Rochelle Jordan is Feminine Rage

It’s difficult for me to pick just one song from Rochelle Jordan’s Through the Wall as my favorite, but if I had to choose, it would be Get it Off. The way she croons I need to get it on my own, feminine rage is just so satisfying, and also, very real. For who amongst us hasn’t been wronged by someone (usually, although not always, a man) and felt the need to exact revenge? While her voice is gentle and subtle, somehow her entire demeaner exudes confident feminine rage - iconic, inspiring, queen.

I went down to Pomona, California last weekend to see her live. She did stop by Phoenix during her tour (Rebel Lounge), but that venue is tiny so she sold out just like that. Yes, I could’ve bought the resale tickets, but a road trip was the more exciting idea. I recruited Phuong and Paula for my fantastical adventure, and Phuong brought along her friend and labmate Amy. Together, we piled into Phuong’s car at 9am Saturday and hit the road.

It’s about a 6 hour drive from here to Pomona. What I noted:

• A man with a car stuffed full of boxes - where’s he headed?
• I feel good. Not overwhelmingly pleasant, but just right.
• Harley Davidson motorcycles.
• The single strip of white cloud like misplaced paint in the sky.
• Maybe in California I will do red light therapy and renew my skin and sense of self.
• My ears are popping a bit due to the change in elevation.
• Rest stops with sunburnt truckers.
• Trailer park full of sand and palm trees.
• Through Ehrenburg, a single red E on the ledge of a cloudy cliff.
• Driving past Blythe, there’s a sign that says Devin 143. What does it mean…
• Can I name a child Blythe? Pomona?
• A shirtless man walking through the dirt.
• My favorite song to hear on this drive has been Truly’s Blue Flame Ford. I like the part where they sing: “In a Blue Flame Ford / You look like 2024.” The song was made in 1995, thats now 30 years ago. I imagine looking like 2024 means having the proportions of an AI generated Instagram model.

What was most notable was the stark transitions between the environments, from the Sonoran Deserts of Arizona, to the hybrid desert landscape and California beach vibes of Palm Springs, to the much greener, but still palm tree filled surroundings of Pomona. The changes were all very subtle until they would all hit you at once. My favorite landscape was definetly Palm Springs, which I always stop by when I’m going to California. It has the perfect mix of desert and vacation town - I could see myself retiring there. We stopped by some different souvineir shops as Amy was looking to add a pin to her collection (she gets one from every place she visits. I admire her dedication!). She found her pin, and I also bought a nice dress from a cozy shop. The owner said I could get some free earrings from the shop across the street, so I went and they said I could also get a discount at their shop, and if I bought something, I could go back to the other shop and get something free from them. “I’m gonna be here all day if I buy anything,” I told Paula. The owner tried to sell me on a long blue dress that she was sure would fit me because I’m tall, but for my own sanity I had to pass.

We arrived at L.A., which is about an hour away from Pomona, and took a little time to explore. The plan was go to the Griffith Observatory and get lunch. I wanted to meet with Andy and Emily, but due to extraneous circumstances and poor planning on my part this didn’t happen - I did not realize how crazy the Griffith Observatory gets. There was no parking but we mananged to idle somewhere briefly and get a glimpse of the Hollywood sign. Then we stopped at Susuru, a Ramen restaurant that we found on Google maps. Phuong remarked: “I just got here, and this is already better than anything I’ve eaten in Phoenix.” A fair observation. Also, a nice woman complimented my Fana Hues tote bag. Maybe we didn’t get to explore every nook and cranny of L.A. but just walking around for a bit is enough for me. L.A. is an interesting city, both vapid and incredibly substantial, with shitty traffic and great food. A great place to visit, but I could never live there!

We headed back to Pomona for the concert. Reddit will tell you that Pomona is “the trenches,” but I liked it. Our hotel (at least on the outside) had a resort-like appearence. Everyone was wearing sundresses and sandals, so I felt a little out of place in my shorts and snake patterned mesh tights. Which isn’t a bad thing. The mountains surrounding the area were big, much bigger than any in Phoenix I would say, which is not to put down Phoenix - I still think the desert aesthetic wins out. The downtown area had cute thrift stores and was bustling with people, there were even other concerts going on at different bars and such.

The venue where Rochelle performed is called the Glass House. It’s a nice setup - the stage is in the corner, and it’s hazy, dark, and ominous. The only thing I didn’t like was security, they made me give them the chain I had on my belt loops because I could “throw it.” But what about my necklaces? I could throw those too… Anyway the opener of the night was CHRYSALIS, Rochelle Jordan’s personal DJ. Her set was really good, I’ve never heard anything quite like it. It was a perfect combination of otherworldly sounds, like we were on the moon. She transitioned between international music and R&B in unguessable twists, and the unpredictableness made it all the more enjoyable. The crowd moved in sync as if she controlled their every motion. It set the space as one that was communal, where we could all dance together and enjoy the music without fear of judgement.

And then there was RJ. Ms. Rochelle. Oh my. Everytime she moved the crowd (myself included) lost our collective minds. She was in a little black dress and silver jacket, and her hair was long and big and had BANGS (she is now the Queen of BANGS)! Her and CHRYSALIS were perfectly in sync like twin flames, the beat rising with her every move. She could dance, she could sing - very well, a gentle Aaliyah-esqe voice, and I should say, she sounded exactly like the recordings. The audience was full of superfans, they knew every word of every song. I even surprised myself, I could sing along to almost everything. It’s hard to describe, but I felt so enchanted by her energy, so in sync with her songs, I knew it was worth the 6 hour drive. Seriously, there is something about RJ. Besides Get it Off, I think Ladida was my favorite performance from her, it’s so easy to sing along to and so dance-y and I loved her hand movements, especially with the leather black gloves, it was classy yet captivating. During the show it got a bit hot, but a nice man let me boring his hand fan, which shows the caliber of fans that RJ has. She did an encore performance and let the audience decide between Lowkey and Dancing Elephants, and they picked Lowkey. I know Lowkey is the Tik-Tok sleeper hit, but justice for Dancing Elephants - it’s one of her best songs!

I bought a glittery shirt from the merch table and wore it the next day to Easter Sunday mass. I probably stood out a bit, but I’m not going to that church again, so who cares? Before we left the hotel we ran into the tour manager for Rochelle Jordan who saw the shirt I was wearing. Real nice guy, unfortunetly RJ was not with him. We had breakfast at this place called Mami Mimosa which had impeccable french toast. The only oddity was that there was a retainer stuck in my chair, which I didn’t notice until we were leaving… freaking gross… Then we piled into Phuong’s car for the long drive home. I’ll live off the high from this concert for at least three weeks. And while Rochelle remains unfairly underrated, there is something nice about being in a crowd of true fans, the ones that can claim without a doubt that they knew her before she blew up.