Doja Cat brought her Scarlet tour to Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on Tuesday evening (Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Doja Cat’s Scarlet Tour is a spectacle, there’s no other way to put it. She dances around in nothing but a white bra and pants with knee high boots across a stage covered in hay bales made from blonde hair.
Known for her shock tactics and huge staging at the likes of Coachella, her tour is surprisingly pared down.
The simple staging with some moving platforms barely hints at the gig she’s about to put on at Glasgow’s Ovo Hydro arena for her first ever European headlining tour. Not a minute goes by the Demons rapper isn’t surrounded by fireworks and actual flames – a logistical nightmare with all that hair.
The show rips through dance numbers, with a handful of slower songs thrown in. Notably, these were the ones the chatter level in the room rose and fans chose to take their toilet breaks during.
Ultimately, The Scarlet Tour is here to make you jump, not move you to tears. That example is set by Doja who writhes around, shaking her ass and moving constantly for the entire show. At one point she lounges on a bed of hair but it doesn’t take long before she’s up and grinding again.
Her dynamic with the crowd has a clear hierarchy, this isn’t meant to endear you to the human behind the hits – it’s a display of power.
Of course, she painted the town red (Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Doja was notably distant from the audience (Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation)
It took half an hour for her to say anything beyond ‘hi’ to the crowd and even then it was a quick joke about her Hilary Duff fumble at Parklife. This is the only glimmer in the show that Doja could possibly care about what her fans think. She’s not here to make friends.
Her setlist was completely jumbled from previous gigs to keep things fresh but fan favourite Say So remains despite the singer being infamously tired of performing it. However, it was a shortened rendition with Doja letting the crowd sing most of the track.
If one song could sum up the entire show it would be Attention. She knelt before the crowd and begged for applause which was freely given by the hyped up crowd. Throughout the gig, Doja gave no instructions, no pause for chats, no break in the bass heavy music. This was a speedrun of hits, take it or leave it.
Yet she was still unforgettable (Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Recent hit and penultimate song Paint the Town Red got the loudest response from the audience. Doja and her backup singers finally brought out a little choreography and I was thankful for it; the drops and shakes were getting a little repetitive.
Closing the show on Wet Vagina of all songs, Doja waved goodbye and stalked off stage. There is no question of an encore, she’s done singing and that’s all you’re getting.
The Scarlet Tour is something to behold but it all blurs together into one with no costume changes or interactions to punctuate her tracks. By keeping fans at a distance, Doja Cat’s show runs the risk of being repetitive but she could never be forgettable.
Tickets for Doja Cat’s tour are available via Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.