Picture this: Twelve thousand people, a set that can only be likened to a LEGO playground, and a tie that would never be deemed appropriate before the watershed...
Rising star: Nieve Ella's gleaming support slot
The moment that this artist was announced to be supporting girl in red, we can speak for many when we say the reaction was pure joy. We have had the absolute honour of watching Nieve Ella's career take off as more listeners have discovered her sound.
After sitting down with Nieve at Barn on The Farm, the sheer amount of work and dedication to her craft she has put in over the last year to reach this point cannot go unnoticed, and she deserves her flowers for this performance.
Opening with 'Girlfriend', Nieve took an immediate claim to the stage, this would not be an opening act to drift from your memory. The electric performance by her, alongside her band consisting of Fran Larkin, Finn Marlow, and Matt Garnett, immediately set the tone for an incredible set for the viewer's digestion. Audience participation is clearly becoming a real strong point for Nieve too, rallying the crown to scream at the top of their lungs during the (very) highly anticipated upcoming single 'Ganni Top (She Gets What She Needs)', and it went down a treat.
Left: Fran Larkin, Matt Garnett, Nieve Ella, Finn Marlow. Right: Further imagery of Nieve Ella's set.
Both photographed by Mollie McKay.
A takeaway from her set was the high level of control on her already incredible vocals, her overall improvement allowed the performance to be taken to a whole new level. Personable yet driven, humble yet so aware of her power as an artist, Nieve Ella is set to be a star. Seeing her talent exposed to a whole new audience not only allows but implores the rise to keep going. It is only a matter of time until Nieve will headline this very stage.
girl in red takes the stage
Picture this: Twelve thousand people, a set that can only be likened to a LEGO playground, and a tie that would never be deemed appropriate before the watershed. There you have it, the scene for Marie Ulven’s show. Opening with the energetic ‘DOING IT AGAIN BABY’ followed by the just as lively and dynamic ‘bad idea!’, fans were in for a treat from the offset.
With support slots for Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish already under her belt, she simply oozed an essence of brilliance and sheer self-assurance, donning a pinstripe suit and tie. She says it herself, having all this swagger was never a choice!
Performing one of the tracks that have become a beacon of positivity within the LGBTQIA+ community, ‘girls’, this truly became a moment of unity within the audience and is a testament to the space of safety and light that Marie has created within her music, and for a community of listeners.
Marie’s connection with and genuine adoration for the crowd allowed for a true sense of intimacy in a venue of such a considerable size. Comments and anecdotes made throughout the set allowed for the comical side of Ulven to shine through, joking with the audience about tube fares and sounding millennial to the ‘Gen Z’ generation.
Her playful spirit kept the room in high spirits for the entire evening. Not only this but her efforts to physically switch between either side of the stage as she performed tracks like ‘New Love’ and ‘Body and Mind’ allowed her to connect with all parts of the arena, which was a refreshing watch.
Heading to the surprise b-stage, Marie reminisced about her first-ever headline show at The Electric Ballroom in 2019, alongside mentioning the anniversary of ‘watch you sleep.’ being released before playing the track to the audience’s delight. ‘October Passed Me By’ and ‘we fell in love in october’ were also played on this smaller stage placed in the middle of the standing section, creating a beautiful moment of stillness and serenity to the evening, with autumn-leaf-shaped paper confetti accompanying the acoustic section of the show. This sweet touch only added to the warmth of the atmosphere. The execution of this was so simple, yet made for a moment you wish to take a mental screenshot of and keep with you forever, definitely one for the nostalgic attendees. girl in red's older discography is riddled in autumnal vibes, so this section of the setlist fit perfectly in the beginning of September.
Returning to the main stage, the brief interlude felt like the beginning of ACT 2 of a theatre show. Enter: girl in red elevated into the air on a platform to perform the explosive ‘Phantom Pain’. Whiplash and chaos at its finest. Something you come to realise with this performance, is that sometimes things don't make sense straight away - and that's exactly what Ulver pursues in this set. Embrace the wackiness!
‘A Night To Remember’ acted as a declaration of love to her now-girlfriend in the developing stages of their relationship and Marie revealed insight into exactly how, as the title suggests, the first night they met occurred.
At that moment, the crowd and Marie joined for the type of gossip session one would have with their best friend after a first date, and only she pulled it off so charmingly. Ulver's charisma on stage is absolutely intoxicating for the audience.
The tail end of the hit-filled set pivoted between the bedroom indie music that jumpstarted her career with ‘dead girl in the pool.’, to the more eerie exploration of emotions found in ‘if i could make it go quiet’, all the way to the current day realm of refreshingly confident pop music found in the most recent album and namesake of the tour ‘I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!’.
One joke that maybe fans would have wished to become a reality was hinting at Sabrina Carpenter
joining Ulven on stage for their duet ‘You Need Me Now?’. Ouch. But it's okay, as the crowd sang her part for her. This track still proved to be a crowd-pleaser as the OVO Arena seemed to shake with fans chanting Sabrina’s verse and jumping along. In an interview with Zach Sang, Ulver states that 'all of the creative decisions' on her recent album were just 'that it was fun' - the crowd all singing along and doing Carpenter-esque dancing like no one is watching is the true demonstration that Marie's attempts to create an entirely 'fun' album have not gone unrewarded.
Performing one of the tracks that changed it all for Ulven, ‘i wanna be your girlfriend’, was a perfect tone to end the show on. Her rockstar demeanor, balanced with a theatrical likeability, and palpable humility, made for one of the most interesting live shows we have seen this year. We can only hope that she does it again, baby.
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