The words “BIG SYNTHS” appear in block letters on the projector screen hanging over the stage of the 9:30 club. This is the Perez Hilton Tour, and when it comes to spectacles, everyone knows the celebrity blogger goes big or goes home. He made no exception for his tour’s headliner, Ladyhawke, who crept onto the stage for a late set at 11 p.m. after a long night of three opening acts (most notably the fantastically inebriated and mildly offensive Ida Maria).
This was a show that, despite the fantastic lineup, came with a bit of wariness. What can you really expect from a tour put together by Perez Hilton? One would think not much, but Ladyhawke defied any preconceived notions or judgments that anyone might have.
Promoting the re-release of her 2008 self-titled debut, Ladyhawke is a little new at this, and it shows, though not necessarily in a bad way. Shyly taking the Christmas light-illuminated stage, the New Zealander launched directly into a quiet rendition of her latest single, “Magic.” Slouching over her guitar to reach her intentionally too-low mic, Ladyhawke made good on the ‘big synths’ claim, though it came at the expense of drowning out her voice.
Clad in an oversized Nirvana T-shirt layered under red flannel, Ladyhawke’s appearance seemed a throwback to the days of ‘90s grunge, an unexpected contrast to her new-wave electronic sound. Playing with a five-piece band, not only did Ladyhawke take a more subtle approach to the overt pop-ness of her music, but she also reinterpreted her electronic tracks through a more traditional band.
The quiet that dominated the beginning of Ladyhawke’s set had, if nothing else, the effect of an added emotive quality to her music. Such an effect was the most notably missing characteristic from Ladyhawke’s album, which, despite its catchy electro-pop vibes and danceable head-bobbing tracks, seemed a bit cold.
By the time the singer reached her 2008 single “From Dusk Til Dawn,” she no longer seemed lost on stage. Pumping her fist through the chorus’ characteristic “Bang, bang, bang,” Ladyhawke asserted her presence and the crowd never failed to respond. Because of the strange and prolonged variety of acts on Hilton’s tour (FrankMusik and Semi-Precious Weapons in addition to Ida Maria), the audience was a mix between emo-punk teenagers, local indie kids and electro-pop junkies who shifted in and out of the venue depending on the current artist, but returned for Ladyhawke’s headlining act. There’s an advantage to Ladyhawke’s relatively simple and repetitive lyrics: it’s easy to get a whole venue to sing along to songs they’ve never heard. Her performance of “Suicide” was peppered with “na na na’s” coming first from her, then the audience, and “Back of the Van” seems to consist only of the words “You set me on, you set me on, you set me on fire.”
“Morning Dreams” marked a shift to a slower portion of Ladyhawke’s set. Marked by ‘80s-esque guitar riffs suited to the likes of Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” (as a compliment, not an insult), “Dreams” provided the audience with a break in the continuous dance party that was the Perez Hilton Tour.
Ladyhawke is up-and-coming. She’s fun, smart and charming, and she’s seriously getting a hang of this whole play-an-awesome-show-and-get-the-audience-moving kind of thing. Her vocals range from being sugary to seductive to growling with a raspy edge.
Those looking for a moving, life-changing experience probably shouldn’t hit up a Ladyhawke concert. But that’s not a bad thing at all. Sometimes it’s not about being serious — sometimes it’s only about dancing, and that’s just fine.
You can reach this staff writer at kcasino@theeagleonline.com.
