LIVE: MALLRAT wsg ANNA SHOEMAKER – Charlotte, NC, USA – May 3, 2025

Venue: Neighborhood Theatre

City: Charlotte, NC

Dates: May 3, 2025

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (https://www.toddstarphotography.com)

Another new venue to cover along with two new artists on my radar.  Charlotte, NC’s Neighborhood Theatre was the landing spot for Mallrat’s tour supporting her latest effort Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right and she had opener Anna Shoemaker in two for good measure.  The SRO venue was filling up from the time the doors opened until the moment Shoemaker hit the stage.  Armed with another guitarist, some calculated and programed percussion, and a slew of songs from her catalog, including her recent release Someone Should Stop Her, Anna made the venue and audience her own over the course of her set.  Listening to her use her voice to deliver the lyrics as well as the emotion behind them triggered my immediate appreciation of her songwriting craft and singing ability.  Moving from song to song, she wove some story telling into the mix as well as a bunch of smiles that let us all know she was having as much fun as we were.  Her voice cascaded over the tandem guitars and beat perfectly, allowing her to connect with many in the audience, as evidenced by the line of fans that waited to meet her at the merch table after her set.

It took little time for the venue crew to shift the stage from the acoustic duo to Mallrat’s live setup, but there was a gap of time allowing the anticipation to build while the venue packed more people in for the show.  The sound system cut and switched to intro music as the lights dropped and Mallrat’s ‘band’ took their places, giving her a live drummer and keyboard player with loops and programmed tracks to help carry the show musically.  After a few more moments, Mallrat hit the stage and proceeded to give the packed theatre exactly what the crowd wanted.  Her set consisted of tracks from across her various releases, including every track from her latest which dropped February 14.  Kicking things off with a pair of new tracks “My Darling, My Angel” and “Pavement,” allowed everyone to settle in for what was to come.  As I maneuvered the area stage right taking photos, I heard fans on song after song proclaim they loved various songs throughout the set and occasionally the crowd was louder than her vocals pushing through the sound system.  Shrouded in near darkness at the front of the stage while her keyboard player and drummer were well lit thanks to some fixed venue lighting, it made photographs a bit tough, but didn’t detract from the overall vibe and enjoyment of the show.  Hearing the new songs live gave them a slightly different texture than simply listening through on a computer in the home office.  The party vibe of the crowd, music, and Mallrat herself brought everything together and allowed everyone to leave the Neighborhood Theatre with a smile on their face relishing what they just witnessed.  I hope to see her on a bigger stage in the future, allowing her music and energy to wash over larger audiences that could benefit from a feel-good show.

MALLRAT SETLIST: My Darling, My Angel – Pavement – Wish on an Eyelash – Surprise Me – The Worst Thing I Would Ever Do – The Light Streams in and Hits My Face – Hocus Pocus – Ray of Light – Something for Somebody – Defibrillator – Teeth – Groceries – R U HIGH – Virtue – Horses – Charlie – Rockstar – Hideaway – Love Songs / Heart Strings

COMPLETE SET OF MALLRAT PHOTOS

COMPLETE SET OF ANNA SHOEMAKER PHOTOS

MALLRAT LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

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INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

ANNA SHOEMAKER LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

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INSTAGRAM

Tags: featured

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries