As we speak, I am still on a high from my amazing weekend in Dublin with all my friends and new friends I made.
We have all waited for this weekend for such a long time. I can’t believe it’s all over again. If you follow me on any social media site, you’ll know I went to see Westlife in Croke Park… twice. If you want to accommodate all your friends, you’ll have to go twice. (Which is totally an excuse so I get to go again)
On Thursday I finished work an hour earlier to collect my friend Katrina from the airport who traveled over from Liverpool. She was staying with me the night just so we didn’t have to stress the next day to get into the city centre, check into the hotel and all. I took that Friday off as soon as Westlife released tickets back in October last year. Normally we only get to take time off for the new year once the new year starts but I wanted to be safe. Just in case someone else was going to take that Friday off.
The night before a concert I can generally not sleep well because of all the excitement. That was the case this time, too. I had to be up early anyway to get the kids ready for creche. Our plan was to leave the house at 8am.
We didn’t quite stick to that plan but we managed to be at the hotel at 10am. Thankfully we were able to check in already and even our triple room was ready. I left a key card at reception for Sabrina so she could get in once she arrived in Dublin. Unfortunately her train broke down which led her to booking another flight in the evening time for a fee.
Katrina and I got ourselves together and headed off to the train station. We got off Connolly station. Before heading to the stadium, we needed to pick up some food in the shop to fuel up. We had a long day ahead. I have to mention that for this concert we purchased Gold Circle tickets which is standing. We bought the VIP package, it gave us early entry before anybody else.
11am, when we got there, we’ve seen a good few fans queuing from the distance already. We had to clarify with the steward which queue we would have to be in. We ended up in the first one which was early entry. Only eight other people in front of us. Front row was guaranteed.
Now the waiting game started. This is what I hate about standing gigs. But if you want to be up front, it has to be done. We got to meet two lovely girls who were queuing in front of us.
While queuing, Lilly and Saskia called over. We were chatting on WhatsApp and Twitter before. Saskia was Gold Circle without the early entry so she started queuing too.
The time passed quite quickly actually. We were chatting away, had our lunch and listened to the sound check. Luckily the stewards would always let us into the stadium to go to the toilet. I even got a bottle of water from one of the funny stewards. He was great craic, entertaining the whole crowd, messing with us the whole time.
In the morning we were informed via email that our VIP check in changed from 4 to 3pm. We didnt mind of course. When we entered Croke Park, it was all at a normal pace and everyone stayed in the same spot as they did when they started queuing earlier on. We got our tickets scanned, received a Gold Circle wristband and collected our VIP bag. We had just a little under hour to queue behind the barriers. This gave us time to purchase something from the merchandise stand. I finally bought the wristband I wanted for so long and the water bottle. I already got the tour tshirt and programme in Belfast.
The guy from Japan who went to all 32 shows was just two people in front of us. What a super fan. Not only to travel to Ireland and the UK from so far away, but to also take incredible photos and videos every single night. Someone should definitely hire him as Westlife’s official photographer next year.
As 4pm approached, a guy with a mega phone explained how the whole things is going to go down. They let us in lane by lane so there was no pushing. The bit I hate though is when they try to scan your ticket and it won’t scan or the person in front of you which did happen. Once we got in, we sprinted to the next barrier where another guy stressed to make sure we stay behind him when he brings us to the Gold Circle area. It did work at first but the close we got, the more people started pushing, particularly those Chinese girls behind us. All of a sudden the man was gone and people started to run. We managed to get our front row. More to the side but we were happy enough. The place we were aiming for, everyone was aiming for of course which is between main and second stage.
Now the waiting game started again. Westlife were not on stage until 8.30pm. The support acts were a Irish band called Wild Youth. They came on just after 6pm. Second support act was James Arthur who I knew from X Factor years ago.
Just like any concert, before the main act, they started showing people in the crowd while playing songs like Macarena, Living on a prayer and much more. I managed to make it onto the big screen with my Instagram frame. Shortly after I received texts from friends saying I am famous. It’s handy to be front row I guess.
It was finally time, after a slight delay. It was time for Westlife. They started off the show with “Hello My Love”. We sang our hearts out . I went live on Instagram and Facebook numerous times so I am sure we entertained a few that were watching with our singing.
Just like in Belfast, we were covered in confetti once again. There was additional confetti this time that they didn’t have at any of the other shows. They also had plenty of fireworks going.
I’d say about half of the set list was performed on the second stage. It was a bit disappointing considering the time we started queuing and the money we spent on the tickets but it’s also only fair for the people in pitch standing to see them a bit closer.
That day Westlife released a new single called “Dynamite”. They performed this live on stage that night. Katrina and I practiced beforehand and we were really proud how many words we actually got right because everyone around us didn’t have a clue. It’s definitely a great song that you would listen to over and over again.
Throughout the concert we got to meet Charlotte and Katherine who were standing beside us. Two lovely girls who made it onto my Facebook friends list now.
This day was a very special day… Shane celebrated his 40th birthday on stage. I mean there would literally be no better way to celebrate it other than with 80000 plus people. All the Westlife kids came on stage and sang him all a happy birthday as well as the crowd. Definitely a day he won’t forget.
Another surprise was when song writer Steve Mac entered the stage to perform “Better Man” with Westlife. He has written so many songs for the boys.
Just like Belfast, the Queen medley was fantastic again. It’s a great idea to get everyone singing especially when it is “We will rock you”.
The concert ended with “Flying without wings”, “World of our own” and firework. It was time to make our way back. Katrina met a few of the girls from Belfast she used to queue with back in the day. I still knew them too.
We planned to meet one of the girls Claire in the Croke Park hotel for a drink. I know her from Twitter and Facebook for years but we never managed to meet up. We took the lift to the fourth floor where the executive lounge was located. The bar downstairs was mental, it was a lot quieter up there. When we got there, we’ve seen the girls sat there drinking coffe . They were knackered and so were we to be honest. Instead we had a coffee with them and chatted for a bit.
It was getting late and we still had to catch a taxi back to the hotel. Unfortunately it was not walkable. We finally got there at 1.30am. Sabrina was asleep but she heard us strolling in. We were still on a high. In the end we all didn’t get to sleep until closer to 3am.
It was a day to remember. We had such great fun together and the fact that I haven’t seen Katrina in seven years, made it even more memorable to experience this with her like back in the olden days.
There are plenty more videos on my YouTube channel if you fancy to see all the other songs I didn’t include in this post.
Stay tuned for part two…
