Performing at Frost Bank Center for the first time, American singer and songwriter, SZA, had a stellar show on Sunday, Oct. 15 in San Antonio for her “SOS Tour.” After the postponement of her Toronto show, the weekend prior to her San Antonio show, fans were anxiously anticipating her arrival to San Antonio this past weekend.
SZA opens her show with the third track off her sophomore album, “SOS,” titled “Seek & Destroy,” in which the crowd immediately jumps to their feet. The energy on Sunday night from SZA was electric, and she even noted how enthusiastic the crowd was in comparison to her Houston show the night prior. Her backup dancers are completely in sync with one another, and they are soulfully dancing across the stage to the tempo of each song.
She performs three more songs, “Notice Me,” “Love Galore” and “Broken Clocks,” on a stage that looks like the deck of a boat. The visuals gave the illusion that SZA was walking across water, matching perfectly with the angelic spirit of her music.
Continuing on with the nautical elements put forth in the visuals of her performance, her stage transitions into what looks to be the engine room of a ship. It was almost magical to see the juxtaposition between the colorful neon hues of pink and blue in the lights and the grungy feeling of the engine room set. During this transition, SZA quickly changes outfits before strutting out to perform her song, “Forgiveless.”
She performs a few more of her greatest collabs, such as “Kiss Me More,” “All the Stars” and “Ghost in the Machine” and displays her unique vocal renditions of the songs along with the backtracks of the artists not in attendance. It was extremely special to hear songs she traditionally sung with another artist, because those were songs I was not expecting to hear her play.
After the energetic “Low” was performed by SZA and her dancers, the stage transitions into a starry sky. A lighthouse, positioned on the other side of the stadium, starts shining its light brightly amongst the crowd.
The beginning guitar chords of “Open Arms” begin to play softly as SZA walks out in a long, whimsical, off-the-shoulder dress. She gets on what appears to be a raft on a harness, and begins to sing one of her most beloved songs off of her album “CTRL,” titled “Supermodel.” The raft is lifted into the air where SZA sails over the crowd, singing beautifully and waving to the fans in front of and below her.
Her last song of the night was “Good Days,” which encapsulates the amazing energy the audience felt after such a visually and emotionally appealing show. The curtain closes and the words “The End” spell out into a stunning stardust.
However, the crowd would be shocked to know the show had not ended. The normal stadium lights come on, and SZA walks out in her robe and proceeds to ask if we would like to hear her perform “20 Something.” The crowd explodes into approval and she performs an acoustic version of the song as her encore. It was extraordinary considering she does not perform an encore at every show, and was an intimate moment between SZA and her fans.
SZA later talks about her experience performing at San Antonio with the tweet, “Holy sh–t this was my first time ever playing San Antonio. I DID NOT KNOW YALL GOT DOWN LIKE THISSS.. incredible energy. THANK YOU.”
