Halsey // AFAS Live, Amsterdam, 2018 – Gurjinder Khambay
The black room was suddenly bathed in red and Halsey’s silhouette loomed over the crowd. The first notes of ‘Eyes Closed’ played and the room buzzed. Fans echoed back lyrics, spilling forth as excitement overwhelmed us. There can’t have been many of us; the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam wasn’t that big but Halsey filled that hall.
Confident and alone on that stage, it felt like a coming of age indie movie. Anecdotes about her previous concerts were peppered between songs. The audience leaned forward, packed as close to the stage as we could get. Like a teacher and her students, she sat perched on the steps like she was trying to come to our level. At that moment Halsey was your friend, your teacher, your mentor and so every song hit that much harder.
The small tinny speakers on our computers did not do Halsey’s voice justice. I’d found in the past that most artists were not better live. Not Halsey. Somehow she was so much better live, like a video in HD. When the confetti rained down I snuck a piece away, knowing that everytime I looked at it, it would transport me back to this night.