Lykke Li @ Black Cat
Lykke Li (pronounced, roughly, luke-uh-lee) is the stage name for the pixie-voiced Swedish songstress Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson. She started gaining some traction in the states by overstating her fame back in Sweden to promoters in Brooklyn, in order to book gigs. That lead to her dance-friendly debut album, Youth Novels, which made fans all over the place with its collection of sad sad songs dressed up as friendly pop numbers. I first fell in love with Lykke Li by watching her videos — all dark and full of incredible dancing and ideas that go beyond what most everyone else is doing. So it was with intense anticipation that I went to the Black Cat on Sunday night to see her for the first time in person. The show exceeded my expectations, over and over again.
Somewhere between a cheshire cat, an Olsen twin and Blondie, Lykke Li took the stage (after an underwhelming set by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and an excessively long sound check break), looking a bit like a Salt-n-Pepa video in her giant crop top, flowy pants and strings and strings of gold necklaces (of which an enormous peace sign was the centerpiece). She opened up her set with "Dance Dance Dance", attempting to start the show with an imperative for the D.C. crowd. With the exception of a pocket directly in front of the stage, it got people moving only a little bit. The crowd's energy increased throughout the show, but it was a big problem for the overall experience of seeing this particular artist. We know, D.C. likes to do the standing still. But you know what magnifies this phenomenon? Having a really bright overhead light shining directly over the middle of the crowd at the Cat. If the room were dark, it would have at least felt more alive. Exceptions for the setting aside, Lykke Li launched into a phenomenal set straight away.
Youth Novels is remarkable because of its starkness. It's bare and haunting with just the subtlest use of sampling and instrumentation to go along with Lykke Li's tiny, beautiful voice and dark, questioning lyrics. So seeing how she put her (oh-so-pretty) three piece band to use on Sunday night was rather impressive. They changed the tone of several songs -- making them more rock, or folk, or energetic, or maudlin, but maintained the general sense behind each one. She added layers without making things messy, and kept her original work intact. Lykke Li is often willing to collaborate and remix her work, so it should have come as no surprise. But it was very well done.
The girl is a captivating performer, putting her hips to excellent use and giving the dramatic pause more purpose than it's had in quite some time. She was feeling every ounce of every song she performed, bringing catharsis to life on "I'm Good I'm Gone" and anger and betrayal on "Window Blues" (which she introduced as a song about a bad boyfriend, saying, "this one's for the girls, and the gays."). But mostly, the show was just incredibly fun. After only a few songs, the crowd really woke up when we heard the unexpected notes of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod". She and her band started with a faithful cover of the song, then introduced some of their own signature twinkle, mixing in a reprise of "Dance Dance Dance" halfway through.
Like many debut artists with only one album, she needed to pepper the set with covers along with her own material. She treated us to a heartbreaking rendition of "After Laughter (comes tears)", her favorite song. After which she sighed, "it's true," making every person in the crowd want to give her a great big hug. But then it was back to the fun, the chest convulsions, the big ballads and the dance beats. The evening ended with an encore of "Breakin it Up" and a medley that's becoming her signature. Coming in with the slow haunting intro to Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", she got the crowd to chant along with the "doo do doo"s and then slammed it up about 100 notches as she transitioned into A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" The crowd fed back all the "yes you can"s she requested, and she implored us all to vote for Barack Obama. Which made me think that a good future outro for this finale would be to slide into one more refrain -- "yes we can."