Sia @ The Metro, Friday, July 22nd

I walked into the sold out Metro on Friday, July 22nd to find possibly the most diverse crowd I had ever seen at a show. Everyone, unique in style, seemed in total unity for Sia Furler, the quirky Australian songstress who has no reservations when it comes to embracing her inner…and outer (haha!) crazy. I often like to think of her as a less dark but just as “out there” and inventive Lady Gaga; she always puts on a show and always has something hilariously shocking to say. Before she even appeared, her eclectic ways were oozing all over the Metro stage, which was covered in striped carpets, and Afghans in every shade and color imaginable. There was also a giant tapestry as a backdrop for the stage, bearing multi-colored stripes, with “Sia” spelled out in what seemed to be giant yarn balls. Just looking at the set-up I knew I would be in for a ton of fun!!!!

Before Sia came opener, Oh Land!, who had an immense amount of energy and high, powerful soprano. One thing that really caught my eye about her performance was her unique style. With a black bowler hat, she sported some keds with a sparkly nude unitard underneath a shear ankle length button up blouse. It seemed to fit perfectly with the floating harmonies that hovered over a lot of her beats. It was especially cool, to see the large crowd’s involvement and familiarity with the catchy tune “White Nights”, one of my favorite tracks from her and one I’ve heard a TON on commercials.

Following Oh Land! and a solid segment of Country tunes, Sia came out with her goofy smile and bleached, straggly bob cut hair that makes her seem like she is from another planet. She wore a black, multi-layered dress with wavy ruffles on each layer and detailed embroideries around the collar. This accompanied black stilettos, with which she had garnished with two unique neon accessories. Her and her fantastic, more chilled out band opened with “We Are Born”, the title track, which got the whole crowd to burst with energy. To my extreme happiness, the singer and dog-enthusiast basically played through the whole album (We Are Born) interspersed with constant interaction with the audience. This included a fan handing a note with the twitter code “Shake Weight” to the artist, who promptly asked for cruise music from the band and allowed everyone in the audience to witness a… wait for it… PROPOSAL. How cool right? Sia also gave the audience a treat of older favorites like “Breath Me”, and “Soon We’ll Be Found”, as well as a new track that will be featured on her upcoming album, which is a collaboration with The Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi. VERY EXCITED FOR THAT. Basically, Sia brought the house down, and has got catchy tunes down to an art…what’s not to love?!! I can’t wait for her next visit to Chicago, where she will inevitably inspire me with her uniqueness once more.