Wheelchair Worries - The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

I got tickets for Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells Live in Concert. I'm a huge fan of Mike Oldfield, but I don't think he makes public appearances anymore. It must be twenty odd years since I last saw him on telly. I thought I'd never get to see him, so I snapped up some tickets straight away. I've been to the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham a few times. Whenever there's something on I always look to see if it's on here. It is a bit of a journey, but it's close enough to be a good backup if there isn't anything more local. It is in the middle of Birmingham though and I wouldn't advise travelling by car. It is afterall a city that is famous for its Spaghetti Junction, and it's the second biggest city, so it will come as no surprise the road system here is confusing. Parking isn't brilliant, although there are a few NCP car parks close by or you could even park at Birmingham New Street, which I would recommend and then get a taxi from the station. If you are going to drive leave at least half an hour to park and get to the theatre. Oh, and if you need disabled parking, forget it! It's abysmal. There are disabled spaces in the multi-storey NCP car parks, but a disabled space on one of the upper levels is pointless if the lifts aren't next to the disabled parking as I found out a few months earlier.

I went to see Roger Waters at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. It's a similar set up to the Alexandra Theatre - a nightmare to get to, but very accessible when we got in. We parked in a nearby NCP car park, but couldn't find the lifts. There were several people heading the same way, so we assumed they were here for the same reason and followed. They were taking advantage of having functioning legs though and were exiting via the stairs. We turned around to look for some lifts, but were in a rush to get to the venue so it's possible we missed them. We ended up back at the stairs and a group of lads offered to carry me in the wheelchair up the stairs. Two of them immediately grabbed the front and lifted, tipping the wheelchair, unaware that there was important cargo that would flop out onto the concrete. Fortunately my Dad was still behind the chair and stopped it from tipping.

We emerged from the stairwell, they put me down and marched on at pace to the venue. I thought they'd raise me above their heads, each of them by a wheel and carry me like a king. Alas they did not.

The car park was right next to the Utilita Arena and it was a short downhill walk. We were in no doubt as to where to go as there was a large queue outside. There are certain perks to being in a wheelchair and skipping queues is one of them. It's a perk that baffles me somewhat, I'm not quite why the person sitting in a comfy seat should take priority over those standing, but it's not one I'm going to question.

I was waved to the front and passed the queue waving as if I was the King.

Inside is vast. There were thousands of people back-stage with us, looking for the arena, but it was so big I couldn't tell you how wide because I couldn't see the walls. We got into the arena and directly in front of us was a viewing platform, slightly above and directly 'behind' the stage but it was a stage that didn't have a conceivable front or back as Waters performed to all four corners of the arena.

Sorry, I got sidetracked.

We lucked out and there happened to be an empty parking space in one of the streets. Probably left empty because there was barely enough room to park. Not wanting to get a bank loan to pay for an NCP parking space, we squeezed the car in. We went to the front entrance and there was a long queue so we went to the queue free disabled entrance.
Remember I told you about perks? 

As The Alexandra doesn't have lifts, this entrance brings us about ten yards from the ground floor seats in what is a lovely, large theatre. It's got to be over a thousand capacity spread amongst three levels. If you need to stay sat in your wheelchair, you can sit on the side of the front row. There is ample room as there is plenty of floor space between the stage and the front row and there is a wide walkway to the side of the seats. I got out of my chair and sat in the seats and my chair could be parked to the side of the stage. There is a roomy disabled toilet back where we came in, far away from the general toilets so the queue isn't too long. Most of the people queing for it were actually disabled too! Although a sheepish man did emerge and had to pass two people with walking sticks and me in a wheelchair. I'm sure he devoloped a limp when he saw us.

The gig was brilliant, it was part of the fiftieth anniversary tour. I had jumped and booked the tickets when I saw the name Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells Live in Concert. If I'd read on I would have seen it said;

The Tubular Bells UK Autumn tour will feature an expansive live group, conducted and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin Smith

Source: atgtickets.com

 

I'm glad I rushed and didn't read on though because I might not have bought the tickets otherwise. They were outstanding, it wasn't noticeable Mike Oldfield wasn't there. One guy was a real Mike Oldfield in waiting, playing about four hundred instruments, brilliantly. 

I may have exaggerated a bit there. Okay, it wasn't four hundred but it was a lot. There is a great video on YouTube when Mike Oldfield did the first performance live on the BBC. In the BBC video from about 19:00 minutes to 24:10 there is a constant bass riff which Mike Oldfield plays continuously. I don't know hard it is to play the same complicated riff for five minutes without missing a note or two or speeding up or slowing down. I would just played it once, put it on loop and sat there with my arms folded for five minutes. The bass guitarist at the concert also did it for five minutes. I think there were probably less musicians on stage than when Mike Oldfield played it, largely because - as previously stated - new Mike Oldfield played about four hundred instruments. Old Mike Oldfield only played the bass, booooring.

They were phenomenal. They didn't miss a beat and played other Mike Oldfield tunes like Moonlight Shadow. If they are playing at a venue I would highly recommend. They are the best band I've ever seen.