Shawn Mendes VIP concert experience

7/04/2019 – The day I met Shawn Mendes…

But don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a repeat of the last Shawn Mendes concert experience post I wrote because there was an extra special element this time – Here’s the Shawn Mendes VIP concert experience. 

So get comfy because this is going to be a long one; nothing ever changes does it?

SHAWN MENDES VIP CONCERT EXPERIENCE

I mean VIP in both senses of the acronym, VIP as we all know it but also ‘vision impaired person’ and there’s no hiding the fact that buying VIP tickets was a challenge and a half as someone living with sight loss. 

BOOKING TICKETS 

I don’t want to dwell too much on this part because it’s not very positive but I think it’s important to highlight the challenges we faced when trying to buy our tickets, it’s definitely something that needs to be talked about more because things need to change.  

Holly, who I attended the concert with, and I decided that we wanted to make this concert even more special than the last so we decided to take the plunge and buy VIP tickets so we could also have the opportunity to meet Shawn. We were very lucky that we were in a position to do so and we saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

Holly wrote a post last year about the difficulties we had when buying our tickets but as a summary; We wanted to ensure that we would get assistance throughout the VIP experience if we were able to purchase tickets since we’re both blind and would need someone to guide us, this was all confirmed by the arena before the tickets went on sale which was great, the experiences we’ve had with Manchester Arena’s accessibility team has always been positive and they helped to put our minds at ease in terms of assistance. 

We were told to contact the arena’s disabled access ticket line on the morning of the VIP presale which Holly did but by that point, we weren’t able to buy our tickets through them and were told to contact AXS to make our purchase. 

The stress started to kick in from there since AXS said we had to buy them online which wasn’t very accessible for us as screen-reader users and since the seating plan was visual, we couldn’t find out if we’d have accessible seating or not.  

And then the very long process commenced, the company didn’t seem to understand our needs, they didn’t call back to go through things on the days they said they would and it took them weeks to get back to Holly to ask for details she had already provided. 

It took over a month for it all to be sorted and during that time there was a lot of stress and upset because we thought we were going to miss out on the packages because of our vision impairments. 

This isn’t fair, disability shouldn’t be an afterthought and we shouldn’t have had to spend all those weeks pushing to buy our tickets when everyone else could do it in a few simple clicks. 

Things need to change, disabled fans deserve equal opportunities to tickets and VIP packages. We deserve to have the full concert experience just like everyone else, we shouldn’t have to come up against these challenges when all we want to do is meet one of our favourite artists, I’m sure the musicians themselves would be just as upset as anyone to learn that this is the reality for so many disabled fans. 

These things need to be heard about more, it’s not right and we are just as worthy of being able to have these opportunities as is anyone else. 

So expect to see a lot more talk about this in the near future because we both think it’s incredibly important to raise awareness of this. 

But on a more positive note…

THE VIP EXPERIENCE

The 10 month wait was finally over and we made our way to Manchester.

A lovely lady from Manchester Arena’s accessibility team had ensured that we’d have assistance on the day of the concert and throughout the VIP experience and we were told to meet them at the stairs leading up to the arena from Victoria station.

They came and we were guided up to the arena where we were given a lanyard and a commemorative VIP passport. 

Whilst we were waiting in the queue to go into the arena itself, we had a good natter with the lovely lady who was assisting us for the day. 

It was quite a while before we were allowed to go into the first part of the VIP experience which was the ‘Shawn Mendes museum’, we weren’t able to fully appreciate this part because it was so visual but our guide did well in describing what was around us; photos, outfits Shawn had worn to award ceremonies and a few of his guitars including his first and one he played when supporting Taylor Swift on her 1989 tour in 2015. 

Little did I know that the next part of the experience was the meet and greet. We went through some curtains (it was a little more glamorous than I’m making it out to be) and our guide said that if we were to take a few more steps forwards, a handsome young man would be standing in front of us, truth be told, I was not prepared for that. 

I’m not a massive fangirl type so I wasn’t flustered in terms of the fact that Shawn was there, I was more flustered because I hadn’t really prepared for that moment, I didn’t expect it to be so soon so I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. 

He gave us both a hug, a very nice one at that, asked how we were and asked ’shall we take a photo?’ which we did, a picture I’ll cherish forever, it’s been my home-screen ever since and a photo I’ve plastered all over every social media account I have, it had to be done. 

We thanked him for everything before having one last hug and leaving the room.

It was all over in a blink of an eye and I wish we had more time to tell him everything we wanted to say but I guess it’s an excuse to book another VIP experience in the future, right? Unless I manage to pursue my dream career of being a journalist and get the chance to interview him before then…

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of talking about this moment, I know my family are sick of it already but when you’ve supported an artist almost from day one of their career, no feeling will ever come close to the one created when you see them live, never mind actually meeting them.

No words will ever give this experience justice. 

Everything about the experience was special, Shawn realised we were vision impaired and did everything he could to help, he didn’t question our disability or treat us any differently. The person who took the photo told us where to look and Shawn gave us the tightest, warmest hug. It’s moments like this that help you to forget about your disability for even just a second, we were just like any other fan, we felt included.

