By Meliza Sestito
The most rewarding part of a concert is, perhaps, feeling like you belong in a room full of strangers. It’s a positive and uplifting experience, and that’s the precise energy that swept around the Manchester Apollo on Sunday night.
Having begun his musical career on YouTube, Troye Sivan has taken the UK music scene by storm. Since collaborating with well-loved artists such as Ariana Grande, Alessia Cara and Charli XCX, Sivanhas built a well-deserved reputation for producing hit after hit.
Sivan’s stardom definitely hasn’t gone to his head, as he appeared on stage with meticulous promptness – 2 minutes early, in fact. The lights went down, and the entire room erupted in screams as Sivan launched into the first verse of ‘Seventeen’, the curtain dropping as it he reached the chorus, revealing his band behind him.
Sivan took a break from his energy-fuelled performance to address the crowd: “ So stoked to be here! We’ve been spending a lot of time here in Manchester rehearsing for this tour and you’re all so lovely.” He also described this city as “fantastically queer”, drawing a substantial cheer from the sold-out audience of 3,500 people.
For many in the room, Sivan is regarded as an LGBTQ+ icon, and this was reflected in the presence of various audience members draped in pride flags, as well as the rainbow-coloured lights illuminating the room. Before launching into the emotional ‘Heaven’, Sivan explained the meaning of the song and how it reflected his coming out story. The lyrics seem especially poignant after hearing the backstory – “without changing a part of me, how do I get to heaven?” potentially references the backwards belief held by many religious zealots that being anything other than straight is a mortal sin.
Sivan’s eclectic sense of style was echoed in his three seamless wardrobe changes throughout the 80 minute set, with constant set changes to match. It was obvious that the 23-year-old South African native played a substantial creative role in the design of this tour. Fan favourites ‘Youth’, ‘My My My’ and ‘Dance To This’ made the entire affair feel like a giant dance party surrounded thousands of your friends.
“Oh wow, this is a big stage!” Sivan exclaimed, and yet at 5’8″, the pop star had no trouble making his stage presence known. He was pitch perfect, even while dancing enthusiastically around the stage, never missing a beat. He exuded an infectious attitude that had the entire audience dancing.
Troye Sivan is a showman, and an incredibly good one at that – the way he demands the attention of an entire venue is outstanding to watch. His new album, Bloom, is available to stream now, and I urge you all to give it a listen.
Written by Georgina Hurdsfield In less than a month, on Friday 23rd August, Leeds Festival will be making its big return for their 20th anniversary, now that deserves a big cheer! It will mark the end of festival season for most, and with some of the biggest names in music headlining the festival, it is…
Written by Daniel BroadleyPhoto credit to the photographers of Blue Dot The Saturday at Blue Dot marked the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and mankind taking its first steps on the moon. We marked the occasion by starting the day with a vegan katsu curry for breakfast, catching some incredible musical acts, and watching a…
Written by Daniel BroadleyPhoto credit to the photographers of Blue Dot You’ve got your boots on as it’s a bit muddy from the now past rain. You’ve a warm can of beer in hand, a questionably strong bottle of rum and coke in the bag, and you’re on your way to see some good music…
By Ben Thompson Louis Theroux’s latest documentary for the BBC saw him revisiting the Westboro Baptist Church – the infamous church in Kansas, USA, best known for their ‘God Hates Fags’ rhetoric. Having previously documented the small church in previous installments in 2006 and 2010, Theroux was no stranger to the church’s vitriolic rhetoric. The…
1 Comment
aAh Magazine (Formerly Humanity Hallows) | Meliza Sestito