My Love Affair with Live Music

If you’ve been following me over on Instagram or Twitter over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed my gig intake has increased. I’ve also signed up to Jukely, so will be going to even more! There is sort of a reason behind this – a boy…

Last June I had my heart completely broken/shattered/smashed to pieces/torn apart. For the first couple of weeks, I just couldn’t listen to music, at all! Music is a big part of my life; my ears are forever listening to it whether it be at home from my laptop, or on the go through Spotify on my phone. So for me to not be able to listen to a single song without feeling sick, I knew something had to be done. I started seeking out playlists on Spotify with brand new music, featuring artists I had never heard of before, and songs that I could start making new memories to. If I heard a tune that really took my fancy, I’d like the band/artist on Facebook and check to see if they had any cheap, small gigs coming up and just book 2 tickets, regardless of whether I had someone else who would be interested. I’d recommend signing up to Bandsintown and linking with your Facebook music likes as they send you an email when a concert is announced so you can grab tickets as soon as they go on sale.

So I started going to all these little gigs, usually on my own. Sometimes I’d find someone on Twitter or the Facebook event pages looking for a spare ticket, sometimes I’d try and convince a friend to come along to see this unknown band. Going to these gigs kind of became an escapism for me. Having something fun and exciting planned kept my mind away from thinking about the love lost. I think a part of me secretly hoped I would bump into ‘him’. You see, he is in a band himself (he was nicknamed Mr Drummer), but alas, we have never crossed paths over these last 12 months (apart from those 2 times I went to see his band, which was a completely silly thing to do!).

A year on, and I’m not going to lie, my heart is still mending (it’s had a few knocks over the last 6 months), but Mr Drummer is no longer the reason behind all my gig-going. Having had the opportunity to see some of the best up-and-coming artists before the hype hits has been great. I get such a buzz from going to see a band that I’ve only ever heard one song from, and then finding the rest of their music is just as amazing! I’ve been going to gigs since my early teenage years, but these were mostly just to see the popular bands I had grown to love over the years. Seeing the unknown has become a recent love of mine. I can't wait to discover even more music with Jukely!

So, that’s my little story behind my love of seeing music live. And now for a list of all the gigs I have been to, June 2014 – May 2015, just to prove the extent of what I’m talking about!


June 2014

Rod Stewart @ Brighton // George Ezra @ Electric Ballroom

July 2014

Arcade Fire @ Hyde Park // McBusted @ Hyde Park // Jack Garratt @ The Waiting Room // To Kill A King/Childcare @ The Lucky Pig

August 2014

Dan Croll @ The Jazz Café // We Are Scientists ON The Meantime Bar @ Penisula Square // The Correspondents @ Brixton Jamm // Tenkus the Henge @ Passing Clouds // Secret Cinema @ Olympic Park

September 2014

James Bay @ St Stephen's Church // Converse Secret Gig @ Dave's Houseparty, Shoreditch Wrestling & 100 Club // Foo Fighters @ Invictus Games Olympic Park // Kate Bush @ Hammersmith Apollo // Converse Secret Gig feat. Mystery Jets @ Canal Boat, Hackney Warehouse & Pie and Mash Shop // Jack Garratt @ The Basement

October 2014

Vance Joy @ Shepherd's Bush Empire // Dan Croll @ Koko // Glass Animals @ Oval Space // We Are Scientists @ Brooklyn Bowl // George Ezra @ Shepherd's Bush Empire // Lady Gaga @ The O2

November 2014

Hudson Taylor @ Aloft Hotel // Future Islands @ Shepherd's Bush Empire // Childcare @ Secret Location // Jamie T @ Alexandra Palace 

December 2014

Yelle @ Oslo Hackney // The Correspondents @ Bethnal Green Working Men's Club // Childcare @ The Macbeth (no photos - sozandchips!) // Mister Super Juice @ The Red Lion in Leytonstone

January 2015

Holy Thursday @ The Social // Hozier @ Shepherd's Bush Empire

February 2015

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis @ Electric Ballroom // FKA Twigs @ Roundhouse (no photo - sozandchips, again!) // George Ezra @ Brixton Academy // Pete Doherty @ Brixton Jamm // Rouge Girls @ The Borderline

March 2015

Yelle @ Village Underground // The Kenneths @ Hoxton Underbelly (no photos...) // Toy @ Islington Town Hall

April 2015

James Bay @ Shepherd's Bush Empire // Spector @ The 100 Club // Calexico @ Shepherd's Bush Empire // Childcare @ The Islington

May 2015

Leon Bridges @ Village Underground // Brandon Flowers @ Brixton Academy // Jack Garratt @ Village Underground

So, there we have it. A year in gigs! Who knew that just 1 month later I would meet a guy at a random Jukely gig who would become my special someone :)

Check back soon as I'm planning to start doing monthly gig posts!

How Very Tennis (Outfit of the Day/OOTD)

Saturday just gone, Paper Dress Vintage held a big sale as they are having to shut up shop *sad face*, but fear not, as they will be reopening a new shop in Hackney this coming autumn *happy face*! Myself and Amy popped in to see if we could pick up a bargain or two.

