I had the day off for the concert because I didn't know what time the VIP activity was happening. As it turns out, it happened at 630pm, an hour before the doors opened for the concert. Cyclone Marcia was hanging around the Central Queensland coast so the weather in Brisbane was showery. Media reports were suggesting low lying areas in Brisbane might be flooded. Not only that but with severe weather the trains stop running. So to err on the side of caution I arrived at The Tivoli around 330. Even so, I was not the first one there. A group of four young men were standing around the front door. The rain was not heavy so I decided to find a coffee shop.
That was easier said than done. That part of Fortitude Valley/. Bowen Hills does not have many coffee shops. In the end I walked around a few blocks and ended up back at the food court near Brunswick Street Station. After a tour of McWhirters and lots of dithering I decided on dinner at a salad place. It was actually pretty good. I also bought some water and chocolate, for later. On the way back to The Tivoli I stopped at a bakery that had a sign for their coffee. I walked in, not expecting much from a bakery, and was pleasantly surprised. They were serving Vietnamese style coffee. Score! The nice made me a very good black coffee (the white coffee with condensed milk would have been far too sweet). Pleased with the find, I drank the coffee all the way to The Tivoli.
By now it was 430. The crowd had grown slightly larger. I still out-aged them by at least a third. I expect many of them were in their 20s. In front of me was a couple dressed mostly in black. The guy was "goth" - long hair, skinny, black nail polish and carrying a stuffed goat (more about that later. I kid you not. If you don't believe me, search for goat). I did talk to them a little. They were at the last concert. They went on to say Lindsey was over two and a half hours late, and came on without any explanation why. By the time she started several people had walked out. I call them imbeciles. Behind me were two computer "nerds" prattling on and on and on about different topics like hacking and network security. It was almost hurting my ears. While I was looking around I was hard pressed to find anyone near my age.I did notice some people turn up with violins. They were for Lindsey to sign.
I thought about this. While I did miss carrying Patience around, I realised The Tivoli had no cloak room. This meant I would have to carry her around all night. I was not averse to this but under the circumstances I didn't want to do it in a crowded club. Also, I didn't like the idea of someone, even Lindsey Stirling, signing my baby. Patience is a violin, not a CD or a poster. Okay, she's a student violin but she is all mine and I didn't think it right to mark her like that. The people who did get them signed did not have them later so I expect they drove to the venue and put their violins away.
When 630 arrived someone came to the door and asked for VIPs to step forward. I was surprised to see about six people in front of me move in. What? The rest of them were just there for the concert? All the better for me. We were ushered inside where our confirmations were checked (mine was done without asking for ID). I was issued with a lanyard and was asked to join a queue near the sound desk. The guy behind me was a character. Literally. He was a dude from Assassins Creed. Don't ask me which one because I don't know, There might just be one. In any case, he WON his VIP pass in a contest. He had to dress up as a video game character. He won. So he decided to turn up in his costume, which as far as I could tell was a black shirt and pants and two leather forearm guards (bracers I believe they are called) with metal symbols on them.
Almost before I knew it I was ushered forward. I already had a copy of the Shatter Me CD for Lindsey to sign. She asked my name and hugged me and thanked me for coming. Garvy (the keyboard player) took the photo of Lindsey and I. I struck the "Asian" pose (flashing a peace sign) so when Lindsey noticed that she struck a similar pose. While she signed the CD I asked them about holding the koala. They said they had a great time. Next time I will consider stalking Lone Pine. Wait, did I type that out loud??? And that was it for the close encounter. There are many jokes going around about her height, or lack of height, so to me she was taller than I expected. I watched a lot of the other VIP get the treatment. I counted at least three violins. The Assassins Creed chap had his bracers signed. Some people presented Lindsey with gifts. I could not make out most of them. But the next-to-last guy had a hug bag with him. In it were three very large black-and-grey drawings of Lindsey Stirling. They were very good and she was really impressed.
After some mingling it was time for the Q&A. Lindsey started by introducing her entourage. All of them and not just the band (Garvy on keyboards and Drew on drums). She was asked, among other things, about vegemite (tried it and did not like it because she spread it on like jam), people she wanted to collaborate with (Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding and others), what she would say to the America's Got Talent judges (she would not be rude but would just say "I did it"). Someone asked her about doing a cover of How To Train Your Dragon. She said that was cool but in a "similar demographic" to some of her other covers she is working on Doctor Who. Huh? Similar demographic? Doctor Who? The same Doctor Who that was being produced three years before I was born? Surely she was kidding. She has never played a Strad but she would like to (duh I would like to play one too).
I got to ask two questions. I asked about her trip to Kenya to record her cover of We Found Love. She was dating the guy who shot the video at the time. She went along as part of the crew, When they got there they thought it would be a good idea to film a video of her playing there. The video really got to me. Whether it was the song, her playing, the singing, the joy of the people she met (especially the children and some of the elders). It's just amazing. She said it was a life changing experience and she really wants to go back there. I think it was when I found this video that I really took notice of her. It is what gets me to thinking I would one day like to teach kids to play violin or teaching in third world countries. I kinda wonder how many other people there knew what I was talking about. I would like to think most, but I would not bet on it. I also asked her about her violins. She has eleven of them. She went on to say six were for video shoots, and the other five she plays and records with regularly (including a black glittery electric violin named Cleopatra). To wrap up they played an acoustic cover of Shatter Me.
As they walked security guards came around to ask for ID. No, I didn't get asked (thank goodness for the beard) but I did have one kid show me his drivers license because he thought I was with security. WTF? Just because I had a black shirt and pants? Oh yeah, the beard. Kids these days...
