BANKS is an artist that I’ve known of since her song “Beggin For Thread” played on the alternative radio station when I was 14. I remember really loving how urgent and intense she was, while still remaining detached and cool. It’s a unique combination that the Orange County–born and L.A.-raised singer-songwriter was able to maintain all the way until now, with her recent record release Off With Her Head. I got back into her when a friend sent me her song “Love Is Unkind,” where I noticed how sharp her pen is. She has a way of making you feel like she’s being intimate with you, while remaining wrapped in dark imagery and metaphor. I figure that’s how her music is able to resonate deeply while still feeling a bit out of reach.
I was thrilled to be able to see her on her recent tour for her new album, after combing through some of her old catalogue and starting to really like her as an artist. BANKS played a set with just her and a backing track, as she commanded the stage with a steady hand on the microphone and some sharp dance moves. She started the night off with “Guillotine,” as the crowd erupted into cheers. Holding up a white mask (like the one on her album cover), BANKS danced with it like she was flirting with the idea of letting her guard down. She then immediately went into “Love Is Unkind,” swaying back and forth with force. The song goes from bare in the first verse “I noticed how much you gave up/I noticed all the times that we/Mm, misheard it all” to down in flames in the third: “been to hell, then to Hades and back, never stopped/Why would we play Simon Says by the fire?/I did what you said and got caught.”
Shortly after, she played one of her biggest hits “Gemini Feed,” an upbeat song about a toxic relationship: “and to think you would get me to the altar/Like I follow you around like a dog that needs water/But admit it that you wanted me smaller/If you would have let me grow/You could have kept my love.” It’s an angry song, and she delivered it like she was pissed, but over it now. BANKS would look out, engage with the audience, then lock back in a minute later and hit her marks like she was entirely in her own world. It was mesmerizing to see, as she would pull you in then push you away.
BANKS then sat at the piano to play a few more intimate numbers, “Someone New” and “Drowning.” This added another dimension of emotion to the show, with more emotionally searing songs. This, coupled with the songs being a lot more direct in their lyricism with just plain language and no symbolism, made it even more effective. “Everything I do, I’m gonna think of you/Don’t know what else to do/You got me … Everything I make, I only make for you/ … be patient for me/And please don’t fall in love with someone new.” The mask now felt like it had been metaphorically taken off.
The night ended with some of her biggest hits, “I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend,” “Waiting Game,” and the aforementioned “Beggin For Thread.” The latter was the highlight of the night, and saw BANKS at her most energetic. It was a beautiful exchange as she fed off of the audience, who in turn fed off of her happiness, as she moved across the stage and sang with a heightened intensity. “Don’t know what you were getting yourself into/You should have known, secretly, I think you knew/Secretly, I think you knew.” She threw out roses into the crowd as she sang and danced, thanking them.
“This is my favorite place. I love you.”
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