Gigs in 2019

I thought I'd do a little post rounding up all of the gigs I attended in 2019 as I had a goal to go to one a month at least, which I was on track to complete until earlier this month, when Sam Fender cancelled his Birmingham show. Despite that, I still went to 15 gigs plus two festivals so I think I've definitely got enough to talk about.

23rd January: The 1975 at Birmingham Arena

Started the year off well with this one, seeing one of my favourite bands for the second time, with probably the most visually appealing gig I've ever been to. As you'll see there's a huge difference between the photos from this one compared to the majority of the others in this post, as one, my friend took these, and two, their set design is just so good it's almost impossible to take a bad photo. The only thing that could've been better at this gig was the crowd and not having pale waves to support but the show was still fantastic despite those things, and I really enjoyed No Rome's set as well. You can watch my vlog from the evening here.

9th February: Don Broco at the SSE Arena Wembley

Probably the best gig I've ever been to, this night is definitely up there as one of the best of my life and I'm definitely going to make an effort to see Don Broco hopefully many more times as they are the best live band I've seen, and the crowds seem to be the most fun as well. I also loved seeing Neck Deep for the first (and hopefully not) last time as for some reason I'd really not been able to get into them beforehand, but ever since this night I've loved them. You can watch my vlog from the evening here.

12th March: Yungblud at o2 institute Birmingham

This was my third time seeing Yungblud and possibly my least favourite, however I still enjoyed it a lot, especially as it was at my favourite venue. This gig also introduced me to Carlie Hanson, an American singer who performed in the UK for the first time on this tour (she then did a headline tour here in September but I sadly didn't go). I'm personally not the biggest fan of Dom's new music compared to his older stuff so I probably won't see him again unless at a festival, especially as he plays bigger venues now, but as cheese as it sounds I'll definitely remember all the good times I've had because of his music. You can watch my vlog from the evening here.

 26th March: Sports Team at the Bullingdon Oxford

Seeing Sports Team on their first headline tour will definitely go down as one of my highlights this year, mostly because I was just so surprised with how much I loved it. I only really bought a ticket because one of my friends really likes them and had no one to go with. I listened to them a bit in the run up to the gig but didn't love any of the songs until I saw them live. Now I've seen them twice since this night and I hope I'll get to see them again at least once next year as their shows are just so much fun. You can watch my vlog from the evening here.

28th April: Girli at the Bullingdon Oxford

I've liked Girli for quite a while now so it was nice to get to see her at one of my favourite venues as well as hear the songs from the album that I'd basically been listening to non-stop that month. Again, Girli is another artist who's songs I connect a lot of memories to which made the night even better, even if her live vocals aren't fantastic. I find it funny as well how the support for this gig was Ashnikko who is now probably much bigger than Girli is, especially as she got big in such a short space of time. You can watch my vlog from the evening here.

27th May: Trophy Eyes at the Borderline London

I rarely go to London for gigs as there is usually somewhere closer but I didn't really have a choice this time as it was Trophy Eyes's only UK gig this year (except for Slam Dunk). I'm so glad I did go though as it was such a good night, even if my ears were ringing for about 4 days afterwards. I'm pretty sure the venue this was at is closed now as well, so it was cool to go just beforehand. I'm absolutely dying to see Trophy Eyes again after this so I really hope they either tour here next year or play Reading/Leeds. you can watch my vlog here.

10th June: Wallows at o2 institute Birmingham

Surprisingly this was one of my favourite gigs this year, despite not actually listening to Wallows that much. I absolutely loved their entry to the stage and the encore in particular and the crowd was also a lot better than I expected despite being at the back. It was also great to go back to my favourite venue and I don't think I'll ever not enjoy a gig here for that reason, even if it does sound a bit stupid. I'd love to see Wallows again this year so hopefully they might play some UK festivals this summer. You can watch my vlog from the gig here.

25th-28th July: Truck festival 

Since I already made a post about my highlights of festival season, there doesn't really see much point in reiterating that so I'll link that post here and just insert some photos here as for some reason I didn't in my post last time. You can watch my Truck prep vlog here and my actual Truck vlog here.

(Pictured: Nothing But Thieves) 

22nd-25th August: Reading festival

(Pictured: The 1975)

Vlog here

14th September: Ariana Grande at Arena Birmingham

This was my only seated gig this year which was really nice for a change and we weren't as far back as I thought we'd be which was a surprise. I really liked the setlist at this show as there was a good mix of songs from all 5 albums and not just from the two albums she was touring, which in my opinion are her weakest. The visuals at this show were quite impressive and it was cool to see a show with a lot of choreography at the same time as that isn't what I see at most of the gigs I go to (for obvious reason). You can watch my vlog here.

8th October: Easy Life at o2 Academy Oxford 

I really wish this wasn't my only photo from this evening but I always end up forgetting to take any so this will have to do. This was my second time seeing Easy Life after really enjoying them at Truck and they definitely didn't disappoint the second time around. It was great to hear 'Nice Guys' live and that was probably my highlight of their set. I did think it was a bit naff when they played 'Pockets' twice and the crowd could've been a lot better, but I still really enjoyed myself. You can watch my vlog here.

30th October: Airways at Mama Rouxs Birmingham

I'd been meaning to get to see these guys for quite a while and after loving them at Truck I knew I wanted to see them again. This venue was so cool and so unlike any I've been to before which really made the gig even better. There were three support acts which was a bit random and a bit long, but the majority of them were pretty good so I didn't mind too much. I'd definitely see Airways again and I'm really excited to see them playing bigger venues as time goes on. You can watch my vlog here.

3rd November: Everyone You Know at o2 Academy Oxford

Probably another one of my favourite gigs this year, I really enjoyed seeing these guys as they are so different to anyone else I listen to and put on a great show. I wish their set had been a bit longer but they do only have 2 EPs so longer sets should definitely come in time. I'd absolutely love to see these guys again so I really hope they tour sometime this year. You can watch my vlog here.

4th November: Catfish and the Bottlemen at Arena Birmingham

I was definitely a bigger fan of Catfish when I bought the tickets as I was when it came around to the show but I did still enjoy it. The setlist could've been better for me personally but only as I'm not too familiar with the most recent album, so I spent some time just standing there like a lemon pretending to know the lyrics when those songs were playing. I probably wouldn't see Catfish again except at a festival unless they really do something new with next album (which I doubt). You can watch my vlog here.

9th November: Boston Manor at the Craufurd Arms Milton Keynes

(ignore my gun fingers)

Another one of my favourite gigs this year, this band have so much live energy and the crowd just amplify it. The setlist was great and I really couldn't fault a single thing. You can watch my vlog here. 

12th November: YONAKA at o2 Academy Oxford 

It was so good to see YONAKA again as I really love seeing female-fronted bands and these guys are really cool. The setlist was great and I loved the slower, more acoustic moments just as much as the more energetic ones. I can't wait to see YONAKA grow especially now they're on a track with Bring Me The Horizon, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for this year. You can watch my vlog here.

21st November: Sports Team at o2 Academy Birmingham

Considering how much I loved seeing Sports Team on their tour in March and then at Reading, I was really glad they decided to do a second tour in 2019 and as they've been releasing songs pretty often there were always ones I hadn't heard live yet. Sadly they're not playing 'Ski Lifts' anymore (or weren't on the most recent tour anyway) but I am really excited to hear the album which should be out for release sometime this year, and hopefully see them again sometime. You can watch my vlog here.

Thankyou for reading if you managed to make it this far as I know this is quite a long one. I already have a few gigs planned for his year but I'm really excited to see what tours are soon to be announced, as well as festival lineups which I'm getting fed up of waiting for.