On March 21, an unseasonably warm evening in the tenderloin at San Francisco’s Warfield, googly eyes, Princess Nokia, and Ashnikko rocked the house in an explosion of energy and artistry that went beyond a traditional concert into the world of performance art. The show had a half hour between doors and the first act starting, and there was a line wrapped around the block with fans dressed in homemade costumes and trinkets that perfectly encapsulated the show that was to come.
The art of arranging a bill for a show is not simple, and this was one of the few shows in recent memory that seemed to time it perfectly. Each artist outdid the prior with energy and performance that left me with my finger on the shutter of my camera the entire evening to try and capture the magic.
googly eyes was up first putting an ethereal spin on a hyperpop/electronic sound. googly eyes is googs’ most recent project, pivoting from earlier work released as Deza. The classically trained artist had a sound and performance that grabbed the crowd’s attention and refused to let go. Electronic sets can be a bit hit or miss, but the MC on stage with her was able to capture the effects and glitchy tech sounds of her music while performing live. Their short, fun, upbeat set left the audience buzzing and ready for the next artist.
Princess Nokia (she/they), the moniker of Destiny Nicole Frasqueri, was next and was nothing short of regal. Her performance was hypnotic, leaving everyone dancing and hanging on her every word. Her music could be best described as a blend of punk, rap, and trap, and the performance mixed music with their musings on life with an explicit call to reclaim one’s own past trauma and a celebration of recovery.
After they left the stage, the crowd full of energy and anticipation of Ashnikko taking the stage. The journey back to the photo pit left me squeezing my way through the completely packed floor area, with folks singing along to the filler music the house was playing between sets, trading kandi, and complementing each other’s cosplays- including one concertgoer with a bedazzled IUD headpiece.
After a short break, Ashnikko (she/they) took the stage crawling out through a tiny door on the stage to start her set. The tour was titled Smoochies after their most recent album and made for one of the most fun shows I have seen in a long while. They took the stage with a headset mic, and spent the entire show performing with two dancers, a wide range of props, and really made the music come to life, inviting the audience to live in their “smoochie world” – including a trinket exchange set up by the merch table. The crowd was nothing short of ecstatic, dancing and screaming along to each song. The show had a fair bit of conversation with the artist, as they discussed wanting to perform just for fun, and reminding the crowd to just believe in themselves and to not be preoccupied with how other people perceive them.
It was an immensely fun night and was an incredible performance.
Review and photography by Sophia Risin
