PVRIS Concludes North American Tour in Los Angeles
Article written and photos by Natalie Ryan
On July 12th, pop-rock act PVRIS completed the North American dates of their tour at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This tour was immediately following a run of European shows. They were joined by English rock band Pale Waves and alt-pop musician Sizzy Rocket. With a lineup of great acts and queer artists supporting each other, it was more than worth it to show up early to see everyone.
First up was Sizzy Rocket, a multi-hyphenate solo act who released her debut album and started her independent record label both in 2016. The songs she performed were sexy, fun, and confident, and the crowd was into it. In a barely-there bodysuit, with no backup, her stage presence and poise clearly gave off her star potential. She brought out a guitar halfway through her set and eventually a keytar nearly as big as her, which can only be described as sick as hell. I especially liked the song “Tattoos” from her 2019 album “Grrrl”.
Find Sizzy Rocket at her individual links below:
Next was Pale Waves, a band that belongs on any 80s-inspired soundtrack or playlist. The band consists of Heather Baron-Gracie on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ciara Doran on drums, Hugo Silvani on lead guitar and keyboards, and Charlie Wood on bass and keyboards. I became a fan of them when their first album “My Mind Makes Noises” came out in 2018, which I loved, and I came back to them when their third album “Unwanted” was released in 2022. I was happily surprised to find I knew the words to every song they played with the exception of the new single “Perfume”. I genuinely felt 18 again, while listening to “Eighteen”, and whether the crowd knew Pale Waves or not, they were enjoying it as well. Baron-Gracie, a lesbian, announced they were about to do something special for the lesbians (which is descriptive of the entire show, really), before playing “She’s My Religion”, with Lynn Gunn of PVRIS joining the band. The crowd went wild, and the colors of the lesbian flag lit up the stage. They finished the set with “Jealousy”, one of my personal favorites and a strong closer.
Find Pale Waves at their individual links below:
PVRIS came out swinging with “GOOD ENEMY”, a fast, flashy, and emphatic song. The stage production was dark and moody, with strobing lights to the beat that perfectly matched the energy of the music. PVRIS is formally Lynn Gunn on all instruments, and currently when touring, former full-time member Brian Macdonald joins on bass and keyboards, along with Denny Agosto on drums. Their debut album, “White Noise”, was released in 2014, part of the Warped Tour-era of new bands, with a dark synth-pop-rock sound and Gunn’s flawless vocals immediately exciting the scene. That album will always be special to me and I’ve been a fan since its release. The first time I saw PVRIS was in 2015, and I met one of my best friends to this day waiting in line for their meet and greet. I only missed one of their tours after that. I am being “SENTI-MENTAL” (which they also played), but seeing this show really meant a lot to me.
A big highlight of the night was Tommy Genesis and Alice Longyu Gao coming out to perform their recent collaboration “Burn The Witch” for the first time live! Another gift was getting to hear “Oil & Water”, one of PVRIS’ latest singles where Gunn’s vocals are really on display, a heartfelt song about being pushed away from the one person you want to pull you close. Powerhouse songs like “HYPE ZOMBIES”, “Monster”, and “I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE” really got everyone going, understandably so. They finished with an encore of “My House” and “GODDESS”, while everyone in the room sang and jumped along. Sizzy Rocket also came out for the end of the last song with her keytar, a perfect way to close out a tour. PVRIS always puts on a great show, and they just keep getting better, especially with the release of their album “EVERGREEN” last year.
A PVRIS show is a beautiful place, mostly because it’s full of lesbians enjoying themselves and the music that was made for them, but no matter who or where you are, it’s always a good place to be. PVRIS will do that for you, and we should thank them.
