Ellie Goulding's Delirium World Tour: A Tale of Party Petrol

Hello darkness my old friend

I have just recently returned from an incredible cross country journey to Newcastle ('Newcastle: The Incredible Journey' post to follow in due course) with my person B.  Although I'm sure Newcastle is a fine place to visit for no particular reason B and I were drawn to Newcastle for a very special occasion; the Delirium World Tour.  When my mother dearest asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year I knew exactly what I wanted... Ellie Goulding had released a new album and I was certain a tour announcement would follow promptly.  Not only did my mother manage to secure me 2 tickets to see Ellie but when she was only able to get seating tickets for Glasgow she recognized that seating tickets are reserved solely for the elderly, the very young, the lame and for those who were not fast enough to get standing tickets, and so she took her money elsewhere and purchased two standing tickets for Newcastle, Goodness Gracious she's amazing!

G, B and E

 Pre-Show

I wont go into much detail about the journey to Newcastle because this post is dedicated entirely to the ethereal angel princess that is Ellie Goulding.  So skip forward to Wednesday the 16th of March 2016 at 5pm.  Tensions were starting to grow a little as myself and B had still not quite perfected our concert looks and it was no longer an option to turn up to the Metro Radio Arena 4 hours early (in hindsight turning up anything more than an hour early would have been a little redundant) although I was doing a great job of Elsa-ing my feelings up #ConcealDontFeel.  I would like to point out that at this point I had British Summertime Festival flashbacks on a loop On My Mind (last summer my little sister prevented me from turning up 4 hours early, which totally wouldn't have been entirely redundant on this occasion, to see Taylor Swift in Hyde Park.  I thought I was going to miss Vance Joy (which I did, but oh well) and Ellie Goulding (Which I didn't thank god!).  

Ellie on the catwalk

B and I left the hostel entirely under dressed, warmed only with our excitement and our heartsong (Our heartsong is I Do What I Love by Ellie btdubs).  I thought I was going to have an aneurysm as B and I faced the classic conflict of getting a taxi despite the traffic vs walking despite not being certain of the directions, all the while I was becoming more and more aware of the time... Were we going to make it early enough to get good standing spots?  Were we going to have to claw our way to the front (#OnlyTheStrongWillPrevail) Was I going to cardiac arrest before we even got there due being emotionally overwhelmed?  Spoiler alert: we made it like 40 mins early and as we waited Outside for the doors of the arena to open (similar to the gates to heaven in my eyes) B and I began to speculate what Ellie was doing at that moment in time, Was she having a pre-show work out?  Was she having a pre-show freak out? was she preparing to invite B and I back stage?  I mean Anything Could Happen right?  I think I can speak for myself, B and  a girl standing on front of us that I will fondly remember as 'old smokey' due to the fact she lit up like 5 million times while we waited in the queue (I know what you're thinking and yes I can confirm that as The Platters would say, smoke did get in my eyes) It was all very exciting.  My blood had turned to ice and my goosebumps had gooebumps but then it was 6pm, the doors opened and we made our merry way into the arena.

Into the woods Metro Radio Arena.

B and I made a brief stop off at the whiz palace before joining the queue for the standing area and then suddenly I felt the weight of the responsibility we had for choosing our standing spots.  B and I concluded that we would place ourselves front row at the side of the mini stage near the end of the cat walk (This allowed us to get much closer to Ellie than front row of the main stage, this decision was also made in roughly 1 second as everyone quickly filed into the arena trying to claim the best spots... it was a lot of pressure but as Ellie would say: Don't Panic!  

No zoom needed

The first support act dawn the stage unannounced taking us all by surprise.  Their name was Lameeeeey Lany, their hair was attractively arranged was similar to a kitchen mop. Lany had their fun and honestly sang much better than I could have, however their music, to me, felt kind of generic and when he took it down a notch and sand a slow song all I could think was ugh We Cant Move To This #moodkiller.  John Newman was the next act, I had seen him before at the British Summertime Festival where he also sang before Ellie Goulding (my high school history teacher really was right when he said the past is always destined to repeat itself!).  Johnny boy came out and did a 10/10 job of pumping up the crowed, he sang all his hits #LoveMeAgain and walked through the crowed (I missed my opportunity to touch him as he passed because I was too busy trying to catch the moment on snapchat... 21st century probs.  However, B did manage to cop a feel and she can confirm that his arm felt like an arm, nothing more nothing less).  John Newman was good, he is hella talented and put on quite a show but I have to admit I was hit with a jot of excitement as his set concluded and he left the stage because this was it, it was Elleeee time!



A truly delirious experience

Hey gurl hey

So as they prepared the stage for her excellency I was becoming more and more delirious, the excitement was so much; I wanted to scream, laugh, cry and punch everyone else in the arena in the face and then hug them all at the same time.   As the lights began to dim and the Intro (Delirium) echoed through the arena I looked around at my fellow concert attendees and felt this great enlightenment; we were all about to embark on a spiritual journey together, its not every day you can say that!  As if by magic Ellie appeared on stage and the journey was underway!  I decided almost instantly that Ellie had the best legs I had ever seen, they were like study tree trunks but in the most beautiful way,you just knew they could support her throughout each dance routine, thighs as solid as a diamond!  Initially I was Holding On For Life to the barrier refusing to lose my amazing spot but it became apparent early on that this crowd was far more civil than the one at Hyde Park in the summer, I had marked my territory at the barrier and everyone seemed to accept and respect that.

