Photographs by Neil Van.
Singer-songwriter MØ carries an eccentric and charismatic personality that is effective on audiences. On Thursday November 29th at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, MØ showed the crowd just exactly how good of a show she could put on.
She opened the show with a slowed tempo version of “Don’t Wanna Dance” which includes strong hitting and exciting bridges with the inclusion of brass; even better than the original recording. This is an aspect of the show that is extremely enjoyable- the fact that her performances and sound, is even better than on the record itself. Sometimes when artists perform live the song’s can sound a little more roughed up however, this is most definitely not the case with MØ. Sure some of her music is computerized however, a grand majority of it is raw. Although her tracks contain many electronic characteristics, her band was still able to perform this live rather than the music playing from a laptop and her singing.
This performance was nothing less than ground-breaking and epic. There were few filler performances, resulting in a fun and energetic set the entire way through. She did not speak very much but when she did, she constantly expressed her gratefulness and appreciation for the crowd and Toronto. Additionally, she gives no fucks; she carries a personality that is out in the open. She danced so much through this show but it was very obviously, not choreographed. She dances all over the place randomly and exactly how she wants, allowing the audience to loosen up even more. As she explained in the show, she carries youth within herself that is trapped inside an adult body, and she is in no way afraid to express that to her audience. She jumps into the audience whenever she wants, and surfs through the entire crowd. The entire show is just about letting loose and having a good time, and she does that herself. She does not perform simply to please others, but herself too- pretty much one of the best parties of 2016 if you ask me.
The set consisted of her recent material, and even some new material. New song “On & On” had an attractive sound with a reggae style sounding chorus. Lighting was appropriate and different for each song, as there was a clear effort towards this. Colours were mainly yellow red and blue, but it worked so well. Strobe technique was appropriately used for “Glass”, “Final Song”, and “Lean On”.
MØ is an underrated artist who deserves so much more attention. I have personally seen her twice now, the first time I saw her I did not even know who she was an I was instantly blown away. When I found out she was coming to Toronto I had to go- then this performance was like the one I saw previously, only even better. She has such a fun and outgoing personality that makes everyone feel welcome to let loose and have a good time with her, she has no limits, she has a different and strong hitting voice, and all of her tracks are extremely unique.
