Panicbaby started the evening off by enchanting the crowd with a stripped back set, featuring only her angelic vocals and an omnichord. The crowd sang along to fan favourites including ‘avoidant little b <3’, soon to be released ‘Get naked’ which they knew all the words to already and a cover of ‘Primadonna Girl’ by Marina and the Diamonds.
Next up was Ella Boh‘s first London show! Having finished opening for Artemas in Miami less than 24 hours ago, she was already in London and raring to go again for the European leg of the Change Tour which she previously opened for in the US as well. Ella Boh is without a doubt, one to keep an eye on this year! She had so much energy, utilising every inch of the stage and barrier to interact with her fans throughout her set. Her vocals were mesmerising combined with her talent for making such sad lyrics sounds so beautiful and ethereal. We got a preview of ‘Starlet’ from her ‘Blurry’ EP set to be released in April and the fans had already learnt every word to sing along at full volume. The dynamic contrast between the upbeat, high-energy sections and the slower moments really allowed all the emotions to shine through and created the most electric atmosphere in the venue. Her latest single ‘LLORONiTA’ was so insanely beautiful live, showing the full spectrum of emotions throughout. Other songs that got audible gasps from the crowd were ‘milk & honey’ and ‘I don’t wanna’ which had the crowd chanting along. Her guitarist, Nico Diaz, brought just as much energy to the show, interacting with fans and showing off his guitar solos, especially on their cover of George Michael‘s ‘Careless Whisper’ which matched her voice so perfectly. The crowd was just as excited for her set, singing along to every word as they were for Ari Abdul‘s set. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, they had to cut her set short, but Ella let the crowd pick which song they wanted, and they chose to end on ‘Serial Killer’ which was the perfect closer.
Ari Abdul took to the stage, wearing a ski mask, to much cheering from the crowd. Diving right into ‘Girls On the Internet’ which started off slow before increasingly ramping up the energy with every subsequent song. Once again, Ari used every inch of the stage and climbed on the speakers to be as close to her fans as possible throughout. Her stage presence and confidence has grown exponentially since her last show here in London. The stage lighting was meticulously programmed to match the songs which added another level to the live performance. Fans had brought gifts and signs to show their appreciation which were very well received and allowed Ari to joke about with the crowd in between songs and even sing an impromptu happy birthday to the many fans in the crowd who were celebrating theirs. ‘Bury You’ had the crowd bouncing while Ari showed off her vocal range from more breathy notes to longer sustained notes.
Constance Antionette captivated the crowd with her guitar solo and riffs especially prominent in ‘Taste’ and Nick Lewert on drums really added to and elevated the life show with his drum fills throughout. The most notable stand outs for me were ‘Alive’ and ‘Dreams’ which really showed off their distinct dark alt-pop sound with influences from electronic and rock music creating an enticing grungy yet well-polished sound. We got an incredible cover of ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears before continuing with her latest single ‘So Good’. One thing about Ari‘s shows is that you can always expect the live vocals to sound even better than the studio recordings especially the high note in her favourite song ‘Worship’.
Ari was then joined on stage by Ella to perform their two collaborative tracks ‘Out of Order’ and ‘No Fair’. Their voices harmonised so perfectly while the crowd screamed in excitement. There was a slight technical difficulty with one of the mics which meant they had to share, which built the tension even more.
Ari ended her set with fan favourite ‘Haunt Your Dreams’ and ‘LEAVE ME HERE’, before returning wearing an ‘I <3 London’ t-shirt for an encore of unreleased ‘EGO’, ‘DON’T’ AND ‘BABYDOLL’.
This tour truly has marked the start of a new era, in which Ari knows exactly which direction she wants to go in and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Tickets to the rest of the tour can be found here
March 25th – Amsterdam
March 27th – Prague
March 28th – Warsaw
March 30th – Hamburg
March 31st – Cologne