CAITY BASER PERFORMING AT SOUTHAMPTON’S JOINERS

★★★★☆ (4/5)

CAITY BASER PERFORMING AT SOUTHAMPTON’S JOINERS
PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI

Caity Baser is Southampton’s up-and-coming popstar, with attitude, playfulness, and multiple UK hits. Following her headline tour in 2024, performances in festivals such as Gunnersbury Park and Glastonbury in front of tens of thousands of people, and lots of UK hits, she has now just embarked on her first intimate piano tour in the UK, called ‘Watch That Girl, She’s Gonna Say Sing It’ (yes with that spelling).

Usually, Caity’s jam is her being unapologetically herself, playful, chaotic, bringing havok and love triangles wherever she goes, slamming boys that dared to mess with her and speaking her truths breaking taboos. Having seen her perform in her full-on British popstar mode, with a voice that is very unique and energetic, her piano tour was a surprise from a person who thrives on chaos on stage. As a teaser for her debut full-album, Caity wanted to create this tour in a more intimate setting and bring her fans into a simulation of the experience of writing in the studio. And that was exactly what happened.

Before Caity came on stage, she played voice-overs of friends and family talking about her – mishaps, mischiefs, childhood stories, adult stories – all bringing character and playfulness into the mix. Blended with some upbeat songs, from ABBA to Rihanna, it was a great way to set the tone for Caity walking and then sitting on stage to perform her acoustic set. The whole point was to explain the story behind her new album, which she said was very different in process and theme from her usual songs so far that have been EPs and mixtapes. With a bit of nerves and shyness, Caity stripped her soul bare in front of the intimate audience. She admitted it was different for her to do acoustic shows, and that it was brand new. But that was not the only reason she wanted to come closer to the people.

The lyrical themes and melodies of the new songs presented were very un-Caity-like, yet perfectly in line with her brand and personality. Usually, songs like ‘Kiss You’, ‘Oh Well’, ‘X&Y’ are more about love adventures, falling in love, breaking your heart and having a general ‘fuck you’ attitude to the world. But Caity’s new songs are the exact opposite of all this. Whilst her unapologetic and playful personality always shines through in the lyrics, Caity is now sharing her vulnerabilities, shyness, sensitivity and dark thoughts. Bringing a completely different part of herself into the forefront, her new songs are about facing her past traumas, healing her inner child, acknowledging wholesome relationships and coming to terms with that part of herself that is not all fun and chaos. Her newer songs sound a lot more mature and healing in nature, acknowledging themes that she was too scared to face head on, but now has. She openly explained the stories behind her songs, sang with her whole heart and incredible vocal tones against the lamentful piano, and genuinely captivated the souls of her audience who shed a tear or two in the process. And even though Caity admitted, singing these songs live was a struggle, the crowd seemed to encourage her every time she hit a high note or her falsetto echoed in the venue.

Of course, she did not leave her fans without performing some of her all time hits in their acoustic version, allowing her audience to almost karaoke most of the lyrics and be part of the experience. It was great to see that despite the people not knowing the lyrics to the new material – which has never been performed before – there was still great reception from the audience and high anticipation for her newest record. It is definitely an artist to watch and a performance that feels genuine, refreshing and very very personal.