girl in red
| Who | What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maria Ringheim, a Norwegian singer-songwriter, is behind the indie-pop sensation, ‘girl in red’. | Australian/New Zealand Tour | Margaret Court Arena | 17th July 2024 |
Pre-Show ~
I’ve been listening to ‘girl in red’ since 2020, being initiated into her fan base through her song bad idea! Since then I’ve listened to her religiously so I was beyond excited when her new album, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!, came out earlier this year.
Speaking of coming out, for those who don’t know, apparently listening to ‘girl in red’ is a sign that you’re part of the queer community, as she’s often referred to as being “a popular symbol of queer identification” (Wikipedia, 2024). Although I can say that it’s true for me, and a lot of my friends, I won’t, and can’t speak for everyone in the queer and/or ‘girl in red’ community.
If you've ever been asked, "Do you listen to girl in red?" it's likely the other person was subtly trying to find out if you're attracted to girls.
It wasn’t my first time seeing ‘girl in red’ either, as I was lucky enough to see her perform at Laneway in 2023. Going with my brother and some friends, we managed to be in the middle of mosh for her song, ‘Girls’, and the iconic line ‘I’m not talking ‘bout boys, I’m talking ‘bout girls’. I don’t know my brother's side of that story but up until that moment, I had never explicitly come out to him so for me, screaming that line, felt a little like that. Safe to say ‘girl in red’ has been a big part of coming to terms with my sexuality, so I was understandably very keen to see her live again.
The Show ~
Arriving in the pouring rain we immediately got into the wrong line. We made it through bag check and were just about in the venue before realising we were at the wrong gate. We made our way to the right one, which had a huge queue, so we were lucky to have brought an umbrella. After making it into the huge venue, we headed straight to the bathroom before going to the mosh's back centre for the opening act Telenova. I knew a grand total of one song, being one of their most popular, Bones. Despite my lack of knowledge, I still found myself enjoying their set, and eager to listen to their music post-concert.
After a quick break for air and another drink, we hurried our way back into the mosh right in time for ‘girl in red’ to grace the stage. She started strong with her song, DOING IT AGAIN BABY, and continued the set with a mixture of her older songs, and new. She played two of my favourite songs from her 2021 album if i could make it go quiet, these being Serotonin and You Stupid Bitch, along with her 2018 single we fell in love in october.
Hearing these live will never not be a beautiful, spiritual experience. We also got to hear a lot of her songs from her new album, with personal favourites, Ugly Side and A Night To Remember. One of my favourite things about ‘girl in red’ is the amount of energy she has on stage. This girl is running back and forth across the stage, fiercely shaking her head and belting out her songs from the heart.
Throughout her set, and sometimes even mid-song, she would stop to point out to security the people she could see fainting in the mosh. We experienced said fainting first-hand with someone unfortunately experiencing it right next to us. Their friends must have notified the medics, as they magically appeared, and swiftly took the girl to a safer place. Since we were towards the back of the mosh it comes as no surprise that ‘girl in red’ didn’t notice the person next to us. However, if that's the case, I can't fathom how many other people she missed, despite having previously called out and saved three.
Towards the end of her set, she got the mosh to split directly down the middle, kind of like Moses when he split the ocean in two, but queer and a sea of concertgoers. Once the split was complete, she ran to the back of the mosh where we were standing, and then back to the stage again, singing the whole way through, as the wave of people came flooding back in.
Review ~
Whilst this venue did a better job at pointing people in the right direction, especially compared to Festival Hall, there were still not enough signs (that or my friend and I suck at directions). Similarly, there was a noticeable lack of easily accessible water and clear signage indicating its availability. In all my years attending gigs and festivals, I’ve never witnessed or heard of four (or possibly more) people fainting within the first hour of a set. It’s likely not just the lack of water that contributed to this issue, as I can’t imagine that standing in the rain beforehand helped matters either.
Other than that the show ran perfectly. The venue was massive, perfectly suited for the crowd that filled out the mosh pit. At the back of the mosh we were still left with plenty of space to dance. ‘girl in red’, and her opening act, put on a ridiculously good show, filled with energy, power and elegance, making the overall ranking…
See you at the next gig,
Lizzie T
Sources
Melbourne & Olympic Parks (2024) GIRL IN RED - Doing it Again Tour. Margret Court Arena https://margaretcourtarena.com.au/event/girl-in-red-doing-it-again-tour-2024/
Wikipedia (2024) Girl in Red. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_in_Red