(Article & All Photos by Cassidy Clark)
Do you ever want to vent your feelings and feel empowered? The K-12 Tour lets its audience do just that, with songs that are relatable to all humans ages 10-110. The newest album from Melanie Martinez birthed a bunch of plush punk fans at The Fillmore in Philadelphia for a sold-out show. earlier this week and I was thrilled to be a part of the fun.
A strong feminist opener, Lauren Ruth Ward, first pumped up the crowd and made the stage her own with a stripped-down set that included just a guitarist, and a drummer. Fans traveled from as far as Ohio just to see her perform and with a huge voice that has the grit of Stevie Nicks and the stage presence of Janis Joplin, this Philly native is one to watch.
Once Lauren bowed to adoring old and new fans alike, the crew started cleaning up the stage in preparation for the main attraction. The age spanning attendees applauded as they swept and moved props. It was reminiscent of that classic episode of Spongebob Squarepants where he, to great applause, cleaned tomatoes from the talent show stage.
Finally, the lights went up and the energy was electric as the featured femme hit the stage to deafening cheers from the audience. Melanie has arrived and K-12 class is now in session. Wheels started rolling as ‘Wheels On The Bus’ opened the evening, followed by ‘Class Fight’ and ‘The Principal’, before a lesson for all plays on the screen. It was the first of seven taught during the night, with my favorite being, “Don’t dim another’s light in order to shine. We all shall shine together.”
In between each extravagantly creative set, a heavenly harpist played to raise the anticipation of the audience in the most soothing of ways. Several more songs follow, each one including unique choreography until the album is finished, Then Melanie's gorgeous voice asks, “Who’s ready for some throwbacks?!” Four encores echo, ‘Sippy Cup’, ‘Alphabet Boy’, ‘Mad Hatter’, and ‘Fire Drill’.
If everything was like K-12, then I would go back to “school” anytime!
SETLIST
Wheels on the Bus
Class Fight
The Principal
Show & Tell
Nurse's Office
Drama Club
Strawberry Shortcake
Lunchbox Friends
Orange Juice
Detention
Teacher's Pet
High School Sweethearts
Recess
Sippy Cup
Alphabet Boy
Mad Hatter
Fire Drill
