Two of the coolest girls in the scene, Phoebe Ryan and Tove Lo, rolled through Minneapolis last night for a completely sold-out show at the iconic First Avenue. Minneapolis was one of many stops on the Lady Wood tour which is a celebration of all things girl power. This all-ages show was sold out for weeks leading up to last night. There was a mix of fans in the house last night – lots, and I mean lots, of girls. There were the dudes who got dragged along by their girlfriend. And then there were the dudes acting like they were there because they got dragged along by their girlfriend but were there because Phoebe Ryan and Tove Lo are so freaking cute and their music is infectiously catchy. It was a packed house last night and both Phoebe Ryan and Tove Lo brought the party to Minneapolis on a Wednesday night.
All ages shows are always an adventure with their early start times. I rushed down after to work to make Phoebe Ryan’s 7:00 set but it was absolutely worth it. I first saw Phoebe Ryan when she opened for one of my favorites The Knocks, at The Echo in LA a few years back. I take any endorsement or recommendation from The Knocks as pretty much a guarantee, and Phoebe Ryan is no exception. Ryan definitely seems to have continued to grow and progress as an artist since I first saw her and it’s clear she’s developed a decent following just first jumping on the scene just a few years ago.
Phoebe Ryan kicked off the evening with her typical zero f’s given attitude. Phoebe Ryan definitely has the cool stoner girl vibe down, complete with electric green hair, which we all wish we could pull off as well as she does. “Are you guys ready to have some fun? Good, me too,” Ryan said before kicking off her set with the sugary sweet and infectiously catching Mine off her debut EP. “Minneapolis, it’s good to see some familiar faces in the crowd!” Ryan remarked. Again, tt’s clear that Ryan has definitely cultivated a solid fan-base in the past year or so, which makes sense seeing as she worked with some pretty big names including recent Grammy winners The Chainsmokers. “So I got a quick story for ya, my high school sweetheart got engaged yesterday. On Valentine’s Day. But I’m wearing his t-shirt he gave me freshmen year. So, you know, fuck you Seth, wherever you are,” Ryan said ahead of her hit We Won’t. Ryan’s set also featured her R.Kelly/Miguel mashup Ignition/Do You, Be Real and her newest single Darkside.
Now again, this is the Lady Wood tour, in support of the Lady Wood, album so nothing about Tove Lo’s performance was surprising or shocking from the dancing to the outfit choices. Her performance was definitely one of sex positive and owning your sexuality, which is consistent with her album, her social media presence, her overall persona. But all of that aside, Tove Lo is an amazing performer and an amazing talented singer and songwriting. Watching her set last night it would be easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles of her performance, but regardless, Tove Lo killed her live show. From the top to bottom of her set, she had the crowd dancing and singing along, jumping down off the stage to work the crowd. She penned nearly every single one of the songs she performed last night, her vocals were flawless, and she commanded the room with authority. There was no shortage of girl power last night, thanks to Tove Lo and Phoebe Ryan.
Set List: True Disaster / Lady Wood / Influence / Moments / The Way That I Am / Not On Drugs / Thousand Miles / Vibes / Got Love / Talking Body / Imaginary Friend / Intermission (Fire Fade) / Keep It Simple / WTF Love Is / Flashes / Cool Girl Encore: What I Want for the Night / Habits (Stay High)
