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April 18, 2006
Ladytron - Live @ Irving Plaza, New York City, 04.15.2006
The storm trooper efficiency of the Clear Channel employed goons working at Irving Plaza threw me for a loop. First, the gig started on time. On time! Next, as we were filing in to the venue a fashionable ten minutes late, our nervous heart drums matching the precise electro beats already coming from above, we were discovered to be in possession of a comically giant Cold War-era digital camera, and forced to delay the scramble upstairs with a charming give and take at the coat check counter to pen the beast up.
So, two apologies. This will not be an entirely complete account, and I have shamelessly Flickr-napped the accompanying images. They belong to the photo set of one sneakier concert goer, "Aphrodite-in -NYC," that I now feel morally compelled to mandate you view in its entirety here.
When we'd finally successfully burrowed into the main room, the sound and vision was in full force already. Russo propaganda prints flashed on the big screens behind a wall of musicians. Red lights bathed the room. Nobody looked at anything but the girls. Ice cold British sex bots from the not too distant future, Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo were front and center, as much the visual focal point on stage as they are in the band's album artwork
Unfairly branded with the hot pink E that accompanied any synth band in the early 00's, Ladytron always seemed to be a cut above the likes of talent-lite spokesmodels W.I.T. and their ilk. Their latest album, last year's the Witching Hour, finally fulfilled the promise of their earlier efforts with a greater emphasis on songwriting and production successfully enriching the Tubeway Army rock synths and Roxy Music bored decadent lyrics that have always been their trademark. The set drew heavily from that album, and live the songs packed even more of a punch than they do on tape. The crisp execution of more complex arrangements was exemplified by the goosebump generator "Beauty #2" whose mid song shift in tempo was lifted from minor alteration on record to full on rush to ephiphany in concert.
Older numbers that previously relied solely on Moog lines to carry them, were even greater beneficiaries. Back catalog champs, "Playgirl" and "Blue Jeans" set the crowd in motion as easily as they did in their skinny tied heyday, but the heavy drumming and guitar thrust far surpassed their plastic forefathers.
But with all that the band brings, the focus is still, always, on the ladies 'tron. Helen's crystalline wail is a formidable instrument, often carrying songs just in the pitch shifts of a sustained "Aaaaaaaah." It seemed to be aided by a distorted mike, which may have added an extra layer of distance to the already chilly proceedings, but it did sound pristine. In contrast, Mira Aroyo had a more ironic deadpan delivery reminiscent of 80's alternate universe starlet, Cristina. The band's Softcore Jukebox compilation went along way to reviving interest in the should have been Madonna, so the comparison holds up. She wins extra points for perfectly enunciated Russian during "Fighting in Built Up Areas." The interplay between contrasting vocal styles was consistently compelling as well.
I was deathly afraid that the price of lateness would be missing what seems like an obvious opening number, elite '05 single "Destroy Everything You Touch." As song after song passed by, I grew increasingly resigned to the fate of the tardy. But, kismet was on my side, friends, and the gurgling keys that announced my salvation began the closing number of the set proper. An absolute killer as produced by the muscular live instrumentation, "DEYT" is also a prime example of Ladytron's evolving songwriting ability. The driving beat whipped the crowd into a froth immediately, then the cool-down bridge let us aerate. You knew the bedlam would soon return, but the anticpation caused by the empty space was like the whistling heard before the impact of a dance bomb. It was a triumphant faux climax.
The obligatory encore gave us the only Witching standout not covered in the regularly allotted time, the fittingly titled "Last One Standing." It was easily the equal of its willowy album counterpart, and even saw what may or may not have been a smile creep across Helen's face at its enthusiastic reception. To dance out the faithful once and for all, the band turned to reliably repetitve (not that) oldie "Seventeen." With locked recurring musical motifs, and the mantra-like insistance that "They only want you when you're seventeen/ When you're twenty-one/ You're no fun," the recorded track bears no small similarity to seventies kraut kings Kraftwerk. In concert, miraculously, it was finally a moment for the band to exude some warmth, with the girls even dancing and mugging to the crowd back to back. It was a welcome thaw, and hopeful sign that despite their repeated assertion, Ladytron will only get better with age.
Tags: Ladytron, Irving Plaza, Cristina, Roxy Music
Posted by Jeff Klingman at April 18, 2006 11:15 AM
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