Kate Nash at the Fonda Theater (Elizabeth Cutbirth).

Three bands with lead female singers, Skating Polly, the aquadolls, and Emmy The Great, opened for her. The night was a celebration of being a woman, and embracing the sweet, the beautiful, the ugly, the raw, the wild, and free. 

The curtains opened to reveal Kate Nash standing solo in a red short dress in darkness. Mic in hand, she sang “Lullaby For An Insomniac” a cappella while a moon was projected behind her. She then walked off stage, and came back on in a new dress covered in colorful, cutout hearts with her female band, a guitarist, a base player and a drummer who were all dressed in similar white dresses. 

Projections played behind them on a large screen and televisions from the 1950s. Throughout the night, projection included footage of women from the '50s dancing wildly, stars, electric waves, geometrical patterns, and more. 

Kate Nash brought a wave of energy to the stage, which the audience reciprocated with dancing, and clapping.She also came down into the audience and sang.  

She played new songs like “All Talk,” “OMYGOD!” and old songs from her previous albums like “Mariella,” “Pumpkin Soup,” “Foundations,” from her album “Made of Bricks.”

She graciously thanked the women playing in her band, and her openers multiple times throughout the night and she showcased her band members by letting them play covers of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and The White Stripes's “Seven Nation Army,” without her vocals.  

Right before she played the last song of the night, Kate Nash gave an actual “girl talk” about her work and empowering women: “This is my f*cking girl band,” she said while the audience gave an excited round of applause. “I want to thank our opening bands because they’re so cool. The girl bands we’ve had open for us have really inspired me.” 

Kate Nash continued to give a shout out to women during her speech and said, “You should do what you fucking want to do. Quit being afraid and be brave. I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of girls, and I care a lot about feminism.” 

Kate Nash talked about the gender gap in the music industry and how she had to do something about it. She shared her experience working with young, aspiring musicians in high school and their talent.

She also gave a shout out to all the women in the crowd and said, “My favorite female musicians are when they are themselves. Sometimes you’re the most beautiful when you’re your most ugly. We should stop giving a shit about looking pretty all the time,” she said and the crowd responded with shouts of praise and applause.
 

The last song she played was a cover “Girl Gang” of Fidlar’s song “Cocaine,” which was an electric, rock song with heavy vocals. She invited members from the crowd to come up on stage and dance with her, and then she and her band members came off stage to crowd surf before concluding the night.

Reach Staff Reporter Elizabeth Cutbirth here.