Tender Misfit (the moniker for Ariel Beesley) recently concluded her first headliner tour that took her across California to celebrate the release of her Stargirl album. I got to catch her at the Los Angeles Oblivion stop. It was my first time catching a set since seeing her twice in 2024 -- a close to two year gap. During that time frame, she was busy writing up new songs. I did a setlist check and the only song that was similar between 2026 and the previous time I crossed paths with her was "Dirt."
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| Tender Misfit at Oblivion |
I've followed Tender Misfit since running across her in 2018 (at the time performing as Ariel Beesley) when I put her on my list of favorite new finds. At the time, I did an interview with her and here's a portion of from the interview that seems relevant as she just released Stargirl: Is there a specific decision you have made (good or bad) that you feel other bands/artists can learn from? Just be yourself. Don’t sacrifice your true self to get anywhere, you’ll end up exactly where you want to be if you just stay true to yourself.
(If you're interested, I've also covered Ariel Beesley / Tender Misfit for a couple more official blogsites. In 2019, I covered her set at Echo Park Rising for Buzzbands. The last time I saw her in 2024, I covered the then Tender Misfit set for US Rocker Music.)
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| Tender Misfit at Oblivion |
To start off the set, she walked through the front door of the venue. The crowd cheered as she appeared and went onto the stage. She launched into the title track from the album. During the build-up to the tour, she posted on Instagram numerous videos of her putting in hard work on the choreography. With the floor fan going, her hair was wind-tossed and she put all that prep work into action. "Welcome to the Stargirl Tour," was met with screams of approval.
What I've always appreciated is her song writing abilities. The emotionally laden "Dirt" has the lyrics, "I know you wish I was her. Now I'm just a voyeur." She told the crowd, "Never let anyone make you feel like sh*t."
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| Tender Misfit at Oblivion |
She performed all 7 songs off the album. I really loved "I Touch Myself" that plays off the lyrics of the similarly titled song by the Divinyls. It was an upbeat song to perform after "Dirt." I'm a little old school, so I also enjoyed the energy behind "I'd Say Anything (To Make You Want Me)" that had me thinking of The Dollyrots. "Kiss The Crowd" was like a boxing match where she wasn't going to give her opponent a chance. She took her choreography to a ten and the song included her patented high kick. "Blue Dreams" is a break-up heartbreaker.
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| Tender Misfit at Oblivion |
She closed out the night with the megaphone "An Act Of God" and then exited out the front door. Where did she go? I put away my camera and then made my way to the back patio where she was already greeting fans.
Opening up the night was Jesse Detor. I was lucky enough to catch her in late December when she opened up for Devon Thompson. A large majority of the crowd were also fans of hers (as well as Tender Misfit, of course). I don't know if there was an announcement that was made out on the back patio, but everyone dutifully walked into the venue at about 15 minutes prior to her set time.
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| Jesse Detor at Oblivion |
The recent Berklee College of Music graduate is a storyteller. She introduced her song "Juno" with, "Have you guys seen a movie called Juno? This song is about not knowing what you have until it is gone. And not appreciating the people in your life until they're not there anymore." "You Think of Me" is about "how embarrassing it is for someone to come crawling back to you" and also how embarrassing it is to accept them back. The song had fans head banging, singing along, and bringing out the phone cameras.
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| Jesse Detor at Oblivion |
Her final song of the night was "Hands" that was my Song Spotlight from that December encounter. She throws in the most awesome vocal screams throughout the song. I described them as Aerosmith's Steven Tyler type screams. Let's throw in another rocker from days past: Heart's Ann Wilson.
As a final note, the night was promoted by Penniback
Tender Misfit setlist: Stargirl, I'd Say Anything (To Make You Want Me), Dirt, I Touch Myself, Honey Don't Leave Me, Kiss The Crown, Blue Dreams, Crybaby, Every Time We Kiss, An Act Of God.
Jesse Detor setlist: Sloane, Juno, Once, You Think of Me, Glory, Mirror, Lovelost, Hands.
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