Sophie Ellis-Bextor put on an electric show at Royale Boston during her first-ever North America tour. Longtime fans exchanged stories about the CD mixes they burned with Ellis-Bextor’s songs on them back in the early 2000s, and they expressed how seeing her live was a bucket list item. The crowd was dressed for the occasion, bearing sequins, fringe, and glitter from head to toe. One fan in the front row wore a motorcycle helmet adorned with reflective disco tiles. He passed out disco ball necklaces to other eager fans and Ellis-Bextor herself once she arrived on stage.
The night began with Noelle Rene, who captured the crowd with her powerful vocals. She performed both original songs, including an unreleased song she plans on titling “Creature of Habit,” and covers by artists like Fiona Apple. In a black dress, black ballet heels, and a red bow, Rene giggled between songs and thanked everyone for having her.
Ellis-Bextor entered the stage to roaring applause, performing a cover of “Crying at the Discoteque” by Swedish group Alcazar. The lights flashed purple and yellow, reflecting off of her sleeveless pink sequin dress. Her band emerged in animal masks, with the bassist in a plastic shark head and the guitarist in a furry raven’s head. After the first few songs, Ellis-Bextor revealed that she likes to research the city she is going to perform in and share some fun facts and silly laws. She noted that Boston had the first chocolate factory, made the first phone call, and has an old law that claims it is illegal to drive with a gorilla in the backseat. “Does that mean it can be in the front?,” she joked.
About midway through the set, she invited fans to perform the choreography to her song “Hypnotized” and demonstrated the funky dance moves for the crowd to repeat back to her. Soon after, she pranced behind the stage for a costume change, emerging in a neon orange babydoll dress with knee-length yellow and orange fringe and sparkly shoulder pads, infusing the venue with a second wave of energy. Ellis-Bextor then carried her “travel wheel” to the front of the stage, explaining that she spins the wheel at each show to select the next cover she will perform. The crowd waited with anticipation as the wheel landed on Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night)”. She exclaimed that it was her wedding song and went on to perform a hypnotic cover.
Towards the end of the night, Ellis-Bextor performed her breakout hit, “Murder On The Dancefloor,” which she originally released in 2001 on her debut solo album, Read My Lips. Everyone sang the lyrics back to her, jumping and waving their hands with excitement. The song returned to the charts and public eye after it made a memorable impression in the 2023 blockbuster movie Saltburn, starring Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan. The song took social media by storm, catapulting Ellis-Bextor back into the spotlight in her home country of the UK and across the pond here in the USA.
She returned to an eager audience for an encore and performed several more songs. Over 20 years after “Murder On The Dancefloor” was released, Ellis-Bextor reminds fans in Boston and the world why she is and always has been a star.
Check out Samantha’s full gallery of photos below.
