On Saturday October 26th at the Catalyst, Suki Waterhouse played a show that I now consider one of my favorite live performances. After the opener, Bully, who set the stage with her high energy grunge rock sound, Waterhouse emerged from smoke decked out in a fur coat, sunglasses and knee high boots. The singer/model/actress was accompanied by her touring band which includes drummer Emilia Paige, bassist Myqle “Motorcycle” Sanford, and guitarist Jane (previously known as Raj Jain and Jane Holiday).
If you follow Waterhouse’s music career, you’ve probably seen videos of her shows where a wind machine blows her hair as she emulates Stevie-Nicks-esque ethereal dance moves to songs like “Good Looking”, “Moves”, and “To Love”. But her stage presence is not limited to this airy and mystical persona; her show also includes a punk-rocker inspired character who brings even more drama to her performance. This duality comes through in songs from her new record, The Memoir of a Sparklemuffin (a reference to the sparklemuffin spider, a poisonous species native to Australia), like “Supersad” and “Blackout Drunk”. These were some of my favorite moments of the show, where Waterhouse’s versatility as an artist became apparent to us in the audience.
Waterhouse also made sure to give her longtime fans songs like the 2016 single “Brutally”, which she performed solo at the piano, with Jane joining in on backing vocals. Waterhouse described this song as the first piece of music she wrote that she truly loved.
The concert ended with her most famous, “Good Looking” tying these older fan favorites to her new era of music.
