Troye Sivan at Night 2 of his Sold Out Webster Hall Shows!
Troye Sivan performed at Webster Hall for two nights straight to sold out crowds. When I think back on the night I feel almost emotional about it. I’m the farthest thing from a softie and I might even a be a bit disconnected from my emotions at times, but Troye Sivan is an artist that means a lot to me in many different ways.
Before I get into his performance let’s rewind a bit back to when I first discovered Troye Sivan sometime during the middle of last year. I wish I found his music sooner but thankfully Youtube helped me out and featured his song “Happy Little Pill” at the top of the suggested tracks list.
A little while ago I wrote a post on how to find new music and it was partly inspired by my discovering Troye Sivan via a YouTube recommendation. I then went on to add songs by him in my birthday playlist and deemed his full-length debut Blue Neighbourhood worthy of a best albums of 2015 slot.
So why do I love Troye Sivan so much? First and foremost the South African-born, Australian-raised, singer-songwriter is incredibly talented. I could stop there and let you become entranced by the below videos, their melodies, and the achingly realistic lyrics.
Representation
The thing is that he, as a person, represents so much more than what he appears to. Troye is lanky, with floppy waves and an endearing awkwardness that is unlike the usual teen heartthrob character that you see sellout pop arenas.
He’s not the first young man with an accent to make waves in the states but he’s also openly gay and he does so in a way that in unapologetic and freeing. That makes me overwhelmingly grateful.
I’m a heterosexual woman and I’m not going to pretend to understand or know what it’s like to grow up in a world feels the need to give unwarranted opinions on your sexuality. Still, I have family members young and old and friends who are and I’m so happy that there is someone in the music scene who is representing their story.
I don’t usually get political or preachy on this blog and I’m not going to make a habit of heading down that rabbit hole. There are just a lot of things going on in this country right now and it’s nice to see someone achieve their dreams without having to compromise a part of who they are along the way.
My friends and I are around the same age (26) and even though I had teen stars like Britney (or virtually every other singer out there in the 90s and beforehand) to look to my gay friends can’t say the same. There were some but not very many.
More than the Music
I can sing a love song or watch a music video and see people demonstrating what “love” looks like in a heterosexual relationship. I didn’t have to imagine, think or dream of what it would look like to turn on the TV and see a couple that I could relate to.
Now, my young 12-year-old cousin can turn on the TV and see a young guy wearing nail polish and kissing or embracing a guy without any sort of airs. He can buy an album that talks about experiences through similar eyes and he can hopefully feel a little less “out of place” because of it.
To me, that’s special and adds a lot more weight to his show than I initially anticipated. When I saw the diverse mix of people wrapped around the corner and halfway down the block, and when I stood in the crowd and felt the undeniable energy I knew I was a part of something bigger than just that one concert in a string of sold out shows.
The Crowd
The audience was a mix of ID-less teens with parental supervision, adults in their late twenties, and the random groupings in between. There was some fighting where I was toward the front before the show but all that is just an unfortunate blip in an otherwise magical night.
I sang along to all the tunes, made friends with the guys to my right and made a conscious effort to balance out the time I spent enjoying the show with the photos and video footage I took home as souvenirs for me and you.
Highlights
The major highlights of the show were when he sang some of my favorite songs “Too Good”, “Heaven”, “Lost Boy” and when Georgia from Broods came out to sing “Ease!” Guys – I lost my cool when that happened. Broods were my very first concert review for Violet Roots and I absolutely love them!
I have a very select group of artists that I will pay to see every time they make their way into the NYC area. As I’ve said multiple times before Years & Years is one act and I’m happy to say that Troye Sivan is now a part of that group too.
What do you think of Troye Sivan? Share your thoughts and expect upcoming concert highlights from Melanie Martinez, Aurora, PVRIS and Ellie Goulding!