Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones | Saatchi Gallery, London

Music is more than just a few songs; It's more than a person or band performing on stage. It's a whole movement, an identity, a way of life, a way of dressing - an attitude. No band encapsulates this more so than the Rolling Stones.

The Stones have been around for well over half a century and they are still (in my opinion) rocking it. You only have to look at the incredible crowds that turned up to watch them in Hyde Park back in 2013 to see that they are still as popular as ever - the 65,000 tickets were sold out in three minutes. Very few (probably none) bands would be able to attract that big of an audience today let alone sell out over 60,000 tickets that quickly.

I have been a fan of the Stones for years. Their music is iconic and I'm sure their greatest hits album could be at least 5 CD's long. They have produced hit after hit with the likes of Brown Sugar, Jumpin Jack Flash, Don't Stop....... the list goes on.

Since April the Saatchi Gallery on the King's Road in Chelsea - one of my favourite places in London and the Rolling Stones' old haunt - has been home to the Rolling Stones' exhibition Exhibitionism. The exhibition takes you through all five decades of the Stones' careers showing everything from the clothes they wore (my favourite), to the recording process, live performances, they have even recreated the Stones' 1960s Kings Rd flat.

The day after Bruce Springsteen rocked Wembley we headed over to the Saatchi gallery to see this much talked about exhibition (after amazing brunch at Ca'puccino on the King's Road) and it did not disappoint. Technology was used in a really cool and interesting way in the exhibition with ipads allowing you to remix Stones songs along with a 3D screening of the Rolling Stones performing at Hyde Park in 2013. There was an amazing collection of tour posters and art work on display along with the coolest guitars and the most FANTASTIC clothes. Keith Richards has been a style inspiration for me for years so to get to see his, along with the rest of the band's clothes up close and personal was a real highlight for me.

Walking through the exhibition just emphasises the MASSIVE contribution the Stones have made to culture, not only in Britain, but across the world. I would go again and again and again. A must see for Stones fans but also for fans of music, fashion and culture.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | WEMBLEY STADIUM 5.6.2016

The last week or so has been crazy in terms of concerts with the Manic Street Preachers and the Super Furry Animals in Swansea one weekend and Stereophonics and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN the next. I will eventually get around to discussing all of these gigs but first I am going to start by, I mean I basically have no choice but to start by, discussing The Boss' gig at Wembley Stadium last Sunday.

If you're a seasoned reader of this blog or if you know me at all then you know that I have now been in love with Bruce Springsteen for around ten years - since I was around 12 - thanks to my mam constantly playing his records at home. Although I don't think I quite love him as much as my mam, I mean she cried three times during last Sunday's gig - once when Bruce came within spitting distance of us, once when he sang Because the Night and once right at the end with the solo acoustic version of Thunder Road. This is a testament to Springsteen's music and live performances that even though my mother has been following him for the best part of 30 something years his music and gigs still connect with his audience.

We left Cardiff on the infamous Megabus for London (cheap as chips but not the most comfortable but for £5 return for both of us you can't go wrong) at 7am after something ridiculous like 4 or 5 hours sleep thanks to the Stereophonics concert we went to the previous night. After some delicious breakfast in Victoria and a short walk to Westminster we made our way to Wembley. Mam had booked the Premiere Inn which is situated around 2 minutes from Wembley once the dates for The River Tour were announced which means we got the hotel for a heck of a lot cheaper than if we had booked it once the tickets had gone on sale! Forward thinking at its best. It also meant that we didn't have to fight our way onto a tube or race to catch the last train home - yaaaaay.

Before we spent the rest of the day queuing in the baking sunshine with other bruce buds we popped into Lidl to grab some snacks, a few beverages and magazines. Seeing as we only made it to the stadium by like 1pm we were pretty close to the front of the queue (not the golden circle queue but the just outside the golden circle queue). In the 5 hours that we were queuing and waiting for Bruce to come onstage we made some new friends (because Springsteen fans are the nicest), drank beer, bough t-shirts, ate grapes and saw people pass out (it was CRAZY hot). Although we were mere mortals when it came to queuing - some people had been queuing since Thursday! I love that dedication and if I could have done it then I most probably would have!

