Guess who got to see Julia Wolf live at her “Deep End” World Tour? Hint: it was me!Â
I’ve been waiting months for this since it was announced back in April. Huge props to Wolf for making ticket prices only $30 in this economy. I’m just going to give a quick recap and review of my experience at the show.Â
I went to the Sept. 30th show in Philadelphia, PA. The venue was originally at the Union Transfer, but due to the show selling out in 24 hours, the venue got upgraded to Franklin Music Hall. I have been to the Union Transfer before which is a great venue), but not Franklin Music Hall, so I was super excited to experience it for the first time!Â
I can honestly say, it’s definitely a great and spacious venue. There’s a huge balcony area, and plenty of standing room. The show was sold out, and there were still some gaps in the crowd, so I wasn’t pressed up against anyone too much. I was pretty close to the front of the stage. I was about fourth row and only got in line for the show only an hour before the doors opened.Â
Doors opened at 7 p.m. and the opener started right at 8 p.m. Bee Blackwell is Wolf’s opener for her North America tour dates, while Scro does the European dates. Blackwell is an alternative rock artist from Austin, Texas. Scro is Julia Wolf’s producer, but also a musician on his own. So, I think this makes them perfect openers for Julia Wolf’s tour. I only started listening to Blackwell when she was announced as the opener. Even though I haven’t been a long time fan of hers, I was still super excited for her set.Â
My expectations were definitely met with Blackwell’s performance. She only played about 8 songs, but that’s okay! Her vocals sounded identical to the studio recorded versions. However, some of them did miss a tad bit of emotion, but I’ll let it slide. She didn’t have too much stage presence, but she did say she had difficulty moving due to how the stage was set up . Her guitarist was moving around though, which made up for Blackwell’s lack of movement, so it looked cool at times. Honestly, I’m just here for vocals. I don’t mind if there’s no fancy stuff up on stage.Â
After Blackwell’s set, there was about a 20-30 minute intermission. Wolf came out on stage at exactly 9 p.m. Her stage set up was more visually appealing compared to Blackwell’s. There was a lot of smoke, and lighting changes. It truly set the mood for a lot of the songs.Â
This was my second time seeing Wolf, so I already knew her vocals are literally ethereal live. Still, I was super impressed. She sounds exactly like her studio versions— you’d think she’s lip syncing. Compared to when she was touring with mgk, she had an amazing and more confident stage presence. There was a lot of body movement, crowd engagement, and so much more confidence.Â
Wolf’s set was over by 10 p.m. She only sang songs released after and including “Wishbone.” She stayed backstage after the show, but Blackwell was back by the merch table. I was able to talk with Blackwell a bit and take a photo with her for free! I was also able to get the tour exclusive purple vinyl of Wolf’s album, “PRESSURE.” I wanted to get her body suspension necklace, too, but it was sadly sold out. There was a bunch of other merchandise there like tote bags, hoodies, t-shirts, a crop top, and even bumper stickers.Â
Overall, I had an amazing time at the show. Whenever I get the chance, I’ll definitely go to another Julia Wolf and Bee Blackwell concert. I would recommend buying tickets if they weren’t already all sold out. Since they are unfortunately sold out, listen to Blackwell or Wolf’s music if you haven’t already or check out the videos and photos posted from the tour!