A concert review...El Perro Del Mar and Lykke Li, With Anna Ternheim
The El Ray, Monday, May 19, 2008
El Perro Del Mar and Lykke Li packed an excellent show, the kind of energetic, well orchestrated affair you might not expect given that the music of both tends to be rather subdued. Opener (and fellow Swede) Anna Ternheim called it the "Swedish Girls Take Over the World Tour 2008", which seemed especially fitting given that Robyn just made her second stop in L.A. in less than six months at the Wiltern this past Saturday.
I arrived just in time to see Ternheim play. She did most of her set solo, but ber best moments came when turned on some accompaniment--"my band comes with a play button." Pretty cute.
Lykke Li played next--she was technically an opener as well, though her level of fame has risen considerably since this tour began. Girl dominated. She opened quietly--accompanying herself solo on ballad "Time Flies" with some sort of bizarre mini-piano toy--before her band came out, moved into "Dance Dance Dance", Lykke banged the cymbals, and things really got things started. Girl can dance. The lush production of Youth Novels and the "your new Fiona Apple" shots of her in the "I'm Good, I'm Gone" video really don't prepare you for the energy she brought to the stage. It was immediately clear what all the hype's been about. Everything here sounded cleaner and more exciting than on the album, and she seemed to have a good sense of her stronger material. She brought out El Perro Del Mar to create a very full version of "My" that was impressive to see live from an indie act. Girl rehearsed.
El Perro Del Mar opened by doing "Party" and "Dog" solo, just her and a guitar, proving her impressive presence as well as reinforcing the strength of her debut. The girl-group production was never really necessary. Lykke is a difficult act to follow, but El Perro Del Mar brought her glamorous sadness to the stage and made it her own. Her banter--"Are you happy with the world today?"--was worth the price of admission. Also: her double-take when a girl in the audience shouted, "Your music helped my life!" She brought Lykke back out for "Inner Island" and "You Can't Steal a Gift", and they did a fun encore together--"After Laughter (Comes the Tears)". But by this point in the show, their sensibilities were so clearly different that it was rather jarring to see them together on the same stage. Are these Swedish musicians all friends? Are they all hanging out together right now at some poolside in L.A. with Robyn and Perez Hilton?
Regardless, it was two great shows for the price of one. I'd recommend it highly to anyone were this not the end of their American tour.
10/10
Also: The El Ray gets bonus points for providing amazing sound throughout. I saw Patrick Wolf here, too, and it really might be the best venue in L.A.
I didn't take pictures, but it was something like this.
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