This post was updated Oct. 22 at 9:15 p.m.
Beabadoobee transported fans to an American country road with pylons passing by, driving from her indie roots into a new, louder, rock-driven era.
The Filipino British singer-songwriter brought “The Powerlines Tour” to the Kia Forum on Wednesday. The show’s theme drew on the electrical towers – called pylons – the artist noticed along the road while touring, that evoked the imagery of connection across distance. Many fans of the “the perfect pair” artist, first known for her intimate music, may have questioned how her bossa nova world would translate into the sold-out venue with a capacity of up to 17,500 attendees. However, the “Coffee” singer dispelled any doubts and delivered an electrifying show symbolic of her artistic growth from an indie darling to a force of a new rock sound. Like the power lines dangling across the stage, her songs carried a current from the quiet, jazzy corners of her catalog to the distorted roar of her latest album.
The artist’s first headline arena and amphitheater tour officially began in Connecticut on Oct. 1 in support of her fourth studio album “Pylon,” which was released Sept. 18. The 105-minute set primarily consisted of songs from her recent rock-inspired album, along with previous hits and two unreleased tracks.
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The evening began with a performance from Wisp, the tour’s opener and a friend of the headlining artist. Fans settled in – many dressed in camo – as she sang into a bird-shaped microphone. Wisp performed under white strobe lights in a Victorian-inspired two-piece skirt set and a gold, thorn-like crown. Her whispery vocals crafted a rich juxtaposition with her rock, shoegaze and metal sound in an ethereal performance – although the microphone was, at times, a bit too quiet. While her performance was understated, it set the moody atmosphere that continued throughout the evening with delicate vocals and heavy guitars.
Beabadoobee took to the stage at 9 p.m. and opened with “Sun Has Set,” a high-energy classic rock song from her new album. With the sounds of crackling power lines in the background, a pylon appeared through the fog. The stage was fitted with a platform that resembled a rock decorated with shrubs – evoking a sight one would find on a drive through the American countryside. The set was detailed and cinematic, making the visual experience of the concert satisfying on its own.
The “Beaches” artist wore a tattered white tank top and black baggy cargo pants with a camo tool belt. The look seemed to draw inspiration from military uniforms and matched the attire of event attendees. Her guitars hung from straps, which appeared to be deerskin and animal fur, as she rocked out alongside her band. The worn-in, rugged styling fit the stage’s open-road-inspired aesthetic and read as a break from the more polished indie image of her earlier releases.
The crowd sang along throughout the evening as energy surged during “10:36,” “Apple Cider” and “Radio,” a track off her latest album. The songs were backed by visuals and the sounds of telephones and sirens, immersing fans in the darker sides of the album. Lights switched from orange to red to blue while visuals of sunsets, raindrops and highway scenery were displayed behind the stage.
Still, it was often the artist’s oldest tracks from her early indie pop days that drew the concert’s thousands of attendees together. The room transformed during an acoustic version of the artist’s 2017 breakout track “Coffee” as fans held up their phone lights. By cutting the instrumentation, the singer-songwriter’s connection with the audience took center stage as her vocals soared. As she performed “Pylon,” fans held red, yellow, orange and purple lights as the power lines glowed and visuals twirled down the towers in one of the most moving moments of the evening.
Later, beabadoobee delivered two of her most popular older songs – “Glue Song” and “the perfect pair.” While the tour exemplified her growth into her newer rock-inspired sound, the fervor from the crowd conveyed how her audience will continue to resonate with her early jazzier bossa nova and indie sound.
Nonetheless, the artist managed to sustain that audience fanfare as she transitioned into her songs from her new rock-esque era. During “Powerlines,” she climbed the metal tower and sang from atop a platform. A massive guitar solo built up while the power lines hissed behind her.
In “Satellite,” she sang into a telephone booth under a single streetlamp before the beat dropped and she belted into the mic. A heartbeat flatlined into the next song.
She followed with “It’s Alright” – an upbeat song, though the performance itself was not particularly noteworthy other than the way fans screamed the lyrics “Waste my, waste my / Waste my time, waste my time.” For her 2022 hit “Talk,” she sang with an electric pink guitar. Again, the crowd chanted every lyric. Together, the three songs showed that the intimacy of her music didn’t need to be preserved through the production of her songs alone. Rather, that intimacy was sustained in the arena because audience members brought their exhilarating energy.
During her performance of “Switchblade,” she brought a sound with the feel of dark UK punk. She flexed her versatility across sounds and later played “She Plays Bass” in a classic rock style number, during which she made the audience jump along with her.
The performance was marked with theatricality, highlighting her growth from her early bedroom indie days to an artist worthy of the famous venue. “In Motion” started out slow before building into an intense beat drop, with sparklers exploding and fog pouring from pylon.
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After a brief pause, she returned for an acoustic version of “the way things go,” one of her most popular singles released in 2023 and followed with an acoustic version of an unreleased track, “Lemon to My Lime.” Now donning cat ears, she sang the more comedic track with ease and comfort. This shift from high-intensity rock sounds to the acoustic, relaxed, headphone-destined songs of her past demonstrated that, while her songs have matured with age, the New Musical Express Award-winning artist still embraces her musical roots.
“Thank you for accepting both sides of my music,” beabadoobee said. “One in which a pylon explodes and another where I’m wearing cat ears.”
She rounded out the evening with the hit “Beaches” from her 2024 album “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” – one of the night’s most high-intensity, cheer-inducing moments. She then blew kisses and threw her guitar pick into the crowd.
Her effortlessly alluring stage presence culminated in a captivating show, offering longtime fans and casual listeners an evening blending acoustic static and reminiscent surges connected by a pylon of evolution.
From bedroom pop songs played in headphones to anthems pounding across the towering stage, beabadoobee delivered a show reminiscent of her artistic growth. With buzzing wires connecting pylons overhead, the Forum was left fully charged.
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