I had the pleasure of seeing one Maggie Rogers play the freaking Sydney Opera House last night for her second Syd show (but the one that went on sale first, unfairly) and it was a hell of a night — the singer herself freely admitted she was completely spun out by playing a gig on such an iconic stage, and even got a bit emotional during her set, at one point saying “I better start singing before I start crying!”. Bless.
[jwplayer GivcwdSv]
After an incredible set, the crowd was all chanting for an encore, and sans band Maggie came back out to sing her encore solo. But before she launched in to a lovely a cappella version of her tune Color Song, she told us all to feel free to cough or sneeze if we needed to during the song even though the room would be pretty quiet. But she added that if we felt the need to scream something out or to whistle, we should probably wait until the end because “that’s rude”. Fair enough, imo.
One punter decided to push their luck by wolf-whistling before she started to sing, to which Maggie quipped: “Still rude!” The crowd all laughed and applauded that, so Maggie added: “That’s actually considered sexual harassment, so…” before trailing off and shrugging.
OH YES YOU DID, MAGGIE.
Everyone in the crowd went wild, clapping and cheering this very excellent point. Sure, a wolf whistle may seem innocuous but when you’re someone who has been copping unsolicited wolf whistles on the street since your teen years, there comes a point where you’re just like “Okay, nah.” We should feel comfortable enough to exist without being objectified, whether that is while walking down the street to buy milk or when appearing on stage in front of a sellout crowd at the Sydney Opera House.
It was a small moment, but it meant a lot to me, and probably a lot of other people in the room, when Maggie called it out. This is why we stan.
