The Last Carnival – Nottingham

10 Oct
So this one may be just a teensie bit on the long side as well. I will not, however, be making rash promises at the end since this is probably the review most likely to actually get tweeted, what with the Drarry photos lower down. I guess I kinda toned down the fangirling just a little too, but probably not so you’d notice. And probably not enough to stop the band being somewhat weirded out by me if they actually read any of it. Meh, I am what I am (I am my own special creation *dum de dum*).

Pre-show & VIP

Anyhoo, I didn’t start the afternoon off particularly well by nearly missing my train, but managed to make it just in time. Still, I got to Nottingham later than I’d been arriving for the other dates so I just went on a quick reckie to find Stealth (which was a good idea as I’m not sure I’d have found it otherwise and of course I was running late when I headed back later on for the show) before checking into my hotel (another Travelodge, a little run down, MASSIVE room. Could have done the gig there :P). I actually bumped into Mike when I was exploring (though he’d had a haircut and I almost didn’t recognise him from across the road!) who gave me directions, then headed back to my room to finish off the banners. The filthy Justin one is now done, but whether it’ll be seen is another matter. I’m possibly feeling a tad more encouraged today (especially as I showed one of the other fans a photo of it and she thought it was great), but who knows how I’ll feel next weekend.

It turned out there were a couple of people I’d met in Leeds in VIP too so chatted to them outside which was nice. Almost like having friends :P. I also got IDed going in, so woo! Tony showed us up to the room, so got to say hi to him and then it was VIP time. Saw Ads first and got a hug (yay!) and then intended to do the rounds so said quick hi to Russ and moved on to Mike. Except he’d told me online (I’m still not over that! Mike! Online! Woo!) that Cardiff had been interesting and I’d heard a little about it from one of the Welsh girls so I asked him what happened. Sounds like a completely nightmare journey, poor things! Full of overweight vans and flat tyres. Anyhoo I ended up talking to him about it for ages and then chatted about some other random crap (merch, I think. He objected to me not wearing one of their shirts) before I finally moved on to Justin who, for some insane reason, was just as easy to talk to as the rest. I actually practically pounced on him, throwing my arms around him from behind by way of hello and when he saw it was me, he turned to give me a proper hug hello so win! We chatted for ages about all sorts of stuff and I was only a teensie bit over-excited by the entire experience… read: I was grinning from ear to ear for a good hour afterwards *sigh*. He was massively apologetic over ignoring me online & mentioned he’s been getting earlier nights etc. (I’d kinda already forgiven him after the FB chat last night anyway, but it was lovely to hear it in person as well. Hopefully it’ll stop me getting so stroppy in future. Hopefully…). He also apologised for the Tim Minchin video too, which made me feel bad :S. I think I was just in a strop that night and being overly touchy. Though I suppose I was probably sulking over him, so meh, maybe it wasn’t that unfair of me :P.

We also chatted about music for ages. He was talking about rock and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is amazing apparently. He was also telling me I should listen to AC/DC, specifically the Back in Black album, so I guess I know what I’ll be listening to next. Apparently Tony told him I’m a TT fan and he was being complimentary about Gaz & his talent as a songwriter. I basically swooned as soon as the Captain was mentioned, so he teased me about that in a ‘look at you!’ sort of way. I didn’t like to mention that I’m the same over him when he’s not actually stood in front of me ;). Then he said I had good taste in music! Me! I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before! He asked about the morning after Southampton too and I said it wasn’t that bad as I was still high from the gig. He said he’d noticed my highness in Glasgow (as if he could have missed it, I was literally bouncing when I was talking to him afterwards). I think he thought it was a bit unusual but in a positive sort of way. We also discussed when I discovered them, back in July at the Room 94 tour. I mean I know it feels like longer and it seems like they all think it’s been longer too, but it really has only been a few months. 20th July 2013, the day that changed my life :P. I know I said something about Room 94 (along the lines of ‘I still like them, but I think TLC are so much better’) plus discussed some of the other boybands I like. It was kinda surreal in a way, but mostly because it was just so chilled and easy and normal. After Southampton I just didn’t think I could manage that with him. Made my night, if I’m honest… :S.

