On the first of two sold-out nights at The Dome, Taylor Acorn brought an energetic set that had the crowd jumping, shouting, and pretty much locked in from the start, helped along by a strong opening set from wilt.
The Dome is a fairly big venue, but there are no barriers, so you’re right up against the stage. Everything feels and is immediate and intimate. When Taylor Acorn first walked out, the crowd screamed and you could barely see for the phones trying to capture the moment. She started with ‘Poster Child’, the title track of her most recent album. It was clear everyone already knew the words, but were still hanging on to everything she said.
Her stage presence was completely captivating, it really gave life to the room and was a great addition to her controlled but powerful vocals. It’s no surprise that many in the crowd were coming back for the second night
When she took moments to chat to the crowd between songs, she would be (happily) interrupted by shouts of “I love you” and “you’re incredible!” – to which she responded, “you’re incredible.” She welcomed new and old fans, and encouraged everyone to be safe and look after the people around them, but most of all to have fun. And fun we did have.
Supporting Taylor on the tour is wilt, who toured with her back in the US as well. You really couldn’t have asked for a better band to start the night. One thing that really stands out is Chelsa Rifkin’s vocals – huge range, moving from soft vulnerability to full-on screaming and perfectly matching the tone of the track. I’ll be honest, half-way through their set I forgot that they weren’t the headline, and I don’t think I was the only one. You didn’t need to know all their songs to love everything they played, and the cover of “All The Things She Said” by t.A.T.u. was an instant hit with the audience.
As a band, wilt look like a group of friends having an absolute blast onstage. They were constantly riffing off each other (metaphorically and literally), headbanging, and connecting with the fans. They also made a point of shouting out the venue, the lighting team and the sound crew – who were doing a stellar job. Moments like that remind you of all the hard work that goes into productions like these, and makes you grateful to step into that world.