The New Voice of Gen-Z: Lexi Jayde Live at The Fonda

Photo from Sarah Ohta

Three days after braving downtown LA traffic to reach Hollywood for a GRIFF concert, I’m still not sure whether or not it was fate, the fact that the last show of her U.S. leg was my first in-person concert since the pandemic began. From the moment I stood in line to collect my ticket from Will Call, it was an evening of firsts and lasts: the first time I’d gone to a concert alone and solely to review it, the last time I’d wear my heeled boots instead of sneakers (forgetting how much standing and walking around would be involved), the first time I was given a 21+ bracelet so I could stop at the bar for a quick drink before the show began. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, not only because carrying my ID and my vaccination card became synonymous that night, but also because, rather embarrassingly, I’d never heard of GRIFF or her opener, singer-songwriter Lexi Jayde. 

As much as I listen to music, I tend to recycle the same songs over and over on Spotify, rarely venturing outside of my curated bubble for new up-and-coming artists. Yet I found that my unfamiliarity with Lexi’s discography actually made me that much more qualified to review her performance because I’d be watching without a biased eye. 

In general, I do find that there is a strange dilemma opening acts endure during a show because they’re less widely known than the main artist and are well aware that they’re performing for a room full of people who came to see someone else. But when Lexi ran out onto the stage with her band in a simple but flattering ensemble and began to sing, it became clear how easily she could command the attention of a room. Despite me wishing that her mic volume had been raised slightly above her band so I could hear her better, her infectious excitement, charm, and easy balance between storytelling, audience interaction, and actual performance all worked together to create an otherwise engaging and beautiful show. 

During one of the more memorable moments of the set, she preceded her performance of “teenage diary” with an explanation of how she originally wrote it, pulling stories from her real-life childhood diary to pen the song lyrics. 

First, she recounted a middle school party where her crush Anthony chose to ask out her best friend Carly instead of her, echoing it in the song’s opening verse. She then abruptly stopped her band and said, “Oh shoot, I forgot to tell you the Jackson story!”, which earned a loud laugh from the crowd. While it may have been a genuine mistake on her part, the back and forth between spoken anecdotes and singing, providing more story to the story, felt like a natural part of the live rendition, almost like we were watching her songwriting process happen in real time. 

I also enjoyed how exclusive Lexi roped in the audience on her performance of “newbury park” where she asked us to sing along to the iconic line “fuck you for wasting my love!” and hold up our middle fingers. While the balcony section where I was sitting was rather quiet during her set (and indeed, was relatively low-energy for a majority of the concert even after GRIFF appeared), the standing section below joined in with contagious enthusiasm and middle fingers thrust high into the air. For my part, I tried my best to replicate it without feeling embarrassed that I was one of the only ones. (Now listening to the song on my own at home, however, I’ve found that doing it in front of a mirror is wildly therapeutic.) 

It helped that her music covers relatable topics such as heartbreak and growing up, that her tone is sweet and effortless, that her songs are cleverly written and produced to sound like they would appear in a late 90s/early 2000s film–and yet still appeal to a modern teen audience. Even though I’m a few years older and sit right between the cusp of millennial and Gen-Z, I could connect with and relate to Lexi’s lyricism that felt way beyond her years. Especially when she sang about letting go of someone, even—and maybe especially—if you love them in the aptly named song “If I Really Love You.” Given my own personal life, it was the perfect antidote to what I’ve been going through and what I needed to hear at that moment.

Since the concert, I’ve found myself listening to Lexi’s songs over and over again in the car with the windows down and wishing I’d found out about her sooner (and that she’d announce “self-sabotage”, her still-unreleased song that she performed exclusively for us). It was strange at first to hear the studio versions given that I’d only ever heard them over the roar of the crowd and alongside her hilarious commentary. But if she ever performs again in LA, whether as an opening act or the main event, I’ll be sure to be in town to catch the show.