[LMBTO] Another Tick on the Eurovision Bucket List - Eurofest with Krista...

As a 'hack with a mobile phone camera', sometimes I get a decent picture that encompasses everything about a gig...

Until Friday night, I was a 'Eurofest virgin' - the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London always seemed a little bit out of reach geographically for this blogger / radio show host in South Gloucestershire:

In the end, all I needed was the right artist to be the 'star of the show' to encourage me to make that trip:

Regular blog readers are well aware that not only is Krista one of my all-time favourite Eurovision artists, I was also lucky enough to not only see her perform but also interview her at Eurobash 2016 in Manchester.  And you know what?

Not only was I able to see this incredible performer strut her stuff in the early hours of Saturday morning (her set started at midnight) but I was again able to interview her before the doors opened, all thanks to Alasdair and John, Eurofest organisers who arranged it with Krista and her management.  Thank you to both and it was fitting to have such a Eurovision legend at this gig as it was Eurofest's SEVENTH birthday too!  Here is the OGAE UK President himself, introducing Krista:
Let's start with the interview, before we get to that point.  First of all...


At least I assume it did because I had to ring a doorbell to go upstairs to see my waiting interviewee.  What truly amazes me about some Eurovision artists is their sense of recall - as I walked in the upstairs room of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Krista said hello and immediately knew that we had met before at Eurobash in Manchester.  In hindsight, I hope that was a good thing - she was laughing and smiling throughout the chat, so I assume that it was:

As usual, Krista was fun to be with and gave a really outgoing and informative interview - something that I knew was going to happen!  It is great to hear that she still loves being on the Eurovision circuit and meeting us fans.


I got the feeling that hosting was the more likely option this year but Krista representing Finland again sometime?  I think that is a definite!  I'd even be happy for somebody else to win for Finland in the near future so we'd get to see her host Eurovision itself - surely that would be a given?  Anyway, I was delighted with the results of the chat - apologies for the quiet bits towards the end, we weren't sitting right next to each other and I was using my new Zoom H1n recorder, so I'm still getting used to it!  Within half an hour, I was back at the venue to meet up with friends old and new, imbibe some alcohol and listen to some great tunes.  At midnight, the lady we were all there to see started her set.  To get a flavour of that, here are some of my pictures from the gig:
Great lighting, a jumpsuit that made everyone go 'wow', top notch performing and if it wasn't for a stray bottle entering shot occasionally then I'd have great photos too!  Hopefully they give a sense of how dynamic and energetic a performance this was - if not, I took some live footage of Krista getting the crowd to help her out with "Marry Me":



Krista's voice was on point all night and it was a delight to hear her sing all of the fan favourites ("Marry Me", "Faller", "Snurra min jord") plus one of mine, the poignant and heartfelt "Can You Hear Me?".  We all lapped it up and wanted it to go on longer but I'm certain that, after 45 minutes of that pace, Krista needed a break!  She did provide the total fan experience and waited outside to do a Meet & Greet, handing out signed cards and letting those who could have got a selfie in the warmth of an interview room five hours earlier get one then:
This picture has been doing the rounds on social media already and is very popular - I'm pretty sure that it is nothing to do with me!  It was a real pleasure to chat with Krista at the start and the end of the evening - maybe one day I'll see her again for a third time.  One of the other great selfies I got wasn't with her but with Joanne, Sean and Ian:
And yes, I did buy the Finnish football shirt just for the gig - it was only a tenner!  The rest of the evening was much as it was at the start - more dancing, singing, music and beer.  4am to bed but I didn't feel that tired - I'm obviously getting used to this Eurovision event lark now...
So there you go - a summary of my trip to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London to see one of the most engaging Eurovision artists of recent times - as with seeing Krista Siegfrids at Eurobash two years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed the night and it was well worth the 24 hour turnaround!  Yet another event christened in a hugely successful way - is there anything, bar the more exotic promo parties that I haven't done now?

As for Eurofest itself, next up is a Eurovision Review on March 22nd...