Cigarettes After Sex – Xcel Energy Center St. Paul MN – September 22nd 2024

Cigarettes After Sex – Xcel Energy Center St. Paul MN – September 22nd 2024

Review and photo by Kate Klaus

Ambient pop rockers Cigarettes After Sex are currently on their “X’s World Tour” of their new album “X”.  Their show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.  The arena stop was a dramatic rise from their intimate club venue shows from just a few years ago, due primarily to a TikTok spurred fan base of primarily young women who have launched the band into a new level of exposure and popularity.

They opened the show with “X’s” with the same minimal stage presence as experienced at their smaller club shows.  Shrouded in a deep fog, with minimal lighting and production, their music took center stage, and despite being a full arena setting, the clear tone and beautiful musicality radiated through the arena, punctuated by the screams of the young fans.  Their songs have intimate and deeply connected lyrics, which one would assume wouldn’t translate as well in a larger venue, but the subtleties of Greg Gonzalez’s stage presence with his soft, ethereal vocals and clear and moody guitar tones carried that emotion so strongly that it reached the far back of the arena.

Tears could be seen being shed during their deply emotional “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby”.  They played a mix of songs from their newly released album and older favorites, and beautifully ended the night with  “Apocalypse” with amazing disco ball light spinning through the arena, a perfect showing of their talented ability to transform their performance to a larger venue showcase.