inyourroom

For my fellow completists out there: it's audio only, but the online store Qobuz currently sells a version of The Girls Aloud Show INCLUDING the missing verse of Untouchable, It's 6:16 long, unlike the cd/dvd/bluray/streaming version which is just under 5 minutes. I did buy the song, so I can confirm that it really is a more complete version (still not the full intro, but at least the song is unedited)

Oh, dear…

Cheryl mentioned tonight in her speech before Long Hot Summer that they were filming again.

We can be quite certain: it was announced on social media during the day, there were massive cameras in the venue and the Girls (Cheryl IIRC) mentioned during the show that they are filming for a dvd. I personally hope for a less outdated and higher resolution format, but that remains to be seen.

Can’t be sure about the release format, but at least we now know they are filming tonight.

WARNING: this is going to be long (and occasionally not pleasant, for which context is needed) I’d attended my first arena-sized live concert in 1991, and since then I saw more than 150 shows all over the continent by my favourite artists (mostly dudes just playing their instruments and singing). I also developed a habit of discovering musical acts at a time when they are at their least active, so naturally I got into Girls Aloud during their hiatus after the Out Of Control-era. They seemingly don’t fit among the bands I usually like (again, mostly dudes playing instruments), but “pop sensibilities with a bit of an edge” could be a fairly accurate way to describe music I’m drawn to, so they won me over quite easily. When they reunited for Ten and announced a tour, I was really devastated that I couldn’t make it, because it seemed obvious to me that they wouldn’t continue afterwards. Needless to say I jumped at the chance of seeing them this time, when I didn’t even think it was a possibility anymore. My first Girls Aloud live show was always going to be a unique experience for me: I’m here in London at their O2 shows as a fan of their music, so even if they just stood still wearing plain clothes and singing, I could have been sufficiently entertained, but I certainly don’t mind the additional show elements that I haven’t experienced at any other show before. What I never expected, is to find one aspect of the show so baffling, that I definitely needed some time and a second viewing before sharing. But first and foremost: the Girls were awesome on both nights so far (and I’m certain they will be on the next 3 as well), they all look and sound amazing, the show elements (staging, costumes, props, background videos, dancers) are all enjoyable, the Sarah moments are heart-wrenching but graceful, so there’s almost nothing to complain about. Almost. Because the backing track they are singing to is passable at best, and barely audible at worst. I’m not talking about the arrangements, it’s the actual sound: certain songs sounded as if someone pressed play on a playback device next door. I wouldn’t mind not seeing the musicians who play the songs (they could have been behind the screens), and I’m not some purist who expects every single note to be played on stage (I’m perfectly fine with my all time favourite band using prerecorded tracks since they started in 1980 to this very day), but the lack of power in the music made me question if there’s any live playing going on. To be fair, there are some songs that come across alright (Jump for example), but hearing the Girls singing their hearts out (and I have no doubt about them singing live) in the perfection known to mankind as No Good Advice to such a lackluster backing track (and the song still somehow working, because it’s that good) and especially Graffiti My Soul was just painful. So I checked the tour programme, browsed through the credits page to find a long list of names and their roles in putting the show together at every venue, there’s also a musical director (because they obviously updated the songs to fit the performance), but I couldn’t find anyone credited for playing the music, and I can’t make sense of it. The Girls Aloud Karaoke Show. I cannot comprehend this. They always had a live band. It cannot be a budget issue (there’s no need for an entire horns section, a basic 4-5 piece band would do), and I can’t think of any technical difficulty arisen since their previous tour to make live playing impossible. Also, the whole point of using anything prerecorded would be to eliminate the flaws of live performance and make the sound perfect, not worse. I don’t understand… Knowing all this, I’m still going to the next 3 shows, because the Girls are great, the actual setlist is almost flawless, and the show is a lot of fun, maybe someone will be able to make the backing track sound fine by night 5…

Definitely the weakest selection so far, with only one song (Waiting) that I really enjoy. The others aren't terrible, but they're all below avarage for me, so I went with a protest vote against the popular one.

For me, Life Got Cold could have been good enough to be considered, but not among these... Wake Me Up and Can't Speak French came really close, but I ended up picking the only non-single as favourite and the one that shouldn't have been a single was an easy choice.

Well, this was a very easy choice for me: Wild Horses is my clear winner and there's only one I don't particularly like (yes, that one). Their albums are quite frontloaded, so I'm not surprised by both lists looking ok so far..

I can see mine in the app, but they were bought through AXS. I would recommend trying to sign out and then back in, when I pressed "Access your tickets", 2 options showed up (1 - purchased through O2/AXS, 2 - purchased through other services) (Fun fact: my charity donations also show up in the upcoming list, with the date "WED 2040. NOV. 7. - 15:00")

I'll Stand By You was not meant to be that straight at first, but the more daring version was deeemed inappropriate for a charity single - which is exactly why I'm so excited we'll get to hear it finallly!

5th London show announced: Thursday 27th June 2024

All 4 dates in Swinging London Town

What a day! I was denied the pleasure of spending half an eternity in llimbo (also known as the lounge at Ticketek), just to learn at lunch break that everyone else was doing exactly that. By some (kind of) miracle, a new email appeared from nowhere, with links leading me to the axs website, so I was finally able to grab tickets for the (first 2) London shows. Although it won't be ideal to see them now for the first time, I'm so happy to experience something that I no longer expected to happen at all, and I have no doubt that it will be a great time :)

I was counting down the days to this presale, but my access to the Ticketek website is denied, so I'll have to hope they only release a limited amount of tickets tomorrow and I can try my luck on Friday... At least Nicola still looks stunning with her new haircut :)