cavo's corner

Ticket Stub Tuesday…Round Thirty-Six:

     Typically, I don’t wait three months from the time I see a concert to write a Ticket Stub Tuesday entry. My life has been very busy lately, what with changing jobs, buying a home and moving into it. My blog had been placed on the back burner, and for that I am sorry! As the great John Lennon once said, “life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” So, without further adieu…

    I was first introduced to the musical stylings of Australian-born Sia in 2008 when I was still working at Starbucks. Her fourth studio album, Some People Have Real Problems, had just been released and was on sale at all Starbucks locations. This meant that every morning, when I would show up at 5 AM to open the store, songs like “Lentil” and “You Have Been Loved,” were blasting; Sia’s melancholic whaling ushering in another day of misery making lattes and serving the sycophant clients of the community. Needless to say, I did not associate Sia’s music with positive experiences.

     Then, one day during my lunch break, I took a “song of the day” card which featured the music video for “Day Too Soon.” I went home, downloaded the video, and fell in love with the song. The rest is history. 

     In the pre-Lady GaGa music world, Sia seemed to be far too strange to make it in the U.S. I mean, she was drawing on her face in magic markers, for goodness sake! But with the dawning of the meat dress and mother mons✝er, magic markers and pipe cleaners seem pretty tame. No?

   When I read on Sia’s blog that she would be touring North America, I did not hesitate to buy tickets. I presented them to @TGH3RD as part of a Friday Surprise and we made a night out of it! We had an early dinner at a little pizzeria in the East Village before going to happy hour at a Second Avenue bar. From there, we finally headed to the venue, the venerable Webster Hall, where I’ve previously seen the likes of the lovely and talented Sara Bareilles. 

    Although we didn’t wait in line, we managed to get pretty decent spots among the crowd. Before we knew it, Sia was taking stage, in what appeared to be a black, Flamenco dress, and blowing us away with her powerhouse vocals. From the moment she started singing, the energy in the room was palpable. Although a bit bizarre, she is one hell of a performer. 

     The setlist was dominated by tunes from her most recent album, We Are Born, but contained a nice sampling from her entire catalog of songs.

Setlist:

1. The Fight
2. Buttons
3. Oh Father
4. Hostage
5. Be Good to Me
6. I Go to Sleep
7. Cloud
8. Little Black Sandals
9. You Have Been Loved
10. I’m In Here
11. You’ve Changed
12. Soon We’ll Be Found
13. Never Gonna Leave Me
14. Death by Chocolate

Encore

   15. Clap Your Hands

   16. Breathe Me

     For the nearly two hours Sia was on stage, never once did her voice waiver. She is such a talented, refined and above all, original performer. I can’t wait until she tours again.

[[Marquee outside Webster Hall.]]

[[The set was fashoned of yarn and pom-poms.]]

[[Sia killin’ it!]]