Pop Culture Buzz

I went to the recent Lykke Li live show at the historic Filmore concert hall not knowing what to expect. The 23 year old pop singer songwriter from Sweden released her debut album last November here in the US, but she hasn’t had much exposure other than making Spin & Rolling Stone magazine’s top albums of the year. I personally love her spunky dark pop sound but did not know if it would translate well into a live stage show. Man was I wrong.

Lykke Li came onto the stage like a tornado on fire. Her bubbly personality quickly won over the hyped up sold out crowd. As soon as she started playing one of her more catchy tunes like “I’m Good, I’m Gone” the place erupted into a full on dance hall. When the band started playing the first few chords of “Dance, Dance, Dance” the crowd squealed with anticipation. I soon found myself singing out the lyrics and dancing with dozens of trendy hipsters.

As Lykke Li played on she took a few moments to introduce herself and have some fun with the crowd. The audience was more than happy to play along as she belted out more signature tunes from her debut album “Youth Novels”. The catchy tracks “Little Bit” and “Complaint Department” instantly became part of a cheerful audience sing-a-long.

When Lykke Li brought out her megaphone to sing parts of her most familiar song, and the obvious fan favorite “Breaking It Up”, the venue burst into cheer. The hip-hop dance groove was in full effect at this point. I found this show to be much like a dance party, with a few cool down moments peppered through out. Even Lykke Li’s more slowed down ambient tracks played well as the crowd swayed to the hypnotic throbbing beats.

I was surprised to see how much stage presence and fun energy Lykke Li puts out in her shows. She has the quirky random energy of a pop star with the hard edge of more experimental artists like Bjork and The Knife. This show not only got me excited to see Lykke Li at Coachella, but it also confirmed my suspicions that she is one of the few new artists around today that has a sense of humor and appreciates great pop music.

(MAJOR PROPS GO OUT TO LYKKE LI FAN AND PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER GRETCHEN ROBINETTE FOR GIVING ME PERMISSION TO POST PICTURES FROM THE SHOW ON POP CULTURE BUZZ, THANK YOU!!!!)

VISIT THE GRETCHEN ROBINETTE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY WEB PAGE BY CLICKING HERE