july 2023: enjoy the moment
hey,
july was great. I hope yours was too. I got to play a second acoustic show in sydney, then flew to melbourne for another one there. I made some new friends. I turned 23! I announced a mini tourrrrr with the band. I wrote some of my favourite songs I’ve made in a looong time
these acoustic shows were my first time performing after quite a while. you’d think playing smaller rooms in an intimate setting would be more chill than bigger shows, but stripping everything away leaves no place to hide, it was quite nerve wracking (at least in the lead up)! but once I got on stage for the first show I felt right at home, everyone was so sweet and it felt like we were hanging out in someone’s living room, singing songs together. here’s a taste for those who missed out:
melbourne was a pleasure to visit as always. it was freezing cold, but I kept warm with a mulled cider at the venue which was sooooo good. I’d never had one before, tasted like an apple pie lol. holly hebe joined me at the show, it was an honour to have her play an opening set and sing a couple songs with me (check her out if you haven’t!) I met a few of her friends and we all got dinner together, it was super wholesome and made me feel at home away from home.
I also got to write with demi again while I was in town (my songwriting partner in crime) and one of her friends jim who is a music nerd just like me. he’s also a wizardly good producer, we had a tonne of fun. we made a song that I am so excited about. (🥕… iykyk) … maybe you’ll hear it at the next shows?
after melbourne I came home and celebrated my 23rd birthday. it was a chill one. the band came around to jam and we had a nice dinner. I also saw barbie which was brilllllliant. so fun and such an important message. highly recommend!
on a different note - reflecting on the acoustic shows and starting to prep for the band shows, I had an interesting realisation (if you’re a performer of any sort this might be interesting to you too, so I thought I’d share)… leading up to the first sydney show I was anxious, worried about the performance, about my health (I got sick after the last couple times I’d performed and wasn’t sure why, I didn’t want that to happen again), playing to a full room of people with expectations and their own attachments to my songs, what if I let them down? but it went great, and I felt a lot more relaxed at the second show because I’d already done it all the week prior. but then with the lack of nerves… I felt a little disconnected on stage? why? I spoke to my therapist about this and I think what I realised is - I was so focussed on doing a good performance that I forgot to fully enjoy the moment. the irony is that if all my energy was put into being present and having fun sharing my love for these songs with a room full of people who want to experience them, instead of trying to ‘do a good job’ - the performance would probably be better for it - more meaningful. more real. it’s an interesting shift in perspective and I’m looking forward to the upcoming shows to really practise it. these shows are going to turn the energy up to 11. I can’t wait.
tickets are moving fast, so thank you if you’ve got yours <3 here are the links if you haven’t. tell your friends!
wollongong aug 13th (free rsvp) / sydney sept 1st (tickets) / melbourne sept 9th (tickets)
for those coming to a show, I’ll see you soon! and as always, thank you for being here.
ps. dark side has been out for 3 months now (wtf?). more things soon.
much love,
crhis