We meet at the English capital’s decade-long queer sanctuary for the third stop of Beth McCarthy ‘Idk How To Talk To Girls‘ tour. This sold-out date was particularly curated by McCarthy to give fans a safe space and a line-up that was surely concocted for sad, hot, petty and cool sapphics everywhere.
The pre-show playlist aimed to further amplify the work of sapphic artists everywhere, playing various sapphic songs, such as Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’, Reneé Rapp’s ‘Pretty Girls’ and, of course, the iconic ‘Born This Way’ by Lady Gaga.
In the first act, the Welsh Catty provided the audience with an insane display of vocal ability. Upon performing the song ‘Bella Donna‘, she channelled the power of early 2000s pop stars. Enthusiastic fans know every lyric. Something that didn't go unnoticed as opening acts often suffer from being severely underappreciated by people who entirely want to move to the headliner. A testament to how much thought was put behind the show.
‘Healing out of Spite‘ provides the most relatable lyrics of the event and fans passionately sing it back to each other and to the blonde musician, transforming it into a beautiful, community-driven moment. My personal favourite, ‘I Dated a Monster‘ was without a doubt a performance to remember.
The next opener on the roster was Nxdia, the Egyptian-Sudanese musician that Sonic Hub had the privilege of interviewing previously, kicked off their set with ‘OUCH‘, which prompted in-sync claps from the crowd as Nxdia smiled at them.
For their song ‘idc’, the curly-haired musician happily reminisced about “... just not feeling anything“ for the ex that prompted the production of the tune. During their set, Nxdia was given a Palestinian flag, which he took as a moment to mention the occurring genocide. The singer mentioned how important the flag was to them and urged the audience to take action and help the cause however they could.
A rendition of Kesha’s ‘Tik Tok’ got the crowd even more hyped and ready for the headliner.
Nxdia ended their set with ‘She Likes a Boy’, an anthem most of the crowd could relate to with lyrics such as “But why am I so angry in the first place? Why am I hurting?“, which accurately portray the feelings of confusion many sapphics feel during their first love.
For the main event of the night, the lights went fully black to heighten the crowds’ feeling of anticipation, and multiple voices echo as they shout Beth’s name. From ‘a confused little bi’ to ‘ADHD lesbian’, the audience sees themselves represented in the voice notes that precede the first song ‘What Do You Call It?’. A song that the pink-haired musician beautifully promoted on social media by interviewing strangers asking them “what do you call it“, it being both themselves and their type.
A personal highlight for me was the performance of ‘Not That Deep’. Fans created a fan project in which they raised signs with loving messages to the 26-year-old singer. Keeping the emotional vulnerability in the venue, McCarthy sings an unreleased song, ‘What If I Never Make It’, a song about the fear of failure and fighting for your dreams. The singer gets emotional by reflecting on their journey whilst looking at her parents in the audience.
During the set, it was very clear to see McCarthy has a very candid and charismatic way of interacting with fans, making the audience feel so at ease that they easily connect to her music. ‘If You Loved Me Right’ and ‘You Ruined Love For Me’ once again had every attendee dancing like it was their last night on earth; “A little bit louder, there's so many of you“, the pink-haired singer belts out, jumping in the air along with her audience.
McCarthy brings the openers back on stage as she covers P!nk’s ‘So What’, a song that truly fits her raspy voice and rockstar persona. The crowd erupts enthusiastically as she segues into ‘XoXo’, another unreleased song, that she created a cute ‘XO‘ shaped choreography and fans eagerly perform. Following this, the long-awaited ‘She's Pretty‘ is performed, including a little ode to Carly Jae Rapsens ‘Call Me Maybe‘.
The night wraps up, as Beth returns to the stage, for the encore, with the fan favourite ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’, the song that gave her immense popularity within the sapphic community on TikTok. The crowd shouts every word back to Beth, who then transitions into ‘Good Bi’, another unreleased song that explores the singer’s experiences with biphobia; ‘I wrote a song all about the hate I get for being bisexual and how biphobia is for losers’ the English singer says with a cheeky smile. From helping fans exchange rings to recounting tales of complicated relationships, Beth's biggest headline show proved to cement her well-deserved accession. Catch Beth on the remaining concerts of her sold-out headline tour and expect a chaotic and fun experience that will leave you begging for more.
WORDS ANA PINTO & BEA GOMES
PHOTOS ANA PINTO
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