Review | Remi Wolf and Lava La Rue bring big energy to Pittsburgh on the ‘Big Ideas’ tour

Remi Wolf kicked off her Pittsburgh show with a tribute to her name — by getting the whole crowd to howl to the sky.

Wolf had a packed summer opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts tour in Europe. Now halfway through her own international tour promoting her new album, “Big Ideas,” the 28-year-old artist nevertheless brought energy as big as her ideas to Stage AE on Sept. 26. Over the course of the night, she ran, jumped, swung her leg above her head in the air to punctuate lyrics, screamed into the mic and swayed her hips. 

Wolf released her first single in 2019 and has been pumping out bouncing, vocal-forward hits ever since. You might recognize her voice from songs like “Hello Hello Hello” and “Disco Man,” both of which featured on her first full-length record, “Juno.”

“Big Ideas” keeps Wolf’s signature bold vocals, raunchy lyrics and quirky instrumentals, a style Pitchfork’s album review called “feel-good chromatic commotion.” Perhaps because it contained so many tracks previously released as singles, “Juno” had less of a throughline compared to “Big Ideas.” The new album dances around themes of love, heartbreak and self-discovery. 

Where “Juno” was all bravado and over-the-top goofiness — see “Grumpy Old Man” in its entirety — “Big Ideas” asks questions the artist’s similarly aged audience likely ask themselves often, wondering, “Is it wrong? Are you fearful? Do you regret? Be careful / If she’s perfect, what are you here for?”

If Wolf looked like she was having a great time leaping around the stage, the audience was positively euphoric. Dressed in cowboy hats and colorful tops, they came prepared with the lyrics to Wolf’s discography memorized and were happy to oblige when Wolf requested audience participation. 

Fans enthusiastically booed when Wolf, wearing a custom-made baseball cap reading “446,” dared question the real number of bridges in Pittsburgh. At one point, she asked for a random word, then improvised an entire song around it. The word “toast” won out, resulting in such lines as “Mama, when I get home, all I really want is a little bit of that Wonder Bread … that Dave’s Killer Bread.” 

Wolf’s fans were just as excited to participate during the opening set, which showcased the talents of British-Jamaican musician, director and producer Lava La Rue. On top of a long songwriting history, La Rue’s stacked resume includes founding a music collective whose work the Tate has commissioned and directing videos for Grammy-nominated British band Wet Leg. They delivered a multilayered, beat-driven, slightly psychedelic set showcasing songs from their first album, “STARFACE.”

During La Rue’s “Poison Cookie,” the entire audience waved their arms back and forth during the sparse, curious intro, then pointed toward the stage rhythmically when the beat dropped. Their set also featured the lilting, upbeat track “Lovebites,” a song they introduced as describing a queer situationship, and the plaintive, moody “Magpie” from La Rue’s 2021 “Butter – Fly” EP. Even the short opening set gave more than a peek into La Rue’s colorful, sci-fi-inspired musical aesthetic and their artistic range. 

During her set, Wolf took a break from “Big Ideas” to play a few fan favorites from her first album, including “Liz” and an alternate version of “Sexy Villain.” The “Toast” improvisation wasn’t the only surprise of the night from the Palo Alto-born singer, who also sang her heart out covering “Life is a Highway” as the crowd roared along and the stage lights pulsed red, white and blue.

Wolf closed the show with an encore following chants of “Remi, Remi, Remi,” performing her 2021 hit “Photo ID,” a fun song that unfortunately might induce a slight trauma response in those who were on TikTok during the COVID-19 lockdown when the song was trending. Think “Ooh, baby, turn out the lights …” You know the one. Luckily, it brought only dancing to the Pittsburgh crowd.

At the beginning of the concert, Wolf declared to the audience that it was going to be the “best f—ing night of our goddamn lives.” Judging by the sold-out venue, the snaking merch line and the glowing smiles on fans’ faces as they filed out the doors at the end of the show, the night was just as memorable as Wolf promised.

Thomas Riley contributed reporting for this story.