Live Report: Pastiche at The Grand Social

Malahide pop sensation Pastiche put on an unforgettable show to launch her debut EP Freak Show Symphony upstairs in The Grand Social on Wednesday night.

Under a glittering disco ball, suspended on the circus tent style ceiling above, support act SJ Talbot slowly warmed up the crowd with her smooth, brassy vocals and soft, electronic beats including heartbreak anthem 'Midnight Blues', and a powerful rendition of Mark Ronson and Yebba's 'Don't Leave me Lonely', celebrating the release of her new music video for vibrant dance track 'Millisecond'.

Next to get on stage were London born, Dublin based, twin sisters ROOUE who delivered their signature style of modern, synth-laden, electronic pop and hyped up the crowd for Pastiche's imminent arrival with compelling, slowed down tracks 'Orbit', and 'Bad Blood', as well as fun, trance track 'What You Want'. Meanwhile, Pastiche herself was enjoying the set amongst the crowd, chatting and taking pictures with those who had come to see her.

As the warm glow from the string lights dimmed and visuals for Freak Show Symphony flashed on screen, a hypnotic drum beat emerged from the darkness and Pastiche's voice, distorted and robotic, rang through the crowd instructing them to "get to the front of the stage and fucking dance". The crowd moved forwards as the funky, energetic opening notes of 'Disco Junkie', featured in her new EP, reverberated throughout the venue. Dressed in a PVC bodysuit, everything about Pastiche invited the audience to dance alongside her as she beamed from ear to ear performing each track, seemingly enjoying every single second on stage.

Chatting with Viscose, the producer of 'Disco Junkie' and several other tracks on Freak Show Symphony, and a musician in his own right, said about their sessions, "Pastiche is a realist, she knows exactly what she wants."

Drenched in red stage lights, Pastiche's second song of the night 'Written and Directed', showcased her warm, breathy vocals as she belted out the lyrics to this upbeat, lively track. The singer-songwriter's energy was contagious as she jumped up and down and really began getting into the song.

A reoccurring theme throughout the night was just how appreciative Pastiche was for those who had come to the gig, enthusing that she couldn't explain how much they meant to her. Relatively new onto the scene, Pastiche has achieved plenty in just over a year, including thousands of plays of her songs on national radio, a sold-out show at Whelans, live support slots for Aimée and Robert Grace and releasing her six track debut album Freak Show Symphony.

After clapping along to the chorus of catchy, boogie-inducing tune of 'Dark Inside', the crowd were asked "is there anyone here who is a little bit freaky?" before Pastiche launched into another Freak Show Symphony track, 'Freak', a broody, playful beat which evoked a roar of support from the audience.

Introducing her next song 'Chasing Down the Fame', her debut single released in 2020, Pastiche divulged to the audience that someone had told her the song would go nowhere, although it instead ended up being the track that "started it all." Guitar and drum laden, Pastiche's silky, dynamic vocals rang clear throughout the show stopping performance as she swung her ponytail around and grooved about on stage.

Thanking her support acts SJ Talbot and ROOUE, Pastiche proudly exclaimed, "what a night for fucking Irish female pop stars", sending the crowd into a flurry of excitement.

As the true pop-star she is, Pastiche of course had to do a very speedy outfit change, before reemerging in a sparkling silver, sequinned mini-dress for an amped up version of Britney Spears' 'Toxic', electrifying the atmosphere and spurring on the dancing audience.

Intensifying the pace of the evening with emotionally charged ballad 'Growing Pains,' Pastiche took off her heels and banged them on the drums during the song's outro which slowly began to increase in pace for an explosive finale.

Now barefoot on stage, Pastiche continued on with 2021 single, 'Heaven', a pop-filled, made for dancing track with dark undertones and emphasised "I'm kind of psycho crazy, I'm not going to lie." When the song came to an end, Pastiche invited everyone to stay around after the show for a drink and to take some pictures with her.

Before engaging in some friendly banter with the bassist about a skipped chord and eventually restarting the song, Pastiche asked "are any of you bad losers out there?" and closed out the show with lively, electronic and popular Freak Show Symphony hit 'Bad Losers' and then exited the stage.

Returning shortly after for her encore to the roar of "One More Tune" from the crowd, Pastiche treated the audience to a synth heavy, electronic unreleased track before dancing to an instrumental solo, raising her glass and taking a incredibly well deserved bow. What a show!

Listen to Pastiche's debut album Freak Show Symphony below: