Soccer Mommy Dazzles Los Angeles
Words & photos by Greg Poblete
December 13, 2022 — Nashville native and three-first-name-haver Sophia Regina Allison AKA Soccer Mommy graced Los Angeles with her presence on Tuesday, December 13th, 2022 at the historic Wiltern theater, and it was a marvelous time. Following suit to the manic pixie dream girl aesthetic, Soccer Mommy teeters between the genres of bedroom pop, indie rock, with a dash of goth. And with this LA stop on the brilliantly named “Touring, Forever” tour supporting her superb latest release, Sometimes Forever, Soccer Mommy solidifies her place amongst the other heavy-hitting, sad-girl indie rock stars making waves in the music “biz” like Phoebe Bridgers and Mitski.
Opening the show was Canadian indie outfit, TOPS. Up top (purposeful) of the set, a pleasant “What’s up fuckers?” greeted the LA crowd and the show was underway. TOPS brought plenty of grooves and sensual moves with their pillowy soft tunes that would be the perfect soundtrack to an afternoon nap on a hammock. At times it felt as if the band members themselves were just too cool to be there as the drummer and bassist played with little to no soul. But the lead singer busted out the nastiest flute solo during one of their later songs in the set that won the audience over.
After TOPS left the stage, the house music started back up consisting of hits from Björk, Janet Jackson, and SZA. And once the lights went down, “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne blasted through the Wiltern speakers and the crowd instantly knew that this was an invitation for a good ol’ fashion singalong.
As soon as karaoke was finished, Soccer Mommy’s gamer cred went through the roof as Nobuo Uematsu’s “Anxiety” from the Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack began to play as the band made their way to the stage. Almost a tad too on the nose with a track titled “Anxiety” as a walk-out song, Sophia posted up to center stage with her sparkly purple Novo guitar, quietly jumping into the first song without any introduction whatsoever. Wearing a long black dress and black boots, Soccer Mommy kicked off the show with the gut-wrenching “Bones” off the new album, sounding just as good if not better than the recorded version.
The setup was rather cute with bisexual lighting illuminating the stage, a small cluster of colorful clouds hanging from the rafters, and the band wearing matching suits. As soon as the first song ended, it seemed like the next song, “With U,” began without skipping a beat. A personal highlight for me from Sometimes, Forever, hearing this track in the flesh accentuated the dreamy soundscape and beefy drums that the recorded version highlights so well.
But as the show continued, it became apparent that Sophia is not much of a talker and doesn’t interact with the audience a great amount. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. I actually highly respect that she allows the music to speak for itself. However, watching Soccer Mommy perform in a world with the TikTokification of concerts from The 1975 and Harry Styles constantly interacting with fans at their shows is rather contrasting.
The 18-song setlist consisted majorly of Sometimes, Forever tracks, a few Clean songs, and a handful from 2020’s color theory. The moments that truly stood out for me were songs such as “yellow is the color of her eyes,” “Cool” and “Shotgun.” Although the entire show was solid from start to finish, these were the songs I anticipated hearing live the most, and they did not disappoint. Sophia’s voice shimmered drenched in a perfect amount of reverb as her gorgeous guitar effects cut through the venue like butter. Her backing band was extremely tight, adding plenty of grit and spunk that Soccer Mommy’s music captures so well, and the crowd appropriately swayed and headbanged at the proper times during the show.
All in all, Soccer Mommy at the Wiltern was a lovely experience. The vibrant sound palette and gorgeous instrumentation from Sometimes, Forever translated flawlessly into a live setting, and demonstrated Sophia’s immense musicianship through her stunning guitar tones, striking vocals, and intimately-deep songwriting. Being an LA show, it was also nice having a couple celebrity sightings on my way out of the venue such as Saddest Factory Records artist Charlie Hickey and one of the Sklar brothers.
If you get the chance to catch a Soccer Mommy set at a festival, I would highly recommend catching a couple songs. You’re going to like what you hear, I guarantee it.
