YouTube sensation turned singer/songwriter/Sanrio model, Moriah Rose Pereira is quite the entertainer as Poppy. Back in November, Poppy released a new single off of her up coming new album."BLOODMONEY" was the third single from I Disagree which was released on January 10th, 2020. Pretty impressive, three albums in three years.
I forget exactly how I came across Poppy...I think it was when I was in L.A in October 2018 and she was playing at The Wiltern on Halloween. Her music then wasn't exactly my cup of tea but she seemed fun and I dug her edgy Harajuku-ness but I wasn't approved to cover the show soalas I didn't go. Flash forward to November 2019 by the time "Concrete", "I Disagree" and "BLOODMONEY" were out and I was listening to all three on repeat.
It was dark, it was heavy, it was industrial.
It's what the Nine Inch Nail fan inside of me didn't know I was missing, craving even.
The album cover (which was released before the album release date) got me, too: an eerie image of a pale, platinum blonde Poppy wearing spiked collars with what looks like black oil rising out of and around her eyes and face.
The 1st of 37 stops on the I Disagree tour was at Great American Music Hall on January 22nd. By the time doors opened that Wednesday night, tickets to the show were sold-out as many of her shows across the country are. This is one off those show reviews that I was not approved by the artist's management to "officially" cover but I ended up going to the show and reviewing it anyway.
During the long change over, the stuffy room got more stuffy as people packed in. There was a lot of dudes there, metal heads, queers and even a drag queen. A white back drop that looked like a projector screen hung in the back of the stage and a large mirrored rectangle was positioned in front of it. I was so excited to see what Poppy would bring to the stage.
Would she come out of that big iPhone looking thing?
What would she be wearing? Leather? Rubber? Latex?
After about 35 minutes and people chanting her name, the 25 year old finally made her way to the stage. Following her band who were dressed in all white with what appeared to be white fishnets covering their faces, the petite singer, donned a dark, double bun up-do and an oversized black blazer.
The industrial, instrumental introduction led into "Concrete" which led into "BLOODMONEY". As people head banged and politely thrashed around me I couldn't help but wonder...was she lip-syncing?
Everything was so loud:the bass, the guitar, the synths, everything except for her. I get the juxtaposition of a soft voice against hard beats and hooks (huge Sleigh Bells fan here) but Poppy's vocals were literally lost. There were points while she was singing when I actually couldn't hear her at all. But, no one else seemed to bat an eye about it.
The room was dark but the lights on stage were bright creating a silhouette effect throughout the show. The big rectangle onstage didn't serve as anything more than a beaming focal point. Poppy kept turning her back to the crowd, facing her own reflection in it's mirror as she sang or as a song ended. That's how a lot of the songs ended, with her back to her fans. She didn't do much more than that on stage and she didn't waste time between songs with banter except for the two times she briefly paused to say hello to San Francisco in an almost inaudible, mousy voice. It wasn't until she passively threw up two peace signs that it started to click.
The set-list consisted mostly of new songs, a lot that were her first time playing live which was neat. She did play a couple songs from last year's Am I A Girl? and she even went back to her cover playing roots with t.a.t.u's "All The Things She Said". About an hour after she hit the stage, Poppy left the stage only to return after making fans work for an encore. After a few minutes they got what they wanted, two more songs from Poppy, the last song of course being "I Disagree".
I wanted so much more from Poppy. I wanted weird and creepy. I wanted her to scream during "Play Destroy" and thrash during "BLOODMONEY". I wanted antics and theatrics. Instead, I got a show that sounded exactly like the album and not much more than that. I got a show that I'm still not sure if she was singing or lip-syncing. Yet, everyone at the show was so deeply enthralled that when I left I thought, maybe I just don't get it.
And don't get me wrong, it was entertaining and I was entertained but it wasn't until afterwards when I got it. Poppy's current music can be classified somewhere in the metal genre while her pervious work definitely fits better in the pop music mold. What I didn't realize is that Poppy is the American version of a K-Pop artist. Poppy wasn't only putting on a show, Poppy is putting on an act. Poppy is the show. It is all a show.
