Thoughts on Seeing Hozier
So. The Unreal Earth Tour.
Not epilepsy friendly, or any other condition that reacts to flashy lights. He does have a sign interpreter!
That being said: absolutely gorgeous. Visually stunning. I have no idea how they got trees to hang from the top of the stage, and move, in some setup that they can transport from venue to venue. It's genuinely beautiful.
I had forgotten that the music video to "Take Me to Church" was about the Russian crackdown on gay people, and had a very emotional minute when it was playing on the screen while the whole amphitheater sang. Hit me hard in a good way to see how he is not backing down on his allyship. Also just to hear "Take Me to Church" over a video of two men kissing was enough to make me want to cry anyway, so. Y'know. I, like most queer people, am totally fine! Some people booed after and, thank fuck, everyone else drowned them out.
Live instruments for all of it, which made me so happy (none of that "everything but the main vocals and guitar is recorded" nonsense). Cello, violin, vocals, guitar, keys, synth, drums, so many different guitars.
Every single artist up there was incredible. Genuinely. I have some names to look up. I still don't have a lot of his new album down to the point where I can sing along with it, but I loved listening to it; the mastery of every person up there made every second enjoyable.
I kept closing my eyes to listen to the music, then remembering it was live and forcing my eyes open so I wouldn't miss it.
The only downside was two obnoxious people behind us who kept chanting "Someone New" when he was trying to talk. Have some damn respect for both the artist and other fans, please.
Anyway. I saw it for 3 hours and will think about it for 4 weeks. It's beautiful. I left feeling like I'd seen something important to hold in my memory.
Thanks, Hozier. It was a gift.