Concert Review and Pictures By Mauricio O. Rocha
On a humid night in May, nestled in the industrial graffiti-splattered part of Bushwick at the event venue, Elsewhere, Uffie played in one of the smaller stages named Zone One, as opposed to the Main Hall or the rooftop bar. The small audience that packed into Zone One were in for a treat: the French-American recording artist was to take the stage in honor of her latest record: Sunshine Factory, which has been a long time coming; 12 years since her debut album to be exact.
Donned with a neon red wig, oversized suit ala' David Byrne and backed with a live guitarist and DJ, who also is her partner, Uffie rocked the stage. This night was to celebrate her new album, Sunshine Factory, which had just come out days before the show at Elsewhere. The album Is her long awaited second proper album and it is everything you want from the songstress: electric beats, introspective lyrics, and music that makes you want to dance and jump around. Naturally, she played all the songs on the album.
The album is stellar, and she apparently created it while experimenting on micro dosing on ‘shrooms so it has a very colorful psychedelic, manic, energy to it, which I love. Songs like “Anna Jetson” really hit the nail on the head with its futuristic, spacey themes. This song makes you think these are the type of tunes you hear while floating in the atmosphere. The album opener, “MVP” is a giddy, sing-shout-along song where Uffie confesses her unwavering love for her lover, who “makes it feel like the first time.” singing lines like, “You're my skin to skin, baby, why don’t you just take it off?”
Uffie begins to question life as a pop star in her thirties, on “Where Does the Party Go?”, which sounds like a thrashing love letter to all the millennials who are just learning that there is life outside the party scene or may be feeling like they are aging out of the party scene. Throughout the album, she even sprinkles in some cute and funny voicemails from her fellow artist friends, like the electro-clash pioneer, Peaches.
The intimate setting made it feel like a rare opportunity to feel her playful energy up close and personal. The other parts of Elsewhere are big and this space feels like a DIY venue in a good way. It was surprising that they did not have Uffie playing the main stage really. She could have packed the house, but maybe it was too much of a gamble on an artist that has been out of the limelight for years.
She finished her set by playing the indie-sleaze blog-house classic, “Pop The Glock”, inviting everyone on stage to dance with her. The energy was electric, and the people present were gleefully shouting the lyrics along with Uffie, letting the nostalgia for 2010 wash over them. The night ended early by 10 p.m., and her set was maybe 70 minutes total, but it was well worth the $25 concert ticket.
The only thing missing was more material from her first album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, but Sunshine Factory plus one hit added at the end was a great show and a fun night. But with an artist like Uffie, who has lots of collaborations, stand-alone singles, and EPs in her discography, she could have easily mixed those songs into her set as well. No biggie though. Shine on.
5/22/2022 SETLIST:
1. mvp
2.dominoes
3.prickling skin
4.sophia
5.a month of mondays
6.Drugs
7.giants
8.where does the party go?
9.anna jetson
10. cool
11. crowdsurfinginyoursheets
12. Untitled
13. Pop the Glock
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