Busted Pigs Can Fly Tour | My Two Night Stand With The Busted Boys | They're On Fire!

Hellooooooo!!! Welcome back. 

These weeks are going SO quickly right now, it's cray cray (yep I just used that wording. Forgive me. Ha.)

The weather in the UK is also crazy right now, it's so freaking hot!! I can never regulate my body temperature, I am either too cold or too hot. Right now I am soooo hot I feel like I am melting from the inside out!! 

Woaaahhh man!! Just think of the episode of Friends when the boiler broke at their Christmas party. Yep that's how I am currently. 

Now onto the good stuff!!! 

Y'all know that Busted are BACK!!!! 

If you don't.... Just get out. 

Now, lets paint the picture... I was what 16-17 when I was into Busted. I am almost 29 now and my love for the boys never vanished along with their quitting of the band. 

I was totally smitten with Matt when I first heard their first song 'What I go to school for'. Then it switched to James then Charlie (in Fightstar). Now after seeing them all these years later... They are all freaking equally hot. They have done a good job of ageing!! 

But none of them are single!! "Booo". Ha.

Well played! 

I follow their accounts on Twitter, so when I saw that they were making a comeback after performing with McFly as McBusted in the previous months I freaked out!! 

Lits freaked out!! They were god damn touring!!!

I never got to see them when I was younger so I had to take this chance and go!! I bought the tickets back in Jan I think and the other week I went to their first concert. 

I got seats in the upper tiers, now I prefer to be right at the front of gigs because of my passion for taking awesome gig pics to capture certain moments. At this point I was just happy I was there. 

OMFG. 

It was AMAZING!!! I am not even exaggerating... IT WAS AWESOME!! 

The atmosphere was electric and in a weird way slightly emotional because after 12 years they were back and better than ever. They had new material too which I LOVE. And since then I have learnt that they are bringing out a new album in 2016. I am so happy and I will be the first to buy it! 

The way the tour has been set up is fantastic. Such thought had gone into the staging, dramatics and everything about it was exciting.

The tour is obviously called 'Pigs Can Fly' and there was this huge light up pig floating around the arena. Loved it. 

Wheatus and Emma Blackberry were support and they were great too. 

Leading up to Busted actually coming on stage the lights would flicker and so would the video footage on stage. This was one of my favourite parts. It built up the momentum. 

When the concert actually started the video footage would come on with this music theme that gave me goosebumps. The music arrangement to the lead up made it all so dramatic, I literally could of cried. History in the making for me. The screen shot to Matt, James and Charlie taking their pig masks off and then it went dark and the curtains fell to reveal the 'Pig Sty' on stage with fans (they had bought seperate tickets to be there) and their pig masks staring out at us. Just writing this is giving me goosebumps. 

* I did try to insert the video but it wouldn't load*

The crowd went wild, me included and then the boys came out of trap doors straight in front of their mics. 

They stood still. 

I lost my voice. Ha. 

And so it began! 

They started with their new song 'Coming Home' and I loved it.

 The energy was soul grabbing. I don't think I ever got it back. Ha. They played a whole lot of their old stuff which was amazing because they listened to the fans on Twitter when they asked what we wanted to hear and their new songs are really catchy and have some great hooks. 

When they sang 'Sleeping With The Lights On' the whole place went dark and each and everyone of us in that stadium had their phone lights on and were waving them the the beat of the song. 

This was magical and for me the pinnacle of the whole concert. It just showed a whole lot of love for the boys and that even though they have been out of the game for 12 years it's made no difference to the dedication we all have for the band. 

I didn't want the concert to end. 

Obviously it did and I was a mixture of happy and sad because I wanted to see them again!

Oh yeah...

I DID!!! 

That's right, they were THAT good I had to do it. 

They were going to the Barclay Card Arena in Birmingham and I tweeted to say I was really tempted to go. That's when Charlie tweeted me and said "do it". 

So I did! Easily persuaded. 

I couldn't afford to go but the seats were ground level near the stage. Papa Hutt wasn't best pleased he had to take me again (as there was no way I was driving to Birmingham) but I told him that Charlie told me to "do it" so I have to. :D

It worked. 

I was not prepared on Saturday (just gone) to find out where my seats were. 

I was a little lost and when I asked a random fan if they knew where I was going she pointed to the seats right in front of the OMFG zone. I was thinking 'this cannot be right' and was worried at any moment someone would tell me to move. Ha. 

