Waiting for the show to start, it was difficult to ignore the tension among the crowd. Taking place the day after the election, there was no avoiding the topic, especially with Kamala Harris’ headquarters down the street prompting blockages and an e-mail from 9:30 the day of. Both performers of the night, Allie X and Violet Chachki acknowledged the result soon after they respectively took the stage, promising to provide a much-needed escape and distraction for the audience. Though the following showcase of campy drag and dystopian synth-pop was sure to require a suspense of reality in any matter, they undeniably captivated the room that night. Not anticipating to document the show in any meaningful way, I only had my brother’s old, pocket-sized digital camera, but I was hopefully able to capture the colorful and dramatic nature of the show.
Violet, the show’s opener, typically focuses on aerial and burlesque performances but opted for live vocals for the first time on this tour. Calling Allie her “musical mother” during her set, Violet has only a modest set of singles, mainly sparked by the pair’s 2022 collaboration, “MISTRESS VIOLET”. With the absence of elaborate staging, silks, or backup dancers, she adapted to the nightclub stage with an assistant-controlled smoke machine and multiple off-stage costume changes. Though short, with rattling sub-basslines, blinding rhinestones, and cheeky crowd work, everyone was warmed up in no time.
For the past decade, Allie has mastered the art of pairing a bubbly pop sound with darker themes and aesthetics. Her vision culminated with her latest album, Girl With No Face, which was released this past February and notably featured minimal collaborators. This show was a stop on the singer’s Weird World Tour, celebrating the release of the project’s deluxe edition on Halloween with twenty shows around the country. The title of the tour was not misleading as her grand outfit choice, theatrical performance, and masked ensemble brought the audience into her mind, and probably raised the eyebrows of any casual listeners in attendance.
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