Muse - Emirates Stadium, 25/05/13

So the other night, I was lucky enough to see Muse on what I would say is their best tour yet. I've seen footage from all of their tours throughout the Showbiz era to The Resistance Era, then I got to see them last year on their The 2nd Law Tour and luckily this year on their Summer Stadiums 2013/Unsustainable Tour. I FEEL LIKE THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD

Let's go through the experience...

On Friday evening, me and my friends got the train from Newcastle down to London and stayed at a relative's in Windsor. Then on Saturday morning, me and one of my friends went to the almighty Emirates Stadium and waited outside from 11:30... the five and a half hour wait couldn't have been better! We met two other wonderful Musers, and we heard the band soundchecking United States of Eurasia, New Born and Madness; needless to say, I was borderline hysterical.

When the gates /finally/ opened, we ran inside to get our places at the front. Ended up two rows from the barrier as soon as we got in, the wait was definitely worthwhile!

Bastille were the first support act at 6pm... and they were one of the most boring bands I have ever witnessed. (Unfortunately I saw them again yesterday at Evolution Festival, and they were just as bad)

Then Dizzee Rascal was the second and final support act, and honestly, I thought he was brilliant. Unlike Bastille, he got the crowd going and was just generally really fun to watch and dance to! (BIG DIRTEE STINKING BASS, DIRTEE STINKIN BASS)

Then, the greatest band in the world themselves... MUUUUUUSE!

They're all my good photos! Here are my videos too: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbSvwfQN0xuuVxxU97jpHdSWYhhRT1td

Overall, it was truly one of the best concerts I've ever been to, on par to The Born This Way Ball which I attended in Manchester last year. Everything from the setlist to the pyrotechnics to the stage to the phenomenal performances from Matt, Dom and Chris was exemplary, and I know this won't be the last time I see them. If you have the chance to see them, grab it with both hands, they truly are the greatest band in the world!

A New Obsession

Over the past couple of months, I've rediscovered my love for the BBC's adaptation of Sherlock, and it's taken over my life. Quite literally.

For those of you haven't heard of it, "Sherlock is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories" (source: Wikipedia) written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Stephen Thompson, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson.

I could honestly go on forever about how exemplary every aspect of this show is... from the cast to the acting to the writing and to the cinematography, everything is impeccable.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen or at least heard of it (and if you haven't, why haven't you?), however, what I wanted to share with you today was the soundtracks.

Sherlock - Original Television Soundtrack, Music from Series One

Sherlock - Original Television Soundtrack, Music from Series Two

Most people have seen the show, but a lot of people miss the soundtracks. Written by David Arnold and Michael Price, every track perfectly illustrates the emotion and situation of the scenes they are used in, for example, every time I hear 'Prepared To Do Anything' on the Series Two soundtrack, well... I wouldn't want to reveal any spoilers. (but let's just say I sob quite a bit)

I've been listening to both soundtracks constantly in recent weeks, so if you've seen the show, I strongly encourage you to have a listen. I'm sure even those of you who haven't seen it will appreciate the musical artistry involved. Both are phenomenal, and for those of you who are emotionally invested in this series, incredibly emotionally evocative.

Here's a link to the Series One Soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEuhTza_eM8&list=PL4DCD36A1C653227D

And a link to the Series Two Soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plStTDFXq30&list=PL4A15B6DBD66232D0

Enjoy!

Melissa x

Jeffrey Campbell Foxy Gradient Shoes

Hello!

So recently, a beautiful package in the shape of a JC box arrived at my door, eeeeek! I squealed like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert, not going to try and deny it.

They're absolutely beautiful, with a white leather upper and gradient heel in the signature, chunky, Lita-esque shape, contrasted with the wooden platform. Can't wait to wear these at prom!

Have you bought any gorgeous shoes lately? I would love to see!

Melissa x

Rita Ora Meet and Greet Experience

Ahhhhhh, I had been looking forward to this day for so long and it was more amazing than I could ever have imagined!

On the morning of the concert, my friend and I who I was going with were ecstatic, we couldn’t wait! We had no idea that we were actually going to meet her too...

