It was a sort of spur of the moment thing.
In an extremely rare opportunity, I had an actual weekend off. A Saturday and a Sunday (gasp!)
Drew decided earlier in the week to buy tickets to some concert at Twickenham Stadium called 'Chime for Change'. I didn't bother to research it much so all I knew was it was for women's rights and Beyonce was headlining it. I was quite excited by this as I quite like Beyonce and her songs. I saw her half time show for the Super Bowl in February and watched her set at Glasto back in 2011 (on TV), and was quite impressed with the show she put on.
But Beyonce was at the very end of the show and there were some other singers to go before her and other noise makers to make sure we didn't enjoy everything that was on offer. First up Jessie J.
I don't have any feelings towards her other than with her shaved head she looks either like a less pretty Natalie Portman from V for Vendetta or Annie Lennox. I know the one song she does (Price TAg, but beyond that I haven't a foggiest...and don't care to find out more either.)
In between each act we were shown various videos of various women being oppressed throughout the world. It was all very Live Aid (which makes sense as it was produced by one of the founders of Live Aid). Normally when I watch these things on the TV I roll my eyes at these pleas to help the less fortunate. You get huge money stars begging Joe public for money. I can't help but always think 'Why don't you just give them the money? You have plenty of it.' However, I was quite touched by most of the videos and speeches by the, surprisingly large amount, of stars that were there...except Madonna. What.A.Cunt. Cannot stand her. Everyone else was A.OK in my book.
The stand outs for me were: J.Lo. Never been much of J.Lo listener but she put on one hell of a show that got everyone jumping. Saying that, I only made it for her final 2 songs: Come Together feat Mary J Blige (who got a massive pop. I was kind of hoping she'd get a chance to do Family Affair but to no avail.) and Get On The Floor. I had spent the first 10 minutes of her set waiting in an impossibly long queue to get some drinks for the 4 of us. When it was nearly my turn some CUNT FACES saw there friend who was in front of me and just jumped right in front of me. I could feel myself getting hot in the face, heart pumping, knuckles clenched and teeth grinding. Those fuckers. There is literally no need for them in the world.
The absolute star of the whole thing for us was Florence and The Machine. I had obviously heard of them and had heard snippets of their stuff in various commercials etc. Never having listened to a full song I thought I knew what to expect. She did a acoustic type set that was just transcendent (?). Beautifully played violins and harps started and slowly built while Florence floated around the stage barefoot looking ethereal in a very flowy teal dress. Combined with her long flowing orange locks she looked positively awe inspiring.
The harps and violins built to their climax only to silence...waiting for Florence to utter the first sentence: Sometimes I Feel Like Throwing My Hands Up In The Air...
And with that the audience popped in a way I've not experienced since Paul McCartney joined Bruce onstage at Hard Rock Calling last year. She sang it effortlessly. Her vocals flawless. She literally brought me to tears (again, not done that at a concert since Bruce in New Jersey last year). I've not listened to any of their stuff since hearing them live at Chime for Change and kind of don't want to. Just in case it isn't as good as it was then. What if it disappoints...
Ellie Goulding was the last act before Beyonce came on. I've heard her name mentioned but thats pretty much it. Even now I couldn't tell you a song of hers. I do remember that I found her voice to be quite intriguing though.
So then Beyonce came on. And although did not disappoint, I wasn't exactly blown away. She did all her required hits. A particularly touching rendition of At Last (what a song!) accompanied by violins started her off. She did 'If I Were A Boy' (my favourite one) mixed with a funky Bittersweet Symphony (I think) remix. It was very good. My one problem with Beyonce though, is that she seems more pre-occupied with dancing her dance routines (and she does very very well) than actually singing the songs.
All in all, it was definitely one of the better concerts I've been to and should they do it next year, I'd quite like to go again.
Next up: A preview of June 2013...the month of my return to ROCK!!!!
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