On the day of Laufey’s Brisbane show I heard from Futuremag that I got the golden ticket to her show to write this review. Did I care that I was currently 180km from the venue, meaning that it will be a four-hour round trip? For Laufey? Absolutely not!
I have loved her music for years and became a true fan after she released her first album Everything I know about Love in 2022. Her love of great music throughout history shines through all of her albums with her angelic, powerful vocals, skilful musicianship, honest lyricism, and her own modern take on genres such as jazz, modern classical, traditional pop, Bossa nova and more, that while feeling distinctly unique to her, she nods to eras of the past that bring a nostalgic quality to her music. Safe to say, I was stoked to see her live.
On the drive up, I revisited her albums Bewitched and A Matter of Time, the latter being her album she is currently touring. I started the drive a little too late and unfortunately missed Leonie Biney’s performance. I’ve listened to her music and she sounds really good so it felt like a musical sin had been committed. I rushed into the venue just as Laufey’s first song of the night 'Clockwork' started to play.
I was in awe of this magical world I stumbled into. Laufey looked like a Disney princess as she graced the stage in a butter yellow gown, sparkling all over with tear drop rhinestones embedded amongst the tulle and a headband that looked like a tiara. Four dancers leaped onto the stage in outfits that felt modern and reminiscent of the flapper era with tasseled skirts and feathers in their headbands, they danced amongst a fairytale-esque set with a castle staircase, archways, horse and moon cutouts and a princess style rope swing.
The audience only added to the feeling of stepping into a fairytale. Fans dressed up in full princess dresses, crowns, suits, piano tights and clock designs to honour the album and some wore bunny ears in honour of Laufey’s children’s book she released titled 'Mei Mei the bunny.'
It was clear that everyone in the room loved Laufey. Laufey’s performance truly was an experience I will never forget, it was a fantastic, theatrical showcase of genres past and present with costume changes, performers, a full band, string quartet and the show itself being split into five acts and a finale.
Laufey gave an enchanting performance to bring her music to life. She sings like an angel, has the poise of a princess, and the skill of a multi-talented instrumentalist and songwriter. She played a gorgeous grand piano, guitar and even gave a stunning cello performance accompanied by two real ballet dancers.
There were moments of joy and theatrics with her dancing through songs like 'Madwoman,' moments of depth and sorrow with heartbreaking songs like 'Too Little, Too Late' and moments of appreciating great musicianship and genres of the past, including a fun section in act II that started with a sign asking the audience “Ready for some jazz?” as the stage highlighted three talented live jazz musicians and Laufey sang a delightful performance of 'Seems Like Old Times.'
The audience sang along for some songs but a lot of us were just standing still, mesmerised in awe for a lot of the performance. It was deep, heartfelt, emotional and meaningful. Her lyrics were raw and honest. While personal to her, I think they were very relatable to a lot of us in the crowd. She talked to the crowd about how she writes her lyrics and said that she feels a lot of emotions in a 24-hour cycle, so the songs she likes the most are the ones that feel ripped out of a diary.
“If you relate, I’m so sorry, but at least we can feel bad about it together.” Laufey ended the night with love, gratitude and thanks for her audience, and then gave the closing statement: “The world is in a dire place right now. We need real artists, real art.” As I walked out of the venue, I felt grateful that I got to see one of those artists live that night.