Doja Cat Defies Expectations with Stripped-Back, Electrifying Performance at Birmingham's Resorts World Arena
Some artists stick to the Rules and others go against the grain. Doja Cat is an artist who isn’t afraid to shake things up and it was evident tonight at her Birmingham, UK show that she holds no bars against her artistic freedom.
Instead of sticking to the same set list, things switched up in order as well as content. That’s not all though, the complete show offered variety. Having done my research into her previous shows, I was expecting to see huge cinematics, dark in nature but highly intriguing. We’re familiar with the hanging spider, the all in one black suit, the eyeballs and the cult like following that followed her around stage. We’ve also seen the dividing of the show into acts and mega graphics, and in some shows angel wings too. Birmingham was different. Birmingham saw a side to Doja Cat that was almost stripped back and raw. I don’t mean raw as in basic, rather the oposite. It was more down to earth. More… about just her and the connection to her music and her fans. There was a tremendous amount of pyrotechnics, a levitating platform and the odd laser. Other than that, her performance was mainly that of a solo one apart from the band and a few dancers here and there. Speaking of the band, they went in heavy throughout. Intense guitar licks, outstanding solos and the drumming of high energy craftsmanship, the band were given the chance to shine but the audience scanned the stage for Doja Cat every time mentally demanding that she remained centre stage.
The overall performance felt stripped back when compared to the other shows that came before it on this tour. Even her costumes were less in character and more, her. It was great to see that side to Doja Cat. Having said that, there were still signs of her alter ego Scarlet emphasised by the swinging between calm white and yellow lighting during songs such as “Balut” and “Agora Hills” to red throughout “Attention”, “Ain’t Shit” and of course, “Paint The Town Red”.
Approaching the stage in a full fur-looking long jacket and a hat to match, Doja Cat set the scene right away with her attitude and confidence. No f***s given. Swinging around the stage on a giant Rapunzel plait used as rope, and occasionally laying on haystacks or should I say hairstacks. A sadist’s dream of an outfit covering her face early on in the set gave watchful eyes something to soak in.
Doja Cat is a performer, she works the stage, she knows what she is doing and it works every time. Rarely missing a note, things stayed natural except for autotune as she sang “Wet Vagina” and she aced a whole 90-minute set without an interval or a break longer than around 30 seconds. Effortless, the show flowed from one track to another with ease and she kept her performance slick and inspirational.
Performing some of her old hits like “Say So”, “Rules” and “Tia Tamera” along with the majority of her more recent tracks from both Scarlet and Scarlet 2 CLAUDE in one set showed off her ability and versatility. It was a show that hit all the right notes for the most part.
Can you and should you expect to see this again from Doja Cat on the Scarlet Tour? I’m not sure but I wouldn’t bet on it. Expect the unexpected and enjoy the Ride.