The Dare // QMU // 21.03.25

For someone who only a few nights ago mistimed a stage dive and ended up eating venue floor, The Dare shows no sign of caution tonight. If he’s nursing a black eye, it’s safely hidden behind his ever-present shades, and besides, nobody in this sweatbox of a room has come for restraint. The Queen Margaret Union is packed wall-to-wall with a crowd that could have stepped straight out of a 2006 American Apparel ad—millennials and Gen Zers alike, reliving or discovering the indie sleaze era in all its grimy, neon-lit glory.

Opening with the jagged synth pulse of “Open Up”, The Dare wastes no time in turning the place into a full-blown party. This is club music, but not as sleek or pristine as the sort dominating the charts—his sound is all scuffed-up trainers and sticky floors, drawing from the same lineage of bloghouse and electroclash that once gave us DFA Records, early Ed Banger, and the trash-glam excess of Test Icicles. “Cheeky” struts along with a bassline straight out of a Prince-damaged Chromeo track, while “Perfume” feels like the lost soundtrack to a particularly messy NYLON magazine afterparty, all sleazy vocals and pulsing beats.

As ever, The Dare thrives on audience interaction. At one point, he’s off the stage, hugging, dancing, and singing face-to-face with his fans—perhaps making sure that if he’s taking another tumble tonight, at least there’ll be bodies to catch him.

A particular highlight comes in the form of an unexpected cover: “I Can’t Escape Myself” by The Sound, transformed from its stark, post-punk origins into something almost seductive, like if Soft Cell had taken a crack at it in their Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret days. Then there’s “Bloodwork”, a track already dripping in late-night neon sleaze, now laced with a dash of Charli XCX’s hyperpop glitter—warped, twisted, and ready to blow out the speakers.

The main set ends, but the crowd demands more, and he delivers: a short but relentless encore of “Movement”, “All Night”, and of course, “Girls”, the song that’s fast becoming an anthem for a new generation of club kids.

By the time the house lights come up, the room is a mess of sweat, spilled drinks, and mascara running down grinning faces. The Dare might have hit the floor a few nights back, but tonight, he never once loses his footing.