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Vienna Teng concert
Aug. 17th, 2014 07:25 pmAs I might have mentioned recently, I am a big Vienna Teng fan and therefore was over the moon when it was announced that not only was she going to tour Australia for the very first time but that she was even coming to my home town. I snavelled up tickets as soon as they went on sale and then counted down the days.
Last Saturday was the big night. It was held at a club. I mention this because apparently the concept doesn't translate in America--at least not in Vienna Teng's experience. She commented on it during the show and said that the nearest equivalent she'd come across was a cruise ship: being part casino, part restaurant, part music venue. When I booked the tickets, I discovered the club was offering dinner and show packages. I'm always glad not to have to cook, but in this case I wish I had--I could have done much better than the revolting vegetable curry we were served. It was clear that the chef didn't have the faintest clue about good vegetarian cuisine. However, the meal redeemed itself with dessert(a lovely white chocolate mud cake), and a cup of tea afterwards.
For some odd reason, the venue had scheduled dinner to start two hours before the performance and so Sahaquiel and I finished our meal with a good hour to spare. I put the time to use by meeting a Twitter friend face-to-face for the first time. We were both a little nervous we wouldn't recognise each other, but managed it in the end. She had likewise come to see the concert and so that was a great icebreaker. We hit off really well and had a great conversation about the similarities between our art forms (she's a comic creator/artist) and probably would have kept it up for hours if the lights hadn't dimmed in preparation for the show.
The venue was a small one with less than 100 people in the audience. I'd heard that Vienna prefers intimate gatherings and it certainly suited the supporting act, Carsie Blanton. It was the first time I'd ever encountered her before and I was utterly charmed. She serenaded us with an accoustic guitar, told the stories behind her songs and sipped tea from a gaiwan. She also had a clear love for New Orleans and I have a soft spot for anyone with a fondness for place. Her songs were wonderfully earthy and my favourite was so new it hadn't been recorded yet. Called "Fat and Happy", it was written out of revenge for something nasty someone had said to her.
By the time intermission rolled around, it was past my bedtime and I was wilting. I shored myself up with a Coke but the intermission felt interminably long.
I perked up when Vienna came out on stage. She had no set list, instead taking requests from the audience all evening. She started out with Gravity, which happened to be the very first of her songs I'd heard way back in the day. I got goosebumps hearing it live. There's plenty of footage on YouTube of Vienna playing live, so I knew she'd do a good job, but hearing it in person was really magical. She'd also brought the device she uses to record loops (as seen in her mashup video) and it was really cool to watch her build the song in front of us--especially complex and layered songs like In the 99. Another device allowed her to sing Hymn of Acxiom by cloning her voice into whatever keys she pressed on the mini keyboard. I found that absolutely astounding.
Most of the songs she played were from her most recent (and, in my opinion, most awesome) album Aims, but there were a few from her other albums. A fan of hers in the US had made her a lovely hand-bound journal which she asked us to pass around while she played, saying she wanted our autographs. I think connection is something that is often on her mind. She recently completed a double degree in Business and Environmental Studies and Aims is studded with references to environmental issues (and many other, wonderfully thought-provoking subjects). The trade-off, she said, for making such wonderful connections with her fans all over the world is that it comes at a cost to the environment. How is one to resolve this? She didn't have the answer, but she continues to hold the complexities in her heart.
At the end of the night, she invited everyone up on stage and coaxed us into singing Soon Love Soon with her. It was the perfect end to an amazing night.
Last Saturday was the big night. It was held at a club. I mention this because apparently the concept doesn't translate in America--at least not in Vienna Teng's experience. She commented on it during the show and said that the nearest equivalent she'd come across was a cruise ship: being part casino, part restaurant, part music venue. When I booked the tickets, I discovered the club was offering dinner and show packages. I'm always glad not to have to cook, but in this case I wish I had--I could have done much better than the revolting vegetable curry we were served. It was clear that the chef didn't have the faintest clue about good vegetarian cuisine. However, the meal redeemed itself with dessert(a lovely white chocolate mud cake), and a cup of tea afterwards.
For some odd reason, the venue had scheduled dinner to start two hours before the performance and so Sahaquiel and I finished our meal with a good hour to spare. I put the time to use by meeting a Twitter friend face-to-face for the first time. We were both a little nervous we wouldn't recognise each other, but managed it in the end. She had likewise come to see the concert and so that was a great icebreaker. We hit off really well and had a great conversation about the similarities between our art forms (she's a comic creator/artist) and probably would have kept it up for hours if the lights hadn't dimmed in preparation for the show.
The venue was a small one with less than 100 people in the audience. I'd heard that Vienna prefers intimate gatherings and it certainly suited the supporting act, Carsie Blanton. It was the first time I'd ever encountered her before and I was utterly charmed. She serenaded us with an accoustic guitar, told the stories behind her songs and sipped tea from a gaiwan. She also had a clear love for New Orleans and I have a soft spot for anyone with a fondness for place. Her songs were wonderfully earthy and my favourite was so new it hadn't been recorded yet. Called "Fat and Happy", it was written out of revenge for something nasty someone had said to her.
By the time intermission rolled around, it was past my bedtime and I was wilting. I shored myself up with a Coke but the intermission felt interminably long.
I perked up when Vienna came out on stage. She had no set list, instead taking requests from the audience all evening. She started out with Gravity, which happened to be the very first of her songs I'd heard way back in the day. I got goosebumps hearing it live. There's plenty of footage on YouTube of Vienna playing live, so I knew she'd do a good job, but hearing it in person was really magical. She'd also brought the device she uses to record loops (as seen in her mashup video) and it was really cool to watch her build the song in front of us--especially complex and layered songs like In the 99. Another device allowed her to sing Hymn of Acxiom by cloning her voice into whatever keys she pressed on the mini keyboard. I found that absolutely astounding.
Most of the songs she played were from her most recent (and, in my opinion, most awesome) album Aims, but there were a few from her other albums. A fan of hers in the US had made her a lovely hand-bound journal which she asked us to pass around while she played, saying she wanted our autographs. I think connection is something that is often on her mind. She recently completed a double degree in Business and Environmental Studies and Aims is studded with references to environmental issues (and many other, wonderfully thought-provoking subjects). The trade-off, she said, for making such wonderful connections with her fans all over the world is that it comes at a cost to the environment. How is one to resolve this? She didn't have the answer, but she continues to hold the complexities in her heart.
At the end of the night, she invited everyone up on stage and coaxed us into singing Soon Love Soon with her. It was the perfect end to an amazing night.