While Lindsey and the lads went to prepare for the show, we were entertained by two DJs. Or, more to the point, I was. I don't think many of the other concert goers were paying them much attention. The girl could certainly move with the music. The guy not so much. One person near me commented on the diversity of the crowd. By this time the place was pretty full. And he was right. For the most part it was twenty-something computer-game-playing types (in my opinion) but I dare say there were some fans of hers before she became know for her Dragon Age video. Okay, yes, she does look pretty hot as Zelda too. The DJs were ushered off and not long after that, almost right on 830, it was on!
She belted out three songs before she took her first breather. She did not stop moving. She was dancing about all over that stage so much it was almost hard to keep up. And her playing was as energetic as her dancing. And I notice she as using the whole bow.
Forgive me here if I get things out of sequence. There was a lot happening.
She did the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant and got the obligatory response. She showed us her Australian accent, which quite frankly wasn't great but was a good effort. She commented on the weather and the crowd told her "welcome to Queensland". She was upset that she asked for fine weather and did not get it, joking that she always gets what she wants. Well, she did, in the end, because it had stopped raining and I walked half way back to the train station before I realised I had forgotten my umbrella.
After one energetic song she commented how unfit she was. She did not train before the tour and was now paying for it. Fortunately she had been working out with leg weights and while her arms were puny here quads were fantastic. This might be the caveman in me talking but I thought all of her looked fantastic. I taker her point about fitness though, especially when she moves so much. Even when she was sitting down there was a sense of pent-up movement.
Lindsey was telling us how the band came together. A week before her first show she realised she needed someone to play live music. Her friends of friends came through in the form of Garvy and Drew. They learned seventeen songs in two days
I can't quite remember what started it but at one point Garvy asked what the goat was called, and that led to a Ma-zzy Ma-zzy Ma-zzy chant. I did not expect that, and it's something that will be unique to Brisbane =)
In another segment she talked about how she wrote music. Sometimes she came up with a theme and then tried to find music to match. A theme like steampunk western. The crowd cheered for Roundtable Rival. She teased by saying it was not next up but they did play it soon after that. It was perhaps my favourite performance. If you've not clicked the link, here comes a spoiler: the part of the guitar-wielding bandit was played by a keytar wielding Garvy! There was great interplay between them (as well a fantastic music).
Lindsey used no props, as can be imagined. She did have a video screen, which was especially handy for those songs like Shatter Me and We Are Giants which feature guest vocals. It also helped with getting the context of the song (Crystallize had the ice caverns for example, and Master Of Tides a water theme). It was also great for Lindsey to show a montage of home movies while she and the lads took a well earned break.
About Crystallize, this was her break-out electronic dance music (EDM) hit inspired by Skrillex.She wrote this music six or seven times before she felt it was ready. Thank goodness she did not give up.
Smart-phones. I hate them at concerts. I really do. What a shame I did not have a smart-phone swatter. Lamentably I could not find a Ramones seven-inch vinyl record, or a drumstick, and Stabby would have been confiscated (although there was no pat-down and no metal detector). The phones remind me of the current time, when I would rather be in the moment. I still don't get why people want to record something like this when they could be present for it. One rare plus side was that when Lindsey was out of view on the other side of the stage, I could still see her. BUT I STILL HATE THEM!
She told us she has heard of six couples who met at a Lindsey Stirling show and got married. Garvy pointed out she was single and before she knew it she had been auctioned off for $1,000. That's about a millionth of what I think she is worth. Then a guy asked rather loudly if Garvy was single, which cracked everyone up, This is how they were. They loved the banter and were willing to go with the crowd. This was her segue into a cover of John Legend's All Of Me. This is where I missed Mts Sage the most. And damn you for this Lindsey ... she asked people to hold up lights (ie smart phones) ... damn you
A lot of the concerts I have been to had breath-taking moments. This was one of two for this concert. The crowd was singing along with the chorus and it was just beautiful. At the end of it, GoatBoy was making out with the goat. Garvy noticed. Lindsey couldn't believe she missed it so he obligingly did it again. Like, ew.
The second such moment was when Lindsey was playing a Lord Of The Rings medley. Half way through she stopped playing ... and started singing.It was magic. I have been led to believe that, in general, musicians will develop a very good pitch, so it is no surprise that can translate to the musician's voice. It certainly did for her. It was amazing, and so surprising. Hopefully she will sing on her next album.
Towards the end Lindsey mentioned that some artists are bankrolled by record companies with deep pockets and world-wide advertising access so they can very quickly gain a huge amount of recognition and fan base. Lindsey pointed out that she had none of that. She was putting stuff up on YouTube like so many others and her fans did the rest. She was so grateful to everyone that had supported her and allowed to her to do what she loved, and to share what she loved.
There were times when she was choking up talking about how hard it was to be in a dark place and needing to have faith to take a step before making it into the light, and how hard it was to be different and to fight for what you want in spite of your differences. She told us we all have different skills and talents. Even though I try to look for the "sames" in people I know where she is coming from and understand her message.
She was fabulous. What you see is what you get. You can feel the love of playing and performing that she has. I've been to a number of shows over the last few years, mostly for the violin, and while all performers show love of playing in one way or another, it really stood out with Lindsey Stirling. Perhaps it was her energy. Perhaps it was because I was only standing a few meters away. Whatever it was, it was palpable yet undefinable.
It was just on 1030 when she finished. Wow, that was some show. She gave it everything. I went home so happy after that. It was everything I expected and a little more.
Gosh, I think that's it. I might come back and add stuff as I remember. Thanks for reading if you get this far. This blog is mostly for my benefit to record what I can remember when I want to look back at it.
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