Lindsey Stirling is used to breaking social norms, which made it pretty easy for her to ask the crowd packed tight in the Rialto Theatre Monday night to turn to the person next to them and introduce themselves.
“Let’s be honest,” she said as a chorus of “Hi, my name is … “ sent a soft buzz through the theater, “I’m a dancing violinist. I break social norms every day.”
She also breaks stereotypes and myths and all the preconceived notions we might have for the violin’s place in music. Stirling elevates the instrument to the role of electrified lead singer in a rock band. Every time she lit into a scorching run, drawing her bow across the strings with a controlled sense of urgency, the audience would burst into deafening applause and cheers. Her violin produced a soaring voice that rose above the pulsating spasms of percussion and harmonized with the keyboards. It did not feel like notes or melodies; it played like lyrics to wordless songs including her dub-step/rock-influenced “Elements,” “Crystallize,” “Moon Trance,” “Transcendence” and her heart-wrenching acoustic “Take Flight,” inspired by a young boy’s story of being bullied to the point of attempting suicide.
Her playing was crisp and complex, technically flawless, exciting and emotional, even as she danced about, twirled around, jumped in place and, on a few occasions, was hoisted off her feet by her two dancers and pirouetted around the Rialto Theatre stage as if she was light as air. All the while, she never missed a note or produced a squeal from her bow. It was inspiring to watch.
There were no tickets left to Monday night’s concert, the Gilbert-raised Stirling’s first show in Tucson. The crowd covered the gamut, from the young kids craning to see the stage above the towering adults blocking their view, to the parents there with their grown kids who finally found musical common ground. Singer Dia Frampton, whose trio Archis opened Monday’s show, joined Stirling for “We Are Giants” — the pair recorded the song on Stirling’s just released second album “Shatter Me” — the only song of the night that had vocals. Unless, of course, you counted the audience’s initially awkward sing-along chorus to Stirling’s cover of John Legend’s “All of Me.” Stirling played violin on Legend’s video for the song last year.
