Ladyhawke @ Billboard The Venue, Melbourne (17/07/2012)
Ladyhawke puts on a refreshingly old-fashioned rock 'n roll show of the kind you might not expect from an electro-pop artist. Live, her music translates into medium-sized stadium-filling indie rock, peppered with ecstatic anthemic choruses.
No frills, no fuss, the Lady stands centre-stage, effortlessly cool in jeans and a t-shirt, electric guitar strung over her shoulder, long fringe covering half her face. This adds to the rock star mystique, certainly, but may also be explained by her shy and modest demeanour. Her four band members flank her, and the simple but effective props consist of a 'Hawke' logo in electric blue neons behind, and her mic stand wrapped in fairy lights.
The logo of the wings is obviously in reference to her name, which was reportedly inspired by a Michelle Pfeiffer film from the 80s, but interestingly the New Zealand Falcon is a bird that is native to her home country (also known as the Bush or Sparrow Hawk).
The gig opened with the blissfully retro and nostalgia-inducing 'Back Of The Van', which set the tone for a gig that was feel-good in every way. Ladyhawke then showcased a song off her sophomore release, Anxiety, 'Blue Eyes'. Her new album is less laden with schmick synth hooks and subsequently less radio-friendly than her self-titled debut. 'Cellophane' is one of the strongest tracks, and comparatively subdued.
The vast majority of the tunes bled into one long soundtrack for a chilled Tuesday night of live indie-rock. Not to say that Ladyhawke's sound is one-dimensional or vanilla, just that it's delivered straight-up with colourful electro-pop flavours bubbling beneath the surface. Joyous synths, distorted keys and strong melodic lines make Ladyhawke easy to move to, and Billboard was roomy enough to do so. The only complaint that could be made of the venue was that the sound was sometimes unbalanced, and her vocals were drowned out during 'Black White and Blue'.
Crowd favourites were unsurprisingly off the debut – 'From Dusk Till Dawn' was played early in the piece, reminding us why we were there. Indeed, when you can hear her vocals they're husky but clear, stadium-worthy like the Jezabels' Hayley Mary. After playing her “pretend” last song of the set (her words), Ladyhawke returned to the stage for a euphoric encore of her smash-hit 'My Delirium'. This epically catchy electro-pop anthem prompted a sing-along and ended the night on a high. And when all is said and done, if you leave a gig feeling good, that's the best it gets.
Rebecca McCann
No frills, no fuss, the Lady stands centre-stage, effortlessly cool in jeans and a t-shirt, electric guitar strung over her shoulder, long fringe covering half her face. This adds to the rock star mystique, certainly, but may also be explained by her shy and modest demeanour. Her four band members flank her, and the simple but effective props consist of a 'Hawke' logo in electric blue neons behind, and her mic stand wrapped in fairy lights.
The logo of the wings is obviously in reference to her name, which was reportedly inspired by a Michelle Pfeiffer film from the 80s, but interestingly the New Zealand Falcon is a bird that is native to her home country (also known as the Bush or Sparrow Hawk).
The gig opened with the blissfully retro and nostalgia-inducing 'Back Of The Van', which set the tone for a gig that was feel-good in every way. Ladyhawke then showcased a song off her sophomore release, Anxiety, 'Blue Eyes'. Her new album is less laden with schmick synth hooks and subsequently less radio-friendly than her self-titled debut. 'Cellophane' is one of the strongest tracks, and comparatively subdued.
The vast majority of the tunes bled into one long soundtrack for a chilled Tuesday night of live indie-rock. Not to say that Ladyhawke's sound is one-dimensional or vanilla, just that it's delivered straight-up with colourful electro-pop flavours bubbling beneath the surface. Joyous synths, distorted keys and strong melodic lines make Ladyhawke easy to move to, and Billboard was roomy enough to do so. The only complaint that could be made of the venue was that the sound was sometimes unbalanced, and her vocals were drowned out during 'Black White and Blue'.
Crowd favourites were unsurprisingly off the debut – 'From Dusk Till Dawn' was played early in the piece, reminding us why we were there. Indeed, when you can hear her vocals they're husky but clear, stadium-worthy like the Jezabels' Hayley Mary. After playing her “pretend” last song of the set (her words), Ladyhawke returned to the stage for a euphoric encore of her smash-hit 'My Delirium'. This epically catchy electro-pop anthem prompted a sing-along and ended the night on a high. And when all is said and done, if you leave a gig feeling good, that's the best it gets.
Rebecca McCann