GIG REVIEW: Tegan and Sara at Paradiso, Amsterdam
It has been 7 years since I last saw Tegan and Sara in concert. It's amazing to see the identical twins from Canada are still going strong internationally after so many albums. It was not a sold out concert, but the crowd was full of girls and a few tall guys at the front who were big fans.
Tegan was the main one of the two, the main talker, the one who played guitar, the main songwriter but all of my friends who came along all agreed that Sara was the cuter one and because she's more introverted. Both seem incredibly down to earth and entertained the crowd with stories and engaged with members of the audience who recently had heartbreaks.
They played their new songs (my favourite one is called 'Boyfriend') and my old faves such as Walking With A Ghost, Back In Your Head, Alligator and Closer.
All in all it was a cute concert. Wouldn't die to see them again during this tour, but maybe in 7 years again! Thank you to my special Bianca for taking me along! <3
GIG REVIEW: 2CELLOS at Palais Theatre, Melbourne
After missing 2CELLOS concert in Amsterdam Cello Biënnale in 2014 due to a vacation, and then missing them for the second time this year due to travel plans (!) I just let go the idea that I would ever see them live. Until I received a letter in the mail from someone dear to my heart with a ticket to their sold-out Melbourne show! WOW!
I arrived at the gorgeous Palais Theatre, one of my favorite concert hangouts in Melbourne, and took my seat. The support act, The Twoks, consisted of an ex couple, the lead singer/violinist and drummer who sang quirky love songs about their break up and other trivial topics.
When 2CELLOS came on stage they just did their thing like clockwork. Both Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, who have been classically trained by the best (Luka finished his Masters at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Stjepan at RNCM in Manchester along with winning many international competitions and studied with the top cellists of this age) were so technically sound but then like supermen on top of it. They were like super cellists. Luka is the introverted, gentle and "quiet achiever"-type who plays the bass (he tunes the C string down to a low G) and the rhythm, while Stjepan plays the joker, flirter and "wild guy" and during the rock half of the concert he wore his electric cello with a custom rig and rocked the stage. They also brought out a drummer in the rock half of the concert. During Michael Jackson's Human Nature, one guy from the audience shouts out "WHAY WHAY" in the most Australian accent and continued to do so until the end of the song and in the end became the hero of the night.
2CELLOS were absolutely mindblowingly amazing.
GIG REVIEW: Lianne La Havas supported by Roseau at Paradiso, Amsterdam
I had the privilege of seeing these two London beauties, Lianne La Havas and her good friend/support act Roseau, perform a sold-out show in Amsterdam's iconic Paradiso. I played with Roseau on the small stage of Paradiso in 2013, when she performed in duo Peter & Kerry. Roseau's (Kerry Leatham) new act is more electronic, introverted and less 'singer-songwriter' than Peter & Kerry. The music is definitely closer to her heart and comes from within.
The last time I saw Lianne was in the Summer at Lowlands 2015. Lianne was great. The crowd was a mix of very young fans at the front, dads in the back, and other mainstreamers (including me and my date for the evening) from 20-35. The crowd was super attentive and very quiet when Lianne played with her guitar alone. Lianne's old tracks were a hit with the crowd, and some of the new ones had a different feel, some more happy, and some more rocky. It's cool to see her experimenting a little with styles.
REVIEW: Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Carré, Amsterdam
Australian classic movie The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was turned into a theatre production, starring Neighbour's very own Jason Donovan. Drag queens, blokes and songs by gay icons such as Village People, Kylie Minogue, CeCe Peniston, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin made the show extraordinarily energetic, and even the usually dull-Dutch were clapping along and gave a standing ovation to the cast & crew, in the last show of the Amsterdam tour. I thought it was great! I've been to Paradise but I've never been to me.