Shannon Curtis Live!
Woweee, that was quite the spectacular.
The penultimate gig of the ‘Good To Me’ tour, which has been wowing crowds across the United States over the last few months, came live from their very own basement.
Streamed via the Radio Free Fedi video platform this was an opportunity not to be missed for us Fedizens who live overseas or too far away to get to any of the shows.
Many of us who follow Shannon and Jamie on Mastodon have been getting updates of their state-hopping tour and lamenting the fact we are unable to be a part of it, until now. And judging from the live chat there were A LOT of us at the gig, yet we could all share the best seat in the house.
Despite not being connected to any audience feedback during the show, Shannon took time between songs to talk with us, sharing the stories behind them.
The Good to Me album was written in 2021 while Shannon was experiencing near-paralysing anxiety from the fraught state of the world. Namely the pandemic we were locked down in overlapping climate collapse and the rise of fascism.
She turned to her journal to write out her worries and work out ways to summon some power to heal herself, her communities, and the planet. Her quest for self-healing with a world on fire took her through failed coping mechanisms; making peace via radical acceptance; learning to trust her inner truth; and reconnecting to serenity and power.
The Good to Me album is the manifestation of those writings. It and the tour give us listeners inspiration to embark upon our own personal healing. We all face difficulties in different forms. Overcoming them, or at least coping with them, comes from within and Shannon has found a way to share the wisdom to do so thanks to banger after banger of nostalgia-driven, synth-heavy, electro pop.
With master of all things synth, her husband and collaborator Jamie Hill on keys, combined with Shannon’s truly incredible range of voice, plus a lovely light show to boot, this was a real treat served up as a beautiful demonstration of the incredible music scene we have in The Fediverse.
It’s a strong and burgeoning community thanks to the high calibre of artists and a genuinely enthusiastic audience and it feels really exciting to be part of.
Closing out with a couple of covers of 80s classics (which feature on the upcoming 80’s Kids album) Shannon and Jamie bid us farewell after a sublime, emotionally-driven performance. It must be truly breathtaking to be actually present in the arena and part of a live show.
And don’t get me wrong, I still love being in a sweaty crowd and will continue to take opportunity to be part of them, but to be able to just roll straight in to bed after a late gig on a school night was an added bonus. I woke up this morning still buzzing and wondering if it was all just a beautiful dream.
Fortunately it wasn’t and the great news is that the Radio Free Fedi live events scene has plenty more on the horizon.
Having already streamed various events sporadically throughout 2024 (including sknob unplugged and bgm live) there is a bumper roster of live events that will be streamed via @owncast on party.radiofreefedi.net. -Streaming the Radio Free Fedi Comfy Channel when there are no live events, on the bottom of that page you can see a list of upcoming events. I’m reliably informed there are plenty more hangouts, parties and live events set to be added for November too.
Thank you so much to @shannoncurtis, @hilljam and @radiofreefedi.
Be sure to visit shannoncurtis.net to listen to Good to Me as well as previous (and upcoming!) albums, and hopefully I’ll see you soon at another Radio Free Fedi event!