I recall a thread I read in late 2022 on (what was formerly) Twitter about someone’s experience at a Sky Ferreira concert. It was a pretty disastrous thread: the show began late, technical issues galore, and several songs were repeated due to dissatisfaction from Sky herself. I knew then that I absolutely neeeeeeeeded to go see Sky Ferreira live to experience these conundrums firsthand, and it’s safe to say my expectations were met!
The lead up to the concert was a bit nebulous. Although the details for the concert were verified well in advance by its messengers, Sky herself didn’t acknowledge the show whatsoever, which was not fun for my anxious brain! It wasn’t until a few hours before the show that she posted on her Instagram story officially announcing the event, saying that she’ll take the stage at 10:15 PM. Mind you, the doors opened at 8:00 PM, and the show was advertised as starting at 9:00 PM. I already had the foresight of knowing that Sky would be late, so I didn’t get to the venue until around 10:15 PM anyways.
I was meeting a friend of mine at the concert, and his goofy behind showed up at 8:00 PM… like, girl? And he’s the Sky Ferreira stan of us two! He reported to me that the line to get into the venue was packed, but I convinced him to not enter in case there was no re-entry allowed. Thankfully he decided to take my advice and occupy his time doing things outside of the venue, because once we finally made it inside together, my two observations were:
1) It’s Dr. Martens city up in here!
2) Everybody, especially those on the balcony, looks… bored.
Sky eventually took the stage at 10:40 PM, although it is worth mentioning that there was no opening act to really keep that energy high and alive.
Once Sky came on stage, the audience immediately livened back up, but that only lasted for so long. Right away, I noticed the house volume was being toyed with, and I took this as an omen for what was to come. On her second song of the night, and my personal favorite from her catalog, “24 Hours”, she ripped out her ear monitors, and her sound issues just got worse from there. As Sky continued on with that number, she played around with her ear monitors, perhaps to signal to the sound team that something was wrong with them. Ultimately, it got to a point where she had to explicitly, and sternly, tell the sound guy (I won’t say his name to further spare himself from embarrassment) to turn her ears down.
From this point on, Sky would pause after each song to try to troubleshoot the problems that were plaguing her. These intermissions would be anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Before Sky would begin her next number, she’d let out a very audible sigh, accompanied by a shrug. What she was radiating in terms of her personal energy was palpable; you could feel her anguish. She even stopped after the fourth song to find a volunteer from her band to switch packs with, which was to no avail. To Sky’s credit, because of these problems, there was absolutely no doubt that her mic is, in fact, on. For the moments when Sky was able to hear herself, she sounded amazing. Her voice is pristine! And for the times when Sky couldn’t hear, just… read my mind.
For one song on her setlist, “I Blame Myself”, Sky refused to perform this song until she was able to fully hear herself. I’m not sure what kind of magic was worked, because it’s implied that this was the only song that her ear monitors were able to work, but Sky’s voice soared for this number. Every note was hit, all the emotion was in it, and this for me was the highlight of the night.
Onto the audience reception, I noticed that for the most part, people were largely disconnected from their devices and were fully present. Maybe it’s the fact that Sky only has one album, which is from 2013, to her repertoire, so you’ll hardly see her on the road, other than one-off events every now and then. It was kind of like a unicorn sighting, if you will. You just have to live in the moment! But of course, with all the trials that this show was facing, the members of the audience would either be empathetic to the situation, or just be irate and bored. The concert didn’t end until after midnight, and by then a good chunk of the crowd had already left.
Sky ended her set with perhaps her most popular song, “Everything Is Embarrassing”, which left the concert on a high note. As a Tumblr kid, I remember the moment when gifs from the music video for this song began to appear on my dashboard. Hearing this song live transported me to a dimension that I seldom visit, and I reveled in every millisecond of it. It seems as though those who were still in the crowd felt the same way, as everyone else fully incorporated themselves into the moment.
Now, I want to make this part clear: I am not hating on all the show’s mishaps, nor am I hating on Sky either. I live for the kitsch! The times when she told her band to “Start over” after being dissatisfied with how the song began? I loved it! While some of the audience groaned in confusion most of the time, I was just happy to be there, as were other people around me. However, I can’t think of anything that would prevent someone who has a history of sound issues from at least doing some sort of soundcheck before the show. Maybe I’m just ignorant, I don’t know!
I caught this show at The Regency Ballroom on 9/20/24. The venue itself is gorgeous, located beautifully around plenty of public transit hubs that can take you to the vicinity of the venue from anywhere in the Bay Area. A lot of options for recreation and activity are offered around the venue as well, so one is sure to have a fun night when attending a show at The Regency Ballroom is on the agenda. I’ve been to several events at this venue, and I always look forward to the next!
On a related note, one of our listeners was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to attend this concert! With the frequent ticket giveaways we have at this station for local shows, the chance can be yours too. Keep the dial on 90.5 FM and stay up-to-date with us on @ksjsfm on all social media platforms to remain in the know of all our exclusive ticket giveaways.
Joseph Edwards
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