As you
can probably tell from the lack of posting anything for the last little while,
I’ve been quite busy. I’ve only had two days off work in the last two weeks.
I’ve taken today (Friday) and Sunday off. I thought about taking yesterday
(Thursday) off as well but ended up working in the afternoon. Why? Because
there are three concerts occurring this weekend that I would kill to see.
Realistically, however, I was never going to afford to go to all three of them.
I did, however, end up making it to one of them and I’m really glad I did
because I definitely would have regretted this particular concert.
I love
concerts, as anyone who knows me is aware of, but it’s been awhile since I saw
somebody in concert I haven’t seen before, the last being Taylor Swift last
June but I don’t count her because I went to see Ed Sheeran. Twice. So let’s
say Mumford & Sons in May was the last band I saw for the first time. Of
course, this weekend in London, there were three
people I hadn’t seen live! On Thursday the absolutely amazing guitarist
Jack White (from The White Stripes, if you don’t know) was playing the
Hammersmith Apollo. On Friday, Kanye West was headlining Wireless Festival, and
Bruno Mars was headlining Sunday. Let it never be said I have a specific taste
in music.
I was
planning on doing my Stubhub trick like I’d done with One Direction, but these
concerts were very popular and ticket prices did not drop like I was hoping.
Earlier this week I began to accept the fact I probably wouldn’t be seeing any
of the shows, but there was this nagging feeling. It wasn’t for Kanye West,
whose music I love but is a complete tool, or Bruno Mars, who I was hoping to
see to make up for last year’s concert being cancelled. It was Jack White. I
have loved him since The White Stripes. I love his solo stuff even more. And
he’s so eccentric you never know when he might suddenly retire. As it got
closer to Thursday and I watched the number of tickets available on Stubhub
drop and drop, I got more and more disappointed.
After
work on Thursday, there were only two tickets left and they were expensive. And
then a lot of stuff came together. First, I made it to the bank in time (like,
they literally stayed open an extra two minutes to help me – thank you so much
Gants Hill branch of Lloyd’s!) to put
money on my account, just in case a ticket became available. And then, the
venue itself, Eventim Apollo, released
one ticket. It was the purchase price. Not as cheap as I wanted, but not as
expensive as Stubhub. I wouldn’t have to go to Oxford Circus to get the ticket;
I could pick it up directly from the venue. I had to do it.
As soon
as I had the ticket confirmation, I was so relieved. I really don’t care if I
see Kanye or Bruno Mars. But Jack White… I respect him so much as a musician. I
would have regretted not seeing him, especially in a venue like the Apollo (for you Calgary people, think of
it like the Jubilee: beautiful
building, great acoustics, big show yet intimate). I had gotten dressed before buying
a ticket, just in case, so I was able to run right out the door. It was funny
being at the Apollo, because when I
work outside of London that is always the meeting point. I am very
well-acquainted with the front steps. It was a much different scene that day,
though, because there were hundreds of people lined up, waiting for the doors
to open at 7:00pm. I got my ticket from the box office and joined the line.
Yes, I
went to this concert alone. My friend Alessia wanted to come, but only if
tickets were £30. This morning, when tickets were not that cheap, I let her
know. Maybe another time. This is hardly my first time alone at a concert. I’ve
seen Ed Sheeran and Paul McCartney alone, so I’m used to this. You’re listening
to the music, anyway. Inside the venue is quite nice. It probably only holds
about 2000-3000 people and there’s literally couches surrounding the entire
upper bar area. The seats inside are nice. Think theater, not concert venue.
There’s not a bad seat in the house, which I always love. Apparently Jack White
does too because at one point in the show he talked about how he just came from
Glastonbury and it was nice playing a show where the audience wasn’t a thousand
feet away.
I have
no idea who the opening band was. Probably someone from his record label, Third Man Records. I can’t decide if I
liked them or not. They were kind of like The
Sex Pistols meets folk rock. It was weird. Jack White came on right on
9:00pm with Sixteen Saltines and
played for two hours. It was not the greatest concert I’ve ever been to (that
honor is a toss-up between Paul McCartney and Mumford & Sons) but he is,
without a doubt, the best guitarist I’ve ever seen. He combines his insane
guitar sound with drums, bass, keyboard and violins to make the most
interesting and unique sound. He played many songs, including some of his White Stripes and Raconteurs hits. He did, however, miss out on some of my favorite
songs, like Freedom at 21 and I’m Shakin. There’s some White Stripes stuff I would have liked to
hear, too, but, as I have mentioned, I am actually a bigger fan of his solo
albums. His performance got more and more passionate the further into the show.
The 45 minute encore was just non-stop energy, finishing with Steady as she Goes and Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground. But
what I loved the most (see what I did there?) was that my favorite song of his,
Love Interruption, was actually the
best song in the concert, too. It’s not often that my favorite song is also the
best live, so that was nice.
After
the show I was waiting for some of the people to get on the tube because I hate
crowded transport when I realized I was standing near where the band would be
leaving. I was unable to resist waiting with people. I met the drummer, some
comedian who plays with Kasabian, and
model Cara Delevigne. I never saw Jack White, because I really needed to make
the last train, which left at 12:19AM. I have no clue if he ever came out and I
don’t want to know. I’ve learned there’s nothing scarier than being in Hammersmith
and hearing the train station broadcast ‘this is the last train to Central
London’. Close call.
So
yeah, it was a great concert and I’m glad I went. I would have been kicking
myself forever. Hopefully I will get the chance to see him again. As for Kanye
West and Bruno Mars? You can’t have
everything. They’ll be back, I’m sure.
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