Gig Review: Grace Ives At Village Underground

Closing out her “Girlfriend” tour, Grace Ives delivered a euphoric set that proved there’s still plenty of life left in scrappy, joyful indie dance.

“Thank you for coming, thank you for dancing,” Grace Ives said, three songs in, to a sold-out crowd at the Village Underground. It was a fitting summary of the evening. For the entirety of her London show,  the final date of her two-month-long “Girlfriend” tour,  the crowd was present. The usual gig sight of phone screens in the air was rare – hands were instead busy dancing and tying hair up into ponytails to keep sweat off of necks. People were just there. Critically, they were having fun. Grace Ives was, too. 

Backed by John Debold and Mikee Colet, Ives played a tight set that was anything but rigid. Her theatrical vocals, swimming basslines, crunchy guitar, and synth-forward tracklist invited a night of dancing and singing from the off. 

Ives opened the set with “Avalanche” and was met with the crowd singing the words back to her, from the front-row super fans to those in the back of the venue. She played a fluid set of new tracks and old, leaving some in their close-to-original forms, and taking the opportunity to play alternate versions of crowd favourites, like “Icing on the Cake”. 

In a standout performance of “Fire 2”, she brought a medley of noise and grace that captures the essence of her work: honesty, grit, and fun. Village Underground made for a perfectly sweaty dancefloor. Her set felt like what being a twenty-something in 2010 might have felt like, crammed into a small, sweaty venue while LCD Soundsystem or Passion Pit made their rise. That era of gritty, joyful alternative dance music that demands presence and looseness can sometimes feel gone, like something to mourn, like we're “in the wrong generation”. But there's no need to mourn. Grace Ives is right here.

Towards the end of the evening, reflecting on the end of her two-month-long tour, she noted: “I think I’m happy, I think I’m sad… I know I’m grateful…” She closed the set with “Lullaby” and returned to the stage with “Stupid Bitches” as an encore.

Grace Ives will return to London in April 2027, supporting Olivia Rodrigo’s “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” tour at the O2.