Michelle Shiers on April 23rd, 2016

1

Just before Grimes (Claire Boucher) appeared on stage at the Shrine Expo Hall on Thursday night, fans were chattering praise for producing her own music, a feral brand of pulsating pop, and their eagerness to hear it — if only to forget for a short time that earlier in the day the world had lost a pop icon in Prince.

After a quick tease from one of her back-up dancers, the Canadian synth-pop artist came out running, looking as if she was still a bit overheated from her Coachella performance. She began the show with “Laughing And Not Being Normal” and “Realiti” from her album “Art Angels” released in November, 2015.  Her 12-song set featured songs mainly from this record with only a handful of tracks from further back in her catalog, keeping the dance party at a steady pace.

• ||| Photos by Michelle Shiers

Flanked by hair-whipping dancers, Grimes moved back and forth from her synthesizer to the stage edge, making guttural, almost feral sounds into the microphone, especially during the aptly-named “Scream.”  Occasionally, it seemed like she was being exorcised as she turned her electronic soundscape into something physical.  Between songs Grimes would address the crowd, usually out of breath, and then jump back into more of her rave-pop ferocity.

A few of the deeper cuts that fans were extra excited to hear were “Be A Body” and “Oblivion” from her 2012 release “Visions.”  She closed her pulsating set with “World Princess Part II” and “Kill v. Maim” from “Art Angels”.

Grimes was supported by fellow dance-pop artist Christine and the Queens from France.  She too was able to hold the dance-ready audience’s attention with her quirky MJ-inspired moves.  Christine (or Héloïse “Christine” Letissier) was backed by four band members and four back-up dancers who added to her European-tinged confidence.

Grimes was also preceded by Brooklyn-based singer/producer Tei Shi.