Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies

13th February 2022

Snoh Aalegra has been on my radar since her COLORS Studio performance of Fool For You. Having missed out on her last tour, which might I add was two minutes from my old flat, I jumped at the chance to get tickets for her Manchester concert. I spent the day listening to songs I thought she might play, mostly from her latest album Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies. This album has actually really grown on me and while I definitely think she’s done and can do better, there were songs on this album that I started to love and seeing her live really solidified that. Manchester O2 Ritz was the first venue Snoh had played since the pandemic, bar a couple of festivals. I was kind of surprised to find out she was playing her UK dates before her US ones, but cherished the experience still, even waiting around to grab the setlist after. She was supported by Tora-I, who I thoroughly enjoyed and I definitely feel she was a perfect match to support Snoh on the UK leg of her Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies tour.

The band started playing, smoke started rising and orange lights started flashing. The crowd was climaxing with anticipation, ready for Snoh to make an appearance. She opened with Situationship from her sophomore album and she emerged on stage wearing a silver rhinestoned two piece, a long sleeved cut out bodysuit over flared trousers. The bodysuit had silver chains around her hips and she coordinated the outfit with silver Nike dunks.

I thought this was a great opener as I know for most people Ugh Those Feels Again is definitely the favourite in her discography. As she begins to perform her next song, In Your Eyes, the lights transition to more purple tones. The many shades of violet bouncing off her

sparkly outfit create this vision that feels so magical. I felt really lucky to be in the room with her, to be honest I hope all her other tour dates have similar outfits so her fans in different cities can experience the same. When my camera was out of focus, the sparkles looked like lights dancing across her body.

She jumps back into Ugh Those Feels Again with Whoa, I feel like even she knows that album’s the fan favourite. Snoh performing these love songs filled me with serotonin as she walked confidently around the stage and swayed around the mic stand, she just seems so happy when singing about love and it definitely reflected in the room. She then told us the energy tonight was amazing, that she was blessed to be here and that she was going to “take you guys on a little rollercoaster of feels, if you don’t mind” which she absolutely did, as she then went into Lost You, a song about always wanting to be with someone despite the fact you’re no longer together. She still sways her hips to the beat but the mood in the room has changed. As she starts singing the chorus, white lights start flashing behind her and the result is a vision so crisp it’s like Snoh is in front of a green screen. The lights that change colour are now blue, reflecting the emotions she’s pouring out. Personally I feel this song is definitely one you add to the playlist you put on when you’re hooking up with your ex who you haven’t quite gotten over yet. And while it isn’t an emotion I’ve felt personally, Snoh’s vocal performance and lyrics spark my empathy as if I suddenly now still want to hold on to someone I’m not with anymore.

We Don’t Have To Talk About It continues her conversation with her ex lover, as she presents the mic to the audience to the chorus and then takes the mic back for an impressive riff while we’re singing along. She transitions after the first chorus to On My Mind, one she marks as one for the ladies. The lights turn to orange, pink and green, this song is a little more upbeat however one thing I did start to notice here was Manchester’s lack of energy. There absolutely were times throughout the concert Snoh presented the mic to us and you could barely hear anyone, mainly on different verses. I think it was also because admittedly a lot of us didn’t know the words, but we were definitely twice as loud when she asked us to chime in on the chorus. This song has a bit more of a firmer attitude than the last two, and it definitely comes across in Snoh’s stage presence and hand gestures. It evokes more of a ‘take no shit’ kind of vibe. James Fauntleroy’s verse comes on, the lights are green and she’s encouraging us to sing along to his part. She effortlessly vocalises parts of his verse here and there, and then the song finishes with a solo from her guitarist.

Red lights on the stage for Indecisive, another one of my favourites. Looking back at the video from this performance, I’ve turned the exposure down quite a bit and it echoes the Silhouette challenge. Paired with her sultry vocals on this song, it’s the perfect ode to being better off without an ex until the beat change and the bridge which is accompanied by the drums in the buildup. In the songs we’ve heard from Snoh so far that continue this conversation with an ex, or more than one perhaps, she has this ‘keep cool’ persona where she continues to exude confidence and never lets up with her emotions too much despite her lyrics.

Bouncing back into her second album with Toronto, the lights stay red evoking the sensuality of this song as she pulls back the mic stand towards her and then proceeds to slowly slide down to her knees, caressing the mic stand, pushing it forward. Some of the lights are blue now, some remain red creating a violet on stage. She even lies down on the stage at one point. This is exactly how a sex song should be performed, it feels sexy, intimate and it was a really memorable part of the show. She performs a slowed down rendition of Fool For You from her debut, Feels and manages to maintain the sensuality while standing at the mic. Accompanied by what sounds like violins (I don’t think they were live, though), this is again one of the most memorable parts of the show because this just isn’t a rendition you’d hear anywhere else besides her tour, and though it does echo her NPR Tiny Desk performance, I do feel like there’s a secret ingredient she’s added to this one that just makes it all the more special. Then she performs Everything and I really wish my partner accompanied me that evening. When Snoh sings about love, you just really feel “it in the air”, not to be cliche or anything, the woman just really knows how to make a good love song and perform it well too. Next she performs You, the spotlights are dancing all over the purple stage and we see more of Snoh’s vocal range with some high notes during the chorus. This song feels like a hug from a lover that just feels so right even though other people say it’s wrong.

