Summer In The City Warm Up Tour (Cardiff)

On Wednesday this week (7th August) my friends and I headed into Cardiff for the Sitc Warm Up tour to see Tom Law, Dodie Clarke (doddleoddle), Dave Giles and Bethan Leadley (musicalsbethan), and let me tell you, it was fantastic.

Soon after we arrived at the venue (around 4pm with the gig scheduled to start at 7.30pm) Dave came outside to say hello and Tom and Dodie arrived at the venue (with a quick comment about how we were earlier than them) and went to leave their instruments inside before coming straight back out for a chat. The 3 of them stayed outside chatting to us (there were already quite a few people in the queue, maybe around 20...ish...) and taking photos for a while before going back in to get ready for the gig. The reason I wanted to mention this is because, to me, that is what YouTube gatherings used to be like and I wish they were still like that now. A small group of people got the chance to meet people whose videos they like and also make friends with other viewers. It was so lovely to get to spend time with Tom, Dodie and Dave like that and I can't really imagine a similar situation where you would get that chance these days because everything's grown so much (take sitc for example!). I know that the majority of gatherings are still just a group of people meeting up in a field somewhere but even then it can be difficult to talk to content creators because there's often a lot of people there. I'm not trying to say that bigger events like vidcon and sitc are bad, I think they're a fantastic chance to get to see a lot of content creators you like in one event but I definitely understand why people say they miss how gatherings used to be.

The gig itself was fantastic. I've watched Tom, Dodie and Bethan's videos for a long time now and Dave is honestly one of my favourite musicians at the moment and I've been listening to his music constantly since Upload 2 (and I'm STILL loving it despite listening to each song hundreds of times). Clwb Ifor Bach is such a lovely, intimate venue and we ended up sat on the floor for most of the gig just enjoying the music. As a fan of acoustic music, I loved having the chance to listen to them all play in that kind of environment and at the end of the gig they turned all the electric equipment off and played a song each with just them and their instrument while we all sang along (still sat on the floor).

They had a meet and greet afterwards but because I managed to get photos with them all before the gig I just took photos of my friends with them (who didn't manage to get photos before), bought an EP off Tom (which is fantastic, I've already listened to it loads) and went to have a photo with Bethan (Bethan didn't come outside before but she did say in the gig that she's ill so I assumed that was why she didn't. She was as lovely as the others in the meet and greet! I did have a photo with her but it didn't turn out great). I also mentioned quickly to Dave how much I appreciated him taking the time to comment on my YouTube video and he said that it was no problem, it was a good video and one of his favourites from Upload which made my night!

 

Overall, it was a really fantastic gig and they were all
so nice! I really enjoyed getting to spend time with them before and if you get the chance to see any of them live I'd definitely go. Also, if you haven't heard of them before please do check out their YouTube channels because they're all fantastic musicians :)

Lucy x

The Upload Tour 2

On Thursday 30th May I had the amazing opportunity to see the Upload Tour 2 in Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff. The Upload Tour 2 saw Eddplant, Bribry and Dave Giles join their musical forces with Luke Cutforth (LukeIsNotSexy) as the host.

To say that I enjoyed the evening is an understatement. I have been a fan of Eddplant for a few years and I have listened to his album 'Confidence Tricks' more than any other album I've ever bought. It is no exaggeration to say that he is quite possibly my favourite musician of all time. To have the opportunity to see him live was amazing but the fact that I got the opportunity to meet him afterwards was just incredible. His performance was utterly amazing and he was really lovely afterwards, signing the copy of his latest album 'Nothing To Worry About' that I bought and having a photo with me. The friends I were with even told him I'd covered his song 'Butterfly in the Breeze' (which is my favourite song of all time) on YouTube and he said he'd watch it (I am well aware that as a busy musician he quite possibly won't have time but the fact he said he would was amazing in itself).



I was first introduced to Bribry a few years ago by a friend (who also came to Upload 2 with me) and I have been a fan of his music since. Bribry has such a unique sound and is not only a fantastic musician but also an extremely inspirational person, having set up charities such as the Ross Foundation in memory of a friend of his who sadly passed away from cancer and CutCakeNotWrists to help young people who struggle with self-harm. His performance was also brilliant and although there wasn't time to have a photo with him afterwards (due to the majority of the people there wanting to see him in particular) he managed to sign my ticket and seemed lovely, even if slightly over-whelmed (which was completely understandable due to the constant crowd around him).


If I said I'd been a fan of Dave Giles for a long time I would be lying. Although I'd heard of him before, I never really listened to his music properly before the Upload Tour 2. This is something I regret. Dave Giles is such a fantastic musician and a truly lovely person and he deserves so much more attention than he gets at the moment. His lyrics in particular stand out to me as he seems to have a way of making each of his songs a story with beautiful words. I was also amazed at his guitar skills and it is clear that he's not just a singer/songwriter but he is a true musician. If you have never listened to Dave Giles before I honestly can't encourage you enough. I bought his album 'Love, Life, Loss and Tea' at the gig and I have honestly been listening to it constantly since. Along with his being an incredible musician, Dave was truly lovely afterwards. He signed the CD of his album I bought, had a photo with me and even promised to check out my own YouTube channel. Dave Giles made the performance a completely unique experience for me as at one point he had the audience sat on the floor in a circle while he played his song 'Bangarang' with just his voice and an acoustic guitar (no microphones, backing vocals from the others or extra instruments) and it was an amazing opportunity.



I enjoyed the evening so much and if you've never heard of any of these people before, please do check out their YouTube channels. They're each unique, unsigned artists who deserve to have their music listened to. On the rare chance any of them are reading this, I would just like to say thank you so much for making the night so incredible with your fantastic music and your wonderful personalities. I won't forget the night in a long time.

Lucy x