A Pop Star Who Actually Gives a Fuck: Renee Rapp at Theater of the Clouds

The Bite Me Tour hits Portland with sapphic energy, political fire, and a voice that could shake the rafters. Words and photos by Bren Swogger. 

In the clear autumn sun, windows down, driving into Portland blasting Bite Me—Renee Rapp’s latest album and the backbone of this tour—one thing became abundantly clear to me:

Renee Rapp and Sabrina Carpenter are the little blonde gals saving pop music right now.

Listening to the absolute pop perfection Rapp poured into her sophomore record, the only other voice that comes to mind with the same energy, vibrance, and non-seriousness is Miss Short and Sweet herself. And while Sabrina is absolutely on my concert bucket list, I’ve been lucky enough to see Renee before—at the Roseland a couple of years back, touring behind her first album, Snow Angel.

Since then, Renee’s star has only risen—from the little bi girl to the outspoken, punk-and-spunk lesbian. For her return to Portland, she’s moved up—from the club to an arena, playing Moda Center’s Theater of the Clouds.

Half an hour before doors, I was surprised to find the Rose Quarter campus eerily quiet. Maybe it was the cold, maybe the smaller seating setup. But once inside, it was clear this was no empty night. The crowd was pure queer joy.

Hot theys and gays everywhere.

“I just walked by a masc that made me want to fall to my knees,” my friend said. “I love it here.”

Before Renee took the stage, opener Syd of The Internet fame set the tone perfectly. At one point she asked the “ladies” to sing—then the “fellas.” Crickets. Laughter. It was a sapphic crowd through and through. She closed her set with a scream that would be echoed once again that night: “FUCK ICE and Free Palestine!”

As the stage was set for Renee’s headline spot, it looked like a pop-diva Twin Peaks dream—giant red curtain, black-and-white checkered floor. Then the lights went down, and the gay chaos turned cinematic.

When the curtain finally dropped, it revealed a massive set with a glowing star platform at the center. Renee descended from above, and the place erupted.

Everyone was absolutely enamored by her presence. I could hear the girls around me drool when she appeared in her frilly black dress.

Her glow-up since the Roseland days is unreal. From small club shows to full-scale arena production, she’s got it down: powerhouse vocals, commanding stage presence, and enough sex appeal to level the place.

During “Swim,” she grabbed her own camera and filmed herself walking through the sea of sapphics without missing a single note.

Then with “Shy”… I’ll be real: it brought tears to my eyes. Renee wrote an all-time great pop song on that one. And her vocals on “That’s So Funny” and “Sometimes” remind you—she’s a Broadway girly through and through. The control. The belt. Unreal.

But the real power of Renee Rapp is how outspoken she is.

“Welcome to the Bite Me Tour,” she told the crowd. “We are very, very, very excited to be here with you. You’re a wonderful, wonderful city. And it just happens that we’re here at the same time some people who shouldn’t fucking be here are. So let’s get a couple things abundantly fucking clear,” she said.

“Fuck ICE. Fuck this administration. And fuck Trump.”

The place absolutely erupted. As it should. Being from Portland, having our city painted as some “war zone” is absolutely heart-wrenching and vile. This city is beautiful—the people, the music, the culture—and that night, among a sea of queer love, it was made abundantly clear.

But Renee Rapp doesn’t stop her advocacy there. For this tour she’s partnered with Save the Children, using her platform to speak on real issues and raise money to help children in need—specifically naming the genocide in Gaza during an introductory video before the show and asking people to give what they can.

Once again, I say: nobody is doing it like Renee Rapp.

Between her and Sabrina—who recently used her own VMAs performance to highlight trans rights in a time when they’re under vitriolic attack—these are two pop powerhouses carrying the genre into something better. Perfect pop. Perfect politics. Perfect personality.

Renee, if you’re reading this, I love you. Never stop being as loud as you fucking can be.

And Sabrina… please tour Man’s Best Friend, I’m begging you.