The line between irony and sincerity is paper-thin with Remi Wolf. She's the kind of artist who will open her set by rapping about a gangbang at Five Guys, then close it with an encore including a soul ballad about avoiding walking past her ex's house; who will include a line about a genital tattoo of dolphins in a song about getting sober. She's just joking, seriously.
Beginning with a Zeppelinesque blooze jam, her set — the second half of a two-night stand — opted for outrageous maximalism whenever possible, with Wolf giving herself a full-body aerobics session when leading the crowd in hip flexor stretches or ping-ponging around the stage to a string of high-energy cuts from last year's Juno album. The stage was decorated with a fantastical tree, pastel flowers and a squishy couch — a psychedelic wonderland that was part Through the Looking-Glass, part 1970s basement.
Wolf was joined by three backing musicians, including exceptionally slick guitarist Mikey LaSusa, whose tasteful Strat work held down the choppy funk of "wyd," the plaintive lounge chords of "Liz," and the silky smoothness of a cover of Frank Ocean's "Pink + White." He seemed totally unprepared when Wolf challenged him to a little between-song call-and-response, but he did a nice job matching her nimble soul runs with slippery string bends.
Wolf's powerful vocals revealed her background as an American Idol hopeful — but she's also a pretty damn good drummer, something she highlighted in a laugh-out-loud interlude, when drummer Conor Malloy took the mic to lead the crowd in affirmations about being a good person, paying off credit card debt, and being Dua Lipa. (For real — the final affirmation was simply, "I am Dua Lipa.)
If the set had a weakness, it's that Wolf spent a little too long with her rambling between-song monologues — which were charming, but if I'm being honest, I'd rather that time go towards performing "Buzz Me In" or "Cake."
But there's no need to nitpick a set that, for an artist with only one album, was absolutely packed with bangers. The all-ages crowd went appropriately batshit, chanting "Remi! Remi! Remi" and screaming the lyrics any time Wolf pointed the mic towards them (which was often). One fan even brought a homemade orange-and-white bucket hat specially for Wolf, which she happily put on her head, pointing that it might draw the eye away from her swollen lip that she had injured during a particularly vigorous version of "Quiet on Set."
The night ended with a fun and funky rendition of "Disco Man," after which Wolf gave an extremely effusive thank-you to the crowd and joined her band in a group bow. And as she skipped off stage, the lights went up, and the PA played "Smooth," the Grammy winning 1999 hit by Carlos Santana featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty off the multi-Platinum album Supernatural. Because of course it did, that jokester.
Beginning with a Zeppelinesque blooze jam, her set — the second half of a two-night stand — opted for outrageous maximalism whenever possible, with Wolf giving herself a full-body aerobics session when leading the crowd in hip flexor stretches or ping-ponging around the stage to a string of high-energy cuts from last year's Juno album. The stage was decorated with a fantastical tree, pastel flowers and a squishy couch — a psychedelic wonderland that was part Through the Looking-Glass, part 1970s basement.
Wolf was joined by three backing musicians, including exceptionally slick guitarist Mikey LaSusa, whose tasteful Strat work held down the choppy funk of "wyd," the plaintive lounge chords of "Liz," and the silky smoothness of a cover of Frank Ocean's "Pink + White." He seemed totally unprepared when Wolf challenged him to a little between-song call-and-response, but he did a nice job matching her nimble soul runs with slippery string bends.
Wolf's powerful vocals revealed her background as an American Idol hopeful — but she's also a pretty damn good drummer, something she highlighted in a laugh-out-loud interlude, when drummer Conor Malloy took the mic to lead the crowd in affirmations about being a good person, paying off credit card debt, and being Dua Lipa. (For real — the final affirmation was simply, "I am Dua Lipa.)
If the set had a weakness, it's that Wolf spent a little too long with her rambling between-song monologues — which were charming, but if I'm being honest, I'd rather that time go towards performing "Buzz Me In" or "Cake."
But there's no need to nitpick a set that, for an artist with only one album, was absolutely packed with bangers. The all-ages crowd went appropriately batshit, chanting "Remi! Remi! Remi" and screaming the lyrics any time Wolf pointed the mic towards them (which was often). One fan even brought a homemade orange-and-white bucket hat specially for Wolf, which she happily put on her head, pointing that it might draw the eye away from her swollen lip that she had injured during a particularly vigorous version of "Quiet on Set."
The night ended with a fun and funky rendition of "Disco Man," after which Wolf gave an extremely effusive thank-you to the crowd and joined her band in a group bow. And as she skipped off stage, the lights went up, and the PA played "Smooth," the Grammy winning 1999 hit by Carlos Santana featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty off the multi-Platinum album Supernatural. Because of course it did, that jokester.