The main stage was a little further back (not much) and then the OMFG zone was in the middle then the stage again in front of me. 

I was stoked man. I was so freaking happy that I could finally get some decent pictures and see them so close up. 

James's mic was right in front of me, then Charlie and Matt was furthest away. 

Watching them perform this time was even better. I just wish I had got to meet them.

Because I am a singer I always have a little day dream when I'm at a concert, of me singing/performing on the stage with the artist right there and then. 

Again, my dreams are bigger than my boobs. :) 

All in all it was the best money I have ever spent and yes that is over all the makeup I buy. Ha. 

The only thing that could of topped those nights would of been to attend a Michael Jackson concert and that ain't going to happen any time soon. 

Although, (I still think he's alive living in Bahrain)but that's another story!

Their vocals were on par, their banter was on point, the love was immense, the songs bought back so many memories for me and all in all I have fallen in love with them all over again. 

I still have their calendar and albums under my bed. After all those years! 

I cannot wait to attend the tour of their new album! 

Busted... You are and were on FIRE!! 

 I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

You can follow my blog here.

You can also find me on the following. 

Twitter: Leluroxxblogger

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Until next time... 

L X

WeArePlanes// The Intimate Planes Gig!!!

Oh hi. 

This afternoon I have another 'life' post for you, one of which is within the same genre as the last post. Music and gigs.

As you have guessed from the very obvious title to this post I will be indeed sharing my night at the Planes gig with y'all! 

Now, some of you may not of heard of the band Planes and if you haven't what are you playing at?! 

Okay, so a brief low-down. 

On my previous post I talked about the Placebo concert I went to, now the drummer Steve Forrest who used to be in Placebo left this year to focus solely on his band 'Planes'. I am SO glad he left Placebo (no offence intended) because now I have another band who I love as much. The band consist of five members, Steve, Charlotte, Ted, Dan and Ed and their new (self-released) album 'Hotfoot' is out to pre-order now. http://weareplanes.bandcamp.com/ (Go on click the link. :) 

Their music is frickin awesome, I never really knew about the band until I saw Steve on Twitter talking a lot more about them, so I thought I would listen to their stuff and oh my aren't I glad I did because their sound is very much up my street. It's melodic, energetic, thought provoking and beautiful. 

So, when I heard they were going to be doing a mini UK tour and were coming to Birmingham I had to get a ticket. 

15.04.15 was the day.

I was working on the day of the gig and I asked if I could have my lunch at the end of the day so I could get there in time. 

Dedication right there. 

Seriously now, I literally got stuck in every traffic jam going and I was getting so annoyed. Does anyone else get that, when they want to be somewhere quickly all the traffic lights go to red, you end up behind some stupid Sunday driver or you get stuck in queues? 

Well all of those happened to me. Now I believe in "everything happens for a reason" and now I know why I was stuck in all of that traffic, because when I arrived at the venue all the band members were outside. :O 

That happens to me every time I go to a gig, I seem to pull up right next to the artist(s) and then I freeze and miss my chance to talk to them. I just hate it when I see other people running up to musicians asking for pictures and autographs, because deep down I want to be one of those people but you end up falling into the 'groupie' category and that's not me. I just want to chat, hangout, get to know the person/people and yeah get a picture or autograph so I can do a blog post on them. 

Just like I am doing now. 

My parents took me the gig and my dad was like "isn't that Steve" as we pulled up to park. Ha, me being me I was like "oh I don't want to go over to them in case I invade their space" my dad literally forced me out of the car because he knows I am too polite ha ha. 

I had my massive boots on again ( I should of learnt from the Placebo gig) and strolled across the road to them hoping to god I didn't fall over. And I was SO surprised at how warm and welcoming they all were. I had been talking to Charlotte a lot on Twitter and occasionally Steve and Dan. And Charlotte gave me a lovely hug and I felt a lot more at ease. 

I turned to Steve and all I could manage at that point was a "hi" and he was so lovely and chatty I lost control of my limbs and went in for the hug. Now 'the hug' is a risky little game because you either go in for the kill and it's reciprocated or you get shot down and die right there on the spot. 

He gave me the nicest hug back and really made an effort to find out about myself and engage with me personally. I have never seen that from a band really before, I mean genuine interest and totally laidbackness. And Charlotte was talking to me like she knew me for like forever. I was really overwhelmed. 

