BEABADOOBEE + MOMMA – BRIGHTON DOME 19.11.24
Beabadoobee, better known to her parents as Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, stops off at the Brighton Dome as part of her tour to promote her album ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’, which was released in August. Beabadoobee first came to wider attention in 2017. Support tours with The 1975 in 2018, and Taylor Swift on her Eras tour have massively increased her fanbase.
Tonight’s crowd is very much a teenybopperish audience, and the screams that greet the dimming of lights prior to support band Momma taking the stage provide a very brief glimpse of what Beatlemania must have been like. Momma are really not what I was expecting a Beabadoobee support act to be. They are an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, and are proper serious musicians rather than the pop fluff that I was expecting. A music snob? Moi???
Momma have had three albums out and have been in existence for almost ten years. Their musical proficiency amply evidences their level of experience. They’re very reminiscent of Veruca Salt amongst others. The vocals of Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten are quite ethereal. Sometimes they harmonise, but often they sing in unison. We’re told that ‘Motorbike’ is a song where“you can lose yourself in the music”. It’s a little faster than anything else so far. There’s no moshing though.
For final song ‘Speeding 72’ the bass player and one of the vocalist / guitarists swap instruments. The bassist straps on a Gibson SG, as does the other guitarist. There’s quite a bit of feedback and everything is quite chunky. It’s the best song of the set. Unfortunately for anyone who hasn’t seen them, their two remaining gigs with Beabadoobee and their own gig at the George Tavern in Shadwell are all sold out. This is a shame, as they’re really worth seeing. They play Primavera Sound in Porto and Barcelona next June though, should you fancy a festival holiday.
Momma:
Etta Friedman – guitar and vocals
Allegra Weingarten – guitar and vocals
Zach Capitti Fenton – drums
Unknown – bass
Momma setlist:
‘I Want You – Fever’ (unreleased)
‘Bang Bang’ (a 2023 single)
‘Medicine’ (from 2022 ‘Household Name’ album)
‘Ohio All The Time’ (a 2024 single)
‘Tall Home’ (from 2022 ‘Household Name’ album)
‘Motorbike’ (from 2022 ‘Household Name’ album)
Speeding 72’ (from 2022 ‘Household Name’ album)
Before Beabadoobee takes the stage, Dido plays over the PA. Jeez…. This does not bode well for the forthcoming set. However, before I can ruminate further on how bad this is going to be, a further barrage of screaming erupts, and Beabadoobee takes the stage with her band, who turn out to be a really proficient three piece indie rock band. This is definitely not what I was expecting! This lady has gone up several rungs in my estimation before she’s played a single note on the pink Fender Jaguar that she’s strapped on.
The set starts with ‘California’ from ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’. Normally I would view this as being a brave move. However, the album has been out for three months and the audience know the words. All of them. Of course they do. Indeed, the audience know the words to every song, and sing along with the whole set. Never in my whole life have I felt so much like somebody who hasn’t done my homework. I’m not the only person who isn’t singing, but it feels like I am! The band go straight into the second song, ‘Talk’ from ‘Beatopia’, which was released in 2022. This features some nice bass swoops and a stupendous guitar solo. This is quite a band Beabadoobee has here. During ‘10.36’ she gets the crowd to get down on the floor and then jump up. I remember a few years ago this was actually quite novel. It’s a bit tiresome and old now though.
During ‘Charlie Brown’ I realise that there really is nothing to fault here. I’d previously thought that Beabadoobee was ‘just’ a teenybopper artist. Forget the teenybopper bit. First and foremost she is an artist. The material is far better than I expected it to be, and the performance is superb. I would wager that for a lot of the audience here tonight, this is their first gig, and if that’s the case, Beabadoobee is a very good choice. Most of what is heard is played live, apart from the odd snatch of electronic percussion here, and a keyboard wash there. Also the songs are good, and there’s just enough ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ in the mix too.
