If the lines at the merch table are to be used as a measuring stick, Natalie Jane must have more hoodies rushed into production before her US leg of the “Sick To My Stomach” tour wraps on February 12 in Houston.
Clevelanders braved the frigid temperatures to line up hours ahead of the Bergen County, New Jersey native’s set (about a third of whom purchased VIP packages that ranged in price from $100 – $150) to get a good spot on the SOLD-OUT Beachland Ballroom floor.
The aforementioned merch line spilled out of the entry hallway and into the ballroom and did not appear to get any shorter in the hours leading up to show time.
Natalie, a 20-year-old pop sensation, has amassed over a half-billion streams across popular music platforms before even releasing an LP, on the strength of her popular songs “Ava” and “Sick To My Stomach.”
After a 30-minute set from opener Chandler Leighton, followed by a 30-minute intermission (which turned into a painful group karaoke session), Natalie appeared on stage and was met with screams and high-pitched shrieks from the female-dominant crowd.
“Is anybody feeling on top of the world tonight?” — Natalie asked before her second song, “The Top,” the follow-up to set opener “Sick To My Stomach.”
In an interview with CleveRock.com ahead of her Cleveland tour stop, Natalie explained, “I would describe my sound as dramatic and sad, but still having a bunch of energy.”
The worst part of being a music critic (besides merciless social media comments) is the tiring task of describing a new artist’s sound to readers. If Natalie hadn’t so accurately described her music, I guess I’d peg her as the lovechild of Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish (with Eilish’s genes reigning more dominant.)
Natalie appeals to a niche audience, including preteens. Call me old fashioned, but it was a tad uncomfortable watching young girls, still years away from qualifying for a driver’s license, yelling lyrics such as “I think I’m mentally cheating” and “Who the f*ck is Ava?” (Who the f*ck are the parents? And where are they?)
“I’m sorry if I say some words that you shouldn’t repeat,” Natalie quipped. “But you’re here and I’m not going to not say them.”
Her cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” which helped spark her recognition when it went viral across the interwebs, was on-point. It’s no mystery why this cover opened the floodgates of fans, curious to hear more.
The following song, “If You Died Today,” is perhaps her best songwriting work to date. Her lyrics, raw, honest and vulnerable, are also relatable to most folks, at least on some scale.
“If you died today, my life wouldn’t change
‘Cause you haven’t been in it since the night you walked away
Would your mother call? Would I even know at all?
Even though we’re strangers now, I know my heart would break”
Natalie dedicated “Mentally Cheating” to a couple in the audience (shoutout Meg & Josh). She later handed out a bouquet of roses to an audience member “going through sh*t” (shoutout Lindsey), who, after speaking to the fan after the show, DEFINITELY needed them.
She played an unreleased song about keeping up appearances and putting up a front in front of an ex-partner.
Other show highlights included “Tattoos” and “Seven,” as well as “Yucky,” where Natalie coached fans to yell, “Lyin’ to myself/it won’t end well.”
Being a young female musician is equally scratch-and-claw catty to succeed as making it to the popular girls’ table in the middle school lunch room. Listen, as the oldest non-child-toting male in the entire audience, this reviewer has a plethora of catching up-and-coming talent (pre-stardom).
I saw a 21-year-old Lzzy Hale front Halestorm in front of a crowd of less than 100 people early in the day at a festival in Milwaukee in 2005. During a Warped Tour stop in Orlando, I heard a 17-year-old Hayley Williams belt out songs with Paramore on a barely relevant side stage. And, in 2007, I watched a 17-year-old aspiring songstress open for Brad Paisley. Her name: Taylor Swift.
As absurd as this will sound to some, Natalie has more impressive vocal pipes than any of these ladies did upon first listen. (No, I’m not kidding.)
What she makes up for in her singing ability, she is shy of in natural showmanship. Hale and Williams were natural Rock stars (with a capital ‘R’)! At times, Natalie’s onstage movements seemed a bit awkward and forced; she played to a drumkit (shoutout to Caleb) and backing tracks, and her between-song banter with the audience, though intimate and charming, disrupted the show’s flow.
And, while not a natural showperson, there isn’t much that can’t be learned when getting experience headlining shows across the country (and beyond).
In a move that surprised nobody, Natalie closed her set with “Ava.” (“Who the F*CK is Ava, anyway?)
After a (very) brief exit from the stage, Natalie returned to reprise “Ava” and a quick medley of other previously performed songs, including show-opener “Sick To My Stomach.” She blew kisses to the crowd and thanked the audience for coming.
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