Obviously seeing as the tour was The River Tour, Bruce and the E-Street Band played numerous songs from The River including The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, Hungry Heart and of course, The River. If you want to see the whole 33 song setlist from Sunday night - yes, you read that correctly THIRTY-THREE SONGS!!!!! - then click here. Lets just stop for a minute to appreciate that Springsteen and the band were onstage for around 3 hours and 45 minutes with NO INTERVAL- THE MAN IS 66 YEARS OLD!

Some of my favourite moments/songs of the night were Badlands, Dancing in the Dark, The Rising, Out In the Street, Because the Night and my favourite way to end a show, Shout. The whole gig was one big party, the crowd were bouncing and in full voice. I know I've said it before but nothing, nothing comes close to the feeling you get from being at  a Springsteen gig. You get this kind of euphoria which is like nothing else. Gosh, Bruce makes me so happy! Also, Little Steven's look makes me equally happy!

What a night!

April / Ebrill - Favourites | Music

I listened to a lot of music in April. I mean I listen to a lot of music every month but in April however, I listened to a lot of new* (and old) music(*new for me). So I thought why not compile them all together in one playlist to share with all of you. I discovered a lot of music in April through random spotify playlists, THIS New York Times video and general radio listening. Also, I turned 22 in April so of course T-Swizzle has been played a lot (but alas she is not on spotify). Thrown in here are some awesome Welsh language stuff that I think everyone should listen to - if you speak Welsh or not, as well as some old French songs, classic Rolling Stones stuff, Springsteen (of course),  as well as some classic Indie and pop. A bit of everything for everyone. May/June are also going to be superb music months with Manic Street Preacher, Super Furry Animals and Bruce Springsteen gigs lined up... YAAAAY!

It's CHRISTMAAAAAS playlist time

It's christmas again and I for one could not be happier.

I love christmas. I love the lights, the films, the biblical stories etc . . . But most of all I love the music. Like photographs or smells, music brings back vivid memories for me. Hearing one song on the radio can take me back to the time I first heard that song. But not only does it transport me back to that time it also makes me feel what I was feeling at that time and reminds me of my interests and worries and dreams and friends and general life. Music is awesome.

Christmas music, obviously, reminds me of winters past. Driving in the car, in the dark with rain/snow slashing down on the windscreen as Bublé and Shakin' Stevens and Paul McCartney and Cliff Richard and Bruce Springsteen and Otis Redding and Mud and Wizzard blast seasonal tunes from inside the radio. Decorating the house with umpteen fairy lights and glittery baubles with the melody of silent night whispering in the background. Slade soundtracking a night of friends, family, champagne and pigs in blankets. Simply - christmas would not be christmas without the music be that carols, gospel, rock n roll, folk, blues or pop.

Last year I made a little alternative christmas playlist and these are still some of my favourite seasonal covers but I thought I'd make an extended version this year. Just click on the song and enjoy.  Alternatively you can click here for the whole playlist on YouTube.

Also, if you are looking for more christmas playlists head on over to Spotify they have some crackin' ones.

•  Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen (the B.B. King version is also insanely good)
•  The Christmas Waltz - She & Him 
•  Do You Hear What I Hear - Bob Dylan 
•  Christmas Time's a-Comin' - Johnny Cash
•  Christmas in Harlem - Kanye West 
•  Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
•  Don't Shoot Me Santa - The Killers
•  Baby, It's Cold Outside - Rufus Wainwright & Sharon Van Etten 
•  I Want an Alien For Christmas - Fountains of Wayne
•  Frosty the Snowman - Fiona Apple 
•  The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) - Paul McCartney
•  Someday at Christmas - Stevie Wonder
•  Home - Blake Shelton, Michael Bublé
•  This Christmas - Lady Antebellum 
•  Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton 
•  Christmas in Hollis - Run-DMC
•  Sleigh Ride - TLC
•  What Christmas Means - Hanson 
•  The Spirit of Christmas - LeAnn Rimes, Aloe Black
•  Back Door Santa - BB King
•  The Snow Is Falling - Ray Charles 
•  Silent Night - The Staple Singers
•  Children Go Where I Send Thee - Kenny Rogers 
•  Silent Night, Holy Night - Sister Rosetta Tharpe

AC/DC - WEMBLEY STADIUM - 4/7/2015

8:59am, my curser is hovering over the refresh button on the Ticketmaster website. Bang. 9am – refresh. Nooooo, I’m in a queue with the never ending circle of death going round and round and round. Finally – 9:04am and the tickets are bought.

