Jacqueline Graif

Arts and Culture Correspondent 

Faye Webster’s Montréal show on March 1st marked the one year anniversary of her most recent studio album, Underdressed at the Symphony. The singer played a sold out show at the MTELUS venue in Place-des-Arts. 

The opener, Japanese-indie-pop singer Mei Ehara and her band, played a great set. Her music is very similar to Webster’s, producing the calm, indie sound that Webster does so effortlessly. Ehara was featured on Webster’s song “Overslept” in 2021, and they seemed to be good friends, as Webster asked for thunderous applause for Ehara several times throughout the show. 

The show opened with a Minionese (fictional language from the Despicable Me movie franchise) rendition of “But Not Kiss” on a screen shaped like a T-shirt before Webster stepped onstage. As she moved onstage, she was surrounded by a scenic design that drew inspiration from a blue Laundromat; a reference to the cover for her most recent studio album Undressed at the Symphony. In the album cover, she is seen picking out a dress from a rack of blue clothing. As the show went on, different elements of Faye’s brand appeared throughout the set. Firstly, there were bubbles spread all throughout the venue during “Right Side of My Neck”, one of her most popular songs, as an homage to the laundromat theme and her bubbly personality.  

Webster moved through her setlist and played her hits; “Thinking about You”, “Better Distractions”, and “Lifetime” sounded the same as they do in the studio recordings. Eventually, a song generator called “Faye Webster’s Sing-o-rama” appeared behind her on the screen. The generator spun, rolling through some of her greatest songs and finally landed on the iconic “Lego Ring”. The surprise hit was followed by “Jonny” which included the entire interlude of “Jonny (Reprise)”. 

Unfortunately, the song “After the First Kiss,” which is Webster’s most recent release, was missing from her setlist that night. The song explores LGBTQ+ themes as she sings about her relationship with another woman; an exciting release for her queer fans everywhere. Similarly, one of her well-known songs “I Know You” was also missing, which was a demise to me and other Faye Webster fans. 

Her encore featured “Feeling Good Today” from her recent album. She sang with auto tune to give the warped effect that is quintessential to the “Faye Webster sound.” She wrapped up the concert with her beloved song “Kingston”, ending with a buzzing audience. The show was well-orchestrated, and the energy vibrated throughout the packed audience that Saturday night.