Live Review: Laufey at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Laufey at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Photo credit: Nicole Mago (@nicolemago)
Lines form outside of the Entertainment Centre in anticipation of the Brisbane, Magandjin date of Laufey’s A Matter Of Time AU/NZ tour. There are bees, bunny ears, clocks, crowns, hennins, piano skirts, prison stripes and one person dressed kind of like a smurf at a toga party, if you know what the connection is there please let me know.
The vibe outside is incredibly wholesome. One fan’s mother tells me her daughter has spent months preparing her outfit, a cape with the words “Keep on going with your silly dream, life is prettier than it may seem, know that you’re beautiful” painstakingly and perfectly bedazzled in. The attention to detail that has gone into so many of the outfits tonight, as well as the DIY pins and stickers fans are handing out to their fellow Lauvers, is impressive to say the least.
Once inside, the crowd keeps the energy high in the lead up to Leonie Biney’s support slot. A small group of fans clap the motif from ‘Lover Girl’ and the rest of the Entertainment Centre joins in on the call and response. It feels a little like primary school, except the class is approximately 13,500 people. The near capacity venue is a jump from when Laufey was last here, but then again she had sold out her QPAC show within an hour of tickets going on sale.
Leonie’s set is met with plenty of enthusiasm from the crowd, especially her unreleased bossa nova inspired track, ‘I Like’. At one point everyone pulls out their phone flashlights, waving along as Leonie and her bandmates perform in front of a towering red curtain.
After multiple rounds of the wave across the crowd, cheers erupt from the front of the venue. Just before Laufey takes to the stage, a crowd favourite appears from behind the curtain. Mei Mei / 妹妹 (translating to little sister in English), the bunny mascot created by Laufey, pops out to hype up the audience for what’s to come. The moment everyone has been waiting for kicks off shortly after, with the band on either side of the stage, an arched stairway in the middle and four dancers joining Laufey front and centre.
I’m not at the Entertainment Centre very often, but every time I’m here I’m equally amazed and intrigued by the sheer scale of these shows. It’s a far cry from the 300 capacity venues I frequent across the Valley. It’s almost like watching a magic trick. I’ve never seen a grand piano appear on stage so suddenly, or the backline for a jazz quartet emerge from the pit onto the stage runway so efficiently.
Personally, the quartet setup might have been my favourite part of the set musically. The double bass sounds incredible. Even on its own, the woody timbre makes it feel like there are more notes happening than are actually being played.
Unsurprisingly, her band are the best of the best, with Laufey’s musicianship equally impressive whether she is playing guitar, piano or returning to the cello. There is a sweet moment in the set when Laufey is joined by her sister Junia on violin.
Even if the audience’s sense of timing could use a little bit of rehearsing, their pitch is perfect. It’s almost hypnotising to hear the crowd singing along underneath the more stripped back songs in the set. Of course Laufey fans can sing.
Laufey then takes a moment to explain her choice of outfit, yellow because Brisbane is between the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. She has some more fun with the crowd when talking about the animals backstage, jokingly referring to sugar gliders as “Sugar Fliers”. An incredibly sweet and fun night overall, everyone, including Laufey, seemed to be having a great time.
Laufey at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Photo credit: Nicole Mago (@nicolemago)
