If there isn’t anarchy at an Amanda Palmer show, was it even her show?
A performer like no other, this women who is a walking heart on legs, captivated the crowd at Brisbane Powerhouse on Friday night (31 January), not by performing her scripted and rehearsed show, but instead, by proposing an option for an alternate type of show, one filled with requests and random stories.The outcome would be decided by a democratic audience vote (done with eyes closed of course).
At what other show would anyone expect a choose-your-own-adventure type scenario going on? It’s a rhetorical question because obviously, only at Amanda Palmer’s shows could something like this happen.
The votes were placed and the show proceeded to twist and turn away from the original script. Palmer apologising if anyone had in fact come to see the intended performance of ‘There Is No Intermission’. But as she pointed out: “The people have spoken.”
Click here to read our recent interview with Amanda.
There was a sliver of sadness to not witness her show as it had been created, as there have been countless reviews raving about the emotional rawness, the depth, the beauty and the honesty.
However, once she began to take requests from audience members, writing them down and congratulating the choices, the energy in the room rose like a wave, washing glee and anticipation over everyone.
There were too many individual stand-out moments in her epically-long set, which ran for over four hours in length. Together Palmer and her dedicated fans moved through a kaleidoscope of colourful emotions, sharing stories, playing reimagined covers and playfully heckling each other.
There was political commentary and commiseration for our country as the climate battle rages on. There were vulnerable truths aired and collective belly laughs shared.
And through it all ran the thread of her unique musical talent. Her voice sounding raspy and strong, moving from whispering whimpers to full-out screaming. And always coming back to everyone’s favourite ‘Smoko’ to break a tense moment.
It’s hard to describe what it’s like to witness a show like this. The entire experience was filled with the unexpected, and just when things started to settle, someone from the crowd would yell out something that would start a new story. Or Palmer would share a memory from the song she was about to play, which would lead into another story that would lead down another rabbit hole of magical mystery.
Perhaps you could say it was like being inside the mind of a cheeky child crossed with a philosophical Yoda mixed together with a rainbow, a unicorn and a goth.
But she is still merely a mortal like the rest of us. You could see she was exhausted, burnt out and stripped bare by her latest show. Yet Palmer was still a beacon of light for those struggling with darkness, and it’s her music which soothes the most by singing about what it is to be human.
She’s something special.
