An Evening of Serenity and Untamed Wonder: Lindsey Stirling presented ‘Duality’ in Buenos Aires
Argentinian fans had to wait a long time to experience Lindsey Stirling’s classical/electronic/pop unique hybrid proposal live again and-“…hold on, this is Sunray Magazine, aren’t we here for Rock and Metal stuff?”. Well, it may surprise you the same as it surprised me, but we are, indeed, in the right place. Carrying on, the night of september 30th, Buenos Aires’s Gran Rex Theater had the pleasure of being one of her ‘Duality Tour Latin America’ stops.
The violinist/dancer/choreographist/singer/actress came to Argentina for the first time in 2015 for 2014’s ‘Shatter Me’ album tour and again for 2016’s ‘Brave Enough’ promotional latin american leg. ¡But then the Fire Nation attacked!…well, not really but kind of. There was a christmas record, a pandemic and the 2019’s ‘Artemis’’s album cancelled tour, yet another christmas release, but no argentinian gig for any of them, which gets us to the present.
Being my first time seeing her, I must point out I considered myself to be a fan mostly of her studio work. For some reason I just didn’t go to YouTube to watch one of the many live sets available. I’m being 100% honest here, so believe me when I say that I almost shited myself when Stirling’s first show in Buenos Aires in almost a decade started with a full on-rock cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. It may be considered unprofessional for some people, but in these omniscient internet times, isn’t it such a treat to experience something beautiful without knowing every single detail in advance? I do hope you can forgive my “lack of anticipated knowledge”, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Getting back to the “oh yes, this is a Rock concert”, Stirling went onstage accompanied by long time drummer Drew Steen on her left -yeah, I did my research after the show, people- and her guitar/keyboardist Ryan Riveros on her right that helped her change the electronic/pop foundations of her music into powerful rock anthems. Yes, her violin and the classical element are still at the center of it -literally-, but it was 100% accurate to say “damned, this rocks in a very Rock way”. Songs such as “Roundtable Rival” do have guitars in their studio counterparts, but Riveros took front stage most of the times, being more than just commading the rhythim section with his 6 strings. Steen wasn’t far behind, with a solid performance that went beyond replicating the original parts on him drums.
Stirling isn’t exactly new to Rock since she has collaborated with the likes of rockstars such Amy Lee from Evanescence in 2019’s “Love Goes On and One” and Lzzy Hale from Halestorm in 2012’s ‘Shatter Me’ title track, which was played this night. But I have the suspicion the taped lead voice was Lindsey’s and not Lzzy’s. Since I mentioned it, I can’t say i’m thrilled when an artist uses taped tracks but I also think it would be excessive to ask Lindsey to sing on top of playing her violin and dancing. Besides, even though most of the setlist consisted in instrumental songs, Lindsey did sing the emotional “Foreverglow”. Nightwish fans (and well, anyone that likes musicals too) would have been thrilled with her amazing medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom Of The Opera”, though it wasn’t that Heavy Metal oriented.
The main course was, as announced, 2024’s ‘Duality’ which was represented by “Serenity Found”, “Kintsugi”, “Firefly Alley”, “Untamed” and first single “Eye Of The Untold Her”. Every album but 2022’s ‘Snow Waltz’ was part of the setlist. Being not a fan of Christmas (except for the eating, drinking and family fighting part), I wasn’t expecting Mykola Leontovych’s “Carol Of The Bells” since we aren’t even passed Halloween season yet. But I must admit that the track started to grow inside of me after listening to Lindsey’s rendition. It’s a anti-Christmas miracle!
By the way, “small” detail: miss Stirling was sick at this night and I have no doubt that not one audience member even suspect that until she told it herself. I mean, if this performance wasn’t her at 100% capacity, ¡damn! she really must be a powerhouse in optimal circumstances. Perhaps that got something to do with the slightly shorten set, with a 10 minutes delay at the beginning and a supposedly 1 song cut from the set (at least, comparing previous setlists from the tour).
You know, sometimes in life you come along these “over-enthusiastic” people and one may dismiss their “over-positive” approach to life, believing to be fake or forced. That being said, I do believe Lindsey Stirling to be a true kind soul, or at least, I take comfort in believing she is honest when she delivers a message of looking for the bright side, to reach for the light, and to choose to live life at its fullest. After she began crying when the argentinian crowd started chanting her name, deeply touched by our love, I feel like we have the duty to protect her from the darkness of this overall wicked world. That way we can continue having these soul-changing opportunities of watching her both dancing like a fairy on stage and rocking all the way at the same time. One question arises to end this review: when is the Rock/Metal album coming up, Lindsey?
Photos by Eliana Fernandez
Review by Roger Provan
produced by Move Concerts Argentina
Press María Nolte, Nicolas Tavella