A while ago I wrote a review of Beyoncé's show at The LG Arena here and in the review I basically stated that through some crazy luck, I was actually paid to see Beyoncé live... Well it's happened again, except this time, I got to see Prince! To put it lightly, it was a spectacular performance.

Again, as with the Beyoncé show, I did unfortunately miss Laura Mvula supporting and a couple of Prince's first songs but they sounded brilliant even from outside. As I was ushered to my seat, he and his ridiculously talented band - 3RDEYEGIRL - were playing "Kiss". I don't know how long I was smiling uncontrollably for but let's just say it wasn't until the intro to "When Doves Cry" came in that I realised that my smile couldn't physically get any bigger! Even though the view that I had of the stage wasn't ideal; I could still see everything, feel the vibes and experience the greatness. A real highlight was actually being surrounded by a hoard of middle-aged people bellowing lyrics and "dancing" in the least flattering ways - it was nice to feel the camaraderie even up in the stands.

As Prince performed some personal favourites like, "1999", "Little Red Corvette" and "Guitar" I was dancing and clapping as if we were doing a duet and I was loving every second of it. Then the inevitable - lighters were raised, voices were hushed, lights were dimmed and purple confetti fell from the sky as "Purple Rain" rang out across the arena. IT. WAS. PERFECT. I had my eyes closed for part of the song and it just felt like a wave of calm fell over the arena. It was such a seamless mood-shift. As the show came to an end he rounded off with some mind boggling solo's from both himself and the all-female band, each of them showing off their immense talent before the lights came back on and everybody started leaving.

As I was walking back out I could still hear people inside cheering, but the lights were still on, so I walked into the standing area just to have a peak and see if anything else was happening. The stage was bare and the lights were on but the crowd was still really really cheering - so of course I joined in. This went on for about 10 minutes and then Prince and co. stepped back on stage for an encore! It was obviously uncalled for as the lights stayed on for their first couple of songs before Prince himself had to say "turn the lights down!". It was incredible. By this point I was right up close to the stage and they were just, there! Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL... there... in front of my eyes. I couldn't believe it. The encore had just as much fire and sensuality to it as the main show, ending with "What's My Name?" and leaving the crowd more than satisfied. This night was definitely one off the top of my bucket list - a definite must-see!

Overall Rating - 9/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

Another impromptu gig review. This Sunday (23/02/14) through a series of extremely fortunate events I was actually paid to see Beyoncé at The LG Arena - I'm still trying to fathom how this worked out so well! Either way, it happened and here is what occurred on the night...

Before I got into the actual arena I did miss the first couple of songs but "Run The World (Girls)" and "Flawless" sounded glorious even from outside. By the time I got inside Beyoncé was singing "Get Me Bodied" and I was just elated. Beyoncé has this crazy effect on me - I just can't help but be in awe of her. I managed to snake my way close to the front of the smaller stage and had a pretty good view. To my surprise however, the crowd was pretty dead. I don't know whether they were just uninterested, didn't know the songs or just simply too awestruck to move but 90% of the people around me were just stood still staring - I couldn't believe it. That night I danced without a care in the world - I just wish that the rest of the crowd hadn't been too busy taking photos and videos to dance with me.

I digress, Beyoncé performed older hits "Diva" and "Baby Boy" before getting to a new album favourite of mine "Blow". She delivered this track with such sass and swag I couldn't help but jump about chanting "I want you to turn that cherry out" to nobody in particular. And then came the game changer... As the bassline for "Partition" vibrated throughout my entire body a huge smile just spread across my face because I knew what was coming. Beyoncé is just a beautiful, beautiful woman! She did the whole dance from the music video - even the little stool-or-table-seductive-flip number and of course, she aced it. Later on, the song that has now become a musical masterpiece in countries we never even knew existed - "Drunk In Love". That - along with "Single Ladies" - is probably the most that the crowd moved the entire night. That song just does something to people.

To my surprise she sang one of my lesser known favourites - "Why Don't You Love Me?" and ended it with a dance sequence from Les Twins. This was probably the nicest surprise for me the whole night. After arena/stadium favourites "Crazy In Love" and "XO" she sang another new album favourite of mine and on the stage right in front of me - "Heaven". I'm not sure about the crowd near me but I was most certainly in heaven, her vocals were gorgeous - beauty just exuded from her. A Beyoncé show is a lot to soak up in the space of just over an hour. She rounded up with power ballad - "Halo" which had me smiling all the way home.

That's actually the second time that I've seen Beyoncé live and both times were free. Safe to say, I am a very lucky human being.

Overall Rating - 8.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night...