august 2023: the real world
melbourne show this saturday. tickets here.
hey,
august was a blur, but in the best way.
I spent most of the month preparing for the band shows, and it was worth it. after spending so much time sharing my music through a screen over the last couple of years, I couldn’t wait to share these songs in the real world. the acoustic shows last month were special, with the stripped back performance making for a raw and intimate experience. but these band shows feel like an expansion of my soul - recreating and elevating everything I intended these songs to be. the drums. the bass. the synths. the electric guitar. it takes it to a whole new place. that’s the magic of live music.
midway through the month my band and I headed down to wollongong to perform as part of yours and owl’s sunday sessions. it was a good opportunity to test out the new set before the headline sydney & melbourne show - and it was so much fun. we played at our best and noted some things to tweak for the big shows in the coming weeks. we got together to rehearse a few more times, and I added some new songs to the set. I was curious to test out some unreleased songs with the band. I also decided I wanted something to bring people into a new world when they see a ‘chris lanzon’ show. rather than just a typical stage, I wanted to add something that represented everything my project is about - ‘music for your feelings’… the highs and the lows… ups and downs… constant growth… the ever-changing nature of the human experience. how could I summarise these things in a symbol? I recalled a symbol that has seemingly been following me around all year. the spiral. I remember in january feeling like I was seeing them everywhere, and many times since - the more I thought about it the more I realised how much it connects to my music and my process as an artist. so I built a neon spiral light to hang on stage behind the band, and I’ll take this with me wherever I play. I’m stoked with how it turned out, but I can’t take all the credit - my dad was a huge help in figuring out how to bring the idea to life. we made a good team! thanks dad.
after all the prep, the big day finally came - the hometown show was this past friday,(although technically september I’m going to include it in this august letter).
it was on another level. I haven’t felt that much energy in a room for a loooong time, if ever. it was electric. full of love and joy and magic. it was by far my favourite show I’ve played. one of the new songs I’ve been working on ‘carrots’ was sooooo fun to play live, I’m glad I added some unreleased ones into the set.
the energy of this show has filled me with excitement for future shows and one of my biggest goals for next year is to play a show internationally. I’ve never done that before and I know so many of you are from different parts of the world, so I hope to make it to you soon.
if you came to this show, thank you. it was lovely to meet you all. a few people dragged friends along who had never heard my music and I was so happy to see how much they enjoyed it. someone else came from interstate all alone, and made new friends at the show. this is my favourite thing about shows - likeminded people coming together, making new friends and discovering new music. that’s what the real world allows for. there’s nothing like it.
we’re off to melbourne this weekend for the next one, so if you want to come along - now is your chance! a few tickets left here. i challenge you to beat sydney’s energy… tell your friends… we shall see…
see you soon <3
much love,
chris