British synth-pop act La Roux, which is now just singer Elly Jackson and a band of touring musicians, came to Toronto's Danforth Music Hall last night in promoting their/her new album, Trouble in Paradise. Here are seven things you missed.
1. The vocal power of Elly Jackson
In an era where studio wizardry is so advanced that you can never be sure who can sing and who can't, we'd like to make it known that Jackson's big, clear, belting voice is 100 per cent legitimate.
2. Previews of new La Roux material
Next month, La Roux will release their first new, full-length record in five years, Trouble in Paradise. The show at Danforth was filled with songs from Trouble, including "Sexotheque," "Tropical Chancer" and "Uptight Downtown."
3. Watching the audience respond to new material
La Roux has a pretty dedicated fanbase. You are not a casual La Roux fan, you're either in or you're out. As a result, it was hard to tell the new, previously unheard material from the deep cuts from the group's 2009 self-titled debut. Folks were pretty stoked for everything.
4. Weird lighting choices
Being that La Roux is now basically a one-woman band, we can understand the logic behind having Jackson's touring band play in near darkness, although it feels like driving the point home a little hard. But Jackson herself seemed to be half-shaded most of the time. We're having trouble thinking of the last time we went to see a live show where it was this hard to see the performer.
5. Charmingly awkward stage banter
While she's singing, Jackson is all Bowie-esque androgynous swagger. Between sets, though, she's wonderfully English, mumbling things like "We haven't played that one before" and "It's quite nice to be back playing for you" into the mic between songs.
6. '80s nostalgia, done without irony
Given that '90s nostalgia is such a culturally dominant force, you'd think that pining for the '80s would be done by now. But in fact, if La Roux is hitting any indication, it may just be hitting maturity. La Roux proves that you can draw heavily from that era's synthy sounds without resorting to look-what-we're-doing-here, aren't-we-clever-type obnoxiousness. Jackson just honestly loves the sounds of Heaven 17, New Order and Depeche Mode, and draws from them without being clownish about it. (She also has some surprisingly Prince-y vocal inflections, which we'd never noticed until we saw her live.)
7. A French leave fake encore
By now everyone is presumably familiar with both the concept of a fake encore — the now standard practice of a band pretending to finish their set, going to have a drink of water and have a pee, then coming back out like conquering heroes. Everyone is also probably familiar with the French leave, also known as the Irish goodbye, or ghosting — the practice of just jetting from a party, forgoing the 20-minute-long round of air-kisses and handshakes that traditionally mark a departure.
La Roux combined the two. When their "last song," "Bulletproof," ended, the stage went dark and they just walked off. No "thanks, it's been great," just gone. They came back out five minutes later.
It's a much less disingenuous way to go.
by Chris Dart via Electronic RSS
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