“Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?” – Daily Writing Prompt
I performed on stage when I was a kid. In school plays. I would never give a speech, no way. I hate public speaking. When I was on stage, I preferred to have no speaking parts. I don’t like people looking at me, waiting for me to make a mistake. I don’t want that much attention. I got that enough from home. I even hate doing presentations in front of a lot of people. If it were with one or two people, it would be different. I leave the performances to those who like doing them. School plays were enough. That’s a change I’m going to keep.
In the year 2023, I went to two concerts. The first one was on March 5 with Robbie Williams. You can read it over here. The other was Pet Shop Boys on July 5. It was a lucky year when it came to concerts. The duo had been to Finland before and will return this year. But it’s a festival and I don’t do them. I prefer concerts. When I was younger, I didn’t participate in big crowds. I didn’t have money either. I have no one to go with, but I like doing things independently. I go to events to see bands and don’t socialise with others. The sound at concerts is loud, so it’s not the same as listening to music at home. But you don’t go to concerts to see something similar. You go for the atmosphere and see your favourites on stage.
Pet Shop Boys performed their old hits, such as It’s a Sin, West End Girls, and Rent. But they also had new songs, like Monkey Business. If you’re unfamiliar with their songs, you probably don’t know the new ones either. If you’re not, I suggest you do because their music is incredible. If you like pop music, that is. They have shown that you don’t need a lot of things happening on stage to have a great show. All they had was the band and a female singer. In their earlier concert that I have seen on screen, they had dancers on stage too, but now it’s simpler. I had a great time at the concert; I might go again if they return for a concert.
Photos from the concert
I have really become a fan of concerts. I’m going to see Bryan Adams in July. I’m looking forward to that. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to performances. My first concert was in 2017, and that was Robbie Williams. After that, I’ve seen Duran Duran, Toto, Robbie again, and Pet Shop Boys. I could have gone to two more, Elton John and Take That, but both got cancelled. Maybe they didn’t want to come because Finland is too close to Russia. Either way, it’s a shame I’ll never see them live again. Especially Take That. The last time they were here was in the 90s when my mother didn’t let me go and see them. Even then, there were only about 4500 people in the audience, so they weren’t that big over here, after all. At least I’ve seen Duran Duran, the band I didn’t want to miss to see live. It’s not the end of my world if I don’t see certain bands and artists’ performances. But if I didn’t see DD live, I would feel disappointed. I have ticked that box now, so life can go on.
I went to see Robbie Williams in concert yesterday (March 5). It was the 2nd time for me. He rocked 25 years ago and still keeps on rocking. I had a better seat this time. Between songs, he talked about his time in Take That and his past problems. He had very deep thoughts that he shared with us. We weren’t only his audience but also his friends. He was interacting with the audience. He’s always been funny, so there was no exception this time. For example, a couple sat in seats where they saw his performance from behind. He asked them if they were together, and it would have been quite embarrassing for them if they weren’t. He told them to come down, so they could sit in front of the extended stage part. They sat there during the whole show. It was such a great gesture from Robbie. Brits, in general, are friendly people.
Another funny thing was when he saw this tall guy and told him it must be nice to be so tall. A shame for the people who stands behind him, Robbie joked. It was a great atmosphere at the concert. He also made a female fan happy by singing one of his songs to her. That’s something he does in his shows. After his band and dancers went off stage, Robbie came back and sang a few lines from his famous songs that we would sing. One of them we couldn’t sing to, and he joked we don’t know his songs by heart. He didn’t mind, though. It was a great end to the concert. He left us with a good feeling.