There were more references to unpack with opening act Sailorr, whose baby pink comedy-sized rosette reading \u201ccrash out\u201d was offset with her signature blackened smile<\/a> \u2013 a revival of the Vietnamese tradition of nhu\u1ed9m r\u0103ng \u0111en. We took our seats as she launched into the unbelievably catchy \u2018Bitches Brew\u2019 followed by \u2018Sincerity\u2019 while flanked by two dancers laced with girly ribbons. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for this song\u201d she said of her TikTok hit \u2018Pookie\u2019s Requiem\u2019. Equal parts cutesy and venomous, she was the perfect aperitif for what was to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n Being the very first night of the world tour, and with her Coachella<\/a> and VMAs<\/a>\u00a0sets establishing her as one of the most thrilling live performers we have, there was a lot of speculation in the crowd. A male voice testing out the autotune led to two girls behind us frothing about a surprise guest, while we were busy making bets about how many costume and wig changes there\u2019d be. But as the bluesy sax filled the arena and Doja slinked up the stairs in scarlet red tights and hot pink heels, it soon became clear that there were no gimmicks needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Performing on a giant illuminated geometric stage straight from 80s Top of the Pops, Doja Cat unleashed a charisma-packed 90-minute set that began with a trio of songs emblematic of her astounding range: \u2018Cards\u2019, with her new Janet Jackson-inspired synth sound, TikTok rap staple \u2018Get into It (Yuh)\u2019, and hooky pop hit \u2018Kiss Me More\u2019. Her live band boogied around the stage in crisp white 80s shoulder pads and high-cut leotards, while she commanded every moment of attention in a blonde shag wig, bedazzled bodysuit and glowing neon orange nails.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those same nails mimed everything from a loaded gun to devil horns over the course of the night, just one example of the former breakdancer\u2019s endless ability to express herself physically. She threw herself onto the ground amid flamethrowers and fireworks while not missing a beat of the bravado bars of \u2018Wet Vagina\u2019. For \u2018Demons\u2019 she crawled backwards with a physicality usually reserved for Andy Serkis doing mo-cap and\/or possessed girls tackling a set of stairs. She even did a peacocky Mick Jagger strut while covering \u2018I\u2019m a Man\u2019 by Spencer Davis Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n As well as not stopping for a single breath while alternating between rapping, belting and dancing, she also reminded us that she is, primarily, a deeply funny and weird edgelord. During \u2018Juicy\u2019, which Doja Cat herself describes as \u201ca butt song\u201d, she had the entire arena in hysterics with a single jiggle of a single asscheek. For the lyrics \u201cI give \u2019em these teeth like Keira Knightley\u201d she delivered ratty face and hands so savage that I\u2019m just grateful Knightley lives in another hemisphere. At one point, she simply strangled herself with the mic cord for a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n The more subdued moments came with some of the lesser-known tracks from Vie, her latest album that received mixed reviews and suffered further from being sandwiched between releases from Cardi B and Taylor Swift. But that\u2019s not to say these songs were anything close to a disappointment. In fact, sometime after the sweat had soaked through her body suit, she had done an anti-gravity lean with the mic stand, and gutturally screamed us through a \u201cMEN AIN\u2019T SHIT\u201d chant, I realised she\u2019s probably the most electric live performer I\u2019ve ever seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Doja Cat closed with her lead single \u2018Jealous Type\u2019, the undeniable funk of which had even us Keira Knightley types up on our feet, serving ratty little hands. \u201cAuckland, this might be the last song,\u201d she said to the rapturous crowd. \u201cBut it\u2019s not the end.\u201d Indeed, for all our failed predictions about gimmicks, guests and costume changes, she did have one surprise left in the closing moments. Gripping a bouquet and beaming as she thanked her band and back-up singers, Doja Cat started to hand out red roses, one by one, to screaming fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n As if she hadn\u2019t given us enough already, we got her flowers too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alex Casey reports back from the opening night of Doja Cat\u2019s Tour Ma Vie at Auckland\u2019s Spark Arena.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4971,36275,156,96592,111,139,69,4913,1066,4917,96593,96594],"class_list":{"0":"post-142847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-concerts","9":"tag-doja-cat","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-live-shows","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-pop","16":"tag-pop-culture","17":"tag-rap","18":"tag-sailorr","19":"tag-spark-arena"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Sailorr opens for Doja Cat at Spark Arena. Image: Alex Casey<\/p>\n
Doja Cat opens Tour Ma Vie at Spark Arena. Image: Tom Grut<\/p>\n
Doja Cat\u2019s stage for Tour Ma Vie at Spark Arena. Image: Tom Grut<\/p>\n