It was very surreal and it just made me love them even more. 

I am not going to lie, as I didn't want to ask for a picture together as I was too shy, I sneakily took this shot of Steve. 

I'm like a stealth ninja ;) 

This post is going to be a long one if I don't get down to the 'gig' part. 

You ready? 

So this venue was a cute little pub in Birmingham which had this very cool walk through. 

   I went through to the staging area and YEEESSSSSS I was at the very front. I was loving life. 

The support band Jeremy & the Harlequins had flew in all the way from New York and they certainly had some character. They were so lively and raring to go. There wasn't loads and loads of people at the gig as Planes are relatively new but I found that better as you got an intimate gig and it felt somewhat personal. I think it was one of the best gigs I have been too! No joke. 

One of the members from Jeremy & the Harlequins, Craig, introduced himself to me whilst I was waiting for them to go on and handed me his mobile phone and asked me to take some pictures of their performance for him. 

Obviously I said yes, but he was rather trusting with his belongings. Good job I wasn't a chav that would of made way with it. Ha. 

Seeing as I took A LOT of pics/video's on his phone I didn't have much time to take my own but I did get an action shot!!!

They were really good and they had an 'Elvis' vibe going on which I thought was pretty cool. The music matched that vibe too. It was nice because I was listening to stuff that wouldn't usually interest me, but I found that I actually really enjoyed it. 

A really smooth and friendly band with charisma to boot. 

Planes were now on stage and I must say they are all bloody hot. A very good looking band indeed. They have amazing chemistry, highly talented and their songs are effortlessly catchy. Charlotte's violin broke that day so she carried on with the keyboard and you wouldn't of even known that the violin was meant to be in there. Highly skilled people. 

I am a singer with, what some people say, a 'unique voice', whether that's good or bad I don't know but when I go to see people that inspire me and who I respect as an artist, it makes me want to be on that stage even more and allows me to hang on to that dream a little longer. Planes showed that night that even with a small crowd that they were still going to give it their all and put on an electrifying performance and there was so much positive energy. 

All the songs they played I loved, especially 'Legs', 'My Own Way' 'Grinding Teeth' and 'Wait It Out'. If you want to hear any clips of me singing their stuff you will find it on my Instagram https://instagram.com/anythingbutordinaryleya/ or on my Twitter account https://twitter.com/leluroxxblogger

After the concert, they came and mingled with us at the bar, took photo's with us and signed our 'merch'. I really wanted photo's with each of them for this post and for my own memories but I was far to shy to ask and didn't want to annoy anyone. I wish I had of just asked now. 

Maybe next time? 

It was a real special night, one of which I will never forget and they are THE nicest band I have met to date I didn't expect them to speak to me let alone come and sit and talk with me after the show.

Their music is very 'now' and I cannot stop listening to it. When I buy into a band I do so generously and it is the same with other bands I love such as 'The Mirror Trap' who supported Placebo. 

I will leave you with some photo's I took of the gig. :) 

Charlotte

Steve & Dan

Ted (with the hair up), Dan & Ed (on the drums)

Rock'in the stage!!

  

I hope you liked reading about my thoughts and experiences and don't forget to go check them out, it will be something you won't regret. 

Peace. 

L x

Placebo Concert March 2015 // The Best Night Of My Life!!!

I have decided to do a different kind of post today and it's about something pretty close to my heart. 

Some of you may have heard of the amazing band Placebo and for those of you who have not... Where have you been all your life?! 

Words cannot really describe how much I love this band, they produce the most technically awesome music out there and even if you don't know who they are, you are bound to know one of their songs. 

I am not going to give you their biography, so what you waiting for? Go Google them!!:)

The hot front man Brian Molko, has the most alluring voice and a somewhat hypnotising stage presence. You cannot help but stare at him and even if he wasn't in a band he would still have the same effect on me. Why are all the good ones untouchable?! *sighs*

Brian writes frickin awesome songs that will always resonate with what ever you are feeling at the particular time, it's a skill not many musicians possess within the 'pop culture' this is real. 

Placebo as a band (who consist of Brian, Stefan and now Matt) produces 'real' music and when performing with the touring members you can feel a strong connection that makes live shows INCREDIBLE!!

Well...

On the 18th March 2015 I saw them live again for the 3rd time at the O2 Academy in Birmingham and it was THE best night of my life!!

