Pale Waves: An inclusive and triumphant conclusion to the Who Am I? tour at Sheffield's O2 Academy - review

Despite lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie not knowing what day of the week it was – ‘It is Sunday, right?’ – the band put on a high energy performance that helped the modestly-sized crowd shake away their back-to-work-tomorrow lethargy.

With just two albums under their belts (2018’s My Mind Makes Noises and the recently released sophomore effort, Who Am I?), you might have been surprised that a band like Pale Waves could perform in the O2 Academy’s main room.

But they have more than earned that place on the main room stage, with a well paced set and Fiona’s confident ad-libbing evocative of a band that have been on the scene for far longer than Pale Waves have.

Set standouts include ‘Red’, ‘She’s My Religion’ and ‘Noises’ – the latter which was an impromptu addition to the evening’s proceedings, after the band’s drummer Ciara Doran dared Fiona to play it.

After briefly disappearing off stage – possibly to check Fiona remembered the lyrics – Pale Waves launched into a sponatenous and heartfelt rendition of the song that felt unique to Sheffield.

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The Steel City sure knows how to party – Fiona tells us as much as she gestures to the plastic cup of prosecco that the band are using to toast the last night of their tour, after their Sheffield show date was rescheduled from February.

While you could forgive the band had they put on a lacklustre performance – it was a Sunday night, and it was the end of their tour so they must have been knackered – that’s far from what Pale Waves delievered.

Sunday night’s show at Sheffield’s O2 Academy was far more than just a gig. That’s because Pale Waves are not a band that are afraid to be political, in between their songs which boast powerful vocals and catchy choruses.

‘I love women,’ shouts frontwoman Fiona, who rails against the fact it’s still illegal to be gay in 70 countries around the world, before coming out for the band’s encore swathed in a lesbian pride flag.

A Pale Waves gig is a warm, comforting embrace from your favourite person; their shows are an inclusive space; there are teens decked out in heavy goth makeup; same-sex couples proudly holding hands, and even, to my right, a group of four twenty-something lads who are singing their hearts out to every single song, arms thrown around one another’s shoulders.

This is more than music, perhaps no more evident than when a fan comes out as non-binary towards the end of the show – with frontwoman Heather celebrating her bandmate Ciara, who came out as non-binary themselves on Instagram.

This is a band that is not afraid to challenge the status quo, and celebrate what makes us different. Now that’s worth going outside on a Sunday night for.