‘I managed to get tickets for the big show in Manchester this weekend'
If you were in Manchester this weekend you surely felt the anticipation. Bars and restaurants are packed, the Metrolink was rammed, everyone is wearing the merch, young and old all scrambling to get their hands on a ticket.
And that's because a very special group have reunited to put on a legendary set of shows that will be talked about for generations.
Finally, they've placed their differences aside and are putting on a united front to showcase what they do best and give the people who have adored them for years what they want.
There's been no media in the build up. No public 'falling out' to generate hype. This is a show where the group's raw talent simply speaks for itself.
I am, of course, talking about Paw Patrol Live: The Great Pirate Adventure, at Manchester's AO Arena.
There is a local Burnage act also performing this weekend - but staff around Victoria Station manage to juggle their fans en route to Bury alongside a minor army of parents and kids queueing for the AO Arena brilliantly. It's all very well organised and the atmosphere is quite celebratory and joyous from both parties.
The show brings together the key cast of the beloved programme, led by Ryder, to go on a heroic mission to find hidden pirate treasure.
And within moments of them marching onto the stage, there is cheering, screaming, furious mopping by staff over spilt drinks from an accident that happened the second the lights went down, and smatterings of tears too from slightly overwhelmed kids.
It's a lot. As someone said to us before the show: "this is Oasis for kids".
Once the mayhem all settles down though it's a really fun show: panto-on-speed, some very catchy songs and lots of very happy children in the crowd.
The biggest cheers are reserved for when the pups come out on their vehicles - we love a vehicle - and the live production manages to have a flavour of the high-octane action scenes that characterise the Nickelodeon TV show which are obviously not easy to reproduce on stage.
Many parents upon reaching the interval decide they're going to need a beer to get through this - even if it is almost £10 for a pint - but our three-year-old is utterly mesmerised throughout, so entranced that even his beloved Fruit Shoot doesn't interest him.
At times some of the audience-participation segments don't really quite work for an arena the size of the AO, however the cast are really giving it 110%.
It's a sugar-rush of an afternoon, lasting just over an hour-and-a-half plus a 20-minute break in the middle, and a great treat for kids over the summer.
PAW Patrol Live! is on a roll – and coming to cities all across the UK this summer. Tickets are available now from www.PawPatrolLive.co.uk
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