Pale Waves are currently on tour around the UK. Didn’t manage to get a ticket? Here’s a quick review of last night’s London show.
The night started with a set from BITTERS, née Claudia Mills, who played beautiful songs that sounded like they came straight out of a 90’s rom-com and a truly perfect cover of Fountains of Wayne’s Stacy’s Mom. Watching BITTERS before a Pale Waves set made sense, it was a cohesive choice. But adding the chaos of Hot Milk in the midst of it felt random at first yet worked so well.
The Manchester band was full of energy from start to finish; performing a mix of old songs and songs from their new EP I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD to a crowd that went from silently bopping their heads to jumping, moshing and dancing throughout the whole set. In a recent interview with Vanguard Online, the band mentioned they are “all about the fuckin’ show” and that was obvious from start to finish. It’s hard to believe that last night wasn’t a Hot Milk headline show!
After that explosive performance, the only thought in my head was that the night couldn’t possibly get better, but it somehow did. Pale Waves sure do know how to fill a room. With beautiful light displays and a mix of songs from their two albums, the indie icons put on an impeccable show. Heather Baron-Gracie’s live vocals sounded exactly like they do in their albums, and it was amazing to see how effortlessly the whole band managed to play such good music. The songs that stood out the most were their new unreleased track Jealousy and their very Avril Lavigne sounding love song, She’s My Religion.
Both Hot Milk and Pale Waves made an effort to ensure that everyone in the crowd felt included, regardless of their gender identity or sexuality. Tours like this are so important, especially when it sometimes feels like most major booking agents have never heard of a female or LGBTQ+ band. Pale Waves chose the perfect support acts for this tour, and being a part of such a special night felt wonderful. Here’s to hoping all the dads in the crowd felt the same way.