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.

Everyday I'm Shuffling

I will admit I am a Chris Moyles listener on Radio 1, and a while back they played the 'generic mp3 player shuffle game', it revealed some obvious choices - Aled's were usually pretty obvious.

So I thought I would play along and play ten songs on shuffle and see what comes up.

Here we go...
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric
2. Kylie Minogue - Step Back in Time
3. Kayne West ft. Jay Z - Diamonds from Sierra Leone
4. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
5.  We Are Scientists - Central AC
6. The Courteeners - Bide your Time
7. Daft Punk - End of Line (Tron Legacy soundtrack)
8. Kasabian - Switchblade Smiles
9. The Black Keys - Next Girl
10. Madonna - Like A Prayer

Well I was surprised, I thought it was going to bring up a whole load of Kylie, Glee and Gaga but I think my shuffle ten shows the diversity of my iPod, which is why I love my iPod, there is a song for every occasion.

So take part and let me know your shuffle.

Also on another note Kasabian is amazing to run to.

Gigs - past, present and future

As 2011 comes to an end I am reflecting back on one of my great loves, live music.

2011 was a pretty good year - Beady Eye, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Wild Beasts, Warpaint, Miles Kane (twice), Glee, Take That with Robbie and Kasabian.

Each very different and brilliant, Katy Perry smelt of strawberries, Kylie Minogue had a water fountain, Glee was OTT, Take That with Robbie was a childhood dream and Kasabian was amazing!

2010 was an amazing year! Gaga, Rihanna, Britney and Beyonce! And those were just the major ones.

So far 2012 is looking promising.

Only two gigs booked in one in February and one in March.

In February at Alexandra Palace in London I will be seeing The Black Eyes. I am beyond excited the album is immense and I have no doubt they will be amazing live.
As support they have Band of Horses, who should also be fantastic.

And in March I will be seeing McFly at Portsmouth Guildhall. This will be my fourth time seeing the band, and they are pretty good live. Always a good atmosphere and just good.

Hopefully I will be adding to this list, especially Lady Gaga, really want to see her again so fingers-crossed!

No-one else I don't think I want to see, but time will tell.

Kasabian, The Brighton Centre, 28/11/2011

The last time I saw Kasabian was a couple of years ago when West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum came out. It was up in Manchester at the Apollo I think, it was so hot and crammed full so although it was a good gig, it was a little mental.

This time however, at the Brighton Centre it was cool and although full it wasn't rammed, and it was...the best gig ever!

Now again if you don't want to know what songs they play, the encore and that stop reading!

As I was saying this gig was just phenomenal! This is a band that know what they are doing and know how to rock.

They played so many hits, it was relentless you do forget how many good songs they have. L.S.F, Clubfoot, Shoot the Runner, Vlad the Impaler and Take Aim.

Tom and Serge are just to fantastic singers, and I would say dressers but I'm not sure about Serge's parka with feathers or his tiger print tight fitted t-shirt.

Their music live is just...out of this world! When you see Serge playing the opening bit of Vlad it is just...I can't describe it but like nothing I have heard before.

Tom may not be ultra cocky but he is a fantastic front man and can command a stage and captivate an audience. It was like no gig I have been to before. Much better than the gig in Manchester, which I can only assume was like being in the centre of the sun.

The encore was hard-core! They played Switchblade Smiles, Vlad the Impaler and ended with Fire, I am not lying when I say the whole room was jumping, dancing, pogoing just going completely mental and it was fantastic. Tiring but amazing. I have never seen a room come alive, with standing and seating going crazy.

In the encore you could feel the bass through your spine and it just echoes around the room, fantastic!

The set was really good as well it was like a dome, and the graphics felt 3D at points.

They got the mix of songs right as well, mixing old with new, album and singles but the whole crowd loved it. It was the type of gig when at first you go what's this....oh yer I remember this one!


I don't think anyone left that venue disappointed, and I was for one was not at all, this was what gigs are meant to be like, your ears hurt, your legs hurt everything hurts but it was so worth it.


If you like your music live and relentless and amazing and brilliant and just....indescribable then see Kasabian you will not regret it.

I should say as well Miles Kane was the support. I had seen him before supporting Beady Eye, he was really good, he is very cocky and really got the crowd going, as a good support act should.

He played some new tracks which were really good, he did well and you wouldn't have realised as first he was the support he had the whole crowd under his spell.

So if next year at any festivals you see either Miles Kane or Kasabian on the list make sure you see them, you will not regret it.

Weird crushes...to admit or not admit?

Everyone has a weird crush, those ones that either don't make sense or that you wouldn't want other people to know about, sometimes even both at times.

Heat magazine does a weird crushes poll every year in which you vote for your strange crush. The poll is usually topped by Richard Hammond or James May. These crushes are the ones where the guys are un-cool or they are about the same age as your dad. Thinking about it there is probably a daddy complex in relation to these. These guys could probably look after you, make you laugh or give you a massive bear hug when you need one, it's more the thought of them looking after you than a physical attraction I am guessing...or hoping.

Then there are other weird crushes, the ones when the guys are not like anyone else you have every liked before. I'm happy to admit that my weird crush is Tom Meighan from Kasabian, not when he had long hair though, when he had the crop.

He looks nothing like my boyfriend or anyone else I have ever fancied for that matter but there is something about him that I find attractive.

I really don't know what it is. Is it his stage persona? His cockiness? Or his singing voice? I don't think it's the fact that he is in a band as I usually like bass players or guitarists, but again my boyfriend is neither.

It's almost as if you have always liked big rugby guys who are huge and muscly and you are out and see a skinny indie guy with loads of tattoos and a cool haircut and a flutter in your stomach appears and you think 'huh? How strange?' But then at the same time there is something about them, you don't know whether to tell your friends as you know you will get the look of a 'really? He's not your type is he?' or you know they are thinking 'Oh My God he looks awful, have you no taste? Or are you that drunk?'

I suppose some of them are just that they are so different from what you are used to, it's like if you are a boy and you like brunettes and then you have a crush on Nicola Roberts or Pamela Anderson.

It happens to the best of us though, Sienna Miller and Rhys Ifans, if she was your friend and after Jude Law brought home Rhys Ifans as a friend you would look a little dumbstruck thinking really? But then when she was with him his attractiveness did go up a bit, so he probably became some people's weird crush. I think Anna Friel goes out with him now. 

It's not that werid crushes are ugly but most of the time no-one can figure out why they like someone, may not be weird to all but some. I would consider Tom Cruise a weird crush, why oh why would anyone like him?

I think weird crushes should be embraced, as you never know, if you are single and your usually type never really works out maybe this weird crush will? As they say in Priscilla Musical 'You don't know unless you give it a go.'