Shortly after winning Celebrity Big Brother UK, our favourite Aussie queen was whisked away for a couple of exclusive shows before returning home, thankfully, I managed to grab a ticket for her intimate Glasgow show in the Classic Grand and reviewed it. Sometime after that, we were blessed with another tour announcement, this time in a much bigger venue, and with a completely different show concept. Only upon closer inspection, I realised that the show in Glasgow was the same day as my birthday.
After birthday celebrations and drinking too much whiskey, it was time for the VIP portion of the evening to begin. We were ushered into the badly lit bar upstairs in the Academy, the only slither of light illuminating the room from Courtney’s ring-lights for photos. I had no nerves, only excitement to speak to her again and attempt to continue the conversation we had in February. I spoke to her about my grandparents who have grown to adore her and asked me to send them her love.
She happily signed my ticket, asking for my name, and after a short misunderstanding (thinking I was called Jane), I left with a massive smile on my face, thankful that I am lucky enough to experience these things and watching the reaction of fans meeting someone they admire so deeply, never ever gets old.
We took our seats and the Academy filled up beautifully, an audience full of love and acceptance welcomed Courtney to the stage warmly. Although Under the Covers was mostly lighthearted and fun with the inevitable jokes about alcoholism in Scotland, it has moments of raw sadness, the brutally honest If I Were A Boy and Girls Just Want To Have Fun had tears in the eyes of those around me. In a world that houses some people who are so hateful, the ballad was an ode and also a middle finger to gender and fulfilling these age-old gender roles.
The juxtaposition of the songs in the show Act as a real well-rounded performer, jumping from a vegan parody of Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Valerie by Amy Winehouse… or should I say, The Zutons? I never thought I would come home from the show having actually learned that many of our favourite number ones and iconic lip-sync anthems were covers.
Under the Covers is one of the best shows I have ever seen. The production isn’t over the top, the set is fairly simple, but fits so beautifully with the theme of the evening. Under the Covers is the show we need and deserve in 2018’s political climate, a sigh of relief in the shit-show we have been enduring.
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