The First Direct arena and it’s perks! - Steps & Vengaboys gig November 2017

November 28, 2017

Last week I was kindly invited to the First Direct arena in Leeds to watch Steps on their tour, I was super excited to attend as Vengaboys was one of the supporting acts and I used to listen to both bands as a kid. It was also very exciting to check out an arena I’ve never visited before, I’m a keen gig goer and festival goer but I’ve never been to the First Direct arena before. Did you know that if your a First Direct Bank account holder you get perks and freebies whilst at the arena? You can grab yourself a complimentary bottle of water, an ice cream and a portion of chips just by showing your card, not only that but you'll get to enter via the First Direct express entrance meaning you get into the gig quicker. I personally really like this perk especially when you've spent a lot of time queueing for gigs and who doesn't love free food? You can read all about these perks and others here.

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
Since I was a #fdVIP for the evening I was able to enter via the VIP entrance on the left hand side of the arena, I was welcomed by reception after going through security. It was nice to know that the security was on the ball all night and I felt safe inside the arena. I picked up my ticket from reception and was directed into the bar until the VIP suite was ready. The bar looked very fancy, there was also a restaurant to grab a bite to eat before the entertainment on that evening. I've never seen this in an arena or music venue before, you could make a whole day of the event if you wanted too. 

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
Most of the gigs I attend are at small venues and are a bit on the alternative side so this was a whole new experience for me especially that I was in a suite for the evening. Suite 14 was situated very central to the arena stage and the place had a fantastic view, the whole arena was seated for this show but as I looked around, it looked like no matter where you was sat, you'd have a good view as the arena is theatre style. I was really impressed with this, the arena isn’t too big, has a good layout and the sound was good too! Here's me posing in front of the suite wall featuring some musician's, I was probably dressed a little punk for a pop show but that's me and I can't stop wearing my Pastel Goth Kimono from Librastyle Tees.

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
Within the suite I was welcomed with a cocktail/mocktail and the PR company had set up the room with some 90s themed treats. There was butterfly clips, friendship bands, chokers, trolls and scrunches which we all got to wear and we had the opportunity to apply glitter using Pure Paw Paw and The Gypsy Shrine; I love Gypsy Shrine glitters the colour ranges are amazing and it’s really good quality! Before the show started food was served and it was Mexican, yay!! I enjoyed my enchiladas, pulled pork and nachos then the lights went off and the first supporting act came on stage! This was an unknown musician to me called 'Max Restaino', he did a short set playing a few instruments and he had a couple of backing dancers; he was a good warm up for a pop show.

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
Vengaboys came out shortly after Max and this was one of my favourite parts of the evening. I remember dancing around my bedroom as a kid to all of Vengaboys hits! I was blown away with the performance and spent most of the songs dancing in the viewing area of the suite. They sound exactly like they used to and still danced on stage as I expected them to; I'd happily go to another show where Vengaboys headline. Let's make this happen!!

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
The final part of the night was of course the well awaited Steps who came out of the stage's floor dressed amazingly! The whole performance was just that a 'performance', it was nothing like a gig I'd been to before this was like a theatre performance. Steps got changed a few times throughout the night and the stage changed too, my favourite part of their show was the western themed set up. Of course this was when Steps sang 5,6,7,8, their first number 1. This took me straight back to line dancing years ago when I had my own dance moves to it, it's also a good ol'banger on a night out in the 80's bar in town so I'd say its definitely a favourite! Step played for a good amount of time, sang all their hits and played some songs from their new album which was pretty damn good. In a world where original pop music is quite rare in my opinion even their new music is fitting in nicely, well done Steps!

iPhone photo (my camera wasn't allowed into the arena)
Visiting the First Direct Arena was a really good experience for me, as a big music fan and keen gig goer I would definitely go to another gig at this arena. The seating arrangement was brilliant and made everyone have a good view, I could see where the standing area would be at other gigs and this looked decent too. I'll be keeping my eye out or more gigs here soon and I'll be visiting again whilst I'm at Slam Dunk next May. If you want to see the full event listing click here.

*I was invited to this event by a PR company, all thoughts/opinions are my own, see my disclaimer for more information! 


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