Oh EMM, G!
Last Friday night on the side stage at The Rock Box in downtown San Antonio, femme-fatale artist EMM brought her Dumb World Tour to town, with local act Sara the G opening. Despite a last-minute venue change from Bonham Exchange, fans were not about to miss this uniquely theatrical performance.
EMM, photo by Stefani Elle
“I’m coming out there!”
That was Sara the G responding to my DMs after learning I was stuck at the parking gate, my name missing from the list. I was a last-minute replacement for a mystery photographer who never showed. Not that I minded. I had been seeing ads for the Dumb World Tour all month and was determined to make it out. Once I learned Sara the G was opening, I knew I absolutely had to be there. I’d been wanting to capture her performance for so long.
It was hard not to feel a twinge of fear upon learning about the venue change because, as most San Antonio natives know all too well, touring artists tend to skip SA town. After my initial “this is why we can't have nice things” thoughts passed, I focused on enjoying what was sure to be a great show.
After years of photographing live music, I have developed a sense for the really special ones. This show proved that instinct right. It was everything I imagined and more!
After rescuing me from parking purgatory, Sara let me hang with her and her backup dancers, two Oompa Loompa–meets–Agent Smith figures in suits and neon green wigs. One was her boyfriend, filling in for a regular dancer. (Gentlemen, this is peak boyfriend behavior. Take notes.) After a quick hello, they ran choreography drills to lock in the set.
That preshow window revealed the person behind Sara’s prolific promo videos on her social media, where she skillfully dances to her own tracks. Her catchy pop-goth sound feels tailor-made for a city like San Antonio, and honestly, I wish there were more of it.
She told me she did color guard before and after high school, just got her first apartment, and makes her own merch (I took several things home!).
It hit me. I was not meeting a singer. I was meeting an artist who expresses through multiple mediums. She was attentive to everyone who stopped by her table and refreshingly easy to talk to.
At showtime, she and her dancers took the stage, and from the first beat it was impossible to look away. She did not waste a second of any song. Her choreography guided our eyes across the stage while her backup dancers supplied a stoic, robot-like ambience behind her.
She sings frequently in Spanish, and do not worry, English-only speakers. If you do not feel it in your heart, you will feel it in your feet. Spanish gothwave pop feels like a no-brainer for this city.
Between songs, she shifted seamlessly into commentary that made you feel like you had known her forever.
Her music sounds like the soundtrack to an A24 movie. Hypnotic yet dance-worthy. She ended on one of her most popular tracks, Vampira. Her set felt like it didn't last long enough! You can catch her in the next couple of weeks over at Paper Tiger.
I only had one question when her set was over:
How are you not super famous already?
Headliner EMM opened with a theatrical entrance, stadium-bright lights, and dancers mimicking a heartbeat playing over the speakers, their feathered burlesque-style fans fluttering. She emerged from behind said fans to an audience that met her intensity with equal enthusiasm.
Her athlete-level endurance is nothing short of impressive, playing multiple instruments while executing new choreography for nearly every song. A force to be reckoned with. Her two dancers augmented these routines, the three of them playing their parts. A contrast to Sara’s dancers, but no less entertaining.
I had read that both her parents are vocal teachers, and it shows. Not just in her range, but in her stylistic control. Each vocal shift served the meaning and emotion of the song.
This was not mere entertainment. It was a layered, sophisticated self-expression. The circus overtones, hints of BDSM aesthetics, and elaborate costumes felt like an outer shell for something more nuanced. As the show progressed, the spectacle peeled back. EMM grew more vulnerable, delivering a piano-backed ballad, speaking about overcoming darkness, and stepping into the crowd to hug fans who raised their hands.
She arrived onstage as a hyperfantasy persona and left it as a raw, powerful woman.
At one point, she asked for birthdays. February celebrants gathered at the front and were serenaded by that same hypnotic voice, almost maternal in its warmth. She graciously hosted a meet-and-greet right after an incredible, undoubtedly arduous performance. Every person received the same level of enthusiasm as the last, myself included. A real dyed-in-the-wool pro.
By the end, the venue was packed, and like me, I suspect everyone there will remember this show for a very long time.