Tove Lo bares all on the Dirt Femme Tour
Chicago, Illinois - September 6th, 2023
After a seven-month wait due to a bad case of the flu, Swedish popstress Tove Lo finally brought her bad bitch energy back to Chicago at The Salt Shed for the Dirt Femme Tour on Wednesday night with support from UPSAHL.
“Thank you for your patience,” Tove Lo said to the crowd. “I love Chicago. I love playing here. I always have the best time.”
The show was intended to be the debut kickoff of the venue’s indoor stage in February but rescheduled due to illness.
UPSAHL opening for Tove Lo.
Photo by Sloane Johnson
UPSAHL powerfully kicked the show off, proving she is a force to be reckoned with. She won the eager audience over with upbeat pop-rock bangers and electrifying power.
“It has been a dream of mine to open for [Tove Lo] because A) she’s fucking rad and B) her fans are fucking rad,” UPSAHL said.
UPSAHL masterfully controlled the room’s energy. She incorporated fan vocals with her viral hit “Drugs,” performed the power ballad “0 OR 100,” and splashed water in the crowd during “WET WHITE TEE SHIRT.”
Tove Lo stormed the stage in a buss-down ponytail and new, colorful custom corset to the sensual Dirt Femme track “Pineapple Slice,” complete with erotic dancing that made the crowd roar. The stage became her runway as she strutted like a lioness before segwaying to crowd-favorite “Attention Whore.”
“Tonight is going to be an emotional journey,” Tove Lo shared. “We’re going to start out sexy, dancing for a while. Then, we’re going to cry together for just a few songs. Then we’re going to cry and dance at the same time.”
The sexy dancing resumed for tracks like “Cool Girl” from the 2016 album Lady Wood and “Are U gonna tell her?” from 2019’s Sunshine Kitty. During “2 Die 4” Tove Lo stepped up on a platform that blew her ponytail ethereally to match the tracks’s effervescence.
Tove Lo performing at the Salt Shed in Chicago
During a quick interlude, the band mixed in elements of “I like u” from the extended cut of Dirt Femme to build suspense before breaking into the 2014 chart-topper “Talking Body.” She returned in a tan knit two-piece that did not stay on for long as she revealed her breasts to the crowd on the last explosive chorus in true Tove Lo fashion.
“In a few hours, it’s “disco tits” birthday,” she teased. The club banger from her 2017 album BLUE LIPS has become a cult classic, especially within the queer community. To celebrate its sixth birthday, Tove Lo released a remix with Karma Fields and shared “#justicefordiscotits” on social media.
The hype was worth it based on the performance of the “queer fever dream rave anthem” as the floorboards shook from the excitement in the crowd.
Pivoting to the “crying together” portion of her set, Tove Lo shared that the song “Moments” from her debut album Queen Of The Clouds shaped the whole idea of who she wanted to be as an artist, to be herself.
“Part of that is accepting your flaws and being okay with not being perfect,” she said. “I think it’s really important because we all judge way too hard.”
Photo by Sloane Johnson
After performing a raw, emotional rendition of the track, she continued to be candid with fans by performing “Grapefruit,” a song about struggling with body image.
“That was one of those songs where I’m like, ‘fuck, I’m really gonna share this one?’” she said with a laugh. “So detailed and vulnerable. I share everything else, so why not?”
Tove Lo continued by performing more of her almost decade-long catalog, tackling issues like breakups, cheating, not wanting to live a traditional life, and more. She pleased Euphoria fans by singing an explosive version of “How Long,” which was featured in the series’ second season.
She left the stage before returning for the encore in a metallic corset, reminiscent of the look on the cover of Dirt Femme. She belted her heart out to “Not On Drugs,” an album track that she had not performed live in eight years, before giving the audience everything with the song that blew up her career and hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100, “Habits (Stay High).”
“This song changed my life,” Tove Lo said. “You better sing every fucking word.”
She kept the hype going with one last bop, “No One Dies From Love,” parading around during instrumentals and killing the choreography from the music video.
“I love you so much,” she said in parting words. “Thank you. That was so special.”
Tove Lo will be on the Dirt Femme Tour until the end of October.