Indigo De Souza Embraces Vulnerability at the Royale
All photos courtesy of Kim Curry // @kimcurry_
What appeared to be an oddly cold spring night in Boston became warmed by the emotional, raw experience of Indigo De Souza’s stop at the Royale on her All of This Will End Tour. The singer graced the city on May 22, a day that many eager fans would get to hear songs from her new album, All of This Will End, for the first time in concert. The amount of new songs included in the show remains unknown, as her setlist changes almost every night.
Upon entry, the Royale glows electric blue. Members of the crowd hug and yell for one another as they reunite. They begin to dance before opening act Sluice even takes the stage. The North Carolina natives fronted by Justin Morris begin their set with a violin bass played with a bow that grew in intensity and distortion. Their set includes chest pounding drums and intricate lyrics that help the crowd to get engaged.
After about twenty minutes of ambient music and audience chatter between the sets, De Souza proudly enters the stage alongside her band. They weave carefully through the scattered seaweed-like stand ups that decorated the stage. She stands on top of a rug reminiscent of Nickelodeon’s green slime and starts the song “Time Back.”
As soon as De Souza sings her first note, her arm begins to swing in a hypnotizing conducting motion. She proceeded to be her own metronome in this way for multiple songs throughout the show. De Souza displays her stage confidence and comfortability within the first half of “Time Back” through forceful vocals and visibly feeling the music.
“You Can Be Mean” introduces the use of the electric violin for her live performances, played by Libby Rodenbough. The violin sounds very similar to a saxophone, which allows it to add elements of beauty to almost every track performed. The audience becomes involved during this track, screaming back the lyrics “When will this get any better?” at an ear-vibrating volume. “Sick in the Head” follows, which features a band-wide, raucous build-up to a stunning violin solo.
De Souza’s powerhouse of a song, “Darker Than Death,” starts out with staccato violin and hushed drums. The electric guitar moments stand out for this track, increasing the intensity and matching the emotions described in the lyrics. De Souza also puts her captivating vocal talent on display during this track by traveling through an impressively wide vocal range. After completing the song, De Souza admits to the audience that she was having a bad day and wishes that anyone in the audience who also had a bad day would feel better while experiencing the show.
The tempo picks up for the next few tracks, getting the audience to move around more and break free of their repetitive head nods. At the start of “Wasting Your Time,” De Souza and her bassist headbang in sync as they played together. After this song, she tells the audience she already feels better from her bad day. Drummer Avery Sullivan’s intricate skills stood out during “How I Get Myself Killed.” The same track also leads a pair of audience members to dance with their hands interlocked and passionately sing the lyrics to each other.
“What Are We Gonna Do Now,” “Parking Lot,” and “Not My Body” allow De Souza to enamor the audience with her vocal talent. Her ability to sustain high notes with audible power serves as one of the main components that make her performances so impressive. In addition to her expertise on the violin, Rodenbough also contributes dazzling harmonies that brilliantly support De Souza’s vocals.
Since many of De Souza’s songs discuss heavy, emotional topics from her personal life, she creates a space that allows the audience to gain an understanding of what she’s been through, while also being able to relate her raw lyrics to their own lives. The guttural screams that exit her lungs throughout the show bring her impassioned lyrics to life and assert their fervor.
De Souza introduces “Younger & Dumber” by saying, “I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was young.” She then goes on to explain that the song is about not facing disappointment from traumatic decisions you’ve made in the past. The ambient start of the song soon builds to an all-consuming instrumental and vocal peak, full of passion and empathy. The song ends at a slow pace, allowing for the audience to come down from the intense emotions brought forward by the track.
The audience shrieks at the start of “Kill Me,” elated to hear what De Souza announces to be the last song. Rodenbough’s glittering harmonies return for this track and are especially noticeable in the verses. The audience contributes their loudest moment of participation when yelling the lyrics “Tell them that I wasn’t having much fun.” At the song's end, De Souza and the band wave their alleged goodbyes.
De Souza stuns the audience by selecting her killer track “Real Pain” for the encore. In the section of the song that utilizes multiple layers of screaming in the studio version, De Souza opts for stunning, near-operatic vocals that somewhat resemble a theremin. De Souza and the band lay it all out for this last song, exploding with captivating energy to end the show. As they disappear from the stage and the house lights come on, audience members leave the Royale stunned by the fascinating performance they just experienced.
