Live Review: FKA Twigs - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver 02/11/2019

FKA Twigs astonished the audience at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre with what should be described as a piece of performance art, rather than a concert.

FKA Twigs astonished the audience at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre with what should be described as a piece of performance art, rather than a concert.

Despite having to wait over an hour for the show to start, not a single person at the Vogue was mad. There was an energy about the venue that felt as if something spectacular was about to happen, a sense of anticipation. The room lulled to near silence as FKA Twigs stepped onto the stage, opening up the tour with “Hide”. Her breathy, soft vocals and incredible pitch stunned the crowd. This wasn’t the type of show where you could hear the audience singing along which was totally fine because FKA Twigs performance is so captivating that you don’t really want any distractions.

Throughout the show the artist changed outfits no less than 5 times, including one while in midair being held up by her dancers. Every time she changed it seemed to create a different identity as she flowed through the emotions of her music. Her stage also seemed to be ever-evolving, as each curtain opened to reveal a new level in the stage design, including an incredible reveal of the massive double-height scaffold, before the curtain was closed again for the final song of the set, “Cellophane”. Throughout her set, the audience was shown an incredible range of dance skills, not only from FKA Twigs herself but also her four dancers. The show’s choreography mixed seemingly every type of dance you could think of including modern dance, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, African dance, tap dance, and even sword dancing and pole dancing.

This show was truly a spectacle and not something you have to be even remotely familiar with FKA Twigs to enjoy, although why you wouldn’t be familiar with her is a mystery. If there will ever be a show that will have you still in awe days after leaving the venue, this is it.

Words and photography by Kelli Anne.