Kevin Bronson on October 23rd, 2014

0

By Tarynn Law

Her music cries out “brooding” and “distant,” but Banks brought a strong sense of intimacy and connection to the first of her two sold-out shows Tuesday night at the Wiltern.

Banks (full name: Jillian Banks) released her debut album “Goddess” in September, and although the single “Beggin’ for Thread” has yet to take hold in the mainstream, there is plenty of hype surrounding her emotive R&B. With substantial poise, the 26-year-old lived up to it on Tuesday.

Opening the night with “Goddess” lead track “Alibi,” she took the stage in a classy all-black ensemble backed by just a drummer and a keyboards/guitar player. Her sultry and at times delicate voice took hold of the audience with a vice grip and didn’t let go until the last note of “Stick,” her final song of the night.

As she went through some of her full length’s more club-ready tracks—“This Is What It Feels Like,” “Brain” and “Goddess”—it became clear she’s more than buzz; she displayed the comportment of a bonafide star. It seems she’s becoming pretty aware of it too, as she took a moment to remark how she’d seen Fiona Apple perform on that very stage when she was young and how mind-blowing it was that she’d even gotten the chance to play there.

Banks then took to the piano for “Change,” a ballad about a man who constantly brings her down and tells her everything wrong about herself, and when she ultimately brings it up, he swears that he’ll change—“Baby don’t go, I didn’t know / I’ll change I swear, I change I swear.” But by the time the song ends, it’s clear that change isn’t gonna come. Backed by just one spotlight, she transfixed the crowd with her stunning voice and relatable lyrics, a trend that continued with the hard-hitting, relationship-turned-sour album cut “Drowning.”

Instead of opting to end her night with her single “Beggin’ for Thread,” Banks returned to perform an intriguing cover of Drake’s “The Motion.” Flowing through the rap portions effortlessly, it melted the hearts of just about everyone in the crowd. Then she noted that between her U.S. and U.K. tours she’d had about a week off, and that in that time, she wrote what’s arguably the sexiest tune on Goddess, “Stick.” It sent the entire audience (even the balcony) into a dancing frenzy, closing the show out on a high note.

In interviews, she has said she lets her manager run her social media pages, but has given her cell phone number for fans to reach out to her if they wanted to chat. It was that emotional distance but willingness to let people in that she approached the stage with—she strutted up to the front row and reached out to grasp fans’ hands only a few times, but you could tell by their reaction that they were just happy to have her just smile at them. Sometimes a smile is all you need from a goddess.

Photos by Catie Laffoon

||| Previously: “Beggin’ for Thread,” “Drowning,” “Goddess,” live at Coachella 2014, live at SXSW 2014, “Brain,” “This Is What It Feels Like,” “Waiting Game,” “Warm Water,” “Before I Ever Met You,” “Fall Over”