Robyn at the Venue, Vancouver, Nov 19 2010. Ashley Tanasiychuk photo
- review by Shawn Conner/photos by Ashley Tanasiychuk
The two guys in line behind me outside Venue last night before the Robyn show were having an intense discussion about Lady Gaga`s first Vancouver appearance. "She was high," said one of the guys, who had witnessed the Richard`s on Richards show - which had followed a set opening for a boy band, maybe New Kids on the Block.
"And she was swearing. She played five songs and left the stage."
There were no diva-type antics for Robyn. The Swedish singer, who has remade herself from Top-40 pop tart to dancing queen, gave a full-on performance that left you convinced that, should this music thing not go out, she`s got a rewarding career as an aerobics instructor ahead of her. Not merely did she pump out the energy, and read off some rockin` dance moves - not to mention a stage-dive and crowd-surfing - but she played an hour-plus set on with two encores.
Robyn at the Venue, Nov 19 2010. Ashley Tanasiychuk photo
The report of Vancouver audiences as staid certainly didn`t hold true for this show; people - mostly men, as it turned out, and probably gay - gave as well as they got, throwing their arms out at Robyn and singing along to the bigger (i.e. not-quite-yet-radio-hits, but soon) tracks like "Konichiwa Bitches" (in the encore) and "Dance On My Own" (her current North American calling card, and a song I keep wanting to call "Dancing By Myself").
The register had its lulls, particularly in the eye when she and her band - two keyboardists and two drummers - took things in a generic dance instruction for a few minutes. And purists might wonder how often of her voice we were hearing, and how often was double-tracked and pre-recorded (it was as though, as a friend said, three Robyns were singing at once). But the highs, like the opening gambit of "Fembots" and "Cry When You Get Older", were mighty, and when the record ended (it was an other one, to have way for the downtown weekend crowd) people couldn`t stop dancing.
Robyn at the Venue, Vancouver, Nov 19 2010. Ashley Tanasiychuk photo
One surprise: Venue has become pretty noted for its behind-the-stage LED screen, on which the names of the performers are flashed. But Robyn opted for her own backdrop, with a stylized version of her figure on it, which form of went with the cunning little bodysuit with wraparound frills she wore.
Maybe it`s like her song says, and no one really is singing her what to do.
(More photos to come)
Video - Robyn, `When Doves Cry` (Prince cover):
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