Real life goddess and Grammy-winner Laufey aspired to bring jazz and classical music to her generation - and standing in an ocean of white bows and fresh faces, I know her dream has become reality.
The sold out Meanjin/Brisbane show at QPAC had the building buzzed with girlish glee and anticipation. The stage was dressed to the nines. Behind the dazzling display of multi instrumentalist setups, a drum kit, double bass, string quartet, and Steinway grand piano was a backdrop of soft drapes and old film lights. It was giving old Hollywood meets modern sensibility, and a feeling that we were about to witness something truly special.
Eora/Sydney artist grentperez opened the evening. It was clear that many in the crowd were already fond of the young songwriter. His self-assured goofiness quickly won the rest of us over as he played his uplifting, bossa nova infused love serenades on his acoustic guitar. Phone cameras lit up for his unreleased material as he shared pieces like ‘Girl At The Station’ and ‘Fuzzy Feeling’ and he encouraged the shy yet enthusiastic crowd to sing along throughout his set. Curating a lineup is a careful art and I think this was the perfect prequel to Laufey.
Thirty minutes passed before the anticipated cue of ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ danced over the speakers and the stage glowed midnight blue for the band’s cordial entrance. It’s giving orchestra-core. Is that a thing? Can we make it a thing? The once simple drapes turned starry night, and flickered gold to the swell of romantic overture until just like magic, our jazz princess Laufey appeared.
I could have sworn she floated on stage, gracefully flowing in a dress of baby blue lace and dainty white shoes. Her star factor is undeniable, and her connection with her fans even more so. You could see her locking eyes with the front rows, showing a sense of presence every audience hopes for.
Her performance showcased not only her musical prowess, but also her cheeky side too. We felt this in songs like ‘Dreamer’ (one of my favourites from her 2023 album ‘Bewitched’). She delivered the song like you would “spill the tea” to your besties. Conversational, playful and featuring everyone’s favourite lyric change (what’s swapping a ‘w’ to ‘b’ amongst friends?)
Early in the set she introduced the band as they played an intricate postlude to ‘Falling Behind’. She thanked grentperez and swooned over this run of shows,
“This has been the most amazing tour… this is such a special country. Thank you so much for welcoming me.”
The room of beautiful strangers enjoyed a performance of heart-swelling interludes, film score feeling and a whimsical light show. The stars flickered delicately to pizzicato strings before pools of light flowed alongside musical crescendo. Every element of the show felt like a well-curated dream sequence.
After a few songs playing her red hollow body electric guitar, the multi-instrumentalist star took to her cello to play the iconic cover that launched her career in 2020, ‘I Wish You Love’.
The middle section of the evening was spent watching Laufey glide over her grand piano. Misty eyed, we traversed through songs from her across her career, like we do through movies and heartbreak. I was overjoyed as she moved into ‘Nocturne (Interlude)’ - a timeless piece of music. The light poured in slowly like at golden hour, as the once solo composition was infused with the delicate romance of live strings and percussion. In the audience we shared a moment of stillness and awe.
Then, back in motion, the self-professed hopeless romantic guided us through ballads and bossa alike, with ‘Bewitched’ and ‘Bored’ into ‘Lovesick’. It felt like a wonderful summary of her works. She shared heartfelt thanks for the community she’s found with her fans before telling us that she’d saved the best for last.
‘From The Start’ took the world by storm last year (jazz is back, baby!) and filled the concert hall with joy as we sang with a twirling Laufey for (almost) the last time. We called out “blah blah blah” in chorus and cheered as Junia, her twin sister, skipped on stage for the violin solo and a few cheeky sisterly antics.
Of course, we waited for the old faithful encore as hopeful applause brought the string quartet and Laufey back to the stage. She finished on a song so many "Lauvers" hold dear, ‘Letter To My 13 Year Old Self’. I honestly didn’t expect to cry the way I did. She spoke eloquently about feeling deflated by her differences growing up and hopes that her music will help people feel empowered by their uniqueness instead. As a half-Chinese orchestra and theater kid who couldn’t understand why she looked different and was teased for being “too much”, this moment held my inner child in the warmest embrace.
It was a profound finale to a very Laufey Wednesday evening and my goodness we were so grateful to be there!
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