By: Pat O'Brien
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Ladytron - Publicity Photo
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It was scenester central at First Avenue’s Mainroom Saturday night. Ultra-fabulous people in their ultra-hip gear were plentiful, as were faux hawks, mohawks (I was wondering what had happened to those two hairstyles) and hair colors that would look more at home in a paint can. There were many more people in attendance than I had anticipated (including two of the boys from Franz Ferdinand, who looked vacuum-sealed into their jeans), but it wasn’t overcrowded at all.
I didn’t know what to expect from Sydney duo The Presets, but what I got was something thoroughly entertaining. Dressed in clothing that looked as if it had been stolen from both their older and younger siblings (oversized t-shirts, undersized pants) they cranked out dirty, moody electro-rock like a volatile mix of Devo, Gary Numan and The Faint. The vocals were more akin to what I would call “creative speaking” rather than singing (vocalist Julian Hamilton has a little bit of a Shaun Ryder thing going with his voice) and I wasn't sure they even knew what their lyrics were about, but it seemed unimportant to what they were trying to accomplish.
At one point they began the intro to the Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s A Sin,” leading the crowd to believe they were going to do a cover, but they abruptly halted it and moved onto one of their own songs. They had an ADHD, everything-and-the-kitchen sink approach, which is tough to pull off with just a drum kit, synth and a PowerBook, but it worked well. I won’t be missing another show of theirs if I can help it. They were suddenly all the crowd could talk about (“Just a reminder: there is a headliner this evening, folks”) which was great; it makes me respect the main act a lot more if they aren’t afraid of the possibility of being overshadowed by the opening act and are just trying to get people to hear good music (at least, that’s what I want to believe happens).
If Kraftwerk were made up of two beautiful women and two hipster guys instead of a bunch of nerds from Dusseldorf, they would be Ladytron. That said, the first ten minutes of Ladytron’s set were marred by technical difficulties--something I can’t see happening with Kraftwerk. They stopped one song and started over because something (I’m not sure what) wasn’t plugged in and as they began the next song, “Cracked LCD,” there was loud feedback that seemed to be coming from the organ, though I don’t know if that is even possible. In any case it caused them to walk off the stage in a bit of a huff, and they didn’t return for about fifteen minutes.
When they came back they were in full Ladytron form--seemingly unaware of or caring about their surroundings and moving very little on the stage. Vocalists/keyboardists/fashion plates Mira Aroyo and Helena Marnie looked like Japanese animation characters come to life, with their severe haircuts and haute couture duds. Their sound could accurately be described as gorgeously bleak (icy detachment hardly ever sounds this engaging), and even with all the attempts to look and sound semi-mechanical they couldn’t help but appear human and frail, which was aided by lyrics that often referenced the destruction of relationships, war, loneliness, and the inherent fear that goes along with those issues.
After their extremely shaky start, Ladytron pulled the set together nicely. Though they raced through a couple of their songs and returned a little too quickly to the stage for an encore, they ended with their beautiful “Seventeen.” The show was an overall success that was augmented by the band manning (and womaning) the DJ booth for a couple of hours afterward to play some of their favorite records, something I had never experienced before and enjoyed quite a bit.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Ladytron, The Presets
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