Lindsey Stirling
19th April 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
There are little girls with bright blue signs standing along the balcony section of the Powerstation tonight, a rare sight for a venue such as this. ‘The girl with the violin’, Miss Lindsey Stirling has once again returned to the shores of New Zealand and is playing tonight to a sold out all age’s crowd. Lindsey is famously known around the world as the dancing violinist, a rather unique niche that she carved out for herself through her YouTube channel ‘Lindseystomp’ after being unceremoniously eliminated from the quarter final of the reality TV show America’s Got Talent (fifth season). Since releasing her debut self-titled album in 2012, Lindsey has gone from strength to strength with both her videos and performances growing in size and production value; her fusion of dub-step with classical violin taking her to the next level in genre bending music.
The stage tonight is a simple but effective set up with a full drum kit to the right and double keyboards on the left; three criss-cross steel towers of varying heights add some variance to the eye line as well as provide functionality by housing the revolving spotlights. As the lights dim the exuberant audience cheer for the arrival of Lindsey. The opening notes to ‘Beyond the Veil’ begin to play, and the backing band of Drew Steen on drums and Kit Nolan on keyboards are illuminated by soft spotlights. Lindsey, who we can already hear playing, steps out from the shadows dressed in a white t-shirt emblazoned with the word ‘Brave’ in silver glitter and shorts with suspenders; an interesting look and one that she makes work. Watching Lindsey it is hard to believe that she can play as well as she does while twirling around. During the first song (and throughout the evening) she is joined by two very competent dancers, who deftly compliment her moves.
“Can I please become an honorary Kiwi” Lindsey asks the audience after the first couple of tracks, the applause signalling that none of her fans tonight would have an issue with her request. “I just think it is so cool that you guys call yourself Kiwi’s! We are just called ‘The Americans”. Lindsey is a very personable artist; with her huge smile and bubbly personality she easily charms the audience. She goes on to tell of how earlier at the meet and greets she met several people that she had met on her last trip to New Zealand (this will be the third time that Lindsey has played here). “Who here has been to one of my shows before?” a rather large amount of hands shoot into the air “well that excites me as it means I can’t have been too bad then” she laughs.
A quick costume change sees Lindsey return in a soft pink ballerinas outfit complete with tulle skirt (much to the sheer delight of the aforementioned little girls in the balcony section) and straight into the hypnotic track ‘Mirage’. Lindsey is known for her high kicks and back bends and we see plenty of them tonight. Once again her very talented dancers have appeared – now wearing similar ballet style costumes – and impress us all with some outstanding and well held pirouettes. Due to the nature of her act and Lindsey’s love of costumes, the set is split into three parts by two short intermissions. But rather than leave the audience staring at an empty space we are instead indulged with a superb musical interlude by the talented Steen and Nolan. Nolan is not only a multi-instrumentalist he is also one heck of a vocalist as his version of ‘New Day’ (and later ‘Light My Fire’ by The Doors) deftly proves. Drummer Drew Steen is no newbie to the kit either, providing a very proficient and entertaining performance throughout the night. Drew also has the claim to fame of being the younger brother of Ryland Steen, ex drummer with the Ska-Punk band Reel Big Fish and since 2014 touring drummer with iconic Folk-Rock band America.
The one member of the troupe tonight who elicited huge cheers from the crowd was that of Erich Jackson, Lindsey’s Tour Manager, who had the all-important task of holding the large ‘Intermission’ sign while standing in the middle of the stage. The stoic look on his face while he tapped his leg to the music adding a touch of humour to the moment.
Lindsey is also quite the comedian, often making fun of herself or the situation and it added to the overall feeling of the night that this was not just a singular artist but a cohesive group who had a very family vibe about them. Being the last show of their tour outside of the States no doubt also added to the more relaxed feel of the set. ‘Something Wild’ saw Lindsey (now dressed in a glittering deep blue) play at the front edge of the stage accompanied by Steen on a box drum and Nolan on acoustic guitar, beautifully displaying all three’s musical abilities. Lindsey is a wonderful storyteller and often breaks between songs to speak of the influence behind a track or to encourage those listening to chase their dreams and to never stop trying. When she spoke of her father who tragically passed away four months ago due to cancer it was with such love and admiration it was really quite heart-wrenching. Lindsey dedicating her ‘Lord of The Rings Medley’ to him; one of the few tracks where you are treated to Lindsay singing, her voice is rather lovely and certainly suited the song.
The set culminates with ‘Stars Align’ from the 2014 album Shatter Me, which sees the energy levels of her dancing taken up another notch, and even features a small choreographed section with her dancers where Lindsey puts her violin down and uses the full functionality of her body. Demands for an encore were met with a stonking version of ‘Roundtable Rival’ (featuring Nolan on electric guitar) that melded into ‘Don’t Let This Feeling Fade’. The entire cast of tonight, including the talented intermission sign holder Erich Jackson lining up to take a bow.
A brilliant performance from one very talented artist.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this superb night of violin brilliance? Or have you seen Lindsey Stirling live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Beyond The Veil
- Prism
- Mirage
- Shatter
- Crystallize
- Something Wild
- Lord Of The Rings Medley
- Those Days
- Elements
- Hold My Heart
- The Arena
- Stars Align
- Roundtable Rival / Don’t Let This Feeling Fade [encore]
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