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Hi everyone!
With 2019 well underway and most of us now recovered from the Christmas and New Year festivities we thought it would be fun for all of us in the Community Team, including a couple of our main contacts within the business, to look back and think of all the gigs we've been to.
We've put together a few stories about our own all-time favourite gigs below, and would love to hear about yours too! 
I've always been (even more so in my teens and early twenties) into the industrial/alternative metal/rock bands, so I was of course super duper excited when my favourite artist Marilyn Manson toured in Europe, and for once, also in Finland. The Helsinki gig for his High End of Low tour in 2009 is definitely my all-time favourite gig. Yes, I was dressed appropriately 
but sadly, I don't have any photos saved from the event. Manson was, as expected, a little bit controversial, a little bit shocking, and as usual, loud and super cool and played many of my favourite tracks. 
I ended up going just by myself as I couldn't manage anyone in my circle of friends to join me due to (very) different music tastes... I met some cool people at the gig though to hang out with. Apart from Marilyn Manson, I have a close second for an all-time favourite gig, which was very different from the above, but also excellent: Sarah Brightman's Harem tour, also in Helsinki, in 2004.
I’d have to say my all time favourite gig was seeing the Foo Fighters live at the Leeds/Reading festival wayyyy back in 2002! The whole festival was a great experience and seeing the Foo Fighters on the final night was the icing on the cake! There was a great atmosphere and being a primarily rock festival the crowd was really into it. The bands performance was fantastic and they played all the classic hits as well as some newer stuff I hadn’t heard before. The highlight of the performance was when Dave Grohl and the bands drummer Taylor Hawkins switched places for a couple of songs! It was definitely one of my most memorable gig nights ever!
I grew up with Harry Potter and other fantastical universes, so seeing the soundtrack of the very first movie played live by a skilled orchestra in the gorgeous Royal Albert Hall was wonderful. The live orchestra added another depth to the performances. It made me appreciate John Williams' work even more, and I fell in love with the adventures of the young witches and wizards all over again. This experience was so special I've since then attended a performance of the third movie and will go see the Goblet of Fire in November this year. 
@Chris_K (Social Media Team):
I’ve not been to loads of gigs as I’m not a massive fan of such crowded events, but my favourite gig was Imagine Dragons at The Hydro last March. Imagine Dragons are one of my brothers favourite bands but he’s never been able to see them live.
When tickets for them went on sale, he tried to get them but couldn’t. Little did he know, I wasn’t as unlucky – I managed to buy two tickets and for his Christmas that year (2017), that was my gift to him. The gig came, and we both went to it together, singing through all their songs, waving our hands about like we were frantic teenagers again. We had a great time, and more importantly, I’ve never seen my bro smile that much… I could see how much it meant to him, getting to see his favourite band live – for the first time.
It was almost a disaster, as due to last year’s Beast from the East, I was stuck in Barcelona (MWC) until flights to the UK resumed again. Things were looking bleak for me getting back home in time and I had to break the news to my bro, but after a bit of luck, I managed to get back home about 12 hours before the gig started!
@ColinO2 (Customer Service & Experience):
Being from Manchester and growing up through the 90’s I was always a massive fan of the Manchester scene and was always disappointed I was a couple of years too young to ever see The Stone Roses live. So when they decided to reform and play there first big reunion gig @ Heaton park in 2012 I had to be there. Safe to say Reni was unbelievable on drums, Mani his usual fantastic bass, John Squire magical as ever and Ian Brown on top form – it was amazing, there was a big group of us who never had the chance to go Spike Island and this helped make up for it. Not only that they were supported by The Wailers, The Vaccines, Kid British and the brilliant Primal Scream – a perfect day and night with Manchester’s finest.
Let us know in the comments if you've been to see any of the artists we mentioned above, and more importantly: what is your all-time favourite gig and why? 
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I have been to so many live concerts, it's hard to choose (nothing to do with Priority I'm afraid)
I have two/three favourites.
The Who at the NIA in Birmingham. It was early 2000 sometime. We took our two sons and they were blown away with the live performance and have been fans ever since. They were supported by Kasabian.
The Prodigy at the Birmingham Academy. I have always loved this group but they tended to perform abroad or at festivals. In 2016, they decided to do a series of concerts at smaller venues. I went with my sons (no husband this time) I was probably the oldest person at the gig but it didn't stop me getting down the front to the barrier. A great concert and a night to remember.
I've also seen Queen at the Coventry Theatre just after Bohemian Rhapsody was released. They were so good I thought they were miming! Been a fan ever since.
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I've been to many concerts in my lifetime and they were all great. But my top 3:
- Woodstock. I can't put into words just how amazing Woodstock was. The bands, the people, the atmosphere. There was no violence, no hate. Everyone was there for the music. It was magic.
- The Beatles at Shea Stadium. It was loud and mad but I loved every minute.
- The Rolling Stones. I can't remember the venue, except it was at a movie theatre in Brooklyn, New York I believe.
Most of my concert going was in New York as I could afford the tickets. Something I couldn't do when I came to England, the first few years. By the time I could afford gig tickets, I could no longer put up with the noise or the crowds.
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@Cleoriff wrote:Lucky Lucky you @Glory1 having been to Woodstock. I think @Bambino was there as well.
Mind you, you know the saying...'If you remember Woodstock, you probably weren't there'.....
Well I was and I do, most of it anyway, there were bits, let us say, that are a blur. You may guess why 
What to me was most memorable is the crowd who were happy and into the music. No violence I can recall just lots of music and happy people. Pure magic 
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I just wonder how you heard one word of any Beatles song at Shea Stadium?
Beatlemania was at it's height and I remember seeing clips of the show where the screaming was so loud you couldn't hear The Beatles at all...
Not forgetting all the damn fainting....
I did see The Rolling Stones at Wembley Stadium. Excellent concert (and lots of booze) 
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@Bambino wrote:Didn't go to Woodstock @Cleoriff
This was my all-time favorite. No comment necessary.
Now I I lost my ticket. It was in one of 3 albums I had loaded with pics of the Beatles from all the various fan magazines. I gave them away when I moved to England as I just couldn't take them with me.
Pity I didn't think to keep them all and have them sent with my clothes. I must have had every pic ever taken of them in every fan magazine published in the 60s. It was quite a collection.
Along with the Shea Stadium ticket I had another ticket from a show they did at a large movie theatre, can't remember which one now. I was in the front row for that one which was just as well as the mics didn't work, so you couldn't hear them unless you were at the very front. I remember John Lennon swore he was so p!$$ed off and I laughed out loud which, even with all the screaming, he heard and gave me a smile. I was in heaven
