by Alina Khan and Nancy Deng
On Nov. 9 at The Mil at Cannery Hall, Allie X graced a crowd of overwhelmingly gay couples with her presence on the Girl With No Face Tour. But before she could do that, Violet Chachki, American drag queen and recording artist, took the stage to perform an endearing hybrid between an opening act and a stand-up comedy routine.
Chachki began her set by singling out individual members of the audience, shaming straight people, and flirting with “sexy” crowdgoers. Chachki’s interactions added an intimacy to a venue that already fostered closeness. The Mil, a somewhat tricky to find room in Nashville’s Cannery Hall, was a ballroom-style, standing concert hall with a small bar located towards the back. The set-up gave concert-goers room to either spread out or clump towards the performers, and at this concert in particular, everybody had unspokenly, but unanimously, decided to stand hip to hip around the stage.
Chachki sang her opening song, “A Lot More Me,” while entertaining the crowd with a burlesque-style strip tease. While the song was overly produced and shockingly techno, Chachki made one thing clear: she was meant to be a performer. Each track was accompanied by humorous and sarcastic commentary, increasingly glittery outfit changes, quick movements across the stage, and over-the-top stage effects. Chachki was, ultimately, the most engaging opening act I had ever seen, an opinion that was most definitely shared by the crowd of slack-jawed audience members around me.
However, after a couple of overtly sexual, BDSM-focused songs, Chachki surprised the audience with a vocally impressive cover of Visage’s “Fade to Grey.” Although Chahcki had turned in her leather whip for a microphone, the track, somehow, seamlessly blended into the rest of the set. The musical sentiments of an 80s club song seemed to pair perfectly with Chachki’s electronic, avant-garde originals, and the cover was a welcome intermission between more burlesque-style performances.
As Chachki’s set concluded, she expressed heartfelt gratitude toward Allie X, crediting her as a mentor and shaping her understanding of the music industry. After delivering five songs, Chachki made her way downstairs to sign calendars covered with her face, and the crowd took their final bathroom breaks before Allie X made her way to the stage. After about thirty minutes of claiming and reclaiming standing spots, the lights finally dimmed, and the crowd became still again.
The concert began with a weird, interpretative dance by a masked figure to Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face.” Though I had assumed that this Phantom of the Opera-style character was Allie X herself, she took the stage towards the conclusion of the song. This anonymity remained throughout the set. Allie X seldom took off a sheer net that covered her face or the sunglasses that laid underneath it. Her band, wearing paper masks, complimented the sort of “faceless” theme that was set by both Idol’s introduction and the name of her tour.
Almost immediately after the track ended over the speakers, the recognizable piano key intro to “Bitch,” played, prompting the crowd to erupt in screams for her most popular song. Knowing that I was about to hear this song live felt like an odd full-circle moment, and I was taken back to my awkward pre-teen years. “Bitch” had, strangely, been an integral part of my morning listening ritual before first period gym in middle school. Allie X took her place over a setup that combined an electric keyboard and looping machine, singing the misleading tame intro of the song. I found myself bracing for the shouty, synth-heavy chorus, halfway expecting to hear a modified, slightly less vocally demanding version of the track. However, Allie X sang “Bitch” as is, and while her widower-style veil may have hidden any signs of strain, she did so with seemingly little effort.
Allie X broke the shroud of mystery that surrounded her following the end of her first track. She immediately expressed gratitude to be in Nashville and complained about her falling corset with her uncharacteristically cute Canadian accent.
After fixing her slight wardrobe malfunction, Allie X’s time connecting with the crowd came to a brief pause. She kicked the rest of her setlist off with “Weird World,” the first track in the deluxe version of Girl With No Face. Allie X meticulously weaved in old favorites from her first two albums (Collxtion l and Collxtion ll) with her new music, with each transition feeling deliberately chosen to keep the crowd engaged. The fast-paced, upbeat track channeled distinct 80s new wave and synth-pop influences, reminiscent of New Order, Eurythmics, and Depeche Mode. Coupled with Allie X’s vibrant vocals, the song brought a lively energy to the stage, contrasting the mysterious persona she had introduced at the start of her show. As the performance progressed, Allie X’s expressive singing and fluid movements underscored her standing as a unique figure in contemporary pop. Allie X had a strong idea of exactly what her fans wanted to hear and executed it perfectly, proving her talent for curating an immersive concert experience.
The moment that truly captivated the audience was her performance of “Bon Voyage.” The masked figure from the Idol’s intro returned, now positioned behind Allie X and holding a shimmering, translucent sheet. As she reached the chorus, the masked figure opened the sheet, allowing it to billow gracefully around her. Under the stage lights, it created a dazzling, fluid background that heightened the sense of enchantment and made the stage feel otherworldly. The stage design complemented the song’s theme of escapism, perfectly aligning with her repeated spoken refrain, “I’m going on a journey, bon voyage.”
After “Bon Voyage,” Allie X performed a mix of tracks, including “Science,” “You Slept on Me,” “John and Jonathan,” and “Super Duper Party People.” The most striking number in this selection was “Off With Her Tits,” a track that combined sharp humor and biting social commentary on body image pressures with an energetic dance beat. Taken together, these songs highlighted Allie X’s ability to transform her deepest inner reflections into lyrically rich and undeniably upbeat pop music.
Surprisingly, the most notable part of the concert came after it ended. The singer left the stage, saying goodbye to the audience before returning for an encore after a waiting period of about five minutes. Here, she played a slew of final songs from her past albums, singing my personal favorite, “Susie Save Your Love,” from her 2020 album Cape God, which she introduced as a “little song” she had written with Mitski.” As the first notes rang out, the crowd began to sing along, their voices merging into the gentle chorus that filled the room with warmth and connection. In that tender, collective harmony, the audience experienced not just the music, but also a profound sense of closeness—both to Allie X and to the extraordinary, shared concert experience unfolding around them.
After completing her three-song encore, Allie X made a few final remarks before leaving the stage for good, and I found myself grieving the little death of the end of the concert. Allie X was everything that 14-year-old me could have imagined and, ultimately, so much more.
Listen to Girl With No Face here: