Rina Sawayama: Live in Liverpool
Rina Sawayama’s show in Liverpool was one of the best nights I’ve had in 2021, watching her bring her unique blend of Electropop, R&B, and Nu Metal to life was spellbinding. As she took to the stage truly felt like watching a superstar in the making, and from the crowd’s response, it seemed like she already was one.
Fans seemed to scream every word to Rina’s hour-long performance, which crammed many of her best songs into an incredibly tight set. She even interacted with the crowd which made the show feel more personal and had people in a frenzy. I quietly watched from the crowd, as I wasn’t a die-hard fan, but enjoyed a lot of her music. Seeing it in a live setting, with her endlessly talented band was definitely enough to convert me though.
The choreography was an unexpected and very impressive aspect of the show, which really showcased how much time and care goes into Rina’s art. Her vocal ability was also great, which was proven as soon as she opened with ‘Dynasty’, which was a fantastic choice of an opener, it was like a shot of energy right from the start.
‘STFU!’, the nu metal influenced fan favourite, was an intense highlight, with its crunchy guitar and confrontational lyrics, the crowd was surprising rowdy for this track. My favourite song ‘Comme des garcons (Like the Boys)’ followed immediately afterwards, a song I had been eagerly anticipating seeing. The Dance Pop banger is infinitely catchy, with its earworm chorus that was made to be heard live, and it definitely lived up to sky high expectations.
Mellow tracks like ‘Bad Friend’ were a nice change of pace, before the crowd began chanting along to the dazzling stadium rock cut ‘Who’s Gonna Save U Now?’. Her set was full of memorable highlights, and there was never a dull moment in what felt like witnessing a historic multi-talented, genre defying star on the rise.
‘Chosen Family’ provided an emotional turning point in the evening, before switching up to the infectious soundscapes of ‘Cherry’ – a track that fans had clearly been desperate to see. Throughout her performance, Rina was so thankful for everyone that showed up to support her, and it was nice to see someone so deserving of success, enjoying the impact they had.
The one disappointing aspect of the show was the lack of songs played from ‘RINA’, the EP which put her on the map, and instead of finishing on ‘LUCID’ and ‘Free Woman’, ‘XS’ would have been a much stronger finish, but regardless of nit-picks, she delivered a breath-taking show from start to finish.
Check out Rina Sawayama’s music here.