Bowie's Big artRAVE Adventure! (3/3 now up!)

[Bowie 4]

 

 Greetings, Gaga Daily! Welcome to my unbelievably long, tragically havoc artRAVE diary! Lay back, and feast as this messy-story guides you through the London artRAVES... 

 

Show #1 (23.10.2014) 

 

My friend and I arrived with time to spare before the opening acts came on, so we bought ourselves a bit of merchandise beforehand. We both had dressed up, although my outfit was a disastrous flop compared to my friend's. She had handmade the 'Rave Girl' look, complete with leg warmers and the LED Gaga wig in red. Lots of people took pictures with her, and if I was lucky, me too. A member of staff took our picture for some online gallery, and we also got to use a free photobooth because we looked "totally awesome".

Before we'd even got in the arena, drama started Our tickets wouldn't scan, and the scanning machines all came up red. *Cue massive panicking from us*. We were told to wait over with some other people whose tickets weren't registering. As it turned out, we'd be reseated from our side-view seats to Row H, pretty much in line with the 'Venus bridge'. The view was fantastic from our new seats, and we got some physical tickets, which was a nice momento, too.

At around 7:30pm Breedlove came on. He was great fun, and we enjoyed his set and had a good time bopping to his songs (N.B: "Sex O'Clock" was stuck in my head for the next two days). At times, I did feel as though his voice was more suited to glam-rock than dance music, but hey, it got us all in a good mood where we were sitting anyway. He introduced Starlight at the end of his set; she played for probably around 30 minutes, I'm not too sure. I kind of lost track of time a bit. It was definitely the kind of techno music to get you in the mood, but I felt like she went on a tinsy bit too long. She looked super cute though in her outfit, like something out of 'The Sound of Music' or the like.

Shortly before Gaga came on, my friend lost her phone ( :dead: ). We managed to find it in time, beneath the seats in front of us. She then put some UV paint on my face to spice up my otherwise-floppy outfit a little bit. At about 8:45pm the curtain fell and everyone was ready for Gaga to come on - I'd seen videos of the show so I knew what to expect, but let me assure you, NOTHING compares to seeing & experiencing this show live. The quality of the sound, the colours and the lasers, just wow! And of course, Gaga's vocals. We could see her so clearly during the opening numbers, and that sent my friend & I into a meltdown of interstellar proportions. All of the interludes were really amazing, too, especially the one prior to "Venus", although it seemed as though there were some sound problems during that song.

Gaga's acoustic performances were truly something. "Born This Way" brought more than a tear to my eye, and by the end of it, my friend and I were crying into each other's arms - something I had not expected myself to do; there was just something about it, I can't say what. After this, the show continued, and I realised that I had somehow developed the ability to jump very high, wave my arms even higher, and sing surprisingly in tune at the top of my lungs. We collected a lot of confetti that fell on us during the show, and suffice to say, after "Swine" we were well and truly exhausted.

Of course, "Gypsy" was yet to come. We ran down to some empty seats in the second row. My friend picked up one of the plush toys they throw out during "Jewels n' Drugs", and we waited for Gaga to return for the last number. It was really beautiful, and sounded so euphoric live, with all of the fans singing along. After the concert had ended, we ran around the seats picking up more confetti, and spotted Breedlove talking to fans on the floor. We called out to him, and he came over and complimented us on our outfits (we were "perfect" apparently; that made my night) before security cleared us out and we went on our way home.

The show was truly amazing, and such an experience for the both of us - and if anything, it only made us more ready for the next one.

 

Show #2 (25.10.2014) 

 

Before we get into this one let me give you a little bit of a story. After Thursday's show I must have got about 4 hours' sleep before getting up the next day to go in for my exams at school/college/call it what you will. So, by lunchtime, I was a wreck. Turns out I'd also contracted a virus (presumably earlier in the week), and by late afternoon I was back in bed asleep, and the rest is pretty unpleasant, so we'll stop there. I didn't eat until late Saturday morning, and honestly didn't think I'd be going to any more shows. Thankfully, though, I did...

My friend arrived shortly before 4pm, in her outfit once more. She was a bit sick too, and hadn't bought our glitter dummies (I'd dug out a chain for mine, but it was fine, because I was too excited to care, really) or glow sticks. But she'd brought herself, her costume, and her face paint kit so we were set. The journey on the Tube wasn't too bad (apart from a young child who saw my friend and loudly exclaimed: "Oh s**t!") and we got up there around 5:30pm I think. We weren't completely sure what to do with ourselves for the next 3 hours, but were ready for more members of the public to come up and take a picture with us - well, my friend. The first of these members of the public turned out to be one of my good friends from Gaga Daily, Alex! We'd been meaning to meet up but his phone was dead, which had made communication pretty difficult as you can imagine. *Cue hugging and selfies*.