I picked up 2 B-E-A-U-tiful chiffon maxi dresses (Amy said I looked like a Princess in one of them). I can’t wait to show off my purchases to you all very soon on the blog! Until then, here’s what I wore this weekend.

Dress - Dresslink // Bag - Dresslink // Shoes - Matalan // Sunglasses - Spitalfields Market // Necklace - Tiffany & Co.

Remember my Dresslink wishlist? Well my chosen pieces finally arrived last week. This colour block dress really caught my eye with its 60’s mod feel and flirty hemline. I ordered it in a size large as I’ve had enough experience when it comes to buying from these type of websites. Although still a bit on the short side, it was perfect on me! I was happily surprised to see that it features more of a dark navy blue colour than what looks like black on the website photos. It is light and unfitted, helping to keep me cool in the scorching weather we’ve just had. I did have to wear some white short leggings underneath, just to maintain a bit of modesty. Once the weather gets cold again, I plan on buying some burnt orange knitted tights and pairing them with this dress along with some black ankle boots.

The bag is also from Dresslink and is at a bargain price of $2.98! It also comes in 4 different colours. It’s perfect for quick trips into the city. The strap can be taken off too, so you can carry it as a clutch. If you're looking for cute cheap clothes, I do recommend Dresslink. I was given $20 free to spend on their site. This dress, bag, another top, and the tracked postage to the UK all came to $19.90 - absolute bargain!!
My white brogues are from Matalan, and they’ve already made quite a few appearances on my blog (here, here and here).

After our little shop, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Dinerama, a food market in Shoreditch from the same guys at StreetFeast in Dalston (foodporn alert!). Amy got us some drinks from the bar and came back with this beer featuring a wicked ska design on the can. My buttermilk fried chicken and Amy’s corn chips, both from Breddos tacos were scrumptious! We then headed off to meet some of Amy’s friends (whilst also bumping into an unexpected friend of my own!) for some drinks on the river.

What did everyone else get up to this weekend? Did anyone catch the Wimbledon final?

Thanks for reading :)

Peanuts (Outfit of the Day/OOTD)

This weekend just gone, me and Amy headed to the top of One New Change, not just for the amazing rooftop views of London, but also to catch a bit of the tennis. Great British Summer have placed some pop up screens around London for us all to enjoy watching Wimbledon out in the sunshine*. Our chosen location was absolutely beautiful with St Paul's Cathedral as the backdrop. They'd also decked out the rooftop with fake grass, deck chairs and giant Union Jack cushions. We quickly popped into M&S Food on the lower ground floor of the shopping centre to grab some beers, cookies and peanut butter ice cream (this is not where the title of today's post is from...). Having bought our supplies, it was into the glass elevator and straight up to the 6th floor. The sun was shining and Federer was just about to hit the court, so we had a few spare minutes to snap some outfit pictures and bask in the glorious views!

*sunshine not guaranteed!

Let's start with my pretty cute new top (which appears to already be sold out!). I found this when I was ordering some stripey trousers from Forever 21 and needed to spend a little extra to get the free postage. I'm a big lover of peanuts (especially in the butter form) so the little slogan above the pocket had already caught my eye. But then, I saw the back.......

It's only Charlie Brown and the gang!! This is such a great top for summer as it's cropped and not fitted. I ordered a size small. As I'm not really one for flashing my tummy, I paired it with a vintage high-waisted floral skirt. My shoes are also quite new. I'd originally ordered these from Clarks in a size 5.5, but they were a tad too big, so I popped back and swapped them for a 5 (and also ended up buying another pair of shoes in the sale - oops!). The first time I wore them they did rub and cause a blister, but that's just because it was fresh leather against my sensitive heels. They now wear like a dream!

Top - Forever 21 // Vintage Skirt - To Be Worn Again // Shoes - Clarks // Necklace - A Fair Trade World // Sunglasses - Primark

 

The one item that started this outfit was my necklace. It was sent to me by A Fair Trade World, a company that sells jewellery handcrafted by women in Uganda. The beads are made from recycled newspaper, magazines and calendars, which are cut into tiny thin triangular strips, rolled into shape, and covered in a protective coating. You'd never know they were essentially balls of paper. A Fair Trade World is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, and so the women who hand make the jewellery are paid a living wage so they can 'hope and dream of a new and better life for themselves and their children - one with smiles as warm as the Ugandan sun'. They sent me this blue stripey necklace, which is totally me, right?! They also sell bracelets, earrings, bags & purses, and even sell bags of beads so you can have a go at making your own jewellery! This is a great company, trading for all the right reasons.

After prancing about, trying not to flash me knickers in the summer breeze, it was time to grab a deck chair and settle down for the tennis. It was a beautiful moment to watch Andy Murray win his match with the sun setting next to St Paul's. Even when there isn't a big pop-up screen, this is a gorgeous spot to look down on London in the summer. There's a swanky bar and restaurant up there too!

Has anyone else been watching Wimbledon? Where do you all plan to watch the final?