Concert Review: Through The Soul Tour
June 27, 2023
On Wednesday, June 21st, Baby Rose and Q played Philadelphia’s Underground Arts music venue as part of their co-headlining tour Through the Soul. The tour, which comes in support of their recently released albums, Through and Through (Baby Rose) and Soul,PRESENT (Q), is Q’s first US tour, and also features, singer-songwriter and producer, Mamii. Following their show, Kevin and I talked about the co-headlining format, Baby Rose and Q’s diverging, yet effective, performance styles, and a bunch more! Here’s our conversation:
Stanley: We haven’t done a lot of double-headliner shows. What did you think about this format? Bonus: what did you think of Mamii’s opening set?
Kevin: The double-headliner format definitely threw me for a quick loop as Baby Rose walked out there first. I didn’t know that this was the format and I thought Q canceled. I was about to sick if that was the case lol. But after I quickly realized what was up and that they switched off city to city - allowing Q to perform last, I settled down.
I don’t have any strong feelings either which way about the format but I did notice that there was no (fake) encore for the last performer in Q. The house lights and music came on pretty quickly. I wonder if that is mainly because if one headliner gets an encore performance since they went on last that particular night, it would be seen as unfair in this sort of egalitarian format. But otherwise, I like it as we get two very level performers on the same night.
Also, I thought that Mamii’s set was good. She definitely feels sort of lane-less as she sang songs inspired by different genres (punk, R&B, folk, etc). I haven’t went to listen to her solo music yet but definitely plan to. And as I said before in this space, that’s a successful opening act in my mind.
Stanley: As you know, I had some trouble getting into the show. To make an annoying story short, I forgot my ID at home, the door staff wouldn't let me in, but I was able to get my Dad to send me a picture of my ID. Needless to say, I missed the first few minutes of Mamii's opening set. But, for the parts I did see, I was super impressed. She seemed to have no commitments to genre conventions, which I really appreciated! Like you, I thought it was a successful opening set - I'm looking forward to checking out her music!
I also was sort of confused when I saw Baby Rose walk out first; I'd just assumed she was the "headliner." But, like you stated, I liked the idea of them rotating the "headlining" slot in each city, and it wasn't like they cut their sets short either. Also, that's a good point about there not being a (fake) encore lol. Though, I thought they could've done UNDERSTAND as an encore, if they opted to do one.
Was this your first time seeing Baby Rose? What did you walk away with about her as a performer after seeing her?
Kevin: Yup, this was my first time seeing her live! I walked away from the concert calling her “Rev. Dr. Baby Rose” lol. Throughout her set she often sounded like a preacher when it was time to speak in between songs. The speaking cadence, the messages/themes about the songs, etc. all brought me back to church. But as a singer, we have to acknowledge that she is somewhat of an acquired taste vocally and I have acquired that taste lol. I thought she was REALLY professional and locked in.
I appreciated the flow between songs allowing the band to rework some of the songs as medleys with no break in between particular tracks. And let’s leave some room here for the band. They smoked it! I like when artists rework tracks for the live show and add an element that we didn’t get on the album. Baby Rose did that.
Stanley: Yes, indeed! I, too, got Black church vibes at times lol. I think Through and Through, Baby Rose's most recent album, is my favorite of hers. I saw her in 2020 (literally a couple weeks before the shutdown), and it feels like she's grown as a performer since then, and that was a great show! Like you mentioned, the live show arrangements were interesting and added something to original compositions. Tunes like, Love Bomb, Fight Club, and Water were some of my favorites, but also hearing Stop the Bleeding, which is this really rich ballad that has a wonderful orchestral accompaniment, was exciting to hear live and showed her dynamic range as a performer and songwriter.
I think we’re both on the same page that Q’s set was incredible lol…but for the folks that weren’t there, I was wondering if you could talk about what it was like being in the room for his set? What stood out to you?
Even if you don’t know his music, he has the ability to command your attention with his stage presence and his music feels universal. — Kevin
Kevin: Q… man lol. After his set I was looking up ways to go to the next show in the next city! It was that powerful of a set! He came out with the energy and confidence of someone who had something to prove. There were certain parts in the show where I was just standing there dumbfounded at how good it was - just staring at the stage in awe.
Q’s music is very upbeat and synth-driven, so the music filled the room in a way that made it impossible not to appreciate what you were hearing - ie a lot of dancing in room. Even if you don’t know his music, he has the ability to command your attention with his stage presence and his music feels universal. There is something for everyone in it to enjoy.
But what stood out to me was The Hide. What a song and what a performance. The band kept taking that jawn higher and higher! Q’s energy, high-pitch quick delivery, and synth solos. I mean cmon! They destroyed and that was pretty early in his set. So I knew what it was going to be about after that point.
Stanley: Man... those first three songs had SO much energy! He started with WELCOME TO SOUL,PRESENT - which sort of has this big synth, 1999/Thriller type of vibe to it - toward the end of the song, he started playing his conga/percussion pad, then his synth keyboard, and the band progressively increased the tempo and modulated as they jammed out on the hook. Talk about full throttle, raising blood pressure lol. It was a steady incline for the next 20 minutes.
The reference points for Soul,PRESENT -- Q's most recent album -- are pretty obvious, but what stood out from the show is how much a type of fun-intensity is missing from the landscape of contemporary music in general, and dance music in particular. Like, these songs have a certain punch to them you don't hear in music quite as much anymore. In addition to the songs, what also stood out was how good of a performer he is -- vocally and as an instrumentalist -- which I think is certainly aided by him being a producer, too, but I'll say more on this in the next question.
This is Q’s first US tour, and he’s only 23, as we found out after the show. Asking you to put on your prognosticator hat on here — but what do you think Q’s future, as an artist/performer will look like?
Kevin: Man, it’s always tough to predict future popularity but I will say - he already possesses the tools to be an elite performer and artist. If this is the floor, then he is good to go. I’m almost less concerned with the talent as I know he will continue to make good music. My eye is on how to get him in front of as many people as possible like I’m his manager or something lol. Once he works the US some more, does some festivals, and collabs with more artists - I think we will see his star continue to rise. I’m 100% bought in and predicting real stardom for my guy very soon.
What your crystal ball showing?
Stanley: For me, what's super interesting and exciting about Q is that he's a producer and instrumentalist -- two traits that I think give him a type of creative freedom/dexterity with his sound that would be difficult to come by if he had to rely on others to produce for him. With that said, each of his projects feels sort of disparate, in a good way, I guess. This could be the result of some combination of "experimentation" -- which I think he can do more of because of his producer/instrumentalist foundation -- and maybe "searching" for his sound. It's undeniable to me that he's evolving with each project.
Beyond the sort of creative part(s), I think he has immense musical/commercial appeal. I think about how much the sort of 80s-adjacent/synthesizer sound has been revitalized in pop music vis-à-vis artists like Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, and even Bruno Mars as examples of how much interest there is in this sound. Albeit less interesting takes on it -- Q's music is way(yyyyy) funkier. But like you said, that's label and manager stuff lol. At any rate, I'm excited to see where he goes next, he's already proven that he has the musician and producer chops to make great, fun, and exciting songs. I'm glad we got to see him at this stage!
