Hey guys! In case you don't happen to know, I am a HUGE fan of the band Lawson and I FINALLY attended their tour in November at Sound Control in Manchester and what's more, I GOT VIP TICKETS. Yes you read that right, I GOT TO MEET MY IDOLS. Personally, I am quite proud of how I acted whilst I met them. I mean I held myself together and didn't collapse or anything so I'd call that a win! I guess you'll just have to ask my awesome friend Lyndsey who accompanied me... Anyway here is the set list.
VIP
Stolen
Short rendition of Chimpanzee Riding on a Segway
Red Sky
Main Show
When She Was Mine
Learn To Love Again
Mountains
Roads
Make It Happen
Taking Over Me
Everywhere You Go
Under The Sun
Brokenhearted/I Shot The Sheriff
We Are Kings
Hold My Hand
Juliet
Encore
Standing In The Dark
First things first, they were amazing! If you get the chance to see them then go! They will not disappoint. The VIP package included a pre-show performance, early entry into the main show, a photo opportunity with the band, a wristband and a signed 2016 calendar. The VIP section was very relaxed and informal, with the guys talking to the crowd like old friends. They were joking around and it was great to see them so laid back and having a laugh telling stories. One of my personal highlights was Andy forgetting the words to Stolen as they hadn't performed it a while. There were a few of us that knew all the words and were singing along with him looking to us for help. Then we got to meet them! They are such nice individuals and we got to have a photo with them although I felt that it was very rushed which let the whole experience down. Every time someone tried to start a conversation with one of the band members, their management were shouting at them to hurry up so my only wish was that we'd had chance to have a quick chat with them rather than being moved along like we were just another fan on a conveyor belt. However, I did manage to quickly hug Andy and Ryan (didn't get chance to hug Joel and Adam) and managed to quickly say something along the lines of 'thank you for not giving up on being a band because it stopped me giving up on doing music' and Andy replied with 'don't worry about it, we'll always be a band, we'll never give up' with Ryan adding 'even when you're sick of us'. So there you have it! Proof from the guys themselves that Lawson will always be a band!
Lawson ran a competition for each of the shows for a local band to open for them and for the Manchester show, a band called Frontiers performed. They were so good! I expect they gained a fair few fans from that show with me included! Afterwards, the main support act, Pete Gardiner performed. Now I have to say that I really wish it had been the other way around as Frontiers only had around 15 minutes and Pete had at least double that and from what I heard around me in the crowd, other people felt the same way as me. Frontiers captivated the audience and left everyone watching in awe whereas when Pete was performing, everyone seemed to be having conversations with each other.
Moving on to the main act, LAWSON! They opened with their debut single When She Was Mine which led straight into Learn To Love Again, two of my absolute favourites from the band. The live version of Learn To Love Again is one of my favourite songs of all time. There's just something about the way it sounds live, with more energy and power than the studio version.
The rest of the show was awesome, with songs off the new EP such as Mountains, Under The Sun and We Are Kings along with the latest single, Roads. They also brought out a few old favourites such as Make It Happen and an acoustic version of Everywhere You Go. They also performed an acoustic version of their second single, Taking Over Me.
The encore consisted of a single song, Standing In The Dark. In my opinion, Standing In The Dark is the fan favourite, they always play it and everyone always sings along at the top of their voices. It's another one of my favourites and I just love everything about it. The show finished and Adam threw his drumsticks into the crowd with one nearly knocking me out but Lyndsey somehow caught it! I am very jealous!
We waited around outside for a bit and saw them as they left but they weren't able to stop and chat to anyone but I was happy enough that I got to meet them earlier on. All in all it was an absolutely amazing show and I can't wait to go again! Please do another tour soon!
