Girl In Red finished up her final US shows in the Bay Area and kicked it off with a sold out show at Oaklands Fox Theater. The Beaches joined Girl in Red for a few dates and helped kick off the show. June 1st marked the start of Pride Month, so a lot of people brought pride flags with them to wave around during the show. Both The Beaches and Girl In Red had little stories to tell about their lives as queer women, followed by songs that went with the occasion.
The Beaches helped kick off the night with lots of catchy songs that had the crowd singing and dancing. It sounded like a lot of people were already familiar with their music since they often had the whole crowd singing along to their songs. The energy radiating from them definitely matched Girl In Red’s. Everyone took advantage of the amount of space they had on the stage and moved around to all sides. It was a great set that I’d definitely try to catch again.
When it was time for Girl In Red to take the stage, the size of the production became more clear. I had caught her last show in San Francisco at the Regency Ballroom about a year or 2 ago, where the venue was a bit smaller, so its awesome getting to see how big the show has gotten since then. Marie explained that the inspiration for the stage design came from the “Italian lamps” she had decorating her apartment. At the back of the stage was a giant screen that displayed graphics for each song- some graphics being very captivating with how realistic they looked. The show felt very intimate with Marie taking some time in between songs to talk to fans in the audience and also telling stories as she was about to get into the next song. She played the perfect mix of old and new hits that took me back to the time when I fist heard Girl In Red. It was truly an amazing show. The amount of moving she did around the stage was incredible and also entertaining to try to photograph. Marie came to show us what a powerhouse Girl In Red is and it was amazing to see all the hard work fall into place. Marie will be returning home for a bit to prepare for the next round of her tour that will take her to Australia, South Asia, the UK and all over Europe.
