Ginger Root • Pearl and The Oysters • October 4, 2024 • The Depot
Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall
On the edge of the Gateway Mall sits The Depot, a three-story tall music and event space that perfectly fit the aesthetic of Ginger Root and accompanying band, Pearl and the Oysters. The crowd was as neon electric as Ginger Root’s performance 1980s vibe.
Pearl and The Oysters
Pearl and The Oysters really got the crowd going, hands were in the air clapping along to the beat, and heart hands were up after every song. The French American band have a space-pop feel and have been performing together since 2015. The lead singer Juliette Pearl Davis said how they wanted to make up a whole new setlist for this tour with the incredible Ginger Root because many people have heard them play the old setlist before.
Throughout their performance, the band was having a ton of fun onstage dancing around and playing various instruments. Davis told the crowd that it was time to dance along and boogie around to the music. The crowd loved the performance and happily danced around, Pearl and The Oysters were incredible at warming the crowd and really getting them going to see Ginger Root.
Ginger Root
Ginger Root’s performance was immaculate, everything from the 1980s set pieces to the lighting and storyline of the songs. Ginger Root is no stranger to SLC. This is the fifth time Ginger Root has played around SLC, the most notable being Kilby Block Party 4 earlier this year. Kilby Block Party was the first time I got to experience Ginger Root, but I’ve got to say that the show this past weekend at The Depot topped the prior performance by a long shot. The show at the Depot was their 8th stop on the tour around the world, and their popularity is immense, bringing groups from all walks of life together through their groovy music.
Just before the show had begun, the lead singer Cameron Lew snuck on the stage to help set up his keys and mics and telling the fans that saw him on stage to “shhhh” so no one else would notice. He then proceeded to run from the side of the stage to the back of the venue past the sound booth and back without the audience realizing. While this was occurring, there was a projection onto the stage that said, “Ginger Root Productions” and “Our Program Will Begin Shortly” Which really got the crowd excited to see the band play. The story line of the show is incredible, and the music videos that play behind the screen at the shows that show the storyline are just as incredible as the music. Before each video would play, Lew would begin to say something and then abruptly shout “Watch This!”
before every video would start to play. The storyline of the show follows Lew in the 1970s and 1980s as he creates an anime film for the fictional Juban network to air, he refuses to make another one and it results in him getting fired from the network. This causes Lew to go out to try and make it big on his own with his own show Ginger Root Productions. Throughout the performance different music videos are played in the background adding more and more details to the storyline keeping the audience engaged, shouting excitedly or booing to the characters who ruin Lew’s career in the videos.
The 1980-1990s theme is all around, from the calculator watch that Cameron Lew wears, to the old TVs and the old red rotary phone that is used as a microphone. A big thing at Ginger Root shows is the Camera Operator on stage with the band. They dance around the stage taking live videos of everything from the keys being played, to audience members cheering, for it to get projected live onto all the TVs on stage as well as the backdrop behind the band. There was also a tiny camera attached to Lew’s guitar, which the screen would switch to when the guitar was being played. This makes every show a truly unique experience.
At one point during the show, Lew had to break the news that they had to bring in a substitute for the performance. Unfortunately, they lost a very important member that morning (one of their TVs), and they had to replace it with a 2000s silver TV from Facebook Marketplace that they had delivered by a Lyft ride at the last minute. They wanted to take a moment of silence for the fallen TV and played “In the Arms of an Angel” over the loudspeakers. This made the whole audience laugh and then get extra excited when Lew then said, “that if anyone wanted the old TV that it would be out in the dumpster out back”.
The crowd that night shook the whole building with their jumping and dancing to the aggressive elevator soul music. The whole crowd was dancing and jumping around together. Toward the end of the show, Lew wanted to try something with the crowd where either side of the crowd sang a different part of the song at the same time. The audience was incredible and made the whole band excited, fueling the overall excitement of the whole atmosphere.
Just before the encore, Ginger Root had a jam session on the stage, even at one point letting the camera operator who had been running around the stage all night swap and play the drum set, which was a fun and nice touch to help end the night off. At the end of the encore, the whole crowd was singing along to weather, and just as the song was ending Cameron Lew ended the song abruptly and said “Bye, Bye” causing the crowd to give thunderous applause.