Do you remember the golden age of American Idol, that 2002 to 2007 period when the host was still Ryan Seacrest and contestants faced the unsympathetic wrath of Simon Cowell? Like many others, I envisioned myself on that stage one day… even if I didn’t have any talent for singing. But in early 2014, a 17-year-old Remi Wolf made that dream a reality by auditioning for season 13 of the show. She was sadly and promptly rejected – but not deterred. Since her untimely dismissal, Wolf has released three full-length albums, amassed over 500 million streams, and cultivated a fanbase of 5.1 million monthly listeners. This all culminated in July 2024 with the release of Big Ideas, a lush and poignant pop-soul album brimming with charm and the embraced quirkiness of a singer that has fully found their voice. My advice to burgeoning fans: see Remi Wolf now, before she moves on to arenas.
UK three-piece Lava La Rue opened for her recent show at The Fillmore Philadelphia and was greeted by huge applause as they took the stage for their first ever performance in Philly, opening the night with a funky, spacey take on 90’s Britpop. Hot off their debut album STARFACE, they played through some of the highlights. Songs like “Better,” “CHANGE,” and “Manifestation Manifesto” laced slow, syrupy bass lines with shimmering guitar, setting the tone for the evening as the crowd was left stargazing. This trip was short-lived however, as the follow up track “Poison Cookie” slammed the audience with pumping funk drums and distorted riffs, like an abrupt brawl between James Brown and the Gallagher brothers.
Lava La Rue | photo by Gavyn Green for WXPN
Once the scrap died down, La Rue, real name Aiwa Laurel, quieted their guitar for “Shell Of You,” a somber acoustic ballad that soon crescendoed into a noisy indie anthem about losing yourself to love. Arms rose with flashlights in hand as Laurel cried out the final words, “can ya hear me this time? ‘Cause my heart’s feeling heavy when you’re twisting that knife.” The room darkened once more as the band readied their final song, launching into “Magpie” as the audience danced along to the viral hit. Laurel took up the mic one final time for a special announcement, proclaiming they’ve had a crush on Wolf throughout the tour and only shared since it was their last show before returning to London. After a selfie with fans they waved goodbye and the audience surged forward, crowding the stage in hopes of a better view once Remi Wolf arrived.
The crowd was a clamorous sea of flailing hands and glittery pink cowboy hats that erupted as smoke billowed across the stage and house lights dimmed. Wolf appeared, cloaked in haze, as her band rang out the opening seconds of “Cherries & Cream”: “You fly, morning dove, way above my terrain. Dip down, through the sky, brush your wings on my face…” The lights slowly unveiled her as she sang. Her ethereal entrance complete, Wolf sprang into “Cinderella,” and the crowd went ballistic, screaming the lyrics as Wolf ran back and forth across the stage gleefully egging them on. The set continued with other high points from Big Ideas, moving from the upbeat and self-afflicted lyrics of “Pitiful” to the endearing pop hooks on “Kangaroo” and finally to a boiling point with an electric performance of “Alone in Miami,” after which Wolf confirmed is a true story of being by herself in Florida “doing drugs and wearing gucci.”
Remi Wolf | photo by Gavyn Green for WXPN
Refreshed after a laid-back take on her 2021 track “Sexy Villain,” Wolf and the band disappeared back into the smoke as engine sounds began roaring through the unsuspecting crowd. This soon swelled into a cover of the Rascal Flatts song “Life Is A Highway,” with the crowd excitedly joining in and flag bearers rushing on stage waving both a checkered flag and a bisexual flag in celebration of Wolf’s sexual identity. She explained the seemingly arbitrary choice of the former as an homage to her favorite movie, Cars, before doubling down on the randomness by improvising a song on the spot. Polling the crowd for a good word to build on, she eventually settled on “dilly dally” subsequently breaking into a tight, fast-paced punk jam with the refrain “dilly” fourteen times followed by a final shriek “dally!”
The final leg of the set consisted of “Wave,” “Motorcycle,” and “Toro”, further standouts from Big Ideas that Wolf summed up saying, “…a culmination of all the touring experiences and fame put into songs.” She then concluded with a hair-raising rendition of “Soup,” a showcase of her breathtaking vocal range and solemn-yet-powerful lyrics, leaving the crowd in silence as she poured her heart into the final moments of the evening. The band took to center stage and bowed before thanking the audience and exiting. Expectedly, the crowd cheered for an encore. This was quickly obliged as Wolf and the band returned for a lighthearted performance of “Photo ID,” ending the night on a lighthearted note, a fitting conclusion for the self-proclaimed frog rocker.
Remi Wolf’s tour continues tonight at King’s Theater in Brooklyn. Full dates here, check out photos from The Fillmore Philly below.