Smoke and mirrors is this lady’s theme for the Halloween weekend. The ghouls, goths and new romantics flood the ABC with anticipation for Lykke Li’s long awaited ethereal display of knock out drum beats, unearthly tones and delicious echoes: basically loud, mental, loveliness.
A thick wall of dry ice is blasted onto the stage as if to mask an advancing presence. Long flowing sheets of black chiffon hang from above and sail upon the fog. As the smoke begins to clear the band emerge and a figure slowly takes form centre stage and with a viper like strike, hits a free standing cyble. ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ erupts and each body breaks down into a whimsical dance. Her infamous long hair hides her face as she melts into her next tune ‘I’m Good, I’m Gone’.
However, the singer is unimpressed with her adoring waves of face painted and fake blooded fans. Instead she mocks the crowd for being so tame and reserved. This is Glasgow, if you’re liked then you’re liked, but this doesn’t wash with the Swedish pop star and she proceeds to imitate playing the violin for us, as if to lull us further into a deep sleep. It’s as if we’re not good enough for her.
Further into the night her performance is still full of high energy that blows us away with ‘I Follow Rivers’ and an awesome rendition of her fellow country men’s, The Knife’s ‘Silent Shout’. Spontaneous bursts of primitive drum solos add body to songs like ‘Get Some’ and ‘Youth Knows No Pain’.
We bellow to her for an encore but she believes we cannot match her, but how are we to compete with a girl that doesn’t want to even be here? Lykke Li is a trying to be more of an entity than a performer. From the smoke, drapes, even to her clothes, it’s as if she is trying to shield herself from us, and simply be a unreal presence.
She returns once more with the beautiful ‘Unrequited Love’ and vanishes again.
It seems as if we have disappointed the magical lady, but we still received an incredible performance.
Support act First Aid Kit were brilliant with their romantic heavy folkness and gorgeous harmonies. Again, equipped with long flowing locks, the pair performed new tune ‘Lion’s Roar’ which has a stout heart and massive sound. The girls rocked out and swayed to the melancholy sound, and with a drummer to add weight to their lyrics it just mastered beautifully together. A super opener for Lykke Li indeed, and far more grateful to their audience.
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