So last weekend, I went to the McBusted tour twice at the LG Arena in Birmingham. My first intention was to just go once, as I wasn't keen on the whole McBusted idea. I loved seeing McFly and Busted perform together at the 10th anniversary shows at the Royal Albert Hall, but when they announced that they were teaming up for a tour, I had mixed views. I loved both McFly and Busted, and seeing them together was incredible, but I felt like that was a special thing for RAH and that by doing a whole tour of it, it wouldn't be special any more.
I decided to just go to one date - 3rd May - which was bought for me as a birthday present by my best friend's parents. My Mom threw a strop, basically, because she wanted to go and I was going with someone else, so I bought myself and her tickets for the night before (2nd May) when they went on sale.
Honestly, I wasn't excited at all. I was looking forward to it, but excited isn't the right word. I was unsure about the whole McFly / Busted combination and I was worried that nothing could compare to McFly's 10th anniversary shows at the Royal Albert Hall, which despite being in a wheelchair, was the best day of my life and I cried from start to finish.
Another thing that was making me worry was my seats for the first night. Having been due off crutches by the Christmas / New Year period, I booked tickets for McBusted in November with seats right at the top back of a block. Coming to the realisation that I wouldn't be able to make it to the top of there on my crutches filled me with dread so I rang the box office who said they "might be able to exchange the tickets on the night if there was space". The might and if put me in more of a panic.
After seeing photos, videos, the setlist and various other spoilers on Twitter, I was excited for the McBusted shows, but there was still a cloud hanging over me about my seats. What if I turned up and they couldn't seat me any where else? Would I have to miss the whole show?
I really needn't have worried. First of all, when going to the LG Arena on the first night, we were being dropped off. They were directing the drop off point in the opposite direction of the building and I began to panic, knowing I wouldn't be able to walk as far as the venue, even on my crutches. My Dad pulled up near one of the security men who were directing the traffic and explained that he was just dropping us off but that I was on crutches and couldn't walk very far. The security were really nice and directed us a different way, where my Dad was allowed to drop us off exactly outside the doors of the box office. It was perfect!
Upon arrival at the box office, we explained my situation and were told to go round the side, get our tickets scanned and then go to the other side of the box office. We did that, and our tickets were swapped immediately. No questions asked. I didn't even have to show my medical note or my letter from the hospital that I'd had done by my physiotherapist explaining why I couldn't go up the stairs at the venue. It was a breeze!
My Mom and I started queuing for merch, then a lady who worked at the venue came and told me that there was another stand nearer to where I was seated which I might get seen quicker at, meaning I wouldn't have to stand for as long, so we went down to there.
The merch I bought was:
- tour book (£10)
- McBusted white t-shirt (£20)
- OMFG tin with poster, 5 signed plectrums & signed drumsticks (£20)
- Bracelet / wristband (£4)
I was really unsure about whether to buy the OMFG tin or not because I thought, knowing my luck, I will win tickets for the OMFG zone and then it will upset me because I can't use them! However, I realised that if I did win them, someone else would be more than grateful for them and have a good time so I bought the tin anyway, and thankfully didn't win tickets! I must be the only person who bought an OMFG tin who was actually hoping NOT to win tickets!
We went to our seats which were seats 75 and 76 in the disabled area in block B (right hand side of the stage, Dougie's side). I was pleasantly surprised of the view considering how far back we were, and it meant that we would be directly in front of the B-Stage when McBusted came down in the UFO. I was really looking forward to being able to sit down through the whole gig...
That didn't happen. As soon as the lights went down, nearly everyone in the disabled box stood up and started dancing. I really didn't want to stand up because it causes pain, but I had no choice if I wanted to be able to see the stage! Luckily, I got to sit down for a while whilst the boys were on the B-Stage as it was directly in front of us so there was nobody obstructing my view.
It was a fantastic night, I cried a small amount and sang my heart out like I was an 11 year old girl again. It was also being filmed by ITV for a show called "Fearne and McBusted" that will be aired in the near future. I was so glad that I had got tickets for the night after as well.
The night after came and I headed off with my best friend and her parents for my belated birthday treat. We once again explained about my crutches to the security and even though we didn't have a blue badge, the security said that we were okay to park there which was really nice of them. I didn't have to worry about our seats for this gig as we were in the stalls anyway, but I didn't realise how close to the front we would be! Smack back in the middle, directly in front of Danny, we were Block B, Row YA - 14 rows back. The view was absolutely incredible.
I had more fun on the second night, mainly because my anxiety about the whole thing had dropped and I knew that I had a lot to look forward to. It was so hot down in the stalls and sometimes, I couldn't see because I can't stand on my tip toes due to my injury but it was frickin' incredible. I sang and screamed my way through the whole concert, and for the last few songs, I threw my crutches on the floor and had a bit of a (very painful) boogie without them, which I regretted immensely the next day when my leg was the size of a house!
It was a fantastic two nights and I wish I was going to more tour dates. I don't know why I ever doubted that McFly and Busted together would be good, and it definitely was as good as the Royal Albert Hall gigs, against all odds.
That weekend marked my 60th and 61st times seeing McFly, and I don't intend on stopping any time in the near future.
Clare
(twitter / instagram)
xxx
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