Orla Gartland :: Emma Harner
Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
November 25, 2024
Shot and Written by Story DeWeese
Orla Gartland, an Irish singer/songwriter, embarked on her first North American tour and her penultimate stop was at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on November 25th, 2024. Gartland promoted her new album Everybody Needs a Hero on the Acoustic Record Store Tour and was joined by drummer Sara Stix and vocalist/instrumentalist Scarlet Halton.
Fans excitedly waited in the rainy, cold San Francisco mist in a line wrapping around the corner of the block before reaching the entrance to Rickshaw Stop for the doors to open. Once inside the venue, fans made new friends while waiting for the set to begin. One fan even mentioned that Gartlandβs newest album helped them through the healing process post-breakup.
Then, the fans bonded over their love for Gartlandβs music and the power that music can have on their lives. This created a very inclusive environment for newer fans and long-term fans alike. Some wore the shirts they just bought from the merchandise stand and others had custom-made their own shirts to align with Gartlandβs new album.
To start off the live music for the evening, Emma Harner jumped on stage. The warm tones from her guitar and her lovely voice floated through the air. This show was the first time Harner played an unreleased song on tour. Harner mentioned that this show was the first time she had experienced the audience sing her songs back to her. βDonβt ask me if Iβm emotionalβ¦β she said along with cracking other jokes between songs. She played some songs with unusual time signatures and counted out loud for a couple verses to show the audience how the song worked under the hood. One song in particular required a lot of finger work as she took the guitar by storm.
The crowd excitedly murmured as they waited for Gartland to hop on stage next. The lights dimmed in anticipation. Then, Gartland ran across the front of the stage with a handheld home video camera facing the crowd. Hopefully we will see a tour documentary from Gartland in the near future. Gartland played songs from her new album including starting off the set strong with upbeat βKiss Ur Face Foreverβ, which prompted the crowd to start dancing. Later in the set, she played βBackseat Driverβ and βThree Words Awayβ back-to-back.
Gartland also performed songs from her 2021 album Woman on the Internet including βCodependencyβ, βYouβre Not Special, Babeβ and βMadisonβ. Gartland also played her 2019 hit single βWhy am I Like This?β, which was also on the soundtrack of the Netflix show Heartstopper, leading to increased streams. The Heartstopper series is a TV-adaptation of Alice Osemanβs graphic novel series by the same name.
Throughout the set, Gartland often complimented the crowd and mentioned how happy she was to play for San Francisco.
Gartland included many unique aspects to her tour. She invited Harner back on stage and together they performed Gartnerβs βOver Your Head". Harner brought her guitar and the two sang in a beautiful harmony. After Harner left the stage for a second time, the band played a few more songs. Another trend on tour is bringing along a large spin-the-wheel game with various songs written on it. Gartland invited a thrilled fan on stage to spin the wheel to determine the next songs to perform. As the wheel spun, Gartland and the fan danced together as a gameshow-style theme song played. The wheel landed on βI Go Crazyβ and after the band played the crowd favorite song, Gartland invited yet another fan on stage and repeated the process. This time, the fanβs spin landed the wheel on βFlatlineβ. Overall, this creates a dynamic aspect to the tour where no two shows are the same. It also included a sense of community and audience participation that set this tour apart.
Gartland even covered Chappell Roanβs βRed Wine Supernovaβ and the crowd sang and danced along. Next, Gartland jokingly foreshadowed an encore by mentioning that she would say the next song was the last song and wait a little while before actually playing the last song. As she played βLate To the Partyβ the fans sang and clapped along to the catchy song, which has a recorded version featuring Declan McKenna.
In anticipation of Gartlandβs encore, the crowd began chanting βOrla, Orla, Orla!β in unison until she quickly reappeared onstage. As she came back, Gartland asked, βWhoβs surprised that Iβm back?β Then, she told the audience that she quickly learned a few more songs backstage. The audience roared with laughter in response. She then played keyboard and sang the heartfelt βHeavyβ. Next, her band rejoined her on stage to play βMore Like Youβ, from Woman On The Internet, mentioning it was one of her personal favorites. Afterwards, Gartland again teased the last song and asked the audience to give their all for βLittle Chaosβ, from Everybody Needs a Hero. After the Gartland and the crowd alike had given their all, Gartland asked the audience if they wanted one more. Of course the answer was in thrilled screams from the crowd, which perfectly led as an introduction to the actual final song of the night βZombie!β As Gartland wrapped up her set, she hinted about coming back on tour next year.
