REVIEW: Maisie Peters ignites FMH
A eulogy to the ghosts of situationships past, Maisie Peters kicked off her Brisbane show of the Good Witch tour at the Fortitude Music Hall.
For an audience of heartbroken teens, people who came to the show with their ex, the healed, the hurt, and the heartbroken all came together for a night of vulnerability and female empowerment. Our honorary older sister and best friend (with no credentials but plenty of experience) was welcomed to Australia by our very own Australian artist Gretta Ray as her first opener.
Gretta Ray had an infectious attitude and presence on the stage you couldn’t look away from, her relatable autobiographical lyricism felt ripped straight out of a diary.
“Who’s been in a shitty age gap relationship before!?” was met with a cheer from regretful and angry woman in the crowd, united in a moment of sheer feminine empowerment as we all took our power back from the lost moments of our youth, in her emotional banger ‘Don’t date the teenager’. Gretta Ray danced around the stage with an unapologetic and fun freedom, and you couldn’t help but let yourself go with her.
As Gretta left the stage, her bright bubbly presence was soon replaced by second opener Dylan, a grungy, alternative rockstar that gave your girl (and everyone in the audience) the gay awakening of a lifetime. Accompanied by her band, Dylan took over the stage with what can only be described as pure feminine rage, her setlist a perfect flow of emotionally cutting love songs and angst, from most popular to her new singles, highlights included ‘The Alibi’ and ‘No Romeo’. We processed and grieved her past relationships right alongside her, and we were all ready to fight whatever man had done our new best friend wrong.
The venue passed out waters between each act, something which is very rare for concerts in smaller venues but was incredibly appreciated. The attentiveness of the venue managers and the security went above and beyond. The crowd itself was one of the most supportive and lovely crowds I’ve ever been a part of everyone stopping immediately in the pit and making room when someone had fainted. The love and support of the Maisie Peters community shined brightly that night, her coven coming together, creating a loving and supportive energy throughout the whole night.
And finally, our girl Maisie Peters came on stage, accompanied by a dramatic intro, stunning visuals and lighting and a three-piece band that had as much energy as the anticipating crowd. She welcomed us into her coven, kicking off the set with her new releases, with a mix of old classics like ‘John Hughes Movie’ and ‘Blonde’. Maisie performed a cover of Noah Kahan’s ‘Stick Season’, and a cleverly devised mashup of songs from ‘The Good Witch’.
Maisie then asked a crowd member for her experience with their own breakup, getting her to shout in an empowering release of emotion “My name is _____, my exes name was _____. He’s just a boy, and I’m kinda the man” the drums hit and “You’re just a boy and I’m kinda the man” began. Crowd interaction was a highlight that night, as Maisie encouraged us to share our stories, our feelings and scream our hearts out. “Think of someone you don’t want in your life anymore, and sing!”. Heartbroken people around me (me included) sobbed our heartbreaks out and screamed our pain into the void. One couple next to me who had recently broken up and had come to the concert as exes processed every emotion under the sun that night, and perfectly reflected the emotional journey that Maisie creates with her music. They cried, they hugged, and I hope they didn’t lose the breakup…
Maisie continued the crowd involvement towards the finale of the show, splitting the crowd into two melodies of ‘You signed up for this’ before joining us together and concluding the show.
Just as you think the Good Witch had flown off into the night, Maisie returned for three encores, bringing the two opening acts out with her, showing her appreciation for the two women and sharing a beautiful finale with her fans and band. A stand of empowerment for anyone who ever felt the hurt, love, anger, heartbreak, resentment, and union that are expressed in this album. The Good Witch can only be referred to as a diary into all our minds, revealing our darkest moments, confronting us with them, and telling us, it’ll be okay- the perfect happy ending.
