Yeah it was fucking sick.
Realiti and Genesis-with-new-YMO-keyboards... these now eternal classic hits unexpectedly and perfectly opened the night... also known as the late afternoon, cause only Grimes and her associates can make 6 pm feel like midnight at the end of the world stargazing at the north pole (like at the very least, she can turn a 6 pm into a 9 pm). She did it in DC four years ago with an intimate dance party at which she was the almost anonymous DJ, singing and throwing flowers. That was, until her diva return last night, the best show I've ever seen, or really, been part of, cause you don't just see or even hear a Grimes show. With Visions she was the one-woman response to "all the kids still standing with their arms folded tight" that was destroying the indie scene. Now you put on the Apple Music Indie playlist and it's mostly songs with R&B wannabe vocals and actual beats. Now that's what "indie" is (not a bad thing- and thanks wholly to Grimes) and so, she is accused of being "pop" when she does something else, rocks out, and increases the dance bpm. And now everyone who hated her for doing those R&B dance things four years ago wants her to keep doing those things forever. But she doesn't because gods of music don't repeat their revelation more than once. She screams. And she does Venus Fly... even without Janelle it's the best song of all time. The best song I ever saw live. And I've seen Radiohead, LCD before they reformed, etc.
She did FWB of course. She even teased the title track of Artangels as an instrumental dance sequence!! and did both World Princess and Butterfly, which so far is a rarity in one gig- even Coachella only got that in one of the dates. I'm actually happy this show was postponed because I was lucky enough to see her at U Street Music Hall for Visions (which was until last night, the best show everrrr), and the setlist between then and last fall changed less than it did just over the past six months of AA touring. If I was a new fan I might regret missing out on Vanessa, Phone Sex etc (she was still playing those sometimes last year) but for someone who saw her in Visions era, I love seeing such a radically evolved show, and all the changes are for the better. The new songs all more than earn their place. And if there were any Visions partisans left, she still plays way way more underrated Visions classics than most people might expect (Be a Body and even My Wait is U!! both in awesome new arrangements).
Tbh it's hard to even talk about this without mentioning the insane inspiration and ambition of the show. Rihanna might even be jealous of what she does with far more limited means. I've never seen a more amazing stage setup/minimal props/maximal light effects than this, except from M.I.A. in 2014, where the music seemed to be there to support the lights rather than the other way around. I was in awe of the way she used lights in that FWB performance on Fallon, it was like she was living inside the Hotline Bling video or something (like with a much better song tho) and of course the dancing from Linda et al has always been insane, but this show was on an even grander scale than what I've seen in videos of her previous US shows. This is a new hyperreal savior, Bowie level god yet still human Grimes that justifies the praise coming out of that European and Asian tour. She has been building up to this since last year and from what I've seen, it is constantly improving, and the professionalism is almost as high now as any show can possibly be without losing spontaneity. All the Coachella haters can suck her dick, cause those moments where she does the little fuckups (which I almost half believe are secretly intentional Freudian slips, to keep things from getting too far from her DIY roots) are beautiful as a contrast to the Beyonce-like touring machine she is developing into.
Also Hana rules so hard. Future queen. Her umbrellas and wind machines were an awe inspiring welcome into the Grimesian world. "Bassically" by Tei Shi was most cathartic singalong of the night. The openers were both awesome and it's unusual when three-act bills are all awesome.
Only downside was 930 club sucks for dancing compared to U Street and other smaller places she used to play, and especially being so packed, it was hard to actually find space. The placement of the balconies also create a weird vibe in a way. Not my fav venue. Sadly, this is probably the smallest venue anyone is ever likely to see her in again, unless she auctions tickets... or experiences some sort of Azealia Banks type controversy that radically reduces her audience. Even if she puts out nothing new and Venus Fly doesn't become the long awaited actual Paper Planes-like hit (and I think it will be) that will make her audience grow exponentially rather than continuing to grow little by little... even if she just keeps being that under the radar really successful cult not-quite-pop-star most people still haven't heard of... next time she tours, she may still be playing somewhere else, or if not, a larger and larger proportion of people who want tickets will miss out.
This show was special partly because it was the last vestige of pre AA, Rhinestone Cowgirls era Grimes- the tickets were sold out before she even named the album or announced a release date or put out a single/video (like, we know Radiohead can sell out shows with no advance information on what they'll play, but it was impressive just how fast Grimes did that in September last year, three years after her previous album). while some of us may have had to resort to stubhub, the prices were only really affordable in late September and October, prior to the actual release of AA. So this was mostly the old school fans- the ones with enough faith in her that we trusted anything she did next would be good. and it was especially awesome we gave her such a great response. I was talking to some cool people before the show who actually weren't that into AA and actually thought it was "too pop" (denting their coolness somewhat). I think this show would alter anyone's perception... and if you are doubting whether to see her live, you need to fucking do it.
I'm trying to get close to Sweetlife Festival right now, cause I am seeing one artist two days in a row for the first time ever.