Ice Spice @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 31 Oct

On Halloween evening at the Barrowland Ballroom, a mixed crowd congregates: girly girls and grungy girls, skater boys and spice boys. The space is not totally full but those present are so charged-up that they’re fomenting enough energy to compensate.

It is predominantly teens gathered towards the front of the stage and older, more reserved Gen-Zs towards the back. The youngins are feverish: jumbo vapes are held high and official merch is proudly styled – a pink American flag, with the revamped stars and stripes overlaid with Ice Spice’s profile, is invariably draped as a cape or sarong. Sensitive to the festive night, some are in costume – fairies, devils, Ali-G. A half-way effort is made by many lads wearing wigs that resemble Ice Spice’s signature orange-red curls. 

At 9.14pm, after a DJ establishes a collective spirit by way of a cohesive pre-game rap playlist, the classic Windows PC startup hum thrums. On the big screen, antiquated browser tabs overlap and collage with music video footage and ‘Chat Now’ message invitations. There’s fuzzy pixelation and hyper femme digital decor. Delivering on the early noughties iconography of her Y2K! album, this blogger-girl mise-en-scène is a visual treat. Finally we ‘ENTER’ Ice Spice World (username: ‘munchkin', password, ****).

Upon the shattered glass sound effect and airhorn sound, Ice Spice appears and a sea of phones ascend to capture the spotlit star against a blackened background, dressed in a black Playboy bunny costume. The eerie sonics of Popa’s intro feels like you're crossing the threshold of Luigi’s Mansion; Spice’s voice takes on a delightfully villainous drawl, matching her conquering slow stride, while the track’s New York drill beat masticates. She has arrived.

Immediately following up with her breakout hit Munch (Feelin’ U), she's joined onstage by dancers. “You ready to have some fun tonight?!” she asks before diving into Princess Diana. The bass of the track pounds thrillingly and the crowd buzzes with recognition at every deployment of her staple tag “GRRAH!” Spice’s breath control across runaway verses remains solid, while her stage presence proves strikingly polished – poised but expressive, she lowers to a plié squat and twerks with an incandescent smile. As she warmly addresses the room: “Glasgow, my beautiful people, thank you for coming to the Y2K tour! Y’all ready to turn the fuck up tonight?” 

Image supplied by PR: Ice Spice @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 31 Oct

Barbie World begins with its Aqua sample as the dancers motion doll-like poses, before the seductive Sean Paul-sampling Gimmie a Light. Taking a cue from Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance tour, Ice Spice grips a handheld camera and in selfie mode projects her POV onto the big screen behind her in black and white. As she body rolls, she intones, “Happy Halloween Glasgowwww” before launching into the cheeky Plenty Sun. During Bikini Bottom, the crowd practically barks the line, 'How can I lose if I’m already chose? Like...'

After a punchy delivery of Bitch I’m Packin’, a mosh pit is incited. The ominous siren ring of Deli begins, blue lighting throbs, raised arms point and pulsate. The frenetic energy goes nuclear as Spice sings, 'She a baddie, she showin’ her panty', making for the vibrational highlight of the whole show. Some speak of Ice Spice as a slight act oriented around synthetic viral hooks, but anyone at tonight's show simply looking for a quick hit of her popular refrains will be surprisingly compelled. Though just 45 minutes long, it's a substantive set; a respectable sublimation of her debut EP and album into a cohesive and fluent show. With no breaks between songs, its rich density stimulates and never lags.

Playful and provocative in equal measure, Ice Spice is a credible performer, situating endlessly catchy lyrics in dynamic production and further legitimising them with controlled vocals. With a sound and image this distinct, she could easily command bigger stages.