Hard Rock Calling, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, June 2013

This may have been a long time in the making but at the end of June I was over the moon to have had the chance to go to the Olympic Park or as the part I went to is now called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

The reason I went there, Hard Rock Calling, which left Hyde Park and has now pitched up in the park. 

The first band we managed to catch were Irish band Kodaline, who were so good and even surprised my boyfriend who was convinced they were going to be like The Script. I loved High Hopes and the beautiful All I Want.

The headliners for the event were Kasabian who played a 2 hour set and were worth the £55 tickets price alone. Alongside crowd favourites LSF, Shoot the Runner and Fire, they also played Fatboy Slim's Praise You and The Korgis' Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes which was hauntingly beautiful. 

I have seen Kasabian twice before and they know how to work the audience in smaller venues but were masters of the crowd of around 45,000. It could have easily been their own concert. 

 The main stage was situated near the velodrome, which looked as if a spaceship had crash landed as the sun set behind it. 

Overall there were three stages - The Pepsi Max and Hard Rock Rising which had new acts and people like Gaz Coombes from Supergrass and Steve Cradock from Ocean Colour Scene who I heard briefly on my way to the toilet. 

The Pepsi Max stage was great and featured The Twang, The View and The Tribes. The Tribes were quite good and the boyfriend suggested that we check them out, we stayed for about twenty minutes of their set before catching the end of Miles Kane on the main stage. 

In between bands we also managed to catch a few songs by The Cribs, which was great and a brilliant warm up as I am planning to see them at the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth in August. Miles Kane rocked it in all white and we heard him perform Come Closer, Inhaler and the amazing Give Up which sounded phenomenal. 

 After him was the Modfather Paul Weller, who even though he only played for about an hour filled it with hit after hit - The Changing Man and That's Entertainment. 

 I have seen Weller twice before and always had to leave before the end so have never seen him perform Town Called Malice. This time we were there and when the opening chords started the whole field erupted and everyone was dancing their heart out, including me and my boyfriend. Paul Weller did not disappoint. 

 For food we had a pulled pork sandwich from Barbeco Jamie Oliver stand, it was delicious and was only about £6. Quite good value for money as there was a lot and I couldn't eat it all. 

 However, the drinks were quite expensive, soft drinks were £2.50 and considering how hot it was there was the chance people could have gone through quite a bit. Also my boyfriend didn't manage to have a cold, refreshing pint as the queues for the bar was ridiculous.

Overall though I loved being at the park and watching these amazing bands, if they are this good next year at the same price I will be there. 

 And while I remember we got to walk right past the Olympic Stadium and the strange red looking thing. The stadium is huge and it is hard to believe that this time last year the Olympics were about to kick off and the park was buzzing with people everyday.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert, UK tour, The Mayflower, Southampton, June 2013

Anyone who has read this blog before will know that firstly I love musicals, secondly I really love Priscilla Queen of the Desert and felt there should be national day of mourning when it closed in the West End of London. 

Imagine my delight then when it was announced that Priscilla was on the move and coming to Southampton Mayflower.

Now I saw it at the beginning of June and have been a bit snowed under with exams, holiday prep and just work in general so I  have been unable to write about the tour, but thought with a free evening I would put pen to paper, so to speak.

The basic story from the West End and Australian show is the same, three drag queens travelling across the desert from Sydney to Alice Springs to perform at a Casino.

There is still the fascination with Kylie Minogue, the American one it has been changed to Madonna. Most of the songs are the same except the opening song of 'Downtown' has been changed to 'It's Raining Men' which works really, really well. They have also added 'True colours' which is in the US version.

Obviously stage-wise there are restrictions, especially when it comes to the bus. Priscilla is reduced to a bottom bit with screens near the top, however, it still works, you can imagine the bus is there and also it means that it is less likely to break down, as it sometimes did in London.

Noel Sullivan, of Hear'Say fame, was Tick on the week I went and was really good. He has amazing vocal ability and really camped up the character as I think sometimes people try to play Tick a bit safe as Adam is the overly camp one. It does seem though I am never going to see Jason Donovan in the role, as I have seen Ben Richards and Richard Grieve but never Jason.

Graham Weaver played Adam and although I love the original Adam - Olivier Thornton, Graham did a really good job.

Bernadette this time was played by Richard Grieve who I had previously seen as Tick and to be honest I think his Bernadette was amazing. I think he really suited the role better than the role of Tick. He was brilliant and really was a good looking woman...

There is so much colour and glamour when you see Priscilla that you just want to dance all the way home. I hope they keep touring as I never get tired of this musical, well I have seen it four times. If you want to see it, go to the tour!