INTO THE MOSH 013: RARIA, THE HAPPY, SAD TOUR

RARIA at The Vanguard: 23 August 2022

Words by Matilda Elliott.

A night with RARIA was exactly what my soul needed. To be able to relish in all forms of the human experience through some amazing pop music was a cathartic experience. I left my work feeling exhausted and a little flat, this show was the soul food and energy I truly needed. 

Stepping away from Sydney’s soaking street, we entered the Vanguard to Go-Jo. Starting the night off as a fitting opener for RARIA, Go-Jo was getting us all in our feelings. Go-Jo grooved across the stage while dealing direct with some truly heavy parts of the human experience, for me, ‘Missing You’ was a highlight of the show, in which Go-Jo details a very personal tragedy, with the ability to connect to the whole crowd - all with a melodic beat behind him. The crowd were all in chills whilst swaying to the melodic sounds. 

Next on the roster, we had Cyrus continue to bring on the spectrum of emotions. Cyrus’ mastery of beat and vocals is next to none, a melodic drum and base beat combined with a truly pitch perfect vocal performance was surreal. ‘A380’ from Cyrus’ ‘Had, Lost’ release was a crowd favourite, with the triumphant beat bringing the crowd together. Cyrus got us all ready to be happy sad with the Queen RARIA with his exceptionally heartfelt and wistful tune, ‘Eyes Wide,’ there were few dry eyes left in the house after that tune. 

After much anticipation and a LOT of feelings, it was time for our headline act, RARIA. Hailing from Melbourne, RARIA is our answer to a realistic pop princess. She sings from her soul to topics that universally capture the aura of love, loss and a hint of silly playfulness thrown in for good measure. 

Opening her set up with a bang, RARIA lit up the stage with the fun and refreshing track ‘La La La Love’ - the crowd were instantly hooked to the sweet and soulful sounds of RARIA. 

“We’re gonna dance, we’re also gonna cry a fucking lot” RARIA cooed into the audience who were already hanging on every word of hers. 

For me, a personal highlight was ‘Kill You Boy,’ the track made me laugh and jive at the same time as it was hugely relatable. I have a close knit immediate fam who would also go to lengths to ensure I am not being fucked over by someone. I found this track to be one that was an unexpected favourite of mine, some serious lyrics over a super fun poppy beat. 

Another highlight for me would of course have to be RARIA’s performance of the title track from her new release ‘Happy, Sad. This tune candidly encapsulated what this whole night had brought up for me. Sometimes we feel great and that is wonderful, but sometimes even when we feel like we should be feeling happy, there is a lingering sense of yearning inside. 

“I wrote ‘Happy, Sad’ with one of my best friends, San Joseph. When he asked how I was, I said ‘I dunno, happy, sad…’ and he said ‘great, that’s the song title’. We wrote this song together while the world was flipped on its head, and we were both feeling pretty shitty. My mental health was not in the best way, my love life was a mess, and everything just seemed so up and down. I think anybody can relate to the feeling of going out soon after a relationship has ended and having to hear people mentioning your ex or asking about the breakup, it sucks. If you’re going through a shitty breakup, I really hope this song makes you a little bit happier and a little less sad. This song is so special to me and a highlight of my artist project. The gang vocals were recorded at San Joseph’s sharehouse with all of his housemates and our best friends; if you listen closely, you can hear them all singing at the end with us.” RARIA shared. 

To be able to connect with this song has made me personally validated. Which is not what I would expect to say coming from a rising pop-Princess gig! The melding of authentic feelings and real things we as humans all go through such as life hardships and emotions into some groovy tunes has made left me feeling a little emotional! 

I cannot wait to see what is next for RARIA, I urge anyone reading to check out her music or see one of her live shows!