Halsey
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
11.12.15
Thirty minutes after doors opened, the line was still a block long, coffee cups and donut boxes littering the sidewalk from people waiting in line for hours to get the best spot near the stage. For a sold out show the bar was sparsely filled, with a handful of 20 and 30-somethings, beer in hand and quite a few slightly older folks, clearly parents patiently waiting for their tweens. The floor was overflowing with extremely excited youth, screaming prematurely every time a roadie came out on stage to set up equipment. We watched as a few kids passed out from the heat of the tightly packed crowd and were carried out by security, but the discomfort did not slow down the masses from some serious selfie action.
Finally, the crowd erupted for the final time. Halsey – née Ashley Nicolette Frangipane – came out and immediately jumped on top of a speaker and opening the show with “Gasoline”. She styled a blonde undercut with a wide crop top that exposed her bra as she danced, and was accompanied by two guys, one on synth and one on drums, tucked back into the rear corners of the stage almost hidden in the dark, keeping all eyes on Halsey.
Energy was high and the kids were screaming nonstop. Halsey stripped down to a black bra. During her hit song “Drive” she might have been a little too excited, as she fell down but immediately popped back up. She didn’t miss a beat, however, not without injury. When the song ended, she laughed it off and asked for someone to bring her tape for her possibly broken finger. She taped it up and continued on like a champ.
She slowed it down towards the end of the show. Starting “Ghost” off acoustically, standing alone center stage singing angelically. The venue lit up with cell phones in the air and everyone sang almost drowning out Halsey. People walking past the venue in the rain stopped and listened in the propped open doorways. The crowd did not quiet down for the final song, “Americana”. Halsey certainly brought down the house.
Halsey Setlist
Gasoline
Hold Me Down
Castle
Strange Love
Haunting
Roman Holiday
Control
Drive
Ghost
Is There Somewhere
Colors pt. II
Colors
Hurricane
New Americana
Encore
Young God
Review by Renae Koepke
Photos by David Endicott
Halsey
