Alice Phoebe Lou Charms Columbus
columbus, ohio - october 20, 2024
Photo by Regan Jones
Alice Phoebe Lou admits that she has never been to Columbus shortly after she takes KEMBA Live!’s outdoor stage with her band. The crowd goes wild, as if extending a warm welcome to a familiar friend. The South African singer-songwriter got her start in the industry by busking around Europe: just a girl, her guitar, and a frenzy of bubbling melodies and poetic lyrics. This has allowed for her to fill a niche in the indie-sphere: she is entirely self-made with every project published under her name alone across platforms like Spotify and iTunes. This adds a weight to the delicate balance of a career in the music industry, which she handles with true grace made clear by the fact that she is now playing in an over 5 thousand capacity venue as Clairo’s opening act of the Charm tour.
As the drums count off into Touch, their first song of the night, the sun is making its way into the horizon ever so slowly as if to catch a glimpse of the performance, casting the stage and crowd in an autumnal glow. Alice Phoebe Lou stands center stage with an acoustic guitar, singing about turning fantasy into reality. As the song comes into its ending, she sets the guitar down and instead turns to a strong sense of personal agency to accompany her during Open My Door. She is subtly pacing the amplification of her convicting vocals as she comes back to herself through song: “Welcome to your life, Alice” she sings into a captivated crowd.
The timing of her next song, appropriately titled Dusk, could not be more perfect; she sang in swing time of comforting a lover who is afraid of this time of day. “The world don’t matter/ When we’re looking at each other” she sings reassuringly out into the crowd and further onto the now graying sky. Then, in the same way sunrise follows sunset, she broke out into Glow, filling the venue with an array of intergalactic-esque instrumentals and lyrics recalling the topsy-turvy tension of falling into love with somebody. Her band inspired the entire crowd to get grooving, their reservations set aside as they followed along with the free-moving jam session. Continuing with another song off of her 2021 album, Glow, Alice Phoebe Lou slowed down for a moment. Only When I highlights the independent singer’s unique vocal style, airy and yet dripping with sensuous vibrato.
“Claire and her band…are just the fucking best,” she gushes, earning a roar of applause before the second half of her set. The pace picked up quickly for Silly, a track less than 2 minutes long but packed to the brim with animated lyrics about a new crush and guitar playing that matched the feeling’s vivacity. Just as quickly as the energy bolted up, she brought it back to Earth with Lover//Over the Moon, a leisurely-strolling and infinitely romantic jazz ballad. The drummer quietly kept time with a brush and keys trickled up, down, and around as she crooned to a bewitched audience “You make me feel over the moon”. Angel marked the end of her set’s slow songs. Her tone remained intimate as if we had just stepped into her bedroom, or even further yet into the workings of her mind: “I just want to reach out/ But will he take the bait?” she ponders before sending the song off into its winding refrains and ultimate instrumental closing.
The rest of her set consisted of upbeat, danceable tracks that ensured the audience was warmed up and ready for Clairo’s headlining set. Underworld and Dirty Mouth showcase her guitar playing, electric and acoustic respectively, and envelop listeners in a buoyant world of her own making. Everyone is unabashed and overjoyed at this point as the band builds into their biggest and last number of the night. She polished it all off with hit single Witches, a dizzying display of her whimsical style and self-sustaining nature: “Don’t try to save me ‘cause/ I don’t wanna be saved” she warns above a celestial melody. You can hear a bustling and buzzing in the air as people recognize the steadily-growing indie-pop track and begin singing along.
Alice Phoebe Lou and her band fit seamlessly into the Charm tour experience, creating a heart-to-heart moment with every track. Not only was the audience left starry-eyed, but they were also ready at this point for what the rest of the evening had in store. She will finish the tour with Clairo this winter, but you can lean into her music 24/7 through your favorite streaming and buying platforms. Be sure to also stay up to date with what the band is up to on social media or subscribing to her newsletter at alicephoeblou.com/newsletter.
ALL PHOTOS BY REGAN JONES
