Never before had I watched a gig from the actual stage, not backstage actually on stage, until Thursday night. I wasn’t just an audience member for Antony Szmierek’s London KOKO show, I felt utterly a part of it. Totally immersed, sharing the same view of the poet and band themselves. This was my glimpse at what it feels like to have thousands of fans gaze up and hang on your every word.
Of course no one was looking at me, intentionally at least, let alone longing for me to belt out Rafters, but I and dozens others saw what Szmierek saw and gained a whole new level of respect for him in the process. Explaining the unusual decision to give up the main stage to friends, family and erm me, and relegate the music to a smaller platform in front, Antony took to social media the following day.
(Image: Charles Wade-Palmer)
“What’s a good view if you’ve got nobody to share it with?”
And a good view it certainly was. The crowd’s delirium in response to the meeting of Szmierek’s heartfelt thoughts and joyful dance music, was there for us on stage to see. Watching tears, even, trickle down the faces of a young couple in the front row cut a powerful image typically reserved exclusively for artists themselves. I may have even felt like I was intruding on their moment of vulnerability, but hey what a vantage point.
(Image: Charles Wade-Palmer)
The downside to such an arrangement was that the speakers pointing towards the crowd (shock horror) meant lyrics barely cut through the guitars and keys on our side. So sound was a admittedly slight pay off for the spectacle. Antony’s rendition of Robbie Williams’ Feel knocked me back for six but it made so much sense in the moment and definitely worth checking out on BBC Sounds with Radio Two.
(Image: Charles Wade-Palmer)
What I could hear, however, was Antony turning to me mid-show to ask for my name. As I responded, the penny swiftly dropped that had interviewed him just a few weeks earlier over a video call.
Speaking to the Daily Star ahead of the tour – which has now taken Szmierek to Europe – the poet said he wanted fans to “feel in love with the world” during his shows. He added “I would say I think that’s kind of the way that the show is angled. It’s supposed to be an escape. There are a few darker moments in there and there are a few bits where we reflect, but I also think you can’t leave people feeling in love with the world unless you sort of explore the breadth of human existence.
(Image: Charles Wade-Palmer)
“The sadness and stuff but it definitely reaches a crescendo of hope a bit like the album does with Angie’s Wedding. So that’s what I want, everyone to be walking out and going ‘That was lovely’ or ‘I cried actually at that song’, and ‘That sounded great live’. That’s what I want.”
And, well he pretty much nailed the brief.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
