First dates and new music

I learned about Remi Wolf how everyone else learns about music nowadays: a hinge date. More often than not, these dates are unsuccessful, filling your brain with information that will no longer be needed in two weeks because you will never see them again. But there’s a small percentage of that information that does end up being useful, and that is the music they’re listening to. An opportune time to hear about an artist you have never heard of, only to search them up when you are desperate for some phone time halfway through the date. While we might not gain much from these random dates, we do get to expand our playlists. And with that, Remi Wolf was added to the library.

Arriving back in her hometown of the Bay Area, Remi performed her 3rd night of the Gwingle Gwongle tour at the Warfield in San Francisco, promoting her album Juno (2021). It was a night that brought together the 20-something-year-olds of the Bay Area, as I saw fellow B-Side members there and met new people as well. As my friend and I were standing in the pit, we started to talk to Sarthak, a fellow music journalist from KSJS 90.5 FM at San Jose State University. Sarthak showed me how quickly two strangers can connect; not only were we fans of Remi Wolf, but we also enjoyed covering artists through our school’s organizations.

Suddenly, the curtains rose and the stage was set with tall flowers and round screens that showed various animals like horses, dolphins, and jellyfish. We were all ready for what we came for, to see Remi Wolf perform. The colors of the stage were bright and fun, much like her album covers and overall aesthetic.

Remi came out wearing a new outfit from Urban Outfitters, according to her TikTok. She went undercover because it was hours before the show and right around the corner from the venue. This was not because Remi is disconnected from her fans— her TikTok comment section proves otherwise. She often replies to people’s comments and engages with them to their surprise. Her gratitude was shown when she thanked the audience and said, “This is one big family and I love you from the bottom of my heart.”

While we’re still in a pandemic, concerts are coming back at rapid speed, gathering crowds who missed the experiences they had pre-pandemic. They bring people together to engage in something that builds community.

To quiet the crowd from conversing with new friends, she started her concert with a very apropos song, “Quiet On Set.” The crowd immediately became more energized, jumping and dancing around. Her music is the perfect type of pop music to dance to, as it makes you want to be happy and have a good time. She follows up with “Sexy Villain,” trying to maintain the high energy—and succeeds. Her vocals are supported by her talented band, who shined on their own throughout the night. At one point Remi and her drummer switched positions so she could show off her skills, “She’s an amazing singer, but an even more amazing drummer,” drummer Conor Malloy said about Remi. As she continued to drum, Malloy engaged with the audience too, telling us a story about how he repeats affirmations to himself in the mirror every day. Similar to my experience watching Baby Tate perform, he had us start reciting these random affirmations. As I tried to wrap my head around the affirmation exercise, I realized he was saying “I will make my credit card payment” and then began talking about Dua Lipa, and how “it’s Dua Lipa Fall.” While the affirmations may have not made much sense, they were another example of how well Remi and her band interacted with the crowd.

All of her music is not about happy subjects, even though the technicolor and bubbly sound mask it a bit. In her song “Liquor Store” she discusses her “dependency on people and alcohol” but the bright nature of the song would not show itself as that serious of a topic. However, she doesn’t let discussions like these dampen her mood, and at one point during the show, she did a cartwheel on stage. Everything about Remi exudes confidence in her art and performance, but she remains casual about it as well. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, which allows the crowd to have as much fun as they possibly can. While you might not feel this comfortable with someone you meet on a first date, you will when you go to a Remi Wolf concert.