The Icon Herself, Rebecca Black, Turns the 9:30 Club Into the Hottest Club
BY LIZ BAUMMERFinally warm enough for me to not have to wear my winter jacket (there’s nothing quite like the feeling of those first couple warm, spring days), I was so excited to head down to the 9:30 Club to see one of the great viral musicians from my days in middle school. I mean it doesn’t get much more viral than THE Rebecca Black, and while I knew it was going to be a great evening, it exceeded every single one of my expectations.
Electronic music was the perfect way to start off this experience. Blue Hawaii opened the show and established club-vibes right off the bat. The Canadian duo took the stage by storm and accented to their music with incredible lighting choices in bright colors. A theme you will see in their review is that the night was bursting with energy. Raphaelle Standell-Preston spent the entire set nonstop running and dancing from stage right and stage left. She literally did not stop moving for more than 10 seconds the entire set which was seriously impressive. Agor Kerby also impressed with his mastery of not only his work behind the mixing console but his ability to bounce seamlessly between that role and coming to the front of the stage to interact with both the audience and Standell-Preston. Overall, their set was the perfect accompaniment to Black’s set for the evening, and I would highly recommend checking out their music.
Rebecca Black has always been and continues to be iconic. From the release of Friday 14 years ago to her rise in hyperpop music, Rebecca Black is continuing to rise to fame. And a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club is plenty of evidence of that. Black started the show off with a bang with a snippet of her Friday playing before her entrance. I was so excited to see this as I remember the pure amount of internet hate/mocking that flew around when that song was initially released. Friday truly was and forever will be a legendary moment in the history of the internet, and I loved seeing her embrace that part of her story even though I imagine at the time it initially occurred it may have been a painful one.
There are so many things that can be said about a Rebecca Black show. First and foremost, her discography lends itself so well to live performance. The pure amount of energy infused into Black’s music is unbelievable. Just listening to it feels like drinking an energy drink and experiencing it live is a whole new level. Part of this is undoubtedly Black’s talents. You can tell Black is meant to be a performer. The energy she brings to her performances on top of the energy of the music is enough to make the entire room vibrate! And you’ll never be able to convince me that these performers aren’t athletes because the amount of dancing and movement on top of the breath control required to sing is admirable.
Black’s production design for the show was also incredibly dynamic. Two backup dancers perfectly accented Black’s performance. The best part of these dancers’ roles, in my opinion, was that they interacted in very meaningful ways with Black. It didn’t feel simply like they were back up dancers. They helped tell the narrative by doing anything from unwrapping the scarf material off Black at the beginning of the show to lifting her up throughout the dances to moving the set pieces Black was positioned on top of. This really allowed the dancers to be integrated into the performance in ways that made the show unique. I especially loved when they pushed Black around on a moving platform while she performed with an LED light stick. While elements like this are common in big arena shows, this is not something you often see in venues the size of the 9:30 Club.
Overall, Black’s show was incredibly unique with its use of the stage elements and incorporation of backup dancers. For a photographer this is really exciting because it offers so many unique opportunities for cool photos, and I think this is reflected in the range of the gallery from this show. These are easily some of the best and most fun images I have ever produced, and Black’s performance is one that will stick with me for a long time. The bar has been raised in my mind for what can be accomplished in smaller to midsize venues!