We were interrupted when he had to go and get ready for the acoustic set so I finally said hi to Kieran also via hug from behind (and awkwardly knocked the CD out of someone’s hand in the process – fortunately it was someone I knew but I still cringe thinking about it!). Didn’t really chat to him much though as I kinda ran out of time. The acoustic set was as gorgeous as expected and I videoed all three songs (though the lighting was so weird, bright white spotlights in the corners that blinded but did little else to illuminate, that the picture came out pretty fuzzy). Don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time *soppy grin*.

After that I ended up chatting to Russ properly for a bit, also about music as he mentioned that Tony had told him I’d seen Journey. What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall when they were talking about me! Me!!!I’m actually slightly weirded out by the discovery that they discussed me enough that two of them commented on things that had been said. I mean, I suppose it’s only fair since I talk about them pretty much non-stop and clearly I’m not-so-secretly delighted by the discovery, but still, weird! I think I’m so used to being forgotten that it’s still enough of a big deal when someone actually remembers me, let alone notices me enough to warrant a conversation (which apparently wasn’t just ‘well she’s a bit mad, isn’t she’, though I’d be surprised if that wasn’t at least glossed over at some point :P).

Anyhoo, Russ started recommending albums too including an old Journey one (which I promptly forgot so I’ll have to tweet him to check which) and Queen’s Night At The Opera. I also tried to sell him RoA, but I don’t think I’m going to have any more luck getting them to the Garrick than I’m having trying to get the ROAdies to the London TLC gig *sigh*. Anyway, he was telling me that he used to act before he got into music, but we got interrupted before he could tell me much. Really need to remember to pick up the conversation again at some point as I was completely fascinated. Though that said, I still haven’t remembered to quiz Justin on his theatrical background, so don’t hold your breath on that. Also, despite having written it on my FRICKIN’ HAND, I still forgot to do the Drarry pictures or ask Ads about the old videos. I remembered right at the end when I figured it probably wasn’t worth starting as I wouldn’t be able to finish and I (incorrectly, apparently) assumed I’d have plenty of time with them later. I did remember to ask him about sweets though. Dolly Mixture is good, apparently, and the strawberry creams (I think) from Roses. Though he also seemed keen when I mentioned dark chocolate. I’m thinking a general band ‘thank you’ goodie bag for London (because it’s easier than schlepping stuff to Brighton), rather than specific stuff for specific people. Although I’m sure some of the treats will be more obviously focussed than others! There will definitely be (love – if I can get them) dates!

I also, after much fretting (though at least I was over my ‘I’m annoyed with you and don’t know if I want to give you a present anyway’ strop) gave Justin his cuff, right at the end of VIP. I told him I’d got him something and it was really silly and then some nervous babble of rubbish about seeing it and thinking of him or somesuch. He opened it and told me it wasn’t silly at all, that he’d just broken his favourite belt with all the metal around it (I’m not sure why that was exactly relevant – I mean I know he’s stick thin, but I don’t think a wrist cuff will quite fit around his waist) and gave me a thank you hug. He seemed pretty happy with it anyhoo and after all the stressing, I’m definitely glad I went through with it. It was worth it just for the hug (which sounds stupid given that I’ve had dozens of Justin hugs, but that’s not the point). Side note: I gave it to him in the bag and he put it back after looking at it and then tucked it into his inside jacket pocket… Thing is, I’m quite aware that that carrier bag tended to attract RoA confetti and the bottom of my handbag is full of it. He may have a pocketful now. Oops :P.

Support

Little Crazy were too loud again, but I do like a couple of songs, at least enough that they irritated me far less than they did in Glasgow when performing at a similar volume. End With You (the ‘start again’ one) & Devil Inside (the ‘say what you want’ one) are ok, anyway. I also finally saw The Retrospectives (they’ve been favouriting my tweets for weeks). Not bad. Not my thing particularly, but not bad at all. Next up were The Inside Is Live. Still pretty meh over them. They’re far too young and shouty :P. Finally, we had Lacey. They were still a bit noisy but definitely my favourites of the night. Contender was actually pretty awesome and I really rather enjoyed it. The guy on lead vox/bass was kinda cute in a Tom Felton/James Charlton/Edward French sort of way. He asked me to open his water bottle for him in the middle of a song (motioning & mouthing – took me a sec but I got it) so I opened it for him and then closed it on further request. Got a point straight at me/thank you after the song and a wink when I opened it for him again a little later. It gave me something to smile about during their set anyway :P. Support does tend to drag a bit when there are that many of them.

