Ladytron, Danforth Music Hall by Frank Yang
Hard to believe it’s been twenty years since Ladytron first entered our consciousness.
Impeccably cool, Ladytron gained themselves a fan base with their visual aesthetic and unique sound, a blend of electro music paired with somewhat distant, almost robotic vocals. Who didn’t sing along with “they only want you when you’re seventeen, when you’re 21 – you’re no fun?”
Well, fast forward twenty years. The only people who are seventeen now are the kids of the original Ladytron fans and those kids were put to bed early on Saturday as the parents came out to play.
Performing in front of a reasonably sized crowd at the Danforth Music Hall on Saturday night, Ladytron made their long awaited return to Toronto and played a fantastic show.
In town to promote their comically under marketed self-titled comeback album, the band played a 90 minute set that spanned their entire discography. Their last show here was in 2011 and I guess my memory sucks (probably alcohol related) but I don’t remember their music packing such a punch before. On record, all the Ladytron songs, from “Seventeen” to “International Dateline” to “Runaway” always had a dance element to them, but in that electro kinda way. Live, however, with a backing band and live drums, the songs jump out. They go from bedroom dancing tunes to all out bangers.
The show’s surprising liveliness was also accentuated by an engaging performance from the two leads. Helen Marnie danced all over the stage during the set and displayed showmanship that I did not remember. Mira Aroyo, fighting equipment problems for most of the set, also showed a few moves. Both seemed genuinely excited for the show. For better or worse, the general expectation was that Ladytron was essentially going to stand still behind their devices. This was not the case and the show was all the more fun because of it.
The new songs meshed in well with the old tracks, always a good sign for a band that’s been around as long as they have.
The set ended off with the romper “Destroy Everything That You Touch” which for my money, was one of the better songs of the 00s. It had the whole place dancing, which just proves that when you are 41*, you might just be fun.
*I’m not 41 but it sounded good.