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The hype below continued to build, and soon Vikkstar, LazarBeam, Lachlan Power and their entourages arrived, and Vikkstar started his set. The crowd went nuts. Jumping, shouting, dancing, chanting, punching the air – having the night of their lives. So was my son – enjoying the VIP section’s extra space, moving freely, taking photos. A security guard asked him if he’d like to meet the YouTubers. He was shaking with excitement and had tears in his eyes. So did I. LazarBeam and Lachlan Power were suddenly next to us, shaking hands, chatting, posing for photos, looking at my son’s YouTube channel. They were utterly charming. After his set, Vikkstar joined us for a chat and a photo – warm, friendly and generous with his time.
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Pre-concert, to keep myself awake at home, I watched the new Elton John documentary Never Too Late. Now I thought that if Elton had been born in the mid-2000s, he could have been a gamer. A nerdy guy with deep, special areas of interests, who didn’t quite fit into the mainstream. His song Someone Saved My Life Tonight was in my head all night at the club.
I had previously thought these YouTube gamers were time wasters, taking my kid offtrack, distracting, silly and potentially damaging. Part of a self-absorbed generation. But I’d underestimated the good. On this night, a bunch of under 30s – Molly, the security guards, the YouTube famous gamers – went out of their way to make a young man’s first concert amazing. Strangers who chose to be kind, with no evident gain. It was a life-changing evening for both of us, and as we bounced out of the club, to the car (no parking ticket) and home, I kept thinking how these someones changed our lives tonight.
Lisa Drought is a Melbourne writer.