Anything can be a party if you make it one, and on a cool, rainy Thursday night, SASAMI made one at Brighton Music Hall. On May 8th, SASAMI rolled through town while promoting her excellent new album Blood On The Silver Screen, playing a collection of songs new and old. Her catalogue is diverse, and it made for a well-rounded night in the storied venue. We were on hand to catch the show!
First up on the night was Mood Killer, a solo project out of Los Angeles. Mood Killer brought an electronic hyperpop set that incorporated a healthy amount of straightforward pop, somewhere between the experimental nature of 100 Gecs and the straightforward, erotic pop of Kim Petras. Although the crowd had largely not filed in yet, the singer showed no wavering in their confidence, dancing and singing while their beats played on a laptop. Initially, they had a red mask on, dramatically removing it during the second song. They are also touring in support of a new album, ABRACADABRA, and played songs like the title track, “Go Crazy,” and “Happy Birthday.” It was an energetic, optimistic set and one that got the party going. Later on, SASAMI remarked that at least one person’s life was changed because of Mood Killer’s set.
While Mood Killer stood alone, SASAMI had barely any more backup. She was flanked by only her drummer Diego, alongside a number of guitars and a French horn. SASAMI has a history of not settling herself into any one genre, and showcased this by kicking the set off with two rock songs. Her recent single “Honeycrash” – one of this writer’s personal favorite songs of 2024 – was played second, with the heavier, shoegaze-adjacent guitar providing an antithesis to the bouncy pop of both Mood Killer and, well, SASAMI. Just two songs later, she was guitar-free and dancing to the poppy “Love Makes You Do Crazy Things.” Her recent album follows this trend; guitar rock ebbs and flows against bright indie and straight pop (including a Clairo feature). It is something SASAMI has always done well, and captures a current bubbling zeitgeist of younger acts who are intentionally mashing genres together.
SASAMI was committed to one thing, though, and that was keeping the party going. A majority of the set was devoted to bouncier, highly danceable songs. And this was proven by SASAMI herself, often seen careening around the stage performing high-energy dance moves. She showed all sides of herself, rocking out on “Honeycrash,” donning an acoustic guitar for “In Love With A Memory” (sans Clairo), and even brandishing the French horn for “Nothing But A Sad Face On.” She also let her drummer Diego show off some double-drum kicks for the metalheads in the crowd. At one point, SASAMI stopped to ask if there were any metalheads in the crowd, and then asked increasingly specific categorical identifiers (“water signs” into “queer anarchists” into “sexual deviants” and, finally, “dentists”). She ended the show by asking who the local baseball team was, getting the whole crowd to chant “Red Sox” at her and responding with “What was that? The SASAMI Sluggers?” This led naturally into the final song, “Slugger,” the opening track off Silver Screen. All in all, it was a quick and joyous night of eclectic music that all served one purpose – party.
Check out some photos of the show below, by Andrew McNally.
