Charli xcx rocked Los Angeles’ Kia Forum this weekend, enlisting Chappell Roan, PinkPantheress and Adéla as surprise guests for the pop star’s two-night stand for a rave-style experience that didn’t let up for an hour and 40 minutes.
Charli’s North American arena tour is in support of her latest album, Music, Fashion, Film, and featured tunes from that along with her previous smash, BRAT, among others. Those in attendance — not just the concertgoers in the standing-only floor section but also those in the seats — certainly got a workout, as they stood and danced during almost the entire show.
Roan was the first major guest of the weekend, joining onstage for “Boom Clap,” which Charli hasn’t performed onstage in three years. “Every night on tour, I play an old song,” Charli told the audience. “I asked a friend of mine if she would come and sing an old song of mine with me, and they said, ‘The only way I’m doing it is if it’s this song,’ so you have her to thank.” (Overall, Charli did very little talking during the shows, but she did tell Sunday’s audience that her two nights in Los Angeles had been “special.”)
Later on Saturday, PinkPantheress came out and performed her own “Stateside,” while the Dare joined Charli during Brat hit “Guess,” which he’d produced. During the latter, fans in the floor section were treated to underwear — emblazoned with “xcx” — falling from the ceiling and shooting out of cannons. It’s a regular occurrence on her shows, tying back to the music video for the song and its lyrics: “You wanna guess the color of my underwear? You wanna know what I got going on down there?” One attendee walked out of the venue twirling the garment in the air, clearly overjoyed at having scored the souvenir.
Sunday’s show brought ascending pop star Adéla, who performed her viral hit “Nicole Kidman.” (Alas, there was no Madonna sighting, though her new collab with Charli, “Danceteria Afterhours,” did play at the end as concertgoers were milling out.)
Opening act Underscores brought the energy early and got the crowd on their feet ahead of Charli’s performance, with Charli herself starting promptly at 9 p.m. She quickly got the night rocking alongside her band with Music, Fashion, Film lead single “Rock Music” and was later joined by a group of backup dancers during several songs. The stage employed a pyramid-style platform that gave the effect of four levels from which Charli and her band and dancers performed.
During the shopping-themed tune “Card Declined,” from Music, Fashion, Film, the stage turned into a makeshift runway, with the backup dancers strutting behind Charli down a catwalk adorned with lights that rose up from the floor. Overall, at various times during the show, one felt like they were at a rave, a nightclub, a runway show — or all three — depending on what was happening onstage.
One of the most impressive elements was the lighting and pyrotechnics design. Using spotlights, strobe lights, fire and fireworks, the technical elements offered a dramatic visual display that blended seamlessly with the songs. At one point, Charli was lit up in quickly alternating blue and red lights that made for a dazzling effect.
Among the other Music, Fashion, Film tracks that Charli performed were “SS26,” “Wink Wink” and “Camera.” BRAT-era songs that made the setlist were “Apple,” “365,” “Von Dutch,” “Club Classics” Sympathy Is a Knife.” She also surprised the crowd with the tour debut performance of “Constant Repeat” from 2022’s CRASH.
Charli closed the show with Music, Fashion, Film’s “No One Lasts Forever,” featuring the outro lyrics spoken by filmmaker David Cronenberg displayed on the big screens as Charli and her dancers stood still looking into the crowd during the lengthy moment. “They are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever,” Cronenberg’s voice declared. The final words, “OBLIVION IS FREEDOM,” lingered onscreen before the lights went on. There was no encore, but there didn’t need to be. It was a powerful ending to a dramatic show.
Chali’s latest tour kicked off September 11 in Philadelphia with 12 dates on the schedule. Next up, the North American leg of her tour hits Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday and Las Vegas on Friday. She then travels to Europe after the new year.
