James Blunt (and the blue-horned lesbian)

As sad as this may sound, I not only went to the James Blunt concert on Saturday night, I also paid money to go to the James Blunt concert and I even like James Blunt! There! I said it! I am a fan...

I've actually been a fan for a couple of years (I own the CD's, know all the words to the songs and have watched the interview on "Oprah" a couple of times). So, I was ecstatic when I heard that he was coming to South Africa. I admittedly procrastinated about buying tickets, wondering if R500 for golden circle was a good idea and subtly trying to find out if anyone I knew was also going, because I had no idea who to go with! I eventually managed to convince Duncan to come with me - although that makes it sound like there was begging and pleading involved. Really, I just asked and he said yes. In his version of events though, I paid him to accompany me and I'll be making him breakfast for the next 4 months...

In any case, we set off to the Dome on Saturday afternoon. The reason for this early departure was because the Dome is a) notoriously difficult to find - at least for a gigantic white, circular structure and b) the parking at the Dome is awful! Leaving events there takes at least as long as the actual show, so we planned to park near an exit to at least minimize this problem.

So, armed with ice-cream (a necessary part of any excursion), we set off in Duncan's Batmobile. We only got slightly lost, and I was forced to read a map (*panic*), but we got there, found parking close to an exit and set off in search of supper. Northgate proved to be strangely confusing, but we eventually found a Fontana, and after much negotiation with a very confused cashier (who didn't know that they sold toasted sandwiches, and didn't understand the concept of change), we managed to get something to eat.

It being 19:00, we decided that heading into the Dome would be a good idea, because the queues are usually really bad. I must explain that between Duncan and I we had both had our fair share of traumatic Dome experiences (2 of which were at Westlife concerts, which is probably not a coincidence), so we were expecting the worst in terms of crowds, queues and abuse from security guards. But, we got to the doors, had our tickets checked and just walked in. No queues, no questions. It got stranger... We walked into the Dome, expecting to see crowds of people, and were greeted by 80 confused looking stragglers and CHAIRS!!! Rows and rows of chairs! This was very strange, as most concerts (i.e. all concerts) that I've been to have involved standing ankle-deep in beer, staring around a very tall, very drunk rugby player. But for some reason, the concert organizers had decided to forgo this tradition in favour of comfortable seating. It was then that I decided that I needed the bathroom, which is always a mistake at the Dome, because the queue goes on forever and then forever again and there is never toilet paper. But, lo and behold, this time there was no queue and toilet paper! James Blunt fans, we concluded, are definitely a different breed!

We then set out to find our seats. I was firmly convinced that we were at the back, but the young, pimply (and broken-armed) usher pointed us towards the front. The venue slowly started filling up and Duncan and I spent our time counting the number of very chuffed girlfriends with very miserable boyfriends - I believe the final score was 579. We obliging listened to the support act, Josie Field (who was wearing a very nice dress, and had an even nicer drummer) and then waited in anticipation for the man of the moment, Mr James Blunt. And he was worth it! I am completely aware that I sound like an obsessed groupie, but he was awesome! He played almost all his songs and between his band, the lighting, the cool graphics and his promise to participate in a giant orgy with the fans, he rocked my world! My personal highlights were the opening song "Give me some love", "No Bravery" (I'm still smug - I have my reasons), "1973" and "Out of my mind". And pretty much all the other songs! He even jumped off the stage and went running through the crowd - you could almost hear the security guards having heart attacks! And, let's not forget the blue-horned lesbian... There was a lesbian couple sitting about 5 rows in front of us, and the one lady was wearing a pair of glow-in-the-dark blue horns (another Dome tradition). For some bizarre reason (probably alcohol-induced), they insisted on dancing through all the slow songs. And not just any dancing - slow sokkie dancing. It was partially annoying (as they kept waltzing across my line of vision) and somewhat amusing. Besides, the term "blue-horned lesbian" has such a nice ring to it...

Having done the obligatory encore (and screamed my little groupie heart out) and been decidedly disappointed that no fan orgy ensued, we made our way to the exit, tired, but content, and awaiting the traditional hour-long exodus from the parking spot to the exit gate. But, as with everything else, we were pleasantly surprised, and made it out in 2 minutes (including my bad directions) and I was home before midnight! I'm still confused by how pain-free the whole experience was, and really have to conclude that James Blunt fans (and the blue-horned lesbians... ) are definitely a different breed! I hope my next concert experience is just as exciting!