More about: Sky Ferreira

The Southbank concert starts like most Sky Ferreira gigs: one-and-a-half hours late. Performing as part of Grace Jones’ curation of Meltdown Festival, around a thousand fans have nabbed exclusive tickets to come see her. It had been a shitshow from the beginning – doors were supposed to open at 9, but I only saw fans trickle in around 10:20pm, where they sprinted to the front. In fairness, Grace Jones herself was two hours late to her first set, so it’s unclear how much fault was due to Ferreira. 

What was clear was that her fans were willing to wait. Talking to people on the bus, in the queue, in the audience, there was a lot riding on this performance. Some were too young to see Ferreira’s last concert in the UK six years ago, making this their first introduction to the singer. One thing was for sure, an overwhelming majority were diehard Sky Ferreira stans. 

Finally, around midnight, Sky Ferreira appears onstage, as endearingly awkward as ever. Dressed in a beige jacket, a grey graphic shirt, a simple black skirt, boots, the classic Sky side part, it’s endearing to see she hasn’t changed her look one bit. When she launches into ‘24 Hours’, it's obvious that sweaty Queen Elizabeth Hall couldn’t be any more perfect for Ferreira’s particular brand of retro-pop. Memphis Group-style triangles on the ceiling flash neon pink and blue, its '80s design in harmony with Ferreira’s music. 

Though most may know Ferreira from her hit ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’, those who have listened to Night Time, My Time will know that she pulls more from punk than she does pop. That is on full display tonight, as Ferreira graces us with performances of ‘Heavy Metal Heart’ and ‘Boys’. Although the stage is small — emphasising Ferreira’s awkward movements — she makes up for it with her emotive performances, even reaching out to fans and touching their hands at the end of the set. 

Sky also plays some new songs – ‘Don’t Forget’ is a snarling track aimed at her rocky relationship with her record label, and proves to be a big hit with the crowd. Though the impact of ‘Downhill Lullaby’ and its lyrics hit me harder than the studio recording, its slow movement is an unfortunate lull in the set-list. Three songs off the upcoming album Masochism are also tested out live – ‘Innocent Kind’, ‘Hands All Over Me’, and ‘All My Lovers Die’. 

Unfortunately, a fair bit of the set is plagued by sound issues, a common theme throughout Ferreira’s performances at Primavera. Whilst Sky is naturally gentle, it's hard to parse her words during the quieter verses, and that’s from someone in the front row. It’s especially disappointing in songs like ‘I Blame Myself’ or ‘Nobody Asked Me’, which depend on those devastating verses to let out its emotional core. That being said, when she belt in choruses, her voice sounds stronger than it has before, making songs like ‘You’re Not The One’ incredible to witness live. 

Ferreira’s performance proves what she was doing back in 2013 was completely ahead of its time. She was mixing angsty punk-inflected pop with synthwave stylings before all the mediocre bands today – and doing it way better than anyone else. 

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More about: Sky Ferreira