Beabadoobee dons an acoustic guitar for ‘Take A Bite’, which was the first single from the current album. The lead guitarist is also on acoustic for ‘Sunny Day’. There is quite a variety in the live presentation of the songs, which is a credit to Beabadoobee and the band. For ‘The Perfect Pair’ there is an absolute forest of phones held aloft downstairs. It was a single in 2022 and reached the giddy heights of No.9 in Iceland.
Before ‘Real Man’ Beabadoobee exclaims “It’s so hot! I think it’s because Ronan’s onstage”. Ronan is the roadie who’s handing her an acoustic guitar. He looks unmoved. He probably gets this comment every night. Lucky man. Beabadoobee dedicates the single ‘Glue Song’ to the audience. The crowd wave along with their phones. For old favourite ‘Coffee’ Beabadoobee plays solo acoustic. This is sublime, and I really think that this is where she is at her best. However, it’s the only song that is delivered in this way during the main set.
However, there are still surprises to come. For ‘Girl Song’ she is accompanied by the drummer on piano. Who says that drummers can only count to four and hit things?!! Surprisingly the crowd stay absolutely silent for this, and rightly so, because it’s an excellent song, with one or two far from obvious chord changes. Apparently ‘Beaches’ from the current album is Beabadoobee’s favourite song. During the song the stage backdrop falls away to expose trees and some very bright lights. This brings forth more screaming. However, the following song, ‘Care’ is the rockiest song of the evening, so that’s probably my favourite.
At the end of ‘She Plays Bass’ (and fittingly the bass player is female) Beabadoobee introduces her band. We only get forenames however, so we don’t really know who they are. After ‘Cologne’ the band leave the stage. They’re gone for a while and there’s very little in the way of calls for an encore initially. This really surprises me as the crowd have been so vocal throughout. Perhaps they’re unaware of the etiquette surrounding encores!
Eventually Beabadoobee returns on her own with an acoustic guitar. She tells us that we make her feel at home, which is very sweet. I bet that she says that to every audience. She plays ‘Coming Home’ from the new album. Her fingerpicking is excellent. The crowd sing along softly, which makes a change. She remains in solo acoustic mode for ‘The Way Things Go’, which was released as a non-album single last year. She asks the crowd to sing along, which they do. This is fortunate because Beabadoobee’s guitar cuts out! The crowd’s singing means that this technical problem does not actually interrupt the song. She kneels down to sing and play unamplified with the crowd, who sing along perfectly. As the song ends, her guitar cuts back in! Murphy’s Law I guess. The band return for ‘See You Soon’ from ‘Beatopia’.
When I see an artist for the first time, I try not to have preconceptions, but sometimes it’s impossible not to have them. However, tonight Beabadoobee blew my preconceptions out of the water, in a good way! Tonight’s show was a very professional tour de force. The performance was faultless, and the material was excellent. There was nothing that was throwaway. Beabadoobee is a very impressive artist who will only grow artistically. Obviously commercially she’s very successful. She’s sold out Alexandra Palace tomorrow night, and it’s inevitable that her next step will be to play arenas. I’m very grateful to have been able to see her at Brighton Dome.
Beabadoobee setlist:
‘California’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Talk’ (from 2022 ‘Beatopia’ album)
‘10:36’ (from 2022 ‘Beatopia’ album)
‘Charlie Brown’ (from 2020 ‘Fake It Flowers’ album)
‘Post’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Take A Bite’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Sunny Day’ (from 2022 ‘Beatopia’ album)
‘Ever Seen’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘The Perfect Pair’ (from 2022 ‘Beatopia’ album)
‘Real Man’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Glue Song’ (a 2023 single)
‘Coffee’ (a 2017 single)
‘Girl Song’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘One Time’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Beaches’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘Care’ (from 2020 ‘Fake It Flowers’ album)
‘Together’ (from 2020 ‘Fake It Flowers’ album)
‘She Plays Bass’ (from 2019 ‘Space Cadet’ EP)
‘Cologne’ (from 2021 ‘Our Extended Play’ EP)
(encore)
‘Coming Home’ (from 2024 ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ album)
‘The Way Things Go’ (a 2023 single)
‘See You Soon’ (from 2022 ‘Beatopia’ album)