We would be heading to Wembley on the 4^th of July to watch Rock legends AC/DC – one of our family’s favourite bands. When I told my mam on the phone that I managed to get tickets she apparently almost cried. A bit extreme, but we do love some Rock or Bust.

After some margaritas in Covent Garden and a belly full of Chinese food in Chinatown we jumped on the tube and made our way over to the stadium. We caught the last few songs from Los Angeles blues band Vintage Trouble, a band that I’ve loved for a few years, before taking our place in the middle of the floor ready to hear some guitar solos from the uniform-wearing Angus Young.

As people returned from the bar with trays of booze, Brian Johnson’s unmistakable voice could be heard echoing across Northwest London.  The band transitioned from Rock or Bust into Shoot to Thrill and classics rock anthem, Back to Black, and the crowd were bouncing – both young and old – and that’s how they remained for the next two hours.

Middle aged men were dancing as if they were 21 again with their now non-existent hair swishing around as they head banged to classics such as Whole Lotta Rosie and T.N.T. I think that’s one of the reasons I love going to gigs – people forget about their day-to-day struggles, let loose and enjoy.

As You Shook Me All Night Long and Hells Bells were played I experienced a moment of genuine joy that I hadn’t felt in a long while. My brother, his friend and I were jumping up and down to the beat as if our lives depended on it, singing ‘till our lungs felt on fire. Amazing.

After Young finished his mammoth guitar solo during Let There Be Rock, the band finished the evening with the cannon’s of For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) sounding around the stadium.

Magical.

Witnessing what could possible be AC/DC’s last concert on British soil was pretty cool (understatement) and watching the tens of thousands of fans walking towards Wembley Park tube-station, red horns flashing and voices still belting, was an experience I will never forget.

Sprinting through Waterloo station to catch the last train however, is an experience I would really like to forget.

FOO FIGHTERS - MILTON KEYNES NATIONAL BOWL - 5/9/15

Dave Grohl  - the nicest guy in rock they say – and after Saturday evening I can categorically agree.

On Saturday night at the Milton Keynes National Bowl, Grohl apologised numerous times for something that he couldn’t really help (although, did he really have to jump of that flippin' stage?!). Eleven weeks ago Grohl shattered his leg after jumping off the stage at a Foo Fighters gig in Sweden. An injury that meant the band had to cancel their upcoming dates including a headlining gig at Glastonbury festival and two nights at the cathedral of rock – Wembley Stadium. The news rippled through Europe and once it arrived in the UK thousands of hearts could be heard breaking and breaths became bated as fans awaited news of possible new dates.

As Grohl was resting in the luxury Grosevnor House in London after metal plates and pins were settling into their new home in the rock-star’s leg, new dates were announced. Not Wembley this time but rather the National Bowl in Milton Keynes; a familiar place for Grohl and the band who first played the coliseum-like venue back in 2011.

Having left home at 11:30am and traveled the length of Wales and half of England throughout the day, by 6:15pm, as we parked the car, we were more than ready to listen to some good music. Unfortunately, we missed Royal Blood but we did get to listen to their set while sitting in traffic outside the National Bowl. I have been lucky enough to see them live twice before so it wasn’t all that bad. After buying a ‘Brake a Leg Tour’ t-shirt (which are apparently selling on ebay now for over a £100  – crazy seeing as I bought it for £22!) we headed into the bowl just in time to watch the mad mystery that is Iggy Pop.

Iggy Pop entertained us with hits such as The Passenger, Real Wild Child and Lust for Life in between sweary but funny ramblings about how happy he was to perform for us that evening. Also, is Pop seriously double jointed? If not, I think he needs to visit a doctor!

With the shirtless Iggy Pop off the stage it was only a matter of time before the Foos graced us with their presence. As quarter past eight approached, the center of the bowl began filling up with kids, parents, teenagers and grandparents alike. Rock has no age barrier it seems.

Before the crowd could take in the fact that Grohl and the boys were on stage, in the flesh, right in front of their eyes, the band immediately bombarded their fans with hit after glorious hit that gave a strong indication that the evening was going to be special. 

Starting with Everlong, straight into Monkey Wrench and to the Foo’s classic Learn to Fly the crowd couldn’t believe their luck - after the disappointment of the cancellation of the Wembley gigs to this amazing evening - it had been an emotional journey!

