When I was getting tickets for The Vamps current tour, the Middle Of The Night tour, a few months ago, I was torn whether to get seats as usual or go for their Wow Pit, a standing section right in front of the stage. I left it to which ever tickets the site gave me and ended up very happy about the fact I was going to be doing Wow Pit for the first time.
As usual, I went to their Manchester date, on Saturday 6th May 2017. It was the fifth time I had seen them and so I was really excited; The Vamps never fail to impress as a live band.
After queuing for several hours to be within the chance of getting a good spot at Wow Pit, we were let into the arena at 6 pm. This year Wow Pit was like it was in 2015, unlike last year with a big runway splitting it into two sections. I much preferred it this way because it definitely makes it more spacious.
As I entered the Wow Pit there was already plenty of people in there since the VIPs get in first (I didn’t do VIP this tour, but I did last time if you would like to hear about the VIP experience). I managed to get a spot second from the barrier, at the right side, directly in front of Connor. I was so excited because I think this is the closest I’ve been at any concert ever due to the distance between the stage and the barrier.
The downside to Wow Pit – having to stand up for hours on end in the same spot! However, there was no one right behind me unlike you would expect when doing standing. The wow pit was so spacious and comfortable – people generally went around the outside of the wow pit – towards the barrier like me and also towards the back, yet the middle was empty allowing people who aren’t as bothered as keeping a spot to move to and fro when the acts move around the arena.
Then after waiting a while, we had to endure the support acts in the form of The Tide, New Hope Club and Sabrina Carpenter. The Tide have supported The Vamps their past three tours and I’m pretty much sick to death of them now. The pretentious American band are ‘part of The Vamps tour’ now being on their label, and I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed them. Other support acts, New Hope Club, also on The Vamps record label, and Sabrina Carpenter off of Disney Channel were nothing on last year’s support act, Connor Maynard, the best support I’ve ever seen. Let’s just say I was quite happy when the support acts were all over and done with.
Finally, The Vamps made their entrance at five to nine, beginning with Wake Up. I couldn’t believe how close up they were, being in the Wow Pit. The setlist of The Vamps was amazing, playing old classics such as Somebody To You and Wild Heart, but also new tracks. I really loved Paper Hearts and Time Is Not On Our Side, which they performed on the other side of the arena. I also really loved Shades On; even though I had been slating the lyrics ever since they performed it on the first night of the tour in Sheffield, it proved to be a really fun song live.
We were also treated to Brad playing piano in two songs, a performance of their new single Middle Of The Night and old favourite Risk It All. One highlight of the night was the drum battle between Brad and Tristan – the video they played beforehand was so funny, making fun of Brad as the ‘underdog’.
Would I do Wow Pit again? 100% yes! I will definitely be trying to get Wow Pit again for the next tour and can’t tell you how much I recommend doing it if you are a fan of The Vamps. I wasn’t at all squished because the Wow Pit isn’t overly full. It was so much fun to be so close to them and had to be one of the best concert experiences I have had.