It was short and sweet but definitely a moment I’ll remember forever and one I feel very lucky to have had.

We were given a signed poster and an LED rose after meeting Shawn and then came the Q&A; it was a cosy little setup and the room was jam-packed with Shawn Mendes fans.

We had thought of questions we wanted to ask but since it was a throwback to those school days where you had to put your hand up to ask a question, we didn’t raise ours because we weren’t sure if it would be us that Shawn was referring to, #BlindGirlProblems, but it was really interesting to hear other people’s questions and of course, Shawn’s answers. 

And that was it, the Shawn Mendes VIP experience was over, so many incredible memories were created, what an absolutely lovely guy and an all-round amazing experience. 

THE CONCERT

And then came the concert itself. 

I felt really anxious beforehand since I’m never the best in a big crowd of people but focusing on what we experienced that afternoon helped to take my mind off things a little.

Our assistance took us to our seats, we sat at the end of row G in block C which was about 7 rows away from the stage which was incredible. I would have been happy sat anywhere just to be there but being so close to the stage was very special and it meant that I could try to make the most of my remaining vision since I could see the lights of the stage. 

Shawn’s support act, Alessia Cara came on stage at around 7:30pm, I only knew of a couple of her songs but I now love a whole lot more of them after her performances. 

Scars To Your Beautiful has been one of my all-time favourite songs for a while so I’m really glad that she sang that one. Out of Love was another beautiful song, honestly Alessia just seems like a lovely person and she helped to get the crowd going before Shawn came on stage. Having Alessia as a support act was definitely a good choice on Shawn’s part.

It was about 20 minutes after Alessia left the stage that Shawn himself started performing. Lost in Japan was the kickstarter for the show and what a great way to start it was. 

I said it in my last Shawn Mendes concert experience but there’s something even more powerful when you hear Shawn’s voice live, you can tell how passionate he is and how grateful he is to be performing to such a big crowd of people, simply sharing what he loves to do with us. 

What an incredibly talented human.

Songs such as A Little Too Much, Like To Be You and Ruin were performed acoustically on the B stage which I absolutely loved, I just love more raw, stripped back performances, I think it helps you to connect with the artist on a different level. 

There were so many incredible performances throughout the concert, some of my favourites were Bad Reputation (it was amazing the last time and even more so this time around), Never Be Alone, Particular Taste, Fallin’ all in You, Youth, Why, his gorgeous cover of Fix You by Coldplay – a song that means a lot to me, and of course, In My Blood. 

His speech during Youth is one I’ve listened to over and over again, I think it resonated with every person in the arena, there was so much inspiration within those words and I think it’s something a lot of us needed to hear.

“No matter how old, no matter how young you are, you are the people who have the power to change the world for the better.” – Shawn Mendes

I compiled some of my favourite moments into a selection of audio clips as I always do when I go to concerts, it was so tricky to whittle it down but there are some true gems in here. Have a listen:

Shawn’s passion for his music, the love he has for his supporters and how much fun he has when singing shines through in every performance which makes you feel even more lucky to be there.  

No matter what the song is, every performance is genuine, raw and real, you can hear those emotions in his voice when he sings. The entire arena was connected with him from the first note to the last, it’s all enough to give anyone goosebumps.

Hats off to his band as well for also being incredible.

Coldplay’s Fix You was the first song Shawn sang in the encore, his cover was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes as I knew it would and he ended the night with a performance of In My Blood which I’m quite sure every single person in the arena sang along to.

There was confetti galore at the end of the concert which was unexpected but amazing despite it getting stuck in my hair but what a great way to end an incredible night.

The day all felt so surreal, we had some true pinch me moments which I’ll never forget.

The concert left me speechless, I still have butterflies when thinking about it all and quite honestly, I’ve never felt like this after any other concert I’ve been to before. 

Shawn’s music reminds me of different points in my life and how I’ve grown and changed from those moments.

A lot of his songs have a deeper meaning and I can connect to a lot of them, they signify a lot of important things for me and I’m so grateful and thankful for all his music.  

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, when you’re in a room full of people who all love and support the same artist and every person knows each lyric, it’s like being a part of the best and biggest choir you’ll ever be a part of and there’s something 10 times more special about experiencing that in Manchester. 

A lot of artists seem to be very proud to be standing on stage in the city and the audience are proud to be there too, it’s very special to be a part of. 

I think it’s going to take a while for this whole experience to sink in, what an incredible day for the memory books. 

Another Shawn Mendes concert is definitely on the cards for the future, lets hope it’s very soon. 

If you’re headed to one of the shows on the Shawn Mendes tour, I hope you have an absolutely amazing time, you definitely won’t be disappointed. The temptation to go to another show has been far too high!

And here’s the photo of us again, just because…

Are you also a fan of Shawn Mendes? If so, have you ever been to see him live or is it in your plans for the future? I’d love to know which songs of his are your favourites, I can’t seem to stop talking about him or his music since Sunday (I’m not a crazy fan I promise), his music just means a lot to me so the more people I can talk about it with, the better. 

Elin x