always been very well aware of the excellent musicianship in this band,but tonight Kirsten found some extra oomph,cos she sang unbelievably great. And I was not the only one who noticed,she earned a few well-deserved appreciation from the crowd! At the end of the show,they had to play an extra encore song,cos the crowd won't let them go! Well...they say pictures worth thousands of words:
And let me share my personal favorite pic from tonight's show... (Immediately reminded me to the title of a famous Stevie Wonder song )
And finally ( ) day no 3 Leamington Spa Beautiful,big venue with a 1000 capacity...almost full! Wow! Friday afternoon traffic in Britain is a nightmare so I got there later than usual,but luckily still managed to be in the front row,so that's a big pheew... Setlist was similar to the first night,with the addition of Fear of the Dark and the Prisoner. I was trying to vote for Alexander again,but the majority of the crowd wanted Rime,so meh. Anyway,another great night,but sadly the last one.
So to sum it up,it was an excellent week. Ladies,thank you for everything,and I seriously do hope you will return next year. Oh,and another thing...if next year,you will have any trouble in the travel department (ie. got stuck in Cardiff because of the overloaded van and has to use train) just give me a call,and I will take you anywhere with my own car,for free! No bullshit,I'll do it! Have a great EU tour,and hopefully we can do this again next year! Love y'all! ...and now I pass the torch to Jenna to write something about the gig that she saw!
Thanks so much for the awesome recap E.O.G.!!!! Sorry this is so shamefully late, but better late than never, I suppose! I truly hope to return to the UK soon! We had an absolute blast there!!!! \m/