Well, as we all know Elsie Fest was yesterday and as always, Darren provided a full day of entertainment. Every performer truly put their heart and soul out there and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Ā Not to mention, chatting with other Darren fans is always interesting and fun.
Darren Criss, as always, proved once again that he is a star and that he was born to be on stage. Ā He lights up when he walks out there and his energy never fads. Ā And I think perhaps he has been training his voice a bit, maybe in preparation for Hedwig, he sounded absolutely amazing.
As for Darrenās set list, make no mistake about it, many deliberate choices were made Ā We always say he speaks through his lyrics, and I would say that without out a doubt this rang true yesterday.Ā
The first of which was a duet with Toderick Hall on his song called Color, a song Toderick wrote about his love for another man. And letās not forget, Toderickās PR representative, is someone we all know and love, Alla Plotkln (who I was quite happy to see present yesterday chatting with Max Adler). These connections are so key. Ā I posted all of the lyrics earlier , but part of the song that Darren sang:
Every second you can bet my heartās collecting
Little butterflies
When I see those eyes, yeah
When our hearts collide
I hope our world is a kaleidoscope
Cause black and white
Never shines so bright, yeah
The way you touch me
The way you tease me
Iām trying not to fall for you
But falling seems so easy
My heart was locked, but boy you got the key to free me
Invisible to love but boy you see me
Thereās something ābout you
That makes my skies blue
And whenever weāre through
All I can do is see color
Thereās something ābout us
When weāre together
Whenever youāre there, everywhere
I see color
Now on to Darrenās set. Ā A set where he only performed 2 songs from last year. The obvious Cabaret, which is essential at Elsie Fest. The other, Teenage Dream, the song he sings for Chris each and every time since the first time he sang it on Glee. Ā And he did not disappoint with a heartfelt rendition yesterday.
And how about that song that had us all abuzz. Ā He had mentioned earlier that he would be singing a song from Glee he had never done before. I was secretly hoping for Cough Syrup. Ā Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would do Hopelessly Devoted to You and wow, my CrissColfer feels. Ā Remember, this was sung on Glee right after the break up. Ā A break up that was orchestrated by RIB to keep Darren and Chris apart:
My head is saying, āFool, forget him.ā
My heart is saying, āDonāt let go.
Hold on till the end.ā
And thatās what I intend to do
Iām hopelessly devoted to you
And what about that song from Anastasia, seems kind of like a random choice right? Ā Ā He does love Disney. But once Ā you read the words, you know exactly why this song was chosen (thanks @lynn76 for pointing this out):
Heart donāt fail me now,
Courage donāt desert me,
Donāt turn back now that weāre here.
People always say,
Life is full of choices,
No one ever mentions fear.
Or how the world can seem so vast
On this journey to the past.
Somewhere down this road,
I know someoneās waiting,
Years of dreams just canāt be wrong.
Arms will open wide,
Iāll be safe and wanted,
Finally home where I belong.
well, starting now im learning fast
On this journey to the past.
Home, Love, Family
There was once a time I must have had them too.
Home, Love, Family
I will never be complete until I find you.
One step at a time,
One hope then another,
Who knows where this road may go?
Back to who I was,
On to find my future,
Things my heart still needs to know.
Yes, let this be a sign,
Let this road be mine,
Let it lead me to my past.
And bring me home,
At last!
Thank you Darren for inviting Liz Calloway to join you, I love her voice.
And Darrenās final song of the evening? Ā A little song to remind us of Kurt CoBlaine (again thank you @lynn76). Ā And thanks to @chrisdarebashfulsmiles for pointing out how meaningful this song is, and especially its connection to Moulin Rouge (a movie loved by both Darren and Chris).. KurtĀ Cobain said he wrote this song because he was feeling ādisgusted with my generationās apathy, and with my own apathy and spinelessness.ā This feeling of detachment is what led to lyrics like āOh well, whatever, nevermind. Smells Like Teen Spirit was all about: āThe mass mentality of conformity.ā Ā
Load up on guns
Bring your friends
Itās fun to lose and to pretend
Sheās overboard, self assured
Oh no I know, a dirty word
Hello, hello, hello, how low [x3]
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, itās less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido, yeah
Hey, yay
Iām worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Hello, hello, hello, how low [x3]
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, itās less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido, yeah
Hey, yay
And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it was hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind
Hello, hello, hello, how low [x3]
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, itās less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido
A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial
A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial
I know at times ours is a tough fandom to navigate and to continue to have faith in. Ā But Darren continues to fight in the ways that he is allowed and never was that more evident than last night. I for one was not only a proud Darren Criss fan in general, but a proud CrissColfer believer. Ā Yesterday had the makings for a disaster, and yet, I walked away with nothing but positive feelings for our favorite couple.
