Photos by Megan Hirao
On May 30, San Diego was shaken by none other than underscores, one of the most influential voices in today’s hyperpop scene. Behind the stage name is April Harper Grey, who recently released her groundbreaking third album, U, before settling at The Observatory North Park for the third stop of her GALLERIA tour.
The night began with an eclectic DJ set from umru, a longtime friend and collaborator of Grey, before underscores made her entrance…from backstage. Projected through a live camera feed, she ventured down a hallway and up a set of stairs toward the main stage, singing her SoundCloud exclusive, “Point A.” When she finally emerged in front of the crowd, she pivoted into a run of her earlier hits, “Locals (Girls like us),” “Poplife,” and “Stupid (Can’t run from the urge),” all performed with an electric, explosive energy that had everyone in the room moving within seconds.
The rest of her setlist contained all nine tracks from U, a few from her 2021 album fishmonger, and a selection of stand-alone picks from her discography (plus an unreleased!) that effectively captured the breadth of her distinct sound. And from the blow of cigarette smoke before “The Peace” to the melancholic piano transition from “Del mar county fair 2008” into “Lovefield,” Grey added a personalized touch to each of these songs, creating versions that could only exist within their live performances.
What impressed me the most about the show, aside from Grey’s insane stamina as she jumped across the stage, was the sheer levels of thought and production that went into turning GALLERIA into an original, immersive experience. A notably special element was the introduction of U-LIGHTs, underscores’ take on lightsticks: handheld LED devices commonly seen at K-pop concerts that shine in sync with the music. Seeing the venue illuminated by colorful bulbs inspired by the smiley face on the fishmonger album cover made every hard-hitting beat drop hit even harder (“Innuendo (I Get U)”…I’m looking at U).
Grey also had some of the most tasteful visuals I’ve seen from any artist recently; each song was accompanied by its own set of graphics and recordings displayed on the screen behind her. A particular standout amongst these designs was the visualizer for “Do It,” which used two silhouettes as backup dancers on either side of her, cleverly recreating the “Do It (Choreo Ver.)” video that Grey released last year.
Yet what made her elaborate and dynamic production so memorable is that Grey knew exactly when to pull it back. After a punchy performance of “harvest sky,” her collaboration with Oklou, Grey briefly left the stage before returning to a stripped-down set, the space lit only by a bar of white light slung across her shoulders. The stark beam cast her in a breathtaking, almost celestial glow, amplifying the swelling, cinematic synths of “What A Girl Gotta Do.”
Grey’s last song before the encore—because there’s always an encore—was “Wish U Well,” the closing track of U. She slipped offstage before it ended, returning three minutes later to perform “1-800-FUCKOFF” and call San Diego her “favorite city in the world,” but of course, the show wasn’t over until she played “Music.” And as the screen flickered with images of headphones and music notes, and the U-LIGHTs flashed in glowing pastels, I couldn’t help but feel as though I had witnessed underscores right at the brink of becoming something undeniable.
A GALLERY of GALLERIA:
