GIG REVIEW: Pabllo Vittar

★★★★

Every so often a gig comes along with an atmosphere so electric and memorable that people talk about it for months afterwards. Robyn’s recent rave revival at Alexandra Palace is an example of that, as is Azealia Banks’ unignorably confident appearance at Koko back in January.

Pabllo Vittar’s one-night-only London appearance is set to join them in the Banging Queer Gig Hall Of Fame (sponsored by Imodium and Gold Rush Poppers). If you’re unfamiliar with one of Brazilian’s hottest pop tickets here’s a quick lowdown; aesthetics-wise, Pabllo is somewhere between high-fashion drag and supercool space age gender play. She’s never been particularly clear on her identity or personal pronouns, and of course, why should she be.

What she is clear about, is her desire to churn out banger after banger, a very South American combination of dancehall beats, reggaeton sensibilities and techno freneticism. Her high-profile fans and collaborators include everyone from Diplo to Anitta, and at only 24, she’s racked up a formidable online presence – last year’s Major Lazer collaboration “Sua Cara” is currently at 449 million views on Youtube, and still rising. Oh, and she’s got a modest 8.4 million followers on Instagram.

The sweaty sold-out Heaven reflected that, fans clamouring and screaming to get a glimpse of someone who’s become a beacon of inspiration and hope for Brazil’s LGBT community. She ramped things up by following what seems to be an emerging trend in live shows – rather than keeping the crowd waiting with slower songs at the start, she dove straight into her biggest hits one after another; crashing headlong into the performance rather than easing in.

The other thing that gave Pabllo’s show its roaring electric energy was the crowd. It was almost exclusively Brazilian, and unlike Brits, Brazilians forget their phones and totally lose their inhibitions – drinks were flung, boys were kissed, bras were whipped off. Basically, the whole of Heaven’s main dancefloor descended into joyful chaos.

Her support act Hannah Diamond put on a brave front, faced by a crowd who clearly didn’t want her there. She steadfastly worked her way through her plinky PC Music material, a very British phenomenon that 90% of the Brazilian patrons didn’t care for. At one particularly cringe-worthy point she said “do you want another song?!” and the entire crowd yelled back “NO!” It was a real shame because she’s an intriguing, talented artist; but Pabllo’s fans didn’t know who she was, and didn’t care. Take note, talent bookers!

All in all though, it was everything gigs need to be in 2019; hedonistic, unapologetic, and perhaps most importantly, sparklingly different. Pabllo’s success is exciting. She’s confrontational, a spit in the face of conformity and the worrying emerging trends of needing to be perfect and following the crowd. She’s herself and she does what she wants, and it’s great that people are responding to that.

Follow Pabllo on Instagram @pabllovittar

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