Apologies for the onslaught of pictures that look like they are the same. Just kidding, I’m not sorry at all.
So this time last night, I was in the presence of two women whose music I have dipped in and out of at various points in my life. You know how you associate feelings, people, and memories with songs? I have tons of moments tucked into myself that get unearthed whenever I hear a Tegan and Sara, so despite chest congestion and an unworldly throat condition, I went to see them play. I knew I would be the sorriest sad sack if I missed them here.
We went and lined up at around 6:30pm. We usually go a few hours earlier, but we managed to get a great view still. I think it’s because the crowd was primarily the same height as us. :D
Tegan
Sara
I didn’t actually know the songs from the latest album, so the first two songs “Drove Me Wild” and “Goodbye, Goodbye” went by like a blur. A pleasant, lovely, OH MY GOOOOOSH IT’S TEGAN AND SARA blur, then they launched into “Back In Your Head,” which I did not think they would play but they did and I was so happy.
Then they played “The Con,” which is also frakking awesome. I said it on my Twitter (haha), but I truly felt that this set was a great old song/new song ratio. I got to hear some songs from Heartthrob I never heard of before but truly love. I think that’s always the goal of tours, but I don’t think that everyone pulls it off, especially if the artists’ new sound is so different that you can’t recognize them anymore. This isn’t the case here, but that’s another story.
I’ve also always been on “Team Sara,” but Tegan has become um, exceptionally attractive. Of the two twins, she is also the less reserved one. I think I related to Sara more because I feel like we are more similar as people. Obviously, this is just guesswork since I don’t know them. Unfortunately.
If you were wondering about the shirt Tegan has on (“Sara made me do it”), it was made by a fan, Teks. :)
I’ll be honest: the concert wasn’t deeply emotional for me. I think I was too busy being a fangirl and screaming my head off whenever they would play old songs that I loved and didn’t think I would hear them play live, ever. One pro to artists taking so long to play here is that they feel sorry for us that they compensate by playing old favorites. What I mean is, it wasn’t a cryfest, but I went through a lot of feelings, too. Kind of like opening up a box from high school you tucked away somewhere and rifling through things you’d forgotten you felt and wrote and did.
We stayed on Tegan’s side, so it was tons easier taking photos of her. It was pretty fun to see how their music progressed when they’d switch gears and leave their keyboards to play on guitars whenever they get ready to play old songs.
You know what’s incredible? There was never a lull in the audience sing-along. Every minute of each performance, there was a great deal of people singing along. A crowd even led the first verse of “Call It Off” when Tegan didn’t start singing after the first round of chords.
The setlist was pretty much the same throughout the European leg, too, though. When they played in Singapore a few months ago, they had a medley of old songs.
- Drove Me Wild
- Goodbye, Goodbye
- Back in Your Head
- The Con
- Walking With a Ghost
- I Couldn’t Be Your Friend
- Now I’m All Messed Up
- I Was a Fool
- Sentimental Tune
- Where Does the Good Go?
- You Wouldn’t Like Me
- Alligator
- Arrow
- Nineteen
- Love They Say
- Shock to Your System
- How Come You Don’t Want Me
- Feel it in My Bones
- Closer
Encore:
- Call It Off
- Living Room
At the end of the show, a small group from the super intense fan group, Tegan and Sara Philippines, gathered together by chance, and I took a photo. :)
It’s a little silly to say things like “When I grow up, I want to be just like them,” because for as far as everyone and the law is concerned, I am a grown up. I am twenty-five years old, and yet. Seeing them—both during performing and outside of it, on interviews and in posts—made me feel like there was still so much to aspire to as a creative person, and as a human being.
I’m not the biggest fan by any means (I’ve seen what the super fans are capable of, lol), but even then, when the night died down and ended with me having a late dinner with my friends, I felt a pang of actual missing and sadness at the realization that they’re gone and that it was over. It was an awesome night, and I hope that my memories stay intact and that my heart lets me relive the night all over again.
Sara <3
Tegan <3
Cheekboooones.
Jawliiiiiine.
It was a pretty special night and I’m just over the moon that I even got to go, even if I lost my voice and can’t sing away my post-concert depression.