Alternative Title: What I learned at the Taylor Swift Tribute Show.
Last night, I went to Taylor Made, a tribute to Taylor Swift at the Northcote Theatre, a local event, put on by some of the best of Australia's female artists as a consolation to all of those who could not get Taylor Swift tickets. Great idea. Great acts. Great vibe. Just when you're a bit tired from seeing Robbie Williams the night before and after a busy day at work, and you're not that into Taylor Swift, it's not going to go down that well.
Surrounded by a throng of people who all adore the Tay Tay, happily singing along to performers like Clare Bowditch, Alex the Astronaut, Charley, Clem Ford, Lisa Mitchell (who I came for) and Em Rusciano and her daughter, Marcella (who were the highlight of the acts I saw) was cool. But it wasn't for me. I'd come with a friend, and we agreed, leaving at the intermission was the way to go. We said our goodbyes and went and found a cheeky Chinese down Victoria Street. And it was good. I'd gone, I'd witnessed, I'd enjoyed what I saw, but I'd had sufficient.
I spent some time with my friends. Even better.
But I learned some stuff last night. Good stuff.
1) Attending to your sensory needs keeps you on track
Something the psychologist helped me with earlier in the year. Pay attention to when you know you're going to feel uncomfortable and do something about it early. As a group, we'd got to the theatre a bit early. As the crowd was building, I slipped in my earplugs. These live in a little case attached to my wallet. The Loop Engage earplugs take the ambient noise around you down about 15-20 decibels. They also let you hear conversations clearly. I wore them at the Robbie Williams concert the night before and had no ringing in my ears afterwards. Brilliant. I did the same here, noting the sound meter in the sound box was regularly hitting 90-100 dBs. I was comfortable.
As I’m not good in crowds, I found a place near the front of the balcony where I wouldn't get shoved about as much.
And when intermission came, I turned to my mate, got the nod, said goodbye to the others, and left. It's okay to say you've had enough.
It's taken a lot to get to this point. And my anxiety stayed in check. Result.
2) Fuck it, just wear it
Looking at my wardrobe for the evening, I was a bit perplexed. It was a Taylor Swift tribute. Melbourne black was not going to cut it. I needed to find a bit of colour. Hmm. Looking through my wardrobe, which is consists of a lot of black, navy, grey and bit of red for good measure, I found this little dress in a bright print. It has those open sleeves. It goes to the knees. It's a polyester material, but who cares. I put it on. I reckoned it was about half a size too small, but not in a bad way. I wore it.
Turned up to meet the group and was complimented on the dress, comments being made that I wasn't in my normal black. "Yeah, I got this for $10 off the Gunnas Retreat trading table. Nice to think it's been recycled, and the money has gone to charity. Nice to think people thing this frightfully colourful dress suits me.
3) You're either into country music or rock music - you can't be happily into both
Stick me in front of a rock band, or even better, an alternative rock band and I'm happy. I can do pop music - Robbie Williams is pop. Elton John is pop. Okay, Adele and Ed Sheeran are stretching the friendship, but they're okay - I'd choose not to go to their concerts as I'd be taking the ticket of somebody who adores them.
Taylor Swift started out as a country singer, and a lot of her songs verge on country songs. It's that 'woe-is-me-my-bloke-has-left-me-and-he's a cretin' type songs. Sure, there are some songs which are great. But others, nah - no thanks.
And this too, is okay.
So, it was worth the price of the ticket to learn these things. If you're a Taylor Swift fan you'd love the night. If you like country music and want to see a different take on some of her songs, go - it's worth it to see the line up.
Me, I was at my happiest last night sharing some prawn spring rolls and drunken noodles at my favourite dodgy Chinese restaurant (which made The Age Good Food guide a few weeks ago - Bastards - that's my secret place.)
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