Dreaming out loud

It's been a nice rounded 2 years, 3 months and 4 days since I last posted about a concert, and in that time I've seen many more artists, including Gary Barlow, Scouting For Girls, half a dozen Eurovision winners, NKOTB (once), Lawson (twice) 5ive (three times) and most recently, Take That (including Howard for the first time)! However, my all-time favourite band continues to elude me. It's kind of my own fault for becoming a fan a few months after the tickets for their tour had been sold, but how was I to know they wouldn't come back to my country on the next European leg?! Anyway, they will not elude me for much longer...

Last September, U2 surprised the world with the release of their new album, Songs of Innocence, when it turned up on the Apple devices of millions of people worldwide. I was in the minority who were delighted by this, and eager to learn whether seeing them live would be a possibility in the coming year or so. It seemed likely, so I decided to convert my u2.com free membership to a paid subscription in order to get access to presale tickets. Sure enough, on 3 December the tour was announced, including four nights in London, which I could easily get to. But things weren't all positive: the shows were on weeknights in late October, so I'm extremely likely to be in uni on those days (I won't know for sure until 18 September this year); the presale code only allowed me to buy two tickets, but my sister and mother both wanted to come; and signing up after the album release meant I was in the Innocence presale group, so wouldn't have access until a day after long-term subscribers, by which time the general admission tickets I wanted to go for could well have sold out. Setting aside my GA dreams, I decided to try for two presale tickets anyway, and managed to get a pair of seated tickets for my sister and I! The following Monday my mother entered the general sale and succeeded getting herself a ticket only a few blocks away from us!

But that's not all! A week ago, six Irish dates were added to the tour itinerary: two in Belfast and four in Dublin, including one Saturday. Getting to Ireland for this date seemed feasible, as I could fly over after university on Friday evening, so I decided to try to get tickets. Having already used my presale code, I had to enter the general sale on 14 September. While setting up a Ticketmaster account, I noticed some student tickets would be available. I decided to go for them, as my sister and I are both eligible, and the demand for them would be lower than for general admission tickets. I was entered into the ticket queue at 9:00 am and after about 15 minutes, was able to select two student general admission tickets! At 9:23 am I received email confirmation of my purchase and the fact that I'll be going to Dublin to see U2!

So I now have two opportunities to see my favourite band and hear my favourite songs live, the first in just over six weeks! I'll try to keep this blog updated as the time approaches...

iPod Challenge Day 24: Biggest fear?

Baby, I Believe In You - New Kids On The Block

(A couple of days late, but oh well... my biggest fear is being believed in.)

iPod Challenge Day 6: What is your life like?

Let's Try It Again - New Kids On The Block

(My life is something that needs trying again? I hope not... It could represent my perseverance; I don't give up on things I want in life easily. I will gladly try things again to improve, unless I don't believe it's worth it.)

iPod Challenge Day 2: What do people feel when they’re around you?

Mrs Right - NKOTB

(People feel that I am perfect for them? Nah, this song is actually very uncertain, "Are you really Mrs. Right? 'Cause I can't make up my mind", so maybe people are unsure of how they feel about me; I put people on edge and I'm difficult to be around because they don't know how to react to me or what to expect from me.)

My nails!

My fingernails currently look like this. I was inspired by the colours on the ends of the New Kids On The Block members' microphones, and who sings which step in Step By Step. I like it so much that I may do it again for NKOTBSB (in 88 days)!

Happy birthday Joe Mac!

This year, New Year's Eve is more to me than just the end of the year: its Joey McIntyre's birthday! I barely knew who he was a year ago today. Back then, New Kids On The Block was just a boy band, who had a few hits in the late 80s/early 90s and began the showbiz career of the actor who played Eric Matthews in the Saw films (Donnie Wahlberg). In the last twelve months, the New Kids have become pretty important to me, their songs have creeped onto my iPod and I've developed an admiration for them as people too. Anyway, let's get back to the subject of this post: Joey Joe's 39th birthday!

A few days ago, my mother asked me why Joey is my favourite New Kid. After all, I'm a shy, quiet teenager who finds it difficult to express myself. Momentarily lost for words, I mumbled something about him being a U2 fan. Since then, I've come up with a few more answers to this question:

1. His music - This year I've acquired Meet Joe Mac via amazon.co.uk and downloaded Here We Go Again EP and Come Home For Christmas on iTunes. From the poignant "Mrs. Callahan" to the funky, upbeat "NYC Girls", Meet Joe Mac is a brilliant album which I would whole-heartedly recommend. Here We Go Again also has some great tunes, especially "Outta Nothing At All", and Come Home For Christmas is a heartwarming festive treat!
2.  Five Brothers and a Million Sisters - A song for the fans, I love it! 
3. His way with words - Whether in tweets, blog posts or verbally, there is something about Joe's (often) wise words that I find rather refreshing. 
4. His humour
5. His attractiveness - Joe himself tweeted earlier that he thinks he "[looks] 29 instead of 39"... I guess "self-confidence" could be another point on this list!
6. His eyes - Yes, I believe his "swimming-pool blue" eyes warrant a separate point!
7. His voice(s) - Did I not mention this already?! I put "(s)" because there's no doubt his singing voice has altered somewhat over the years, while the Boston accent remains the same.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea...

Happy birthday Joey! I hope you have a great day and a terrific 2012! 

NKOTBSB baby!

In 177 days I will be in London watching New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys live!! I'm really excited even though it's over 5 months away and a lot has to happen before then. 

NKOTBSB (sorry I don't know where the pics are from)

I'm feeling ever so slightly bored, so I figured it was time for another blog post.

So far this summer holiday I have:

• rolled down a hill
• tweeted 536 538 times
• posted a lot on tumblr (139 posts in August alone)
• rediscovered my love for Animal Crossing
• celebrated my sister's birthday
• listened to "2 In The Morning" by New Kids On The Block at 2am 5 times
• blown up 5 balloons
• read "To Kill A Mockingbird"
• consumed 32 toasted cheese sandwiches
• written 21 diary entries
• admitted my Joe girl tendencies (to myself, at least...)

Here's to the rest of summer!

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday's alright!

Today I listened to Zooropa (the album) all the way through for the first time since I posted random snippets of the lyrics to Chelsea on msn and she thought I was going mad (that was fun...), and it was very enjoyable, from the first solemn, mysterious chords of the title track, right through to the last wails of the strange alarm sounds that close this 1993 gem.

This was while I was on the way to town for shopping purposes, and I did quite well, buying:

• U2 Best Of 1990-2000 plus B-sides for just £2
• Scouting For Girls' eponymous debut album for £2.50
• New Kids On The Block: greatest hits - £2
• U2: A Diary (Book) - £4
• Bono In The Name Of Love - £6

There are now only 2 days of the holidays left, and I have quite a lot of revision to do, but I'll post again when I can!