As the first stop of her Salvation tour, singer, songwriter, and sometimes DJ Rebecca Black headlined Neumos on March 4. While some remember Black for her near-ruinous debut — the viral 2011 hit "Friday" — the star's powerful metamorphosis has been driven by her coming into her Queer identity, as covered by the SGN in a backstage interview at Capitol Hill Block Party 2023.

Black's latest project, Salvation, was released in full right before the show, but the tantalizing singles "Sugar Water Cyanide" and "Trust!" had already offered a glimpse into the 27-year-old's new direction: techno-pop. After her raved-about Boiler Room debut last October, Black's internet following expressed their hope to see more of her songs headed in this direction, and Salvation delivered.

To the excitement of the wall-to-wall crowd at Neumos, the show started with a short countdown clock, at the end of which the screen cut abruptly to a video depicting Black in a police-like interrogation, with sunglasses on and pouty indifference. In the video, Black is asked to provide her full name if she knows what day of the week it is.

"No," she says, "no."

The video fades out as lyrics and soundbites of Black's 2021 "Friday" remix with Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, and 3OH!3 began to flicker across the screen. The audience shrieked eagerly. Just when it would have been fitting for Black to rise onstage and perform the now-reclaimed, infamous hit, the pounding of a gavel and a judge's voice cut off the sound of the music.

"Order in the court," it said. "Rebecca Black is guilty."

Artful camp

The high-powered performance to follow proved Black's mastery of camp, as she and her dancers hooked the crowd and reeled them in through 14 songs, three outfit changes, and a hilarity of props.

The entrance alone was artful. Two dancers entered the stage in bedazzled, spiked police caps and skirts, making out briefly before Black walked onstage, wrapped in an intricately tied surgery gauze that held her hands behind her back and wrapped around her head. The plastic-surgery-inspired look, the unrepressed policemen, and the judge's voice were all nods to the "Trust!" music video, , with Black on trial in the court of public opinion.

Perhaps teasing those familiar with the song, the show surprisingly began with the riveting track "Tears in my Pocket." The dance banger is both haunting and glitchy, escalating into its distinctive beat drop as dancers slowly removed Black's faux post-op wrap and strobe lights illuminated the glamorous de-mummification.

"Trust!" later on was, indeed, a crowd favorite. Named "an instant club classic" by Ones to Watch and released just following her October 2024 Boiler Room set, the track had fans screaming out its raunchy lyrics.

"While you're on you're on your way home to me / I'm preparing your fantasy / Make you food and a special treat / Eat, eat, eat, eat!"

Several audience members cheered excitedly when one of Black's costume changes ended with a video promoting "Sugar Water Cyanide." In a social-media-style "unboxing" video, short clips showed people opening a package from Black, finding spherical containers labeled "sugar," "water," and "cyanide" inside, drinking the cyanide, and pretending to go unconscious.

"Did someone call for a doctor?" Black teased as her dancers returned to the stage in white lab coats, bringing with them large signs advertising cyanide for $1,000,000.

In her final outfit of the night, a cheetah-print minidress with a hot-pink bra showing above the corset, Black carried in a waiter's tray with the same spherical potions from the video. One fan was given a free taste of the "cyanide" onstage as the pulsing beat of the song began.

Similarly, before singing "Crumbs," a highly streamed track from her 2023 debut studio album Let Her Burn, Black slyly offered an introductory pun.

"This is the place..." she said, "to break into the crumbs."

The brimming crowd was moved to clapping during Black's performance of "Sick to My Stomach" and again during the finale, "Salvation." With impressive dance breaks and choreographed entrance scenes, the entire set felt like a drag show and, at the same time, a robust production by a veteran performer.

After a brief stint abroad, including stops in Glasgow, Bristol, London, Manchester, and Dublin, Rebecca returned to North America to finish the "Salvation" tour on March 27, with shows in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, DC, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, and St. Paul.

Excitingly, Seattle will see Black's return during Pride Month. She is set to headline the Queer/Pride Festival this year on June 27—29, alongside Tinashe and Lil' Kim. Find tickets and more information at https://everout.com/seattle/events/queer-pride-festival-2025/e197974.