London Grammar schools the sold-out Troubadour with an evening of soaring indie-pop
Seraphina Lotkhamnga on
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A sold-out Troubadour on Wednesday night yielded a room full of chatter and excitement as fans awaited the return of English trio London Grammar. L.A.’s last sighting of band members Hannah Reid, Dot Major and Dan Rothman involved a brief performance of only four songs at Bardot, owing to Reid’s illness at the time. But this show, the kickoff to their U.S. tour in support of their debut “If You Wait” (out now on Metal & Dust and Columbia), felt like a true U.S. debut.
And the truth rang out in full-force as the lights dimmed down, London Grammar walked onto stage and Reid parted her lips to bellow the first notes of “Hey Now,” a track that foreshadowed much of the band’s set.
- ||| Photos by Carl Pocket
With only a guitarist, a keyboardist and a vocalist, London Grammar’s compositions are beautifully minimal, with Reid’s robust vocals holding down the arrangements like an anchor. Reminiscent of artists like Annie Lennox, Reid’s tone and phrasing resounded as her fellow bandmates percolated and swelled beneath in songs such as “Shyer,” “Wasting My Young Years” and a track they rarely play live, “Stay Awake.”
Besides a polite “Thank you” after every song, which was almost inaudible because of the roaring applause each time, Reid also provided entertaining stage banter. First, she gushed “It’s so good to be here. I can’t believe this show is sold out. Everyone is here, including my first-ever boyfriend right over there.” Reid also commented on L.A.’s weather, noting that they all got color, sarcastically pointing out that she got the most as she looked down at her pale skin.
It was a night of special moments for the trio, who all met as students at University of Notthingham in 2009. Reid made sure to note that the next song was the first they had ever written together before going into “Flickers.” And after Dot had viciously gone between djembes and keys, Reid also joked, “Dot has to push all these buttons. I really have no idea what they do.”
But the special moments didn’t stop there. “There’s actually a special guest as well,” Reid announced before they played their latest single “Strong.” After bringing up the little girl who starred in the music video, Reid went on to say “I think you should come sing with me. How do you feel about that?” After the nervous girl (also with decent pitch) nodded, she went into a heartwarming duet with Reid, which inevitably induced an “Awww” from every corner of the room.
“Metal and Dust,” the title track of their EP, followed, seeing Dot on live drums for the first time. With warped vocals and the biggest leap in tempo, London Grammar’s appeal to diverse crowds was easy to hear. They were pleasing fans of Portishead, touching on trip-hop, alt-rock and electronica in a manner that was never ostentatious but always fundamental in terms of melodies and atmospherics. Providing more insight to their sound palette, London Grammar returned to stage for an encore to perform a slow-burning rendition of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games.”
Local artist Jaymes Young and his band opened the night.
[…] indie-pop trio London Grammar visits the Wiltern behind their album “If You Wait.” [See our review from September at the Troubadour.] ‣ Two weeks ago Lykke Li released her third album, a stunner […]