Howdy HiveClan, Happy to be back among the most awesometastical collective on the interwebs.
The words that immediately follow the ones I am writing this very second may take on a little more resonance when I tell you I wrote them almost a month ago. It is currently December 16th and the post was half written (for Galenkp's weekend engagement topic for week 75, tomorrow will be week 80!!!) at around the same point in November, I really gotta get my life sorted, master my time and my health and really get my shiz together! Let's see if I can get the train back on track right now and keep it there.
My Hive journey has been somewhat stuttering of late as that whole pesky 'real life thing' is not playing ball and refuses to act in accordance with the rigid and strict demands I have imposed on it. Who knew, maybe I am not a god and perhaps life really is a fluid and unpredictable beast that absolutely refuses to be tamed.
I'm fairly certain that there is a moral in their somewhere, a teaching that I am supposed to take on board and glean a little wisdom from, but like the pig-headed ignoramus I am, I will probably keep on trying to control those things I should have the wisdom to accept are beyond such constraints.
However I have recently made a bold commitment to myself and those who are important to me. You have probably heard me whinging about my health challenges over the last year or 2 and blahblahblahing about how I am going to change, real soon...
Well it seems that simply paying lip-service to such things is simply not enough so I have actually decided to take the bull by the horns so to speak and start to live the life that will help me be a healthier, happier version of me that may be around a few more years than seems my current trajectory.
Whenever I make a pledge to really follow-through with something in life, I either begin with a strong gesture of intent or choose a life-checkpoint as I call it and I had that opportunity just last week.
Before lockdowns were even a remote possibility in our minds eye I was given concert tickets for my birthday (September 2019) and after a couple of 'rona' re-schedules the show finally took place last Sunday.
My lady and I would spend a couple of nights away and take in the concert on Sunday night. The artist is an utterly amazing vocalist who I have followed almost 35 years although it causes me a shudder to realise it is that long and most of you will know his music even if you do not recognise him by name.
RICK ASTLEY.
If you remember the Rickrolling phenomena a few years back you'll know exactly who I mean. Rickrolling was a meme-like prank on those following a link to a YouTube video or a web link to a news story, recipe, study-aid or literally anything and resulted in being faced with Rick's video for 'Never gonna give you up', rather than what you expected ,it really was the weirdest, most random prank and the strangest thing is that it went global and lasted a long, long time.
Rickrolling resulted in winning the MTV award for 'best act ever', it was a tongue in cheek nomination but the public voted for him in masses.
Anyway, now we've gotten that sorted out let's get back to my weekend away and the fantastic concert we enjoyed.
Some of my friends find it strange that a nearly 50 year old dude follows someone who at the height of his fame was recognised as someone who primarily was marketed at teenage girls and maybe even Mums, but those people are missing some pretty compelling reasons to think the guy is bloody amazing.
Rick is from the North of England, from a very ordinary place and still speaks like someone at the beginning of their career rather than 35 years in to it. He is the most unassuming, humble, down to earth guy you could ever hope to meet. Rick never had his head turned by the whole L.A kinda scene and has remained true to who he is at heart throughout.
He has always seemed almost embarrassed by his fame but realises it is the price of following his greatest passion. He stepped away from the cheesy pop style that made him his name saying that the industry demanded him to act a certain way, sing a certain style and do the whole PR thing in a scripted, disingenuous, media-fake fashion and that was simply not for him. He turned his back on an incredibly lucrative future making music that he didn't like, wasn't proud of while pretending to be someone else.
Instead he got back to song writing and focussed on the music that resonated with him, performing the kind of concert venues that allowed him to feel closer to his fans he appreciated so much. He chose to live a life that was congruent with who he is and I have a massive amount of respect for that.
Rick has made many, many albums filled with funky, soulful, gospel tracks and still enjoys some of the pop stuff that made him his name but often writes music with a message that fits seamlessly and is never 'preachy'.
Most importantly though as an artist his voice is impeccable, he clearly spends time looking after his greatest tool and it is hard to believe when you hear him or indeed when you see him perform that he is in his mid 50's.
The concert begun with the supporting artist, or as many know them, the 'warm up act', an artist you may or may not remember K.T. Tunstall. Again, you may not know her by name but I would bet that if you heard the tracks Suddenly I see, Other side of the world or black horse and the cherry tree, you would recognise them. She is a Scottish vocalist and songwriter who came to prominence in 2004.
