Melanie Martinez’s PORTALS Tour Took Los Angeles to Another Dimension
Photos & Words by Giannina Fredo | View the full concert gallery here
Friday, June 9, 2023 — Multifaceted artist Melanie Martinez put on an otherworldly performance during her sold out show at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. Her highly anticipated third studio album, PORTALS, was released earlier this year and marks the rebirth of her ‘Cry Baby’ persona as a fairy-like creature with four eyes and a rabbit face. After her K-12 Tour was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, fans around the world have been eager for her to hit the road again. Their wishes have been answered with several North American dates happening this summer, and recently announced international dates in Latin America, Australia, Europe, and more later this year.
Alt rock singer-songwriter from San Francisco, Tanukichan, opened the show with catchy and laidback songs that got everyone swaying. While waiting for Melanie to grace the stage, the diverse crowd happily chatted with each other and the security guards, played sudoku, took selfies, traded friendship bracelets, and complimented each other’s outfits. Fans on the upper balcony of the theater used their phone’s flashlights to create a firefly effect and started chanting her name.
After a while, a glowing candle appeared on the massive screen to signify the start of the show. The crowd’s screams were deafening as heavy fog engulfed the stage. The beloved fairy critter eventually emerged from the fog as a silhouette as if she had been summoned by her four dancers who formed a cultish circle around her and bowed. The show started off with the album’s first singles, “DEATH” and “VOID.” The music video for “VOID” is set to premiere on YouTube on June 13 and already has fans going wild in the live chat.
Known for her elaborate worldbuilding for each album cycle, Martinez’s stage design transported the energetic crowd to an enchanted realm with dragons, spiders, fairies, leeches, a limb-crunching contortionist, and other fun visuals. The lighting design, choreography, props, and animations on the screen matched each song’s theme. Many fans rocked impressive handmade outfits inspired by the album’s woodland aesthetic, featuring an abundance of moss, mushrooms, fairy wings with LED lights, flower crowns, and elf ears. (Expect to see lots of cosplays of the Cry Baby creature at Comic-Con and during Halloween.)
Martinez performed PORTALS in its entirety, including an encore with songs from the deluxe edition of the album: “POWDER”, “PLUTO”, and “MILK OF THE SIREN.” Although the crowd’s enthusiasm was strong throughout the entire show, two songs in particular received the most intense reactions: “NYMPHOLOGY” and “EVIL”, anthems about being liberated from toxic men and misogynistic expectations. Another honorable mention is “THE CONTORTIONIST.” After the show, several fans expressed their excitement for a music video for that song– especially if it will “include lots of body horror.”
The love and energy from both the performers and audience was palpable. Martinez’s whimsical stage presence paired with her talented dancers and band created a fun ambiance throughout the venue. The energy was matched by the passionate fans who sang (and sometimes screamed) along to every single song. There were many moments during the night where Martinez’s voice was drowned out by the crowd, and she riled them up even more by pointing the microphone towards them, enticing them to sing even louder. She had entertaining interactions with the audience throughout the night, including asking “Who’s on their period?!” before performing “MOON CYCLE” and holding up an LGBTQ+ pride flag a fan gave her. Another memorable moment was during “SPIDER WEB”, when the dancers perfectly synched their limbs to the beat of the song to turn Martinez into a dancing spider.
The overall production value for this tour is wonderful and well worth the wait! It’s Melanie Martinez’s mythical world, and we’re just living in it. If you want to see the PORTALS universe come to life on this tour, check out the upcoming tour dates in different countries.
