And I was there. My dad applied for tickets a while ago, mainly because he knows I love Laura Marling and it was free, but didn't think we'd actually get them - only two hundred were released. I didn't want to tell a lot of people when we got them, because the ticket states it does not guarentee admission (they release more than there are places avaliable, just to ensure seats are filled I guess).
So, to make sure we got in, we left the house for London at 10am. I love being in the car and first coming into London, because it reminds me of some of the things that make it my favourite city: the way everything seems sepia toned, even the sky, and the personality and atmousphere it has that I've never lived around.
We arrived at Maida Vale at around 1pm, needless to say there was nobody starting the queue for a show starting in four and a half hours, and one of the staff told us which door to go to and that people probably wouldn't start queuing until at least four thirty. So we drove to Notting Hill, where we made comments about the movie and debated how much of its population were tourists and I looked at small apartment prices (I'm fifteen, yes, but it's where I plan on living after university and it's never too early to start looking). Notting Hill is a beautiful place, full of antique shops and bicycles and hipsters and coloured houses. We also found the Hummingbird Bakery, and I had my very first Hummingbird Brownie which was delicious. I'm sure it's not the last time I'll go there.
We got back to Maida Vale around 2:30, and it was still empty. It looked like we were definitely going to get in but I sat down next to the door and decided to start the queue myself, albeit three hours early, because there was no reason not to, and I read "The Radleys" for a while and it was four o clock before anybody else joined me in the queue (my dad went for a walk). Yes, I am an overenthusiastic fan.
By half five, the they let us in, the queue had extended to still only about sixty. They gave us stickers when our tickets were validated with our line number on, and I am the very proud owner of ticket number one!
A few moments before we went through the door I saw a small blonde woman smoking a cigarette going through the second door, and I wondered but I wasn't entirely sure...
Then we went into Maida Vale studios, Studio 3, actually, and the set-up I would say was kind of like a cafe - there was no actual platform for the stage, just one half of the room, and the audience sat on tables and chairs with little "electronic candles" on them. We were really close to the front... I mean literally, about four metres from where the central microphone was, and we shared the table with a guy and his girlfriend, who'd seen Laura Marling three years ago when she was touring with Noah and the Whale. I was very jealous.
They were playing pre-recorded BBC Radio 2 in the background and "Tonight's The Kind of Night" came on.
A BBC representative came up and told us that Jo Whiley would be coming on stage soon, and to cheer enthusiastically and things because it would be audible on the radio show next week. Then Jo Whiley appreared, and everyone did cheer enthusiastically, and she said that Laura and her band were in the corridor. At this point there were only about 80 people in the audience, maybe less.
And then, very suddenly, Laura Marling and her band were walking onto the stage and everyone cheered and by this point I was trembling slightly because one of my heroines was literally stood about three/four metres from me.
She was wearing a grey jumper and jeans, just like the girl I'd seen outside.
Laura is twenty-one years old, very blonde and very small with dark eyes and probably one of the most beautiful human beings I've been in the prescence of.
The first song she played was "Rambling Man" (unfortunatley it was spoilt for me because I saw the setlist stuck to the stage) and it was lovely. She has a really odd stage presense - it shouldn't seem lively or anything, because she's quite small and stands still looking distant and staring upwards sometimes. It's so intense just to watch, seeing someone doing something they're so caught up in that it's almost as if they're not quite there.
Which is a brilliant skill, seeing as at the same time she's singing beautifully and being a complete genius guitarist. Her band was made up of a second guitarist who also played piano, a cellist, mandolin, banjo, trumpet, a double bass and a really good drummer.
Oh, and I got the setlist!:
Here is the exciting part.
Afterwards, I asked my dad if we could wait outside for a little while to see if she came out. And he is used to this, as is Poppy or anyone who's been to a few concerts with me, but I've never ended up meeting anyone or waiting that long.
We stood outside the front door for around five minutes, nobody else was, honestly I didn't think I'd see her. It sounds stupid but then I saw her reflection in a car or something, and as that happened my dad came from where he was waiting with the car, saying "Lizzie she's there! Quick!".
She was coming out with some other people, and for about three seconds I was scared to approach and I just went still. And then I said "Laura," and sort of came towards her quietly shaking and took out my copy of "Alas I Cannot Swim" and I asked if she'd sign it and found a pen. She asked my name, and then if it was spelt with a "y" or an "ie".
I felt slightly less dumbly starstruck seeing her and realising it felt a bit like being around someone I know and also like being around a superhero. I said something like "Well done, it was magic." and she said thank you and asked about how we got the tickets. I told her. Then my dad came and joined in the conversation and told her about how we're seeing her at Manchester Cathedral next month. And that was it.
I wish I had a picture of us together but forgot to ask, and besides I think I'd have been embarassed to post it because of how much I'd have looked like crap compared to someone who is so beautiful in person.*
The whole way home, every few minutes, I just came out with "I can't believe I met Laura Marling ____" minutes ago. It will go on for a long time.
To conclude: today was wonderful.
I was ticket number one.
I waited three hours.
I got the setlist.
And I met Laura Marling.
I think I'm too much of a fangirl and don't mind. I also think I won the concert if that's possible.
I'm going to bed now because I have school tomorrow. I just wanted to tell you how amazing today was.
Did I tell you I met Laura Marling?
*I just typed "compared to Hayley G. Hoover."
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