PVRIS was an act I hadn’t actively listened to until we got to experience her supporting Fall Out Boy at the Hydro last year. At the time, I remember calling them an edgier, rockier Chvrches and really quite liked that. Tonight we’re checking them out on their headline tour to see if I still feel the same.
Opening the show is Sophie Powers. I’d given Sophie’s recorded stuff a spin a few days before the show but it doesn’t really do her live set justice. Recorded, she falls a little too far on the electronic side of things for my personal tastes, but being live brings a lot more attitude and sass to the tracks.
Her live band comprises of a drummer and guitarist along with lots of backing tracks – as is the style nowadays – and that drags us back into the rock realm (slightly). We’re not talking Dead Pony levels of electronic infused rock, but close enough that I’m not losing interest. There’s a decent cover of ‘Heart Shaped Box’ by some band called Nirvana, which has no dance elements at all and that was a highlight for me. Maybe I need more convincing about dance music in rock’s clothing.
Scene Queen is the main support and good God… Imagine the most intense ends of the Electric Callboy spectrum in terms of EDM and Metal, then add explicit and graphic lyrics about being on the business end of amazing sex. There are other subjects (such as cutting the genitals off of catcallers), but that one keeps coming back. There is a slight tongue -in-cheek feeling to the self-categorised “Bimbo Core”, and there’s nothing wrong with music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m not normally one for listening to tracks about Barbie and Ken, but there’s something endearing about this. You almost start to feel guilty for smiling as you wonder if it’s supposed to be serious. Just as Tommy Wiseau considered ‘The Room’ a dramatic masterpiece, is this crafted with in all seriousness?
Maybe it does have a message… women should be able to wear whatever the fuck they want and say whatever the fuck they want on stage and it’s no one’s business to judge that. This is why I’m just going to mention the PVC maid outfit that Scene Queen was wearing as she strut across the stage telling us how she likes her oral sex served as a matter of record. Either way it’s brash, sexy, fun, and very listenable. By the time she’s halfway through her set, the whole room is bouncing and it’s fair to say she’s sparked a party.
Pvris comes on to a hazy, smoke filled stage and performs to a crowd desperate to sing along. Strobe lights flank the artist as she remains front and centre at her mic stand, never really straying from the anchor point at any pace. The whole crowd are acknowledged throughout, there’s just no spinning across the stage. There doesn’t need to be a dance routine with this music, though. The crowd are happy to bask in her presence, and she’s just at home letting the music speak for itself.
Pvris’ set switches between attitude-soaked electro rock numbers such as ‘Dead Weight’ and the more dance music leaning ‘Death Of Me’ so seamlessly that it doesn’t sound like different artists but one with a massive spectrum that covers every base between rock and EDM. Final track ‘Goddess’ is straight-up rock with a guitar riff that Matt Bellamy would be proud of, while ‘St Patrick’ starts off with a synth intro that gave me ‘Born Slippy’ vibes before exploding back into rock. This show is reinforcing my original opinion that Pvris is an edgier Chvrches for rock fans. It almost feels like betraying my Scottish heritage – talking down the other act with the misplaced “V” – but there’s no way around it. There’s more rock here, there’s edgier electronics, there’s not as much dancing and showmanship which focuses us on the music rather than any window dressing. There’s piles of authenticity – you feel like you’re meant to be watching Chvrches perform from their pedestal, but with Pvris you feel like she’s down in the trenches with you.
I made the right decision to check out the headliner after seeing her support Fall Out Boy. If nothing else, it confirmed my suspicions of greatness and showed me where Pvris fits in. Comfortably between Chvrches and Hot Milk, settled in a hollow between the electropop and harder alt rock.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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