zOMG Skylar Grey Live!!

Skylar Grey at the Rickshaw stop in San Francisco was easily the most amazing musical event of the season. I say that having seen probably fifty bands this spring and summer, and passionately enjoying most of them. But Skylar and her music were memserising and surreal and on another plane.

Who the Hell is Skylar Grey?

Before I even try to describe this show, I am going to answer your unspoken question, which is: “Who the hell is Skylar Grey? And if she’s so great, why haven’t I even ever seen her shows advertised??”

The second question is easy: You haven’t seen her in concert because this show at the Rickshaw Stop (part of the Popscene series which is impressarioed by Live105’s Aaron Axelsen whom you can actually meet because he actually DJs before the show) was her first concert ever*.

The first question is easy, too. You actually do know her. Skylar has written and collaborated on famous songs with all kinds of famous people, including:

Love The Way You Lie (Emminem/Rihanna)
I Need a Doctor (with Dr. Dre)
Coming Home (with Diddy)
Words I Never Said (Lupe Fisco)

She is becoming the queen of hook, but beyond that, the lyrics to her songs are so soul wrentching that once you tune into those words you realise you are listening to genius at work.

These collaborations are all wonderful songs and recordings, but the recordings with the other artists are a bit like Sangria: Nice wine-based beverage what with all the chopped fruit and other stuff, but not quite like a fine wine. Skylar Grey live is like a classic, bold, high-end Cabernet that you want to savor for a good long while.

Skylar Grey is working on a first album, to be released this fall, and this Rickshaw Stop show was the first warm-up in preparation for her appearance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in early August.

The set list at the Rickshaw was over before we knew it, but every note was magical, and it was a marvelous journey:

Ascending The Stage

It’s hard to do a grandiose entrance onto the small stage at the Rickshaw Stop, but the band somehow managed to be both grand and mysterious anyway.

The band ascended wearing mystical white hoodies, slid into their positions, and started right in with the music for the new song Building a Monster. Skylar was completely shrouded by her white hoodie and soaked in the brilliant glare of a spotlight. Almost as if levitating, she rose up tall on a platform, with her back to the audience. She lifted up her arms, and for the first time we heard her amazing voice. It floated over us and we soaked it in.

You can see it all on this video of the opening and first two songs, Building a Monster and Beautiful Nightmare. (All these videos are in HD, by the way, so bump them up to 780p on YouTube and go full screen with them!)

Building a Monster

Save your breath
No need to tell me you’re my friend
I’m not gonna fall for that,
again.

There’s you and her,
How many times can it be told
Before a superhero
is born.

There’s angels
And let’s turn away (?)
I’m building a monster

Mystery Revealed

But wait, she was singing with her back to us through the entire song! Were we ever going to get to see this mysterious woman with the angelic voice?

Yes! She spread her wings with her back to us – as if to take flight – and then whipped around and looked squarely in the audience and cracked a slight smile as she started dancing and swaying her hips into the next song. It didn’t take much to get people clapping. I can understand how she repressed the obvious desire to flash a bigger smile, as the lyrics to this second song, Beautiful Nightmare, start with the words “Whoa, I’m addicted to your torture…”

It was angelic and a bit demonic all at once.

Dance Without You

Then, without missing a beat, Skylar had the audience revving up for a dance song, Dance Without You, which is her new single and is actually about her transformation from the indie/folkie artist Holly Brook (who was also great, BTW) to the singer/songwriter/performer Skylar Grey. She starts with a lighthearted beatbox effect, creating the sound of the drums by mating her mouth and the microphone.

So serious, all the time

I feel restrained, I feel confined,
I cannot take your whispering, your whispering

I wanna dance without you
I wanna just let me lose myself lose myself
I wanna dance without you
I wanna just let me lose myself lose myself for life
Let me lose myself

So insecure, so uptight
I break my neck, to be polite
I cannot take your whispering, your whispering

…

How can I make history, with your choreography
Take your hands off me, Take your hands off me
Before I suffocate

Piano, Anyone?

Hmmmm. Til now, no piano. Since we all know Skylar from those YouTube videos of her playing demos at the piano, I think all of us welled up with excitement as she made her way over the piano at the edge of the stage. And O.M.G. as you can see in the video I was so close. She started right into another new song, Tower:

Tower

You’re high upon the tower,
Now don’t look down,
I will be OK here on the ground,
And you can always call to say,
Hello, from time to time,
When you’re no longer mine.

