Held at the Corner Hotel in Richmond last week was the first of three consecutive gigs from the dark-electro spinsters: Ladytron. As a first-timer to the venue, I was greeted by 70s décor, sticky carpet, and a smoky ambience that could have easily been mistaken for the Forum or East Brunswick Club. The crowd was jostling from the get-go, with enormous pillars blocking particular lines of sight to the stage and after getting a drink I found a seemingly comfy spot next to one of these monoliths.
However, being greeted by the nouveau sounds of Familjen quickly put any discomfort on hold. This Swedish duo graced us with a high-energy set that featured microphone-vaulting, stupid grins and much thrashing. The lads clearly enjoyed themselves, and it was a shame their set only lasted a half hour. Their New Order-style synths could easily fit within some of our more laidback festivals and I hope to see more of them.
After a half-hour delay and much more jostling, Ladytron took to the stage to much eager fanfare. Their demure approach to the stage took some getting used to. Their style was restrained and throughout the set smiles were rare. Fortunately, their songs rocked. In the truest sense of the word. Ghosts, Runaway and International Dateline were all lapped up by the crowd despite sounding different to their studio efforts. In fact, the sound overall had a very rocky tinge that was a far cry from the electro-infused efforts I was familiar with from listening at home. In spite of this the crowd seemed to embrace it and after one jostle too many it was time to move to a more space-friendly position.
The set picked up steam in the second half with the classic Playgirl and the club-monster Seventeen rounding things off. An encore saw a thrashing rendition of Destroy Everything You Touch that lead singer Helen Marnie clearly enjoyed delivering. And with rapturous applause it was all over, the group slinking away as discretely as they appeared.
Overall an interesting night, and a fresh take from a group whose sound I presumed to know and was pleasantly surprised. Be sure to catch them at any of their remaining gigs if you’re up for satisfying your curiosity.
