Concert Reviews Review & Setlist: Suki Waterhouse stops show to help fan, performs classics and new gems at Roadrunner Waterhouse helped bring attention to a fan who dealt with a medical episode during Friday’s concert at Roadrunner. Suki Waterhouse performed at Roadrunner on Friday. (Jeremy Soma)
As Roadrunner filled to the brim with eager fans, Bully opened the show with songs like “Magnitude Of You” and “Where to Start,” closing out their set with a social commentary piece, “All This Noise.”
Alicia Bognanno led the stage with little interaction with fans but fun music for about 30-to-45 minutes, readying the room for the headliner.
Suki Waterhouse made her way onto the stage at approximately 9:15 p.m., opening with appropriately timed “Gateway Drug” off of her new album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. Touring band members Emilia Paige, Jane Noise, Pete A. Jonas, and Myqle served their best during the set, playing Waterhouse’s music in a different, more acoustic way than one would’ve heard on the recorded Sparklemuffin album. For the most part, this was successful.
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Waterhouse’s iconic hits like “Moves”, “Johanna”, and “Good Looking” were scattered throughout the show, with the latter as her final encore. Her ability to work a room has vastly improved since I went to her January 2023 show in Boston.
Not to mention, her voice is much stronger than that performance. Waterhouse performed songs off of her new album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, to hype up the crowd using high-tempo tracks like “OMG” and “Supersad”. The hits felt a bit weaker to me than at previous shows, with the experimental nature of the new performances falling flat. “Good Looking” was missing the bass that completes the track, and “Moves” lacked its charismatic energy. While the performances offered something new, I was missing the excitement that brought me there.
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Waterhouse shouted out Boston multiple times, citing her excitement for performing at a bigger venue than she did at her previous tour, nearly two years ago on the “Coolest Place in the World Tour,” at the Paradise Rock Club.
During the show, I noticed at least three people fainting or in medical crisis: one during the 30-minute period between Bully and Waterhouse, one in the middle of Waterhouse’s set, and one during Waterhouse’s encore. The room was very hot and there was little-to-no ventilation or seating available, though bars with water were available at every side of the standing room (albeit for $7 per bottle).
Waterhouse stopped the show during “Good Looking” to ensure that one fan was OK, halting the music completely and refusing to go on until she knew help was on the way. After the incident, Waterhouse checked in with the audience multiple times to make sure everyone had water and anything else they needed. She and the band waited for a few moments before bringing us back into the bridge.
Overall, this was a strong performance for Waterhouse, with her onstage and confidence at an all-time high. If you were someone going to hear the classics live, you might’ve been disappointed. While her voice was better than ever, the backing music did little to evoke the Suki-induced nostalgia we all love.
Setlist for Suki Waterhouse at Roadrunner in Boston on Dec. 13, 2024:
Gateway Drug
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Supersad
OMG
Johanna
The Devil I Know
Blackout Drunk
Helpless
Nonchalant
My Fun
Think Twice
To Get You
Moves
Big Love
To Love
Model, Actress, Whatever
Brutally
Good Looking
Jessika Landon Audience Engagement Co-op Jessika Landon is the audience engagement co-op at Boston.com and a senior at Emerson College. She is a native of Bangor, Maine.
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