Lykke Li @ (Le) Poisson Rouge: Can She Kick It? Yes, She Can
It's safe to say that Lykki Li might be the first performer in mankind to cover Vampire Weekend and A Tribe Called Quest in the same set. The sprite Swede is at the cusp of making a name for herself in music, after a year of kicking around the scene. With the her debut album, Youth Novels, winning over the cool kids, she displayed on the small stage at Le Poisson Rouge that she's a life force that you need to pay attention to now.
Tonight was probably the final time we'll be able to see her in small venue. She played for about 50 minutes, but she just 100% entertaining from start to finish. The way she moved around the stage in this half-dance/half-trance state with her arms navigating the air like a ballerina showed that her personality shines in the music.
The setlist via BV:
- Dance, Dance, Dance
- Let It Fall
- I'm Good, I'm Gone
- Hanging High
- Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
- Little Bit
- Complaint Department
- Window Blues
- Tonight
- Breaking It Up
- ENCORE: Time Flies
- Can I Kick It?
With her well-known pop songs like "Little Bit", "I'm Good, I'm Gone" and "Breaking It Up", she brings the sheer joy of performing to the crowded room. Color me impressed. I knew she was a kooky girl who wears funky clothes. Tonight, she had on this black leotard, belt combo with a silk rob/kimono thing going on. She didn't come off as an oddball, but rather a quirky chick with a funny Swedish accent. She joked with crowd members and announced, "This is the last song mother fuckers". The best was when she finished a quiet song, the whole room was still silence. She had to tell everything that the song was over and it was okay to applaud.
Her debut will definitely find its way into my ten best. It's accessible, quirky pop music with a lot of simple dance elements and some grand ideas. With Bjorn from Peter Bjorn and John at the helm, it has moments of real emotions like in "Tonight" with her echoing vocals and pounding piano and drum parts. I don't know about you, but "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was my summer jam, bitches. Heeeeeeeeyyyy.
She's been playing in NYC for almost a year now, but I think this was a perfect time to see her before she goes into the larger venues. With the album out, she's slipping comfortability into her cupie doll voice. I just like her style and personality that came off in her show tonight. She reminds me a little bit of Bat For Lashes because they sing about dreams and have wild elements in their music
This is my first time in Le Poisson Rouge, which is more of a cabaret/performing arts space than venue. When I walked in, it took me a while to get my barrings. I looked around and wondered where the hell the stage was. It's theater in the round with table and chairs around, which leaves most people squeezed together on the edges and hovering over the tables. I just wanted to knock the tables over so we can have some space. Li asked that everyone dance, but that's hard to do when there are tables everywhere and there's people huddled together tightly.
It's a nice space, but not sure if it fits pop music. There's little lighting for the performers and the sound system is small. The show in the round aspect was weird at first, but Li just went with it and pranced around the best she could. There a bunch of funky swirling lights around us for 90 minutes as we waited for her to start. It felt like waiting in a long line for an amusement park ride like Space Mountain.
She is amazing live. I've already seen her three times this year and I intend on seeing her again in November when she plays at El Rey in LA, sadly it will probably be the last time I see her in a small venue.
Posted by: Nereida | August 30, 2008 at 08:27 PM