ETHEL CAIN CONCERT REVIEW

I had the incredible pleasure of seeing Ethel Cain at the O2 Apollo a few weeks ago, and there are a few things I want to talk about. The concert itself was brilliant (which I’ll get into in a second, obviously), but something I’ve noticed since Covid is people’s complete inability to behave correctly at concerts. Not to toot my own horn, but I like to think of myself as a bit of a concert connoisseur, having been to 15 in the last year and a half, and I’ve noticed such a decline in politeness to the artist as well as other concertgoers.

Ethel had to stop the concert over five times due to people passing out constantly in the crowd. Now I know people can’t often help it, but I believe the steady increase in people falling ill at concerts stems from people spending all day queueing, especially when they camp. I understand the desire to be as close to the front as possible, trust me – the day I held Phoebe Bridgers’ hand was the day I saw God – but this culture of putting yourself at risk purely for a chance to be near your favourite artist is quite frankly dangerous. That and, often, rather gross. Wear deodorant to shows people, I fear it’s common sense. Something else that really bothered me, when an artist has instrumental songs, that isn’t an excuse to yap. Ethel Cain’s Perverts is an extremely haunting album, and the middle of her set featured songs selected from it. While I understand, it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, talking over the music is rude to both the artist and the audience members who have paid to be there. My final gripe (yes, I’m ranting) is when people bring their 6”0 boyfriends who stand right in front of you, and don’t even like the music! Now this might be just because I’m 5”5 and salty, but when you have a tall man in front of you, clearly not enjoying the show, it wrecks the experience a little. Anyway, enough ranting, I’m going to talk about the show.

Ethel Cain’s music has always been hauntingly beautiful, but paired with an incredibly detailed set of willow trees and a wooden cross as the mic stand? Magnificent. She herself is an incredible presence, whether she was still or moving, she just captivated every single audience member. She began the set with a collection of songs from her most recent album: Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. The atmosphere of these songs was genuinely beautiful, as she told the depressing tale of the characters of Willoughby and Ethel through music. My personal favourite was ‘Nettles’, which is a poignant telling of the two characters’ love. She then moved through to Perverts, which is a much more experimental album that strays away from the Ethel Cain storyline. The visuals on stage, flashing lights, a lot of red and harsh neon, created an almost overwhelming atmosphere. With the bass rattling with your bones, it was hard not to feel this section of her set right to your core, no matter how downright creepy it often felt. The encore consisted of three of my all-time favourite songs, taken from both Preacher’s Daughter and Inbred, her earlier works. She played ‘A House in Nebraska’, ‘Crush’ and ‘American Teenager’, all iconic songs that really tied the whole show together.

All in all, it was an incredible show. There aren’t a lot of performers who can command the stage in stillness, in the age of sets like The Eras Tour and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short and Sweet tour, but Ethel Cain’s performance was amazing. Aside from my little niggles with concert etiquette, I truly believe hers was one of the best concerts I’ve been to all year.

Editor: Grace Lees

• concerts
• ethel cain
• music
• o2
• o2 apollo