Author: Mars Nelson
A tinge of melancholy lingered in the air of the Showbox Sodo as Role Model — aka Tucker Pillsbury– ended the No Place Like Tour in Seattle. “Divas” – Pillsbury’s loving nickname for his fanbase – lined around the block in the pouring rain, waiting for a night of hip swaying and heartbreak. Pillsbury released his sophomore album, Kansas Anymore, in 2024, diving into the intimate details of his very public breakup. While most songs practically paint him as the villain in their break-up, Pillsbury has managed to win over the hearts of many with his quirky internet personality and comedy on stage. As I stood in line, I heard murmurs about who tonight’s “Sally” would be and if Pillsbury would be doing anything special to celebrate the end of the tour.
Once we walked into the venue, the energy felt almost tangible. It is rare that I walk away from a show equally in awe of the crowd as I am of the artist, but Role Model is an incredible host. The moment he bounded onto the stage, the Divas were dancing, and that is all due to the fact that Pillsbury wasted no time riling the crowd up. He opened the show the same way he opened his album, with “Writings on the Wall”. We chanted along with him as he belted out the chorus and danced around the stage to say hello to the barricade. The crowd bounced up and down for the entirety of the song, throwing their arms up and waving to the beaming singer on stage. I could tell almost immediately that the energy levels were going to stay exactly where they were all night long.
Pillsbury wasted no time jumping into “Look at that Woman”, a song that simply praises the woman his ex was when he was able to know her. However, after his music video full of popular women on the internet and the important women in his life, the song has taken on new meaning. Now, fans point to each other and deem their friends as the woman Pillsbury is singing about. I became emotional as girls I had just met began to point towards me, singing me the lyrics with the sweetest smiles on their faces. The set moved quickly, Pillsbury only spending a few moments between each song to introduce himself and his band as different musicians (tonight he was Ed Sheeran, Troye Sivan, and Maroon 5). If I wasn’t dancing, I was singing. If I wasn’t singing, I was laughing, and if I wasn’t laughing, I was barking because that’s what Pillsbury wanted from us.
Although you could feel the energy shift completely when his hit single “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” came on. Each night, Pillsbury has chosen a “Sally” to join him on stage for the bridge of the song. He has had a wide range of celebrities (Jake Shane, Dylan Minette, Reneé Rapp, Hamzah and Martin, etc.), but he has also had a plethora of fans, hand-selected from the crowd by his team, join him as well. Everyone was anticipating a celebrity to be the Sally for the final night of the tour, but instead, Pillsbury’s photographer Neema came leaping onto the stage. You would think the divas would be disappointed to lose the chance at a celebrity spotting, but they were equally as excited for Neema, a staple in the Role Model social media universe, as they would be for any other guest.
The final surprise was Pillsbury singing a song he had been excluding from the setlist for the entirety of the No Place Like Tour, “Something, Somehow, Someway”. This was the only song where it felt like the entire crowd was still and almost silent. We simply stood in awe and watched as Pillsbury gave us his thank-you gift. The whole show felt like it was a tandem performance between us, the divas, and Role Model. When he moved, we moved and vice versa. I have not had that much fun at a show in so long. There truly is No Place Like Tour.
Mars Nelson I KXSU Program Director