Alleged vampire Theodore Fodor Glava was killed by a wooden stake in Lafayette, Colorado in 1918. A tree grew from that stake in the middle of his gravesite. At the beginning of her show, Soccer Mommy AKA Sophia Allison informed the crowd at the Gothic Theatre of this local legend. She didn’t have time to visit the Transylvanian immigrant’s resting place at the Lafayette Municipal Cemetery but thought her fans would like to know for a future spooky outing. Soccer Mommy does sell a Gothic crewneck sweatshirt on her website revealing her interest in the macabre. Soccer Mommy, the Gothic Theatre, and a vampire story seemed fitting.

Allison started to release music under the monicker Soccer Mommy taken from her childhood Twitter account. When her music started to gain popularity, she dropped out of college to become a full time musician. Soccer Mommy toured with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Phoebe Bridgers, and Vampire Weekend (maybe that was the root of the vampire fascination). Now supporting her second album Color Theory, the twenty-four-year-old is now headlining bigger venues.

For the current tour, Soccer Mommy required proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within 72 hours while strongly encouraged the audience to wear face masks. Despite her request, the Gothic Theatre’s vaccinated audience was mostly maskless. With a soft mumbled voice, Allison thanked the audience members that were wearing masks (you’re welcome).

Allison has a talent of combining pop melodies with dark lyrics. I was swaying to the music while at the same time struck by her heartbreaking lyrics. For example, the tune Circle the Drain – “Hey I’ve been falling apart these days/Split open watching my heart go round and around/Round and around/Circle the drain/I’m going down.” Another song Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes details her Mother’s cancer. “I’m thinking of her from over the ocean/See her face in the waves, her body is floating/And in her eyes, like clementines, I know that she’s fading/And the light of the sun is only a daydream.“

There was so much guitar tuning between songs it got a little awkward. During one of the delays, someone in the balcony said, “Hi”. It was silent enough for Allison to say, “Hi” back. There should had been more vampire banter.

Allison performed a cover of Slowdive’s Dagger without her band. It matched her style perfectly and made me wonder who in the audience recognized the obscure haunting tune from 1993.

The set ended with Your Dog and Scorpio Rising from Soccer Mommy’s 2018 debut album Clean. The audience was enthusiastically singing along.

See you at the next show. I’ll be giving out other vampire tourist destination suggestions.