Thousands of fans gathered in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco for Doechii’s sold-out show on Friday, Nov. 7, playing her Grammy-winning album “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”
Fans arrived adorned in a multitude of styles, many inspired by Doechii’s often “office siren”-themed touring outfits.
Producer and rapper Kal Banx opened for Doechii, performing songs from his newest album, “Rhoda,” such as “Lose Control” and “Chicken.”
Banx was a contributing producer for “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” as well as other projects for Doechii.
During his set, Banx explained some of the emotional meanings behind his songs, connecting with the crowd and showcasing his intentionality in his music.
The crowd slowly grew in size and anticipation as the set crew unveiled Doechii’s iconic giant boombox set, from which she emerged and performed on throughout the show.
Between Banx’s and Doechii’s sets, an awkward amount of time went by with the lights lowered and excitement growing, just to wait in silence for a few minutes. While this was a little frustrating at the moment, Doechii’s set made up for it.
Her set began with a black-and-white video of her in a classroom writing “Live from the Swamp” on a blackboard. The video transitioned into her song “Stanka Pooh,” the first track on her Grammy-winning album.
Fans exploded with cheers as lights flashed and Doechii performed with ease, sliding across the stage atop a classroom desk and posing effortlessly with the rhythm.
Watching Doechii perform so passionately and full of talent had to have been the best part of the show. You can tell she loves what she does and was meant to be an artist.
As her set continued, Doechii introduced her DJ and emcee, DJ Milan. Milan also helped produce the “A.B.N.H.” album, and also makes the perfect hype-woman and DJ for her performances.
Milan was a big presence on stage throughout the show, both in the DJ booth and alongside Doechii for one of her most popular songs, “Denial is a River.”
As a part of the tour tradition, Doechii brought several fans onstage and sat them at classroom-style desks while she performed her single “Crazy” atop the desks.
The energy from Doechii or the crowd never withered throughout the show as she continued to perform most of the “A.B.N.H.” album, with hit songs such as “Nissan Altima,” “Boiled Peanuts” and “Catfish.”
Taking full advantage of the stage’s set, Doechii slid down the adjoining slide during “Denial is a River,” and emerged from the top of the boombox mid-song for the iconic line, “It’s everything, I’m everything!” from her song “Boom Bap.”
Doechii continued to impress with her powerful stage presence, incredible vocals and her creative props and set design.
The lighting and screen visuals were curated perfectly to produce a different feeling and environment for each song.
Doechii’s set list also included fan-adored songs outside of the album, such as such as “Stressed,” –one of my personal favorites– “Alter Ego” and “Nosebleeds.”The latter became a fan favorite after it was released just hours after Doechii won the Grammy for Best Rap Album this year.
Doechii became the third Black woman in Grammy history to win in her category. She has since been nominated for five more Grammy awards for next year’s ceremony.
After watching her set at San Francisco’s Outside Lands in August, I was worried the sets might be too similar, considering how recent it was. Though I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of variety between the sets, visually and sonically.
In one of the last songs, Doechii introduced her sisters, who were also her backup dancers on tour.
The twin sisters sang “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson as the show came to a close.
For one last hurrah, Doechii asked the crowd to put their phones away and be in the moment as she performed “Wait,” a song from the “A.B.N.H.” album that she said is personal to her.
Fans cheered Doechii on as she danced to the guitar solo ending of the song.
Long merch lines and trash cans full of empty cups on the way out signaled the end of a great concert.
For only $150 for general admission to see one of my favorite and Grammy-winning artists, I was more than pleased with my experience and time at the show.
Rating: 5/5
