Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Robyn at the Riveria Theatre, ! 14 11

2s9u5w0 Robyn at the Riveria Theatre, 2/14/11
This Valentine's Day, Swedish pop singer Robyn played a sold out show at Uptown's Riviera Theatre. She was originally scheduled to do last Friday, but the record had to be rescheduled due to an illness. Opening for her were two performers I wasn't familiar with: Natalia Kills and Diamond Rings. This was my first time going to the Riv and I was agreeably surprised.

Even though it's twice Metro's capacity, it doesn't really feel all that much bigger. It is too well staffed; no twenty minute waits for the bar here! The good quality seemed much better than neighboring venue the Aragon. Although, the bathroom situation is somewhat desperate. Natalia Kills was the start up. She is a British singer/ songwriter who has a somewhat darker and arty take on pop music. She had a strong singing voice and charisma; plus she and her dancers had pretty interesting choreography. The audience seemed to love her performance. Diamond Rings's set was less well received, but not because his execution was lacking. There was a long pause between the beginning and second performances and the interview was more than a little antsy. It's difficult to charge them, normally you don't wait 45 minutes for an opening act. Still, it's somewhat natural to cry out for a star during an opening act. Or pass the full time talking over a performance. Anyway, Diamond Rings set might have been a slight on the long side, but he seemed to carry lots of the audience indifference in stride. He has a new wave pop sound and a David Gahan-esque voice. In a smaller venue and under better circumstances, he'd likely be lots more enjoyable. The interview for the record was a variety of hardcore fans and people just look to party. A couple people even came in costume, including one guy who glued pieces of a report to his side to emulate the Body Talk, Part 3 cover. That's some serious dedication there. There were a lot more guys than girls in attendance, which I establish a little surprising. Most of the interview was polite (actually saying "Excuse me" when moving about! and really mad to be there. However, a few attendees behavior was on the obnoxious side. And around people refused to let others go by them, like concert trolls. Thankfully, the stupidity pretty much died down by Robyn's set. Robyn finally took the stage around 9:45 PM (the concert started at 7:30 PM). She opened with "Time Machine" and the audience quickly transformed into one big awkward dance party. The Black Keys are known for their breakneck pace live, but Robyn could afford them a run for their money. She managed to get through nearly all of the songs you can dance to on all three Body Talk albums, plus a few tracks from Robyn (including "Cobrastyle," "With Every Heart Beat," and "Konichiwa B-s"), in an hour and half long performance. Robyn has real stage presence and unbounded energy, as she danced throughout the entire double encore set! Her live backing band was a nice addition. They actually showed off their skills doing a remix/ combo of "We Dance to the Dead" and "Don't F-ing Tell Me What to Do." Other highlights from the present include, "Dancing on My Own," "Indestructible," "Hang with Me," and "With Every Heart Beat." She closed with probably her most well-known song stateside, mid-90's hit "Show Me Love." It was oddly inspiring to bed she still performs stuff from her teen pop star days! And scary to learn that I somehow had the lyrics to that song lodged in my subconscious for the finish 15 years. Even though last Friday I was bummed to see the picture had been delayed, Robyn's many songs of grief seemed particularly appropriate for Valentine's Day. It was fun and uplifting to dancing and sing-a-long to unrequited love songs, like a concert and group therapy session in one! Robyn will be opening up for Katy Perry on her next tour. Even though I'm not really a fan of Perry, I actually dig this combination and trust it introduces Robyn to a teenage audience. Robyn may use her fairshare of profanity, but she has warm and empowering outlook in her songs that positively differentiate her from a lot of pop stars. Check out one of Robyn's albums:Body Talk, Part 3 (2010).Find it in the catalog! Body Talk, Part 2 (2010).Find it in the catalog! Body Talk, Part 1 (2010).Find it in the catalog! Robyn (2008).Find it in the catalog!Robyn is Here (1997).Find it in the catalog!

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