Colours of Blue

Two weeks ago I went to see Blue perform in Cardiff! I saw them on their tour two years ago and it was quite frankly one of the best gigs I've ever been to, so I was really excited to get to see them live again!

The lads were performing in St David's Hall, a venue that I hadn't been in for at least 15 years (my first ever concert was in the same venue, Disney Channel Kids Awards....always been a cool kid, me! ;-) ha). 

We stumbled across 1/4 of Blue almost immediately upon arriving Cardiff. By stumble, I mean we accidentally nearly ran over Simon and his brother as they crossed in front of us on the way to the car park oops...!

We had meet and greet that night so at least we had something to speak to the lads about! We checked in with the rep from Live Nation and we met up with Charlee (long time fellow TW fan) in the queue. We were given our lanyards and special gift (a cute commemorative tour scarf) and then we got taken upstairs to the room where we'd be meeting them and got told what would happen.

the scarf, programme, signed print and lanyard

 The first bit involved a signing so everybody got to speak to the boys across a table whilst they signed a poster print for you. Lee made me laugh as he was very interested in what everyone had eaten for dinner and breakfast etc. I somehow thought that was an appropriate time to tell him about how we nearly ran over his fellow band mate earlier in the day...! He thought it was hilarious!

Next we got to take our picture with them. Normally meet and greets are quite strict, for example even though me and mum always buy a package which should allow us two photos, we always get bundled in together for a photo, however we were allowed to go separately this time.

Me and Charlee passed the time by discussing who we wanted to stand next to (unfortunately, without rearranging the band which I was too scared to do, or make the picture awkward, I couldn't stand in between my two favourites Duncan and Antony) lol. We felt pity on Antony as a few people in front of us had more or less blanked him so we made sure that we spoke to him, why wouldn't we? He's such a lovely guy!

When it got to my turn, I made sure to say hello and hug all the lads first. They were so sweet as usual! Duncan made me weak, normally I find the term 'baby' so cringeworthy but as I hugged him he goes 'hey baby' and I could have fallen through the floor there and then lol! He's been my fave since day 1, that's around 14 years of loving now haha. Their hugs were so good too and I could smell them on my top for ages after (idc as weird as that sounds, it's one of my favourite things lol. Band members always smell really good and it always seems to linger with you haha). I stood in between Lee and Duncan for my picture which actually turned out half decent for a change!

Simon, Lee, me, Duncan and Antony

When it was mum's turn she spoke to Simon about the potential running over in the morning and he just laughed as his brother was to blame for playing about - he remembered that we were in a white car though, awkward!

Before we left, the band took a group selfie with all the meet and greeters. You can just about see me in the back (I was wearing wedges AND standing on my tiptoes) #shortpeopleproblems !!!

it's a bit like Where's Wally...

We had to wait a short while for the auditorium doors to open before making our way to our seats. I wasn't too keen on the layout, despite being at the front it felt very far away but I was happy just to be in the gig.

Before the boys came on, there were two support acts. I've sat through some strange things in my time but the first lady and her dancing DJ were right up there with the weirdest. I can't even describe it, it was just surreal and not in a positive way. The second support act, Monica Michael was brilliant. An X Factor contestant from last year, she owned the stage with some great songs and prepared the crowd ready for Blue.

Finally it was time for the boys to perform! They did a mixture of their old classics along with songs from their new album Colours. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed compared to the last tour I went to, partially down to the fact that this was a seated gig (although I stood for the entire show) and also the new album has taken them to a more chilled direction. I found their last album Roulette to be a lot more uptempo than Colours, nonetheless there was still a great atmosphere at this gig! The boys had a live band and they showcased their amazing vocals (and moves) brilliantly.

Antony doing his thing

Simon serenading a lucky arm...

I've got to mention Lee's flawless vocals. I find that he gets a lot of stick as a person (which is unfair as he is actually so sweet) however in terms of his singing voice he is actual perfection. He gave me so many goosebumps, his voice is just unreal! Credit to Duncan, Antony and Simon too - they're fantastic! It's amazing to see a band still going strong and having the same chemistry as they did 14 years ago. Their fans were just as crazy too - there was a group of men and a gang of older women to our right who were just going for it, and in return got so much attention from the boys on stage!

Lee smashing it!

Duncan singing his heart out

It was a first class show and the boys deserve far more credit than what they get! They are true showmen, superb performers with banter to match. At the end of the night I managed to grab a setlist from the stage which is a nice little memento from the gig!

the setlist, mum had to cut off the duct tape that was on it haha

I hope I can see them again soon, they always make me really happy!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️