Chappell Roan at Crescent Ballroom

Packed in a loose line along the sidewalk on 2nd Avenue, a mass of chattering teenagers and twenty-somethings nearly drowned out the noise of passing traffic. Comparing vibrant, colorful outfits and exchanging compliments with one another, the crowd was clearly ecstatic. Any unknowing passerby would have been able to quickly identify that everyone was there for the same reason. If the coordination of varying bright pink outfits wasn’t a dead giveaway, then the dozens of bedazzled or feathered pink cowboy hats would have sealed the deal. While my outfit wasn’t quite up to par with the dress code, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t among the large number of jittery fans trying to contain my joy. The excitement was palpable as people waited for their tickets to be scanned, each one biding their time until the moment that they could walk through the doors into Phoenix’s newest, one-night-only nightclub. For just a few hours on the night of Wednesday, February 15th, the iconic Crescent Ballroom had completely sold out and transformed into Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club.

While nothing had changed physically about the venue, it felt as everything had changed spiritually and emotionally. Warm in every sense of the word. Beyond the much appreciated increase in temperature inside the venue, the feeling of comfort and community tightly embraced each fan as they quickly filled the room. Roan had single-handedly created the safest and fruitiest space in Arizona. In a state with many lawmakers who have launched repeated attacks on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, the haven that Roan brought with her meant the world to so many attendees.

Rather than having a supporting act on the bill for her Naked In North America Tour, Chappell opted to invite uplift local drag performers for her shows. For us in Phoenix, that was Mynx DeMilo, Chanel Douglas, and Niko Sanrio. With outfits that did not fail to catch your eyes and stage presence built from numerous weekly shows mentioned by each performer, there was no other group more suited to energizing the crowd than these three.

After a few minutes of waiting in between sets, the entire pit erupted into a wave of elated cheers and howls as the lights dimmed and an extended intro of ‘Naked in Manhattan’ poured out of the speakers with the all too recognizable bouncing synth beat that holds the entire queer dance pop anthem together. As Chappell walked onto stage for her headlining debut here in Phoenix and jumped into the first verse, the crowd was just as ready to sing as she was, armed with nearly every lyric memorized down to the letter. There wasn’t a single person in the room who could resist the urge to move or dance in some way, even if it was just a little head nod. If there was ever a song that induced a feeling of pure catharsis, the multitude of voices joining her in shouting “Touch me baby, touch me, touch me, touch me” proved it was this.

While her glittery pop tracks could have been a standalone testament to her incredible vocal range and control, Chappell also included softer-toned tracks like ‘Love Me Anyway’, ‘Bitter’, and a handful of unreleased teasers that may appear on an album in the (hopefully near) future. Throughout the entire set, Roan’s full band were in near perfect sync. The fluidity with which they performed seemed to be indicative of the loving friendship that I imagine they have off-stage. Small gestures and motions seemed to choreograph as her bassist and guitarist mirrored her movements without even a second of delay, providing minor details that helped build the larger, carefully curated experience for everyone present.

As Roan cycled through newer hits like ‘Casual’ and ‘My Kink is Karma’ from her current era of glittery pop releases, the crowd rarely failed to sing along to every word. One of the many things that Roan has perfected with her craft is the balance of keeping listeners engaged in every part of the song while also building toward an explosive chorus that triumphs over all else. Her fem pop anthem ‘Femininomenon’ exemplifies this with fans having a back and forth exchange with her during the bridge, answering Chappell’s “Well, what we really need is a femininomenon. A what?” with screams of “A Femininomenon!”. As she finally reached the last chorus and let out an impassioned “Did you hear me? Play the fucking beat!”, the energy in the room was absolutely euphoric with the crowd sharing a cathartic moment, moving and dancing in any and every way their body was compelled to. Everyone in the room was most definitely a witness to a true femininomenon that night.

Nearing the end of her time with us, Roan’s encore held the highly anticipated ‘Pink Pony Club’ that our show’s assigned outfit theme was based on. Not a single moment passed in the song where the audience failed to fill the room with a collective voice that was just as loud as Chappell’s as they sang along. Knowing that our time with the Pink Pony Girl herself was almost over, everybody in the pit seem determined to end the show with a bang, bouncing up and down and reaching their hands out toward Chappell as she worked the stage like a runway one last time. If this is what her first ever headlining show in Phoenix was like based off the momentum of just a handful of releases over the last few years, I can’t even imagine what the future holds for Chappell Roan when she inevitably returns to us with an album for another, hopefully, sold out show.

Written & Photographed by: Brian Mecinas

Setlist:

Naked in Manhattan

Love Me Anyway

Femininomenon

After Midnight

Bitter

You Oughta Know (cover)

Hot To Go

Kaleidoscope

My Kink Is Karma

Casual

California

Pink Pony Club