Alex, my friend and I spent the next hour or so hanging around in & outside of the O2 complex, cat-walking and getting into an unfortunately embarrassing incident, involving a tube of UV Hair Gel which sprayed all over a bald man's head and up the toilet walls (we couldn't stop laughing and apologising, some others in the loos said the poor guy had been "jizzed on" ). After this, we hastily went outside to Tesco's and bought ourselves some food and drink, and waited anxiously for Alex's friend (I won't say her name for sake of privacy) to arrive from Comic Con. We didn't have her number, but she finally arrived to everyone's relief, so we sat outside in a huddle to brave the bitter cold and wait for some other Monsters to arrive from Gaga's hotel, as Alex had got his tickets for the show from our friend Brooke, also from this site. We had a really good time just chilling outside, and because Alex is naturally warm and I'm naturally very cold, I spent most of the time hugging him to try and warm up, and because frankly, he's awesome. We went to Starbucks and they were playing "Just Dance", which really hyped us all up.

We managed to get the tickets off Brooke at just after 7pm. It was great to finally meet her, as well as two other amazing fans (again, privacy), one of whom I'd seen before at a Tony Bennett gig. It was just wonderful to finally meet people in the flesh who are really like me in many ways. My friend and I said our good byes and got ourselves safely in our seats to watch Breedlove again. The seats were near the top of Level 1, so the view was much more vast than before. After Starlight came on, we decided we both felt too ill to sit bunched up in the arena for the next 50 minutes, so went outside and painted my face like the Pierrot figure (as seen in "Applause"). We got a bite to eat, and some more merchandise, and then took our seats for Gaga. She was on a bit later this time, nearer to 9pm than 8:30.

The show was again incredible. We took it a bit easier the second time around, but we definitely knew what to expect and everyone around us had a great time (especially the couple who were snogging the entire way through the concert!). She was definitely a lot more intense during "G.U.Y", and added a new 'mini-speech' before one of the choruses. Once more, the acoustic section was pretty emotional, although I didn't cry much on that occasion. I would say to anyone who's upset about not having standing that you shouldn't be at all, especially with a show like the artRAVE - there's parts of the concert where you can sit down and recover while she plays, you get an amazing view, because the stage is so extensive and bright, and there are still many, many hardcore fans in the crowd around you! Just before "Swine", we caught sight of some people leaving from the area we'd been sat in on the previous show, so after the song we sprinted around the entire arena, which was exhausting, and ran down to get front row, right by the piano! I couldn't believe it. There, we saw some young women, one of whom had been 9 months' pregnant (!!!) the last time Gaga had been on tour here in the UK.

"Gypsy" was incredibly beautiful, but what really was amazing was seeing Alex and his friend on the floor again during the song. All four of us held hands (paws interlocked, really) and jumped during the chorus, before security separated us. We said our goodbyes after the song; I kind of knew that I wouldn't get to see Alex again after that, because I knew the queue for drinks and merchandise after the show would take ages. Thankfully, he got to his hotel safe and sound, and we got home at just after midnight after another awe-inspiring evening!

 

 

Show #3 (26.10.2014) 

 

On the morning of the show, I was singing up in London as part of a choir event. By the time I'd got home in the early afternoon, I was exhausted. I rested up all afternoon, but about 10 minutes before I was due to leave I was really badly sick again (sorry for that!) However, I decided that I wasn't going to be sick again, and waited to be picked up anyway. I wasn't going with my friend to this one. Instead, my cousin had got us some free standing tickets (suffice to say, she has connections). When we arrived - after an eternity in traffic - we made our way through the standing entrance, and to my surprise, into a VIP lounge for guests and such like. Mainly corporate people there. I went for a sit down because I was feeling pretty bad, but was called over to have an ARTPOP Zone band strapped over my wrist. I was in a state of shock for about 5 whole minutes! We had been going to stand, but I honestly don't think I would have done it all without falling ill again. Some others in my party, including my other cousin (we have a large family, anyways) were taken under the stage through to a box whilst we took our seats. They saw Gaga getting ready to go on stage, and all of her costumes. I'll try and get some pictures.

Back to our little group of three. There were approximately five additional seats in the ARTPOP Zone for Corporate/Guest ticket holders. Gaga's parents were there, and I had a picture taken with Joe, and we had a quick chat, before the curtain fell after only a couple of minutes past 8:30pm, so I didn't get a chance to speak properly with Cynthia - I had hoped to thank her for her work with the Born This Way Foundation. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. I stood by the bar, directly in Gaga's view when she looked down from the piano. This also meant I could lean on the bar when I was feeling rough during the show, which did happened, so I was a bit reliant on the video screens for a couple of the songs to see Gaga. The ARTPOP Zone is really spacious; there is a lot of room to move around, so I was able to make my way to the lounge chairs when I needed to, and back to my space with ease.

