Mar 15

Mar 15 Show Review, Photos: SZA Brings Spectacular Sold-Out 'SOS' Tour To Oakland Arena

SZA
w/ Omar Apollo
Oakland Arena
Oakland, CA
March 14th, 2023

Review by Jared Stossel
Photos by Jared Stossel

Solána Imani Rowe, better known as SZA, has fast risen atop the ranks of pop and R&B superstardom. The last time she performed at Oakland Arena was in 2018 when she opened for Kendrick Lamar along with performers like Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q. Five years later, SZA is headlining the arena on her own, fans lining up outside in the wake of a freezing atmospheric storm praying for the chance to get tickets to one of the most anticipated tours of the year. Those who had already purchased tickets made their way out of the freezing cold and into the warmth of the arena to witness her spectacular SOS tour, named after her critically acclaimed sophomore album released back in November 2022. As a headliner, you have a job to deliver your fans an unforgettable performance, and SZA pulled out all the stops, fully utilizing the aquatic theme present in the SOS artwork. The two-hour performance is cinematic in nature, split into four acts that take the singer/songwriter and her crew from the sealine to the depths of the murky ocean residing below.

The only opener was Omar Apollo, an up-and-coming R&B performer that’s been taking the world by storm. Just last year, Apollo released his debut album, Ivory, racking up rave reviews and a “Best New Artist” Grammy nomination. Armed with a cream-colored Stratocaster and a silky smooth voice, Apollo captivated the audience with a great eleven-track opening set filled with selections from his debut as well as his 2020 EP Apolonio. Just one song into his performance, and I can already tell that Apollo is a gifted songwriter and natural performer. He’s got nowhere to go but up.

Around 9:45 PM, the lights finally dimmed in the arena, a massive LED video screen block lit up and rose to reveal the R&B songstress sitting atop a diving board, surrounded by an array of ocean waves, a complete recreation of her SOS album cover. She belts out “PSA” before the block lowers itself, a video projection making it appear that she’s jumped off the board and into the azure-colored depths below. This square rises and falls many times throughout the evening, indicating act changes. After a title sequence appears (“The SOS Tour” Starring SZA), she walks to the front of the stage in a gold and blue jersey, careening through album favorites like “Seek & Destroy” and “Notice Me”. The songs from her debut album Ctrl get just as big of an audience pop as the songs on SOS; tracks like “Broken Clocks”, “Drew Barrymore”, and “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” receive a roar of applause. There’s even an Erykah Badu cover thrown in for good measure.

After a ten-song first act, we leave the docks as a video screen showcases SZA walking backstage while rapping the SOS halfway marker “Smoking On My Ex Pack”. When the screen lifts, a massive boat fills the stage. It’s one of the most impressive set designs I’ve seen in recent memory for a tour. The opening notes of the Kendrick Lamar collab “All The Stars” – written for the groundbreaking 2018 film Black Panther – fill the arena space as the boat departs from the dock and sails against the backdrop of a purple-hued night sky. “F2F” is still one of my favorite songs on SOS, as it’s very reminiscent of the early 2000s alt-pop music that I grew up on, and it’s even more fun to listen to in a live setting. The biggest crowd reaction in act two came the moment the beat dropped in “Low”, a hip-hop-centric track performed over a hypnotic beat that reverberates throughout every inch of the area; other than My Chemical Romance’s performance here back in October, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd in Oakland Arena get that loud before.

The start of Act 3 finds a lighthouse rising up from the darkness at the soundboard on the other side of the arena. SZA boards an orange dinghy that majestically floats above the crowd as she sings “Supermodel/Special”, “Nobody Gets Me”, and a beautiful rendition of “Gone Girl” before returning to shore. The concluding act of the evening is filled with the most energy and some of the best vocal runs and melodies of SZA’s career with “SOS”, “Snooze”, “I Hate U”, and the hauntingly revenge-tastic “Kill Bill”, which finds her embracing her inner Uma Thurman and taking down enemies of the past with the swing of a mace. “Blood” splatters against the LED wall and it looks awesome, all while the crowd sings the iconic melody that I’m still having trouble getting out of my head. She finishes her set with “The Weekend”, following an encore that highlights one of SOS’ best tracks, “Good Days”. The set list is expertly crafted, and it proves that SZA is one of the best in the game and a must-see performer.

We’re only three months into 2023, but SOS Tour is easily a contender for Tour of the Year.

The SOS Tour resumes tomorrow at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. Tickets can be found here. For more information on upcoming tour dates and show information, click here.

SZA Set List
Act 1
PSA
Seek & Destroy
Notice Me
Love Galore
Broken Clocks
Forgiveless
Used
Bag Lady (Erykah Badu cover)
Blind
Shirt

Act 2
Smoking on My Ex Pack
All The Stars (Kendrick Lamar & SZA cover)
Prom
Garden (Say It Like Dat)
F2F
Drew Barrymore
Doves In The Wind
Low

Act 3
Supermodel / Special
Nobody Gets Me
Gone Girl

Act 4
SOS
Kiss Me More (Doja Cat cover)
Love Language
Snooze
Kill Bill
I Hate U
The Weekend

Encore:
Good Days