During my second lesson at school, @Turn1stArtists tweeted about a Newcastle meet and greet competition with Rita, where you had to take a photo of yourself with your tickets and hash tag it with “#radioactivetour”. Easy enough, right? Not for us!

I panicked because there was only about an hour and a half to enter, I didn’t have our tickets with me because I was at school and we only had a 15 minute slot at break to get my Dad (who isn’t very tech-savvy) to send us a photo of our tickets and enter. Wasn’t looking good...

Lucky enough for us, we managed to do all of that! We entered three times, and one of our entries was a picture of us with my drawing of Rita which we thought would give us an advantage.

Okay, so we entered, and it was just a matter of waiting... unfortunately, just to add to the tension, the winners were due to be announced at 12 which was at the start of the ONLY LESSON where I’m in the basement with no phone signal. Ahhhh, screw you Chemistry!

Me and my friend happened to be together during that lesson, which made matters even worse, we were just freaking the whole lesson! It was by far the longest 50 minutes of our lives; we were just dying to know if we had won. Luckily enough, our one of our amazing friends got signal at the end of the lesson, so while we squeezed each other’s hands, he checked my Instagram for that beautiful “WINNER!” comment...

WHAT

WE WON /TWICE/

ASDFGHJKLRIEOWTNUGVWCRGIMKRIUEHCVGTKGMVHKRMHGKSRH

We arrived on time, but still ended up waiting in the rain for 40 minutes and looked like drowned rats by the time we got inside the venue. We were worried about looking hideous standing next to the beautiful Rita, but fortunately, we had to wait another half an hour before going in to meet her! *reliefffffff*

There were about six pairs of people (including us) who were about to meet her, and we were at the back of the line meaning we had the longest time with her! Could this day get any better?!

Okay, so enough rambling... onto the actual MEET AND GREET!

When we finally went in, she was one of the most beautiful, genuine and down to earth people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, she was so lovely! She gave us both a hug when we went and was asking how we were, said we looked great, told me she bought a pair of white Doc’s (which I was wearing) that day... she couldn't stop apologising for us having to wait in the rain for ages, we didn't mind of course, it was so worth it! We felt so at ease with her, as if she was a friend we had known for years!

I showed her my drawing, and I was so happy because she was beaming; she absolutely loved it, I couldn’t have been happier with her reaction, I felt so honoured! She even said she'd put her copy up on her wall! She signed it for me, (even though she couldn’t figure out how to spell my name hehe) and I noticed her watch while she was signing it, it was gorgeous! She told me it was Rolex, and she pointed at my gold Casio and said “I’ve got loads of those, I love them!” I started babbling on about how I wanted it because it reminded me of her amazing style, and mid-blubbery-sentence, she hugged me again! I was so happy!

After that, we got our photo taken with her and said goodbye... we were sad to leave, but at the same time, so happy and overwhelmed that we had met one of the most beautiful and talented people in the world!

If you ever read this Rita, thank you so much for an amazing night, we’ll never forget it! I love you!

Melissa x

Rita Ora Drawing

I'm seeing Rita Ora tomorrow night at the O2 Academy in Newcastle, eeeeep I'm so excited! I'm really hoping to get this signed... *fingers crossed*

This is the first drawing I’ve finished in at least half a year, and I’ve realised how much I miss it! I used to regularly draw at all hours, even staying up until 2am on a school night to finish drawings, (ooh rebel) but now I just don’t have enough time because of GCSE’s and everything that entails them , namely homework, coursework and exam revision. Blehhhhh... you know the drill! (I'm such a whinge, don't pity me)

I tried out a technique I’ve never used before with this drawing, where I used a HB pencil to sketch out the main outlines and then went on to using multiple kinds of black ballpoint pen to draw it out properly. I’ve done some shading, particularly on the arms and the neckline, but very little elsewhere because I wanted it to look Andy Warhol-esque and make her facial features very prominent.

I’d love to know what you think! Please tweet me @melissateri or leave a comment, especially if you want to leave feedback for improvement, I’m always looking to get better!

Melissa x