The Show

I enjoyed watching the usual pre-show set up with cameos from a couple of the band. At one point Mike was soundchecking mics with a ‘one, two, two’ technique and I couldn’t stop laughing. I so wanted him to add ‘I have an enormous…’ to the end of it à la Lonny!

The gig itself was amazing. Really amazing. I grinned all the way through. The Too Many Dreams intro was epic and even more so for being so hotly anticipated after my discussion with Kieran the other day. I filmed Cadillac (mostly for the Dashboard intro, but once I’d started I figured I may as well finish. The footage is very Justin-centric again, but I did try to film the rest of them a bit! There’s a fab moment when Russ looks straight at me, points at me then motions towards Justin with his thumb. I’m not sure what he was trying to communicate exactly, but I took it to mean ‘film him more’ :P). I didn’t bother with High as I didn’t think the audio would be any good from that close and didn’t want to distract myself from it without cause. The videos I did take actually came out relatively decently, sound wise (not too bass heavy anyway), but my camera REALLY doesn’t like low light conditions on the auto setting and all the videos I took had terrible image quality. I also recorded Slaughter, just because, well, because I did, though I sort of mostly ended up filming Mike and Justin at the back as they were amusing me! Plus Russ was a bit too far forward to fit him in the shot properly.

High kinda destroyed me again and there was also, much watching of fingers on guitar strings which did interesting things to my equilibrium. I’ve decided that it is quite possibly the hottest thing a musician can do on a stage. I would actually rather watch Justin play one of those fast guitar solos than watch Gary’s hands on a grand piano… What the hell have this band done to me?! Though that said, when Gaz really gets into it and does the standy-uppy bouncy thing, it’s probably at least as hot as Justin playing a solo. And speaking of getting into it… Ads was mostly hidden behind Russ (though on the plus, I had a nice clear view of Kieran this time), but when Russ moved I had a decent view of him and I was watching him during the Scream Boy Shuffle. He seemed to be really going for it, it was gorgeous to watch! I also noticed Kieran’s leg thing… Someone was telling him about it in Southampton, I think, and he evidently doesn’t have a clue that he does it, but when he’s getting into something, he lifts his left knee, I guess in a similar way to Justin actually, it’s just less of a balancing act since he’s sitting down… :P. I’m vaguely conscious that I do the same thing when playing air guitar, so I guess it’s a ‘feel the music’ sort of thing. Made me grin when I spotted it though!

I asked Kieran just before the show for his setlist and he seemed slightly amused that I had ‘chosen’ and wanted his specifically. Turned out to be a mistake as Mike nicked it to give to someone before Kieran realised it was gone and as I’d been waiting for it, I didn’t steal Russ’s when I could have, so didn’t get one at all :(. At least one of the girls I knew had one, so I do have a picture, if not the original…

Nottingham Setlist

Nottingham Setlist

Post-Show

After the show I finally got the coveted meet & greet for Lego!Harry & Draco, complete with photos!

Justin was up first and knocked them off their little block, so had to put them back. He was trying to put them next to each other so I told him they wouldn’t stand next to each other as they don’t get on… Which I suppose isn’t technically true, but they’ve been engaged since that first trip to Paris and have yet to get married so I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something they’re not telling me…! Anyhoo, the boys were naturally delighted to finally meet the band, even if Justin didn’t seem overly impressed to be meeting them…
Draco, Harry & Justin

Draco, Harry & Justin

Ads made a bit of a fuss, complaining he felt silly and then realised that by being difficult he’d just drawn more attention to himself! Unfortunately, the boys didn’t have their wands with them or a quick Episkey on the bloody hand would’ve won him round, I’m sure. Kieran made less of a fuss, but a fuss nonetheless!

To be fair, they all seemed completely bewildered by the entire thing, despite my rather vague ‘it’s a blog thing’ which surely should have been explanation enough?! I may have to find a better way of presenting it if I ever decide to introduce the boys to anyone again, though I’ve recently realised that the original ‘Harry & Draco do Paris’ blog post which was the start of all of this back in November 2011, doesn’t actually appear to exist… Still, Russ and Mike were brilliant. Between the Gryffindor red hair & the lion-like roar,  I think Harry took rather a liking to Russ, while Draco preferred Mike’s more gentlemanly approach of chilling at the bar.