Then it was onto two more new songs, Creep and Weirdo. I didn’t capture these, but I am sure someone else in San Francisco or at the Pomona show will.

At some point here she abandoned the white hoodie to reveal a sports bra top, along with a super svelte physique and with some really interesting tattoos. Of course, there were absolutely no complaints whatsoever from the audience about this more al fresco look.

Before, avec hoodie:

After, sans hoodie:

By the way, Skylar was friendly to the audience, but didn’t chit-chat that much. She comes off as a little tentative and self-conscious on stage still, as far as audience interaction, and some of that probably stems from it being her first Skylar Grey show. When you have songs and a voice this beautiful, though, there isn’t that much you really need to say. The lyrics say it all.

Invisible

Next, she worked to her new about-to-be-released single called Invisible, which radio stations are already playing in pre-release.

I take these pills to make me thin
I dye my hair, and cut my skin
I tried everything, to make them see me
But all they see, is someone that’s not me

Even when I’m walking on the wire
Even when I set myself on fire
Why do I always feel invisible, invisible
Every day I try to look my best
Even though inside I’m such a mess
Why do I always feel invisible, invisible

I think her songs in some strange way give hope, because they reveal that everyone feels the same insecurities and doubts.

Marilyn Manson Collaboration

If all this isn’t enough for a killer new album, Skylar Grey has also collaborated on a song with Marilyn Manson, called Can’t Haunt Me. She sang this brand new song, I think for the first time anywhere, along with some Marilyn sampling in the background and it is sooo good. To stick with the zombie themeing, Sklyar then sailed into Zombie from The Cranberries, which of course every single person in the crowd knew by heart and to which we all sang along. A definite crowd pleaser. What a great finale!

Medley

But wait – it wasn’t over! Skylar walked over to the piano, introduced the band, and then OMG she eased into Coming Home… and then Words I Never Said… then transitioned ever so smoothly into I Need a Doctor. We were positively apoplectic from the stunning beauty of these songs and her amazing voice. What a great way to end.

Love The Way You Lie

But wait again. Just as she eased into the final chords of I Need a Doctor, she took a breath, effortlessly slid into a transitional minor triad, and we were into the most beautiful rendition of Love the Way You Lie that any of us had ever heard, complete with that haunting bridge (“So maybe I’m a masochist…”) that was never included in the Eminem/Rihanna version.

On the first page of our story
The future seemed so bright
Then this thing turned out so evil
I don’t know why i’m still surprised
Even angels have their wicked schemes
And you take that to new extremes
But you’ll always be my hero
Even though you’ve lost your mind

Chorus:
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that’s alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that’s alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Now there’s gravel in our voices
Glasses shattered from the fight
In this tug of war you always win
Even when i’m right
‘Cause you feed me fables from your head
With violent words and empty threats
And it’s sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied

… (Chorus) …

So maybe i’m a masochist
I try to run but I don’t wanna ever leave
Til the walls are going up
In smoke with all our memories

…(Chorus)…

Maybe The Most Amazing Concert Video You Have Ever Seen

In an epic piece of video below, I captured everything from Can’t Haunt Me through to the medley and Love The Way You Lie. There’s also a really sweet and awkward part at the very end where they are so new that they forget to take any bows, and Skylar has to shout over the house music to get the microphone audio back and then thanks the band members for the first show ever, and reminds them to bow. Here is the video of it all:

Skylar Grey is just indescribably amazing.

More Skylar Grey:

Wikipedia profile.

Official Website.

Recent 92.3 New York Interview: A pretty great short interview on key topics.

Rap-up TV interview: Singer-songwriter Skylar Grey talks exclusively with Rap-Up TV about collaborating with Marilyn Manson on her debut “Invinsible,” shares her encounter with the Dalai Lama, and remembers the late Amy Winehouse. Plus, get a sneak peek at her Lollapalooza rehearsals.

Young Hollywood: Charming video interview with Skylar. You can see she has a friendly and vibrant personality and likes a wide range of music.

San Francisco Examiner Interview: Pre-show Interview before the Rickshaw Stop show. Describes the journey from Holly Brook to Skylar Grey.

Skylar Grey News: Great news site run by fans.

Pictures Galore

More pictures from the show at the Rickshaw Stop: