Review: Doja Cat kicks off first-ever arena tour with so-so Halloween show

01.11.2023 18:42

MercuryNews.com

Doja Cat delivered a bit of a mixed trick-o-treat bag as she kicked off her first-ever arena headlining tour on Halloween night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Cat woman, herself, was mostly on point, sounding especially strong as she showcased her rapping abilities. She’s a real talent, one that should be a force in the industry for years to come.

Yet, she also showed her inexperience in the arena realm as she did very little try to connect with the crowd or make the evening feel “live” on Night 1 of the Scarlet Tour, which supports the 2023 album of the same name.

Instead, it often just felt like we were just watching something like “Doja Cat: The Concert Movie,” which — who knows? — could be heading to a theater near you in the not-so-distant future.

More significant, the touring production — while arena-style big — wasn’t as thrilling as it should have been. There was a numbing sameness to everything that took place on stage over the course of the 90-minute set, even though the production was divided up into 5 (allegedly) different acts.

In short, the concert grew less interesting as the night progressed — which is never a good thing.

The concert was, however, the definite place to be Halloween 2023 in the Bay Area, drawing a full house of some 14,000 fans to the arena. And the crowd was definitely filled with world-famous characters, ranging from Freddy Krueger and Chucky to Mario and Luigi to Ken and Barbie to the Joker and the Riddler.

There were also cats of all shapes and sizes — including at least one Cat in the Hat — and seemingly at least as many cows (tying in with the Doja Cat song/viral internet meme “Moo!”) in this colorful crowd, where at least every other person was in costume for the Halloween/Doja occasion.

The star’s set — which begin right at 8:30 and concluded at the surprisingly early hour of 10 p.m. — got off to a strong start as Doja Cat appeared onstage and delivered a breathtaking version of “WYM Freestyle,” one of more than a dozen “Scarlet” tracks featured on the night.

Things continued along the same route throughout Act I, as Doja Cat commanded the triangular stage, which pointed out to the audience, while propelled by a stellar band. The music translated very well to the live arena, conveying the clarity of the studio versions while ratcheting up the energy a little bit.

Of course — being that this was night one of the tour — there were plenty of “live debuts” on the set list, as Doja Cat was performing most of these “Scarlet” numbers for the first time ever on the concert stage. So, that gives these fans some nice bragging rights, allowing them to say that they were there when “97”/”Often”/”Shutcho”/etc. were played for the first time.

The production was dark and spooky at times — which made for an appropriate Halloween outing. At one point, a giant eyeball with legs and a gruesome long optic nerve (looking like something out of a Residents show) stalked the singer, while a huge robotic spider creature hovered above the stage at another part of the show. There was also a dramatic church setting, complete with mysterious people mulling around in red monk-like robes.

None of that, however, managed to raise beyond the level of simple eye-catching special effects or achieve any real synergy with the music being played or the star of the evening.

The acts unfolded like we were mostly re-reading the same chapter in the same book all night long, rarely distinguishing themselves in any significant way. It was like the tour designers threw plenty of money at the production without managing to really come up with a meaningful storyline The end result was something that felt more Michael Bay’s “Transformers: The Dark Knight” than Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.”

It didn’t help matters that Doja Cat — a woman known for her many different and provocative outfits worn in public — didn’t make any real costume changes all night (other than remove her jacket). Instead, she just remained in her tight black battle outfit, which was reminiscent of the famed “Batman Forever” suit. Wardrobe changes, however, would’ve gone a long way in helping to differentiate the concert’s five scenes. Also, the dance routines — performed by an energetic cast — were rarely all that intriguing.

The show seemed to lose momentum in the middle innings, as we kept watching variations on the same themes, even as the star launched into some of her best-known songs, such as “Women” and “Kiss Me More.” The latter did bring one of the few times that Doja Cat actively engaged with the crowd, calling out for audience members to kiss. Otherwise, she did very little to try and connect as she kept mostly mum on stage between songs.

All things considered, it was a reasonably strong start to Doja’s first-ever arena tour. And we trust that there will be plenty more to come for this immensely talented entertainer.

Here’s the setlist, based on my notes and information from setlist.fm:

ACT I
1 WYM Freestyle

2. Demons

3. Tia Tamera

4. Shutcho

5. Agora Hills

ACT II
6. Attention

7. Often

8. Red Room

9. Balut

10. Gun

11. Ain’t (expletive)