Aaaand moving on… I also asked Russ for his pick as he was leaving the stage and he gave me a sort of ‘later’ response that I didn’t really understand. Then, when I spoke to Kieran for the Drarry photo, he gave me one of Russ’s picks and told me that someone had retrieved it after someone else had stolen it and that I should return it to Russ. I dutifully did so, despite being somewhat bemused by the whole situation and in return he gave me his actual pick (the one he used on stage, that is), so yay! Just Mike to go now :D. (I’d love a drumstick too, obviously, but I know Ads doesn’t generally give out sticks and I don’t like to ask, since I’m well aware that they’re rather more expensive than picks!).

Annoyingly, especially after the brilliance of Southampton, we got kicked out of the venue almost immediately. I got a picture (and another accidental video…) with a few of the Little Crazy guys, because I felt like I should and I suppose it was the time to do it as apparently they’re done with the tour now. I also got a free CD from the Lacey dude as a thank you for helping him out, which was rather cool! I told him I really liked Contender plus got him to autograph it and pose for a selfie with me. Think they’re doing another date, so that might be cool. I didn’t love them, but wouldn’t mind seeing them again. On that note, I still think it’s a shame I only got to see Tides once, they were the only support that’ve really caught my attention from the off.

Anyhoo, I then loitered outside for ages freezing my arse off waiting for them. They hung about outside for a bit post-gig, but not for that long and I didn’t want to get in the way of people who don’t get to see them much. I did end up having a random chat with Russ about the creative process and how inspiration always comes at weird times and never when you’re looking for it (he was talking about song writing, obviously, I was talking about writing (fanfiction, mostly, but I left that part out)). He mentioned that he ends up with loads of clips on his phone whenever he gets an idea… Not so dissimilar to me really, but I didn’t think of that at the time. I also apologised to Kieran for neglecting him, but apparently he didn’t feel neglected and we did get to discuss the Too Many Dreams intro at least. I think I said something about grinning through the whole gig and that only TT usually have that kind of effect. Apparently he’d noticed me smiling as he looks over at me every now and then to see how I’m doing or something like that! I also ended up speaking to Justin about being over emotional. He seemed impressed I could keep the gig high for so long (days, sometimes), but I pointed out it means the lows are harder too, which he agreed with. Worth it, generally, but it can be tough, especially when I know I’m losing my regular high with RoA. I could rely on that, whereas gigs come and go. Apparently he’s the same in terms of being over emotional, though that’s not really a side of him I’ve seen (or am ever likely to see, I suspect) so I’ll have to take his word for it.

I also asked Russ & Ads if they saw their banners. Russ wasn’t sure, so I think he possibly saw it but didn’t really register it properly or read it, so I showed him and he asked me to bring it again in London. Ads didn’t see his at all, so now I have to do both of theirs again AND Mike’s in London. Though speaking of Mike, he definitely saw Russ’s (no idea if he saw Adam’s as I was, unsurprisingly looking at Adam at the time), so what’s the betting when it gets to be his turn, he won’t see it?! I really need to remember to mention it in VIP so there’s at least a chance of them watching out for them. I don’t think I can handle the stress of saving any of them for Brighton if I have even the slightest hope of getting Justin’s out. As for the general band ones, I’ve decided not to bother with them unless I get a barrier to drape them over as I don’t really want to hold them up for ages. If I don’t get an opportunity, I’ll just save them for the next tour, or possibly a support tour if there is one.

Anyway, they then vanished inside for ages but I couldn’t bear to leave (shocker) despite the frigid temperatures. On the plus, I wasn’t alone and ended up chatting to the people I already knew outside for ages. The boys finally appeared for the load out and I finally spoke to Ads about the videos (though he was tweeting at the time so I felt like I as interrupting). Ended up with more questions than answers (he said something about some old (Luisa Rey?) mixes that made me wonder what else I’ve missed out on by getting into them so late) & by that point I was already drifting into shy mode, so kept tripping over the stuff I wanted to say. Not sure it was worth the effort really & don’t think I ever will get to see Stars :(. Still, they actually went for a drink this time, at the bar next door but I felt so out of place it was a bit crap, really. There were a couple of girls chatting to Kieran for ages who were all dressed up and didn’t really help with my self-confidence thing. I ended up feel horribly shy, with nothing to say for myself, the way I used to be before my breakthrough with Dyl after Twelfth Night at the cemetery. Mike asked me about my job, so I ended up telling him a bit about that, but generally the whole thing was so awkward that I almost wished I hadn’t gone, except for the fact I’d have been in a strop if I’d left without spending more time with them and (mushyness alert) I’d rather be miserable with them than without…

