Charli XCX
Featuring Femme and Elliphant
Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale
Saturday, September 26, 2014
She's the girl whose songs you can't get out of your head. She's the girl that's taken over your car radio. She's the girl who we all wish we had the balls to be at 22. She is Charli XCX.
Charli has performed in our part of the world only twice: last year at the Garret above Grand Central, and this past Saturday night at Culture Room. If you'd never visited this classic Fort Lauderdale venue, you might have wondered why your GPS was taking you to a shopping center. But once inside, it would have been clear that this two-story concert hall with a spacious outdoor patio just might be your new favorite spot. Well, if it wasn't already.
But there is one catch: It is an all-ages venue.
The crowd ranged from the very young to the very middle aged. From Goth to girly, hipster to hippie, all the fans were out. And who can blame 'em? For only twenty bucks, you got to catch an intimate show with a gal whose next tour will likely be set at mega-arenas.
It was all the about ladies that night too, and no one was sad to see the boys left out of this musical party. We caught the tail-end of Femme who we overheard brilliantly explain her sound as "girls, beats, and bass." Then it was time for Ellipahnt. She's a 20-something singer and rapper from Sweden. She puts on a hardcore energy show, and there's no question why Charli invited her on tour. Her song that's got her on a lot of peoples' radar is "On More," and if you haven't heard it, stop what you are doing now and get it on your iTunes.
Then it was time for Charli. With a bold choice, she kicked off the show with the title song off her album coming this December, Sucker. Next she cut to a personal favorite, "Breaking Up," then "I Love It" — it was just a beautiful musical blur of all of the powerful dance songs that have brought her to the point she's at today. Not once did she calm down, take a break, or stop moving. Did she or her all-female band take a single breath? We're really not sure.
Just when we thought she didn't have any more moving or grooving in her, she came back to give us what we all wanted with the encore, "Fancy" and "Boom Clap."
Hopefully Charli makes a third South Florida stop this year. If she does, don't miss it. Just be sure to bringing your dancing shoes. You will need them.
Critic's Notebook
Evening Highlight: It was recently announced that Ms. XCX will push back her album Sucker from October 21 to December 16. She gave the crowd a little taste of what we can expect. And kids, it's going to be worth the wait. We mean, one has a hook that prolifically declares, "fuck you, sucker." Aw, we love her.
Set List:
"Sucker"
"Breaking Up"
"I Love It"
"Famous"
"SuperLove"
"Black Roses"
"Lock You Up"
"Caught in the Middle"
"I Need Your Love"
"Stay Away"
"You (Ha Ha Ha)"
"Money"
"London Queen"
"Break the Rules"
"Grins"
"Gold Coins"
Encore:
"Fancy"
"Boom Clap"
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