Taking the bus over to Oxford St, I was very excited for my first ever concert. 

I rocked up fashionably late after being told by concert going vets that concerts never start on time. As soon as the lights dimmed, I thought "This is it, my first ever concert!". Kat Edwards stepped on stage with her bashful attitude and sung her songs, to which the crowd cheered and applauded. Her performance was reminiscent of someone who’d sing around a campfire amongst close friends - it was very laid back and light-hearted.

It was a breezy 30 minutes before Ro came next. Rocking snazzy shades, a blonde buzz cut, and a red dress, she addressed the crowd briefly and started performing. And I mean performing. The kind of performing that Mick Jagger would do. Alright, maybe not that kind, but it was full of zest and thrill! She sang each song with such emotion while rolling her shoulders and playing off the other band members. "That’s real passion", I thought. Unfortunately, it seemed like she couldn’t really get the crowd going. The people in the pit were enjoying it but not as much as she was enjoying performing. They all just stood around, swaying slowly and bobbing their heads a little. It made me want to jump up with her on stage because she was creating such a fun and carefree atmosphere up there, but down at the pit it felt mundane. I had the impression beforehand that people would be ecstatic over the live musical performance but it seemed like most people treated the show like it was just playing over the radio. Great props to Ro, however, for staying enthusiastic throughout her set.

After about an hour of Ro’s set, Didirri finally came on stage. I was excited, even though I didn’t know his music very well. Everybody cheered loudly as he gave a quick intro about the tour, saying that he’d done 3 gigs that day. Perhaps that is why the show felt kind of underwhelming, or maybe the rest of the crowd didn’t know his music that well either. Although there was a good number of people there, the Factory felt empty. At one point, it was quiet enough for me to hear other music through the walls of the venue. The stage lighting was nothing unique, and although Didirri performed well there seemed to be a disconnect between the audience and him. Nobody was singing along, most were still not dancing, and at one point he had to tell a section of the rowdy audience to "settle down". It wasn’t until the end when he encouraged the crowd to perform 'Can’t Get Last Night Out of My Head' with him that the vibe started to pick up. Other songs memorable from that night were 'Blind You', and 'Tea Stains' which was performed with Ro. Perhaps I’m someone who’s more suited to concerts with high energy and a huge crowd, because upon reflection, most of the show felt a bit like a pub’s open-mic than a concert.