 It started superbly and it continued like that until the very last song 2 hours and 15 minutes later. A mammoth set that even Bruce Springsteen himself would be proud of.

The Pretender along with Sonic Highway anthems, Congregation and Something From Nothing kept the crowd bouncing late into the evening. However, one of my personal favorites, Big Me, was somewhat overshadowed by the impromptu light show that Grohl asked the audience to create with their phones; although taking away from the beauty of the song, the lights were pretty cool!

A few lengthy instrumentals arguably slowed down the Foos momentum but nothing could truly bring the crowd down from the euphoria they felt after witnessing a piece of musical history half way through the set.

Having watched the YouTube clip of Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page joining the Foos on stage in Wembley stadium during their last world tour to sing the Led Zep classic Rock and Roll, I was hoping that they would arrange something similar for us this time around. Unfortunately they hadn’t planned anything. Fortunately, however, the stars aligned and the universe was on our side as Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and Queen’s Roger Taylor happened to turn up to watch the gig and agreed to join the Foos onstage to form a “Superduper Group” and perform the Queen classic, Under Pressure!

As the crowd finished dueting with Grohl on Best of You, Grohl grabbed his crutches and walked to the front of the stage with the rest of the band to thank the thousands of fans who had traveled to Milton Keynes to watch them perform on that memorable September evening. The fact that Grohl’s leg was still in plaster and that he was sat down for the whole performance in his fantastic throne, barring the little dance he had during Monkey Wrench, was irrelevant as the front-man still owned the stage and held the audience in the palm of his hand more so than any band, able-bodied or not, that I've ever seen. Now that’s a sign of a great front-man and a great band.

For me, it was a dream-come-true to see Foo Fighter live – a band that I have loved for the majority of my life; a band that I was brought up on. Having been to countless number of gigs over the last 21 years, Saturday’s gig was definitely in my top 3. Foo Fighters are up there keeping company with Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC in my estimation. 

They were worth the wait.

FOO FIGHTERS, AC/DC AND RIVAL SONS: JUNE/JULY GIGS

As you have probably noticed, things have been quite quiet on this blog as of late (or try the whole year). This is for many reasons but mainly because of hectic a university schedule, exams, dissertations and I also just did not know what to write. I kind of lost my blogging mojo. I think I tried to be other people when I know that in order to have a well written and interesting blog you have to write about what you know and what you're passionate about. So, on that note I am going to discuss something that I have not written about in far too long and that is music.

The next few weeks are going to be hectic in terms of gigs and I could not be happier.

First up, the loves of my life, Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl and the band will be rocking Wembley stadium on both Friday and Saturday evening -19th & 20th of June. If hearing Best of You, and Learn to Fly live wasn't enough, the Foo's have lined up some frickin' stellar warm up acts to get the crowd even more ready for the time of their lives. First on stage will be a duo who took Britain by storm in 2014, an act who bossed Reading festival last year and also opened for Arctic Monkeys in Finsbury Park last May - Royal Blood. After Royal Blood leave the stage, the legendary, shirtless, long haired rocker Iggy Pop is scheduled to come on to serenade the crowd (hopefully) with classics such as The Passenger & Lust For Life. From my extensive Foo Fighters YouTubing, the last time they were in Wembley they brought the house down and were even joined on stage with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page to play Rock and Roll. I have a feeling that this gig is going to be pretty epic!

It's the little things in life

If you're a seasoned reader of Lisi Loo or if you know me at all then you'll know that I love Bruce Springsteen. Whenever a Springsteen song comes on the radio I literally jump for joy, It doesn't mater where  I am. It happened once in the library, I had some weird looks but I didn't care because Bruce was serenading my ears with one of his hundreds of utterly amazing songs. 

Lisa, why this sudden urge to declare your love for the Boss on your blog once more? Well, the answer is that yesterday while having my lunch break and a desperately needed hour away from my desk and dissertation reading I scrolled through my Sky+ planner to find the recording of Springsteen's 2013 MusiCares concert. Two and a half hours of musicians honouring Bruce by singing their own renditions of the Boss' hits. 

