★★★★★★★★★★
It was Halloween and with a queue of dishevelled angel wings and demonic drag make-up; you didn’t need to look at the letters slotted into the renowned position at the front of Brixton Academy, stating ‘CHARLI XCX SOLD OUT’, to know that this was a Charli XCX concert. As more of an internet mate than an admiral pop star, Charli would later join the ‘angels and demons’ theme she had assigned to fans for the show. This included an angelic white lingerie set covered by a transparent gown and adorned with feathers on the lining; an almost post-sugar daddy death vibe that her fans would undoubtedly eat up.
Long-time collaborator and sex-mad rap provocateur Brooke Candy unexpectedly performed as the first opener, followed by rising star and general cool girl Rina Sawayama, who certainly has proven herself as one to watch. Anticipation increased as space to move become more constricted, with the only view in sight being two grandiose cubes on stage. Fans who have religiously been watching clips on the tour would know this was part of her set.
Charli blazed the stage with opener Next Level Charli, as she does on her latest LP. The church bell-like synths pounded through the speakers whilst an apocalyptic brightness swallowed the stage. It was pure ecstasy for die-hard fans, and the party had only just begun. Charlotte Aitchison tirelessly bounced through the stage; there was square metre of the stage that was left without her footprint. However, she did not fail to slow the show down with the haunting I Don’t Wanna Know; a pretty abrupt pause following the mania of the heart-racing Click. The latter performance of the wavy 2099 took the crowd to a futuristic void that almost made the show feel slow-motion; met with a synth reminiscent of a sound born out of a space shuttle.
Endless amounts of fog and strobe lights were fired to the audience in accordance with each sound. With the harsh beats and intense sounds of her most recent album, Charli, the songs are truly jerked into motion in a live setting. Previously provoking the desire of transforming the ideals of a pop concert into a rave, she certainly achieved this. The music, a sub-genre of pop she has landed on and appears to genuinely adore, is foolproof in this environment and this performance style is certainly her niche. Persistently hyping the crowd, XCX embodies an unmatchable energy and throws it to her fans like glitter.
In most pop concert settings, the pivotal moments would be the deliverance of the latest hit. However, in a Charli XCX concert, it’s all about the fan favourites. With the stage embezzled in neon green and pink hues, I Got It and Vroom Vroom could have physically shaken the venue. With XCX acquiring more of an underground status, she’s attracted somewhat of a collective following where the feistier, PC-orientated beats and internet-friendly lyrics galvanise unprecedented levels of elation. Furthermore, the collective experience that values less commercially friendly tracks makes for a somewhat escapist experience for those who need it most and are an essential core of her following: her queer fans. A community often stifled by feelings of isolation, as she has spoken about experiencing herself, Charli XCX’s outlandish sounds and unapologetically confident lyrics have created a party hard, safe space for her fans. The influence of avant-garde, club kid culture was rife in an exciting environment that celebrated pop music. This also felt like a home for Charli XCX that she had shared with fans who completely understood her artistry.
Charlotte Aitchison has navigated her way from electro-goth dream pop, to straight-up pop with mega hits to now essentially being the face of PC Music. Charli XCX’s career has been nothing short of a genre-hopping maze, but her performance at Brixton Academy appears to demonstrate she’s found the end of it and, metaphorically, reached Oz. For any artist raised in London or the surrounding area, performing at Brixton Academy is a big’n, selling it out is mad. Overcome with emotion, she discussed the moment she decided to start ‘doing what the fuck [she] wanted’ and it was a humbling moment watching an artist who has been on an a longwinded musical journey, finally find their place on the outlandish, underground edge of the pop spectrum.
Even with an encore of, like, 5 songs, the show never became tiresome. Often apparently eager to shift off her mainstream pop past she appeared to fall into at one time, it was surprising to hear her perform I Love It. This, with the most recent hit, 1999, provided a warm sense of nostalgia. With a couple of other sparkly fan favourites, these last moments were a joyful closing segment to a show smothered in euphoria and sweat. I also failed to mention this but Christine and the Queens was a live guest for their addictive collaboration Gone… and I totally should have mentioned that.
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