Lights [9] fans aren’t your typical mild-mannered concertgoers.
The Canadian pop star's fans shouted impulsive marriage proposals, exclamations of jealousy and showed excessive giddiness at the Lost Horizon [10] during her set Saturday night.
The tattooed songstress jammed anthemic pop tunes, dirty electronica dance rhythms and even dabbled in dubstep in her hour-plus performance. Lights’ neatly structured pop tunes flowed artistically and beautifully in conjunction with her airy, wistful vocals. And she wasn’t afraid to grunge things up a bit, undercutting bouncy synths with some electro-grind for a heavier sound.
She used crescendoing major-chord melodies with help from a backing band to generate a deep, pulsating bass and effective rhythm section. A multi-instrumentalist, Lights plugged in the six-string for a few songs and tapped out a subdued version of her song “Heavy Rope” on the keyboard. She even threw in an unplanned acoustic closer for good measure.
Brooklyn-based indie pop five-piece Savoir Adore [11] opened the show. The band utilized dual vocals from lead guitarist Paul Hammer and keyboardist Deidre Muro to produce soft soundscapes under thumping indie rock. Muro’s soothing vocals warmed the band’s indie sound. A new wave-influenced synth backtrack provided some buoyancy and injected life into the band’s quick set.
But Lights shined the brightest. Her music selection was diverse, ranging from the gritty texture and pulsating bass in “Flux and Flow” to the infectious ‘80s pop-influenced “Second Go.” The experimentation with synth sounds and distortion was innovative and brought a unique sound to the pop-heavy songs.
During lulls in the set the audience roared with enthusiasm. A sampling of the crowd found adolescent girls gushing with envy and teenage guys frantically calling out to get Lights' attention.
She went on unfazed, courteously nodding, cracking smiles and continuing to play her contagious brand of synth-pop. The energy in the building was unrelenting; Lights observed this and commented how the Lost is always on her tour radar.
She hinted toward the end of the set that maybe she’d stop here again, adding a coy smile and wink.
The crowd was beside itself.
For more Lights, check out our sit-down interview [12] with her before Saturday night’s performance.
