Tonight is the night that Sadcore and Traumacore unite in Liverpool for an evening of music therapy.
With a bit of a hectic start due to the venue struggling with the amount of people requiring assistance into the O2 Academy Liverpool, the main doors opened roughly 10 minutes later than planned. It was one hell of a workout to climb the multiple flights of stairs into the venue to catch the start of the set from the London based band Defences.
Unfortunately for them, most of the audience were still trying to get into the venue, so they began their set to an almost empty room. Luckily by the end of their short set, the room had filled up nicely and the growing crowd were happy to get involved, signing along to the chorus of certain tracks and clapping along at every opportunity. Lead vocalist Cherry Duesbury paused mid set to speak to the crowd, talking about the crazy world we live in and how we are all now “Part of the defences”. Duesbury and the rest of the band did exactly what a support act should and got everyone prepared for the rest of the evening, while showcasing their melodic post-hardcore sound.
While I didn’t catch the name of every song in the set, “Courage” and “Gravity” were definite highlights. There was of course the traditional thank you, both for RØRY and SkyDxddy for inviting them to be part of the tour and to the crowd for coming down early to check them out.
I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of SkyDxddy prior to her being announced for this tour, other than her collaboration with Citizen Soldier. However, when the support acts were announced, the reaction on tonight’s headline act’s Facebook fan page showed it was clear that RØRY and her team had again booked two very well-suited support acts.
With SkyDxddy taking to the stage for her one person show, the expanse seemed daunting for one person to fill, but over the course of the set she made sure to grace every inch of it. SkyDxddy appeared happy and bouncy on stage in stark contrast to the topics she sings about. Before the second song in the set “God of War”, she spoke about a previous experience where a fan had overstepped boundaries, and the trauma associated with being kissed without giving consent, stating that the “Only good thing to come out of the situation was this song”.
With tracks “Her” about body dysmorphia and “Choker” written for anyone who suffers with anxiety it is clear to see why SkyDxddy called her debut album Traumacore and defines her genre of music in the same way.
Prior to the final song of her set, SkyDxddy admitted that she was nervous asking the next question in a new country, this being only her third show in the UK. But went on to ask “Are there any members of the LGBTQ+ community in the audience tonight?” followed by a “Look at all my British gays” when the question saw a large majority of the crowd raise their hands. Stating “I’m also gay”, SkyDxddy dedicated the final song of her set to her girlfriend.
Leaving the stage with screams of “What’s my name, what my fucking name?” The audience obviously replied with chants of “SkyDxddy” several times.
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Since seeing RØRY at Slam Dunk Festival in 2024, there is a whole host of new material on tonight’s setlist in comparison to the last time I saw her live. In fact, the track “Blossom” was a brand-new track back then, and now it features on the brilliant debut album Restoration that came out at the start of the year.
During the break between SkyDxddy and RØRY there were several recordings played of RØRY’s partner Rich directing people to a website to enter a competition to win the full collection of merch on offer tonight, which was something I’ve never seen/heard before at a gig.
When it was finally time for RØRY to hit the stage, she did so launching into the first two tracks off the debut album, “In The Bible” and “If pain could talk, what would it say?” to start the emotion filled set. “Baby Vendetta” despite the heavy hitting lyrics about a toxic ex provided an upbeat atmosphere in the room with a few prompts for the crowd to join in with the lyrics.
Pausing to speak to the crowd, RØRY asked who had/hadn’t been to a show before, and it was a good 50/50 split, showing that this run of tour dates stopping off at some towns and cities that are a little off the usual tour circuit has allowed even more of her fans to attend a show.
Sticking with the theme of toxic exes, another song that could be aimed at such a person, “Anti-Repressant” was up next, although I’m unsure if the “bullet in your fucking head” was originally intended for an ex-partner or someone else.
RØRY’s latest track “Degradation” proved that she not only has impressive clean vocals but can also scream too, the song gained a huge cheer from the crowd which led to her making the comment “Fuck yes Liverpool! You are the rowdiest crowd of the tour so far!”. The cheers only grew louder when RØRY mentioned how the “best part of her music is you guys”, going on to say that she is a little bit of a “Facebook group lurker” in her 37 CLUB Fan Page and how nice it is to see everyone help each other out with tickets, accessibility issues and many other things. Being part of the group myself it is a real community that has been created over the past few years.
With a couple of older tracks up next, the crowd sang along to every word of “Alternative” and “Family Tree”, partly due to the fact that these are brilliant songs, but also as many people in the crowd can relate to the hard-hitting lyrics about years of family issues and trauma.
It was at the end of “Family Tree” that RØRY disappeared from the stage, she made me jump a few moments later when she appeared on a box by the sound desk right where I was stood. While at the back of the venue she spoke about grief and in particular losing her mum and how much of an impact that can have on someone’s life. She took the time to dedicate the song “Jesus and John Lennon” to everyone who has lost someone they love. It might be that I’m getting a little more emotional in my old age or the fact that I had just found out that an old work friend had passed away earlier in the week, but there was definitely a tear or two shed during that one.
In an effort to “lift the mood” after a couple of sad songs, it was now time to announce the competition winner. Nicky Rimmer (I hope I’ve spelt your name right) was the lucky recipient of one of each of the t-shirts available on this tour which were being modelled by the band, even if there had been a few alterations with a pair of scissors.
It was also revealed that the website to enter the competition earlier in the night (www.deadgirlwalking.com), had been a rather big hint to the name of RØRY’s yet to be released single, which we were treated to a sneak peak of. The crowd definitely approved of the new upbeat sound as there were hands waving along throughout and a huge cheer upon completion.
Before leaving the stage there was time for one more song and RØRY introduced the track saying “If you know this next song, you’ve been here since day one!” before getting a little sidetracked with the comment “if you remember me as Roxanne Emary, then you’ve known me since day zero, but we don’t talk about that, I have a reputation to maintain!”. The song was of course “Uncomplicated” and I think everyone in the room, even the group of parents at the back of the room were singing along.
In typical ADHD style RØRY attempted to leave the stage on the wrong side, realising at the last second and having to walk the full length of the stage to the correct door. Before the stage was even empty, there were chants of “One more song”, to which RØRY replied “Sorry, one more what? I can’t hear you Liverpool!” as she re-entered the stage.
Beginning with a chat about home towns, RØRY shared the complicated relationship with her hometown of Southampton and the grief and trauma that still lives there. She also stated that until now she has purposely avoided touring in Southampton, however will be playing there tomorrow for the first time which received a massive cheer of encouragement from the audience. The new song “Hometown” was up next which acoustically explored the trauma of RØRY’s hometown a little more.
Despite all the sad themes of the set so far, the last two songs of the night were more of a reflection of past issues and a celebration of growth. “Sorry I’m Late” of course lists these past traumatic experiences, followed by the poignant question “Did I let my whole life pass me by, or am I right on fuckin’ time?”. I’m sure the rest of the audience would agree that at the age of 41 RØRY is indeed right on time.
Ending with “Blossom” was further proof of this as we are indeed watching the career of an artist blossom, despite everything the world has thrown at her. With new material to be released soon, I can’t wait to see what comes next from RØRY and definitely can’t wait for another night of group therapy when she tours again soon.
Pics by Jack Barker Photography
