“Voice, drums, electric guitar, bass, keys, two violins, one viola, one cello, one upright bass, tuba, two trumpets, french horn, two saxophones, percussion… seventeen in total.”
These are all the instruments present in The Rockwell on Oct. 22 as ZaZa & the Psychedelic Orchestra take the stage. The crowd buzzes with excitement as the instrumentalists take their places, all dressed in sharp black suits. Once they’re settled in, they begin to play “The Phantom of the Opera,” setting a brooding and dramatic tone as the audience continues to murmur. But when the band’s frontwoman, Berklee College of Music student and superstar in the making ZaZa Vey (ZaZa) emerges from behind a curtain, the room falls silent. She is dressed in a gold and black-feathered masquerade mask and a fringed red robe covering a chic vest and miniskirt, with thigh-high red leather boots and a plethora of accessories.
She struts up to the microphone as a spotlight falls over her, closes her eyes and begins her rendition of “Feeling Good,” made famous by artists such as Nina Simone and Michael Bublé. She sings the first verse acapella, her breathtaking voice putting the crowd under a trance. As she nears the chorus, there is a palpable tension in the air as the audience waits for the rest of her band to join in. At last, on the final syllable of the chorus, the band comes in all at once, a sonic wave crashing over the venue as goosebumps raise on my arms.
Needless to say, the Psychedelic Orchestra isn’t exactly your average college band. Speaking with ZaZa a few days after the show, I asked what inspired her to put together such an elaborate ensemble of musicians.
The idea was born backstage at a showcase at a Berklee summer program. She was with her “creative soulmate” and guitarist Ollie Gullick and felt quite “bored” by the endless barrage of five-piece rock bands.
“The idea was to have an orchestra that’s much bigger than me, however, matches the energy that I think I bring on stage,” ZaZa said.“Having a five-piece band didn’t seem like enough, and it didn’t feel like I was doing myself or anybody else justice … I always just loved the idea of a bigger sound.”
It’s not difficult to gather that “big” is the defining word when it comes to ZaZa & the Psychedelic Orchestra — it emanated from every aspect of their performance, from the physical size of the band to ZaZa’s costume changes and fascinating theatricality. During a musical interlude, ZaZa ran offstage, returning in an elaborate wedding gown and matching parasol. A couple of songs later, she briefly exited the stage during a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Grace,” returning with her hand in a fist, obscuring its contents. At the song’s climax, she rubbed her hand down her chest, revealing a seemingly endless supply of bright red paint. Continuing to sing, she smeared the ‘blood’ all over the dress and her face with an anguished expression, dropping to her knees as she wailed out the lyrics.
To me, this moment was reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s infamous performance of “Paparazzi” at the 2009 VMAs. When I asked if this was a reference, ZaZa explained that, while she didn’t set out to imitate Gaga, the singer is in fact one of her biggest artistic inspirations.
“I think Lady Gaga was the first person I saw put theater and pop music together, and I was just like ‘wow, that makes so much sense.’ I fell in love with [pop music] because of her, because I saw that you can be a rockstar making pop music.”
The show reached its peak with the aforementioned performance of “Grace.” Speaking of her ‘Carrie’-style bloody breakdown, ZaZa told me “I feel like the whole show up to that point, I’m working up to that last moment. Once I get to Grace it’s like [imitates explosion] … I’m ripping my heart open in front of you, you’ve torn my heart out of my chest and now I have to wipe up my own blood.”
During the performance, ZaZa paused to unpack the theme of the show, “Leo in Mercury.” The title, she told the crowd, draws from her astrological chart.
As she later explained to me, “Oftentimes if you’re a Leo in Mercury, you’ll be very misunderstood by people despite the efforts you make to articulate your feelings.” Her performance, she explained, channeled this cosmic tension — a fusion of fierce passion and the vulnerability that comes with being misinterpreted and, at times, betrayed.
The setlist, combining originals and covers, perfectly encapsulated this concept. After “Feeling Good,” the band launched into two of the summer’s biggest hits: “Von Dutch” by Charli XCX and “HOT TO GO” by Chappell Roan. As ZaZa described it, this portion of the set encapsulated the waves of “carelessness” and “overconfidence” that can come with betrayal or heartache. Her original song, “Ruining My Heaven” comes next, with the crowd chanting along as she belted out the “dramatically angry” anthem about being cast aside by a friend in favor of “a bum of a guy.”
From somber songs like another ZaZa original “Never Trust an Angel” to upbeat yet emotionally charged tracks like “Escapism.” by 070 Shake and Raye, the set took the audience through a journey of heartbreak and healing.
The band concluded their set with “From Here,” an original by ZaZa and Gullick. According to ZaZa, the song is about falling out of love and beginning to look at your own heartbreak from a more detached perspective. “I just wanted that vulnerability at the end … After ‘Grace’ I’m covered in blood, my heart is ripped out, there’s nothing to hide behind.”
A few songs into their set, an audience member handed ZaZa a pride flag, which she wrapped around herself as she sang. Prior to the show, the band announced that 10% of ticket sales would be donated to the Fenway Institute, an organization providing healthcare and support to the transgender community in Boston, a decision made in light of recent occurrences of transphobia at their school, Berklee.
“I’ve grown up around gay, queer and trans people my whole life … [Many members of the band] are from the community, so we naturally felt very involved.”
One of the band’s managers, Lily Chopus, came up with the idea to donate a portion of ticket proceeds to charity, and ZaZa chose the Fenway Institute because it specifically services the Boston community, providing not only gender-affirming care but mental health care as well.
“It was a pretty fast and easy decision to make … We were in a position to be able to do something, so we did it.”
As the band played their final notes and applause reverberated through The Rockwell, it was incredibly clear that this group is destined for great things – each moment of the show felt like a glimpse of a star in the making. This is a band with the talent, vision and ambition to reach far beyond Boston, and I, for one, cannot wait to see what heights they reach.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Anabelle Meyers, Norah Catlin
