Baby Queen at the Adrian Flux Waterfront

(printed in Concrete's Venue 397)

*cw - mentions of mental illness and eating disorders

Despite being a self-professed “Buzzkill,” Baby Queen’s performance at Norwich’s Waterfront was far from being a downer. Perhaps most associated with her heavy participation in the soundtrack of Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” the South African, alt-pop musician is touring her second album “Quarter Life Crisis,” which is set to be released on the 10th November 2023. Due to her album’s release date being pushed back, and Norwich being only the second night of her tour (before the album was out), we were treated to debut performances of her unreleased music, combined with her previous, well-known anthems such as “Want Me” and “Dover Beach”, creating a setlist that was as exciting as it was memorable.

The tone for the evening was established by the support-act, American indie sleaze artist Viji and her band. Viji’s grungy sound vibrated through the dark, intimate space of the venue, and was reminiscent of the alternative bands of the 90s – Hole in particular comes to mind. The raw clamour of her music felt highly nostalgic to the local indie gigs of my teenage years, and this callback to adolescence was a theme that persisted throughout the entire concert.

The tumultuous, emotional narrative of Baby Queen’s setlist began with the titular track of her album, “Quarter Life Crisis.” Its lyrics are riddled with self-doubt and pure terror at the process of growing older, whereas its sound is bright, poppy, and energetic. This marriage between dark relatability and catchiness makes Baby Queen’s live experience incredibly cathartic for somebody blindly navigating the beginning years of their 20s. There is something very liberating about jumping around to songs about burnout and the fear of dying alone.

The smaller venue created a higher sense of connectivity throughout the crowd, and this comfort blanket of shared experiences was only made to feel more personal by Baby Queen’s interactive stage presence. Whether it was singing directly into the phone camera of an audience member, climbing off of the stage to dance amongst the crowd, or leading the room in a raucous rendition of Happy Birthday for her drummer, Max, (complete with a birthday cake and candles) it was impossible to feel disconnected from Baby Queen as a performer. It was like we were watching a live-action screening of her adolescent diary, an insight into her inner world from the position of a close confidante.

This high level of emotional intimacy naturally brought about moments of heart-rending poignancy. One standout performance was an unreleased track from the new album, “a letter to myself at 17,” which was played solo by Baby Queen on an acoustic guitar under a fixed spotlight. She preceded the song by explaining its context: her struggles with depression, disordered eating, and unhealthy friendship in her later teenage years. Therefore, it was unsurprising that this track was deeply moving, and offered a change in tone from her other, more cynical, tongue-in-cheek songs in the set.

Her infectious, upbeat energy was revived with the encore at the end of the show. Baby Queen returned to the stage in a burst of pink flashing lights and thunderous guitar, which shifted into “Want Me,” recognisable for its feature as the opening song in Season 1 of “Hearstopper.” Again, only Baby Queen can make a room jump along in ecstasy to a song about the dark themes of delusion and unrequited love. Her final song offered a more optimistic note. The epitome of queer joy, Baby Queen ended her set with “We Can Be Anything,” another of her “Heartstopper” hits. The room was dancing in a glow of rainbow lights as Baby Queen led the crowd in a chant of “We can be anything – That’s awesome, don’t you think?”, finishing her wild, emotional progression with a message unwavering hope for the future.