Show Review
Margo Price & Lola Kirke
@ The Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA.
Margo Price & Lola Kirke
@ The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA.
February 2023
As I told Margo's manager ] I have no doubt that when Margo is looking back in the process of writing her second book, she will the show she played at the Fillmore in San Francisco this past weekend as a turning point SPECIFICALLY as the turning point where it became clear that Margo Price, can, in fact, play for an audience that numbers in the tens of thousands (vs. the single thousands) and pull it off, in other words that she, is, in fact, a festival headliner in waiting.
What is the difference between an artist who can sell out the Fillmore (listed 1300 capacity) and one who can headline a festival with an audience of 10,000 plus? Here are some of the qualities:
1. Native fan-base or potential for such in festival market of over 10,000. This is the easiest qualifying criterion, though there is always the issue of why a band in this category would need to play a festival vs. just playing their own show.
2. Ability to Play a Headlining Set of 2 hours. This is a big one- many bands/acts just don't have it in them for play for two hours straight let alone the ability to hold an audience for that long.
3. Ability to Generate "Wow" Moments. Usually for a festival headliners there are guests and other kinds of stunts and tricks that elevate the performance beyond that of a regular show, to make the festival more of a special occasion.
I have come to the conclusion after watching the shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco this past week that Margo Price does meet the necessary qualifications; that she does have what it takes to headline a rock festival, whether people know it yet or not.
Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater
Ticket sales were weak in Los Angeles. I would attribute that to the lengthy gap between headlining events, Margo was essentially starting over in terms of her live audience in Los Angeles. Also, the set started late- 10:15 PM- which has nothing to do with ticket sales, but certainly impacted the vibe. San Francisco made clear that the proper starting time for a Margo Price headlining set is 9 PM in our post-pandemic world. Despite the absence of a sell-out it was an excited crowd. I thought the significance of this show was the ability of the band to generate at least two and maybe as many as four "wow"/festival type moments. First, there was the performance with Sharon Van Etten, who sings on Margo's song Radio. They did that song together as well as a smoking hot version of Van Etten's own hit, Seventeen. I've included an uploaded video where the chemistry comes across:
Another strong candidate for Wow moments involved one of the other guests, Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. First, their was their performance of the Strays album track, Light Me Up, shown below:
The second was their performance of the Tom Petty song- which Margo actually recorded for a Big Machine Tom Petty tribute compilation that is yet unreleased:
At the same time, Margo's own songs show a growth in her sound that position her to be a force in mainstream, festival level rock and roll. Even as a huge fan and fringe watcher of her career, I found her live performances of her new material, particularly the Strays album tracks Hell in the Heartland and County Road to be nothing short of revelatory.
Despite the absence of a packed house, the Los Angeles show gave me an inkling that this was Margo in her final form- this inkling would develop into a full-blown revelation the next night in San Francisco.
As supposed to the non-sold out Fonda, The Fillmore sold out weeks in advance of the actual date. When I arrived towards the end of opener Lola Kirke's set, the house was already packed and there was an almost electric sense of anticipation from the audience which was filled with adults. For me, San Francisco will always be the show were it all came together for Margo Price and her band. In addition to new wow moments her own songs from the new record were performed with an energetic commitment to getting the point across to the audience, and the results were manifest in the rapt attention paid by the audience and the thunderous applause which greeted each break in the action. In particular the renditions of Hell in the Heartland and County Road really brought both tracks home to me- since this show I've listened to both on repeat and eventually created this playlist.
As far as "wow" moments go- her rendition of White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane qualified for sure:
I left convinced that Margo Price, does, indeed, have what it takes to make it to the next level- which in her case would be performing in front of a live audience of greater than ten thousand people. She can do it, for sure. Don't miss her remaining tour dates if you are contemplating attending- they will be worth the price of admission. Those remaining dates are below:
2/14 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom $
2/15 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox $
2/17 - Bozeman, MT - The Elm $
2/19 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue $
2/20 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre $
2/21 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre $
2/22 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue $
2/24 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix Concert Theatre #
2/25 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre #
2/27 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Ballroom #
2/28 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club #
3/2 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
3/3 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts #
3/4 - New York, NY - Webster Hall #
3/9 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium !
# w/ Tre Burt
! w/ Jessi Colter
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