CONCERT REVIEW | Rizha & Chesko Make The Power Go Out In Mallorca

holy shit
you were crazy tonight, you jumped so much the power went out and the people eating downstairs bitched cause dust from the ceiling was falling onto their food

THIS

— RIZHA 🛰 (@itsRizha) September 28, 2019

There are reviews that I like to take my time with. Time to gather my thoughts, find the proper words to use, triple check grammatically.

But this.

This can’t be one of them.

I spent the past two nights attending Rizha’s shows in Mallorca, Spain and I have too much to say to just keep quiet till I’ve got my thoughts in order.

As she walked into the Jazz Voyeur Club with her father Fernando Ronchese and her best friend Chesko, the few fans already in the room hesitated. For many, it was their first time seeing the 20-year-old live, some even flew from other countries to be there, and although she seemed more than approachable during her frequent Instagram lives, fans were still intimidated. Despite some initial nerves, the atmosphere soon relaxed as she dropped her guitar on stage and immediately went to greet every single person in the room with warm hugs.

Those few lucky people sat as she and Chesko sound-checked, making sure everything was in order so their sound system wouldn’t break again like it did a couple of days ago. The pair went from the stage to the pit and back again what seemed like a hundred times until it sounded good enough for the singer, although I’m sure she would have stayed there fixing another billion little things if she would have had the time.

As they started opening the doors to the Outside Pass owners and giving them their free merchandise and albums, Rizha and I sat one on one for her interview. I was instantly reminded of down to earth and grounded the triple threat is. It was my first ever interview, and she could see I was nervous, so instead of doing it in the center of the room with everyone watching and the cameras filming as the people before me had just done, she sat on the edge of the stage with her phone in hand to record everything and had me sitting just in front of her. Suddenly, it was just she and I, everything felt more intimate, and I was immediately more at ease. We talked about music and SKAM (nb: SKAM España, Movistar) for about 15 minutes before she had to leave and the venue started filling up.

Rizha played almost the entirety of her latest album Outside, minus two songs, to the crowd as they warmed up and started bopping and jumping along. Going as far as even mouthing every word to the NASA recordings that are a common thread throughout her album, Rizha quickly got their attention. She thus followed up with the songs she knew was going to wake up everyone: “Oxytocin” and “Blush.” She smiled big as the fans sang back to her at the tops of their lungs, jumping like they never had before, and laughed hard as they made the power go out, an issue that was resolved before she could even grab her phone to document it. Fans resumed jumping as she played another 5 songs, very well-picked if you ask me, off of her previous EPs and albums. Acknowledging the ever-so-enthusiastic crowd needed to rest their legs a bit after that, the singer took the mic to tell everyone to sit down as she was getting ready to perform “Happy Bummer Day” acoustically. My 9-year-old sister, whom I brought along as a birthday gift, sat crossed-legged and swayed along, staring in awe at Rizha’s moment of vulnerability and at her inimitable talent.

Deciding one song was enough to rest, the crowd stood back up to get ready for the next song, which happened to be my personal favorite “Nirvana.” See, I’m not so much of a head-banging kind of girl, but this song is my exception. Feeding off of the crowd’s energy, Rizha walked into the audience to perform the song, and I hoped for her sake that her mic wouldn’t go out like it had when she did that during soundcheck. This moment of proximal closeness to her fans was a beautiful reminder of the connection the singer shares with her following, not only online but also in person.

As she wrapped up her show by performing a couple of songs that were co-produced by Chesko, from their joint EP LIFTED, I couldn’t help but take a moment to acknowledge the couple of young yet brilliant minds I had in front of me. I dropped my camera at that moment, wanting to simply enjoy the energy and talent they were both radiating. As they played the last two songs of the night, “I Follow Rivers” and “Cute Bitch,” the crowd, my exhausted little sister and I included, jumped so hard that dust started falling from the ceiling of the floor below us, and although under normal circumstances, I would apologize to those poor people just trying to have dinner, I’m really not sorry.

As I wrap up my 25th year on this planet, with dozens of shows in my wake, I can easily say that while I’ve seen many artists pour their heart on stage, I’ve never seen one do so with as much energy and passion as Rizha displayed. It was a powerful couple of nights, not lost on the audience, who ran on intense highs both nights. So if you’re not scared to be hit in the face by a rainbow flag, and if you get the chance to see Rizha and Chesko one day, take my advice and grab it. I promise you you won’t be disappointed.