I also hadn't realized that I Disagree is Poppy's first album released on Sumeria Records, not Island Records who originally signed her in 2015 and that she's coming out from working under Titanic Sinclair for years. And to that, I say, you go Poppy, keep on doing you.
set-list 1/22/2020
1. Concrete
2. BLOODMONEY
3. Scary Mask
4. X
5. Play Destroy
6. Fill the Crown
7. Am I A Girl?
8. Anything Like Me
9. Nothing I Need
10. All The Things She Said
11. Sit/Stay
12. Sick of the Sun
13. Don't Go Outside
en core
14. Bite Your Teeth
15. I Disagree
I forget exactly how I came across Poppy...I think it was when I was in L.A in October 2018 and she was playing at The Wiltern on Halloween. Her music then wasn't exactly my cup of tea but she seemed fun and I dug her edgy Harajuku-ness but I wasn't approved to cover the show soalas I didn't go. Flash forward to November 2019 by the time "Concrete", "I Disagree" and "BLOODMONEY" were out and I was listening to all three on repeat.
It was dark, it was heavy, it was industrial.
It's what the Nine Inch Nail fan inside of me didn't know I was missing, craving even.
The album cover (which was released before the album release date) got me, too: an eerie image of a pale, platinum blonde Poppy wearing spiked collars with what looks like black oil rising out of and around her eyes and face.
 |
Poppy @ Great American Music Hall 1/22/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
|
The 1st of 37 stops on the I Disagree tour was at Great American Music Hall on January 22nd. By the time doors opened that Wednesday night, tickets to the show were sold-out as many of her shows across the country are. This is one off those show reviews that I was not approved by the artist's management to "officially" cover but I ended up going to the show and reviewing it anyway.
During the long change over, the stuffy room got more stuffy as people packed in. There was a lot of dudes there, metal heads, queers and even a drag queen. A white back drop that looked like a projector screen hung in the back of the stage and a large mirrored rectangle was positioned in front of it. I was so excited to see what Poppy would bring to the stage.
Would she come out of that big iPhone looking thing?
What would she be wearing? Leather? Rubber? Latex?
 |
Poppy @ Great American Music Hall 1/22/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
|
After about 35 minutes and people chanting her name, the 25 year old finally made her way to the stage. Following her band who were dressed in all white with what appeared to be white fishnets covering their faces, the petite singer, donned a dark, double bun up-do and an oversized black blazer.
The industrial, instrumental introduction led into "Concrete" which led into "BLOODMONEY". As people head banged and politely thrashed around me I couldn't help but wonder...was she lip-syncing?
Everything was so loud:the bass, the guitar, the synths, everything except for her. I get the juxtaposition of a soft voice against hard beats and hooks (huge Sleigh Bells fan here) but Poppy's vocals were literally lost. There were points while she was singing when I actually couldn't hear her at all. But, no one else seemed to bat an eye about it.
The room was dark but the lights on stage were bright creating a silhouette effect throughout the show. The big rectangle onstage didn't serve as anything more than a beaming focal point. Poppy kept turning her back to the crowd, facing her own reflection in it's mirror as she sang or as a song ended. That's how a lot of the songs ended, with her back to her fans. She didn't do much more than that on stage and she didn't waste time between songs with banter except for the two times she briefly paused to say hello to San Francisco in an almost inaudible, mousy voice. It wasn't until she passively threw up two peace signs that it started to click.
 |
Poppy at Great American Music Hall 1/22/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
|
 |
Poppy @ Great American Music Hall 1/22/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
|
I wanted so much more from Poppy. I wanted weird and creepy. I wanted her to scream during "Play Destroy" and thrash during "BLOODMONEY". I wanted antics and theatrics. Instead, I got a show that sounded exactly like the album and not much more than that. I got a show that I'm still not sure if she was singing or lip-syncing. Yet, everyone at the show was so deeply enthralled that when I left I thought, maybe I just don't get it.
And don't get me wrong, it was entertaining and I was entertained but it wasn't until afterwards when I got it. Poppy's current music can be classified somewhere in the metal genre while her pervious work definitely fits better in the pop music mold. What I didn't realize is that Poppy is the American version of a K-Pop artist. Poppy wasn't only putting on a show, Poppy is putting on an act. Poppy is the show. It is all a show.
I also hadn't realized that I Disagree is Poppy's first album released on Sumeria Records, not Island Records who originally signed her in 2015 and that she's coming out from working under Titanic Sinclair for years. And to that, I say, you go Poppy, keep on doing you.
 |
Poppy @ Great American Music Hall 1/22/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
|
1. Concrete
2. BLOODMONEY
3. Scary Mask
4. X
5. Play Destroy
6. Fill the Crown
7. Am I A Girl?
8. Anything Like Me
9. Nothing I Need
10. All The Things She Said
11. Sit/Stay
12. Sick of the Sun
13. Don't Go Outside
en core
14. Bite Your Teeth
15. I Disagree
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