oopa!

Photograph from official mailing list
A few weeks ago my friend and I went to see Lisa Mitchell perform at the Wollongong Uni Bar. We'd been really looking forward to it since we hardly ever have time together with our busy lifestyles. And of course we got a little lost getting there which is half the fun!

The stage was small, like a primary school hall, and was decorated bunting, faux gum trees framing the stage and hanging lights over head. We missed the opening band, but got there in time to see Oh Mercy. What a breath of fresh air! Their sound reminded me of those old school bands that played at prom night in those corny teenage American flicks in the 50s or so (I have no clue really). Anyhow, they were amazing to listen to and I promptly bought a copy of their album once they finished their set.

Soon after Lisa came on with her band, a tall, lanky, cute and quirky bunch with goofy grins which pleasantly matched Lisa in her fashion and dancing. I hadn't yet listened to her album (finally got it in the mail yesterday) so didn't recognise all the songs, but absolutely loved the ones I did, particularly "Stevie" and "Napoleon Dreams". Her voice is cute and sweet, and her lyrics are interesting with their unconventional rhythm and flow of phrasing. And anyone that plays kazoos and harmonicas just rocks.

One thing I found quite sad though. Before singing "Coin Laundry", Lisa was talking about how she never expected the song to end up causing her physical pain as some people in the audience in past shows thought it would be funny to throw coins at her while performing. I'm sure anyone would know that, although small, it would still hurt to have a dollar coin pelted at you. Yet some girls in front of me thought had the audacity to start throwing coins anyway (you can hear Lisa asking them to stop in mid-song here at 1:24).

It's saddening to see one person disrespect another so publicly, especially when they are performing for the listening pleasure of others. I don't understand the point of these girls bothering to pay to see someone perform and then reduce them to a mere form of "entertainment" for them to mock. Only thing that comes to mind is the old tall poppy syndrome. Just sad.