Suki Waterhouse @ the Echo Lounge & Music Hall, Dallas, TX

Words and photos by Scott Rowe

As someone who covers concerts and events for this publication, you can usually depend on your Spidey-sense to gauge the interest and anticipation for any given show. When a show originally booked for the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues, a venue space with a capacity of 400, moves to the Echo Lounge & Music Hall with a capacity of 1,000, you have a sense that the interest and anticipation are at a high level. With that said, Suki Waterhouse's Coolest Place In the World Tour landed at the Echo with a monster line of fans that snaked throughout the entryway of the venue, only adding to the already built anticipation for this show. While her name is well-established throughout the entertainment community, her popularity in the music industry only continues to grow, being fed by her debut album, 2022's I Can't Let Go, released on Sub Pop Records. If this show was any indication of her projection musically, it's safe to say that this will be the smallest venue I will ever see her perform.

The sold out crowd at the Echo was buzzing as opener Blondshell finished their set, waiting impatiently for Ms. Waterhouse to make her long-awaited appearance. The buzz hit fever pitch once her band casually strolled on stage and only a handful of moments later, Suki walks out from backstage, waving to her screaming fans. She and band jump into "Bullshit on the Internet" from the aforementioned I Can't Let Go, paving the way of how the rest of the night will go. Waterhouse's presence and delivery were, how can I say this? Chill, or as the kids would say, 'It was a vibe'. She has an uncanny way to embody cool and it didn't take long for the sold out venue to collectively follow her every step and pick out every note escaping from the stage.

The evening was a showcase of the intimacy of most of Waterhouse's catalog, the casual coolness of Suki herself, and the connection between a budding artist and her fans. The 16-song, hour-long set included the bulks of both I Can't Let Go and the collection of previously-recorded songs in the form of the 2022 EP release, Milk Teeth. Waterhouse's strength in the live setting lives in her ability to cast herself back into the intimate details of her songs and present them to the audience in a most genuine way; she doesn't hold back in vocal ability or in emotion. The 14-song set was over in the blink of an eye but Suki and company made sure to appease the crowd with a two-song encore, culminating with her virally-famous song, "Good Looking". The show, while fairly stripped down in production, was a testament to an artist that stays true to her music and what may prove to be a step into future mega stardom.

Photos of the show are below:

enjoy.