LINDSEY STIRLING
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(photo not from actual SA show)
Last night I saw the fantabulous Miss Lindsey Stirling live! She's a brilliant dancing violinist in the genres of classic violin/dub-step/electronica. I've finally finished my review. Here it is.
If you're not familiar with her work, here's her YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/lindseystomp
LINDSEY STIRLING at Fowler's Live, Adelaide
The GREAT
Seeing Lindsey Stirling live! I've been a huge fan of hers for 2+ years now and was especially bummed when Adelaide wasn't included in the Australian tour early last year. It was beyond amazing to finally see Lindsey in person. Incredibly surreal. I thought Lindsey and her two peeps, Gavi and Drew were amazing. The trio are clearly one happy family and that played out in a wonderful dynamic on stage. This was communicated in a curious combination of strong musical talent and dance (of course), humility, playfulness, depth and integrity and on top of all that, they still managed to have great stage presence.
During the night, Lindsey Stirling shared a little of her story and gave credit to God for giving her strength in the darkest parts of her life, which was cool (but she's a Mormon). I was mesmerized by Lindsey's trademark ethereal, but energetic dancing and violin playing and the dynamic lighting accompanying her performance really added to the experience (or maybe I'm just easily impressed). Lindsey wowed everyone with her surprisingly beautiful vocal talents when she sang a few Disney princess song excerpts. The band played many of her songs, as well as a cover of "Senbonzakura", the love song, "All of Me", her "Lord of the Rings" medley and any acoustic version of "Transcendence".
The audience were strangely introverted though. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't dance and that I'm not an extrovert. And yet, there I was, one of the few, out of maybe 300 people, dancing along to the songs (and singing). Don't get me wrong, Lindsey was warmly welcomed and well-received and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves (clapping along, chanting, wooting and shouting their appreciation). I guess this really was a YouTube crowd (ha!) But seriously, guys! Lindsey's music is crazy dance-friendly. Why you no dance?
WEIRD OBSERVATION
Lindsey Stirling sounded much more American in person.
The GOOD
The supporting act was a DJ who turned dials and things on a sound board linked up to a laptop (I don't know what you call that set-up). The guy played with a lot of dub-step music and 80s/90s pop culture tunes from everything TV (eg. "Where's Wally?", "Knight Rider", "Inspector Gadget") to movies, video games, popular music and some more obscure stuff (or maybe I just didn't recognise it). He had talent and I enjoyed aspects of his show, but I was also impatient to see Lindsey and the gang. Also, his music definitely overstayed its welcome (he played for close to one hour). But he received strong applause from the crowd and many people were dancing to his music (well, as much as you possibly can in a place the size of Fowler's). Certainly more people than those who danced to Lindsey Stirling. What gives, yo?
The BAD
I didn't enjoy lining up for one hour to get into the show (but maybe that's standard practice - I haven't been to a music concert since the late 90s). Then standing for another hour while the supporting act continued for much longer than necessary. Standing for almost two hours after that put my legs in the Dead Zone. Most importantly, Fowler's is a tiny venue for a famous international act like Lindsey Stirling and the stage is even tinnier (hello, need I remind organisers Lindsey Stirling is a dancing violinist!) She did a great job, but there wasn't decent cooling for her or the audience. One woman fainted at the sheer awesomeness of Lindsey (not really).
The UGLY (or DOWNRIGHT EVIL)
This has nothing to do with Lindsey Stirling herself and everything to do with modern music crowds. As Shepherd Book from the TV series "Firefly" famously put it, and I'm paraphrasing here, "There's a special level of hell. A level reserved for child abusers and people who sabotage others experiences at Lindsey Stirling concerts." But seriously, Lindsey Stirling fans: We're all passionate about the same artist. So don't be jerks and think of others. Take a few quick photos of Miss Stirling and then put away your blinking phones! I mean it! We didn't pay good money to watch your phone screens (at any one time there may have been 40 or 50 people filming the show - I may or may not have told people off).
In short, it was a brilliant night (over much too soon though) with several moments marred by some special blockheads.
P.S. Next time I'm going to drag along some friends, I'm not going solo.