  

This story is a crazy one with lots of pictures!

It's going to be good!!

I wanted to get to the gig early so I had a chance to get as near to the front as possible, I managed to arrive at 5.30 pm and the queue was pretty small. 

Ha, I decided I needed to be tall that night so I wasn't stuck behind some person with mega height on them. I had a bright idea to wear these...

Yeah... Not so bright, because let me tell you, even though these gave me the height I needed boy didn't they kill my feet and legs off!! 

Anyway, I stood waiting until the doors opened at 7 pm and by that time my feet were already hurting. Placebo played at the O2 Academy just over a year ago so I knew how small the place was. 

I walked through the doors and there was the stage with just a handful of people around it (the lucky buggers with O2 Priority passes I may add), and I knew where Brian was going to have his mic placed so I made sure I got a spot around there. I was literally like 3 people width wise away from the front and I was stood in front of lots of shorter people. Score.

And then 'BOOM' a frickin tree stands right in front of me. Turns out the girl in front of me needed her boyfriend to hug her throughout the gig (I mean seriously)! I met this real nice couple next to me who I spoke to on and off and there was this older guy next to me on the right who announced that his two cups of beer's he was holding cost £19!! I almost choked when I heard that. Is he mad?!

I had my ear plugs in and this 'beer guy' kept trying to talk to me. I was more worried that his drinks were going to go flying over me when the music started than what he was actually asking me. 

I have a real dry sense of humour so can come across quite sarcastic sometimes, he asked me whether I had a boyfriend. I said "I don't have one" and put my ear plugs back in and turned away before he asked me anything else, I was going to say that I was a lesbian but he might of liked that idea so I thought, keep it short and sweet. Ha. 

There is always one.

The lights went dim and all I could see was the stage lights getting brighter. It was starting. 

At this point I was breathing through the pain of my feet and then the supporting band come on stage and graced me with their presence. 

'The Mirror Trap' was the name of the band and I had never heard of them before and I tell you now they are and were AWESOME!! 

Their music to me is quite similar to Placebo's in the guitar riffs and the genre. They are a five piece band and had amazing stage presence. 

My camera always makes me look further away from the stage than I actually am and I struggled to take totally clear pictures. Why would my phone even frickin do that?! Always at gigs. 

As I was saying, these guys were great. The front man Garry was very charismatic, had some god damn quirky dance moves (I loved it) and the songs were memorable and catchy, plus Garry is HOT!!

Don't quote me on this but I think they played 5 or 6 songs one of which was called 'Piranha'- that is probably incorrect, I had my ear plugs in. Ha. I also remember 'Killing Time'. I was a bloody idiot though because I forgot to pick up their EP at the end of the gig. 

Their set lasted around an hour and they interacted with the crowd brilliantly. They have definitely gained a fan in me and I don't just like any kind of music!! 

Well done boys, I hope to see you guys again soon!! 

  

My feet were hurting so bad by this point I actually did think I wouldn't be able to make it through Placebo's set. 

I wasn't going to let it defeat me so I carried on like the trooper I am. I had to wait like another hour before Placebo came on. 

Again the lights went dark behind me and the stage lit up. Now I was full on excited, I had little butterflies going on inside and everything. Ha. I cannot even remember who came on first but all I remember was seeing Brian standing in front of me and that was it, I was a goner. He has this weird affect on me, I don't know what it is or how to explain it but this guy literally just 'has' me. I was literally mesmerised throughout the whole gig, it's sad to admit this but I love everything about this man and his band. I just wanted to get up on stage and rock out with them, the stage is where I want to be and they just make me want it even more. 

It's Placebo's 20th anniversary and they played songs from their newest album 'Loud Like Love' back to 'Battle for the Sun' 'Meds' and even 'Black Market Music'. The set was god damn beautiful, there was sooooo much energy coming off that stage and Brian and the rest of the guys were on top form. 

 Steve Forrest who recently left the band as the drummer has been replaced by a guy called Matt... He was actually really good and it didn't feel 'different' at all. It was still Placebo. 

Stefan, Fiona, Nick and Bill were also amazing nothing to fault at all and man can't they work their instruments!! 