MY LOVE FOR BBC 4'S DESERT ISLAND DISCS

Since the middle of December I have found myself at every opportunity either downloading or listening to BBC 4's Desert Island Discs podcast. Whereas before I'd put on a YouTube video, Netflix or some music on Spotify, I now find myself listening to either Roy Plomley, Michael Parkinson, Sue Lawley or Kirsty Young interviewing some of my favourite people in the whole world. I think a reason why I love this programme so much is that by making a person choose only 8 songs, 8 songs out of all the hundreds of millions of songs in the world, it allows you to learn a lot about a person - sometimes more that words could ever say.

Over the past few weeks, whether I've been cooking, reading, working or dozing I've been enjoying learning more about my favourite actors, writer, politicians and musicians while also discovering a whole host of new names and voices that I am now big fans of as a result of their story and personality but let's be honest, if they pick a great tune then I don't really care who they are, I am instantly in love with them!

A VERY MIXED MIX TAPE

When faced with the question "what music are you into" my immediate response is rock/blues. It always has (except for the whole Sclub 7, Steps, Bewitched period) and most probably will always be my answer. I have been brought up in a house whose walls regularly vibrate with the sounds of AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and B.B. King and have spent many a night queuing to go see the likes of U2, Jools Holland and the Manic Street Preachers.

However, if you looked at my Spotify playlists you would question my answer. Out of the gazillion playlists I follow or have created only a minority of them support my 'rock/blues' answer. My playlists range from the works of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem and Dr. Dre to 90s classics from TLC, Will Smith, Nirvana and Shania Twain. Often a Blink 182 song is succeeded by Beyonce or the voice that is Tom Jones.

Even in my day to day interests I confuse myself. One second I could be totally engrossed in a rugby match and in a blink of an eye I'll find myself reading Bridget Jones' Diary all over again while listening to some Motörhead before settling down to read what's been going on in the world of international politics all while roaming Asos for a new dress or a nice pair of trousers.

I think this very random, questionable even, playlist that I have created for the blog today perfectly illustrates how maze-like my mind is. You never know what's round the corner up there. One morning  I'll wake up wanting to dress like Keith Richards the next I would do anything to wear the clothes of Cher from Clueless. I guess it makes my life interesting, ey!

RIVAL SONS [SCALA, LONDON 9/6/14]

Last Monday my friend Katie and I headed over to Scala at Kings Cross, London to watch one of my favourite bands, Rival Sons and it was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Just incredible.

I first heard the band play on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show last April and I was instantly hooked. Jay Buchanan's voice is just magnificent and if you haven't listened to any of their stuff please do. For the last year I had been playing their stuff non-stop on Spotify and I had bought a few of their CD's. Basically my music listening was taken over my this band from LA so when I saw that they were playing down the road in London there was not two ways about it, I was going.

Scala is a great venue as it's so intimate which makes for an electrifying atmosphere. Jameson opened the show as the Rival Sons' support act and he was great. As well as being devilishly handsome his bluesy guitar playing and raspy vocals worked together flawlessly and I would honestly pay to go see him headline his own gig - so good!

The band opened with five songs from their newest album, Great Western Valkyrie. The first being the unmistakable Electric Man which was accompanied buy some awesome guitar playing from Scott Holiday. From the get-go the crowd was head banging, shouting and dancing. After every song the applause was almost deafening. Good Luck, Secret, Play the Fool and Good Things followed before an amazing rendition of my personal favourite, Jordan, from their 2012 album Head Down. It was spine tingling stuff.

With the high tempo Gypsy Heart and the newest single Open My Eyes the crowd was sent home with an amazing and equally emotional rendition of Face of Light. 

Wow. When we walked out of the gig towards the tube we couldn't believe what we had just witnessed. Two weeks before, both of us were at Finsbury Park for the Arctic Monkeys gig and I can honestly say that the Rival Sons gig was better. Controversial? Maybe. Truthful? Definitely.

ARCTIC MONKEYS FINSBURY PARK 24.5.14

I think it was less than a week after seeing the Arctic Monkeys in Cardiff back in November of last year that I had already bought tickets to see them at their Finsbury Park gig. The Monkeys are definitely the band of our generation and seeing them live now is totally different to when I first saw them back in 2007 - which is a great thing.

