I survived the Fight Like a Girl concert
The title sounds more dramatic than it really was; but after standing outside the venue for 2 hours in below-freezing temperatures, once again standing next to a drunk guy who almost picked a fight with a guy near my brother, before being escorted out by security, during the show, and limping my way back to the "L" station in the middle of the night to get home (not to mention not feeling well leading up to the concert and thinking I'd have to miss it altogether) getting through the concert unscathed is a huge accomplishment. Like the previous Emilie Autumn concert I'd been to, everything about it was awesome. Standing in line--though we were freezing--with the very nice fans (or Plague Rats/Muffins) made the chilly wait almost bearable. All the "teasing" starts that started with loud cheers, only to devolve into nervous laughter, made the anticipation more electrifying. Singing the first verse of "Thank God I'm Pretty" as Emilie played the harpsichord reminded me of last time when we all sang "My Fair-Weathered Friend" together.
There were things I missed. Most of the songs came from her Fight Like a Girl CD. I have a half-finished review sitting on my computer when it first came out back in July. The gist is that, while I like F.L.A.G., I don't think (other than writing reasons) it'll have as much replay value that Opheliac has for me. Other things: no violin this time around and less crowd interaction/interaction between the Bloody Crumpets. Still, it was a very good show. And I managed to make it to the merch stand this time:
The Asylum Gate T-shirt and a Veronica Varlow Skeleton Key Necklace,
which holds a very, very special place in my heart (I'll talk about that in a later post)
Bonus: Surprise!Cameo by my comforter
I had very selfish reasons for going to the show, other than wanting to spend an evening with Emilie Autumn, which I wanted to do. I mentioned a paragraph up that I've been listening to F.L.A.G. for "writing reasons". One song, in particular, has been very crucial in my inspiration called "Scavenger". Guys, if my WiP had a "sound" this song would be it (in conjunction with "If I Burn"). So, before the tour started, I had no intentions of going to the concert purely for financial reasons. But, as the tour went on and I heard reports of how "Scavenger" was being performed, I wanted to go and experience the performance for myself. I avoided videos like the one below because I wanted my first viewing of it to be live, in Emilie's presence and surrounded by fellow fans. Because "Scavenger"--out of all the songs on F.L.A.G.--has been the most influential in helping me see the story I want to tell.
Ours was staged differently: Emilie wasn't half-naked and instead of standing around while she sang, she was climbing all over the gate/cell you can (almost) see in the background, like she was searching for something, and Captain Maggot/the Scavenger didn't come out until the 5:14 mark. But I love the staging; specifically once the Scavenger comes out. I love how its hovering in the darkness, just behind Emilie, like a shadowy presence. My favorite part was the end; though ours was different than the one in video. In our ending, the Scavenger grabs both of Emilie's hands, as if finally overpowering her and she succumbs to the darkness of whatever the Scavenger represents. Because, even though the singer of the song references grave-robbing, since first listening to the song I always viewed the Scavenger as a metaphor for fear. How fear manages to lurk just out of our reach. How fear fills the empty spots inside us and seeps into our thoughts and actions. How fear creates our monsters.
How fear and it's cousin called "self-doubt" has stopped me from opening a WordPerfect document and just write. But fear, even in its darkest form, always comes with its lighter twin. Hope. And even though fear may be the larger, heavier presence of the two, there doesn't need to be much light for the darkness to not seem as dark as it once was. I don't want the fear, the self-doubt, the Scavenger to consume me any longer. I think I've found my hope. It was there, waiting. And I'm so glad I found it in a sea of Emilie Autumn fans, in an old theater in Chicago, on a cold, wintery night.
There were things I missed. Most of the songs came from her Fight Like a Girl CD. I have a half-finished review sitting on my computer when it first came out back in July. The gist is that, while I like F.L.A.G., I don't think (other than writing reasons) it'll have as much replay value that Opheliac has for me. Other things: no violin this time around and less crowd interaction/interaction between the Bloody Crumpets. Still, it was a very good show. And I managed to make it to the merch stand this time:
The Asylum Gate T-shirt and a Veronica Varlow Skeleton Key Necklace,
which holds a very, very special place in my heart (I'll talk about that in a later post)
Bonus: Surprise!Cameo by my comforter
I had very selfish reasons for going to the show, other than wanting to spend an evening with Emilie Autumn, which I wanted to do. I mentioned a paragraph up that I've been listening to F.L.A.G. for "writing reasons". One song, in particular, has been very crucial in my inspiration called "Scavenger". Guys, if my WiP had a "sound" this song would be it (in conjunction with "If I Burn"). So, before the tour started, I had no intentions of going to the concert purely for financial reasons. But, as the tour went on and I heard reports of how "Scavenger" was being performed, I wanted to go and experience the performance for myself. I avoided videos like the one below because I wanted my first viewing of it to be live, in Emilie's presence and surrounded by fellow fans. Because "Scavenger"--out of all the songs on F.L.A.G.--has been the most influential in helping me see the story I want to tell.
Click to viewOurs was staged differently: Emilie wasn't half-naked and instead of standing around while she sang, she was climbing all over the gate/cell you can (almost) see in the background, like she was searching for something, and Captain Maggot/the Scavenger didn't come out until the 5:14 mark. But I love the staging; specifically once the Scavenger comes out. I love how its hovering in the darkness, just behind Emilie, like a shadowy presence. My favorite part was the end; though ours was different than the one in video. In our ending, the Scavenger grabs both of Emilie's hands, as if finally overpowering her and she succumbs to the darkness of whatever the Scavenger represents. Because, even though the singer of the song references grave-robbing, since first listening to the song I always viewed the Scavenger as a metaphor for fear. How fear manages to lurk just out of our reach. How fear fills the empty spots inside us and seeps into our thoughts and actions. How fear creates our monsters.
How fear and it's cousin called "self-doubt" has stopped me from opening a WordPerfect document and just write. But fear, even in its darkest form, always comes with its lighter twin. Hope. And even though fear may be the larger, heavier presence of the two, there doesn't need to be much light for the darkness to not seem as dark as it once was. I don't want the fear, the self-doubt, the Scavenger to consume me any longer. I think I've found my hope. It was there, waiting. And I'm so glad I found it in a sea of Emilie Autumn fans, in an old theater in Chicago, on a cold, wintery night.