Words by Christopher Kevin Au // Images by Brayden Smith from FOMO Sydney //

We saw a lot of great things when we attended FOMO Festival in Parramatta Park last Saturday afternoon.

There was a guy wearing a toilet seat around his neck. There was also a lady waving a mop in the air for some reason. Are bathroom utensils the new essential festival accessories? I think so. Catch me at the next gig wearing five soap dispensers glued to my torso. When it came to the music at FOMO, their biggest line-up yet also proved to be their most engaging: We had the relentless wobbles of RL Grime, some smooth and sexy selections from Kaytranada, and perhaps most importantly of all, SZA graced us with her presence for the first time.

After a strong streak of EPs, SZA had plenty to live up to when it came to her debut album in 2017. As a member of TDE, she was placed alongside global phenomenons like Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q, while her name sounds very familiar to three-lettered members of Wu-Tang like RZA & GZA. However, SZA managed to crush all doubts (and even get a RZA co-sign) when her album Ctrl was finally released. It’s pensive, cathartic, and universally acclaimed, and legions of her fans have already inked the album title on themselves permanently, which is just as excellent as the time an OVO superfan got ‘Drake’ tattooed on her forehead in assertive varsity letters.

With SZA absolutely smashing it on her late afternoon slot of FOMO festival, anticipation was high for her slightly more intimate headline show at The Enmore Theatre. By the time we arrive, the sold-out crowd is buzzing with energy, having been adequately prepped by support act FlexMami. The vibe is strong, nobody is munted, nobody is pushing through the crowd obnoxiously, there is room to move, I’m really enjoying this newfound personal space. This crowd is like the opposite of a dubstep show.

Soon after, SZA steps onstage right on time, accompanied by the gentle, greyscale guitar strums of Ctrl album opener ‘Supermodel.’ The fan favourite sets the tone for the rest of the night, filled with mesmerising sing-a-longs and a live band that elevates SZA’s catalogue to exciting new heights. The depth of Ctrl translates to SZA’s live show accordingly: From the raw, vulnerable lows of ‘Normal Girl,’ SZA bounces back with thunderous energy for hit singles like ‘Love Galore,’ where she’s dancing and fly-kicking her way across the stage (she was trained as a gymnast and a dancer) while the crowd roars along in approval.

And though much of her catalogue sits on the down-tempo end of the sonic spectrum, the crowd doesn’t seem to care. Punters are moshing along to her catalogue with vigour, bouncing up and down to ballads, which sounds weird on paper, but isn’t weird at all with SZA’s electric energy onstage. The crowd is also more than happy to fill in for Kendrick Lamar’s absence by belting out his verse on ‘Doves In The Wind,’ so too Travis Scott’s bars on the aforementioned ‘Love Galore.’ I haven’t heard this many sing-a-longs since Oasis’ catalogue dropped at the local RSL. ‘Drew Barrymore’ brings the night to a crescendo, with its wailing sadness uniting the audience in a uniform sway.

It’s clear that in her relatively short time in the mainstream spotlight, SZA has managed to forge a real connection with her fans through her admirably transparent storytelling. Front-row fans give her not one, but two bouquets of fragrant flowers, as well as a unanimous thumbs up for her rollercoaster performance that will surely go down as one of the year’s best, despite only being two weeks into 2018.

Back in 2012, Kendrick Lamar played at The Enmore Theatre before becoming one of the world’s most in-demand musicians. After watching SZA perform at the same venue in 2018, it’s easy to see how she could also carve her own path into superstardom.