‘The End Of The Movie’ Tour Is Just The Beginning For Lizzy McAlpine
Samantha Colleran, May 2023
Tuesday, May 2, 2023. In New York City it’s raining on and off with gusty winds and slight glimmers of sunshine breaking through dark storm clouds. A small group (which in time turns into a line wrapping around the block) is gathered by the Terminal 5 venue entrance waiting ever so patiently for the doors of Lizzy McAlpine’s The End Of The Movie tour to open. I’m among these people who sat for hours hoping to get as close as possible to the stage to experience the Lizzy songs that have soundtracked all sorts of moments over the past couple of years. It was a success, and a night I know I won’t forget any time soon.
I’d like to first start off by saying the energy from the group of people who waited in the queue with me was incredible. Everyone was looking out for each other, making sure we were eating and drinking enough water and taking turns watching each other’s spots for bathroom breaks. Everyone was friendly, respectful, and I could not have asked for a more lovely group of people to spend a whole day with. The security team inside the venue was also fantastic; passing out water, keeping an eye on the crowd, and responding quickly to people who needed assistance. It was everything a concert experience should be.
For the tour opener, Lizzy selected Olivia Barton, who she says has a deeply human approach to her art that even backstage Lizzy is moved to tears while she’s getting her makeup done. Olivia’s voice is tender and smooth, her lyrics pack a powerful punch. You’ll find it easy to fall in love with how gentle her music is, and you’ll find it even easier to fall in love with her stage presence. Olivia shared that she’s not used to performing to thousands of people, so when she hears someone say something in the crowd she feels the need to respond or else it’ll be awkward. She responded to multiple fans who shouted ‘I love you!’ throughout her set, and laughed at the crowd’s reactions to the stage lights changing colors. Olivia played a few tracks off of her album This is a Good Sign, as well as a few tracks that are unreleased. My personal favorite was the unreleased “I Love You Just For Trying”, a sentimental track where Olivia expresses her love to herself and listeners for simply existing in such a tough world.
With a solid balance of tracks from previous works (debut album Give Me A Minute and When The World Stopped Moving: The Live EP) and newer songs off of the incredibly successful five seconds flat and a few unreleased tracks for a new body of work she says she’s “been working really hard on [for you guys]”, Lizzy McAlpine delivered a stunning acoustic driven set with powerful vocal moments strung between. Her stage is set up like a cozy living space adorned with a couch, lamps, little stuffed animals, and more. You feel as if you’re right at home.
The set started off with ‘an ego thing’, a punchy track that served as the perfect warm up to get the crowd ready for the following set. ‘Over-the-Ocean Call’ followed with its heartbreaking lyrics about a breakup call leading into its pulsing bridge, “I’m fine, I’m fine/ I’ll call from over the ocean/ This time, this time, this time/ I’ll break your heart through the phone”. ‘all my ghosts’ had fans moving once again with its upbeat nature, “All my ghosts are with me / I know you feel them, too / Ridin’ shotgun next to your free slurpee / They know all of my habits / But they don’t know about you”. A personal favorite of mine, ‘firearm’, is another song that builds up; getting to scream the bridge right at the barricade was a life changing moment, and Lizzy hit the “You had me convinced that you loved me” note perfectly.
‘doomsday’ and ‘ceilings’ are two of the most well known tracks off of five seconds flat, and they were incredible moments of the night. ‘doomsday’ is a hauntingly stunning song to begin with, but something about hearing it live and feeling the drums rattle your bones makes it even more impactful. On the other hand, ‘ceilings’ proved to be a very vulnerable vocal moment for Lizzy, who was clearly lost in the music as the words floated throughout the venue. The second verse is my personal favorite part, so getting to hear that live was a magical moment. ‘called you again’ and ‘erase me’ were also spectacular; you feel your chest swell during the final moments of ‘called you again’ when Lizzy belts out the final “‘Cause all I do is hurt you / All I do is hurt you / All I do is cause you pain / ‘Cause I call you again” and the pain in Lizzy’s voice when she sings “I’ve said too much, in and out of wanting us / Now you’re fading, and I wonder who will erase me?”
‘Give Me A Minute’ and ‘Nothing / Sad N Stuff’ are two fan favorite tracks off of Give Me A Minute that allowed Lizzy’s guitar skills to shine along with her vocals. This was a calmer moment in the set, where once again I could feel Lizzy’s passion for the words she was singing, her voice never wavering. I also may have had to choke back tears, but if you’re a regular reader that statement won’t surprise you. ‘Pancakes For Dinner’ was a sweet moment prior to the final two songs of the night, the whole crowd singing along perhaps louder than they had for ‘ceilings’. Being up at the front made it easier to hear the entire crowd behind me, it’s an indescribable feeling getting to hear all of those voices singing along to every song, but this one was especially loud.
Three unreleased tracks made their way into the setlist. Lizzy took a moment to share with the audience that she’s been working hard on more music for her next album. If the rest of the album sounds anything like these unreleased tracks, Lizzy fans certainly aren’t ready. ‘Broken Glass’ has a harsher rock sound that talks about seeing someone for who they truly are; “I know you’ve been hurt but you did it first to me / We started with the end / Broken glass again”. ‘I Guess’ is an easy flowing song that makes you feel like you’re floating through a dream, it also included a little fan sing along that sounded truly magical. ‘Come Down Soon’ is a slightly older unreleased track that fits perfectly within the setlist; “Come down soon / Nothing this good ever lasts this long with you”.
There were two fan projects during the night that brought a smile to Lizzy’s face. The first was for a track off of When The World Stopped Moving, ‘In What World’, organized by the duo My Goose Called June (@mygoosecalledjune). Lizzy moved to the piano and looked down at the keys as she began playing, when she looked up fans were holding paper hearts up to their phone flashlights and the smile on her face was so wide, “Aw, guys!” The second was during the final song of the night, ‘orange show speedway’, organized by Fanticus Magazine who handed out checkered racing flags to fans in the queue to hold up during the song. This was the best song to close the set out with because it ends on such an upbeat note and gets the crowd going one final time. The fan project made ‘orange show speedway’ even more memorable.
Concerts are something I will never get tired of going to, and the environment of the Lizzy McAlpine tour reminded me once again why I love live music and the community of people who attend these shows. Lizzy, thank you so very much for such a beautiful night. I know this tour is certainly not the end of the movie for you and I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us!