Source: Sophie Whiting
I’m just over 5ft tall so, as you can imagine, I’m not the tallest person in the world. Unluckily for me, this means that when it comes to gigs, festivals, outings – I’m usually the first person to get stepped on, ID’d and get drinks spilt on. I hear you ask, how do you get yourself into these situations? Well, you can now enter the life of Sophie and read just how I get myself into these tricky predicaments.
So let’s kick things off with my most recent gig in Cardiff. With the atmosphere feeling sweaty but ecstatic, I couldn’t wait to watch the mighty Enter Shikari. Unfortunately, with me being a short ass, my night involved me tiptoeing above heads and jumping up and down just to get a mere glimpse of the stage.
Getting more involved, I casually decided to slip into the middle in hope to see more the stage and the guys in action. At this point, MY SHOE LACES DECIDED TO COME UNDONE. Yes, shoe laces only need tying up but it’s what happened next that took an unexpected turn. So being in the middle of an Enter Shikari gig there are mosh pits to be expected and here I was casually crouched on the floor tying my shoes up unaware of my surroundings. I stood up and next thing I know I’m in the middle of a mosh pit trying to survive for dear life. How I managed to get myself out of this situation, I don’t know.
Source: Sophie Whiting
Next stop was the time I went to see Bury Tomorrow, which was intriguing. If I’m honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the band, I’m just a stereotypical female wanting to see a ‘hunky, talented’ guy in real life. Little did I know that they were going to be finishing their set with the heaviest song recorded, so I was in for an unexpected ride from hell.
So I’m standing in the tiny venue known formally as White Rabbit and, whilst waiting for my friend to come back from the toilet, Bury Tomorrow decided to encore. Needless to say, I nearly died. Gripping onto ledges on the wall with what little strengths I do have, I had SO many sweaty, bearded, giant men almost trampling over me and going crazy. I’m not going to lie, it was the scariest gig ever.
Venturing towards the city life, I ventured up to Leeds to go to the ultimate pop-punk festival known as Slam Dunk. This was one of the best moments in my life, but of course, me being me, something was bound to happen.
So I was casually milling around the venue and checking out the merch stores and chatting to new people when I saw my ultimate crush at the time, Daniel Winter-Bates at one of the stools! So, the group I was with caught on that he was there and we all started making really lame ass jokes. Little did I know that he was watching the whole time whilst I was doing a bum shuffle over to the stall. Not only did this happen, but midway through seeing Motion City Soundtrack someone managed to spill their drink on me so I had stains of beer on my top. The perfect way to meet your idol, I know. First, great impressions are always great, right?
Source: Sophie Whiting
Reading Festival is a place where you are always going to find something crazy yet interesting. This certainly was the case for me – every festival has their quirky group of people. Whilst watching the mighty Macklemore, my favourite song came on and I wasn’t going to let anyone spoil my quirky dancing skills whilst it was playing. The only problem was, where I was standing there seemed to a constant flow of people wanting to keep getting past and I got another drink spilt on me.
Yes, I know you’re thinking, ‘oh why didn’t you just move to a different spot?’ but this spot was the best I could get so I could see! Luckily after this, I managed to acquaint a temporary bodyguard for the whole set and he even did some cheeky dancing! What more could I want from life?
So as well as being super short, I also have a super young looking face for a 22 year old which results in me constantly being ID’d. Wherever I end up going, I ALWAYS seem to be questioned.
So, it’s a standard Saturday evening and me and some friends were having drinks and food at our local pub. Me being the social butterfly I am, had my head in my phone to respond to some texts when the bouncer strolled along to our table. He came out with the words, ‘So sorry guys, I think I’m going to have to ask you to leave due to someone being under-aged.’ I looked up only to find HE WAS STARING AT ME LOOKING PUZZLED. He soon realised that I was indeed old enough to be in this alcohol infused gathering and hastily retreated looking very embarrassed. Maybe next time, I will have to flaunt my stuff a little better.
Source: Sophie Whiting
Needless to say, these are just a few of the reasons why I’m the worst person to be going out to gigs, festivals, drinks – whatever they may be. I always get myself into sticky situations like these and somehow I’m still living – how is this possible?
So if you’re feeling brave enough, maybe one day YOU could be at a gig with the worst gig goer EVER! Just make sure you have emergency services ready on your phone for any inconveniences!