There is no doubting that Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not & Favourite Worst Nightmare are two of the best albums from the last decade and with songs such as Dancing Shoes, Fake Tales of San Fransisco, Brianstorm & Fluorescent Adolecence it is obvious why. However, their  2009 and 2011 albums Humbug & Suck it and See respectively, despite one or two songs such as Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, didn't connect with their audience as much as AM has.
Since AM's release last year it has just exploded and their new live set that is filled with most of the tracks off the new album feels as comfortable and familiar as any of their hit-filled shows.

Armed with coats and umbrellas we headed on the tube over to Finsbury park last Saturday ready for an evening filled with great music. It all began at half 5 when Royal Blood came on to the stage. I had never really heard much about this Brighton duo but wow, they were awesome. Personally I felt that they were the best support group out of the three that performed before the main act came on stage. Their heavy rock sound made from just a simple bass and drum duo was insane and I have certainly added all of their songs to my Spotify playlist. Miles Kane was next, I had seen him once before as he was the support at some gig I went to which I can not for the life of my remember but despite one or two songs he was not all that great. I much preferred Royal Blood. Tame Impala were the penultimate act on stage at Finsbury and at this point we had made our way to the back of the crowd where we had THE best view of the stage as we were perched on a little hill and we had loads of room to dance/head bang and chat to random people. Tame Impala's tracks would be awesome to put on in the house on a sunny relaxing day when you just want to chill.

Just as the sun was setting the thumping sound of Do I Wanna Know sounded out around North London and Alex Turner and the band came on stage to perform to over 30,000 people. Their setlist was once again very awesome and I must say that I think my favourites from Saturday was Brianstorm because everyone just went mental, Dancing Shoes, Arabella ... actually I could go on forever. Although, there is no denying that finishing the show with R U Mine was genius and a great way to leave the crowd pumped as tens of thousands of us queued to get on the tube back to our homes after yet another awesome, mostly rain free, Monkeys gig :) Oh, and did I mention that there was a Last Shadow Puppets reunion during the encore ;)

REVISION PLAYLIST //

I talked about my extensive Spotify playlist listening while revising in my last blog post, so I thought I might put the playlist on here so you can have a look/listen to what I sing to while attempting to learn whether it was politics or religion that was the biggest trigger in the start of the English civil war and whether the religious reformation was in fact completed when Elizabeth passed the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity or, if Oliver Cromwell was right in saying that more needed to be done. Interesting, no?! If I am totally honest with you, if I wasn't so stressed because of the little time I have to revise, I would actually enjoy reading over what I've been taught this year. I do enjoy it now but I am more concerned in ploughing through and remembering everything more than anything else. But, as I repeat over and over in an attempt to convince myself that it's true, I can only do my best and work my hardest. 

I add tracks to this playlist on an almost daily basis as I procrastinate from my work, so be sure to follow in order to keep up to date with my revision playlist // My favourite at the moment is Dynamite Hack's cover of Boyz in the Hood. 

WEEKEND IN PICTURES// MANICS, COFFEE AND TRAVEL

Friday // 

Saturday //

 Manics //

Sunday //

Friday // Friday morning I popped to the gym to squeeze in one more session before coming home for Easter. After that, myself and Laura had some breakfast, sat on the couch in the living room wrapped in duvets and blankets and watched day time TV, you know - all the classics, Jeremy Kyle, This Morning. Eventually I had to move because I had a train to catch to Cardiff central where I would be staying for the weekend. 

Saturday // After a rather lazy morning, myself and my mam headed in to Cardiff central to do a bit of shopping but mostly to have coffee at Coffee Barker - probably the best cup of coffee you'll get in Cardiff. Yuuuuum. While on our little wander we popped in to the White Company where I bought the perfect white tee which I quickly changed into because my jumper was just too warm. I also bought a new foundation and blusher from Benefit, where I also booked in for a free makeover just before my birthday - yaaay. A quick lunch in Madame Fromage (lush place down Castle Arcade) and it was time to pop back to Canton to get ready for the Manic Street Preachers gig that we were going to later that evening. The Manics are one of my all time favourite bands and I have seen them twice before and they did not disappoint last weekend. James Dean Bradfield's voice is insane and when he played some acoustic songs he really showed it off. They also played two songs from their forthcoming album that really remind me of their earlier stuff - more political, more rock. With the last chord of A Design For Life being played we headed on the bus home. 

Sunday // After packing, having a quick brunch in The Fat Pig Deli and creating a playlist for the ride home on Spotify (mostly consisted of Manics classics) we made our way West and back home.