MØ performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Feb. 9, 2019. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF.

SACRAMENTO and OAKLAND — Taking the stage in a black wide-brimmed hat, white cut-off tank-top and black jeans, MØ began her show at Ace of Spades in Sacramento on Feb. 2 with “Purple Like the Summer Rain.” The cut, off 2018’s Forever Neverland, begins with the distinctly appropriate line, “Take me all the way to California/ They’ll be making hits on every corner.”

MØ performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Feb. 9, 2019.

It was familiar territory for MØ (Karen Marie Ørsted), who has been putting out hits since 2014. The Sacramento show was the first of several in California. She travelled south for a couple before doubling back to the Bay Area and concluding Saturday with a performance at Oakland’s Fox Theater.

“It’s a super-emotional night for me because it’s the last night of my American tour,” she said at the tour closer in Oakland. “I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for seven years; time flies.”

As MØ broke into 2015 single “Kamikaze” at Ace of Spades, fans broke out into a singalong for the chorus to the upbeat flute-like break and electronic percussion.  

A third of the way into the show, during “Red Wine,” MØ walked to and through the crowd to the bar on the side of the room. There she stood on top of the counter and continued to sing, drinking from a plastic wineglass that exploded in her grip as the song came to an end.

She stayed atop the bar counter through “Trying to Be Good” and ended with Forever Neverland’s lead single, “Nostalgia.” After making her way back to the stage, she addressed fans for the first time.

“I know I’ve been here two times in my life, but I still find it really amazing,” she said. “I come from Denmark and you come from America. It’s so beautiful that we can all be in this room together and just share the love and experience of music.  I think that’s a powerful thing these days.”

MØ played every song from Forever Neverland, as well as her first single, “Pilgrim,” off 2014’s No Mythologies to Follow; and “Turn My Heart to Stone,” off of 2017 EP When I Was Young. Other cuts included “Nights With You” and “Final Song,” as well as covers of Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s “Lean On,” Snakehips’ “Don’t Leave” and Diplo’s “Get It Right”—on which she performs features. She ended the show by crowdsurfing through the end of the final song.

LPX performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Feb. 9, 2019.

New York singer-songwriter LPX matched MØ’s intense energy. Opening the show with “Slide,” the lead single from 2018 EP Bolt In the Blue, Lizzy Plapinger (MS MR) quickly seized command of the stage as rolling uptempo percussion began the song.  Plapinger danced, kicked and punched her way through each song, occasionally flipping her red hair and flashing a grin. Her performances included other songs from her debut EP, as well as a couple of 2017 singles and her latest, “Might Not Make It Home.”

Follow writer Carly Van Den Broeke at Twitter.com/carlyrosevdb. Follow photographer Joaquin Cabello at Instagram.com/joaquinxcabello.