Charville 9200 Pt. II is when I really noticed that when Snoh sings about heartbreak live, she emotes like her past lover is in the room but she’s trying to maintain that ‘keep cool’, nonchalant facade. You really feel the heartbreak she’s had to have in order to write this in her vocals. Dying 4 Your Love is another fan favourite, she encourages crowd participation again here. It’s where that feeling like the person who hurt her was truly there that night, is enhanced by her emotions while she performs. It’s like he’s here, she knows exactly where he’s sat and she’s trying not to look at him. Dying 4 Your Love is definitely one of my personal favourites from Snoh, a song I’ll sing with my full chest despite not currently being able to relate whatsoever. Tangerine Dream is up next, the lights are changing colours as she walks across the stage. She continues to carry these emotions. The song itself, though describing something that ‘was all a fantasy’, manages to translate very warm on stage. She envelopes us in reminiscence and really paints the picture for us. It’s very bittersweet.

A more somber night in the evening, she dedicates Time to her dad who passed away in 2009 from cancer and anyone who’s ever lost anyone who isn’t with them anymore. She asks people to put their lighters up “if your phone batteries allow”. I feel like a lot more people are watching her rather than singing along with her, it’s just one of those moments where you want to listen rather than join in. I felt something in my face that I always feel when I’m about to cry, I held back because I was in public but it was so raw, relatable and heart-wrenching. I didn’t even know her father had passed away until she told us that night, she definitely captured the emotions of losing somebody with this performance, the times I lost people in my life suddenly became fresh wounds again.

Love Like That is a lot more slowed down than the original, following the same pace as her last song. It sounds a lot more stripped down as everyone joins in to sing a long. This really solidified for me that Ugh Those Feels again is her best piece of work so far. She transitions into Do 4 Love seamlessly, she’s essentially mashed up these songs in more of a consecutive style rather than one that bounces between two tracks. Do 4 Love doesn’t get too much time spent on it but I’m happy to have heard it live regardless.

She transitions into her two collaborations with Tyler, The Creator: Neon Peach followed by In The Moment. Neon Peach is high energy and fans chime in with Tyler’s verse. In The Moment slows down the pace just a tad, we the audience again take on the role of Tyler as the vocals bounce between us and Snoh during the pre-chorus. Snoh then takes a pause in the show to tell us how she was told numerous times that this may not be a path for her, but she never gave up and that she encourages everyone in the room that has a dream to never give up on it, saying that she knew it sounded cheesy but if she can do it, anyone can. Violet Skies is up next, and the stage is full of purple lights reflecting off of Snoh’s face and sparkly outfit. Throughout the entire show, Snoh was engulfed in smoke and it truly felt like we were watching her perform in the Violet Skies, her album concept coming to life as she took us on a rollercoaster of feels as she expressed earlier in the show.

Towards the end of her set, Snoh asks the audience if we’ve ever met a guy who “talks all that shit but is not really doing shit” right before she launches into Nothing To Me. The crowd was heard loudest during a back and fourth of Snoh’s lyrics and “that ain’t it” during the pre-chorus. There was again an area of the song she directed the mic to the audience and it seemed that no one knew the words. I genuinely believe London is likely to be her best audience of her UK leg, as I definitely noticed Manchester was lacking a little something. But Snoh still went on nonetheless, she disappeared and came back for an encore, starting with Find Someone Like You. Another moment where I wish I’d brought my partner along, this song truly captivates what it’s like to have finally found the one you’ve been looking for. The stage lights danced between pink and purple tones, you could really feel love all around the room while she was singing. She definitely saved the best songs for last. I Want You Around was her closer, and what a closer it was. This was the song we knew every word to. All of Snoh’s moves while she was singing combined with the pink, orange and sometimes purple lighting gave us all a phenomenal send off home. The song itself is definitely a favourite love song of mine and I feel really blessed to have seen it life.

Seeing Snoh Aalegra live pleasantly surprised me into liking her a lot more as an artist. It really furthered my appreciation for her music. In hindsight I wish I’d gone to the London show purely based on the crowd’s energy, but nonetheless, the show was so much more than what I was anticipating. It felt intimate like a smaller show, though that may just be because I was at the front and had such a great view. It was really personal, I really felt as though her setlist was the right balance of songs from her new album and fan favourites from older albums. It was an evening of emotions, a “rollercoaster of feels” and an incredibly memorable performance that I’ll cherish for a long time.