I did have a few moments of fun though. Watching Mike macarena from his perch on a bar stool was rather amusing (I ended up telling him that I used to think he was quiet) and they did play Backstreet’s Back (I immediately perked up with an automatic ‘ah, tune!’ which made Kieran & Adam laugh…). Then Ads wanted to dance and there wasn’t much space by the bar, so I went with him to the dance floor which was a bit surreal, but fun. We were joined soon after by Kieran and Mike, but I mostly still felt like a spare wheel (though I’m not sure how many regular wheels they had…!). They all seemed to want Justin to join them, but he didn’t seem that way inclined and didn’t. In the end it felt like I hardly spoke to them after the gig (which is possibly more about my own perspective than what really happened, but there you have it), plus I had two glasses of wine (at £3 each!!!) on a mostly empty stomach, which was intended to make me chill, but mostly just exacerbated the ‘feeling ridiculous’, so I left on a bit of a low. I did get my goodbye hugs at least, though I think I probably crushed Justin a bit. I barely saw him after he went back in post-gig, so was feeling particularly needy at the end :(. Though he did get a pink lei from the bar (who were handing them out with cocktails) and when he was going to abandon it due to itchiness, I nabbed it and wore it for the rest of the evening (what was left of it anyway, it was well past 1 when I got in, but I don’t know how long I hung around before they went on to the bar. To be honest everything felt long until I started dancing with them and even then it didn’t get that much better). It was pink, at least, so he made a comment about it matching the hair. I think I was thoroughly spoiled by all the easy conversation in Southampton.

Anyhoo, stumbled back to hotel to find the blaring music from somewhere nearby was loud enough to clearly hear the lyrics through my closed windows, plus I was firmly in ‘sulky drunk’ mode and already missing the boys an insane amount. I’m so not going to cope when this month ends. I think the less than ideal end to the gig killed my buzz somewhat, which is unfortunate. Well that & the bone-deep exhaustion, combined with the fact I’ve now passed the halfway point and the end is scarily close to being in sight. I’m going to miss them so much :(.

On a different note, I realised earlier that I’m the person I’m usually jealous of; the one who talks to the band like they’re best mates. Only seeing that from the inside is weird, because they actually do feel like friends now, yet I know they’re not. Plus at the same time as feeling that way I’m still insanely fangirly over them (even discounting a certain stupid & inappropriate crush) – I can tell this mostly from the crazy buzz I get from even the tiniest interaction. The fangirlyness also knocks the ‘friend’ theory on the head. I mean, I still don’t feel I could invite them to a tea party, or at least, I could in a vaguely jokey way, but they wouldn’t actually come, which is the main thing!

Anyhoo, in other news (that sounds weird… usually TLC are ‘other news’), I was listening to the RoA Broadway cast recording a lot during the day and realised I’ve seen it so much lately that it sounds wrong to me. Particularly the Regina & Hertz vocals, specifically in terms of mannerisms and phrasing. It’s stupid, really, given how many people I’ve seen play those roles, but I suppose Jodie & Rohan are two of the show staples, so I guess it is relatively rare to hear someone else. Although, that said, I was listening to Waiting For A Girl and managed to go through the entire conversation between Drew & Sherrie and come back in on time with the track. Not bad for someone with a memory like mine. I may be seeing it too often… *sob*.

Plus in yet more ‘other news’ not relating to the Last Carnival, I managed to get my ticket for Gaz in Glasgow this morning. It’s also pretty rubbish but hey, better than missing opening night. I think I might hold off on any more until I know what TLC are doing as it’s going to start getting complicated with holidays, trains and hotels. It’ll make my life a lot easier if I don’t have to replan everything around their tour after having already booked a bunch of stuff… Ugh!

And I think that’s quite enough from me for one day!

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,
K xx

PS. (Maybe not quite enough… One last thing…) I know that RoA confetti gets everywhere, but I found some in my phone today, between the keyboard and the screen when I slid it out. Admittedly I put some back in my pocket earlier, but I’m pretty sure that’s where it came from in the first place. Well I guess it came from Dan in the first place, but you know what I mean. I bet I’ll still be finding it in a year’s time!

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