I’ve fallen in love with FKA Twigs.
November 15, 2019Photos and Story by Sandisz Thieme
FKA Twigs… Where do I even begin?
Well, first and foremost: Magdalene is absolutely beautiful. It’s a powerful, romantic and futuristic neo-opera masterpiece that will just utterly destroy you from the inside out. I mean if you listen to this thing all the way through and your heart isn’t just shattered you’re (probably) clearly a sociopath.
Okay so you may not be a sociopath, but what I’m trying to say is this: not only is Magdalene romantic in the most heart-wrenching way, it’s powerful. With Twigs at the helm of everything from production, to art direction, to choreography, her operatic and experimental approach to hip hop, as well as her awe-inspiring artistic power truly shines all throughout this project. She and her accomplished and enigmatic troupe showed off all that beauty and power with an unforgettable show in the new (and beautiful) Mission Ballroom in Denver last Tuesday night, bringing an entirely new world to the stage in front of our eyes.
Every single song on Magdalene really makes you feel something different. The gloomy, ghost-like Thousand Eyes, the robotic then romantic Home With You, the perfect harmony between Twigs’ classical approach and trap music with the Future feature on Holy Terrain. But the album would be incomplete without the heart-wrenching beauty that is Mirrored Heart. With a chorus like “But I’m never gonna give up; Though I’m probably gonna think about you all the time; And for the lovers who found a mirrored heart; They just remind me I’m without you,” Twigs’ heartbreak really takes center-stage.
As if the music wasn’t already good enough, the show was absolutely breathtaking. The Magdalene tour is more than just a string of concerts, it’s an entire production. FKA Twigs and her dance crew set the stage on fire with multiple costume changes and everything from pole-dancing to Chinese sword-fighting. And the costumes, by the way, were just gorgeous.
Just like her music, FKA Twigs merges the classical with the modern and experimental with her outfits on stage. She shines as some amalgamation of a pirate’s muse, a religious figure (an obvious homage to the albums namesake, Mary Magdalene), a hip-hop magnate, and the queen of England all at once in so many different ways with so many different outfits, many of which were sparkling and literally shining (quick shout-out to the bedazzled, silk bandana/scarf/headdress thing, which made a number of appearances) and all of them were completed with her half-braided, red-dyed hair and her also shining, sparkly makeup.
Oh and the dancers–oh my GOD the outfits on the dancers! Their top half was very pirate-esque, ruffled sheer white fabrics, ribbons all over, and heavy makeup, braids, beads, and whatever else you’d expect. Then the bottom half was Nike-branded shorts over Nike-branded tights and Nike Vapormax TN shoes, all in white. They looked directly off the hypothetical brainchild-runway between Margiela’s John Galliano & Alyx’s Matthew Williams.
All in all, this show was incredible, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, etc. and so clearly meticulously thought out, practiced and rehearsed creating the most interesting and intriguing show I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending hands down and Twigs, if you’re reading this, it was truly an honor.
FKA Twigs Setlist
- Tap Dance
- Hide
- Water Me
- Pendulum
- Figure 8
- Video Girl
- Thousand Eyes (Transition)
- Mary Magdalene
- Home With You
- Sad Day
- Fallen Alien
- Fukk Sleep (A$AP Rocky cover)
- Holy Terrain
- Daybed
- Mirrored Heart
- Papi Pacify
- Lights On (Dance Break)
- Two Weeks
- Cellophane