I Predict a Riot at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool

I Predict a Riot at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool.

Faye at the front of the picture with a purple/lace top on, brown/red hair and glasses, wearing a mask. In the background you can see the stage bathed in green light and a huge crowd in front of the stage.

 

By now, you've probably guessed that I love music and am a bit of a rock chick! So, when I heard the Kaiser Chiefs were doing a gig at the Liverpool arena, which is still locally known as the Echo Arena, despite the new owners, I had to book!

The car park next to the arena had plenty of disabled parking spaces on every floor (we drove, not feeling it'd be safe getting the train home late at night). The multi storey car park was brightly lit and even had an automatic door, which I think was a fire door. My friend was glad of this as it saved her arms from pushing/pulling the heavy door whilst helping me.

The door led to another brightly lit area, where there were two lifts. We got in the right one, pressed the button and... Went nowhere! After this happened three times, we realised the lift was broken and tried the other one, which thankfully worked and helpfully had a voiceover.

We then went outside and across some brightly lit roads where the cobbles were highlighted in yellow.

A short walk later, we were at the arena. At this point, you could see the Liverpool wheel, a smaller version of the London Eye . It looked beautiful , twinkling away in the night.

Sarah with blonde hair and wearing a mask, grey coat and mustard top huddled next to Faye who has brown/red hair, is wearing glasses, a mask and a black coat. In the background you can see the Liverpool wheel all lit up, the arena, some billboards and some other audience members walking to the show - the pavement is grey blocked.

We then headed to the doors where metal barriers zig zagged to mark out the queue. We asked the man for help, and after checking our bags, he directed us through, avoiding the zig zagged barriers.

Wheelchair users are always placed in the middle section of the arena, never at the front or near the stage. There is only one row for wheelchair users. I wonder if any wheelchair users got tickets to Peter Kay? I doubt it somehow,  especially considering he sold out in half an hour and wheelchair users have to phone up to book and there's always an hour wait. Where the wheelchair users are, is in front of a clear perspex window. It has a black painted rim. I remember, from when I could see, that the rim blurred the view. I did put in a complaint but all they said was, when building it, they consulted with a disability charity. I wonder if the charity consisted of actual disabled people or just able-bodied speaking on our behalf? I remember, the partition used to blur the acts slightly and the black rim at the top, would cut across the heads of the acts as it was right in my eyeline.

In the foreground you can see the clear perspex as described, there is a big crowd forming on the arena floor and you can see the different levels of seats opposite and some of the VIP boxes, a bright light floods the whole picture which is coming from the stage.

Back to the concert:

The first band on were a North West band called The Sherlocks. This heavy rock band were awesome, the drummer especially. My friend said his hands were like a hummingbird's wings, they were so fast!

Stage with the Sherlocks, the crowd is mainly in darkness with some red light glowing over some of them. On stage the band are in front of what looks like a row of garages/wall with graffiti art, some tyres piled up and seating resembling an area where children/groups of teenagers might hang out. The drummer is centre back, singer front centre and there are guitarists either side. To the right is a large TV screen showing the singer.

The Kaiser Chiefs had two bands supporting them. The Fratellis were the second.

They had a male lead singer and then three females singing along with the other band members, they had lots going on, from jazz instrumental, pop, dancing...

Stage with The Fratellis - to the left of the stage are the three female singers dressed in black in front of microphone stands, in the centre there is the lead singer a male with a headscarf on and holding a guitar, in the back is the drummer, to the right of the lead singer there of three members playing a wind instruments, some of the back of the stage is lit up in pink and this light bounces onto the faces of some of the dancing crowd.

Then,  the lights went down and, on a screen, the Kaiser Chiefs appeared as if looking through a keyhole. The band were on stage, playing all their hits!

Blue laser like lights stream out from the stage, the back of the stage is lit with graffiti art, the centre piece has KC in large letters, on top of the set there is the projection of a full moon and in front stands Ricky Wilson the lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, he has short brown hair and a beard. Other band members are below on the stage, the crowd is in darkness but you can see the small lights of lots of peoples phones dotted about the darkness. To the right of the stage is a large TV screen showing a black and white image of the band. 

I absolutely loved this concert! I danced, sang, cheered... I never usually get asked to concerts, so was thrilled when my friend said yes to coming, especially as my mum isn't a big rocker. The Sherlocks have gained a new fan, as my friend has downloaded their album.