Concert Review + Photos: Maggie Rogers & Vera Blue @ The Chapel SF
I’m walking down the street on a cold, rainy night in San Francisco and I’m blown away as the line to get in the show stretches down the block and around the corner. It’s 8pm, doors open at 9pm, and there’s nearly 100 people eagerly waiting to get into a sold out Rickshaw Stop.
Fifteen minutes before the doors open, security walks down the seemingly endless line of people, announcing that tickets are no longer available. I watch as groups of fans reluctantly begin to break off the line and take the long walk back home, completely heart-broken. It’s rather tough to watch as the show has been sold our for months and some of these fans had been waiting in line since 6pm. However, I couldn’t help but smile as the line of giddy people realize they are a few feet closer to the doors.
Once inside, people grab their drinks from the bar, head over to the stage and attempt to get as close as possible to the stage. The Rickshaw Stop is an intimate venue where you can get inches away from the performer. So, there’s a bit of friendly competition to see who can get the closest to the stage. With performances from both Maggie Rogers and Vera Blue, this is definitely one of those occasions where you want to be at front stage.
Vera Blue, hailing from Australia, is first to take the stage. Her debut EP Fingertips has recently become available in the US and her folky, electronica sound has proven to be extremely popular. Wearing all black on stage, her red hair glistens as she walks on stage and is placed in the spotlight. That contrast, along with her humble personality, allows her to easily capture the audience’s attention.
As Blue plays through her EP, you’re struck by the power of her voice. The range of her vocals is something that will give you goosebumps. Effortlessly hitting high notes and seamlessly ranging down to the deeper tones. It’s something you notice on her recorded music, but when you hear it in person, it catches you off guard. As she hits the high notes on“Settle,” I see a woman look at her friend and mouth the words “Wow.” Her friend‘s eyes get big and she shakes her head in disbelief. When Blue announced she was going to play a cover of Jack Garratt’s “Breathe Life,” people were stoked. Two guys in the crowd high-fived each other, one let out a big “Woo.”
As she performs, Blue gets lost in her own music and it’s cool to watch as the audience follows right behind her. Some have their eyes closed, some are swaying side-to-side and most are dancing with their hands in the air. Blue finished the night with her most popular song “Hold,” which was probably her best of the night. The crowd was pleased with her performance, clapping and cheering as she walked off stage, timidly smiling to herself. Blue did a great job setting the stage for what would be an energetic performance from Maggie Rogers.
When you are at the front of the stage for the duration of a concert, your ears will ring at the end of the night from being so close to the speakers. It’s loud, there’s a lot of bass, but it doesn’t matter because you are only a few feet away from the performer and that’s an experience that you’ll remember for years. When Maggie Rogers took the stage, the audience was cheering so loudly that my ears immediately began ringing. Even Rogers herself was impressed by the ovation as she attempted to start her intro song threetimes, but it’s difficult to sing when you‘re grinning from ear to ear.
As you may already know, Maggie Rogers’s music blew up after Pharrell Williams hosted a Master Class at NYU Clive Davis Institute (here’s the original video). Fast forward to 18min, 20seconds and you’ll see that Pharrell is completely caught off guard by her song “Alaska.” From that moment, Rogers’s fame has grown exponentially. She’s quickly developed from student to one of the most exciting artists in less than a year’s time.
As Rogers’s is on stage, she says “It’s difficult when you’ve only released a short EP because you don’t have enough songs to play a full show.” The audience laughs, but her words ring true for many up-and-coming artists. The transition from student to stardom can be quite difficult, but Rogers seems to be handling the fame quite well, giving a heart-filled thank you speech that talked about the highs and lows of growing so quickly.
When performing, Rogers seems to be in her element. She’s extremely comfortable on stage, constantly interacting with the crowd and dancing around like no one is watching. She smiles and waves at the people in the crowd, she makes prolonged eye-contact with those at the front of the stage, and enjoys responding to those who shout from the back of the venue. It’s quite endearing to watch. One of the most enjoyable parts of Rogers’s performance is the way she gracefully dances across the stage. Her band is placed at the back of the stage, giving her ample space to swiftly run from one side to the other. Her energy is remarkably contagious, making it difficult not to sing and dance along with her.
Rogers played through all of the songs in her debut EP Now That The Light is Fading, including a song she wrote when she was 18 called “Little Joys” as well as a wonderful rendition of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” Of all her songs, “On + Off” was my favorite, however the crowd seemed to be most excited about her last and most popular song “Alaska.”
Before Rogers played her final song, she gave a genuine speech to the audience about how thankful she was to be here today. “My life has changed a lot over the last year and most of my success is thanks to thousands of faceless people I’ll never meet, who were probably sitting behind a computer screen when they first saw my music” says Rogers. Her charisma throughout the night is truly aspirational. She’s genuinely excited to be performing for the audience and she says “My dreams of becoming a musician have come true.” Before Rogers finishes the night, she makes sure everyone knows that she doesn’t believe new bands should perform encores. Rather, she believes she needs to earn that encore performance and she’s excited for that day.
Overall, Rogers’s performance is inspiring and moving. She’s cheerful, animated on stage and extremely exciting to watch. Although a release date has yet to be announced, I’m looking forward to her debut album as well as her continued growth as a musician.
