LIVE :::: La Roux [at] Shepherds Bush Empire 25/11/09

My company-keeper for the evening seemed genuinely pleased to learn that I had secured two tickets for La Roux at what used to be the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The only reason why her delight came as unexpected to me was because I would have expected someone like her, who considers themselves as unique and anti-run-of-the-mill in their music taste, to turn her nose skyward at the mention of such an artist as La Roux, or more grammatically correct, la rousse, who is currently enjoying the mainstream success and popularity that one would associate with that of a Popstar. But, let us not overlook the fact that although she may not look like it (as one might not necessarily dare to dress themselves à La Roux, or coif their mane in quite the same fashion), this (bottle) redhead singer/songwriter is indeed a Popstar. An electro-popstar to be exact.

That is if the spectators at the La Roux show were anything to go by. There stood, and sat, a pleasantly even cross-section of the musical society starting from the young, mostly girl, ‘teeny-boppers’ accompanied circumspectly by the odd parent; and increasing in age-group, there was a significant representation of the older teens, which is to be expected as such an event. However, this leads to the surprising, but by no means undesirable, level of attendance by the more mature members of society, demonstrating the observation that although La Roux would present herself as an eccentric, quirky, helium-fond songstress that would only appeal to teens and young twenty-somethings, the raw mass appeal of her music remains unaffected and succeeds by drawing in the spectral masses.

It makes sense too, considering that her music balances on a fine line between being crispy-fresh and interesting, yet not so overly cutting-edge that it sounds alien beyond comprehension. It’s clear that La Roux follows the carefully tried, tested and proved formula of pop song-writing but unfortunately, this skilful technique also results in the pop-song syndrome. That is, her songs will only sound good once they have been played on the radio, or to put it otherwise, the audience will only react if the song has received over-exposure to the radio waves.

This had a direct consequence on the ambience of the show. The relatively unknown songs of the set were received with borderline indifference, which was most unfortunate for Ellie Jackson herself as she told of her current state of illness, therefore explaining her need to sip water between each song. Nevertheless, the tame crowds during these album songs did not stop La Roux from throwing some serious shapes onstage and showing off her sparkly gold dancing shoes, as she impressively managed to sing almost pitch-perfect whilst simultaneously co-ordinating her angular limbs and dealing with illness.

And in good time, as soon as the ultra-sound beats began to throb for radio favourite ‘In for the Kill’, La Roux received rapturous cheers and applause, as well as what might be considered as dancing by our British standards. It’s a shame that this hit, along with fellow pop anthem ‘Bulletproof’, did not feature earlier in the set because it might have lifted the mood earlier in the show, instead of ending the show on such an abrupt climax.

-Joanna Cai

~ by Felix Music on December 2, 2009.