After releasing her third studio album, MY GOD!, in July, Tessa Violet embarked on the MY GOD! Tour with support from Frances Forever. The tour wrapped around the Southwestern US, up the East Coast and through the Midwest, before making the trek down the West Coast (with stops in Canada along the way). The MY GOD! Tour made its penultimate stop at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles this past Wednesday, September 6.

Frances Forever opened up the show, backed by a guitarist and drummer. The first two songs saw them dancing around the stage, interacting with their bandmates; a few songs into the set, Frances Forever pulled out a ukulele. Warning the crowd not to be distracted by the “cute” ukulele, they launched right into “fuck u” – a song of anger whose title speaks for itself.
It wasn’t all anger, though: highlights of Frances Forever’s set include “Treehouse”, a dreamy, shoegaze-y queer love song, and “Stuck.” Part of what they described as “the angsty guitar portion of the set”, “Stuck” was an unreleased song written about having ADHD. “Monica Gives Me Lockjaw” was another tune that had yet to be released – but judging by the crowd reaction, it’s sure to be a hit. Finally, Frances Forever concluded their set with the viral hit “Space Girl.”

Even before Tessa Violet took to the stage, there was no mistaking who was about to perform: the stage was adorned with what a stained-glass-style portrait of Violet styled as a holy figure. Wearing a bubblegum pink bodysuit and matching thigh-high boots, along with a sheer, iridescent cape, she entered to immediate applause with “YES MOM”, the lead single from MY GOD!. But Tessa Violet doesn’t simply sing her songs. As she told the crowd at the Fonda, she performs spells: “I’m on this kick where I call songs ‘spells’ because they change the way you feel.”

For “Play With Fire”, Violet was joined on stage by tour mate Frances Forever, who features on the album version of the track. Looking out into the crowd, it was clear she was overjoyed to recognize familiar faces in the front row – longtime fans from Los Angeles, and people she knew had traveled for the show. The interaction didn’t end there; Tessa Violet called upon several individuals in the crowd to name what they’re grateful for, a common theme being friends they’ve made through music and concerts.

But there were darker and more tender moments, too. “I Don’t Know Who I Am Without You” had a club-ready, danceable beat – though the lyrics were about grief. As Violet explained sitting down at a keyboard, “When The Curtain Falls” – a song about the loneliness that can come with success – was written after her manager suggested instead of sadness, she write a song about “something else – like being famous.” “Bad Ideas”, the title track of Violet’s 2019 sophomore album, was a sweetly romantic singalong that everyone could relate to. Whether you came to the MY GOD! Tour knowing every word, or simply wanting to have a good time – it was impossible not to fall under Tessa Violet’s spell.

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