Poppy is an artist that I can’t even attempt to describe without sounding like a crazy person.
From her off-putting YouTube videos to a music career that’s transitioned from pop to metal, Poppy’s hit an undeniable stride lately. Fresh off the release of a phenomenal new album, she brought the They’re All Around Us Tour to a quickly sold-out Théâtre Beanfield. One that was, quite honestly, one of my most anticipated shows of the year.
Unfortunately for me, a long day of work going even longer than expected meant that I missed openers Kumo 99. After jogging up the entirety of Rue Charlevoix in hopes of not missing a second of the headliner, I caught my breath and checked my coat just in time to notice a sixty-second countdown on screen. Nice.
I had previously seen Poppy once, in 2022, opening for Our Lady Peace and Smashing Pumpkins. (An insane bill, by the way, let’s do those more often.) However, the crowd for this show was a lot more unpredictable. Old-school metalheads, goths, the chronically online, even literal children, all gathered from their respective scenes to marvel at one of the most exciting acts in heavy music right now.
Since I last saw her live as an opener in her previous alternative-rock era, I was fully expecting a completely different performance this time around. Thankfully, I got exactly what I hoped for.
Her set was mostly made up of songs from her Negative Spaces and I Disagree albums. Even being stuck in the very back, under the bass-trapped balcony of Théâtre Beanfield, the crowd energy in my corner was palpable. Seeing her perform songs like “The Cost of Giving Up” and near-forgotten favourites like “Anything Like Me,” it was clearly going to be a night full of heavy hitters.
Even the aethereal dance-pop banger “Crystalized” was more heavy rock, courtesy of her live band. Though I was enjoying myself, and appreciating the colourfully gothic white-and-lavender stage decor, I was enviously eyeing the busy pit, wishing I didn’t get to the sold-out venue at the literal last minute.
It was only during her heaviest song, “The Center’s Falling Out”, where my prayers were answered. Poppy commanded a wall of death, and the crowd happily obliged. I took my cue to follow and happily enjoyed the second half of the show from my first proper pit of the year.
Despite Poppy nailing the narrative, the visual aesthetic, and the tone of the night, her voice was also shockingly good. She’d occasionally step down from her rounded pedestal to scream a little closer to our faces, while her band played the part perfectly, adding to the weirdness with their ski masks and costumes.
Through all the different demographics moshing, crowd surfing, and even starting a cheeky rowing pit during the already-chaotic “Bite Your Teeth”, it was fantastic to witness the second half of the show this close.
Occasional video interludes played between songs, made of conversations between a faceless narrator, and Poppy’s voice portraying a doll, questioning what is real and what isn’t. Even breaking the fourth wall and including the audience in those ponderings, addressing us directly.
Poppy directly spoke to the audience on stage a few times too, but mainly just to name-drop Montreal and order people to move. Most deeper interactions happened through these narrations and interludes.
Very on-brand. Very uncanny valley. Very Poppy.
Save for the half-hour coat check line getting out, it was a phenomenal night. Everyone witnessed an artist who very much feels at her peak, in what I can only predict will be the smallest venue we’ll ever see her in.
With all the different directions the show could have gone, this one met all my expectations. Well, all except owning my 2024 album of the year on vinyl, but when you put out as fantastic a record as Negative Spaces, it’s bound to sell out by the tour’s halfway point.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
Photos – Alana Lopez
