Concert Review: Tove Lo-- Boston, MA-- February 19th, 2017

Lineup: Tove Lo/Phoebe Ryan ("The Lady Wood Tour")
Venue: House of Blues, Boston, MA
Date: February 19th, 2017

Phoebe Ryan: This is a perfect example of how one song can change the trajectory of an entire set. I was completely indifferent on Phoebe Ryan after the first couple songs she played, but then she broke out a high-energy cover of R. Kelly's "Remix to Ignition" that used Miguel's "Do You" as a hook and instantly hooked me. Her heavy electronic influence, low-key catchy hooks and adorable awkwardness reminded me a lot of Kiiara, who went from unknown to one of the buzzed-about up-and-comers in pop after the breakout success of "Gold" last summer. Ryan has a lot of potential and given how popular synth/electropop is right now, she could very well be on the precipice of breaking out in 2017.  

Tove Lo: This was the first pure pop show I've ever attended (I saw Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd in 2015, but they don't really count IMO) and holy hell did Tove Lo set the bar high for anybody else I see in the future. The 80 minutes she was on stage were driven by a towering stage presence, spot-on technicality and beaming positive energy that radiated throughout the entire sold-out crowd at the House of Blues.

The biggest takeaway I had from Tove Lo's set was how good her vocals sounded live. I've always thought her voice was very good and distinct for the genre on the record, but I didn't really appreciate her range or command until this show. She outright crushed everything from ballads to uptempo dance-pop with almost no help from backing tracks and showed the full scope of her vocal capabilities by experimenting with different arrangements and deliveries live on a handful of tracks ("Cool Girl", "Imaginary Friend", "Keep it Simple", "Not on Drugs", "Vibes"). As great of a state as pop is in right now, it's not super common to see an artist that has the confidence to play around with the existing studio arrangements live, so she deserves a ton of credit for having the talent and guts to effortlessly pull it off. 

I've been all aboard the "Tove Lo is underrated" train for a little while now and this knockout performance only further solidified my place on that hypothetical locomotive. Tove Lo deserves to a be a superstar and I hope to hell she can become a Lady Gaga/Rihanna/Ariana Grande-type mainstay in the pop world sooner than later.

Scores:
Phoebe Ryan 7/10
Tove Lo 8.5/10

Setlists:
Phoebe Ryan included:
Remix to Ignition/Do You (R. Kelly/Miguel cover)
Mine
All We Know (The Chainsmokers cover)
Dark Side

Tove Lo:
True Disaster
Lady Wood
Influence
Moments
The Way That I Am
Not on Drugs
Thousand Miles
Vibes
Got Love
Talking Body
Imaginary Friend
Keep It Simple
WTF Love Is
Flashes
Cool Girl

Encore:
What I Want for the Night (Bitches)
Habits (Stay High)