On a rainy Friday evening in San Francisco, a sea of buzzcuts and mullets, chunky docs, and lacy nightgowns gathered at The Fillmore to see Alice Phoebe Lou perform live. By the time I had gotten inside, an excited crowd had already packed the venue for this sold-out show, and I made my way to the back to
take in the spectacle. When Lou took the stage, the crowd surges forward, over-pouring with love. They screamed: “You’re a goddess” and “You are our gift”. Lou takes these compliments in stride, laughing off the hecklers’ requests to marry her by saying she is married to the moon, showing off a moon tattoo on her left ring finger. As she begins to sing her opening acoustic set, the crowd goes silent and slack-jawed, mouthing along the words to “Open My Door”, before the rest of the band comes and joins her on stage.
Lou’s performance was a sight both to hear and to see: she stands back-lit by a sea of colorful lights, dancing sock-footed around the stage and looking as though she might dissolve into the light, a mimicry of the sonic qualities of her songs. Her performance thrived off the loving energy of her fans, whom she interacts with easily throughout the entire performance. Lou’s free-loving energy finds her an easy home among a San Francisco crowd, which she mentions as one of her favorite places to stop when she tours. Her soft banter between songs created a sense of intimacy in this large venue as if she is someone you know performing for you rather than a crowd of over 1,000 people.
Beyond the gentle spectacle of her performance, her live sound was stunning in and of itself. Minimal guitar, drum, and synth backing allowed her vocals to shine, proving an impressive show of both control and range. Lou’s lyrical voice has an airy quality that allows the listener to dissolve into her sonic vision. Don’t let her gentle sound placate you though, as her lyrics tell a more complicated story. Songs like “Something Holy” and “My Girl” paint a picture of someone softly screaming to be seen, and to have their desires understood. In a moment of candidness with the crowd, Lou revealed that many of her old songs like “Something Holy” have become more difficult for her to play on this most recent tour, as she has been in the process of seeking out a restraining order against a former partner. She earnestly requests from the audience that they give her space to grow and change as an artist and a person, and who are we to deny her that universal desire?
As the evening wrapped up, Lou finished her performance with an upbeat rendition of “Witches” along with “Dirty Mouth,” the audience singing every word. She thanked the crowd, saying that it had been one of her favorite shows of the entire tour and that she is floored by the love and energy from everyone. I leave the venue floating, bewitched by the gentle magic of Lou’s performance.
Review and Photos By Riley Saham
