#go a

today i went with my classmates to monokate concert. if you don't know, it's the solo project of kateryna pavlenko from go_a, the electro-folk band that ukraine sent to eurovision in 2021. it was my first time being in the fan-zone of a concert, and i was very close to the stage (like a second-ish round) so it was an interesting new experience! i was worried that my chronic pain will act out and it will be very torturous for me to stand for two hours but actually the vibrations seemed to calm it down. i noticed that she has a very different presence in her solo project than she was in go_a. in go_a she's famous for her stillness and composed moves, but here she was witch-like and somewhat bestial, and i enjoyed her energy very much. sadly i didn't know the lyrics of her solo songs even though i listened to the album but for the second part of the concert she sang go_a songs so i had a chance to scream the lyrics and i had a lot of fun. her solo songs are wonderful but it was very special to hear the ukrainian folk songs in such an overwhelming and all-encompassing execution, having so many people sing traditional songs all around you—almost witchcraft. when she sang shum all the fan-zone gathered in circles and danced, and if you don't know, shum is a ukrainian ritual folk song flowing back from the times of heathenry, that was used to call the spring in, so to sing it together while dancing felt magical indeed. in the end kateryna sang a cover of space oddity and dedicated it to artemis ii, and it made me very emotional. i am very glad that my classmate friends made me go to this concert