Everything felt so surreal. During "ARTPOP", Gaga was at the piano smiling at everyone in the ARTPOP Zone, starting with me and a young man next to me, as we'd got closest to her direct line of sight (smart move, Bowie). Gaga was so close when she emerged before "Venus" and "Judas, but things got better! During "Dope" we were all swaying our hands in the air together, and shortly before "Yoü and I" (I think) she had a quick joke with her mum, which was really sweet, and during the same song, she pointed at me and a couple others next to me (we pointed back) as we all sang the bridge with her. For "Born This Way" she read aloud a lovely letter from a young gay couple, who came up on stage for the song. The tears really flowed from me during this performance, mainly because Lady ****ING Gaga was sitting there, right in front of me, singing such a powerful rendition of the song, and even smiling at me at one point when she saw me crying. The show carried on after this, but I was already hyping myself up for when she came down to the bar at the end of "Bang Bang", so I moved accordingly during "Alejandro". Then she was there as the song drew to a close - standing no more than 2ft away from me, almost within touching distance. I could see her so clearly it was unreal. Then, she sat down over the side of the catwalk and started chatting to the barmaid, who had her Stella Artois ready for her this time, and she smiled at all of us as we resisted the urge to climb over the bar and run for her Gaga looked beyond happy and healthy, it was such an amazing thing to witness. She came back for "Gypsy" at the piano, and smiled at us all once more. I'd rung my friend since, even though she wasn't there for the 3rd night, I'd promised to ring her during the song so she could hear. I had to tell her where I was then, before she saw it herself on social media, but I'd already made my mind up to show Gaga her costume and ask her to sign something. As it happens, we didn't go backstage to meet Gaga, purely because we had some of the corporate tickets, and not the ones people actually paid astounding amounts of cash for - fair enough. I wouldn't have known what to say anyway, and I looked like a sick mess at this point (I'd had to sit down during "Just Dance", "Poker Face" and "Sexxx Dreams" - Cynthia had been looking over at me to check that I was okay, which was lovely. Joe ate popcorn and shared it out with a few people). Thankfully, her parents didn't mind too much when my cousin developed a knack for accidentally injuring them (she elbowed Cynthia, who was the one who kept apologising), and trod on Joe's foot. Oh dear.

As we were whisked out of the ARTPOP Zone and back to our VIP Lounge, I caught sight of Brooke again (see Show #2) along with Deano, from Gaga Daily, and some others I'd met in the line on Saturday, too (again, privacy!) I didn't really get a chance to talk to them, because we had to go back and out of the venue pretty quickly. I honestly just could not contain myself. What a night. I'd gone in with pretty low expectations of throwing a letter on stage, which I'd written in my ill-state that afternoon, to being smiled at by the woman who completely changed my life. My friend & I had already given in letters to give to Gaga through the O2 staff on the night of the first show, so she may get them, hopefully! I had some money left, so purchased some last minute merchandise before I left (I think I've got everything apart from clothing from the tour now - I'm broke, consequently) and we made our way home.

Overall, that night was just surreal, absolutely surreal and spellbinding. I felt so lucky just to even get part of the ARTPOP Zone experience, and was so moved by Gaga just being a few feet away from me, smiling at me, and putting on yet another awesome show! Bring on the next tour, I say (if I can afford it after this week, that is!!)

 

[amenART 429]

can't wait for them

you're so lucky going to 3 artRAVEs 

[ELECTRAHEARTPOP 93]

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the 25th since that was mine also, but you were seated. It will be interesting to hear how your experience was different and how you thought that date compared to the others

[Bowie 4]

can't wait for them

you're so lucky going to 3 artRAVEs

I know!

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the 25th since that was mine also, but you were seated. It will be interesting to hear how your experience was different and how you thought that date compared to the others

I'll post it up as soon as I can! :hug:

[amenART 429]

I know!

 

wish i could go to an artRAVE

[Rolodex of Hate 1,721]

3!!! I could just about afford enough time and money for one!!! I wish I was you   I went to the Manchester one and now I really want to go to the one in Birmingham but can't afford travel

[Lana Del Shade 78]

Boy, one of my cats its called Bowie bc she has different eye colours and i thought you were talking about her

BTW i read your adventure

[L E O 6,035]

I was like "damn you and you three artRAVE" and then I realized I'm going to 3 as well  Sorry  :cry:

 

Your report is truly awesome, makes me excited as hell   Can't wait to read the next two!

[Bowie 4]

Boy, one of my cats its called Bowie bc she has different eye colours and i thought you were talking about her

Awww, she sounds awesome!

 

I was like "damn you and you three artRAVE" and then I realized I'm going to 3 as well 

 

Your report is truly awesome, makes me excited as hell   Can't wait to read the next two!

Thanks - It only gets better!

 

3!!! I could just about afford enough time and money for one!!! I wish I was you   I went to the Manchester one and now I really want to go to the one in Birmingham but can't afford travel

The third show was free, and for the first show tickets were slightly reduced in price, and my friend got them for us without me knowing, so I would only have really gone to one in normal circumstances

[Bowie 4]

 

 

Posted it It's not too detailed but hope it's something! :)

[Elizabeth 450]

I'm so happy for you! It's great that you had such an amazing time and got to have a different experience at all three shows  

[Bowie 4]

I'm so happy for you! It's great that you had such an amazing time and got to have a different experience at all three shows

 

Thank you I'm now completely exhausted, though

[asana15 16,648]

Thank you David aka "Bowie". Amazing experience, unforgettable.

Can't wait for her to return to North America.

[Bowie 4]

Thank you David aka "Bowie". Amazing experience, unforgettable.

Can't wait for her to return to North America.

:HAHA: It was indeed!

[Guy Above You 57]

can you post a picture of your outfit with the makeup? I think I saw you