Sophie Allison, better known as her musical persona Soccer Mommy, took the stage at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina on Monday, Nov. 14. The performance was the 13th stop on the singer-songwriter’s “Sometimes, Forever” tour, which showcases her newest album, released June 24, 2022.
The venue was an experience in itself. It was the first time I attended a concert at the Haw River Ballroom, so driving through about 30 minutes of corn fields on deserted roads was a surprise but felt fitting as Allison’s instrumentals often draw upon a midwest-emo sound.
I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, but the Ballroom beamed both inside and out. String lights hung overhead outside, and a large disco ball turned inside the Ballroom. The venue was packed with fans of all ages, who seemed mild and unconcerned with holding their spots. The audience constantly shifted as people frequently walked around the room throughout the performance to grab another drink or chat with a friend.
Helena Deland opened the show for Allison with an extremely short set, beginning ahead of schedule at 8:15 p.m. Similar to Allison, Deland heavily synthesizes the standard indie-rock sound, performing slow tracks with heavy bass and soft vocals. Deland best showcased her talent with the song “Claudion,” a heartfelt ballad about moving on.
Although the “Sometimes, Forever” tour includes 31 stops in the U.S. and five more in Australia, the concert felt intimate, comparable to a house show. Opting out of a dramatic entrance, Allison took the stage just before 9 p.m. to do a quick soundcheck and set up her equipment.
The stage was decorated with three hand painted backdrops, mimicking the colorful bubbles that adorn the cover of “Sometimes, Forever.” Large clouds with the same pink and purple design hung overhead, lighting up in time with the music throughout the show. A projector cast psychedelic art on the stage and the band, giving the set a whimsical feeling.
Allison opened her set with “Bones,” the first track of her newest album. Although the crowd was clearly excited to see her performance, their mild energy continued. Few sang along or pulled out phones to take videos, most just swayed along with the music, completely engulfed in the moment. Allison followed “Bones” with “With U” and “circle the drain,” both of which proved to be fan favorites and began to energize the audience.
Allison made no attempt at transitions, which added to the already intimate feel of the concert. She took no help from stage hands in between tracks, taking it upon herself to grab different guitars and make adjustments to the audio board as she felt necessary. The band members acted as if they were playing completely alone, making little movement and almost no interactions with the crowd. Their focus on the music proved to be an advantage to the audience, as their sound was clean but not overly processed.
The set moved quickly. Allison would occasionally ask her audience how they were doing or precede a song with a quick anecdote, but her main focus was producing the best possible music for the crowd. Allison only performed more passionately as the concert progressed, making “lucy,” “Unholy Affliction” and “yellow is the color of her eyes” highlights of her setlist.
Afterwards, the band left the stage for about two minutes before returning for an encore. The majority of the crowd had cleared out during that short time, but the ones that were left were ecstatic to hear more and Allison’s energy on stage reflected theirs. Allison closed the show with “Don’t Ask Me” and “Your Dog,” performing a long guitar riff as the finale and moved around the stage in these two minutes than she had the entire show. The few left in the audience mirrored this exact energy, aggressively dancing and singing for the remainder of the song.
Allison closed the show by thanking the now-buzzing audience for sticking around and promptly left the stage. Her band remained to hand out their setlists to a few lucky audience members and pack up their equipment. Despite the variation in energy throughout the concert, Allison managed to make a show on a global tour feel intimate and forge a close connection with her audience.