I was kinda looking forward to hearing her sing her biggest hits while waiting for the main event, but I was utterly blown away by just how fabulous she still sounds today. I was very sad to hear shortly before the concert that she was deaf in her left ear and has started to develop problems with her right, causing her to cancel her most recent solo tour. It is devastating for someone who so obviously loves music to face the prospect of losing it forever.
Myself, M'lady and the whole crowd were rockin' out to her set and afterwards a lot of people said that they had the same opinion as me that she was much better than they anticipated or hoped for. Sadly my camera despite being ridiculosuly expensive did not do justice to the shots of K.T as without the full light show on stage (that Rick did of course have) to give any depth to the shot, as you can see contrast is all but non existent, however, I didn't much fancy being thrown out for using flash photography after waiting a couple of years for the concert to actually take place.
I promise you, I swear, honestly, she DID have a face, my camera was just utterly incapable of discerning it from the spotlight glare but I promise that she had a face when we left her!
BUT... No matter how impressive K.T. Tunstall was, there was only one reason any of us were really there. I mean support acts will only ever get you so far. The warm up had gotten our appetites sufficiently whetted for the main event.
There was a few brief moments of utter darkness and the movement behind the scenes that any concert-goer will tell you can only mean one thing...
Suddenly the stage was flooded with light and the crash of the drums announced the arrival on stage of the dude we were all waiting for.
RICK BLOODY ASTLEY.
I have viewed much of the "pandemic" as an exercise in what happens when too many people are overcome with fear simultaneously, and when national leaders are happy to have them conveniently feel that way, BUT...
As Rick took to the stage and thousands of people erupted in applause, there were smiles and unbridled joy everywhere in the room and I felt a lump in my throat and a tightness in my chest when I thought of what we as a species have missed. Connection is so damn important to us and our wellbeing, I was very, very happy to share this moment with the woman I love more than almost anything on this planet.
Rick chatted with us all for a few moments, to hear this down to earth guy talking about being locked down in his house, and being over the moon about the chance to get out and see people again, you could have been forgiven for thinking that a good mate had popped round for coffee and a catch up. He really doesn't engage like a "star" or like someone who believes he is any better than any one else in the room
Next up, without further ado, he launched in to some of his greatest hits. In trademark Rick-style he added a little funk, a sprinkle of soul and a whole lotta fun and songs that were 30 years old sounded as relevant today as they ever did.
As I may have mentioned, I have seen Rick perform a few times and am always struck by how generous he is to those who support him. As he always does he provided a platform for the 2 backing singers who had awesome, massive, stunning voices to have a sing off. I'm telling you these girls would have made Aretha, Whitney and Dionne turn their heads and do a double take, my partner whispered in my ear that Rick always finds backing singers and a band that make you say WOW!
Rick always covers a couple of songs that have been massive for other artists over the last 12 months or so and this time around was no exception. I have previously heard him belt out massive hits like Giant by Rag 'n Bone man, Shotgun by George Ezra, Titanium by Sia and believe it or not, even highway to hell!!!
This time he made the Harry Styles (from One direction) hit, Watermelon Sugar sound better than ever before. I don't say that as a fan, I say it as a fan of live music and great vocals who appreciates such performance based alchemy.
The whole band were given their own solo sections and thus the opportunity to shine and even show off a little. Everyone of them absolutely "killed it" and used this time to maximum effect. I'm afraid my selection of photos don't do the show justice, many of my pics would not upload for some obscure, technophobe teasing reason and if you know me, rectifying such things is way beyond my skills. Some of the pictures of the most impressive parts of the lightshow and multimedia elements were unusable, that just means I gotta go see Rick again, right?
Yes as you may have noticed in the shots above, we were even treated to a rather impressive bit of wizardry, that showed us how Rick the video game might look, again I didn't really do it justice but I get points for trying right... Right???
I may be turning 50 in 2022 but for one night only, I heard some of the massive hits that I loved when I was 14 or 15 years old and I felt like I was right back there. There was one huge difference though, this time I was hearing them next to the woman who has made the last 3 decades or so absolutely amazing. As Rick sand the lyrics to his biggest ever hit, the one that was number 1 in 25 countries 'Never gonna give you up', I looked in to her eyes, smiled and thought...
"Me neither".
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