I did notice something was up with Nick at a certain point of the gig and I thought he wasn't well, I later found out that he fell over on stage. I didn't see it but I think it knocked him about a bit. :( 

I had soooo many people waving their arms into my head and smacking into me it was difficult at times but it's a gig and that's what happens. It got really hot in there I don't think I have sweated so much in my life literally I was dripping everywhere. I thought I was going to pass out at one point. Brian was pouring with sweat I could see it drip of his hair and everything, it must be so hard playing a guitar, singing and being extremely hot. I didn't envy him at that point, although it just made him look even hotter. :)

The couple I was talking to at the beginning of the gig had re-shuffled and the lady was in front of me. I had some girls behind me push me into her and I apologised to her and told her what happened and the next thing I knew she grabbed me and pulled me in front of her. I was at the front. I couldn't believe it, it was the nicest thing and I was shocked she even contemplated it. I was so grateful to her. 

Last year (probs like a year and three months actually) I didn't make it to the end of the gig as a fight broke out and I was in the middle, so I left before I got hurt. This year I made it to the end and it was without a doubt the best gig I have ever been to of theirs and in general. They were amazing and even if you aren't sure of their music when you hear it on a C.D, go and see them live because you have seen nothing yet. 

I forgot my good camera so had to make do with the Iphone. It let me down big time. Honestly I was nearer to the stage than it looks. 

I have been a fan for 10 years and when I finally got to see the end of the show up close where they all held hands and bowed to the audience it was the best 'complete' feeling. It made me sad though because it was over and for a moment I was in their bubble and living their music with them.

They bowed and left the stage waving. I was so happy!

Then I realised... My feet. I could barely walk by this point and was walking like I seriously had something wrong with me. Ha. 

Now this is the BEST bit. 

Mum and dad met me outside the arena where I took my shoes off. Bliss pure bliss. 

I walked to where the tour buses were and to my car (where my dad had parked it between the buses) and I saw a friend waiting, I went over to speak to her and we noticed the security guys putting the barriers up . My friend said to me "they usually do that if Brian is going to come out" we walked over to the barriers and then everyone started rushing up. I was worried my feet were going to get crushed if Brian did make an appearance, so asked my dad for my shoes. 

My feet started cramping and after around 25 minutes of waiting I couldn't wait any more as my legs were about to give way. I called the security guy over and asked him if it would be okay if I came through the barriers to my car as I could no longer stand. 

He looked suspiciously at me, which is understandable but I reassured him I am not a crazy fan I just need to get to my car and that he can escort me if needed. He helped me walk to my car and said "I don't know why you guys wait, it's just a person" and I turned to him and said " I have waited 10 years to meet Brian and it would just be my luck that when I go he will come out". 

I got in my car and almost went to leave and the same security guard came running up and said to me "want to know a little secret, Brian is coming out now" I didn't know what to do with myself, the backstage door was inches from me and my dad was like "LEYA GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!" I hobbled out shoeless and waited at the barrier next to the door and it was just me stood there, the others were still down at the other end. 

Then it happened!!

The door flew open, a guy came out and looked at me as if to say "hey I wasn't expecting anyone to be here" and then BRIAN CAME OUT!!! hdjudsbgubgfjdbnjgvbnjfd. 

I can't remember a lot of this but dad said he looked up out of his hood at me. All I remember was looking at him thinking "oh my god, Brian is in front of me, I look a mess, marry me, me and Brian are face to face one on one and I have waited so long for this moment". Now I am not a stereotypical fan that would jump on the guy, ask for a picture, cry and say I love him (even though I wanted to do all of those) and instead said "hi" ha ha ha, yeah I was so shocked at it all I said "hi" he came over and signed my ticket and out of all of the things I could talk to him about I decided I would tell him about my crippled feet!!!

YES MY FEET!!! Why can't I ever come out with something good?! I said thanks for signing my ticket and the concert was amazing, he smiled and nodded before he was ushered off to the other people. 

I would of loved to of had an actual conversation with him, he really intrigues me but obviously that wasn't going to happen. 

Maybe next time... On the tour bus? 

I will keep dreaming.   

And that was that, I got back into the car and went home a VERY happy woman with my autographed ticket. 

I will never forget that night or meeting Brian. I can't help but wonder if he will ever remember meeting me?

If he thinks of feet or red lipstick then maybe so. Ha. 

If you want to hear clips of me singing their songs you can find them...

https://instagram.com/anythingbutordinaryleya/

and

https://soundcloud.com/leya-hutton

X