Culture, Music

FLETCHER @ O2 Ritz review and gallery – authentic, intimate, and powerful

0 148

Featured image: Abbey Lam


Arriving in Manchester at the O2 Ritz, Cari Fletcher, who goes by FLETCHER, runs on stage wearing neutral tones consisting of a very slick head-to-toe leather outfit. With her sold-out gigs around Europe and a cult-like following of fans, FLETCHER is ecstatic to be back touring after her 2020 dates had been postponed. 

The proud queer icon sets the tone by opening with the song ‘girls, girls, girls’. The song pays homage to Katy Perry’s 2008 ‘I Kissed a Girl.’ Fletcher flips it and writes lyrics that resonate with the LGBTQ+ community in a real and authentic way, penning a chorus that better suits the community.

Whether she is crawling on the speaker teasing everyone, strutting confidently or sitting on the edge of the stage connecting with her fans in an intimate, personable way. FLETCHER knows how to work a crowd.

She opens up about her first heartbreak in New York, and how her ex ruined the city for her. This sets up the next song after she says “that no one can really ruin something and you can reclaim that space back for yourself but sometimes we’re petty bitches and I wrote this song for you”. The song ‘Fuck You For Ruining NYC For Me’ starts with the electric guitar but gives acoustic vibes as she sings from a stool. The song is remixed with Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier than ever’, which gets the crowd hysterical, culminating in everyone screaming the lyrics. In the presence of FLETCHER, the hall became a safe space where people could be themselves and shake off their inhibitions unapologetically. 

FLETCHER exudes rockstar vibes, catching the bras that people throw at her during her set, and taking a break to sign her fans’ boobs. Wearing a fan’s sunglasses, she seamlessly interacted with the crowd and feeds off their dancing, cheering and screaming. Her musicians got their share of the spotlight too, with insane electric guitar, bass, and drum solos exhibited throughout her show. FLETCHER headbangs with the female bassist and gets on the floor caressing her legs, teasing the crowd who let out a loud roar. Throughout the whole set, she showcased her impressive vocal range and control, and the crowd screamed in awe of her vocal abilities. 

FLETCHER ends her set with her hit song and crowd-favourite ‘Bitter”. Of course, her fans are not satisfied and demand an encore. The singer’s encore is a chance for her to show her gratefulness to the fans and for this European tour. Strumming her acoustic guitar, she talks about her songwriting and shares that she has always written songs about other people or her relationships, but never really about herself. The crowd can sense the intimacy that she offers, as she talks about mental health struggles, which resulted in a song she has written for herself, ‘For Cari’.

This unreleased song is vastly different from the rest of her music. The performance is stripped back and simple. The crowd are swaying and holding up their phone lights. Her final song of the night, ‘Healing’, is an atmospheric single, flowing with gentle guitars, warm synth, and soulful lyrics. Signing off, making a heart with her hands and a photo with the crowd, she says thank you as the band plays her and the crowds out. The authenticity and modesty of FLETCHER and her team were so obvious, with the drummer passing his drumsticks to the fans, and the bassist passing a setlist to a lucky person. 

FLETCHER’s Manchester show was electric, and it was clear everyone had a great night. She closed by saying she continues to chase her dreams and writing music true to her, the music she needed when she was growing up.

Her fan base continues to grow and her most recent gold-certified hit has amassed over 175 million streams to date. FLETCHER has sold over 500,000 albums and achieved a staggering 1 BILLION global streams. In spite of Simon Cowell’s comments ten years ago on X Factor USA, FLETCHER delivered a show that was far from “boring” and definitely not “forgettable”.

Photography: Abbey Lam


More information and tickets for FLETCHER’s UK Tour Dates can be found here.

Find FLETCHER on Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Website

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • Pendulum @ Victoria Warehouse review – Drum ‘n’ Bass in your face

    These Aussies may not have a lot of records to their name after 22 years together, but their mix of alternative and drum ‘n’ bass has made quite the impact. Seen in their collaborations with bands such as Bullet For My Valentine, remixing dance classics from The Prodigy and successfully capitalising on early 2010s dubstep in the form of their side project, Knife Party.

  • Yonaka @ Manchester Academy 2 review – Dark alt-pop trio pack a powerful punch

    Jarvis is a strong role model for younger and older women alike; she isn’t afraid to show her rage towards patriarchy and use her music to share how it negatively impacts her. She also isn’t afraid to speak on her mental health as she introduces ‘PANIC’, detailing the lived experience of having a panic disorder. ‘Welcome To My House’ is another self-admitted dive into the singer’s mind, she explains its about ‘Dealing with negative self-thoughts and then realising, no I am a good person.’. 

  • Mary in the Junkyard @ YES Basement review – rentle indie vs terrifying noisemongers

    Featured image: Steve Gullick An ominous belch marks the start of Ebbb’s set: “BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.” The anonymous trio – good luck finding info about them – layer it up until the cacophony fuses into a Gregorian chant, albeit one harmonised by a chain of foghorns. It causes chunks of plaster to fall from the ceiling, dandruffing…

  • Pretty Woman @ The Palace Theatre – palm trees, leg warmers and curly perms

    Photography: The Palace Theatre Based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved rom coms, the travelling tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical has finally landed in The Palace Theatre in Manchester. Edward Lewis (Oliver Savile) enters the stage in a suit broadcasting his big-shot businessman credentials, as 1980s Hollywood comes to life with a flock of…