“I wanna be impossible,” Samia sings on “Bovine Excision,” the debut single from her acclaimed 2025 album “Bloodless.” And across an hour of live music on Friday, she had an impossibly undeniable presence.

Samia came to the Fonda Theatre for the second of three California shows on her Bloodless Tour. She played her entire album along with select songs from her debut and sophomore albums, “The Baby” and “Honey.”

Hank Heaven and Renny Conti, both indie singers and friends of Samia, played opening sets, with Friday being the only date the two shared on the Bloodless Tour. Heaven started out opening on the tour’s second leg, while Conti — who recently signed to Mom + Pop Music — will finish the tour accompanying Samia. Samia called them “two of [her] all-time favorite bands.”

“[Conti] is an incredible artist … He [has] something that we saw something very special in,” said David Jacobs, West Coast general manager of Mom + Pop Music and a USC alum. “I’m excited to check out [Samia’s] set and see what she can do live.”

Samia’s night started with the melody of “Biscuits Intro,” with applause ringing through the Fonda all the while. “Biscuits Intro” soon transitioned into “Triptych,” the final single off “The Baby,” which was paired with the band being shrouded in blue light, matching both the emotional nature of “Triptych” and “Bloodless” as a whole.

After “Dare,” the first of seven straight “Bloodless” songs performed, came “Fair Game,” a song boosted by a heavy guitar and lyrics on physical touch and revenge. “Sacred,” an anthemic ballad with an earworm chorus, “Bovine Excision,” the album’s lead single about mysterious cattle deaths and emptiness, and several more followed, with a blood-red glow illuminating the band on the latter.

Samia’s lyricism, including those about the struggles of femininity on “Bovine Excision,” is one of the biggest selling points for her fans.

“She’s released two albums since I [last] saw her,” said Chris Turino, a USC alum present at the concert. “She’s probably matured a lot as a performer, which is great, because I think that especially when I saw her live the first time, she has an intimacy with a crowd and an ease to her.”

During the concert, it became apparent that Samia lived in two worlds when performing: in one, she was very innately aware of the audience, making gestures to the cameras during songs. In the other, it was like nothing else in the world but her and her music existed.

“Proof” was next up, and it seemed like her mindset was in the world of her music. During “Proof,” multiple band members sat down during the performance, as if they needed to conserve their energy to not get sucked into her siren-like lyrics.

When Samia eventually moved on from “Bloodless” and started playing “Big Wheel,” a feel-good vibe was immediately present. She was at her most electric yet during the night, even joyously skipping after the final chorus as if she were in a field of grass.

The soft blue light that helped enunciate “Big Wheel” turned an aggressive red and the vibes immediately dampened as “Kill Her Freak Out,” the intro track of “Honey,” followed. The drastic mood change could be seen as unusual and even malfunctioning, especially considering the sad-but-motivational “Spine Oil” and twangy “Craziest Person” came after, but with Samia, it was par for the course.

“[She’s] a very unique songwriter. [She’s] not afraid to take risks,” said attendee Brian Rosenberg.

As the clock neared 11 p.m., the singsongy “Lizard” turned into “North Poles,” which was arguably the highlight of the night. The increasingly frantic song was highlighted by high hats that eventually became the full drum kit and Samia exclaiming, “We were born to be closers!” while pointing at the sky. After the song climaxed, cheers roared through the Fonda.

During “Fit N Full,” another song off “The Baby,” Samia once again entered her own world, singing part of the bridge to guitarist Darryl Rahn. Next came “Pants,” “Bloodless’s” closer and the supposed last song of the night.

But after a minute of thunderous, unbroken applause echoing through the Fonda, the band reentered the stage and played an encore of three songs.

The emotion was in full force at this point. Samia’s vocals soared during “Pool,” and she looked to be on the verge of tears after “Is There Something in the Movies?” but Samia’s time at the Fonda ended on a happy note with “Honey,” which she described as a “singalong.” During the final chorus, she bounced up and down, throwing her arms rapidly as the audience bopped their heads and jumped with her.

“She’s lovely, always,” said concertgoer Mustafa Filat. “[When] there’s an artist that you really like and supports causes you really care [about], it’s always lovely to give them support.”

Disclaimer: Chris Turino formerly served as an Arts and Entertainment staff writer at the Daily Trojan in Spring 2024. Turino is no longer affiliated with this paper.