Charley’s Chronicles of A Serial Idealist Tour came to Fitzroy’s The Night Cat last night.
Anyone familiar with Aussie pop princess Charley knows that she works soooo hard. And her Chronicles of a Serial Idealist Tour is no exception, with every detail, from the staging to her costume meticulously planned!
I was already stupidly excited for this show having been an avid fan of the album, but Robert Baxter being announced as one of the supports tipped that excitement over the edge into something else. Bringing their trademark high energy Robert set the scene with a lively opening set. Their sass was on full display tonight and they absolutely commanded the stage, charming the audience and giving a fabulous glimpse of what their live shows are like.
Gia Darcy followed this with her light, fun pop music. Gia brands herself as for fans of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter – of which I’m neither – but despite not being the intended audience here she still put on a good and entertaining show.
Finally Charley takes the stage looking like a tiny superhero in her fabulous outfit. A backdrop of handwritten pages – the chronicles I presume – adorns the soft pink stage set and Charley winds what I think was a gramophone (I was a little too short to actually see) that takes us through the stories of a Serial Idealist. The album is one with a clear journey but translating this to the stage whilst also trying to weave in some tracks from past releases is another thing – and this lovely little touch of the record storytelling (think children’s story book being read aloud vibes) really helped preserve the overarching story she wanted to convey with this album.
There is so much love in the room and Charley is genuinely overwhelmed at times throughout the evening – crying both happy and sad tears at different points through the night.
Charley’s queer identity is a very important part of who she is, and I hope from the stage she could see how she brought our community together last night – from everyone singing and dancing their hearts out to Lil Rockstar and Worst Taste in Girls, to the collective space held for grief and sadness during Man on The Moon.
Aside from the occasion’s softer, more poignant moments, Charley gives her full energy for the entire set. I don’t think many people realise how difficult it is to jump and dance around on stage continuously whilst also singing and Charley does this pretty much non-stop for the hour and a half long set. Honestly, she’s so ready to be doing this on a bigger stage and this is one of those shows where you feel like you’re getting let in on a little secret.
At one point Charley confesses her pack isn’t working and she couldn’t hear anything through the previous song. The crowd yell supportively about how good it was and I’m not sure if she just thinks we’re just being nice, but honestly, it was flawless, as was the rest of the night. We sang, danced, laughed and cried. Music has always been cathartic for Charley and she took the whole room with her on that experience last night.
Get tickets for the rest of the tour here.
Read our interview with Charley here.