Ellie sang some songs, as was expected of her, and then she stopped to chat with the audience.  Now this was my 4th time seeing the spellbinding angel princess live and I can confirm that she has become far more confident over the years #bless #TheyGrowUpSoFast.  One of her first exchanges with the audience went a little something like this:

Ellie: "I have 2 bottles on front of me... one is labelled water and the other is labelled party petrol!  Which one shall I drink?
Adoring fans: "Party Petrol!!!!!"
Ellie: "Okay I was trying to work out the vibes in here tonight but now I know *drinks party petrol*"
Adoring fans: "DOWN IT!"
Ellie: "I am not going to down it!"
Adoring fans: *chanting* "Down it down it down it!"
Ellie: *Not even entertaining the idea of downing it* *starts singing next song*
(Newcastle's irresponsible attitude towards alcohol made me feel like I was back home in Scotland)

And in her eyes I saw the answers to all of life's questions (Aka Codes blue, I'm dead)
The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived!  Ellie walked her way down the catwalk and right into my heart.  Ellie was right on front of me.  We were breathing the same air.  The only thoughts I had while she was standing before me were I Don't Need Nobody but you; You are the most ethereal person my eyes have ever had the pleasure of gazing at; I cant stop staring at you; I love you soooo much I Need Your Love in return; if not your love then I will settle for a simple smile and then she turned around and looked me directly in the eyes and all of my thoughts were Lost And Found.  

Ellie: *looks at me and B*
Me: *Dislocates jaw trying to express all of my feelings through the biggest smile there ever            was* *stares* *shakes* *waves* *Forgets all words*
Beth: *stares* "I love you Ellie!"  "You are so beautiful" "Your songs are so good!"

Actual angel #reversezoom

It was such an amazing experience being front row, within touching distance of the stage, at a concert (especially a concert for a singer you admire so much!)  It all seemed a bit surreal to see someone in the flesh that you are used to seeing on the TV or internet.  I was also vaguely aware that she really was just a person like anyone else, however; I cannot emphasize enough how ethereal Ellie Goulding is, there is honestly just something very heavenly/angelic about her.  Plus, having a singer look you in the eyes, ever briefly, while they perform makes you feel like every song is Your Song and she is performing it just for you and nobody else.   Anyway, after the brief eye exchange we had my heart burst and I died (#codeblue) and then moments later my heart did Heal and I was back to maximum enjoyment.  

Every song performed was gold, there was nothing I could do but scream, sing and Keep On Dancing, I felt like I had party petrol running through my veins! (I wonder if Old Smokey was enjoying herself?).  All of that dancing must have Burned off at least half of the calories that I consumed before the concert, at least!  Ellie's vocals were on point, her dancing was on point (Ellie there is just Something In The Way You Move, it's mesmerizing), her accent was on point, everything was 10/10.  I Figure 8 had she been more confident she might have spent more time out on the catwalk or the mini stage but part of Ellie's charm is her shyness and I honestly couldn't fault any part of the concert!  A particularly special part of the show was getting to experience Ellie perform Army live right on front me with B (a pivotal member of out own little 3 woman army which comprises of myself, B and L).  

The Aftertastemath
The concert concluded with Love Me Like You Do with Ellie performing on the main stage, catwalk and mini stage.  As the song ended there were Explosions of confetti from the confetti cannons which were positioned right on front of myself and B.  It was like showering in unicorn tears as the golden confetti smothered me and as the show came to an end B and I danced through the golden confetti as it rained down from the heavens.  We walked part of the way home singing all of our fave Ellie hits and that could have been the end of it but the story doesn't end here.  B and I do what we love and we love what we do, we weren't ready to let go of the Goulding magic yet and so after spending every day since last Wednesday talking about how much we want to see her again B and I booked tickets to go down to London to do it all again (if that isn't Devotion then I don't know what is).  And so it will be that in less than a week we will be seeing Ellie again in London and I cannot wait!  Some would call us crazy, I would call us young and irresponsible with out money but most importantly fun.

A classic G collage

So Ellie How Long Will I Love You?  I am going to say at least for another 84 years because thats how long Rose loved Jack and then maybe in the Aftertastelife we can reunite on a boat and everyone will clap and we can take that over that boat, one shot of party petrol at a time, Delirium World Tour 2K16 style!  Until then, I'll just see you on Thursday.

The moral of the story is:
1- It is kind of hard to fit a whole concert set list into one blog post
2- Do what you love and love what you do

xoxo 
Queen G. 

Links to some short clips of the concert:
Love me like you do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LemzJfcsJyI
Army: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Qg1tw4vbc
Explosions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS5DeLmOSyQ