Ashnikko in Smoochie World
There are concerts, and then there are moments, and on Thursday the 19th, as Ashnikko celebrated their birthday on stage, O2 Brixton delivered the main event. If you were in Brixton that night (or the Friday after), you might have spotted something unusual… a gaggle of girls, gays and theys dressed to the nines in an explosion of colour, accessories, big hair, bigger hats and more fishnets than a glam rock band from the 80’s. The party spirit started before the first note, with two trinket boxes at the merch stand: one for trinkets especially for Ashnikko (to solve the problem of fans lobbing them at her on stage) and a “take a trinket, leave a trinket” swap box. We didn’t get the memo and although we showed up with nothing to trade, we did leave with old school troll dolls, a dill pickle bracelet and tiny plastic frogs!
Opening for Ashnikko for the last time this tour was the uber talented Amelia Moore, aka Icryatwork. Originally from Georgia, US, she became popular posting snippets of her songs on Tiktok. If you like Ashnikko, Bilmurri, Melanie Martinez or want a more foul-mouthed Haley Williams then I would definitely recommend giving her a listen! Her vocal range is impressive, her jellyfish haircut the envy of many fans in the room (especially my partner) and her stage presence is something even more seasoned, performers would be jealous of! With songs like ‘F**k', Marry, Kill’ and ‘Underwater’ showing off her vocal skill, and ‘Next Door’ blending pop and R’n’B her set was the perfect warm-up for Ashnikko. ‘See Through’ and ‘Push-up Bra’ were definitely crowd favourites with lots of dancing!
Ashnikko entered the stage through a vagina-esque hole like a scantily clad, blue-haired Alice in Wonderland, chatting to a crow about falling through the bottom of her purse and into Smoochie World — not something you’re likely to have seen before, unless you’ve caught this current tour. With a Britney mic, extensive props and two very talented backup dancers (Molly Hincks and Dewi Dihal), the show felt like a seamless blend of theatre and live music. Performing ‘Working Bitch’ framed inside a wooden box with deliberately stiff choreography, Ashnikko was giving Weird Barbie (and I mean that as the highest compliment). Long-time fans were treated to gems from the ‘Halloweenie’ series mashed into a club-style remix, alongside ‘STUPID’, each delivered with razor-sharp choreography from both dancers and Ashnikko themself. Songs bled into one another throughout the night, ‘Invitation’ folded into ‘Toxic’, giving the entire set a pulsing, club-like energy that felt electric.
The scripted interludes between songs could have felt stiff, but instead landed as charming, funny and very explicit. It’s refreshing to hear an artist speak so frankly about mental health (they have OCD) and relationship struggles, grounding the fantastical world of their music in something human. At one point, standing behind a booth with ‘Wet Like’ rumbling in the background, Ashnikko asked the audience if they were on the guest list, theatrically stamping outstretched wrists and commanding the crowd with ease. After turning to the dancers to ask the same — prompting a pantomime-worthy chorus of “ohhh” from the audience — the trio launched straight into the track, all three clad in furs for the entire number.
Costume changes, props including giant perfume bottles, waves, a gravestone and a “Boyfriends- buy-one-get-one” neon sign brought on and off stage by the dancers and perfectly executed dance routines definitely contributed to the theatre! The dancing flipped between sexy, silly and deeply poignant; for ‘It Girl’ backup dancer Molly Hincks wore a blue wig to represent the part of Ashnikko in the song that she wants to kill, the interactions between them bittersweet and moving to match the lyrics. This was the song that lit up Brixton Academy, turning the crowd into a sea of glittering stars, a beautiful moment that didn’t need prompting by the artist.
Towards the end of the gig a fan was called up onto stage to be crowned the President of Smoochie World for the night, Ashnikko helped out by her dancers and Amelia Moore, and another fan close to me was given a t-shirt for best hat of the night. It’s these kinds of crowd interactions that made the gig feel intimate and special, that makes fans feel like they matter. The show ended on a high with recent song ‘Itty Bitty’ leading into Ashnikko classics ‘Slumber Party’ and ‘Daisy’, leaving us satisfied, sweaty, and more than a little sore from dancing and singing our hearts out. The girls, gays and theys showed up in their best and weirdest and Ashnikko delivered that energy back in spades!
The tour continues across North America, before a run of festivals across Europe before hitting New Zealand and Australia.
