SHOW REVIEW: Jane Remover @ The El Rey

Jane Remover

Jane Remover’s crowd at the El Rey matched her chameleon sound. 

On February 9th, I attended the El Rey theater in Los Angeles for Jane Remover and Quannic’s co-headlined “Designated Dreams Tour.” I wasn’t sure what the scene would be since Jane’s sound has evolved so rapidly in her short career. She started in 2019 by pioneering the 100 Gecs-adjacent “Digicore” genre, but has since landed at shoegazey, dreampop on her most recent album, 2023’s Census Designated. Throw in her pseudonymed, 3-album, sample-based side project and everyone’s officially confused. The takeaway is that, regardless of what the sound is, Jane navigates the production with ease. 

But the question still remains, who was going to be at this concert? Would it be the chronically online teens who first platformed Jane when she was making that early, breakbeat inspired electronica? Or the trans girls, like myself, who discovered Jane through her cover of Ethel Cain’s unreleased track “Dust Bowl” and quickly found solace in her relatable lyricism? Maybe a new generation of listeners who simply appreciated the 2000s emo inspiration drawn on Census? It ended up being all three, making for quite the crowd. 

Jane took the stage after a half hour of harsh shoegaze from opener, Kraus. Jane donned a pink, “WHITE GIRL WASTED” trucker hat, a black zip-up hoodie, and ripped jeans. She opened with “Cage Girl/ Camgirl.” The desperation of the lyrics hit heavier live. She followed with the other key points of Census: singles “Lips” and the crushing title track. The crowd erupted at “Search Party,” a favorite from her 2021 debut album Frailty. 

For most songs, Jane bounced around, mic in hand, with the most endearing Soundcloud swag. When a beat dropped or guitars crashed, she’d throw her arms to match. As Jane’s first headlining tour, it’s clear that performance is still relatively new to her. She closed out her show by accompanying herself on electric guitar for Frailty’s opener, “Goldfish.”

Jane has worn many faces in her career, drawing all kinds of fans. Celebrating her art at the El Rey with them was a pleasure, and I can’t wait to see and hear what's next from her.

-DJ Kirby AKA Andie Kirby