REVIEW: SAMIA @ HOUSE OF BLUES 2/10

By: Lauren Grill

Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Biancardi

Lights and anticipation filled House of Blues on February 10 for Samia’s fourth stop on her tour following the release of her sophomore album, “Honey.” Above the stage hangs a large hamsa carving sporting the words “who do you love?’ This exact phrase embodies Samia’s discography and zest for life. 

A silhouette of the singer graced the stage, met with shrieks and screams from the audience. Samia’s graciousness as she stopped in disbelief multiple times as the crowd chanted back the lyrics to her album opener “Kill Her, Freak Out.” House of Blues was now a place for catharsis and healing, as it would remain the rest of the night. 

She then launched into one of her most popular songs, “Fit N Full”, dancing around the stage and bopping around to the crowd’s delight. As the song concluded, she addressed us for the first time: “What are you guys doing here?” she jokingly asked in disbelief, taking in the crowd of adoring fans with signs and all the energy in the world. 

Samia’s strong relationship with her band was evident as she introduced them just after the second song, telling her drummer, Noah Rauchwerk, to sing us a song he had written as a joke the night before called “Cookie of my Dreams.” It was a lovely rendition which Samia giggled through. Rauchwerk is even referenced in Samia’s most vulnerable song “Breathing Song,” which follows her journey as a sexual assault surviver. As she finished singing it, she ran to give him a tight hug, before remarking that she “never thought she would sing this song for so many people.” 

In addition to her killer vocals and ethereal stage presence, Samia’s dry wit and humor kept the crowd laughing during her set. After her performance of “Big Wheel” – which she danced through with jazz hands and concluded in the splits– she said into the microphone, “that song is about how I got bad news but I didn’t fight,” in reference to the song’s refrain. 

Samia closed out the show with a performance of “Dream Song”, bringing her opening act, Tommy Lefory, onstage with her. The rendition was, in fact, dreamy. After raucous cheers from the audience, Samia come back out for an encore, performing AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” and closing out with “Show Up”, in which she declares that “Nothing could stop my ass from showing’ up to sing another song for the people I love.” And she did.